n_n_r^_n_n_ri__ix-j_r^_n_n_n_n_n-_n_iT_n_n_n_n_n-^ 
 
 ENGLISH LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 * 
 
 .<>* 
 

SOME LONDON THEATRES 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 BY 
 
 MICHAEL WILLIAMS. 
 
 Urmtton : 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, 
 
 CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. 
 l88 3 . 
 
 [All rights reserved.} 
 
>OJ 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED, 
 ST. JOHN'S SQUARE. 
 

 TO 
 WILLIAM DUNCAN DAVISON, 
 
 IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 OF MANY KINDNESSES. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 SOME of the following sketches have already 
 appeared, in another form, elsewhere. The writer 
 does not claim to have been exhaustive in his 
 account of the various theatres set forth, but has 
 rather aimed at reproducing to the best of his 
 power the more interesting and important features 
 of their history, whilst, at the same time, connecting 
 these with general facts and data. Beyond the 
 period of his own recollection he has endeavoured 
 to verify every incident, great and small, by the 
 most careful and diligent research ; and should the 
 book succeed in winning the approbation of the 
 playgoing public, he hopes, at some future time, 
 to offer another volume for their acceptance. 
 
 May, 1883. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 "THE STORY OF OLD SADLER'S WELLS" . . 1 
 
 SOMETHING ABOUT OLD HIGHBURY BARN . . 33 
 
 THE DRAMA IN NORTON-FOLGATE ... 47 
 
 THE DRAMA IN PORTMAN-MARKET ... 80 
 
 " THREE LYCEUMS" 117 
 
SOME LONDON THEATBES, 
 PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 "THE STORY OF OLD SADLER'S 
 WELLS." 
 
 AMONGST the many relics of a bygone era, which day by 
 day are becoming gradually effaced, few can show a past 
 of more interest and variety than the old theatre of 
 Sadler's Wells. This edifice, the interior of which was 
 entirely reconstructed in 1879, stands on the site of an 
 orchestra, erected in 1683, by a surveyor of highways, 
 named Sadler, the value of whose property was consider- 
 ably enhanced, during the same year, through the dis- 
 covery of a long-forgotten spring of mineral water, by 
 some workmen, when digging for gravel, in the gardens 
 belonging to the house. Malcolm, in his interesting 
 Londinium Redivivum, published in 1803, notices an 
 application to the House of Commons, from a former 
 proprietor probably the younger Forcer of Sadler's 
 Wells, certifying that this was a place of public entertain- 
 ment, as early as the reign of Elizabeth. On what grounds 
 
 B 
 
2 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 the petitioner rested his statement, we have not been able 
 to learn, but it is evident that the spring was known, 
 and resorted to, at a very early period. The monks of 
 Clerkenwell Priory, in particular, were in the habit of 
 frequenting it, and of exacting money, in return for their 
 prayers, from the sick people who came to test its healing 
 powers. At the time of the Reformation, the monks 
 disappeared, and with them the well, which seems to have 
 been covered in, and its identity lost, until accidentally 
 brought to light by the workpeople of Sadler, at an 
 interval of some hundred and forty odd years. 
 
 Although never attaining to the fashionable notoriety 
 of the neighbouring Islington Spa with which Lysons, 
 and Sir John Hawkins, have erroneously confounded it 
 the new establishment, from being at first respectably 
 conducted, quickly arrived at a certain popularity. To 
 advertise the merits of the re-discovered spring, a small 
 tract was published in 1684, assuming to be "a true and 
 exact account of Sadler's Well; or the New Mineral 
 Waters, lately found at Islington, treating of its nature 
 and virtues, &c., by T. G. (Thomas Guidot), Doctor of 
 Physick." John Evelyn, in his diary, for the nth of 
 June, 1686, writes : " I went to^see Middleton's receptacle 
 of Water, at the New River, and the New Spa Well near." 
 We read also of vocal and instrumental concerts, of 
 posturers, tumblers, and rope-dancers, as supplied for the 
 diversion of the water-drinkers ; of a piper seated upon a 
 shell-work rock, to the strains of whose tabour the visitors 
 might, if it so pleased them, dance ; and of a certain 
 Mrs. Pearson who was engaged to play on the dulcimer, 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells" 3 
 
 from five to eight, every summer evening, at the end of 
 the long walk. Sadler withdrew, towards the end of the 
 century, in favour of a Mr. Miles, who entered into 
 partnership with the musician, Francis Forcer. The 
 place was known ; in 1699, as Miles' Musick House, and 
 upon one occasion in this year was witnessed the dis- 
 gusting spectacle of a man devouring, for a wager, a live 
 fowl, " feathers and all." A few years later Sadler's Wells 
 seems to have resumed its original appellation. Edward 
 Ward, in his satire, A Walk to Islington, written about 
 this time, describes, with much humour, the amusements 
 of Sadler's Wells, and tells how the company became 
 attentive when a vocalist 
 
 " Lady Squab, with her moonified face 
 By the side of the organ resumes her old place." 
 
 He speaks also of a fiddler in scarlet, 
 
 " Who runs up in alt, with a hey-diddle-diddle, 
 To show what a fool he can make of a fiddle ;'* 
 
 followed by a girl of eleven, who performs a sword dance, 
 
 " And further the mob's admiration to kindle, 
 She turns on her heel, like a wheel in a spindle ;" 
 
 and a youth 
 
 " In dancing a jig lies the chief of whose graces, 
 And making strange musick-house monkey -like faces ;" 
 
 not forgetting " honest friend Thomas " who officiates in 
 
 the twofold capacity of clown, and waiter. These exhibi- 
 
 B 2 
 
4 Some London Theatres , Past and Present. 
 
 tions were repeated several times during the day, the 
 practice being, when the room was quite full, for some 
 one, purposely stationed at the back, to call out "Is 
 Hiram Fisteman here?" whereupon the entertainment 
 was hastily concluded, and a fresh audience admitted. 
 x^Of the visitors the actor Macklin gives an almost con- 
 temporaneous account in his reminiscences, and says, 
 " Though we had a mixture of very odd company, there 
 was little or no rioting," significantly adding that " there 
 was a public then that kept one another in awe." 
 
 To judge by subsequent events, however, this same 
 public, a little later on, must have sadly degenerated. 
 There is extant a very curious tract, dated 1712, and 
 entitled God's Judgment against Murderers, being " an 
 account of a cruel and barbarous murther, committed on 
 Thursday night, the i4th of August, at Sadler's Musick- 
 House, near Islington, on the body of Mr. Waite, a 
 lieutenant of a Man-of-War, by one Mr. French, a Lawyer 
 of the Temple." This tract describes Sadler's Wells as 
 " a daily meeting or rendezvous of people who go thither 
 to divert themselves; and though 'tis in many very 
 innocent, and in the people of the house, only getting an 
 honest livelihood, yet the method of so doing is apt to 
 draw many unaccountable and disorderly persons to fre- 
 quent it." Then follows an account of the murder " near 
 the organ-loft." Again we read in the Weekly Journal, for 
 1718, that "Sadler's Wells being lately opened, there is 
 likely to be a great resort of strolling damsels, half-pay 
 officers, peripatetic tradesmen, tars, butchers, and others 
 musically inclined." 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 5 
 
 Miles died in 1724, and Forcer in 1730. The son of 
 the latter then carried on the management alone for 
 thirteen years. Hogarth immortalized the Wells, in 1731, 
 by introducing a corner of the building, with the old 
 signboard, into his painting called " Evening." In the 
 year 1744, the grand jury of Middlesex drew up a 
 memorial, to the effect that the place " now opened, and 
 carried on, by John Warren, within this county, is 
 frequently a resort of great numbers of loose, disorderly 
 people." 
 
 In 1746 Rosoman, whose name still lives in an 
 adjoining street, became proprietor, and during the next 
 twenty-six years did much to improve the character of a 
 place which, for some time past, had certainly been dis- 
 reputable enough. That its frequenters were now of a 
 higher grade, we may infer from an advertisement, pro- 
 mulgated in 1757, to announce that "a horse patrole 
 will be sent in the New Road this night by Mr. Fielding, 
 for the protection of the nobility and gentry, who go 
 from the squares, and that end of the town. The road 
 to the city will also be properly guarded." Rather earlier, 
 between 1733-48, the environs were so infested by foot- 
 pads, that link-boys were in constant attendance, at the 
 doors of Sadler's Wells, to light people when returning 
 to their homes, in the more distant streets of Clerkenwell ; 
 and a notice was often appended to the bills, that "there 
 would be a moonlight. "/Under Rosoman's direction the 
 programmes at first consisted, as before, of singing, 
 dancing, and acrobatic displays; but in 1753 a regular 
 company was formed, for the representation of burlettas, 
 
6 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 musical interludes, and pantomimes. The Rural Calendar 
 for June, 1755, says of Sadler's Wells, "this theatre for 
 such it is is now so well regulated, under the present 
 manager, that a better company is not anywhere to be 
 met with. The performances by Miss Wilkinson are 
 both justly and universally admired ; and she is attended 
 with great pleasure, even by those who heretofore could 
 not look upon feats of this kind with any degree of 
 patience." Miss Wilkinson appears to have been equally 
 distinguished as an equilibrist, and as a performer on the 
 musical glasses, an entertainment much in vogue at the 
 time. Another celebrity of the period was Maddox, who 
 continued for several seasons to astonish the public by 
 his wonderful and very graceful feats of wire-balancing. 
 In 1763 the famous dancer, and pantomimist, Giuseppe 
 Grimaldi, more familiarly known as Iron-Legs and who 
 had come over to England, from the Netherlands, five 
 years previously, was engaged as ballet-master. Former 
 Chroniclers of the history of Sadler's Wells have stated 
 that Shakspeare's Tempest was given there in 1764. We 
 have heard this questioned. The bills of the day never- 
 theless testify that The Tempest, " an entertainment of 
 music and dancing," was represented. Now, it is a fact 
 that on the ist of May, in that year, Shakspeare's play, or 
 rather the version of it, in which the text had been altered 
 and diluted, after the fashion then and previously preva- 
 lent, by Dryden, was actually given at Drury Lane, for 
 the benefit of Signor Grimaldi, and the probability is that 
 this edition was subsequently transferred to the boards 
 of the summer theatre. In the annals of a house 
 
" The Story of Old SadleSs Wells." 7 
 
 which long afterwards under the auspices of Phelps 
 and Greenwood won such well-deserved fame for its 
 revivals of the Shakspearian drama, the circumstance, 
 and its bearings, should not be passed over without 
 comment. 
 
 " Jemmy " Warner divided with the elder Grimaldi, the 
 post of leading clown, at this time, and for several years 
 onwards. Rosoman replaced the original wooden theatre, 
 in 1765, by a new one of brick; and this, although 
 altered and enlarged at various times, later on, remained 
 virtually the same up to within a year or two of the 
 present date. This manager was also the founder of a 
 convivial society, entitled the "Sadler's Wells Club," 
 which held its meetings at the Sir Hugh Mydelton 
 tavern, opposite the theatre. There might long be seen, 
 in the bar of this tavern, a picture of the club, in which 
 Rosoman was depicted, surrounded by members of his 
 company, and other friends, amongst whom the most 
 conspicuous according to tradition were Maddox, 
 the wire-dancer, Greenwood, father of the scene-painter, 
 and Davenport, master of the elder Mathews. On recent 
 inquiry in the autumn of 1878 we found that the 
 picture had been sold, some time ago, and the one which 
 replaces it is probably a copy of Hogarth's " Midnight 
 Modern Conversation." 
 
