Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 37.djvu/50

 advantage in a large theatre, he retired from the Drury Lane company at the close of the season, and was seen only once at the Haymarket, 16 Oct. Refusing offers from Elliston, he revisited, in company with Incledon at first and subsequently alone, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Dublin, York, and various other towns. Edinburgh, where he appeared 4 April 1812, received him with enthusiasm, and was counted by him ‘an annuity for the future.’ On 15 May he was again in London, residing at King's Road, Fulham, and reappearing at the Haymarket, playing Bob Acres, Jerry Sneak, Colonel Feignwell, &c., and augmenting his reputation as the original Somno, a servant, in the ‘Sleepwalker’ of Oulton, 15 June. On 12 Oct. he made, as Buskin, what was practically his first appearance at Covent Garden, and played, 20 Nov., his great original character of Flexible in Kenney's ‘Love, Law, and Physic.’

He played Falstaff for the first time, 15 July 1814, at the Haymarket, a curious and not too successful experiment, which, however, was repeated at Covent Garden. A ‘spill’ from a tilbury, in which he was driving with Daniel Terry [q. v.], caused him trouble and pecuniary loss, and resulted in permanent lameness. His acting consisted more and more of imitations, and he even played Macheath in imitation of Incledon. His entertainment, ‘Mail Coach Adventures,’ was given at Covent Garden for his benefit, and followed by imitations of many leading actors. The ‘Actor of all Work’ of George Colman, Haymarket, 13 Aug. 1817, was written expressly to show Mathews as Multiple in successive assumptions. In the winter of 1817–18 he accompanied Frederick Yates [q. v.] to France. This journey formed the subject of his second ‘At Home,’ written by James Smith [q. v.] and John Poole [q. v.], and entitled ‘The Trip to Paris.’ It was given 8 March 1819 at the Theatre Royal English Opera House, otherwise the Lyceum. The old Scotch lady which it introduced was one of his most popular creations. During this season Mathews removed to his well-known residence, Ivy Cottage, Kentish Town, the lease of which he had bought. Here his son, Charles James Mathews [q. v.], built for him a gallery, to which he transferred the collection of pictures now the property of the Garrick Club and of books. From this time forward most years witnessed the production of a new ‘At Home,’ the intermediate periods being spent in fulfilling country engagements. ‘Country Cousins,’ 1820, ‘Adventures in Air, Earth, and Water,’ 1821, ‘The Youthful Days of Mr. Mathews,’ 1822, followed each other at the Lyceum. Among his friends at this period were Coleridge and Charles and Mary Lamb. In August 1822 Mathews started for New York, where he arrived 5 Sept., making his first appearance in Baltimore, 23 Sept., in his ‘Trip to Paris.’ He subsequently played in the regular drama Lord Duberly in the ‘Heir-at-Law,’ Solomon Gundy in ‘Who Wants a Guinea?’ Goldfinch in the ‘Road to Ruin,’ &c. As Goldfinch and Monsieur Tonson he appeared in New York. His artistic and social successes were equal, though he was more popular as an actor than as an entertainer; and he wrote jubilantly to his wife concerning his triumphs. After playing in Philadelphia and other towns he returned to New York, and was sufficiently ill-advised to play Othello. This representation was given once more at Liverpool, where he arrived in June 1823. A little later he appeared at the Lyceum in comedy, playing Monsieur Tonson, Caleb Quotem, &c., and in one of the ‘monodramatic’ pieces in which he was successful, ‘The Polly Packet.’ The ‘Trip to America’ was the subject of his next entertainment, Lyceum, 25 March 1824. In this he imitated various types of Americans, black and white, causing some little irritation in the United States, from which he afterwards suffered. ‘Mr. Mathews's Memorandum-Book’ followed in 1825, ‘Mr. Mathews's Invitations’ in 1826, and ‘Home Circuit, or London Gleanings,’ in 1827. On 31 Dec. 1827 he reappeared at Drury Lane as Sir Fretful Plagiary in the ‘Critic’ and Buskin in ‘Killing no Murder.’ During the following season he entered conjointly with Yates on the management of the Adelphi, which opened 29 Sept. 1828 with Beazeley's ‘Wanted a Partner,’ an occasional piece, in which Mathews personated various would-be partners with Yates in management. As Caleb Pipkin in Buckstone's ‘May Queen’ he sang a song composed by his son, C. J. Mathews. He was still at the height of his reputation, but his health was failing, and he was extremely irritable. At the Adelphi he recommenced in 1829 his ‘At Homes,’ which he delivered often, but not always, in conjunction with Yates. In the autumn in 1829 the two actors played in Paris, where Mathews was much praised and likened to Potier, an eminent comedian. In 1833, as the result of unwise speculations, he found himself compelled to resign his cottage in Kentish Town, and became anxious to dispose of his pictures, nearly four hundred in number. An effort to sell them to the Garrick Club failed at the time, and an exhibition of them at the Queen's Bazaar in Oxford Street was unremunerative. In 1836, however, they were purchased by the Garrick