Page 88 - Hamlet: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

S T A G E - H I S T O R Y kxxi

accused, again, of overacting in the soliloquy, 'O, what
a rogue and peasant slave am I!' but Davies thought him
unmatched in it. 'His self-expostulations, and upbraid-
ings of cowardice and pusillanimity, were strongly
pointed, and blended with marks of contemptuous in-
dignation; the description of his uncle held up, at once,
a portrait of horror and derision. When he closed his
strong paintings with the epithet, kindless villain! a tear
of anguish gave a most pathetic softness to the whole
passionate ebullition.' The advice to the players he
spoke well, but more like a stage-manager than a
Prince.
Garrick's best Ophelia was Mrs Cibber. As she
warmed to the part, she dropped her 'chanting' mode of
speech, and she preserved favour and prettiness through
all her grief and terror. Mrs Smith (whom Lichtenberg
saw and admired) was also very pathetic in the part, and
sang the songs beautifully (as, no doubt, did Susannah
Cibber also). Mrs Clive was not so good, nor was Mrs
Abington. Of the Queens none could touch Mrs
Pritchard, who, indeed, was the only great actress of the
time with the sense to see the worth of the part and the
industry to study it; She had a way, at'Do you see
nothing there?' of turning her head slowly with a glare
in her eye that made her audience tremble. The best
Polonius was Baddeley, who played the part, like the
others, as low comedy, but was not 'nauseously ridicu-
lous.' Garrick's attempt to rescue Polonius from de-
gradation failed. He persuaded Woodward to dress the
part richly and to act it seriously; but Woodward made
little of it and the audience nothing. Packer had decent
merit as Horatio, but the part was always 'kept down'
so as not to get in the way of Hamlet. Of Kings (another
part despised by the players of the time) Jefferson took
the palm, and after him Sparks (was it he whom Part-
ridge in Tom Jones thought the best player in the cast
because 'he speaks all his words distinctly, half as loud