 After the retirement of Rosoman who died, it is said, 
 worth forty thousand pounds in 1772, the property was 
 held, for many subsequent years, in shares, and among 
 the tenants were Tom King the comedian, and original 
 Sir Peter Teazle, Dr. Cantwell, and Lord Ogleby 
 
8 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Wroughton, Hughes, Coates, Siddons 1 husband of Mrs 
 Siddons Charles Dibdin, the elder, and his two sons, 
 Andrews, Barfoot, and Arnold. The active management 
 was entrusted to King from 1772 to 1782, and afterwards 
 successively to Wroughton, Hughes, Lonsdale, and 
 Charles Dibdin the younger. In 1776 a dance, the 
 egg-dance, which dated from the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
 was introduced by a Master Lascelles Williamson, who 
 was a pupil of the elder Grimaldi, and afterwards mar- 
 ried his daughter. The celebrated Harlequin, James 
 Byrne, father of the subsequently well-known chore- 
 graphist, Oscar Byrne, was ballet-master during this and 
 the previous year. The year 1781 will be ever memor- 
 able in the annals of Sadler's Wells for the first appearance 
 on Easter Monday, April i6th of one who is said to 
 have been the greatest clown that ever lived Joseph 
 Grimaldi. According to the parochial registers of St. 
 Clement Danes, Grimaldi, son of the aforesaid " Iron- 
 Legs," was born on the i8th of December, 1778. With 
 the exception of one summer, that of 1817 his winters 
 
 1 The money was, of course, supplied by the latter. Of 
 Mrs. Siddons's investment in proprietary shares at Sadler's 
 Wells, Madame D'Arblay, equally well known as Miss 
 Burney, the authoress of Evelina, writes in her Diary for 
 1797, "I could not hear of it without some amusement. It 
 seemed so extraordinary a combination so degrading a one 
 indeed that of the first tragic actress, the living Melpomene, 
 and something so burlesque as Sadler's Wells/' From which 
 we may infer that the place was held in no exalted estimation 
 by the society, literary or aristocratic, of that particular 
 period. 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 9 
 
 were occupied at Drury Lane and Covent Garden he 
 was attached to the theatre for a period of forty-seven 
 years. Rising from small beginnings, he finally, by his 
 industry, perseverance, and attention to his professional 
 duties, reached a supremacy, in his own peculiar line, which 
 old playgoers assert to have never since been equalled, 
 or even approached. The other most prominent mem- 
 bers of the company, from 1780 to 1800, were the come- 
 dians, Mrs. Harlowe, Dighton, and "Jew :3 Davies ; the 
 pantomimists, Bologna (father and two sons), Placido, 
 Paul Redige, surnamed the Little Devil, with his wife, 
 La Belle Espagnole, Richer, Madame St. Amande, and 
 Dubois. The insecurity of the approaches to Sadler's 
 Wells towards the end of the last century may be in- 
 ferred from a play-bill of June, 1783, wherein it is stated 
 that " patrols of horse and foot are stationed from Sadler's 
 Wells Gate, along the New Road, to Moorfields ; also to 
 St. John's Street, and across the Spa fields, to Rosoman 
 Row, from the hours of eight to eleven." 
 
 In 1784 a troupe of performing dogs proved so great 
 an attraction, as to realize, for the managers, a profit of 
 ten thousand pounds. Miss Romanzini, afterwards better 
 known as the favourite ballad-singer, Mrs. Bland, ap- 
 peared in 1786, and Braham then a boy, Master Abra- 
 hams in 1788. Possibly the best engraving extant of 
 Sadler's Wells, is the one published in 1792, by the scene- 
 painter, Andrews. Save for the word "gallery," observable 
 over a side door, and a sign-board high up on one of the 
 gables, the building, standing by the New River, and 
 overshadowed by trees, has here more the look of some 
 
10 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 quaint old suburban manor-house, than of an ordinary 
 London theatre. The Duke and Duchess of York 
 visited it this season, and the attendance, generally, was 
 of a superior description. Richer revived the egg-dance 
 in 1793, and in 1794 the ballet-pantomime of Valentine 
 and Orson, in which Dubois, and Grimaldi, were succes- 
 sively so famous, was first produced. Of Dubois, Mal- 
 colm tells us that " Mr. Dubois, a veteran on the stage 
 of nearly forty years, bears away the palm from all with- 
 out exception, to whom speech is denied. His talents are 
 of the most versatile description, acting on the same evening 
 a complete fool, and a character of dignity, with equal truth. 
 He is particularly happy in portraying a dark, malicious, 
 and ambitious part. The transitions in his countenance 
 from smiles to threats, from approbation to abhorrence, 
 are masterly performances. I have seen him when pur- 
 sued by a person whom he had injured, and whose 
 parent he had murdered, disguised as a ghost betray 
 such dreadful emotions of terror, horror, guilt, confusion, 
 and revenge, that I could almost suppose the fiction 
 approached reality. His performance of Orson, in the 
 ballet before mentioned, displayed a thorough insight 
 into human nature, debased. He mixed the tricks and 
 sagacity of the monkey, with the gleams of matured 
 reason, so judiciously, that an enlightened audience would 
 have been delighted. So in a recent character of a 
 Moor, he is to fight, in single combat after the defeat 
 of his adherents with their conqueror. His motions 
 are no longer European ; they are those of the savage ; 
 grimaces, glaring search for the most vulnerable part of 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 1 1 
 
 his antagonist's body, and endeavours to fix a firm footing, 
 to dart, like a tiger, on his prey, characterize every 
 muscle." Dubois was evidently as unequalled, in his 
 own day, as Grimaldi subsequently became ; and it is 
 clear that the latter who, in early life, was constantly 
 associated on the boards with this celebrated mime, must 
 have formed his style on the same lines, since the first 
 Grimaldi died, in 1788, whilst the son was still far too 
 young to have derived much benefit from his father's 
 tuition. 
 
 Another remarkable event in the chronicles of the 
 theatre occurred in 1801, namely, the first appearance 
 in a speaking part he had already played Cupid in a 
 ballet at the King's Theatre, in the Haymarket of a 
 juvenile wonder, Master Carey, who recited the principal 
 speech of Rolla, in Sheridan's Pizarro. This boy was 
 the great-grandson of Henry Carey natural son of George 
 Savile Carey, Marquis of Halifax who at an earlier date 
 had written and composed many musical pieces for the 
 theatre. The more important of these are now forgotten, 
 but the little song of " Sally in our Alley," so touching in 
 its homely pathos, will continue to live as long as English 
 ballad-singing lasts. Some years later, this young Carey 
 developed into the great tragedian Edmund Kean. 
 
 Pony races were tried in 1802, and the African traveller, 
 Belzoni, exhibited some feats of herculean strength as a 
 gymnast, "The Patagonian Samson," in the following 
 year. The principal of these feats was to walk round the 
 stage, supporting on his shoulder a pyramidal frame-work, 
 on which rested eleven men, the topmost of whom 
 
12 
 
 reached to the 
 
 wd 
 
 <h his incumbrances n !' th FreC ' P " ated the g 
 *S4, for many yea's H "^ 
 
 ~ s Ier>s 
 
 e cn 
 
 entire flooring was d Pr greSS 
 
 the roof ' to 
 
 e an 
 
 New River. Jn this ^ ' S f P'P es ^"ected with the 
 sensations were nt ^T^ Md ' h - ***** 
 ^o /Gibraltar> f^ff taofteMk, The 
 >. of a simil ar ind ne T % ^ ther Prod c - 
 as was recorded by ^^^^^^ 
 cences:- ' d w hls ^yming Reminis- 
 
 The house overflow'd ^d * ^ n th 
 
 throne, William the Fourth nroba aSCe " ded the 
 
 these aquatic pieces S^ % ? compliment to 
 
 twenty-three people wer "* to the doo , 
 
 * 
 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler s Wells." 1 3 
 
 mimist, appeared in 1810, as also that of Cobham, 
 a very striking actor, and an unsuccessful rival of 
 Kean. Barnes and Ellar were also in the company at 
 this time. 
 
 On the occasion of Grimaldi's benefit, in October, 1814, 
 his son made his debut, playing Friday to the Robinson 
 Crusoe of his father. Joseph-Samuel-William Grimaldi, 
 professionally known as " Mr. J. S. Grimaldi," Grimaldi's 
 son, by his second wife, Mary Bristow, was born on the 
 2ist of November, 1802. For several years after the 
 date of his first appearance he was partly, perhaps, 
 owing to the prestige of his father's name rarely without 
 an engagement at one or other of the leading metro- 
 politan houses. He is said to have inherited much of 
 the family talent, but was too unsteady, in private life, to 
 improve it by study, or to ultimately maintain his posi- 
 tion. He was dismissed from one theatre after another, 
 and died, from the effects of a drunken brawl, on the 
 nth of December, 1832. In 1816 Grimaldi first played 
 his finest, but also his most difficult and fatiguing part, 
 Orson, in Valentine and Orson. Paulo, son of " La Belle 
 Espagnole," and the " Little Devil," was engaged to re- 
 place Grimaldi as clown, in 1817, but the latter returned 
 in the following year, and from this time was a share- 
 holder in the theatre. George Wieland, also another 
 highly gifted pantomimist, made his first appearance on 
 the stage, at the age of five years, at Sadler's Wells, in 
 1817. Grimaldi introduced his famous song, "Hot 
 Codlings" in the pantomime of The Talking Bird for 
 the first time, in 1819. Howard Payne, author of the 
 
14 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 tragedy of Brutus, was lessee in 1820, and Egerton, of 
 Co vent Garden, during the three following years, when 
 the stately Mrs. Egerton played the leading parts. 
 Wilkinson, Keeley, Vale, Wallbourne, and Miss Scott, 
 were also in the company. The ill-fated queen, Caroline 
 of Brunswick, wife of George the Fourth, visited the place 
 in 1821, when the performances consisted of The Moun- 
 tain Hut, the burletta Jacintha, and the pantomime of 
 Harlequin at Home. In 1824 Miss Vincent, later on so 
 celebrated for her impersonations of domestic and melo- 
 dramatic heroines, at the various minor theatres, but at 
 this date a strikingly beautiful child of ten years old, 
 appeared, with marked success in an occasional piece, 
 The Actress of All Work. In 1825 the veteran, Thomas 
 Dibdin, the author of so many of the Sadler's Wells 
 pieces, assumed the active management, his wife playing 
 the leading parts. Mrs. Fitzwilliam also had an engage- 
 ment, and for the first time the house was opened for the 
 winter season. The aeronaut, Mrs. Graham, ascended 
 in a balloon from the grounds, on the 2ist of June, 
 1826, and during this and the ensuing summer pony- 
 racing constituted the chief attraction. A very good 
 low comedian, Mr. W. H. Williams, was also acting 
 here. 
 
 On Monday, the 28th of March, 1828, Grimaldi, who 
 had long been incapacitated, through illness, from 
 regularly following his profession, took his farewell of 
 the Islington public, as Hock, in the romance of The 
 Sixes, and this, with the exception of another benefit, on 
 a larger scale, got up by his friends, at Covent Garden, 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 1 5 
 
 in July of the same year, was his last appearance on the 
 stage. From this date, although occasionally assisting 
 in the stage-management of the theatre only three 
 weeks before his death, he superintended the reproduc- 
 tion of the famous pantomime, Mother Goose he lived 
 in retirement, and expired, at 33, Southampton Street, 
 Pentonville, onthe 3ist of May, 1837. He was interred 
 by the side of his old friend and work-fellow, Charles 
 Dibdin, in the burial-ground of the neighbouring St. 
 James's Church, and his grave-stone bears the following 
 inscription: 
 
 SACRED 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 MR. JOSEPH GRIMALDI, 
 Who departed this life 
 
 May 31, 1837. 
 Aged fifty-eight years. 
 
 At the foot of the grave is another stone inscribed 
 "Grimaldi, 1837." With "Joe" Grimaldi apparently 
 the old order of clowns became extinct. Certainly none, 
 since his day, have attained to anything like the same 
 eminence or distinction. For Grimaldi, as we have 
 been assured by his old contemporary and intimate 
 friend, the once famed theatrical engraver, Henry Brown 
 still living in the present year, 1881 was no mere 
 clown, he was a great comedian born, and in this lay 
 the secret of his superiority over all his rivals in this 
 branch of the profession. And a really kind heart, an 
 
1 6 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 even temper, combined with a most child-like simplicity 
 of character, caused him to be as universally beloved in 
 private as he was admired in public ; whilst the state- 
 ment, found after death amongst his papers, that in the 
 solitary hours of declining life, he could not recollect 
 one single instance in which he had intentionally wronged 
 man, woman, or child, may have well found a ready 
 echo in the breast of every one who ever knew him. 
 
 On Boxing-night, 1828, Tom Matthews, the favourite 
 pupil of Grimaldi, and the inheritor of many of his tradi- 
 tions, came out as clown in a new pantomime, The Hag 
 of the Forest Raven. In August, 1829, a version of 
 Douglas Jerrold's popular Surrey drama, Black-Eyed 
 Susan, was produced, in which William was played by 
 Campbell, and Susan by Mrs Wilkinson. In 1830 the 
 attention of the public was directed to the dancing of 
 Mrs. Searle and her pupils. One of these, a young girl 
 named Laura Bell, a few years later grew into one of 
 the loveliest women that ever graced the English stage 
 Mrs. Honey. A very fine melodramatic actor, Mr. 
 Freer, also appeared as Sir Giles Overreach. Mr. W. H. 
 Williams and Mrs. Fitzwilliam were the joint lessees in 
 1832, and a vaudeville, The Pet of the Petticoats? had a 
 considerable run. 
 
