RECOLLECTIONS OF THE OLD ACTORS, AND ANEC- 

 DOTES OF REMARKABLE PERSONS CONNECTED 

 WITH THE STAGE. 



BY AN OLD STAGER. 



I REMEMBER Gorrick in private life, and seeing him in many of 

 the characters he performed in his latter days. By preserving accu- 

 rate memorandums of what I saw him do, and comparing my obser- 

 vations with the performance of the same characters by other actors 

 from time to time, I must say that I never saw any actor who ap- 

 proached within many degrees of the excellence displayed by Gar- 

 rick ; nor do I think, considering all the changes that have taken 

 place in the degree and extent of encouragement that is now given to 

 those who practise that art, there is the least reason, to believe that 

 it will ever be restored to that eminence I have seen it sustain in even 

 my own times. 



Though I never saw any actor on the stage older than a contem- 

 porary of Garrick, I feel confident that in former times there have 

 existed actors like Garrick, equal to him in every respect, and, very 

 possibly, superior to him in some. As I cannot positively assert what 

 I have certainly never seen, I must be allowed to make out my case 

 by such approximations as I am able, by referring to the declarations 

 of what they have seen, and have been made by other competent 

 witnesses. 



When the appearance of Garrick in Goodman's Fields drew crowds 

 of spectators from the west, to witness the prodigy, Pope, an ex- 

 cellent poet, went among the rest. When he had seen the young 

 man, the poet exclaimed, " This young man will be spoiled by suc- 

 cess ; for he has neither rival nor competitor ; he is like Betterton, and 

 quite equal to him!" Here then I, and those who, like me, reflect 

 upon what they hear or read, feel that the acting of Garrick resembled 

 that of Betterton, and was quite equal to it ; for Pope, when a 

 young man, was intimate with Betterton, and, as a volunteer artist, 

 painted his portrait, which was destroyed by the fire which burned 

 Lord Mansfield's house in Bloomsbury-square, in the year 1780; 

 Pope having done this, and being so well acquainted with Betterton, 

 may be fairly allowed to have spoken the truth of his friend, 



Having proceeded, successfully, thus far, we may now venture to"' 

 proceed a little way farther. Betterton was known to declare, une- 

 quivocally, that he formed his style of acting by reflecting upon the 

 performances of Major Mohun and Hart, the tragic heroes of the 

 time of Charles the Second after his restoration. Betterton is re- 

 corded to have acknowledged, with gratitude, the great superiority 

 and kindness of his instructors, in communicating their knowledge to 

 him. Hart is known to have been the nephew of Shakspeare ; and 

 having been brought up to the stage from his infancy, it may be be- 

 lieved thus he received instructions from his uncle, and had, by that 

 means, a knowledge of the way in which the principal characters of 

 our immortal bard were performed by Lowin, Taylor, Tarleton, and 

 other great associates of Shakspeare. 



