Great
success attended this experiment, although, in the first instance,
there had prevailed a strong inclination to deride as "stewpans" the
flat-topped helmets worn by King John and his barons. After this,
accuracy of costume, especially in relation to the plays of
Shakespeare, became the favourite pursuit of managers. Mr. Macready
ventured upon various revivals, archaic and decorative, at Covent
Garden and Drury Lane; Mr. Phelps followed suit at Sadler's Wells, and
Mr. Charles Kean at the Princess's, until it seemed that correctness
of attire, and splendour of scenery and appointments, could no further
be carried; indeed, alarm arose lest the drama should perish
altogether under the weight of upholstery and wardrobe it was doomed
to bear. Already the art of acting, in its more heroic aspects, had
undergone decline; there was danger of the player sinking to the level
of a mere dummy or lay-figure for the exhibition of costly raiment.
Still, these luxurious illustrated editions of Shakespeare were
attractive and popular, although it is probable that the audience
esteemed them less for their archaeological merits than on account of
their charms as spectacles.
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