"And so I got through it. My salary was doubled, and Mr. Skey, President of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, who chanced to be in a stall that very evening, came round behind the scenes and put my toe right. He remained my friend for life. I can well remember Charles Kean—he was so charming and lovable; Mrs. Kean was more alert and admirable. He was very fond of children. He had a rare way of amusing us little ones at the theatre. He had a tiny ballet skirt made. This he put round his hand, and placing his third and fourth fingers out and folding up the others, it looked just like a little woman dancing. Oh! how we used to scream with laughter, and the louder we laughed the higher the lady kicked."
Everybody saw in the child Nelly an actress; but this was strongly substantiated one night in a remarkable way. It happened through a scream. She was playing in a piece in which she had to put a snake round her neck and scream. Of course, the snake was not real, but so intense and heartrending was the scream, that it electrified the audience.
After leaving the Keans, Miss Terry appeared at the Royalty and Haymarket Theatres. Already her work was being closely followed by the critics. Then came the first playing with Mr. Irving. It was at the old Queen's Theatre, in "The Taming of the Shrew." Miss Terry said that it was such a foggy night that you could scarcely see across the stage. The usual forebodings predicted by such a dark night, however, have not been realized, for surely no work could have been brighter or more brilliant than that which was subsequently—and is to-day—associated with the names of Miss Terry and Mr. Irving.
After an absence of seven years from the stage, she played a short engagement at the last-named theatre, followed by engagements at the Prince of Wales's and the Court. Then came a memorable night: her first appearance with Mr. Irving, at the Lyceum, as Ophelia, on December 30th, 1878—nearly fourteen years ago. Since then, as effort succeeded effort, creation succeeded creation, so has she advanced in the favour of the
