ng" reached its climax, I presume, in
the performance of a charming young actress, of whose delivery of
the poetry of Portia it was said in high commendation, by her
admirers, that she gave the blank verse so _naturally_ that it was
impossible to tell that it was not _prose_. What she did with
Shakespeare's _prose_ in the part these judicious critics did not
mention.

Mr. Macready's eye was as sensitive and cultivated as his ear was
the reverse. He had a painter's feeling for color and grouping and
scenic effect; was always picturesque in his appearance, dress,
attitudes, and movements; and all the pieces that were put upon the
stage under his supervision were admirable for the appropriate
harmony of the scenery, decorations, dresses, and whole effect; they
were carefully accurate, and extremely beautiful. "Acis and
Galatea," as produced under his direction, was one of the most
exquisite dramatic spectacles I ever saw, in spite of the despair to
which he reduced the chorus and ballet nymphs by rigorously
forbidding all padding, bustle, crinoline, or other artificial
adjunct to their natural graces, in the severely simple classical
costume of the Greek mythological opera.

Mr. Macready's great parts were Virginius, in Knowles's play of
that name; Werner, in Lord Byron's romantic drama; and Rob Roy, in
the melodrama taken from Scott's novel. These were original
performances, in which nobody has surpassed or equalled him; genuine
artistic creations, which, more than his rendering of Shakespeare's
characters, entitled him to his reputation as a great actor.

He was unpopular in the profession, his temper was irritable, and
his want of consideration for the persons working with him strange
in a man of so many fine qualities. His artistic vanity and
selfishness were unworthy of a gentleman, and rendered him an object
of dislike and dread to those who were compelled to encounter them.

He was quite aware of this himself, for once, when he came to see
me, while the negotiation was pending about my engagement to act
with him, he alluded to his own unpopularity, said he was sure I had
heard all sorts of disagreeable stories about him, but assured me,
laughing, that "the devil was not nearly so black as he was
painted."

It was quite impossible for me to tell Mr. Macready that I h