| 300 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
I now proceed to notice that one of these three dramas which I
conceive to be the next in the chronological order of its composition. It is a full opera
in three acts, without title, but in all other respects complete in all its parts—even, it
may be said, to the music of its numerous songs and concerted pieces, which are expressly
written to melodies by the most popular Italian composers of the day and of that preceding
it—Cimarosa, Portogallo, Paessiello, Guglielmi, &c. It belongs to the class of drama of
which the “Midsummer Night’s
Dream” may be described as the head and origin; with this qualification,
however, that it is in all senses of the term an opera; and although in affluence of poetic
beauty, and in depth and breadth of comic humour, the “Midsummer
Night’s Dream” excels this opera, as it does
| AND THOMAS SHERIDAN. | 301 |
The scenes of this opera are laid at the Court of King Arthur, at Carlisle, and in the adjoining forest; and its principal male personages are two Knights of the Round Table, who have preceded Arthur on his return from the wars with the Saxons, where his arms have been triumphant.
Perhaps I cannot more briefly convey to the reader an intelligible notion of the nature and objects of this piece, and the characters delineated in it, than by copying the catalogue raisonnée of its dramatis personæ, as given in the first page of the MS.
| 302 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
The working out of the plot, which is full of dramatic interest, is effected
chiefly by the agency of the Fairies, Oberon, Mab, and their troop—who, of course, befriend the
| AND THOMAS SHERIDAN. | 303 |
All the characters in this drama are discriminated with truth and delicacy;
indeed, with infinitely more of these qualities than is usually thought necessary to works
of this nature; so that there would really be little or no exaggeration in predicating of
its dialogue throughout what there was gross exaggeration in
predicating of writings so subtle and profound as those of Shakspeare—namely, that the speeches might in every case be assigned to
their owners respectively, in the absence of the usual prefix of their names. The habitual
melancholy and misgiving of the noble and delicate-minded Sir
Edwin—first under the impression that the
| 304 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
The other characters, though all of a secondary order, are every one of them
discriminated with corresponding truth and individuality; and in the comic characters of
the piece there occur numerous touches that at once indicate the hand of Sheridan. For instance—who but he—who of that day, I
mean—could have put what follows into the mouth of an impudent and self-sufficient
serving-man, whose malicious temper makes him more than half pleased at the transformation
of his late handsome master into a lump of personal deformity. After the magical change has
taken place, the two are
| AND THOMAS SHERIDAN. | 305 |
“I’ve heard folks stirring in the castle this half-hour,” cries the Esquire; “and see—the sun beginning to rise behind the summit of your honour’s back!”
Again, the same person, after vapouring to himself about his valour in the field and his conquests over the fair, suddenly stops short with—“But stay, I think I’m taking myself for my master.”
Again, the old, muddle-headed steward, who knew of no merit in nature but that of “being in time,” on witnessing the dénouement of the exchanged Knights and exchanged letters, candidly admits that he can neither make head nor tail of it all. “Here’s one letter,” he says, “and that’s not it; and another, and that is it; and a man who is not the man he seems, and another who seems him, but is himself;—in short, I’m only glad we were ready in time.”
That portion of the opera which is written
| 306 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
|
Enter Oberon, Mab, and a train of Fairies.
Welcome, sweet Mab! yon moon, whose silver beam
Glides on the lake, proclaims the hour of revel.
Ten thousand glow-worms light us to our games,
And, ling’ring from the day, the dewy grass
Retains its fragrance. Hither fays and elves,
And sprites that throughout daylight hang aloof,
To gambol mortal man, our feast prepare,
And give us music.
After Oberon’s speech, each Fairy sings, and is
joined by others in chorus, and all dance round.
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| AND THOMAS SHERIDAN. | 307 |
|
SONG.
Come every elf and every fay
And every wandering sprite,
* the day,
Yet merry comes the night.
Chorus.
Whilst we press the dewy grass,
Whilst we quaff the acorn glass,
Fairy circlets whilst we dance,
Let no mortal step advance.
First Fairy.
If through the morn some lucky prank
Our elfin tribe attains,
Our king is sure at night to thank
And pay him for his pains.
Chorus.
Whilst we press, &c.
Second Fairy.
If cross the housewife and unkind,
We sour her butter, too;
But still the pretty maid shall find
A tester in her shoe.
Chorus.
Whilst we press, &c.
Second Fairy.
The lazy lout, of form uncouth,
With head-ache sore we trim;
But mirth shall crown the jolly youth,
And sparkle on his brim.
Chorus.
Whilst we press, &c.
|
|
* So left in original MS. |
| 308 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
|
First Fairy.
We plunge below, we flutter high,
Till ’minished to a speck,
And round their welkin quick we fly,
Obedient to thy beck.
Oberon.
Silence!—break we off!
I hear th’ encroaching step of man. I’ll strait
Arraign him, and, if aught of fraud appear,
My dainty elves shall dextrously torment him.
Sweet Mab, retire.
Mab.
Nay—prithee let me stay.
I fain would see the sports, and view th’ intruder.
Oberon.
O woman, woman! Curious, vain, and changing!
I know thee well. I’ve oft observed thee, Mab,
In merry Carlisle, at King Arthur’s jousts,
Guiding the spear of many a comely knight.
Mab.
Yes, fickle Oberon, I’ve marked thee too,
When wont to hie thee to King Arthur’s court—
To hover in the presence of his Queen—
Curling in wanton ringlets and devices
Fresh-woven garlands for her ivory brow,” &c.
|
In point of what are technically called “incident” and
“situation,” those indispensable requirements of the modern acting drama, this
opera is at least as strongly marked as it is in character and general con-
| AND THOMAS SHERIDAN. | 309 |
| 310 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
Under these circumstances it is that the combat takes place, after the fashion of the time, and in the presence of the whole Court and people, the Lady Editha occupying the sovereign seat, in the absence of her royal kinsman.
The combat proceeds until it is evidently on the point of being terminated
by the discomfiture and death of the deformed Knight—still, of course, supposed to be
Edwin. At
| AND THOMAS SHERIDAN. | 311 |
The moral elements and results of this noble situation; the love of woman,
virtuously fixed, and, therefore, victorious over all other considerations; the triumphant
happiness of the lover, assured of his love’s requital, in spite of (seeming)
discomfiture, disgrace, and personal deformity; the exposure, defeat, and punishment of
baseness; and, finally, the surprise and joy of the assembled multitude, of whom the
Lady Editha is the pride and idol;—all these
accumulate round this dénouement an amount of
passionate interest that lifts it into high poetry, without removing it from that
| 312 | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. |
The half-fabulous times in which the scenes of this beautiful drama are laid; the romantic character of its incidents; the popular machinery by which the plot is worked out; the remarkable skill and dramatic tact displayed in its construction; and the singular scope that is afforded for the introduction of scenic and artistic effects; place this opera above anything else of its kind that I am acquainted with, as regards its capabilities for stage representation.
Finally,—the cast of the characters, as affixed to the list of dramatis personæ, in Sheridan’s own handwriting (including all the most popular performers of the day), and the elaborate stage directions, all in Sheridan’s hand, which occur at intervals, prove, beyond question, that the drama was on the point of being put upon the stage shortly before that period when Sheridan’s connexion with Drury Lane finally ceased—namely, the burning down of the theatre in 1809.
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