 The names of Almar, Osbaldiston, Nelson Lee, and 
 Robert Honner were subsequently associated, in turn, 
 with the direction, but did little or nothing to enhance 
 its reputation. On the contrary, the theatre gradually 
 
 2 The music by John Barnett, composer of The Mountain 
 Sylph. 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler s Wells" 17 
 
 sank to so low an ebb, that any attempt to improve its 
 fortunes was at last looked upon as hopeless. True that 
 Mrs. Waylett sang in 1836, that Junius Brutus Booth 
 "starred" in 1837. Mrs. Glover, too, played the Nurse 
 fo the Juliet of Mrs. W. West, and the Romeo of George 
 Bennett, on one night in this year. T. P. Cooke ap- 
 peared as William, in J3 lack-Eyed Susan, on Tuesday, the 
 1 8th of December, 1838, for the benefit of Mr. Honner. 
 Elton also played in 1840; and Ducrow brought his 
 horses out here in 1842. As years rolled by, however, 
 it seemed more and more evident that with the retire- 
 ment of Grimaldi, the old glory had departed, never to 
 return. But happier days were yet in store, when in the 
 spring of 1844, the great actor, Phelps, assumed the 
 management ; and we can affirm, without any hesitation, 
 that the next eighteen years, during which he presided 
 over its destinies, form, in truth, the best and brightest 
 page in the history of old Sadler's Wells. For the 
 greater part of this time Mr. Phelps was connected in 
 partnership 8 with Mr. Greenwood, a former lessee for a 
 
 3 Mr. Greenwood's name first appears in connexion with 
 Sadler's Wells in May, 1841, at which date he filled the post 
 of acting-manager to the then lessee, Mr. Robert Honner. 
 The lesseeship would seem to have been transferred to him 
 about the month of August, 1842, and he thenceforward con- 
 ducted it, on purely minor theatre principles, with the assist- 
 ance of the late Mr. Henry Marston, in the double capacity 
 of leading actor and stage-manager, until Whitsuntide, 1844. 
 On the alteration in the management at that period, Mr. 
 Phelps was appointed stage-manager, Mr. Warner treasurer, 
 and Mr. Greenwood resumed his old position of acting- 
 
 C 
 
1 8 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 short term of the house ; and henceforth, whilst the 
 refined taste and histrionic talents of the former raised 
 the artistic credit of the enterprise to the highest point, 
 the sound judgment and business capacity of the latter 
 served to maintain its financial prosperity. Their task 
 was, at first, no easy one. Melodrama of the coarsest 
 type had long been the fare offered to a class of fre- 
 quenters, in themselves so utterly vicious, that no re- 
 spectable tradesman would dream of taking his wife or 
 daughters to the place. The lessees had not only to 
 purify the nature of the performances, they had also to 
 unmake, as well as to create, their audience. With what 
 indomitable courage and resolution they set about their 
 reforms, on both sides of the curtain, is well known ; 
 and so thoroughly did they carry them out that in time 
 this obscure little temple of the Drama could boast not 
 only of the most intelligent, but beyond comparison 
 the most intellectual pit of any theatre in London. It 
 was no uncommon circumstance, during the run of some 
 special revival, to see the entire pit and boxes diligently 
 following the text from printed copies of the play. Nor 
 was Sadler's Wells any longer dependent on merely local 
 patronage for its support. The " nobility and gentry 
 
 manager. So little hope was entertained by the new lessees 
 in the permanent attraction of the legitimate drama, that a 
 new melodrama, of the blue-fire species, had been prepared, 
 and was actually underlined in the opening playbill to take 
 the place of Macbeth, in case the tragedy of Shakspeare 
 should fail, after a fair trial, to command remunerative 
 audiences. This fact was communicated to the writer by 
 Mr. Greenwood a few months before his decease. 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 19 
 
 from the squares," of Rosoman's old-fashioned advertise- 
 ment, now found their analogy in the more modern 
 inhabitants of Mayfair and Belgravia, who came out in 
 numbers to a spot, of which, possibly, many of them had 
 hitherto scarcely even heard, whilst all that was most 
 distinguished in the literary world, made a point of being 
 present on every " first night " at " the Wells." And 
 no higher compliment could well have been paid to any 
 management than the one addressed to it by Macready, 
 when, in a letter written to the late Lord Chief Justice 
 Pollock, in 1856, he remarked, "I believe we must look 
 for the drama, if we really wish to find it, in that remote 
 suburb of Islington." 
 
 We have been informed that the lessees originally in- 
 tended to bring out the entire series of Shakspeare's plays, 
 and it is a fact that they did succeed in producing thirty- 
 one of them. These were Macbeth with the inter- 
 polated scenes from Middleton's old play, The Witch, 
 and Locke's music, on the opening night, Whit-Monday, 
 the 2yth of May, 1844; but afterwards strictly in ac- 
 cordance with the original text Othello, TJie Merchant of 
 Venice, King John, Hamlet, King Richard III. with the 
 original text, in lieu of Colley Gibber's version, which was, 
 however, represented at one period King Henry VII I , 
 King Lear, A Winter's Tale, The First Part of King 
 Henry IV.-, Julius Ccesar, Romeo and Juliet, Measure for 
 Measure, The Tempest, Cymbeline, As You Like It, Twelfth 
 Night, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Coriolanus, Much 
 Ado about Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra, Timon of 
 Athens, Airs Well that Ends Well, The Second Part of 
 c 2 
 
2O Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 King Henry IV., King Henry V., A Midsummer Nighfs 
 Dream, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Taming of the Shrew 
 with Phelps as Christopher Sly Two Gentlemen of 
 Verona, Comedy of Errors, and Lovers Labour Lost. We 
 have been told by Mr. Greenwood that it was also, at 
 one time, in contemplation to bring out Troilus and 
 Cressida, but that the idea was abandoned, owing to the 
 difficulty of finding a sufficient number of actors suitable 
 for the various Grecian heroes. The following works, 
 by other old dramatists, contemporaneous with Shak- 
 speare, were also presented : The JHonest Man's Fortune, 
 A King and No King, and Rule a Wife and have a Wife, 
 of Beaumont and Fletcher the same authors' Maid's 
 Tragedy, modernized by Sheridan Knowles under the 
 title of The Bridal-, The City Madam, The Fatal Dowry, 
 and A New Way to Pay Old Debts, of Massinger ; A 
 Woman Never Vex't, of Rowley ; Venice Preserved, of 
 Otway ; and The Duchess of Malji, of old John Webster. 
 To these might be added a long list of plays by Lytton, 
 Byron, Knowles, Talfourd, Kotzebue, Pococke, Rowe, 
 Leigh Hunt, Sheridan, Cumberland, Colman, Cibber, 
 Howard Payne, Vanbrugh, Inchbald, Goldsmith, Hoi- 
 croft, Bickerstaffe, Tobin, Centlivre, Maturin, Milman, 
 Fielding, Macklin, and others, amongst which Cumber- 
 land's Wheel of Fortune, Macklin's Man of the World, The 
 Miser of Fielding, The Fop's Fortune of Colley Cibber, 
 The Provoked Husband of Sir John Vanbrugh, Arden of 
 Feversham, by Rowe, and The Good-natured Man, by 
 Oliver Goldsmith, might all be cited as theatrical cu- 
 riosities, owing to the rarity of their revival, elsewhere. 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells: 1 2 1 
 
 Another, The Castle Spectre, of " Monk " Lewis, given 
 several times in 1849, na( ^> m its time, an immense popu- 
 larity, and from the romantic interest of the plot, to say 
 nothing of the opportunities for ghostly effects, which it 
 presents, is quite worth the attention of our theatrical 
 managers, to-day. Many new dramas were also written 
 expressly for the house ; and of these, Hamilton of Both- 
 wellhaugh, by Selous, Garcia, or the Noble Error, by F. 
 G. Tomline ; Feudal Times, The Gowrie Plot, and John 
 Saville of Hay stead, by the Reverend James White ; and 
 lastly The FooVs Revenge, by Tom Taylor, were all far 
 above the average of new plays. The only translation 
 from the modern French was a version of Casimir Dela- 
 vigne's Louis XI., given, at the earnest request of his 
 patrons, by Mr. Phelps, in 1861. The same year saw 
 another departure from the legitimate, in the shape of a 
 two-act piece Doing for the Best, by Rophino Lacy 
 in which, as the humble artisan of domestic drama, the 
 actor showed that he could mesmerize his audience, to 
 the full as much, as he had ever done, in the finest 
 works of our standard authors. 
 
 For the representation of the above repertory, a com- 
 pany was gradually formed, as a body, it would seem, at 
 no period of transcendent excellence, but which had the 
 merit and that, in no ordinary degree of working, on 
 all occasions, thoroughly well together. Until Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bancroft metamorphosed the old Queen's Theatre 
 in Tottenham Street, the French word ensemble for 
 which our language offers no equivalent was never 
 more happily realized, on the English stage, than during 
 
22 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 the days of the Phelps and Greenwood dynasty, at Sadler's 
 Wells. It was not that a collection of stars was to be 
 met with, but that all, high and low, engaged, were care- 
 fully taught, at rehearsal, to abstain, as far as possible, 
 from individual prominence, and to aim rather at carry- 
 ing out each his separate work, so as to blend it with the 
 rest, in one harmonious whole. The conception of the 
 author, not the exhibition of this or that performer, was 
 always the first thing to be regarded here. No one was 
 ever engaged in whom the lessees failed to detect at least 
 the germ of a Shakspearian talent, and this, when once 
 found, was forthwith developed with untiring assiduity. 
 To have played with Phelps, at Sadler's Weils, is yet the 
 proudest boast of those who survive from his old com- 
 pany ; and many of our best actors and actresses have 
 owed their fame to the training which they received, in 
 early life, at "The Theatre," as it is still affection- 
 ately termed by the Islingtonians. In the Illustrated 
 London News, for Saturday, the 9th of January, 1847, 
 there is an engraving of the green-room at Sadler's Wells, 
 with Mr. Phelps, and a portion of his company, as con- 
 stituted at the time with the names underlined dressed 
 for their parts in The Merchant of Venice. Whether the 
 older picture of Rosoman may have suggested it, we cannot 
 tell, but, for playgoers, the print has already become in- 
 vested with an interest scarcely less powerful than the other. 
 In a management extending over eighteen years, many 
 changes necessarily occurred, but it would be unfair, in 
 this summary of its doings, to refrain from enumerating 
 the names of some, at least, of those who successively 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler s Wells." 23 
 
 assisted in supporting its reputation. Among the best 
 remembered were Mrs. Warner, for the first two years 
 associated in the direction with the other proprietors, and 
 herself one of the finest tragic actresses of her day ; Mrs. 
 Henry Marston, since Mrs. Glover's retirement the best 
 duenna on the stage ; Mrs. Brougham, Mrs. Barrett, Mrs. 
 Ternan, Mrs. Herman Vezin at first better known as 
 Mrs. Charles Young and the Misses Glyn, Fitzpatrick, 
 Laura Addison, Cooper, Goddard, Atkinson, Fanny 
 Vining, Baddeley, Margaret Eburne, Julia St. George, 
 Sarah Lyons, Jenny Marston, Edith Heraud, Hughes 
 now Mrs. Gaston Murray Wyatt, Heath, Murray, 
 Lebatt, and Fanny Huddart ; together with Messrs. 
 Creswick, Henry Marston, George Bennett, Thomas 
 Hailes Lacy, Hudson, Younge, Hoskyns, Barrett, Wil- 
 liams, Fenton, George Scharfe, J. W. Ray, Lewis Ball, 
 Frederick Robinson, Belford, Mortimer, Morelli, Villiers, 
 Branson, Henry Mellon, Lunt, Waller, Henry Nye, T. 
 C. Harris, Butler, Graham, Edmund Phelps, and Her- 
 man Vezin. 
 
 In all pertaining to the mise- en-scene, nothing could 
 exceed the care and accuracy bestowed on every produc- 
 tion, and more especially on the successive Shakspearian 
 revivals. Stage-decoration was employed to enhance, 
 but never to impede, the action ; to adorn, but never to 
 obscure, the plot. Splendour was never wanting where 
 splendour was due ; but it was a splendour invariably 
 tempered by the purest taste. For, as wa^ justly pointed 
 out by an eminent critic Henry Morley of the Examiner 
 of the day, Shakspeare's plays were always poems, as 
 
24 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 performed at Sadler's Wells. And as examples of the 
 poetic spirit in which they were approached, none better 
 could be adduced than the exquisite Midsummer Nighfs 
 Dream, revived in 1853, The Tempest in 1847, an< 3> wn " n 
 still finer effect, in 1855. Timon of Athens, revived in 
 1851, and again in 1856, forms another case in point. 
 On the other hand, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, brought out 
 in 1854, and which, from its very nature, came to be 
 treated however artistically chiefly as a spectacle, was 
 also, strange to say, the only one that failed to realize a 
 pecuniary success. 
 
 The partnership of Messrs. Greenwood and Phelps 
 expired early in 1860, and after carrying on the theatre 
 for the next two years single-handed, the latter finally 
 retired from the management on the i5th of March, 1862, 
 when The City Madam of Massinger was performed. In 
 the following November Mr. Phelps returned for a short 
 engagement, and, on the night of his benefit, delivered 
 an address, in which, after expressing a hope that he 
 had fulfilled the promise made on starting, of raising the 
 taste of his audiences by the exalted character of the 
 entertainments, he added, "The amusements of the 
 people are a very important item in the composition of 
 our social system. Dramatic representations have stood, 
 and, I believe, always will stand, in the foremost rank of 
 those amusements. It is surely better, then, that the 
 young who are so easily led, and so strongly impressed, 
 by them, should receive their impressions from the plays 
 of Shakspeare, rather than from sensation dramas and 
 translations from the French, of questionable morality." 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 25 
 
 The audience, which Mr. Phelps addressed, was a strictly 
 representative one, since it comprised many of the in- 
 habitants of the neighbourhood who had grown up during 
 his management, and had formed their taste for the 
 drama, within the walls of his theatre. It is unnecessary, 
 therefore, to add how heartily they indorsed such senti- 
 ments, and how warmly they cheered their old favourite 
 on the conclusion of his speech. 
 
