"Our dear friend, Ellen Terry, in appearing as Lady Macbeth for the first time, has undertaken, as you may suppose, a desperate task, but I think no true lover of art could have witnessed it without being deeply interested, and without a desire to witness it again."
He was right: his and her admirers came over and over again, and "Macbeth" was not withdrawn until June 29, 1889.
In the April of 1889 a very interesting event took place. Having received the royal command, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, and the Lyceum Company appeared before Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and many other members of the Royal Family, at what was for the nonce dubbed the "Theatre Royal, Sandringham." For the occasion the ballroom had been converted into a miniature Lyceum, the proscenium and act-drop of the theatre having been produced on a smaller scale. The following was the programme:—
V.R.
THEATRE ROYAL, SANDRINGHAM.
Royal Entertainment. By command of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, before Her Majesty the Queen.
On Friday Evening, April 26th, 1889.
"THE BELLS."
A drama in three acts from the "Juif Polonais" of MM. Erckmann—Chatrian.