EARLY THEATRICAL EXPERIENCES 



Olympic, I forget which. He was playing in a drama 

 with Miss Genevieve Ward. It was of the period of 

 the Reign of Terror; he played an abbe, and surely 

 there never was a finer performance ; but Miss Ward 

 was an actress of such power that she was calculated 

 to inspire a young actor of such talent and imagination. 

 Two of the finest performances which Robertson ever 

 gave in later life were, first, in a play called For the 

 Crown, and the other in The Sacrament of Judas. In 

 the former Ian Robertson was excellent too. He has 

 been a wonderful man to his brother, saving him all 

 sorts of petty worry through his keen business instinct ; 

 and not only that, can give distinction to certain parts. 

 It has been the greatest satisfaction to me that the 

 knighted head of the house has managed to " get 

 there " financially, and that he is now, for an artist, 

 comparatively a rich man. It was left for America 

 to be the first to tender him solid money, but now, of 

 course, English playgoers would throw as much cash 

 in his lap as any man could desire. He can look back 

 with pride on battling to the front despite occasional 

 domestic cares through family responsibilities which 

 might have daunted others. Truly a genius and a 

 man of super-combativeness, but with all that never- 

 failing lack of individuality which perhaps we saw 

 better exemplified in the Passing of the Third Floor 

 Back than in any other r81e he ever appeared in, bar 

 Hamlet. 



Two days before he first played Hamlet I was in 

 Stone's Bar in Panton Street and Lewis Waller hap- 

 pened to come in. During the talk the production 

 two days hence was mentioned. Waller said : " You 

 will see the greatest Hamlet who ever appeared on 

 any stage. He will be a living, breathing Prince of 

 Denmark. You have imagined such in sleep, but 



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