 From this date the star of Sadler's Wells steadily 
 waned. A Miss Lucette attempted to reintroduce a style 
 of performance, such as burletta and other light musical 
 pieces, similar to those which had been found attractive 
 about a hundred years before, and, as might have been 
 anticipated, failed utterly. Then Mr. Edgar became the 
 lessee, and with the help of his wife Miss Marriott, a 
 very good actress preserved to some extent the traditions 
 of his great precursors without their school. The house 
 completed the first centenary of its existence in 1865, and 
 in August of the following year, a temporary tenant, 
 Mr. J. Arnold Cave, .celebrated the event although a 
 year after time by a revival of the once popular panto- 
 mime of Mother Goose, in the old days so closely asso- 
 ciated, here and at Covent Garden, with the name and 
 fame of Grimaldi. Mr. Cave himself played the title role 
 in Dibdin's introduction, given in its integrity. The 
 characters in the harlequinade, which had been partly 
 remodelled, consisted of Mr. Lawrence (clown), Mr. 
 Skinner (pantaloon), Mr. Paulo (harlequin), and Miss 
 Brandon (columbine). The skeleton scene much older 
 than the pantomime itself, and invented, it is said, by the 
 
26 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 father of Grimaldi was retained, and the whole was 
 produced under the superintendence of the veteran Tom 
 Matthews. Mr. Edgar died in 1871, and those un- 
 necessary to particularize byname who succeeded him, 
 only served, by their method of carrying it on, to bring 
 the-place more and more into contempt. Sadler's Wells 
 was converted into a skating-rink. It was repaired, and 
 talked of for a music-hall. It was pronounced insecure, 
 and shut up altogether. Finally, in January, 1878, the 
 lowest depth of degradation was apparently reached, when 
 its classic precincts became actually the scene of a 
 prize-fight ! 
 
 At length, when every hope of its resuscitation appeared 
 to have fled, Mrs. Bateman, who, in conjunction with her 
 lamented husband, had for some years been conducting 
 the Lyceum on much the same principles as those which 
 marked the reign of Greenwood and Phelps, having 
 recently parted with her lease of that theatre to Mr. 
 Henry Irving, came forward as the purchaser. It being 
 simply impossible to open the house in its existing con- 
 dition of ruin and decay, Mrs. Bateman decided to re- 
 build it entirely, as far as the interior was concerned ; 
 and by an odd coincidence, the week in which the 
 workmen commenced their alterations was the one also 
 which closed the life of her most gifted predecessor. On 
 Wednesday, the 6th of November, 1878, Samuel Phelps 
 born at Devonport on the i3th of February, 1804 
 breathed his last, at a house called Coopershall, near 
 Epping. It would be unfitting, then, to conclude our 
 sketch of this famous old playhouse without paying some 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 27 
 
 brief tribute to the memory of one whose name was so 
 long identified with many of its most cherished triumphs. 
 We may in truth assert that Mr. Phelps was not only the 
 finest tragedian he was the soundest, the most learned, 
 and the most conscientious actor that the present genera- 
 tion has ever known. That he was equally great in every 
 part can no more be said of Phelps, han of any other 
 member of the profession, which he so long, and so 
 strikingly, adorned. He had, in fact, his strong and 
 weak points, his strokes of genius, his crudities and 
 mannerisms. In every character, however, which this 
 truly great artist attempted, his reading invariably bore 
 the stamp of most careful study, united to a scrupulous 
 regard for the author's meaning, and a strict adherence 
 to the author's text. To these was added, in rare per- 
 fection, that fine and stately method of elocution which, 
 we are told, was the leading characteristic of the old 
 school, and which is now so little cultivated as to be 
 alm^feextinct. We are unable to speak from our own 
 expSRice, of that period the eighteen years of public 
 service at Sadler's Wells Theatre during which the 
 powers of Phelps must have been in their prime. But 
 in later life, and at the West End houses, when some- 
 thing of physical strength may have been opined, rather 
 than felt, to have departed, we can recall his Shylock, 
 Henry the Fourth, and Justice Shallow, his FalstarT, 
 Malvolio, and Bottom, in addition to Job Thornberry, 
 Mr. Oakley, James the Sixth in Halliday's King of 
 Scots Dr. Cantwell, Lord Ogleby, and best of all, 
 perhaps, his inimitable Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, as 
 
28 Some London Theatres , Past and Present. 
 
 so many delineations of truth, and high art, in acting, 
 the like of which, on our own stage at least, we may 
 never hope to see again. 
 
 On the Wednesday following his death, the remains of 
 Phelps were interred in the cemetery at Highgate, and 
 were attended to the grave by a large concourse of his 
 professional brethren, amongst whom, at this lapse of 
 time, might still be recognized many of his old company. 
 The most prominent of these were Mr. Henry Marston, 
 Mr. George Bennett, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Villiers, Mr. 
 Morelli, Mr. Herman Vezin, and his old partner, Mr. 
 Greenwood. The position which the last-named an 
 intellectual and highly-cultivated man filled in the 
 memorable enterprise before recorded, has always 
 appeared to us greatly underrated. Mr. Greenwood was 
 as well read in, and as intimately acquainted with, all 
 the beauties of the old dramatists, as Mr. Phelps, and, 
 though himself no actor, he was unerring in his estimate 
 of the acting of others. The selection of the plays, and 
 of the company to perform in them, lay as much with one 
 manager as with the other, whilst the invention and 
 getting-up of the Christmas pantomime a time-honoured 
 institution which even Shakspeare failed to oust was 
 exclusively the duty of the former. Furthermore, the 
 all-important department of the treasury, and that most 
 essential balancing of receipts and expenditure, without 
 which any management, no matter how elevated, would 
 very soon go to the wall, was entrusted entirely to 
 Mr. Greenwood, whose duties will thus be seen to have 
 been to the full as onerous as those of his more renowned 
 
" The Story of Old Sadler's Wells." 29 
 
 coadjutor. The actual training of the performers, on the 
 other hand, of necessity devolved upon Phelps, and 
 the consequent realization of that all-round excellence 
 which invariably distinguished every production, was due 
 to his unwearied patience and industry alone. Each, 
 therefore, will be understood to have borne his full share 
 in the good work which Mrs. Bateman, assisted by her 
 daughters, is about, at an interval of seventeen years, to 
 resume. The venture is indeed a bold, and, in some 
 respects, a hazardous one ; but, if we may judge by the 
 genuinely artistic spirit which pervaded the whole course 
 of her directorate at the Lyceum, this lady will readily 
 command the sympathies of all who value the dignity, 
 and respectability, of the stage. It seems certain, from 
 foregone experience, that Mrs. Bateman will only 
 endeavour to deserve success by purely legitimate means. 
 We trust that she may meet with the fullest extent of 
 such success, and that by the results effected in the New, 
 she may revive she will never surpass the glories of 
 Old Sadler's Wells. 
 
 To the above, written in February, 1879, the following 
 additional notes may be of interest. Mr. Greenwood 
 followed his late partner to his rest, early in the ensuing 
 spring, and on Thursday, October 9, in the same year, 
 Mrs. Bateman, having, surmounted the preliminary dif- 
 culties of building and fitting-up, opened New Sadler's 
 Wells new only so far as the interior was concerned 
 with Pocock's old musical drama, Rob Roy, produced 
 with much care and completeness, and with Mr. Walter 
 
3O Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Bentley, a very rising young actor, in the title role. In 
 addition to enacting Meg Merrilies, Miss Bateman (Mrs. 
 Crowe) delivered an introductory address, voluntarily 
 contributed by Tom Taylor, the various points of which, 
 notably the allusions to Grimaldi, Greenwood, and 
 " brave old Phelps," were warmly responded to by an 
 audience which filled the handsome new theatre to over- 
 flowing. New Sadler's Wells, thus auspiciously started, 
 was conducted with much spirit by Mrs. Bateman until 
 her death, which occurred, after a very brief illness, 4 early 
 in the present year, and whilst the arduous task, which 
 she had so bravely undertaken, of re-establishing its for- 
 tunes was still only half accomplished. In her brief 
 tenure, however and exclusive of the summer months, 
 when the house was under-let to travelling companies 
 she had already gone far to revive the ancient prestige, 
 producing, successively, Shakspeare's Macbeth, Othello, 
 Romeo and Juliet, Sheridan's School for Scandal, Holcroft's 
 Road to Ruin, Sheridan Knowles's William Tell and The 
 Hunchback, Lord Lytton's Lady of Lyons, Tom Taylor's 
 historical play, Clancarty, and Mrs. Lovell's delightful 
 Ingomar. These plays were supported by her three 
 daughters, Miss Bateman (Mrs. Crowe), Miss Isabel 
 Bateman, and Miss Virginia Francis all admirable in 
 their respective lines Miss Carlisle, Miss Maud Irvine, 
 Mrs. W. Sydney, and Mrs. Charles Calvert ; Messrs. Her- 
 man Vezin, Charles Warner, Charles Kelly, W. H. Vernon, 
 Walter Bentley, Talbot, Pennington, E. H. Brooke, Ed- 
 
 4 On Thursday, I3th of January, 1881. 
 
BRT#> 
 UNIVERSITY j 
 
 " The Story of Old Sadler } s Wells." 31 
 
 mund Lyons, Robert Lyons, W. F. Windham, John Archer, 
 Fosbrooke, Clifford Harrison, E. Cotte, Walter Brooks, 
 A. Redwood, Wheatcroft, Rowland Buckstone, and Wil- 
 liam Farren, jun. She had also brought out on Boxing 
 Night, 1879 a pantomime, The Forty Thieves, with a 
 really good clown, of the old-fashioned sort, Mr. Ben- 
 hamstyled in the bills, " The modern Grimaldi" and, 
 in the following April, an American drama of strong 
 interest, The Danites, by Bronson Howard ; the plot of 
 which was founded on an incident of Mormon life, and 
 the scene laid in California. The pantomime, though 
 amusing and clever too clever, perhaps, since much of 
 its wit seemed over the heads of the audience was a 
 failure. The Danites, beautifully mounted, and capitally 
 acted by Mr. McKeen Ranken, with his American com- 
 pany, proved a decided hit, and not only brought money 
 to the treasury, but became a town-talk. On professional 
 grounds, alone, Mrs. Bateman's loss is to be deplored, 
 since she had already done quite enough at Sadler's Wells 
 to show what, under the fostering influence of public 
 support, she might hereafter have been expected to 
 achieve. In private life, as an excellent mother and a 
 very good woman, she will long be sincerely mourned by 
 all who knew her. The theatre, having remained closed 
 for a few nights after her decease, was reopened by Miss 
 Isabel Bateman, with the co-operation of her sisters, and in 
 their hands, we are informed, it will permanently remain. 
 They have the sympathy and good wishes of the public 
 with them, for it is certain that as long as Sadler's Wells 
 continues under their direction, so long will it be made 
 
32 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 an influence for good in the neighbourhood, and its 
 management be characterized by judgment, intelligence, 
 and good taste. 
 
 Miss Isabel Bateman continued to carry on the house, 
 during the summer months, and then gave up the man- 
 agement. Mr. F. B. Chatterton a former lessee of 
 Drury Lane opened it in October, 1881, with a new 
 melodrama, The Foundlings, founded by Mr. Leopold 
 Lewis, on the old French piece, Les Dames de la Halle. 
 Mr. Chatterton's venture, however, did not answer, and 
 he relinquished it, rather suddenly, early in 1882. After 
 remaining closed, for a few weeks, a new tenant was 
 obtained, in Mr. Matt Robson, in whose hands the 
 theatre has since remained. Mr. Robson's system appeals 
 almost entirely to local patronage, but under his direction 
 New Sadler's Wells has been conducted with perfect 
 respectability, and is now, we understand, a very thriving 
 and prosperous speculation. 
 
33 
 
 SOMETHING ABOUT OLD HIGHBURY 
 BARN. 
 
 HIGHBURY BARN was originally the home-farm the 
 word barn signifying farm, or dairy-house attached to 
 the ancient manor-house of Highbury or Newington 
 Barrow. 
 
