6 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
The following was the cast: 
BTONTENAGS «cre REP NN ee eae Bowman. 
Miramont 22: 2: 180 SA ee RER RTE Betterton. 
Beaufort MO LS Nr CT eee Powell. 
Ulamar:: 2.124 jee eee eee Booth. 
ZEPHArie 27 RER ae aes ieee on aie aoe Freeman. 
SARA. LE RO Ae ere a coy ee eh eee mee Mrs. Barry. 
Irene : 2 Pe reese NE seed eae ere tiene eee Mrs. Bracegirdle. 
Okima 2 0 Fe eee eo tee ce ee ne CN eee TI Mrs. Porter. 
A few words may be said of the four most famous actors who took 
part in the drama. 
1635-1710—The great tragedian, Betterton, opened, as we have 
seen, the New Theatre, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which took the place of a 
former play-house there of which Sir William Davenant was the patentee. 
Betterton acted on the opening night as Valentine in Congreve’s Love 
for Love, Mrs. Bracegirdle taking the part of Angelica. He was most 
famous as a tragedian for his impersonation of Hamlet. To him was 
due the improvement of theatrical scenery in England. France was 
much more advanced in this aid to histrionic art than was England 
at that time, and Betterton was sent to Paris by Charles the Second to 
make a study of the subject. Through him shifting scenes were intro- 
duced instead of the immovable tapestry hitherto in use. Booth was 
a pupil of Betterton and was second only to his great master. He first 
won notice by his representation of Addison’s Cato. 
1658-1713—Elizabeth Barry had the honour of playing before 
Charles the Second, the Duke and Duchess of York being present. 
The latter, Mary of Modena, when Queen of England, lent Mrs. Barry 
her coronation robes for the impersonation of Queen Elizabeth in the 
“Earl of Essex.” Mrs. Barry acted in all the tragedies of the day, but 
only in one comedy, Vanburgh’s “Provoked Wife.’ Betterton said 
she was incomparable and Dennis says in his preface to “ Liberty 
Asserted,” that the part of Sakia was so admirably and inimitably 
acted that no stage in Europe could boast of anything that came near 
to her performance. It has been said that she wept genuine tears upon 
the stage. And one critic, Colley Cibber, asserted that although 
Dennis’s tragedy, Iphigenia, was not moving in itself yet he could not 
refrain from shedding tears when Mrs. Barry took the principal role. 
She was the first of those connected with the stage for whom a benefit 
was given. Such an honour had hitherto been reserved for authors; 
but James the Second commanded one for Mrs. Barry. 
Anne Bracegirdle, 1653-1748, had the advantage of being trained 
by Betterton and his wife, formerly Mrs. Sanderson, an accomplished 
actress of the time. Mrs. Bracegirdle achieved her chief triumphs in 
the works of Congreve. She had a long and popular career on the 
