The Gallery of Portraits: with Memoirs. Volume 5 (of 7)Malkin, Arthur Thomas
Religion
The Gallery of Portraits: with Memoirs. Volume 5 (of 7)
Malkin, Arthur Thomas
Biography
Aspasia Tamerlane (_Rowe._)
Dido Queen of Carthage (_Reed._)
Agnes Fatal Curiosity
1797–8.
Julia Rivals
Mrs. Haller Stranger
1798–9.
Miranda Aurelio and Miranda (_Boaden._)
Countess Castle of Montval (_Dr. Whalley._)
Elvira Pizarro
1799–1800.
Adelaide Adelaide (_Pye._)
Lady Jane De Montfort
1800–1.
Helena Antonio (_Godwin._)
Agnes Julian and Agnes (_Sotheby._)
1802.
Hermione Winter’s Tale
Of Mrs. Siddons’s private life it is not necessary for us to speak at
length. She had a full share of domestic troubles; and suffered the most
poignant sorrow which could have befallen her affectionate temper, in
the successive deaths of two lovely daughters in the prime of youth, and
of her eldest son at a more advanced age. Nor was she exempted by her
brilliant success and large gains from great anxiety upon pecuniary
matters, and from the necessity of diligent labour at times when rest
would have been most grateful to a distressed spirit, and a body
weakened by frequent indisposition. And she made it her boast that she
had never wilfully disappointed either a manager or the public; and that
in point of punctuality, she had always been _an honest actress_. But
Mr. Siddons lost money in some unfortunate speculations; and this,
combined with the extreme difficulty of extracting from Sheridan her
salary, or even the proceeds of her benefits, kept Mrs. Siddons poor for
many years. It is however gratifying to know that the evening of her
life was spent in affluence.
In social intercourse Mrs. Siddons commanded the respect of all, the
admiration and love of those who knew her intimately. To a
constitutional want of animal spirits, and to a fear of that
presumptuous intrusion to which actresses are often exposed, we may
attribute a gravity, not to say severity of manner, from which distant
observers sometimes inferred a corresponding severity of character. That
this was not the case, that she was benevolent, cheerful, and
affectionately interested in the welfare of all who enjoyed her
friendship, is shown by the testimony of many, and by the evidence of
her own actions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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