p. 112

336.
ton Hill ; Bocharis (high priest) Mr. W. M.
Ward ; Memroud Mr. Mason ; Jepthtele (be-
trothed to Azael) Miss Anderton ; Nefte
Mrs. W. M. Ward ; Lia (a dancer of the tem-
ple of licentious manners) Miss Waldegrave.
Dancing almees by a large corps de ballet.
This music was Auber's with selections by
the London composers and arranged by Mr.
C. H. Mueller the leader of the orchestra.

The characters in this drama few and sim-
ple as the Scriptural recitals sweetly drawn
and colored in the sacred volume afforded
opportunities of excellent acting to Mr. Gil-
bert and to Mr. Taylor. The former was
often pathetically sublime while wandering
in the streets of Memphis calling in despair
for his lost son. These were affecting pas-
sages of pathos that would have done honor to
any actor of any day. Mr. Taylor looked the
part of Azael to a charm but his style was too
artificial. If he had imbued it with more
simplicity the true essence of the character
it would have been more agreeable to the in-
tellectual. He is however a clever perform-
er. They often played with "Azael" the new
farce of "Ladies Beware"--Col. Vevasour
Mr. Charles Barton Hill ; Lady Beauchamp
Mrs. Gilbert ; Grace Peabody Mrs. W. H.
Smith.

This lady Mrs. William Henry Smith was
formerly Miss Sally Riddle of Philadelphia
and a sister of Miss Eliza Riddle a great fa-
vorite of the Arch Street Theatre audience in
W. Forrest and Duffy's managerial days.
The Riddle family were all theatrical and
natives of our city. The mother of William
Riddle the actor and of the Misses Sally
Eliza and Cordelia riddle made her debut at
the Walnut street stage in the days of Beau-
mont Dwyer and McKenzie in 1812-'13 etc.
The father was a bookbinder.

Mrs. W. H. Smith is a comic actress of
much merit and was ever a great favorite
with the Boston public where the principal
part of her professional life has been employed.
In the early days of the stage at the West
and South under the reign of Collins &
Jones the drakes and James H. Caldwell
the Riddle family formed a large constituent
part in those primitive corps dramatique. In
their association was also the youthful stock
actor Edwin Forrest and the late Mr. and
Mrs. John Greene. Of Eliza Riddle we have
frequently spoken. We believe she has re-
tired from the stage entirely since the death
of her husband the late J. M. Field.

Mrs. W. H. Smith who is deemed one of
the best of American actresses made her first
appearance on the stage at the Walnut Street
Theatre in 1823 in the juvenile part of Charles
Mortimer in "Laugh When You Can" and
at the old Chatham Garden Theatre New
York as Virginia in "Virginius" in 1827.
She still follows the profession.

Mrs. W. H. Smith's variety of talent always
rendered her a great favorite of the West and
indeed wherever she appeared throughout our
country. "From grave to gay" from Little
Pickle with song and hornpipe to the fine lady
of comedy in juvenile pathos or the spasmo-
die throes of melo-drama Sally Riddle was
found to be a lovable domestic actress.

Her marriage with W. Henry Smith (his
real name being Sedley) was not a happy one
and as all the world knows ended in her se-
parating from him. Smith was an English-
man of very handsome abilities and fine per-

sonal appearance. He was brought out to this
country by Mr. Joseph Cowell when he first
altered the old Walnut Street Circus into a
theatre in 1827 where Smith made his first
appearance in America as Lothair in "Adel-
githa" and Jeremy Diddler in the June of
that year. With all his abuses of person and
reputation he still lives and still remains (a
we learn) the popular favorite of the Boston-
ians. As late as 1852 and long subsequently
he managed Kimball's Boston Museum. He
was a fixture in that institution and may be
there yet for aught we know if alive and if
dead it may be his mausoleum and he en-
shrined in the affections of the people of the
"American Athens" who it would seem
never desert their old stage favorites as is
shown by many instances we could enume-
rate. Mr. Smith was truly a very versatile
and excellent performer and Mrs. Smith no
less so. Had harmony and love blessed their
union with their united talents and personal
charms they might have been envied as "For-
tune's favorites." The lady's conduct has
ever been exemplary and irreproachable as
wife and mother.

All the Riddles were small and sylph-like in
figure and handsome of feature having the
amiable and interesting expression of the
blondes. In their age they seem to incline to
obesity of figure. Cordelia Riddle the young-
est of this family early married a wealthy
gentleman of the old Bay State and retired
from the profession but is now a widow. She
has a large flashing black eye dark hair and
rather the aspect of the brunette not much
resembling in expression her sisters.

