n
he never could recover it by study." Of Kean, if of any actor, we
might have feared that his notices would be tinged with jealousy; but
not only does he render justice to his originality and "burning
energy," but his account of the only evening he ever spent in private
with "this extraordinary man" brings into full relief the charm of his
manners and personal qualities at a time when he was still unspoilt by
flattery and unenfeebled by dissipation. Sketches and criticisms more
or less complete are given of many other great performers, whom, it is
to be remembered, Macready had less opportunity of seeing in a variety
of parts than if he had not himself been a busy member of the
profession. He can censure as well as praise--less warmly, but not
less candidly. His verdict on Ristori, whom he saw after his
retirement, may not improbably appear harsh to her admirers, but we
should recommend them to ponder well before endeavoring to controvert
it.

It would, however, be difficult if not impossible to name a volume of
memoirs in which there is so little dispraise of individuals, such an
absence of what can be characterized as depreciation either in the way
of direct remark or of insinuation. There will be no call for
contradiction of any slurs upon character through perversion of facts
or the repetition of hearsay calumny in its pages. Nor does this seem
to proceed from either a mere distaste for the chatter of gossips or an
unwillingness to wound the feelings of survivors, though both these
traits are discernible enough. The strong and more pervading cause lay
in an instinctive nobility of nature which sought only what was
excellent and had no keen scent for blemishes or meannesses. There are
in his _Diaries_ many bitter reproaches and vehement denunciations, but
they are all directed against his own conduct. Like Orlando, he will
chide no breather in the world but himself, against whom he knows most
faults. He had the defects incidental to a sensitive organization, an
irritable temperament and an aspiring mind. He was apt to suspect
hostility where none existed, and to resent indignities that were never
intended. He confesses on one occasion at least to an unworthy elation
at the inferiority of a rival. Above all, he was unable to curb the
outbreaks of impatience and anger excited by negligence or
stupidity--outbreaks which were often sufficiently amusing to the
bystanders from the contrast between the old-fashioned viole