| Characters. | Plays. |
|---|---|
| 1782–3. | |
| Isabella | Fatal Marriage |
| Euphrasia | Grecian Daughter |
| Jane Shore | Jane Shore |
| Calista | Fair Penitent |
| *Belvidera | Venice Preserved |
| *Zara | Mourning Bride |
| 1783–4. | |
| Isabella | Measure for Measure |
| Mrs. Beverley | Gamester |
| Constance | King John |
| *Lady Randolph | Douglas |
| Countess of Salisbury | Countess of Salisbury (Hartson.) |
| *Sigismunda | Tancred and Sigismunda |
| 1784–5. | |
| Margaret of Anjou | Earl of Warwick (Franklin.) |
| Zara | Zara (from Voltaire.) |
| Matilda | Carmelite (Cumberland.) |
| Camiola | Maid of Honour |
| *Lady Macbeth | Macbeth |
| Desdemona | Othello |
| Elfrida | Elfrida (Mason.) |
| Rosalind | As you like it |
| 1785–6. | |
| The Duchess | Duke of Braganza (Jephson.) |
| Mrs. Lovemore | Way to keep Him |
| *Hermione | Distressed Mother |
| *Ophelia, and the Lady in Comus | |
| Malvina | The Captives (Delap.) |
| Elwina | Percy (Miss H. More.) |
| 1786–7. | |
| Cleone | Cleone (Dodsley.) |
| Imogen | Cymbeline |
| Hortensia | Count of Narbonne (Jephson.) |
| †Lady Restless | All in the Wrong |
| Julia | Italian Lovers (Jephson.) |
| Alicia | Jane Shore |
| 1787–8. | |
| Cordelia | Lear |
| Cleonice | Fall of Sparta (Mrs. Cowley.) |
| †Katherine | Taming the Shrew |
| Dionara | Regent (Greatheed.) |
| *Cleopatra | All for Love |
| 1788–9. | |
| Queen Katherine | Henry VIII. |
| Volumnia | Coriolanus |
| *The Princess and Mrs. Riot | Law of Lombardy (Jephson.) Lethe (Farce. Garrick.) |
| Mary | Mary Queen of Scots (St. John.) |
| *Juliet | Romeo and Juliet |
| 1791–2. | |
| Queen Elizabeth | Richard III. |
| Mrs. Oakley | Jealous Wife |
| 1792–3. | |
| Ariadne | Ariadne (Murphy.) |
| 1793–4. | |
| Countess Orsini | Emilia Galotti (from Lessing.) |
| 1794–5. | |
| Horatia | Roman Father (Whitehead.) |
| Elvira | Edwyn and Elgiva (Miss Burney.) |
| Palmira | Mahomet (from Voltaire.) |
| Emmeline | Edgar and Emmeline (Afterpiece.) |
| 1795–6. | |
| Roxana | Alexander the Great (Lee.) |
| Almeyda | Queen of Granada (Miss Lee.) |
| Julia | Such Things were (Prince Hoare.) |
| 1796–7. | |
| Eleanora | Edwin and Eleonora (Thomson.) |
| Vitellia | Conspiracy (Jephson.) |
| Millwood | George Barnwell |
| Athenais | Force of Love (Lee.) |
| Aspasia | Tamerlane (Rowe.) |
| Dido | Queen of Carthage (Reed.) |
| Agnes | Fatal Curiosity |
| 1797–8. | |
| Julia | Rivals |
| Mrs. Haller | Stranger |
| 1798–9. | |
| Miranda | Aurelio and Miranda (Boaden.) |
| Countess | Castle of Montval (Dr. Whalley.) |
| Elvira | Pizarro |
| 1799–1800. | |
| Adelaide | Adelaide (Pye.) |
| Lady Jane | De Montfort |
| 1800–1. | |
| Helena | Antonio (Godwin.) |
| Agnes | Julian and Agnes (Sotheby.) |
| 1802. | |
| Hermione | Winter’s Tale |
Of Mrs. Siddons’s private life it is not necessary for us to speak at length. She had a full share of domestic troubles; and suffered the most poignant sorrow which could have befallen her affectionate temper, in the successive deaths of two lovely daughters in the prime of youth, and of her eldest son at a more advanced age. Nor was she exempted by her brilliant success and large gains from great anxiety upon pecuniary matters, and from the necessity of diligent labour at times when rest would have been most grateful to a distressed spirit, and a body weakened by frequent indisposition. And she made it her boast that she had never wilfully disappointed either a manager or the public; and that in point of punctuality, she had always been an honest actress. But Mr. Siddons lost money in some unfortunate speculations; and this, combined with the extreme difficulty of extracting from Sheridan her salary, or even the proceeds of her benefits, kept Mrs. Siddons poor for many years. It is however gratifying to know that the evening of her life was spent in affluence.
In social intercourse Mrs. Siddons commanded the respect of all, the admiration and love of those who knew her intimately. To a constitutional want of animal spirits, and to a fear of that presumptuous intrusion to which actresses are often exposed, we may attribute a gravity, not to say severity of manner, from which distant observers sometimes inferred a corresponding severity of character. That this was not the case, that she was benevolent, cheerful, and affectionately interested in the welfare of all who enjoyed her friendship, is shown by the testimony of many, and by the evidence of her own actions.
To be courted by the rich and noble is not the best proof or reward even of professional merit; and no one ever was less disposed than Mrs. Siddons to act the part of what is called a lion. But it should be mentioned that her acquaintance was eagerly cultivated among the highest of the land; and that she was personally esteemed by George III. and his queen, and often summoned to attend on their private circle. She possessed a still higher honour, and one which she is said to have esteemed more highly, in the admiration and friendship of Johnson, Reynolds, Burke, Fox, and other intellectual ornaments of the age.
After quitting the stage, Mrs. Siddons gave public readings of poetry at the Argyle Rooms, and also, by special invitation from the Universities, at Cambridge and Oxford. At home her readings of Shakspeare were the delight of large and frequent parties, till within a year or two of her death. The latter years of her life were spent, the winter months at her house in London, the summer months at some watering-place, and in visits to her numerous friends. Time laid his touch gently on her noble face and person; and to the end of life she looked some years younger than her age, and preserved her mental powers unimpaired. She died June 8, 1831, in her seventy-sixth year.
We need hardly refer to the Lives of Messrs. Boaden and Campbell. The interest of the latter is much increased by the critical and other writings of Mrs. Siddons, with which it is interspersed.
[Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse, from Sir J. Reynolds.]
Engraved by E. Scriven.
SIR W. HERSCHELL.
From a Crayon Picture by the late J. Russell, Esqre. R.A. in the possession of Sir John Herschell.
Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
London, Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street.