"The great run the piece had," writes the reverend author of "The
History of the Stage," "is a striking proof that success is a very
uncertain criterion of merit. The plot is rendered contemptible by the
introduction of the ghost." "I hope it will not be hereafter
believed," cried Cooke the actor, "that 'The Castle Spectre' could
attract crowded houses when the most sublime productions of the
immortal Shakespeare could be played to empty benches." A dispute
arising in the green-room of the theatre between Lewis and Sheridan,
Lewis offered to bet all the money which the play had brought that he
was in the right. "No," said Sheridan, "I can't afford to bet so much
as that; but I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll bet you all it's worth."
Still, there was no cavilling down the play. The stage ghost was
triumphant. He had attained his apogee. "The Castle Spectre" remained
a stock piece for years, and has even appeared upon the stage in quite
recent times.
Formerly the public had been satisfied with a very prosaic ghost. A
substantial figure, with a whitened face, and a streak of red paint on
his brow, was thrust through a trap-door, and it was held that all had
been done that was necessary in the way of stage illusion.
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