. Fifty years of an actor's life. erseverance and a little coinaccomplishes wonders, and I soon found myself takingpart in a series of performances given by the club(I think we called ourselves the Garrick) at PymsTheatre, Grays Inn Lane. The manager, who wassaid to be by day a clerk in the Bank of England, bynight was proprietor, manager, carpenter, and property-man of the private theatre in Gough Street. He wasa tall fellow with protrusive and pendulous gills, abulbous and bibulous nose, a watery blue eye, andan insatiable and devouring thirst. What with hisunchanging suit of rusty black and
. Fifty years of an actor's life. erseverance and a little coinaccomplishes wonders, and I soon found myself takingpart in a series of performances given by the club(I think we called ourselves the Garrick) at PymsTheatre, Grays Inn Lane. The manager, who wassaid to be by day a clerk in the Bank of England, bynight was proprietor, manager, carpenter, and property-man of the private theatre in Gough Street. He wasa tall fellow with protrusive and pendulous gills, abulbous and bibulous nose, a watery blue eye, andan insatiable and devouring thirst. What with hisunchanging suit of rusty black and his white choker,he looked a clerical replica of Bardolph. My first part was Francesco Foscari, in Miss Mitfordstragedy of Foscari ; my next, Hamlet (of course !) ; MilesBertram, in The Wreck Ashore^ and the Duke Aranzain The Honeymoon^ in which, to our astonishment, ourcharming leading lady refused the part of Juliana, andinsisted on enacting the secondary character, astonishment, however, gave way to admiration when. Fromji portrait by Jones. CHARLES JAMES MATHEWS. Life in London 105 she came forth in male attire. Truly she was Jovesown page. Evidently she knew it. That was her lastappearance on the stage. The Rolando of the night—a gentleman in an important mercantile position—losthis too susceptible heart to the fair Zamora and herbeautiful legs, and they were married a month afterwards,and retired into private life, much to my indignation,as she had promised to play for my benefit in Buckstonesdrama of The Bear Hunters, founded upon one ofColley Grattans novels. In the last scene of this play I introduced an effectnever contemplated by the author. I had to strangle thevillain ; unfortunately, I had cut the web of my thumbbadly a week before, and when I took my enemy by thethroat, the wound burst out afresh, deluging the wretchedEstevan with blood. The audience thought this a finerealistic effect, and applauded accordingly. It was realisticwith a vengeance,
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