for the small part of Lord Ptarmigant. All the reforms in English acting which the Prince of Wales's Theatre was to achieve could be seen in little in Hare's Lord Ptarmigant: the close attention to detail, the propriety and verisimilitude, the minute finish which the small size of the theatre and stage permitted and which brought the best of English acting for a time on to the same level as the French – Lord Ptarmigant had little to do but to go to sleep, but he did it so well that the small part was one of the hits of the production. The theatre writer J. P. Wearing comments, "Even though Ptarmigant was a small role, Hare's thorough attention to detail reformed the way in which old male characters were recreated on stage". For the next nine years Hare remained a member of the Prince of Wales's company, appearing in a succession of Robertson's comedies and in other plays produced at the theatre. Among his parts were Prince Perovsky (Ours, Robertson, 1866), Sam Gerridge (Caste, Robertson, 1867), Bruce Fanquehere (Play, Robertson, 1868), Beau Farintosh (School, Robertson, 1869), Dunscombe Dunscombe (M. P., Robertson, 1870), Sir John Vesey (Money, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1872), and Sir Patrick Lundie (adaptation of Man and Wife, Wilkie Collins, 1873). He also appeared in curtain raisers such as Box and Cox, in which, having played Box in his amateur days, he now played Cox. His last part at the Prince of Wales's was in 1874: Sir Peter Teazle in The School for Scandal to the Lady Teazle of Mrs Bancroft, with Bancroft and Charles Coghlan as the Surface brothers. He was praised for rescuing his role from the low comedy treatment it had long suffered, but some thought his portrayal erred in the opposite direction and was too serious. During this time, in 1869, Hare founded The Lambs of London as a social club for actors; he was voted its first Shepherd (in London) and, "with much truth and humour, was labelled 'The Despot. He left the Prince of Wales's company in October 1874, when he was unable to master a leading role written for him in Sweethearts by W. S. Gilbert. The author was a close friend and wished to make use both of Hare's naturally boyish appearance and of his talent for impersonating elderly men, contrasting the character in youth in the first act and old