Lyceum, 1882: "There was a star danced, and under that I was born."

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In October 1883 the whole company sailed for New York, leaving a great gap in the English theatrical world. I wonder if they quite realised how much they would be missed? I have always found it difficult to make popular actors understand how fervently they are loved, and of what value their presence is to those who love them.

CHAPTER XIII

AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE—1884-1901

In 1884, flushed with their triumphant American victories, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, and their faithful followers returned to the Lyceum. They commenced operations with a reproduction of "Much Ado about Nothing," but this soon gave way to a long promised revival of "Twelfth Night." This had given rise to many pleasant expectations. It was confidently thought that the character of Malvolio would fit Irving like a glove, and it was certain that in Ellen Terry we should find the sweetest of Violas.

In the usual beautiful, tasteful, and costly style attendant upon a Lyceum production, the piece was staged on July 8, and why it failed to please the audience is a mystery that remains unsolved. It is ridiculous to plead that it was a very hot night, and that the packed house, through being uncomfortably warm, became unruly and offensive. We expect hot weather in July, and those who object to the interior of a theatre under such conditions generally stay away. Probably, if there is any explanation of the matter beyond the blatant vulgarity of a disreputable gang of foul first-nighters, it is that "Twelfth Night," not having been played for a long time in London, was as Greek to the ignorant in the house, and was not understood. Be all this as it may, so much low behaviour greeted the actor-manager on the fall of the curtain that he sharply rebuked the coarse-minded malcontents, saying, "I can't understand how a company of earnest comedians and admirable actors, having these three cardinal virtues of actors—being sober, clean, and perfect—and having exercised their abilities on one of the most difficult of plays, can have given any cause for dissatisfaction."