Mr. Harry Wallack after many years' ab-
sence from our boards returned from London
with this drama of renown which had made
quite a European sensation to produce it here.
He brought all the models of the scenic appa-
ratus even to drawings and the coloring of
the scenes. This was of great assistance to the
artists machinists &c. The painters were
Mr. Parker (also the low comedian) and P.
Grain Sr. One scene was really strikingly
beautiful. It was an Egyptian temple or
mausoleum composed of a red-colored mar-
ble in the desert in an ocean of sand shaded
by two or three lone palm trees. It was truly
an oasis in Sahara.

Mr. H. Wallack came out in 1851 with
great hopes of this piece producing a sensa-
tion if well got up. The other theatres in
New York and here had completed their ar-
rangements for the season of 1851-'52 so that
he would be obliged for a time to await an
opportunity of producing this drama. The
Chesnut Street being about to open under new
auspices made arrangements with him to pro-
duce it at the opening of the season with every
advantage of getting up in all the departments
of spectacular representations. The company
was talented in stock resources composed
chiefly of regularly established performers.
Amongst them were to be found Messrs. Fre-
dericks Taylor (a popular native actor)
Charles Hill J. G. Gilbert (whose abilities
are sterling) Barton Hill Mr. Dawson W.
M. Ward N. Davenport Scharf (a low co-
median of reputation) Bradley Stone Mason
Briggs Parker (actor and scene-painter) and
others. The Ladies were Miss Anderton Mes-
dames H. P. Grattan John Gilbert W. H.
Smith Barton Hill Stone Miss Parker Miss

Waldegrave and others who joined after the
theatre had opened. With a corps so effective
and Wallack himself au fait in stage directions
having no superior with us in melo-dramatic
arrangements that this clever production
should have proved so abortive was the more
strange. It broke poor Wallack's heart. He
did not play in the piece. He returned soon
after to London a poorer man than he came
with a heart more sad than it ever was when
he crossed the great Atlantic. He had crossed
it about eight times. He was now approach-
ing the "sere and yellow leaf." His hair
once black and curly was now white as snow.
He looked well and hearty and reminded us
of the picture of "The Old English Gentle-
man." If he was a handsome young man on
the obverse he is a handsome old man if alive
being now seventy-two.

"Azael" was repeated three or four nights
without the least sign of attraction. All ad-
mitted its excellence as a drama its unsur-
passed mode of rich and gorgeous production
and that it was very well acted ; yet at the
very commencement of the season after a
long vacation it was probably one of the most
dead failures on record. The cause could not
be divined. Old Chesnut Street Theatre
seemed a doomed temple. After the dissolu-
tion of its ancient management it did well for
about seven years during the early part of
Maywood & Co.'s management but that was
owing to a grand series of stars that visited
our shores from abroad about that period be-
ginning with that flood ; and then Maywood
retired. He became a wanderer and went to
England whence he returned for the last time
in 1856 broken in heart and fortune (on dit a
maniac;) and died on Thursday November
27th, 1856 at Troy New York.

August 20th "Azael" with the farce of a
"Kiss in the Dark"--Selim Pettibone Mr.
Dawson ; Mr. Fathom Barton Hill ; Mrs.
Pettibone Mrs. H. P. Grattan.

September 3d he comedy of "The Poor
Gentleman." To show the forte of the com-
pany we give the cast : Sir Robert Bramble
Mr. Gilbert ; Frederick Bramble Mr. Daw-
son ; Sir Charles Cropland Stone ; Dr. Olla-
pod Mr. Scharf (from the New York thea-
tres) Lieutenant Worthington W. M. Ward ;
Humphrey Dobbins Barton Hill ; Corporal
Foss Harry Wallack (first appearance in
many years ;) Emily Worthington Miss An-
derton ; The Hon. Miss McTab Mrs. Gilbert.
A pas comique by Mons. W. H. Evin with
the petite comedy of "40 and 50"--Mr. Lilly-
white Mr. Gilbert ; Altamont Fitzwhite Mr.
Briggs ; Clementina Mrs. Barton Hill.

Sptember 4th Sheridan's comedy of "The
Rivals"--Sir Anthony Absolute Mr. Gilbert ;
Faulkland W. Ward ; Sir Lucius O'Trigger
Charles Hill ; Bob Acres Mr. Dawson ; Capt.
Absolute Barton Hill ; Julia Mrs. W. M.
Ward ; Lydia Languish Miss Anderton ;
Mrs. Malaprop Mrs. Gilbert. A Pas Seul
comic by Monsieur Evain. With the farce of
"Uncle John"--Uncle John Mr. Gilbert.

September 5th "The Serious Family"--
Aminidab Sleek Mr. John Gilbert ; Captain
Murphy Maguire Mr. Dawson ; Charles
Torreus Barton Hill ; Lady Sowerby Mrs.
John Gilbert ; Mrs. Charles Torrens Miss
Anderton ; Widow Delmain Mrs. W. H. Smith.