, 1874-03-01

oycrpovc- rne, and I SHOULD burst into tears.
lily nervous sen:sis!lity lad undoubtedly been
made moro keen by n soyere sickness from which
I had hardly recovered, and, afraid that my agl-
tation woull be noticed, s.olo to my chamber,
whe1o, etanding in the middle of the room, my
brain on fire with tho long pent.up desire to
represent to others tho powor felt stirring my
aoul my mind exalted by tho conception l had Of
the woe WHICH drove Lady Macbeth forth from
her bed at midnight, began to feel mvsr1i
tcds Lady 1Iucbcth l was selzel,> almost
agonizeI, with IN ine1presslble dread,-a kind
Of nightmare hoTror.~-ant felt that I could only
exercise the terrible spirit which had seized
upon by retiring to the library and driving it
forth in their presence. dreaded to stay longer
alone, yet was
FASCINATED BIZ 1tY IpEA.
and: with the almost insane desire to appear tc
my husband as Lady Macbeth, quickly bound
up my face with q handkerchief, threw about
my body white wrapper, md, taking my wax
candle, started for the door. In tho mirror as ]
passed I caught the first sight Of my face.--
pallsd with fear and drawn into an expression OF
woe unusterable. Ny oyea, made1arge by recent
sickness, seemed fixed with a strong stare that
go frightened mo that I dropped my candlestick
from my hand, and Was alone in the dark. ran
ont into the hall down the stairs and paused at
the library door only for moment.
It Remember" said Mrs. siddons, 1T had
mover before studied Macbeth and knew nothing
Of tho lines. only felt I :ras Lady Macbeth.
So inspired Was I by the conception caught during
the reading OF the scene that I felt myself able
to render i in pantomime.
' Swinging back the door" she continued Is
g1lded into the room and stood for moment SO
absorbed by my conception that I forgot to act
must have looked like 3 Erave-riscn person
with my white wrapper, my chin tied up with
handkerchief, and my wide-oren eyes staring
out Of nay paiid face. Toms friend, vino sat
sternation, aud wheeled his chair in front Of
him My husband, seeing his excitement,
turned, aud catching glimpse Of my face,
exclaimed. 'oh my God. sho las gone mad !
This broke tho chnrn," esld Mrs. siddons.
| sand the nervous strain had been 30 great that
Tom had barely tine to save me:fr falling Oh
tue floor ~ I fell faiutiug in chair. DO you
wonder now That always feel Kind Of dread
when attempt to render the Sleep Walking
Scene p" said Mrs. Siddons, with laugh.
''But did this incident determine you to ap-
pear at onco on tho stage :" 1 asked.
"I began immediately after I recovered my
health to study Macbeth" she answered,
"and soon after determined to appear on tho
stage. And that reminds me of another curious
coincidence between the career OF my great
grandmother,
SARAH S7BDoNs,
and nay OVID coincidence which me!ies me
prize more highly the talsman tavo already
spoken Of"
sand what Was that coincidence 2" asked my
friend.
II began, as have said" continued Mr. Sid
dons, " to study Lady Nacbeta. After had de-
ternined 10 go On tho EraSe I could not brook
the delay required to complete tho preliminary
studies which almost all actors must submit to
in order that they may become familiar with
what is known as the stage business but I
went at once down to London and applied to tho
managers Of the different theatres. They did
not relish the idea Of taking the lisk of ladys
walking ont Of hor parlor apon the stage, and
without any previous instruction attempting to
perform Lady Macbeth. ThaJ wanted mo to uE-
dertake some lighter character. But was deter
mined to make my debut as Lady Macbeth. a:d
SO went to Manchester and Edinburgh. There
the managers repeated tho story. and finally,
with almost no study for the part, consented to
appear in Edinburgh Us Por{id in '.TIe Merchant
Of Venice, About TWO yenrs ago, while ruu1Eaag~
ing through some old family papers, came ur-
on some letters OF my great-grandmother. and
in them I found my experience related so exact
IL as to almost Eta.tle me. She too had deter-
mined to make her debut rs Lady Mac1edt, had
studied the character, had been refused every
where by the mauagere, and finally oil few days
notice had made her debut the stately and
elegant Portia."
It WIS evident from this, rs we'll as other
remarks dropped during the Conversation, that
Alrs. Si1douB feels reverence, amounting e1-
most to superstition, for her great ancestor.
There are many things which might be told il
lustrating what, in tho light Of after events,
seems almost ProTidentiai protection over aud
guidance Of the career OF this remarkable wo1n-
an, but to relate these incidents might seem like
encroaching upon the Sacred privacy OF life
which, although having been dedicated to the
drama, and 80 belonging, in one sense, to the
public, is yet vei1ed BY u1odcstys so retiring and
q manner 80 charming Us TO protect her from
the prying eyes or staring curiosity Of tho pub
ic.
One word only regarding her
METHOD Of sTUuY,
which 1E but another revelation Of her genius.
Unlike most other great artista, she does not
prepare herself before the mirror" does not
col1ly and calmly calculate the effect OF this ges-
turo or that accent upon tho audience. Her act
ing ig born of the heart rather than tho hend.
Unlike Miss CuEhmau, who studies her charac-
ter IN the dissocting-roo,n and anatomizea tho
Lines, SO to spenk, hfrs. Siddons' conception is
born OF the inspiration OF the moment, and
comes throbbing with life from her warm and
sympathetic heart. She DOES rot set about
coldly and calmly to study part intellectually,
but attempts to raatizo tho poets or drama-
lists creation in her own person. thus giving
it life and action. She reads play or a poem
until her mind becomes deeply inabued with the
sentiments Of the author, aud then. trusting to
that inspiration which iB always born OF l. lofty
ideal, lnterprets the plny or tho poem according
to the revelation Of tho moment when she stands
face to face with her audience. Undoubtedly
this method has it's disadvantages, for the rev
elaton may bo refused entirely, or hcr mood
may at times be not an exalted one, and thon tho
Interpretation will lack fire. yignr, and fresh-
ness; but more often out OF the heat Of
her Excitement sue will forge d thunderbolt Of
eioquenca that viii nwo the spectators like somo OF
tho outbursts of the old prophets. Her method Is
the rich, varied. end horid soag Of tho Trouha-
dour as contrasted With the polished perfection
rf n,,3 f>ri1io 1,e{ r