" "The effect of the scene is
marred by it," writes the critic. And ten years before Leigh Hunt had
admitted into the columns of his _Tatler_ many letters dwelling upon
the defects of stage costume in regard to incongruousness and general
lack of accuracy. One correspondent complains of a performance of "The
Merry Wives of Windsor" at Covent Garden, in which Bartley had played
Falstaff "in a dress belonging to the age of the first Charles;" Caius
had appeared as "a doctor of the reign of William and Mary, with a
flowing periwig, cocked hat, large cuffs, and ruffles;" while John
Rugby's costume was that "of a countryman servant of the present day."
Another remonstrant describes Kean as dressing Othello "more in the
garb of an Albanian Greek than a Moor; Richard goes through the battle
without armour, while Richmond is armed _cap-a-pie_; and Young plays
Macbeth in a green and gilded velvet jacket, and carries a shield
until he begins to fight, and then throws it away." A third
correspondent draws attention to "The School for Scandal" and Mr.
Farren's performance of Sir Peter Teazle in a costume appropriate to
the date of the comedy, the other players wearing dresses of the
newest vogue.
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