The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-02-26 00:00:00

THEATRE. ROYAL,

Mr. Macready took his farewell of the Liverpool stage
on Tuesday, as Cardinal Welsey, in " Henry the Eighth,"
and Lord Townley, in " The Provoked Husband." The
previous night he performed Macbeth. The house on
both occasions was densely crowded, and many hundreds
were unable to obtain admission. His performances in
the Shaksperian pieces differed little, if any, from his pre-
vious rendering of the same characters, which are familiar
to all playgoers. We fancied that he played them with
more than his usual intensity and interest,—particularly
Macbeth, which may be said to leave the stage with him.
Lord Townley was given with fine tact and delicacy in
the more subdued, and with a noble energy in the more
impassioned scenes.. Few things on the stage surpass
Mrs. Warner's acting as Lady Townley. The following
is the farewell address :

" Ladies and Gentlemen,—lt has been usual for me to attend
with pleasure and alacrity the complimentary summons with
which you have so often honmareame ; but now, I must con-
fess, I obey your call with reluctance and regret, I must Count
back many years for the date of my first appearance before
you, but time has not weakened my recollection of the cheer-
ing welcome with which you greeted my more youthful essays,
and equally well do I remember the many subsequent occa-
sions when my humble efforts have been favoured with your
liberal appreciation, and when my endeavours to realise the
conception of our great dramatic poets—(cheering)—have
found a ready response in the intelligence and sympathies of
my audience here. (Cheering.) What more have I to say ?
The exercise of my art I relinquish at somewhat an earlier
period of my life than my more distinguished predecessors
have done, and I yield the scene to younger but scarcely less
ardent aspirers to your favour, not from any consciousness,
allow me to say, of enfeebled powers—(loud cheers)—but be-
cause I would not risk the chance of lingering to read in the
eyes of men, bent idly on me, the melancholy truth of my
decline. (Loud cheers.) Even at a considerable pecuniary
sacrifice, I would prefer submitting to you a proof print of my
illustration, such as it is, of Shakspeare's characters, than to
offer you a faded and indistinct impression of a worn out plate.
(Tremendous cheering.) It has al ways been to me a gratifica-
tion to appear before you, and it is, therefore, painful for me
to reflect that that is a pleasure I shall never again enjoy. La-
dies and gentlemen, I take my leave of you with many ack-
nowledgments for your long-continued and liberal patronage,
and, with sentiments of considerable regret, I beg you, regret.
tingly and most respectfully, in my profession, as an actor, a
last farewell."

—(The loudest cheering followed the conclusion of this
address.)

The speech was exquisitely delivered, particularly the
last sentence, which touched every one. He retired
amidst the enthusiastic cheering of the audience.
A painful incident occurred after he left the theatre.
On reaching the Adelphi, where he stayed, a letter awaited
his arrival, announcing that one of his daughters was on
the point of death. He sent his servant immediately to
the railway to have a special engine to convey him to
London, but found that at so late an hour, and without
previous notice, it could not be had. He left the next
morning at six o'clock, instead of proceeding to Halifax,
where he was announced to appear on Wednesday even-
ing. Mr. Macready has a large family—eight children,
and is a most devoted father. The sweets and bitters of
life are often commingled. This heavy stroke assails him
during his provincial ovations, and may, perhaps, retard
for some time the resumption of the concluding engage-
ments into which he has entered elsewhere,