The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-20 00:00:00

Liverpool Cotton Market—This Day.

Market dearer. Sales 10,000, or more. Imports,
4,880. Previously, 95,908.

Shakspere not a Man of Parts,

Commemorate the birth of Shakspere indeed !
If you knew as much of Shakspere as I do, or had
suffered as much at his hands, you would curse the
day that he ever was born. 1 tell you that Shaks-
pere has written more bad parts than any dramatic
author living, or dead. I ought to know, for I have
been acting in his plays all my life, at least ever
since I began to act, and that was when I was young
and a fool, and didn't know better. I won't sub.
scribe to his monument: there. Why should I?
What has Shakspere done for me ? Done ?
Why, made my life a misery aud a torment.
Look at the parts he has written for me. There's
Reynaldo, that,'s a pretty bit of character, isn't it?
"I will, my lord;" My lord, I did intend it ;"
" Ay, very well, my lord ;" But, my lord ;" " Ay,
‘v‘eVlveerty well, my lord." And you
shirt and a pair of tights to
Rosenerantz and Gaildenstern in
sZaayyvatghtoaoot dp.
ul codhne;
the same play. . . . You say lam picking out
one or two of the worst parte. Am l ? What about
Voltimand, Cornelius, Francisco, Fottinbras, Ber-
nardo, Marcellus, the priest, and the captain ? Why,
there are eleven .characters in this one play that
are as bad as they can be. Not one of them ever
gets a hand or a laugh. t•To dramatic author of
the present day would dare to write such bad
parts. Why, the very
supers would strike at
them, let alone general utility. Take any play you
like; one is as bad as another. The l‘lrehent of
Venice ? What do you think arc the feelings of an
play Satanic), or Salarino ? 'They're both swells,
actor who has to buy a pair of new silk tights to
and must wear silts. tights; but they haven't a good
line between them. A pretty thing, too, to have to
dress yourself up for the Prince of A.rrilgOD, and
find your own tights, hat, shoes, and jewellery.
Once, when I was Prince of Morocco, I didn't have
a dinner for a week, having
been obliged to scend
all my salary on the get up. Shakspere, as an
actor himself, ought to have known better than
write such parts. Let me see what are
the other characters in the play—Salerio, Leo-
nardo, Balthazar, Stephan°,
and the Duke. I
have played every one of them, and never
could make anything of them—never knew any-
body that could. Macbeth better ? Not a bit.
Worse. What do you say to
teith, Angus, Caithness, pleance,
Siward, old and
young, the Doctor, the bleedinlagellenfficx:ril, Dtshsee'plOirteen:t,
the old man ? Why,
it
swarms with bad parts.
Othello is not so bad; but Yet you can't say there's
much to be made of the Duke of Venice and Ludo-
vice. There's only one merit in
Shakspere's dukes,
don't show their legs. Y°4 may wear your street
generally sit at a table and
and that is, that they
-
tableclothtrou s ers; onlybefo r
ey
youu must by
nen got up, so as not to careful to keep the
show them. Take
King
John;
I'vepingate played
dtful
the
pKingart I of France,never
dressedbut l
forust say
; and a king too a more ungrateful
well, if you
object
jredeitn
taol Pt :en dwuol prd, I'll say straw, which is weak, isnot worth a ;
and doesn't half express my feelings. I repeat, the
Cardinal is not worth—allow me to say, a maledic-
tion, even when doubled with the Citizen of Anglers,
who has to stand on a box with a tin pot on his head
on the top of a pasteboard battlement, at the risk of
his neck. I once went on for Cardinal Pandulph in
a red frock and sugar-loaf bat, which is the correct
thing, and somebody called out "Mother Shipton!
by Jove !" and when I popped my head over the
battlements afterwards as the Citizen, the boys in
the gallery shallooed me. It is no joke, I can tell
you, to be a cardinal one minute and a citizen on tht
top of a wall the next.—Dickens'‘All the Year
Round."

MADAME TUSSAUD'S.—Among the models it
Madame 'ruErtud's historical gallery is one cf General
Garibaldi, attired in raitay costume, similar to that worn
by lieu on the fild of bottle. The likeness is considered
to be most accurate, and we doubt not but thai every ad-
mirer of the hero will pay an early visit to the !copular
exhibition in 13,ker-street,

THE /lI_TRDER AND SUICIDE AT BURTON•
CRESCENT.—From inquiries made yesterday
would appear that the father of the man called at the house
last night, and identified the body of the male deceases,
He was surprised to hear of the dreadful tragedy, and de
scribed the man as being of sober habits. It is stated tha'
there aro no children the offspring of the marriage of the
deceased. Up to the present moment the friends of the
murdered woman have net been discovered.