 The manor-house of Highbury stood upon the site of 
 a summer camp, formed by the Romans in the vicinity 
 of one of their great military roads Herman Street 
 leading to London, and hence its second denomination 
 of Neweton, or Newington, Barrow may probably have 
 been deduced, barrow being synonymous with fortress or 
 hill. The manor itself would seem to have been identical 
 with the Tolentone of Domesday Book, which was held, 
 in the time of William the Conqueror, by Ranulf, brother 
 of Ilger, whose manorial rights were valued at forty shil- 
 lings. Still earlier, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, 
 it was occupied by one of his vassals, Edwin. Tollen- 
 tone, or Tallington Lane, afterwards known as Devil's 
 Lane, and now as Hornsey Road, divided H ighbury from 
 St. John's, Clerkenwell. On the east side of this lane 
 formerly stood the original dwelling of the lords, styled 
 in contemporary records The Lower Place. As this 
 
 D 
 
34 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 house had gradually fallen into decay, a new one was 
 built on the high ground to the eastward, and from its 
 position, in relation to the former, the manor is presumed 
 to have derived the name of Highbury. In 1271 the 
 then proprietress, Alice de Barrowe, made over the entire 
 lordship of Highbury and Newington to the Priory of St. 
 John of Jerusalem, and henceforward the manor-house 
 appears to have been used as the refuge, or country-seat 
 of the priors, until burnt by Wat Tyler and the rebels, 
 in the reign of Richard II. It was a building of con- 
 siderable beauty, and was constructed of such solid 
 materials, that the incendiaries found some difficulty in 
 demolishing it, and were compelled, it is said, to pull 
 down, by main force, such portions of the walls as the fire 
 failed to consume. 
 
 The manor continued in the hands of the priors until 
 the period of the Reformation, when it was granted by 
 Henry VIII. to Thomas, Lord Cromwell, but reverted 
 to the Crown upon his attainder in 1540. It was subse- 
 quently bestowed by James I. on his eldest son, Prince 
 Henry. In 1629 Charles I. presented it to Sir Allen 
 Apsley, who sold it in the following year to Thomas 
 Austen. A descendant of the latter, Sir John Austen, 
 alienated it, in 1723, to Thomas Colebrooke ; Mr. Cole- 
 brooke's son, or grandson, Sir George Colebrooke, having 
 become a bankrupt, his interest in the manor was sold, 
 during 1791, to Mr. Jonathan Eade, of Stoke Newington, 
 and it is still held, we believe, by the representatives of 
 the latter owner. 
 
 The first mention of the Barn itself occurs, so far as 
 
Something about Old Highbury Barn. 3 5 
 
 we have been able to trace, in 1438, when Sir William 
 Eastfield, Knight of the Bath, and the Lord Mayor for 
 that year, erected conduits in Fleet Street, Aldermanbury, 
 and Cripplegate, the water for which was supplied from 
 Highbury Barn. 
 
 The following indenture of a lease transcribed in 
 modern English bearing date 1505, has also been 
 preserved : 
 
 " This indenture, made between Sir Thomas Docwra, 
 Prior of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, in 
 England, and his brethren of the same hospital, on the 
 one part, and William Woodmanton, otherwise called 
 William Mantyll, of London, butcher, on the other part, 
 witnesseth that the said Prior, and his brethren, by their 
 whole assent and authority of their chapter, have granted, 
 and let to farm, to the aforesaid William Woodmanton, 
 their grange place, built upon the site of their manor of 
 Highbury, called Highbury Barn, in the county of Mid- 
 dlesex, with a garden and castle hills there, and with two 
 little enclosures, containing, by estimation, five acres, 
 lying upon the north part of the said garden, together 
 with a field, called Snorefield, otherwise Bushfield, in the 
 county aforesaid. Always reserving to the said Prior, 
 and his successors, woods and underwoods, waifs and 
 strays. To have and to hold every part aforesaid except 
 before, except to the aforesaid William Woodmanton, 
 and his assignees, from the feast of St. Michael the 
 Archangel, next following after the date thereof, unto the 
 end and term of twenty-one years then next following, and 
 fully to be ended. Yielding and paying therefor yearly 
 D 2 
 
36 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 to the said Prior, and his successors, at the treasury of 
 their house of Clerkemvell, near London, ten pounds 
 sterling, at four terms of the year, that is to say, at Christ- 
 mas, Annunciation of our Lady, Nativity of St. John the 
 Baptist, and St. Michael the Archangel, by even portions. 
 And bearing all manner of charges, ordinary and extra- 
 ordinary, going out of the said grange, garden, enclosures, 
 and fields, during the said term. And the said farmer 
 and his assignees, at their cost, shall repair and maintain 
 the aforesaid grange place, as in tiling and daubing, and 
 also shall repair, make, and sustain all manner of hedges 
 and ditches of the aforesaid garden, enclosures, and 
 fields, during the said term, and in the end of the same 
 term, the said grange place, as in tiling and daubing, and 
 the said enclosures, garden, and fields, as in hedging and 
 ditching, shall leave sufficiently repaired. The enclosure 
 and hedging of Highbury Wood only excepted. Also it 
 shall be lawful to the said farmer and his assignees to 
 stock and dig the aforesaid field, called Snorefield, with- 
 out impeachment of waste. And the same field, at the 
 end of the said term, shall be left well and clean, stocked, 
 and cleared of briars and bushes growing in the same. 
 And the aforesaid farmer, and his assignees, by assign- 
 ment of the officer of the said Prior, and his successors, 
 shall have, in and of the woods, underwoods, and thorns, 
 growing there, hedgebote during the said term. Also it 
 shall be lawful to the said farmer, and to his assignees, 
 to have for ingress and egress, with their cattle, the old 
 way accustomed to and from the said pastures, which 
 way is specially reserved to the said Prior and his tenants, 
 
Something about Old Highbury Barn. 37 
 
 in a lease made to William Sharpe, of certain pastures 
 belonging to the said manor of Highbury. And if it 
 chances that the said yearly rent and farm of ten pounds 
 sterling be behindhand, and not paid in part in the 
 whole, after any term of payment before specified, in this 
 indenture, by the space of eleven months, that then it 
 shall be lawful to the said Prior, and his successors, to 
 re-enter into the aforesaid grange, garden, enclosures, and 
 fields. And all the same to enjoy, as in their first estate. 
 This present lease notwithstanding. In witness whereof 
 to one part of these present indentures toward the said 
 William Woodmanton remaining, the said Prior and his 
 brethren have put their convent seal. And to the other 
 part of the same indenture towards the said Prior and his 
 brethren abiding, the said William Woodmanton hath put 
 his seal. Given in the chapter-house of the said Prior 
 and brethren, the twenty-eighth day of June, in the year 
 of our Lord God 1505, and the twentieth year of the 
 reign of King Henry VII." 
 
 In a survey of the manor, taken by order of Prince 
 Henry, in 1611, Highbury Barn is depicted as a high 
 building within the castle yard. As years rolled on, the 
 London citizens were in the habit of walking out to 
 Highbury to drink new milk, and eat custards, cakes, 
 and syllabubs, and so gradually the farm grew into a 
 tavern and tea-garden, at first on a very humble scale, 
 but increasing in importance proportionately with its 
 rise in popular favour. The Court- baron of the manor 
 was held here, and in time a large room was added, and 
 handsomely fitted up, for the reception of the company 
 
38 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 in wet weather. The Highbury Society of Protestant 
 dissenters established in 1714, on the death of Queen 
 Anne, celebrated its meetings here as early as, or 
 perhaps earlier than, 1740. The following toast was 
 always given at their annual dinner, in the month of 
 August : " The glorious ist of August, with the im- 
 mortal memory of King William and Queen Mary, not 
 forgetting Corporal John; and a fig for the Bishop of 
 Cork, that bottle-stopper." By Corporal John was 
 meant the great Duke of Marlborough. This society 
 was dissolved in 1833. And during its long-continued, 
 although not very brilliant, existence, Highbury Barn 
 may at least boast of one most honoured tradition. It 
 shared, with White Conduit House, the distinction of 
 being, at one period of his life, the favourite pleasure- 
 haunt of the poet, Oliver Goldsmith. In the years 
 1762-4, when the then struggling author was hiding from 
 his creditors, under the wing of Mr. Newberry of 
 picture-book renown and composing his immortal Vicar 
 of Wakefield, at Canonbury Tower, Goldsmith was often 
 wont to seek distraction and, possibly, ideas for his 
 book, in what he would humorously term a " shoemaker's 
 holiday." This would consist in a morning walk by the 
 City Road, and through the fields, to dine at Highbury 
 Barn. " There was then" we are told by his friend and 
 fellow-student, Cooke, when writing in the European 
 Magazine, for 1 793, " a very good ordinary, of two dishes, 
 and a pastry, kept at Highbury Barn, at tenpence per 
 head, including a penny to the waiter ; and the company 
 consisted of literary characters, a few Templars, and some 
 
Something about Old Highbury Barn. 39 
 
 citizens who had left off trade ; the whole expenses of 
 the day's fete never exceeded a crown, and oftener were 
 from three-and-sixpence to four shillings, for which the 
 party obtained good air and exercise, the example of 
 simple manners, and good conversation." How much 
 of all this could be affirmed, with equal truth, by any 
 one of the visitors to its more splendid rivals, the gardens 
 of Marylebone, Ranelagh, and Vauxhall ? 
 
 In the Gentleman's Magazine for December, 1785, 
 we find, amongst the obituary of considerable persons : 
 " i yth, Mr. Willoughby, master of the place of public 
 entertainment called Highbury Barn." It was under 
 this proprietor that the bowling-green, trapball-ground, 
 and gardens were first laid out, and both he, and sub- 
 sequently his son, by their persevering industry and ex- 
 cellent arrangements, greatly increased the popularity of 
 the place. In the Grace Collection of " Views of Old 
 London," exhibited in the year 1879, at the South Ken- 
 sington Museum, there was an engraving of Highbury 
 Barn, described as "The Highbury Assembly House, 
 near Islington, kept by Mr. Willoughby, published i2th 
 September, 1792, by Robert Sayer & Co., Fleet Street, 
 London." 
 
 In addition to the Highbury Society, a number of 
 corporate bodies, public charities, and clubs now began 
 to hold their annual gatherings here; and in 1 80 1, it is 
 recorded that a dinner was dressed for eight hundred 
 persons, all of whom sat down to hot dishes. On this 
 occasion, no less than seventy geese might be seen 
 roasting at one fire. In June, 1808, the Society of Free- 
 
4O Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 masons, to the number of five hundred, after attending 
 divine service at Islington Church, dined at the High- 
 bury Tavern, and a similar feasting was repeated in 
 
 1810. Nelson, in his History of 'Islington , published in 
 
 1811, describes its increasing prosperity, and says that 
 "the business done at this house, in the summer months, 
 is equal to, if not beyond, that of any similar concern in 
 the metropolis or its environs. From the grounds the 
 prospect is extensive and beautiful; at one end is a 
 small plantation of hops, which has been for these few 
 years past cultivated by Mr. Willoughby, who has lately 
 erected a very convenient ale and table-beer brewery on 
 the premises. An assembly is likewise established here, 
 which is supported by the subscriptions of the neighbour- 
 ing inhabitants, who meet together in the great room 
 once a month during the seasons of winter and spring. 
 In a field adjoining the gardens is a butt for the 
 exercise of ball-firing, similar to the one at Canonbury." 
 
 On the 4th of June, 1818, the first annual celebra- 
 tion of the British and Foreign School Society was held 
 here, and presided over by the Duke of Sussex. Four 
 thousand children three hundred of whom were Jews, 
 walked in procession, and were examined in the grounds. 
 In Leigh's New Picture of London, for 1825, Highbury 
 Barn is described as " a tavern and tea-gardens, which 
 are very much frequented, particularly during the sum- 
 mer." In 1835 tne l n S room contained two pictures, 
 which had formerly hung in the Duke of Northumber- 
 land's gallery at Sion House. One of these was the 
 " full-length portrait of a lady dressed in the old style, 
 
Something about Old HigJibury Barn. 4 1 
 
 the other represented " Venus lamenting over the dead 
 body of Adonis." 
 
 From the Willoughbys the concern passed to Mr. 
 John Hinton, in whose hands, and those of his son, Mr. 
 Archibald Hinton, it remained down to the year 1860. 
 Under the two Hintons, Highbury Barn continued to pre- 
 serve most of its old characteristics, and was long the 
 favoured place of meeting for clubs and large societies. 
 The Licensed Victuallers, for instance, held their annual 
 dinner there, in 1841, which was attended by as many as 
 three thousand guests. Musical performances and pyro- 
 technic displays were in time added to the more primi- 
 tive attractions, but these were always concluded by a 
 comparatively early hour. The element of fastness, which 
 prevailed more and more as time slipped by, at places 
 like Vauxhall and Cremorne, was conspicuous only by 
 its absence here. Appealing like the Surrey Gardens 
 another place of amusement, now also defunct more 
 exclusively to the middle and tradesman class, Highbury 
 Barn might be beneath the notice of the gilded youth 
 of that day ; but it was, at any rate, always thoroughly 
 respectable. 
 
 Passing over a few years, we next read of assemblies 
 for dancing as being held in the large room during the 
 winter months of 1849-50, and of a Licensed Victuallers' 
 anniversary dinner, in May, 1851. This was presided over 
 by Mr. Samuel Whitbread, M.P., and the exceptionally 
 large sum of 40447. was collected after dinner in aid of 
 the Society's funds. A musical festival was given in 
 June, 1852; and amongst the Societies who held their 
 
42 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 fetes in 1853, were the Tinplate-Workers, the Cork- 
 Cutters, the United Patriots, Waltonians, and News- 
 vendors. 
 
