BOOKS.
LIVES OF THE KEMBLES.* Mum as we may regret that a better use has not been made of *such promising materials as Mr. Fitzgerald ha e collected, we are inclined, on the whole, to thank him for these two volumes. They are spun out, indeed, to an inordinate length ; they are written in a careless and slovenly style ; they abound in vapid sneers and feeble criticism. It is not worth our while entering into a minute examination of Mr. Fitzgerald's literary merits, but we may make room for two samples of his quality. Within the space of a very few pages he tells us that it is no wonder Mrs. Siddons liked the small country theatres, and that her recollections of them could mot have been agreeable. Another time he starts a theory that the Ramos of actors are significant of their style of playing ; some suggesting fun and farce, while others have a tragic and sonorous ring. We do not quite see why if such a name as Quick is light and airy, Kean should be slow and solemn ; but the most remark- able instance given by Mr. Fitzgerald is found in the name of Moody, which he places first among those suggesting brightness and gaiety. Of course, it is plain that Mr. Fitzgerald is am- elating the names with their owners, not with their verbal effect or meaning. In this he reminds us of the German who was extolling his native language as bearing the palm over all others for its singular honesty. " Look," he said, "at the difference between French and German with regard to the most necessary article in life. The French when they want bread ask for pain, and that may be a very good name tq describe bread ; but in German when we want bread we say trod, and that not only describes bread, but is bread." However, we are content to leave these questions alone, and to confine ourselves to the matter contained in the volumes. Such a figure as that of Mrs. Siddons, which fills the English stage from the days of Gar- rick to those of Kean, cannot fail to eared our interest. The grand face and form that live on Reynolds' canvass, the power of that acting which we know by tradition, impress us deeply even at this distance of time, and make us wish to be better acquainted. 430tne of the scenes and incidents given by Mr. Fitzgerald bring the great actress before us with striking vigour ; we have glimpses of her, perhaps somewhat rare, that make us fully appreciate the sway she exercised over those who witnessed her triumphs ; we see her .eilence opposition and overcome unpopularity. The career of her brother, John Philip Kemble, is comparatively tame, and the effect of including both in one work is hardly to do him justice. He becomes too often a foil to his sister, and even his most con- spicuous efforts suffer by the contrast.
There has been much controversy about one passage in the early life of Mts. Siddons, but the real interest of this book begins with her first appearance in London. Garrick brought her up to Drury Lane, and she made her debut as Portia. It might have been expected that she would be terribly nervous, and during a great part of the play her voice was inaudible. But even this did not account for the little effect she produced, and during her first season at Drury Lane she was a failure. Garrick retired in a short time, and the succeeding management coldly informed Mrs. Siddons that her services were not required. For a moment she was stunned by the blow, but she soon gathered up her strength, and a succession of provincial triumphs made amends for her first defeat. At York, which was then an important centre, and was the winter resort of the chief county families, she soon became a favourite, and "all lifted up their eyes with astonishment that such a voice and such a judgment should have been neglected by a London audience." It was not till after seven years spent on the country stages that Mrs. Siddous returned to Drury Lane, but this time she made an instant conquest. The day after her appearance the whole town was at her feet. The change from the nervous, hesitating, awkwitrd beginner to the unquestioned sovereign of the stage might seem at first too complete to be
a The Nembles: an Account of the Kellable Family, includiny the Mime of diftv, Skia0113 .and her Brolher, John. Philip If enable. fly Percy Fitzgerald, M.A., F.S.A. 2 solo. Loudon: lluoloy Brothers. 1O71.
caused by any amount of study. Yet it is clear that in her earliest days Mrs. Siddons did not realize the necessity of that labour
which secured so many subsequent triumphs. Youth is too apt to rely on what it considers unassisted genius. We see this in the account Mrs. Siddons gives of her first appearance in the part of Lady Macbeth It was my custom to study my characters at night, when all the domestic cares and business of the day wore over. On the night preced- ing that in which I was to appear in this part for the first time, I shut myself up as usual, when all the family wore retired, and commenced my study as 'Lady Macbeth.' As the character is very short, I thought I should soon accomplish it. Being then only twenty years of age, I believed, as many others do believe, that little more was necessary than to get the words into my head, for the necessity of discrimination, and the development of character, at that time of my life, had scarcely entered into my imagination. But to proceed. I went on with toler- able composure, in the silence of the night (a night I never can forget), till I came to the assassination-scene, when the horrors of the scene rose to degree that made it impossible for me to got farther. I snatched up my candle, and hurried out of the room in a paroxysm of terror. My dress was of silk, and the rustling of it, as I ascended the stairs to go to bed, seemed to my panic-struck fancy like the move- ment of a spectre pursuing me. At last I reached my chamber, where I found my husband fast asleep. I clapt my candlestick down upon the table, without the power of putting the candle out, and I threw myself on my bed, without daring to stay even to take off my clothes. At peep of day I rose to resume my task ; but so little did I know of my part when I appeared in it at night, that my shame and confusion cured me of procrastinating ray business for the remainder of my life.'"
