Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-22
DUST OF THESPIANSI
ACTORS AND ACTRESSES IN WEST
MINISTER ABBEY.
Holy Spot Where Rest the Bones Of
0arrick, Mrs. siddons and Other
Great Players.


| land by reason Of their triumphs upon the
| stage is by no means short one. Quite a
large proportion, moreover OF these have
! found a last resting place somewhere or
other within the precincts of our historic
| Abbey.
This will come surprise to many who
| are perhaps only familiar in this connection
with the well-known and not wholly effect
| I've statue of Garrick which stands in the
| south transept, and possibly that also of the
| famous Mrs. Siddons, which occupies a
| rather less prominent position in the chapel
of st. Andrew. AS a matter of fact, the
greater proportion Of the actors and ac-
| tresse whose names are thus associated with
Westminster Abbey lie within the beautiful
cloisters.
"a Fellow Of Infinite Jest"
AS soon as you have entered through the
west cloister gate you naturally make your
way along what is termed the west walk"
of the great cloisters, and toward the door
leading into the nave OF the church. In
doing this you pass over a nameless grave
of the great comedian, THE Dog" who. ac-
cording to DR.. johnson. was SO very COM
ical-no, sir, he was irresistible" Foote'S
greatest gift lay in mimicry, and 1t was his
delight to please the public by means of an
invitation to chocolate or tea at the Hay
market. when, under the pretense of train
ing pupils for the stage. he and his troupe
would initiate the peculiarities of various
public characters. Not unnaturally such
proceedings did not tend to procure friends
for poor Samuel and he is said to have died
of a broken heart. He was buried in this
place by torchlight on October Il, III.
Instead of making our way straight into
the Abbey we turn along the north walk
of the great cloisters, and here we are pass
ing over historic dust indeed. Spranger
Barry, Garricks great rival, has found
last resting place here, while beside him, In
the same grave, there lies his second wife
and former pupil, Anne Crawford, who In
her own day attained to the highest repu-
tation as a tragedenne. The trial of skill
between the two rival actors seems to. have
mortified Garrick not little; in fact, after
Barry's success as Romeo he proceeded
forthwith to erase that part from his roper
tory. The rivalry between the two was
quantity expressed by set of doggerel
verses which rang through London at one
time:
The town has found ont different ways
4 praise its different Lears;
To Barry it gives loud huzzas,
"A king. aye, every inch king,
Such Barry doth appear;
But Garrick's quite another thing
He's every Inch King Lear
1t must be mentioned however, that when
fortune ceased to shine upon Barry Garrick
lowing to him and his wife salary of
Ell 500, together with certain other privi-
leges.
"Tragedy Died With Her"
But we must pass on to another yet more
famous personality. whose grave Is situated
close to that of Barry and Anne Crawford,
her funeral taking place privately In jan
uary, 1T66:
"'Cibber? Then tragedy has died with her.
Barry and 1 remain, but tragedy Is dead on
one side" Such was Garrick's exclamation
of grief when he first heard the news OF
Mrs. Ctbber's death. 1t is not generally
known that this highly gifted tragedlenne
was a sister of DR.. Arne, so famous In MS
own day as composer of music and, more
over, that she herself was blest with mu-
steal gifts of no mean order. She mace ner
debut at the opera, and she was so great
fayorite of the mighty Handel himself that
he actually wrote the contralto solos In the
Messiah and also the part OF Mlcah IN
Samson" on purpose for her. Susannan
Maria Arne married the ugly and unsatls-
factory son of the celebrated dramatic man.
ager and actor, old Colley Cibber. OF Mrs:
Cibber's portrayal of the part OF Opheiia II
was said that mo eloquence could paint her
distracted look, her fine acting, in the mad
scene" Another part which was played
by her in an even more Fascinating manner
was that Of Constance in King John. me
scream of agony with which she used TO
utter the words 80 Lord, my boy! after
hearing of Arthur's capture. used to ring In
the ears of those who heard 1t for many
day.
are three most interesting graves, those of
Thomas Betterton and his wife, better
known as Bess Saunderson. and the ever
fascinatin Mrs. Bracegirdle. OF all the
people who lie within these hallowed walls
It may safely be said that Betterton has the
best claim of all to this privilege. NO small
measure of praise must be accorded 70 TINS
l..e4 for "a
more than any one else was responsible for
the resuscitation of the English drama after
the stern regime of the Puritans. Mrs.
Bracegirdle was either adopted by Better
| ton or placed under his care, and she very
soon took all hearts in London by storm
She achieved her greatest successes IN act
ing In Congreve's plays. Her artistic career,
however was a comparatively short one.
| for Mrs Bracegirdle retired from the stage
In dudgeon when Anne Oldfeld first became
her dangerous rival. She lived on In honor
able retirement, and beloved by all, nigh
and low. far and near, until the year l74s,
when she was buried here beside her old
friends, the Bettertons.
A Queen of Comedy.
Only one actress has ever been accorded
the privilege of burial within the Abbey
! itself. This, curiously enough was this
| same Anne Oldleld-in spite. moreover, of
the fact that she possessed a reputation by
no means of the highest. She began life as
a humble seamstress. but she very soon rose
TO become the acknowledged queen Of COM
| edy, while her popularity knew no bounds.
On her death in 1870 she not only received
| this unusual privilege, but she was also per-
mtted to lie In state in the Jerusalem
chamber. Her remains in the south
| aisle of the nave hard by the famous Bishop
| Atterbury and his successor at the deanery
| the late dearly loved Dean Bradley. The
monuments to Garrick and Barton Booth
| are in the south transept. or the latter 1t
| can only be stated here that he achieved a
| brilliant though fleeting success by his act
| ing of the ghost in Hamlet" and also in
the part of Cato. He was a Westminster
| boy one of Dr. Busby's pupils. and the two
/ quaint old streets--Cowley street and Bar
| ton street-just to the south of the Abbey,
derive their titles from his surname and the
| place of his burial.
| One word in conclusion about the mighty
| Garrick. The measure of fame which this
really great man attained may be- judged by
1 the fact that his funeral was treated as
| public occasion. All his dramatic predeces-
/ sors had been buried at Westminster by
torchiight. On this occasion the crowds had
4 ~ n, IL br-o 1ofc Tav