 Whether owing to a diminution of popular favour, or 
 from some other cause, we know not, but in the next year, 
 1854, the place began to assume rather a different 
 aspect. At any rate, the old routine did not seem to 
 satisfy the proprietor. So the band of the Grenadier 
 Guards was engaged, and dancing introduced every 
 evening, from seven till half-past ten. The licence for 
 dancing was, however, refused by the magistrates at the 
 end of the season. This year was also memorable for 
 a balloon ascent, made by the veteran aeronaut Green, 
 on the evening of the loth of July. A panorama of Con- 
 stantinople was exhibited in the long room, in 1855; 
 and to evade the licence, dancing now took place under 
 the auspices of a number of subscribers, who styled 
 themselves the Highbury Club. The much-contested 
 licence was at length granted in October, 1856, and 
 from this date the class of frequenters gradually changed, 
 until at length the time-honoured tea-garden, " the 
 pride of merrie Islington," became finally transformed 
 into a species of North London Cremorne. A carnival 
 ball was given on Easter Monday, 1859, when one 
 thousand presents were distributed amongst the visitors. 
 The celebrated comic vocalist, Mackney, sang at Mr. 
 Hinton's benefit in September, 1860. The proprietor 
 retired to Anerley Gardens at the end of this year, having 
 relinquished his lease to Mr. Edward Giovanelli, who 
 assumed the reins of management on Whit Monday, 
 
Something about Old Highbury Barn. 43 
 
 May 2ist, 1 86 1. A new music hall was constructed 
 in 1862, in which concerts were given, with Miss Rebecca 
 Isaacs and Mr. Vernon Rigby as the leading singers. 
 That most graceful of gymnasts, Leotard, was also en- 
 gaged for the whole of the season. The night of 
 Thursday, the i6th of August, witnessed a terrible acci- 
 dent to a woman, professionally known as " The Female 
 Blondin," but whose real name was Selina Young, and 
 who, whilst walking on a tight-rope, at an elevation of 
 sixty feet from the ground, and balancing herself by a 
 pole loaded with fireworks in full play, fell, and was 
 crippled for life. A once favourite ballet, The Beauty 
 of Ghent, was represented in 1863, and Professor 
 Pepper's " Ghost " also formed a great attraction in this 
 year, scenes from Hamlet and Der Freischiitz being ex- 
 pressly mounted for its display. Promenade Concerts 
 were given in the winter of 1864. 
 
 Many alterations and improvements in the gardens 
 were effected in 1865, and the music-hall was converted 
 into a theatre, the Alexandra, which was opened on the 
 20th of May, with a burlesque on the opera of Ernani, 
 by the well-known author, William Brough ; the burlesque 
 was preceded by a new farce, bearing the eccentric title 
 of Worryburfs Whims. These pieces were supported 
 by Miss Rachel Sanger, Mrs. Caulfield, Mr. Danvers, 
 and Mr. J. G. Taylor. Mr. Giovanelli himself also 
 played Wormwood, in The Lottery Ticket, and a panto- 
 mime, on the well-worn subject of Bluebeard, was pro- 
 duced at Christmas. The qualifications of the lessee as 
 an actor were certainly various, seeing that within the 
 
44 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 next two or three years he appeared successively in such 
 parts as Jem Baggs, in The Wandering Minstrel, Jacob 
 Earwig, in Boots at the Swan, as clown in the revived 
 and once famous pantomime of Mother Goose, and as 
 Mawworm in Bickerstaffe's comedy of The Hypocrite. 
 
 The theatre now divided attention with the gardens, and 
 was worked for some time with energy and success ; but 
 other amusements were not neglected. Benefit societies 
 and bean-feasts continued to be held, and the out-of- 
 door attractions were set forth with as much prominence 
 as ever. Blondin, the equilibrist, was engaged in the 
 summer of 1868, and another celebrity, Natator, the 
 man frog, in 1869. During this latter year, also, a 
 curiosity, or monstrosity, of a former generation, The 
 Siamese Twins, on their return, after an interval of many 
 years, to England, were exhibited here. The art of 
 puffery would really seem to have reached its extreme 
 limit in the advertisements at this date. Vauxhall, in its 
 palmy days, had been wont to glory in an illumination of 
 twenty thousand extra lamps; Highbury Barn now boasted 
 of half a million ! But neither these, nor the exertions 
 which, however misdirected, were at any rate great of 
 Mr. Giovanelli, could long uphold the credit of a place 
 the respectability of which had completely disappeared. 
 The drunken and riotous orgies entailed by the late 
 hour up to which the gardens were kept open, had made 
 them a nuisance to the inhabitants of this rapidly in- 
 creasing suburb. The opposition to the annual licence 
 became more and more general, until at length matters 
 were brought to a crisis by the ill-advised exhibition of 
 
Something about Old Highbury Barn. 45 
 
 the Colonna troupe of dancers, in June, 1870. This 
 step proved fatal. The local authorities now interfered, 
 the licence was cancelled, and the lessee, who, by his own 
 showing, had expended upwards of thirty-five thousand 
 pounds upon the property, withdrew from the scene, at 
 the end of the summer a ruined man. 
 
 In 1871 yet one more effort was made for Highbury 
 Barn, the speculator this time happening to be no other 
 than the ubiquitous Mr. E. T. Smith, who in his time 
 had governed more places of public entertainment in 
 London than any other individual, since or before, and 
 who now made shift to carry it on, with most of the old 
 amusements, minus the objectionable dancing. On the 
 27th of June, in this year, a race of five hundred pigeons 
 took place ; the birds been let loose at noon, arrived 
 at Courtrai, in Belgium, as specified by a telegram, at 
 half-past three, during the afternoon. A similar race, 
 on a more extended scale, occurred at Sydenham in the 
 same month ; but this one, as an event in the history 
 of Highbury Barn, deserves to be recorded here. Mr. 
 E. T. Smith, however, proved powerless to restore its 
 fallen fortunes ; and, notwithstanding his quaintly-piteous 
 protest that, in order to meet the popular prejudice, five 
 hundred bakers, and their five hundred wives, had been 
 forbidden to dance, after their annual dinner, held in the 
 summer, the renewal of his lease was inexorably refused 
 in the following October. 
 
 From this date Highbury Barn remained shut up 
 entirely, seeing that no other tenant could be found 
 endowed with sufficient hardihood to bid for a place 
 
46 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 over the gates of which Ichabod might indeed have been 
 long since most fitly written up. On the occasion of a 
 recent visit, we found the entrance which had formerly 
 some pretension to architectural merit half demolished, 
 and the intervening gaps filled in with common wooden 
 hoardings. The flower beds were choked with grass and 
 weeds. The nightshade flourished in rank luxuriance 
 around the crumbling and dismantled orchestra. The 
 once elegant decorations of the Alexandra Theatre were 
 all but obliterated by damp and mildew, whilst the 
 windows of the " vast and unequalled" ball-room a room, 
 by the way, of really noble proportions were completely 
 destitute of glass. Two of the five acres, set forth in 
 Docwra's indenture, had been already built upon. The 
 remaining three formed, indeed, but a sorry monument 
 of departed folly. And sad though it must ever be to 
 witness the removal of an ancient land- mark, we cannot 
 but hope that, continuing merely under such conditions 
 as these, Highbury Barn may speedily be improved off 
 the face of the earth altogether. For though the vene- 
 rable Tower of Canonbury, the shelter of Oliver Gold- 
 smith during the fruition of his choicest literary toils, 
 may well rear its head erect, and bid defiance to a time 
 which can cast no taint upon the history of its past ; the 
 poor old Barn, the scene of his innocent hours of re- 
 creation, now exists merely as a tawdry, dreary, and 
 to tell the honest truth a most disreputable -looking ruin, 
 in the midst of modern, smiling, prosperous Highbury. 
 
47 
 
 THE DRAMA IN NORTON-FOLGATE. 
 
 A very MINOR RECORD. 
 
 THE abolition of patent rights, hitherto confined exclu- 
 sively to the two large houses Drury Lane and Covent 
 Garden and the consequent diffusion of dramatic enter- 
 prise, called into existence during the second quarter of 
 the present century a number of new theatres in every 
 part of the metropolis. One of these the City of Lon- 
 don Theatre, in Bishopsgate Street, Norton- Folgate 
 although owing to a remote situation, and other causes, 
 it scarcely ever achieved Fame* and never Fashion, main- 
 tained, nevertheless, for a period of many years, a certain 
 position and popularity of its own, which may fairly 
 entitle it to a niche in the archives of the London stage. 
 The house in Norton-Folgate, however, should not be con- 
 founded with another City Theatre, opened a few years 
 earlier in Grub Street now Milton Street. 1 This City 
 
 1 The New City Subscription Theatre, Milton Street, Fore 
 Street, was constructed by Mr. Bedford, and first opened to 
 the public at Easter, 1831. The lessee was Mr. John Kemble 
 Chapman, who had married Miss Anne Tree, sister of the 
 more famous Miss Ellen Tree afterwards Mrs. Charles 
 Kean. The introductory entertainments were of a light 
 description, but were supported by the talents of Mr. John 
 
48 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 Theatre, after a brief career, had succumbed to circum- 
 
 Reeve, Mr. Macarthy, Mrs. Fitzwilliam, and Miss Pincott, 
 in addition to the lessee, and his clever wife. Although no 
 licence had been obtained for the performance of the legiti- 
 mate drama, an engagement was effected with Edmund Kean, 
 who appeared on the 23rd of May, and during his visit played 
 Shylock, King Lear, Othello, Sir Edward Mortimer, and Sir 
 Giles Overreach. This engagement remains as the one great 
 tradition of the little theatre in Milton Street, which neverthe- 
 less,from time to time, could boast of some very good names in 
 its bills. T. P. Cooke played William in Black-Eyed Susan, 
 to the Gnatbrain of J. B. Buckstone, in June, and in August 
 James Vining and Miss Ellen Tree were secured, the latter 
 playing Eily O'Connor, in a dramatized version of Gerald 
 Griffin's novel, " The Collegians," the plot of which was long 
 afterwards at the Adelphi, in 1 860 turned to such brilliant 
 account, by Dion Boucicault, in The Colleen Bawn. Tyrone 
 Power was the "star" in August, supported by Miss Ellen 
 Tree, Miss Apjohn better remembered as Mrs. Frank 
 Matthews Mr. James Vining, and Mr. Shepherd. Still 
 later in the year, Mr. and Mrs. Davidge, and Mrs. Selby 
 were to be seen, in Guy Mannermg and Victorine. Davidge 
 assumed the management in January, 1832, and engaged 
 Miss Smithson who subsequently became the wife of Hector 
 Berlioz as his leading actress. Mr. Benjamin Webster 
 made his first essay in theatrical management, at the City, 
 at Easter in this year, and engaged George Bennett, Oxberry, 
 and Mrs. Waylett. Mr. Chapman resumed the direction at 
 Christmas, with a new piece, The Gentleman in Black, from 
 the pen of Leman Rede. The same author's dramas, The 
 Rakes Progress, and .Five Degrees of Crime, were then pro- 
 duced with success. Mr. Butler, of Covent Garden, played 
 legitimate first lead in July, 1833, and John Reeve was also 
 engaged, with the favourite comedian, Mr. T. Green, and the 
 celebrated clown, Paulo. The dramatist Moncrieffwas the 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 49 
 
 stances, and reverted to its original condition a conven- 
 ticle a short time before our history opens. 
 
 The erection of the new house was commenced as early 
 as October, 1834, but owing to a difficulty about the 
 licence, or, more probably, want of money, it did not 
 open until Monday, March 27, 1837. It was built by 
 Beazley, the most celebrated theatrical architect of his 
 time, and whose work can still be seen in Drury Lane, 
 the St. James's, and Lyceum. For massive richness of 
 decoration, and harmony of outline, these three houses 
 may contrast favourably with the majority of our modern 
 theatres, in which general effect is for the most part 
 sacrificed to a practical anxiety for conveniently seating as 
 many spectators as possible. The artists of to-day have 
 undoubtedly improved upon their predecessors as re- 
 gards comfort ; but they are as far behind them in the 
 symmetry and completeness of their work. If the archir 
 tecture of our older playhouses occasionally erred on the 
 side of heaviness, that of the present is too often conspi- 
 cuous for its nakedness and meagre ornamentation. The 
 new Haymarket Theatre, opened at the beginning of last 
 year, is, indeed, a model of beauty and luxurious accom- 
 modation ; but the Haymarket is unhappily an exception 
 to the prevailing rule of theatrical construction in London. 
 
 The prominent features of the new theatre, which 
 
 next manager, and gave a series of his own dramas, but from 
 this time the performances call for no special notice, being 
 mostly of a very inferior kind, although the names of Oxberry 
 and Mrs. H. P. Grattan were to be met with occasionally in 
 the announcements for 1 835. After that year the City Theatre 
 disappears altogether. 
 
