In and About Drury Lane, and Other Papers, Vol. 2 (of 2): Reprinted from the pages of the 'Temple Bar' MagazineDoran, Dr. (John)
History
In and About Drury Lane, and Other Papers, Vol. 2 (of 2): Reprinted from the pages of the 'Temple Bar' Magazine
Doran, Dr. (John)
London (England) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Theater -- England -- London -- Anecdotes
In the gallery of the Abbey, after the repast, the company
assembled, and Lady Hamilton enchanted them with one of her
remarkable personations--that of Agrippina bearing the ashes of
Germanicus in a golden urn, and as presenting herself before the
Roman people with the design of exciting them to revenge the death
of her husband, who, after having been declared joint Emperor
by Tiberius, fell a victim to his envy, and is supposed to have
been poisoned by his order at the head of the forces which he
was leading against the rebellious Arminians ... Lady Hamilton
displayed with truth and energy every gesture, attitude, and
expression of countenance, which could be conceived in Agrippina
herself, best calculated to have roused the passions of the Romans
in behalf of their favourite general. The action of her head,
of her hands and arms, in the various positions of the urn, in
her manner of presenting it to the Romans, or of raising it up
to the gods in the act of supplication, was most classically
graceful. Every change of dress, principally of the head, to suit
the different situations in which she successively presented
herself, was performed instantaneously with the most perfect
ease, and without retiring or scarcely turning aside a moment
from the spectators. In the last scene of this beautiful piece of
pantomime, she appeared with a young lady of the company who was
to personate a daughter. Her action in this part was so perfectly
just and natural, and so pathetically addressed to the spectators
as to draw tears from several of the company.
When the character of the Roman dress is remembered, it is difficult
to believe that the representative of Agrippina was in the condition
noticed by Dr. Pettigrew.
The final separation between Nelson and his wife took place in the
January of 1801. The last scene between the latter is thus described by
a yet living witness, Mr. Haslewood:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account