, 1873-05-25

Macready'a astonishment,- ~ the wounded King
staggered all over the stage, and finally died il
fearful agony in the centre. on the precise por-
ton oi green osize upon which han1ee had IN.
large stout man, so he, with Loertes, almost
to die In painful obscnfity.: Upon reach-
ing The aooF, :snd,, before giving up the ghost
the Ki,,g why he had died in The centre Of the
stage. Heroupon tho dead King deliberately
rose up: and in Language audible all over the
whole house, exclaimed, - Look here: Mr. Mac
ready, Tn Hing hero, aud I'll die wherever I
darn please" 80 80 -.
Another anecdoto of Macrady's American
career should not be omitted, rs. II is highly
characteristic Of certain tldss d. actorB who
always haye an, ,ayp to effect, without regard to
Consistency: What is known in the profession
as : " utility" man, was to be the recipient OF
gngement. The night preceding his own benefit,
Macready played in one Of the lighter comedies
in which he occasionally appeared, the utility
man being cast for servant, whose sole bust
WAS to announce the arrival Of carr carI1aSe;t e.
the insignifcance OF his part, but made the best
OF it BY wearing = gorgeous! suit Of livery and
stationing few Of Ills friends in the gallery I'd
give him PERCEPTION" on his appearance. The
cue was given the aunkey appeared. a's1sd yas re-
his solitary line. Ny lord, the carriage waits"
and then before Macready could reply, stepped
brislly to tho foot-lighta, and continued, and
allow me to observe, cir, that the man that lays
his hand upon q woman, save in the way Of kind
call coward" Macready was dumb With hor.
melt,. enlightened him and the audi
ence By very loudly exc1aiming; 'You see;
Alr: Macready,, I have to make my benefit
as well as yon," and then turning to the audi
ence, Ladies' and gentlemen, let me- here re-
mark that my benefit will take place this night
week, when host OF attractions will appear"
and with this be bounded off tha stage, to the
intense delight Of the audience and Macreadys
utter disgust.
Macready was the most original OF actors; He
was the first hero in Bu1wer's three best plays,
viz: ssRchelieu," the LADY Of Lyons, and
s.Money." He wns the original representative Of
Sheridan Knowles Virgintus, William 1eA, ano ,a
Werner, one Of his greatest parts, besides oT1g-
mating such characters as Gambia in "Ihe
Slave" and Rob Roy. AL the traditions which
have descended to the actors OF the present day,
in connection with these plays, have come from
him., .
Nowadays, when an actor or singer leaves the
stage, it requires at least five years IN which to
take farewell OF it. To this rule Nr. Macready
Was bright exception, and when, in 1851, he
left the boards, be left them never to return. In
giving his farewell performance in Liverpool, in
December, 1850, he received an address from a
number OF citizens urging him to continue in bis
profession, and asking why he should deprive
tho public Of his genius in its golden prime.
Macready appeared before the audience at the
close OF the play, and, in fow Horda, delivered
his ya1edictory, telling his hearers, in simple,
honest words, that he would rather be the mise1-
ablo old man who sold plny-b bills outside the
theatre, than, as q veteran, "lag superhuous
reputation, and to ask applause from an audi
ence because he once had been q good actor.