5O Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 opened, as we have before said, on Easter Monday, 1837, 
 were an elegant Corinthian facade, which still remains, 
 and a small, but very prettily decorated, interior. The 
 lessee was Mr. Cockerton, formerly connected with the 
 Olympic, and the opening piece was a dramatic version, 
 by Mr. Edward Stirling, of Dickens' then new and uni- 
 versally popular Pickwick, with Mr. Macarthy as Jingle, 
 and two other old favourites, Wilkinson and W. H. Wil- 
 liams, in the part of Sam Weller and the title role. Mrs. 
 Emden, whose husband was stage-manager Miss Rivers, 
 and Mr. Wrench, were also in the company. The scenery, 
 by Mr. Charles Marshall, afterwards scenic artist at Her 
 Majesty's Theatre, in the days of Lumley, was greatly 
 admired. The musical arrangements were under the direc- 
 tion of Mr. J. H. Tully, subsequently, for a long period, 
 the popular conductor of the orchestra at Drury Lane, and 
 the entire performance was pronounced a decided success. 
 Mr. George Bennett played Hamlet on Wednesday, the 
 3rd of May, for the benefit of the distressed weavers, and 
 during the same month a troupe of Bedouin Arabs were 
 added to the other, and more legitimate, attractions. On 
 Monday, the 26th of June, the old musical drama, TheLord 
 of the Manor, was given, for the benefit of Mr. Cockerton. 
 The house re-opened for the winter on Monday, the 
 1 6th of October, under the direction of the same lessee, 
 with the addition of Mr. Edward Stirling as stage-manager. 
 A fortnight afterwards, Mrs. Honey, one of the most 
 beautiful and popular actresses of the day, appeared in 
 Don Juan. Miss Pincott, afterwards Mrs. Alfred Wigan, 
 and the celebrated low comedian, Vale, were also en- 
 
The Drama in Norton- Folgate. 5 1 
 
 gaged. Of Vale, when at the Surrey Theatre, a contempo- 
 rary critic 2 writes, " Mr. Vale has a most enviable hold on 
 the Surrey audience ; he enters they laugh, he looks 
 they laugh, he speaks they laugh, he moves they laugh, 
 he stops they laugh, he goes off they laugh ; in short, . 
 do what he may they laugh, and even sometimes do what 
 he may not they laugh. If we were to write a piece for 
 the Surrey Theatre, we should make but one stipulation 
 * let Mr. Vale play in it.' The audience would be satis- 
 fied, and so should we." Needless to add how important 
 such an acquisition would be, to a young and struggling 
 house like the New City. On Boxing-night Mrs. Honey 
 assumed the management, beginning her reign with a 
 spectacle, The Page of Palermo, and a pantomime, Witt 
 o' the Wisp, in which Harry Boleno, the Messrs. Deulin, 
 Miss Gilbert and Miss Pincott, all appeared. 
 
 In the early months of 1838 the plays successively 
 performed were Clari, the Maid of Milan, The Beulah 
 Spa, Hush Money, The Rent Day, and The Dream at Sea 
 with Mrs. Honey as Biddy Nutts. 3 Mrs. Honey gave 
 up the theatre at Easter to Osbaldiston a well-known 
 actor of melodrama, and theatrical manager in his day 
 who opened with a new play, Windsor Castle in the Olden 
 Time, in which he played the leading character, supported 
 by Freer, Simpson, Mrs. Edwin Yarnold, and Miss Vin- 
 cent. Osbaldiston managed the house for three years, 
 during which Miss Vincent, then in the pride of her 
 
 2 Athenceum, March 9, 1833. 
 
 3 The leading actor of Mrs. Honey's company was Mr. T. 
 Green, familiarly known as " Gentleman " Green. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 youthful beauty and talent, formed the leading attraction. 
 This was an actress who, under other conditions, might 
 have gone far in the highest walks of her art. Fate, and 
 Mr. Osbaldiston, however, ruled it differently, and as 
 " the only heroine of domestic tragedy," Miss Vincent 
 was content to shine, at theatres of a very inferior grade 
 to those on the boards of which she might otherwise have 
 occupied a leading position. On Saturday, the i8th of 
 June, 1839, there was a benefit for the General Theatrical 
 Fund, when T. P. Cooke appeared as William in Black- 
 Eyed Susan. Mrs. Waylett, Mr. and Mrs. Keeley, Ham- 
 mond, and Strickland all lent their aid on this occasion. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Frank Matthews, Oxberry, and Mrs. Honey 
 produced some of Madame Vestris' Olympic pieces in 
 the July of this year. The pantomimes, under Mr. Osbal- 
 diston's reign, were written by Nelson Lee. The cha- 
 racter of the City Theatre, however, gradually sank to a 
 very low ebb, as may be guessed from the titles of some 
 of the dramas. The Bandit's Bride, The Patriot } s Doom, 
 The Pool of the Drowned, The Miser's Grave, The Tailor's 
 Dream, Sweet Poll of Horsleydown, Jack Sheppard, and 
 Sixteen-String Jack ; such was the fare offered in the 
 year 1840 to the respectable inhabitants of Norton-Fol- 
 gate. Another melodrama, Mary Clifford, seems to have 
 been of a superior order, and had a run of between sixty 
 and seventy nights. 
 
 At Easter, 1841, Osbaldiston and Miss Vincent removed 
 to the Victoria, leaving the field once more clear for Mr. 
 Cockerton, who now renewed his experiment in con- 
 junction with Mr. Shepherd in years to come the sue- 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 53 
 
 cessful manager of the Surrey. Inez di Castro was the 
 first novelty of the new season, with Mrs. Honey and 
 Miss Emmeline Montague, who afterwards became Mrs. 
 Compton. Carter's lions were exhibited in May, in a 
 spectacular piece, The Lion of the Desert. Passing on to 
 the following year, we find Mr. Charles Dillon playing at 
 Easter, and the famous clown, Tom Matthews, at Whit- 
 suntide. Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet was given on 
 Monday, the iyth of October, with Charles Dillon and 
 Miss E. Montague in the leading parts. Mrs. Honey also 
 was still in the company, but the exhibition of a notorious 
 individual, Alice Lowe, " the victim of unmerited perse- 
 cution," who had recently figured in the Law Courts, tes- 
 tifies to the small account in which the respectability of 
 his theatre was held by the proprietor. A very good pan- 
 tomime, Harlequin and the One-Eyed Blacksmith, written 
 by Nelson Lee, was produced on Boxing-night, with 
 Milano as Harlequin, Blanchard as Clown, and Miss 
 Cushnie, Columbine. 
 
 The Tower of Nesle, The Miller and his Men, and 
 Black-Eyed Susan, respectively, ushered in the panto- 
 mime during January, 1843. Mr. Dillon returned in 
 the following month, and played, with Mrs. Yarnold, in 
 Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and Richard the Third, as well 
 as in Tobin's comedy of The Honeymoon, and " Monk }> 
 Lewis's once popular melodrama, The Castle Spectre. Mr. 
 Elton, another very striking actor, was here in March, 
 appearing v& Julius Cczsar, and Massinger's fine tragedy, 
 A New Way to Pay Old Debts. Mrs. Honey also played, 
 for the last time in public, a few nights before her pre- 
 
54 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 mature death, towards the end of this month. Mr. C. S. 
 James, of the Tottenham Street Theatre now the Prince 
 of Wales's assumed the management at Easter, with 
 Miss Kate Howard as leading actress, and Mr. O. Smith 
 from the Adelphi. A portion of Macready's company at 
 Drury Lane, including Mr. George Bennett, Mr. Ryder, 
 Mrs. W. West, and Miss Fortescue, gave a series of 
 " legitimate " performances in July, but for the remainder 
 of the year drama of a very low type was the prevailing 
 rule. Mr. Denvil, the original representative of Lord 
 Byron's Manfred, afforded some relief to the state of 
 things early in the ensuing year, by playing in the Mer- 
 chant of Venice ', Pizarro, and other legitimate plays. These 
 were succeeded in March by the equestrian spectacle of 
 Mazeppa, and at Easter the celebrated pantomimist, 
 Wieland, Mr. Wilsone, Mrs. Frank Matthews, and Miss 
 Emma Stanley were engaged. 
 
 During the autumn of 1844, in emulation, it may be 
 presumed, of the excellent example lately set and with 
 such good results by Phelps and Mrs. Warner at Sadler's 
 Wells, an effort was made to improve the style of per- 
 formances, and generally to impart a higher tone. 
 Accordingly the house was re-decorated, and opened on 
 Monday, the yth of October, under the lesseeship of Mr. 
 Wilsone, and the stage-direction of that very admirable 
 actress, Mrs. Walter Lacy, whose name figured promi- 
 nently in all the announcements. Sheridan's School for 
 Scandal 'was given by a fair, though incomplete company, 
 comprising, however, the good names of Messrs. James 
 Browne, Robert Roxby, George Wild, B. Rogers, Mrs. 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 5 5 
 
 Tayleure, Miss Daly, and the new manageress, who, of 
 course, played Lady Teazle, and, in the course of the 
 evening, delivered the following address, from the pen of 
 Albert Smith : 
 
 rt Accustomed as I am to public speaking, 
 Yet I must own, in thus your favours seeking, 
 I trembling come before you, on reflection, 
 That all is now under my sole direction. 
 But should you find for blame the least pretence, 
 Pray pardon me, for 'tis my first offence. 
 
 " The Drama long has wander'd up and down, 
 Spurn'd in the country starved to death in town ; 
 Received into no Union ; and at last, 
 Without a bit of food, was breaking fast, 
 We come to offer her indoor relief, 
 And though of all, our house is not the chief ; 
 Shakspere himself, I'm sure, would rather rest 
 Free in the City, than at Court compressed. 
 
 " While music, painting, wit, its worth enhance, 
 In our Art-Union will you take a chance ? 
 You need not be afraid ; for though of late 
 All play has been abolished by the State, 
 Yet, in this instance, we are glad to say, 
 No ' Qui Tarn ' actions can affect our play ; 
 And still we hope your patronage to gain, 
 Each piece produced will have a ' running reign.' 
 Our novelty with worth shall be combined, 
 And though our subjects are most hard to find, 
 Yet on the Drama's ground the area's wide 
 We'll try and seek some ' plot unoccupied.' 
 
 " One moment to our ballet let me turn, 
 Train'd for our new campaign by Oscar Byrne, 
 
56 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Who, with his bright array of female charms, 
 Is trusting more to legs than feats of arms, 
 Two 4 of the corps are strangers in the land, 
 But with right energy have join'd our band. 
 Pray make them feel that nothing ere should be 
 'Twixt France and merry England, but the sea. 
 
 " Events and changes latterly have shown 
 Women can make each province quite their own. 
 The Salic law in theatres is repeal'd, 
 And women now alone the sceptres wield. 
 Think not the undertaking new or strange, 
 In opening this night our new Exchange ; 
 But rally round "our house, and prove at least 
 There yet remains some wisdom in the East." 
 
 The play was very well mounted, and the divertisse- 
 ment which followed, and to which allusion was made in 
 the introductory speech, was admirably got up by Oscar 
 Byrne, the best English ballet-master of his day. Sheri- 
 dan's comedy was followed, at a short interval, by Mrs. 
 Cowley's Belle's Stratagem, and Holcroft's Road to Ruin, 
 but either this class of entertainment was too refined for 
 the denizens of the far East, or else funds were wanting 
 for its proper establishment there. At any rate the 
 new venture did not thrive, and eventually came to a 
 sudden, and regrettable termination, within a month from 
 the date of its commencement. 
 
 The house was consequently " to let " at the very 
 height of the winter season, but the irrepressible Mr. 
 Cockerton speedily came, once more, to the front, and 
 
 4 Mdlles. Louise, and Adele, announced as of Her 
 Majesty's Theatre, and the San Carlo-Naples. Both dancers, 
 later, became established favourites, at the smaller London 
 theatres. 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 57 
 
 reopened it on Boxing-night, with Sheridan's Pizarro, and 
 a pantomime, bearing the attractive title, The Gnomes of the 
 Golden Caves. His stage-manager was now Mr. Denvil, 
 who reappeared on the 3oth of December as Shylock. 
 
 The American dwarf, Tom Thumb, was exhibited at 
 the City of London, during the first week in January, 
 1845, and a tragedian of some merit, Mr. Hudson Kirby, 
 from the same country, also had an engagement. Mr. and 
 Miss VandenhorT were playing here, during the month of 
 April, in As You Like It. The next lessee was Mr. Robert 
 Honner, who opened it for the winter season on Monday, 
 the 2 yth of October, with a drama, Pauline, which later 
 playgoers may recollect as a favourite after-piece at the 
 Princess's Theatre, in the time of Charles Kean. Mr. 
 Ryder had a benefit, on Monday, the 22nd of December, 
 when Virginius was played. The performances, as a 
 whole, were greatly improved this winter. The well-known 
 harlequin, Bologna, appeared in the pantomime, King 
 Lud of Ludgate, at Christmas. 
 
