The house was packed; in one box was the Lord Chief Justice of England, in the stalls below him Sir Edward Clarke, at one time Solicitor-General, and who has perhaps the largest practice at the Bar of any one in London. Then there was Mr. Kendal not far off, watching his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Beerbohm Tree’s daughter—showing a strong resemblance to both parents—was in a box; Princess Colonna was likewise there; together with some of the most celebrated doctors, such as Sir Felix Semon, learned in diseases of the throat, Sir Anderson Critchett, our host of a few nights before, while right in the front sat old Mrs. Beerbohm, watching her son with keen interest and enjoyment, and, a little behind, that actor’s clever brother, known on an important weekly as “Max,” a severe and caustic dramatic critic.
The enthusiasm of the audience was extraordinary. When some one had called for the feminine “stars” at one of the rehearsals, Mrs. Kendal, with ready wit, seized Ellen Terry by the hand, exclaiming:
“Ancient Lights would be more appropriate, methinks!”
Sir John Falstaff Mr. TREE Master Fenton Mr. GERALD LAWRENCE Justice Shallow Mr. J. FISHER WHITE Master Slender (_Cousin to Shallow_) Mr. CHARLES QUARTERMAIN Master Ford } _Gentlemen dwelling at_ { Mr. OSCAR ASCHE Master Page } _Windsor_ { Mr. F. PERCIVAL STEVENS Sir Hugh Evans (_a Welsh Parson_) Mr. COURTICE POUNDS Dr. Caius (_a French Physician_) Mr. HENRY KEMBLE Host of the “Garter” Inn Mr. LIONEL BROUGH Bardolph } { Mr. ALLEN THOMAS Nym } _Followers of Falstaff_ { Mr. S. A. COOKSON Pistol } { Mr. JULIAN L’ESTRANGE Robin (_Page to Falstaff_) Master VIVYAN THOMAS Simple (_Servant to Slender_) Mr. O. B. CLARENCE Rugby (_Servant to Dr. Caius_) Mr. FRANK STANMORE Mistress Page Miss ELLEN TERRY (By the Courtesy of Sir HENRY IRVING) Mistress Anne Page (_Daughter to Mrs. Page_) Mrs. TREE Mistress Quickly (_Servant to Dr. Caius_) Miss ZEFFIE TILBURY Mistress Ford Mrs. KENDAL (By the Courtesy of Mr. W. H. KENDAL)
_The Merry Wives of Windsor_ is a comedy, but it was played on the first night as a comedy of comedies, every one, including Lionel Brough as the Innkeeper, being delightfully jovial. Every one seemed in the highest spirits, and all those sedate actors and actresses thoroughly enjoyed a romp. When the two ladies of the evening appeared on the scene hand in hand, convulsed with laughter, they were clapped so enthusiastically that it really seemed as if they would never be allowed to begin.