Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1
1783-10-31
Dined at Mr. Vaughan's:1 in the evening we
went to the Drury Lane Theatre, where Isabella, or the Fatal
marriage and the Irish Widow,
2 were represented. Mrs. Siddons;3 supposed to be the first Tragick performer in Europe, play'd the
part of Isabella. A young Lady, in the next Box to where we were, was so much affected by it
as to be near fainting and was carried out. I am told that every Night Mrs. Siddons
performs; this happens, to some persons. I never heard of anything like it, in France:
Whether this proves there is more Sensibility here, that the Tragedies are deeper, or that
they are better performed, is a problem. Perhaps all those Reason's may be given.
Probably William or Benjamin Vaughan, sons of Samuel Vaughan, a London merchant, and
Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Hallowell of Boston. The younger Vaughans were sympathetic to
the American cause, and several later resettled in America; Benjamin, as secretary to Lord
Shelburne, was instrumental in obtaining concessions for the American commissioners in 1782
(JA, Diary and
Autobiography
, 3:54; Early Recollections of Robert Hallowell Gardiner, 1782–1864,
Hallowell, Maine, 1936, p. 118; entries for 6 Nov.
1783, 2 Oct. 1788, below).
David Garrick, Isabella; or, The Fatal Marriage, London,
1757; and The Irish Widow, London, 1772, also by Garrick (
Biographia
Dramatica
).
Mrs. Sarah Siddons had made her triumphal return to the London stage the previous year in
this role (
DNB
).