"I had supper last night at New College after the affair. A—— was there, and I had it out with him—to the delight of all.
"'Too much decoration,' etc., etc.
"I asked him what there was in 'Faust' in the matter of appointments, etc., that he would like left out?'
"Answer: Nothing.
"'Too long runs.'
"'You, sir, are a poet,' I said. 'Perhaps it may be my privilege some day to produce a play of yours. Would you like it to have a long run or a short one?' (Roars of laughter.)
"Answer: 'Well—er—well, of course, Mr. Irving, you—well—well, a short run, of course for art, but—'
"'Now, sir, you're on oath,' said I. 'Suppose that the fees were rolling in £10 and more a night—would you rather the play were a failure or a success?'
"'Well, well, as you put it—I must say—er—I would rather my play had a long run!'
"A—— floored!
"He has all his life been writing articles running down good work and crying up the impossible, and I was glad to show him up a bit!
"The Vice-Chancellor made a most lovely speech after the address—an eloquent and splendid tribute to the stage.
"[Bourchier] presented the address of the 'Undergrads.' I never saw a young man in a greater funk—because, I suppose, he had imitated me so often!
"From the address:
"'We have watched with keen and enthusiastic interest the fine intellectual quality of all these representations from Hamlet to Mephistopheles with which you have enriched the contemporary stage. To your influence we owe deeper knowledge and more reverent study of the master mind of Shakespeare.'
"All very nice indeed!"
I never cared much for Henry's Mephistopheles—a twopence colored part, anyway. Of course he had his moments—he had them in every part—but they were few. One of them was in the Prologue, when he wrote in the student's book, "Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil." He never looked at the book, and the nature of the spirit appeared suddenly in a most uncanny fashion. Another was in the Spinning-wheel Scene when Faust defies Mephistopheles, and he silences him with, "I am a spirit." Henry looked to grow a gigantic height—to hover over the ground instead of walking on it. It was terrifying.
I made valiant efforts to learn to spin before I played Margaret. My instructor was Mr. [Albert Fleming], who, at the suggestion of [Ruskin], had recently revived hand-spinning and hand-weaving in the North of England. I had always hated that obviously "property" spinning-wheel in the opera, and Margaret's unmarketable thread. My thread always broke, and at last I had to "fake" my spinning to a certain extent; but at least I worked my wheel right, and gave an impression that I could spin my pound of thread a day with the best.
ELLEN TERRY AS MARGARET IN "FAUST"
Two operatic stars did me the honor to copy my Margaret dress—Madame [Albani] and Madame [Melba]. It was rather odd, by the way, that many mothers who took their daughters to see the opera of "Faust" would not bring them to see the Lyceum play. One of these mothers was [Princess Mary of Teck], a constant patron of most of our plays.
Other people "missed the music." The popularity of an opera will often kill a play, although the play may have existed before the music was ever thought of. The Lyceum "Faust" held its own against Gounod. I liked our incidental music to the action much better. It was taken from many different sources and welded into an effective and beautiful whole by our clever musical director, Mr. [Meredith Ball].
In many ways "Faust" was our heaviest production. About four hundred ropes were used, each rope with a name. The list of properties and instructions to the carpenters became a joke among the theater staff. When Henry first took "Faust" into the provinces, the head carpenter at Liverpool, Myers by name, being something of a humorist, copied out the list on a long thin sheet of paper, which rolled up like a royal proclamation. Instead of "God save the Queen!" he wrote at the foot, with many flourishes: "God help Bill Myers!"
The crowded houses at "Faust" were largely composed of "repeaters," as Americans call those charming playgoers who come to see a play again and again. We found favor with the artists and musicians too, even in Faust! Here is a nice letter I got during the run (it was a long one) from that gifted singer and good woman, Madame [Antoinette Sterling]:—
"My dear Miss Terry,—
"I was quite as disappointed as yourself that you were not at St. James's Hall last Monday for my concert.... [Jean Ingelow] said she enjoyed the afternoon very much....
"I wonder if you would like to come to luncheon some day and have a little chat with her? But perhaps you already know her. I love her dearly. She has one fault—she never goes to the theater. Oh my! What she misses, poor thing, poor thing! We have already seen 'Faust' twice, and are going again soon, and shall take the [George Macdonalds] this time. The [Holman Hunts] were delighted. He is one of the most interesting and clever men I have ever met, and she is very charming and clever too. How beautifully plain you write! Give me the recipe.