"Their Majesties' Servants." Annals of the English Stage (Volume 1 of 3)Doran, Dr. (John)
History
"Their Majesties' Servants." Annals of the English Stage (Volume 1 of 3)
Doran, Dr. (John)
Actors -- Great Britain; Theater -- Great Britain -- History
[Illustration: (Michael Mohun.)]
Such is the brief record of a great actor, one who before our civil
jars was a young player, during the civil wars was a good soldier,
and in the last years of Charles II. was an old and a great actor
still. Of the other original members of the Theatre Royal, there is
not much to be said. Wintershell, who died in 1679, merits, however,
a word. He was distinguished, whether wearing the sock or the buskin,
majestic in loftily-toned kings, and absurd in sillily-amorous
knights. Downes has praised him as superior to Nokes, in at least one
part, and his Slender has won eulogy from so stern a critic as Dennis.
Among the men who subsequently joined the Theatre Royal, there were
some good actors, and a few great rogues. Of these, the best actor
and the greatest rogue was Cardell Goodman, or _Scum_ Goodman, as he
was designated by his enemies. His career on the stage lasted from
1677, as Polyperchon, in Lee's "Rival Queens," to 1688. His most
popular parts were Julius Cæsar and Alexander. He came to the theatre
hot from a fray at Cambridge University, whence he had been expelled
for cutting and slashing the portrait of that exemplary Chancellor,
the Duke of Monmouth.
This rogue's salary must have been small, for he and Griffin shared
the same bed in their modest lodging, and having but one shirt
between them, wore it each in his turn. The only dissension which
ever occurred between them was caused by Goodman, who, having to
pay a visit to a lady, clapped on the shirt when it was clean, and
Griffin's day for wearing it!
For restricted means, however, every gentleman of spirit, in those
days, had a resource, if he chose to avail himself of it. The
resource was the road, and Cardell Goodman took to it with alacrity.
But he came to grief, and found himself with gyves on in Newgate;
yet he escaped the cart, the rope, and Tyburn. King James gave "his
Majesty's servant" his life, and Cardell returned to the stage--a
hero.
A middle-aged duchess, fond of heroes, adopted him as a lover,
and Cardell Goodman had fine quarters, rich feeding, and a dainty
wardrobe, all at the cost of his mistress, the ex-favourite of a
king, Barbara, the Duchess of Cleveland. Scum Goodman was proud of
his splendid degradation, and paid such homage to "_my_ duchess," as
the impudent fellow called her, that when he expected her presence
in the theatre, he would not go on the stage, though king and queen
were kept waiting, till he heard that "his duchess" was in the house.
For her he played the mad scene in Alexander with double vigour, and
cared for no other applause so long as her Grace's fan signalled
approbation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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