It may be useful to contrast with this scene the interview between Mrs. Siddons and Sheridan on the subject of the same part. He tells us that it was her custom to shut herself up for a short time before a play began, in order to concentrate her mind on the character she was going to represent. She was dressed for Lady Macbeth, and was musing on the part, when Sheridan insisted on seeing her, and began to urge her not to adopt the presumptuous innovation of putting down the candle in the sleeping scene. Mrs. Siddons answered that it was too late to change her mind then, "at that moment of anxiety and terror," and the result showed that she had acted wisely. The discussion may seem trivial now, as it does to Mr. Fitzgerald, yet as the classical way of acting the sleeping scene required Lady Macbeth to hold the candle in her hand even while washing out the spot, there would be a risk of offending the purists which should not be incurred wantonly.
Mrs. Siddons had considered the question, and chosen the course which she thought most natural.
Whatever may have been the secret of her success, whether study or genius, there is no doubt of its reality. A singular tribute to the power of the actress was given by her little boy at one of the rehearsals. He was so affected by her acting that he took the whole for a reality, and burst into a flood of tears at the prospect of losing his mamma. If the effect of Kean's perform- ance of Sir Giles Overreach was such as to make Byron go into hysterics, we are told in this book that Crabb Robinson was similarly moved by Mrs. Siddons' acting. In the middle of one of the most terrible scenes he burst into loud laughter, and was being forcibly ejected when it was found that he was doing the truest homage to the great actress. Again, we are told that the wither- ing acorn with which she conveyed a charge of procuring false testimony had such an effect on the actor sustaining the part of the accused person, that he came off the stage literally perspiring with terror. Another scene in which Mrs. Siddons gained one of her greatest triumphs, with what would seem very inadequate means, is related by Young, the actor :—
I remember her,' he writes to Mr. Campbell, more than forty years after the performance„ coming down the stage, in 1789, in the triumphal entry of her son, Oorielanus, when her dumb-show drew plaudits that shook the building. She came alone, marching and beat- ing time to the music ; rolling (if that be not too strong n term to describe her motion) from side to side, swelling with the triumph of her son. Such was the intoxication of joy which flashed from her eye, and lit up her whole face, that the effect was irresistible. She seemed to me to reap all the glory of that procession to herself. I could not take my eye from her. Corielanus, banner, and pageant, all wont for nothing to rue, after she had walked to her place.'"
It is said that this grandeur of aspect was carried by the actress into private life, and that once when Sheridan sprang into her carriage a word from her was enough to repress all undue famili- arity. When she was at Paris, too, in 1814, she was seen at a recep- tion standing next to the Duke of Wellington without speaking to him, and maintaining a sort of haughty reserve, as if waiting for him to speak to her. There are other stories about the tragic dignity she displayed in private life which are too well known to be repeated. But the severity with which she refused her son's request that she would play for him is hardly consistent with the conduct of one whom Mr. Fitzgerald repre- sents as a most affectionate parent. She asked him in a haughty tone how he could venture to propose such a thing, and when he timidly suggested that Saturday was a vacant night, she replied curtly, "I dine with the Bishop of Llandaff that evening, and cannot comply with your request."
This refusal to play for her son brings us to one side of Mrs. Sicldons' character that does not show to much advantage. Mr. Fitzgerald does not attempt to decide the question whether she was grasping and avaricious, always endeavouring to secure a large share of profits for herself, and refusing to assist others. Some of the charges brought against her seem to have been refuted, but they were believed at first, and the suspicion of stin- giness was a source of much unpopularity. At one time, Mrs. Sicldous was received on the stage with a storm of hisses, but she bore herself bravely, and, after being forced to retire once, gained a final victory. Both she and her brother John Philip Kemble retreated from bargains made with managers, and in- sisted on higher terms at the very last moment. We cannot say that there is an excuse for them in the facts that both had for a long time been struggling, that neither earned large salaries at first, and that during the time when both were engaged at Drury Lane it was almost impossible to got any money out of Sheridan. Mrs. Siddons had to complain very much of that shiftiest of all managers, while her frequent allusions to the husband and chil- dren for whom she had to exert herself, her complaints at having still to go the round of the country theatres, and to deprive her- self of rest till she had earned a competence, show that she was not pursuing money solely for its own sake. Still the facts which are brought out by Mr. Fitzgerald somewhat diminish our pleasure in contemplating the great actress, and the caricature of Melpo- mene dropping dagger and bowl to stretch out her hand to a well- filled purse is an unlucky companion to the glorious inspiration of the Tragic Muse.
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