Related article: profession been so honoured, or
indeed more deserving of honour,
and it is now almost taking rank
as a recognised opening in life for
any young man or woman of good
family with intelligence and educa-
tion. The emoluments of its
leading members are very great,
the life is not extremely trying
and certainly its social position is
above reproach when it can lead
to the accolade of knighthood.
But the actors of to-day are the
legitimate descendants of a crowd
of predecessors, who in an equal,
perhaps in some cases a gTeater,
degree, have given unmixed delight
to earlier generations. The names
of these predecessors were in their
time household words, but the
memory of even the most dis-
tinguished among them is growing
dim and it is with gratitude that
we now receive from Mr. Wliytc
the sumptuous volume just pub-
lished by him on the " Actors of
the Century."*
* " Actors of the CcntuTy." by Frederk Whjte.
(Geo. Bell & Sons.)
i«99.]
THE SPORTSMAN S LIBRARY.
121
The author has every possible
qualification for the work that he
has undertaken, for he is among
the most experienced of our young
dramatic critics, he has carefully
studied the very voluminous and
scattered theatrical literature,
which we possess in *' biographies,
histories, reminiscences, memoirs,
miscellanies," and in his methods
he has enrolled himself in the
school of the kindly Charles Lamb,
most appreciative of playgoers,
most genial of essayists.
We have all heard of the
Kembles, of Mrs. Siddons who
** was tragedy personified," of her
brother John Philip Kemble, of
Charles and Stephen Kemble and
some are old enough alas ! to re-
member the Shakesperian readings
of Fanny Kemble, last of a gifted
family, but till now few of us had
an opportunity of knowing their
real history, the kind of charm that
they exercised and their vicissi-
tudes as public favourites. So
now, for the first time, we learn
much about Mrs. Jordan, the
Keans, Macready and the con-
temporaries of these traditional
stars, and are brought down to
the times when men, now old,
were young and laughed with
Robson, Jefferson, and Sot hern or
have had their deepest feelings
stirred by Fechter, Boucicault
and Ristori.
Mr. Whyte very reasonably
divides his history into periods and
thus groups the biographies and
surroundings of the men and
women about whom he tells into
pictures that are remarkable for
their clearness and careful colour-
ing. He takes in detail the *' Days
of the Kembles," " Kean and
Booth," " Macready," " Mac-
ready's Contemporaries," " The
Stage in the Fifties," ** The Stage
in the Sixties," finishing with our
present time which he appro-
priately styles "The Era of
Irving." It is difficult to say in
whicli period he is most at home
and which he makes the most
interesting, but undoubtedly we
feel more of a personal sympathy
with the later records, the sketches
of the delightful artists, the oppor-
tunity of seeing whom has been
to many of us the head and front
of so many bygone little social
merrymakings.
An early dinner and seats at
the play! How many hours of
unalloyed happiness do the words
recall, and what pleasant reminis-
cences cling about all London,
and we may add many provincial,
theatres ! And these happy hours
are recalled vividly to our minds
as we turn over the leaves of Mr.
Whyte*s book. His pen has the*
knack of. bringing before our
mind*s eye the mise en scene which
most impressed us ; once more we
are sitting in the stalls, either
bursting with laughter or, with a
knot in the throat, struggling to
repress an audible sob. And,
good and sparkling as it is, the
interest of Mr. Whyte's book does
not depend on his writing alone.
He has called in all the resources
of art to assist him. Never have
we seen a book more appropriately
and charmingly illustrated.
The stage heroes and stage
beauties of to-day are often photo-
graphed in their leading parts,
wearing the most picturesque cos-
tumes, in the most telling attitudes
and we see their portraits in every
shop window. But even thirty or
forty years ago this custom did
not generally exist and, unless the
portrait of an actor or actress
became a special study for an
artist, scanty records of personal
appearance were handed down to
posterity. Mr. Whyte has been
fortunate enough however to light
upon Himcocid Tablets a ** veritable treasure trove "
in a series of early photographs
by M. Adolph Beau, which has
122
BAILY S MAGAZINE.
[Febequt
been hidden for many years and
has now come to light, comprising
Toole, Lady Bancroh, Robson,
Fechter, Sothern, and making
them show themselves to us again
in the old guise that once they
wore. On revient toujours a ses
premiers amours, and good as the
ladies and gentlemen may be who
now tread the boards, what would
we not give to see again as once
we saw them the creators of the
«* Boots at the Swan," of the
personages in the Robertson
comedies at the old Prince of
Wales', of Robert Macaire or
Lord Dundreary !
Of coarse most of the well
known and a few hitherto little
known portraits of the great
actors and actresses, who served
the public in the now distant past,
are given to us, with some of the
most graceful and artistic among
the crowds of modern pictures —
Imogen, Princess Flavia, Rosa-
lind, Juliet, Babbie ; all bring us
again under their spell. We will
bless the happy day when we
shall see their representatives
again in new parts; perhaps we
should bless the occasions still
more that would revive these now
well-known visions of grace and
beauty.
Mr. Whyte's book is unique in
its conception and execution.
There is no room for a rival to it
in its own subject and it is not
likely that we can ever see its
superior.