 One of the many versions of Dickens' charming tale, The 
 Cricket on the Hearth, was brought out in January, 1846, 
 with Mrs. Honner, a pretty and clever actress, as Dot, and 
 the manager as Caleb Plummer. Hughes's performing 
 elephants were to be seen in February, and Loveli's fine 
 play, Love's Sacrifice, was acted on Monday, the i6th of 
 March, with Mrs. Honner as Margaret Elmore. Through- 
 out this month, the legitimate drama was largely drawn 
 upon. The favourite Adelphi drama, Victorine, was the 
 attraction for the opening of the winter season on Mon- 
 day, the 3ist of August, with Mrs. Honner, Messrs Lyon, 
 and H. T. Craven, the latter of whom subsequently rose 
 
58 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 to eminence. A Mr. Charles Mason, related, on his 
 mother's side, to the Kembles, next appeared in Othello, 
 Hamlet, and Byron's Werner. In October the lessee 
 started the innovation of a threepenny gallery, and this, 
 if profitable for the time, had, as introducing a lower class 
 of visitors, a most injurious effect upon the character of 
 the house. A new melodrama, The Black Doctor, was 
 brought out on Monday, the 9th of November, and on 
 Boxing-night, that excellent clown, Paul Herring, formed 
 the mainstay of the pantomime, He with the Hump. A 
 version of Dickens' Battle of Life, with Mrs. Honner as 
 Clemency Newcombe, was the next novelty in January, 
 1847, and Mr. J. R. Scott starred as leading tragedian. 
 Nothing of interest seems to have occurred during the 
 summer months, and the next noticeable event was the 
 production, early in October, of a drama, founded upon 
 Cruikshank's series of illustrations, The Bottle. This 
 was extremely well acted by Mrs. Honner, Mrs. Griffiths, 
 Messrs Robert Honner, Lyon, E. F. Savile, Ersser Jones, 
 and H. T. Craven. On Boxing-night a pantomime, The 
 Old Woman tossed in a Blanket, by the well-known 
 author, T. W. Moncrieff, formed the concluding event of 
 the year 1847. 
 
 In the summer of 1848, Mr. Honner having become 
 bankrupt, the City was under the provisional management 
 of Mr. E. F. Savile, who revived the old comedy, A Cure 
 for the Heartache, for his benefit, on Saturday, the 28th of 
 August. On Saturday, the 30th of September, it was re- 
 opened by Mr. Nelson Lee, in conjunction with Mr. J. 
 Johnson, and to these gentlemen belonged the uncommon 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 59 
 
 merit of conducting the City of London Theatre for a 
 term extending over many years, not only with credit 
 and respectability, but with pecuniary results highly satis- 
 factory to themselves. In fact, they were the only managers 
 who ever really made it pay. Their plan was to carry on 
 the theatre themselves in the winter, and to sub-let it during 
 the summer months, thus keeping open house for the whole 
 year, with the exception of such time as was requisite for 
 cleaning, re-decoration, and repairs. This system has since 
 been very generally adopted elsewhere, though not always 
 with like results. The remarkable excellence of Mr. 
 Nelson Lee's pantomimes was another feature which 
 served to bring the house into notice, whilst, in other 
 portions of the year, although the lessees were shrewd 
 enough to measure the requirements of their audiences, 
 and to provide them with the fare which they seemed to 
 prefer, they made, in the course of time, many and praise- 
 worthy efforts to cultivate and improve their taste. Mr. 
 Nelson Lee's first pantomime, under his own management, 
 was entitled, War, Love, and Peace, and proved highly 
 successful. Mr. Savile was again sub-tenant, for the 
 summer months of 1849, an( ^ engaged that first of all 
 transpontine favourites, Mr. N. T. Hicks - the " Brayvo 
 'Icks " of the Victoria gallery for first lead. The winter 
 season, which began early in October, was marked by the 
 production of The Prophet, being a dramatic version of 
 Meyerbeer's latest opera. The pantomime bore the 
 whimsical title of Pens, Ink, and Paper. Mr. Nelson 
 Lee had a benefit on Wednesday, the 27th of February, 
 and Mr Johnson on Tuesday, the i6th of April, 1850. 
 
60 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 On the latter occasion Mr. Rayner appeared in King Lear. 
 Mr. Savile, as usual, directed the summer season, and 
 when the lessees returned for the winter, a play founded 
 on Verdi's opera of Nabucco, entitled Anato, King of 
 Assyria, was produced. The Christmas pantomime, 
 Knife, Fork, and Spoon an unusually good one served 
 to introduced a new clown, Mr. George Parry, to the 
 London public. 
 
 In January, 1851, a version of Belphegor the Mounte- 
 bank was produced with success, and at Easter a drama, 
 the subject of which was musically treated by the com- 
 poser, Vincent Wallace, some ten years later at the 
 Opera-house in the Haymarket The Amber Witch. At 
 Whitsuntide we read of an oriental spectacle, with the 
 sonorous title, Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. A new stage 
 had been laid down, before the winter season, which 
 began at Michaelmas, with a drama, King Liberty. 
 Another, The Slaves of London, first saw the light in the 
 middle of October. On Monday, the loth of November, 
 Mr. James Anderson, who had suffered, it is to be feared, 
 very considerably in purse by his spirited efforts to 
 restore legitimacy to the arena of Drury Lane, entered 
 upon an engagement at the City, and opened with 
 Hamlet. Mrs. LovelPs classical play of Ingomar, and 
 Schiller's Robbers followed. Money was also most care- 
 fully produced, during the last week of Mr. Anderson's 
 visit, which terminated with credit and profit to the 
 actor- and his managers alike, on Saturday, December 23. 
 On Boxing-night a great success was won for the new 
 and very clever pantomime, Oliver Cromwell, a scene 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 61 
 
 from which was engraved for the Illustrated London 
 News ; a rare distinction in days when illustrated journals 
 and magazines were not as now innumerable. 
 
 Mr. N. T. Hicks was again engaged, in January, and Mr. 
 Charles Pitt, after a long absence from the metropolitan 
 boards, appeared as Lear, on Monday, the i5th of March, 
 1852. A version of The Corsican Brothers, for Mr. Pitt, 
 Mr. N. T. Hicks, and Mrs. Henry Vining, followed on 
 the 22nd of the same month, and at Easter the tragedy 
 of Gisippus, or the Forgotten Friend, was produced. This 
 tragedy was written by Mr. Gerald Griffin better known 
 as the author of a very popular novel, The Collegians. 
 It was originally produced, at Drury Lane, in 1842, when 
 that theatre was under the management of Macready. 
 Gisippus would appear to have been more remarkable 
 for the fluency and ingenuity of the writing than for any 
 dramatic vigour. Its revival, however, was an enter- 
 prising step on the part of the lessees, and the result was 
 successful. Mr. Pitt's engagement, which, like that of 
 Mr. Anderson, had considerably increased the reputation 
 of the house, came to a conclusion on Saturday, the 1 2th 
 of June. The City of London reopened for the winter, 
 at the beginning of October, with Mr. N. T. Hicks, in 
 a drama, The Emigrant's Progress. This was quickly 
 followed by the reappearance of Mr. James Anderson, 
 whose present engagement extended up to Christmas, 
 and included an event of more than common interest 
 in the production of a new five-act drama of unusual 
 merit, by a hitherto unknown writer, Mr. John Wilkins. 
 This play, entitled Civilization, was not only brilliantly 
 
62 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 successful at the time, but would seem to have marked 
 a new era in theatrical progress, inasmuch as its ultimate 
 career went to prove that original works might be produced 
 at theatres removed by their locality from all fashionable 
 influence, and yet, by their own intrinsic excellence, win 
 public recognition and general acceptance elsewhere. 
 
 The scene of this play is laid in France, during 
 the reign of Louis XIV., and the story turns upon 
 the adventures of an orphan, born of French emigres 
 in North America, and reared by some Indians of the 
 Huron district. Arrived at manhood, he had fought 
 with his tribe against the English, and being taken 
 captive, is brought to England, from whence in the year 
 1689 he escapes to St. Malo, in Brittany. The play 
 opens at this point. The supposed Huron, in his wild 
 and uncultured state, is sadly perplexed by what he now 
 everywhere hears described as " civilization." A priest, 
 the Abbe Gabriel, endeavours to enlighten him, but his 
 keen perception detects on every side the hollow pre- 
 tences, the sophistry, and treachery of civilized mankind, 
 and he looks upon such civilization with contempt. A 
 young girl, Hortense, however, by the example of her 
 pure and gentle nature, shows him that there is a better 
 side to human nature. He wins her heart, and, be- 
 coming a Christian, is baptized by the name of Hercule. 
 He has a rival unfortunately in a courtier, Lascelles, who 
 has recourse to a variety of artifices to prevent their 
 union, and succeeds in this, by the discovery that as 
 Hortense had stood sponsor at the baptism of Hercule, 
 such a marriage would be illegal. But having success- 
 
The Drama in N orton-Folgate . 63 
 
 fully defended St. Malo against an attack by the English, 
 Hercule now determines to go to Paris, and in an inter- 
 view with the king, to urge this service as a claim for the 
 hand of Hortense. He reaches Paris, and even pene- 
 trates to Versailles, but is denied access to the presence 
 of Louis, is falsely arrested as an English spy, and finally 
 lodged in the Bastille, where naturally he moralizes with 
 unmixed bitterness on the boasted civilization of Europe. 
 Later on, the king becomes acquainted with the sad 
 story, obtains personal proof of the integrity of Hercule, 
 and not only releases, but gives him a distinguished place 
 at court. A dispensation for his marriage is moreover 
 procured from Rome, and all now promises well, when 
 Lascelles again intrigues, and obtains from one Victor 
 Le Bel, the secretary of the Abbe' Gabriel, what he be- 
 lieves to be the deed of dispensation. Armed with this, 
 Lascelles forthwith interposes to prevent the marriage, 
 and in a very dramatic scene, tears up the document in 
 the presence of Hercule, Hortense, and the others. At 
 this critical moment Le Bel suddenly steps forward with 
 the genuine letter. The troubles of the lovers are at an 
 end, Lascelles is summarily consigned to the Bastille, and 
 with the following noble lines 
 
 " To hope 
 
 Against despair to trust against suspicion 
 To feel that woman, and her angel love, 
 Are the true rectifiers of the world ; 
 And that to her, and her alone, we owe 
 The charm that makes our ruggedness a garden. 
 Yes, hand in hand must Truth and Honour walk, 
 With Woman for the guide ! That's Civilization ! " 
 
64 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 delivered by Hercule, the curtain fell upon a thoroughly 
 well-deserved and an emphatically-pronounced success. 
 The spirit which Mr. Anderson infused into the powerfully 
 drawn character of Hercule, whether struggling with op- 
 pression or satirizing the follies of the world, was in the 
 highest degree effective, and his excellent elocution was 
 incessantly greeted with loud and repeated acclamations. 
 He found an admirable foil in the Lascelles of Mr. 
 Hicks, who, not for the first time, showed himself to be 
 the very prince of melodramatic villains. Civilization 
 drew very large houses for several weeks, and was followed 
 by a highly meritorious revival of John Fletcher's comedy, 
 The Elder Brother, with which Mr. Anderson's second 
 engagement terminated. Mr. Lee's pantomime, for this 
 Christmas, bore the dazzling title of King Emerald. 
 
 A dramatic version of Uncle Tom's Cabin, with Mr. 
 N. T. Hicks, was the first event of 1853, followed, at 
 the end of February, by the re-engagement of Mr. Charles 
 Pitt, for whom " a new tragedy, by the author of Civi- 
 lization" was produced soon after Easter. This was a 
 revision, under a new title, of Mr. Wilkins' earlier drama, 
 Zenobia. The interest of the plot of The Egyptian arises 
 from the long-continued strife between the Roman 'and 
 Palmyrene armies, the former of whom are besieging 
 the city. The troops of Zenobia are commanded by 
 Antiochus, a Parthian, who, turning traitor, incurs the 
 wrath of an Egyptian, Zabdas, whose hatred is accen- 
 tuated by the knowledge that the Parthian is endeavour- 
 ing to supplant him, in the affections of the Princess 
 Julia, the daughter of Zenobia, and who is herself at- 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 65 
 
 tached to a young Roman lord, Gracchus. Zabdas 
 encounters innumerable dangers on behalf of Julia, slays 
 Antiochus, in single combat, and finally loses his life, 
 at the moment of rescuing the Princess, and her Roman 
 lover, from destruction. Mr. Charles Pitt, always a very 
 good actor, was quite at his best, in the part of Zabdas, 
 nor was Mr. N. T. Hicks seen to less advantage, as 
 Antiochus. Scarcely so fine a play as Civilization, owing 
 to an occasional inflation of style, The Egyptian proved, 
 nevertheless, to have more than average merit, and 
 certainly detracted nothing from the credit of the 
 young writer, whose newly-acquired fame was, however, 
 brought to a premature close by death, 4 on Monday, the 
 2 Qth of August in this year, and before he had been 
 able to reap any substantial gain, from his recent literary 
 successes. So far, indeed, was this from being the case, 
 that Mr. Wilkins had been thankful to obtain an engage- 
 ment, to act in small parts, at Sadler's Wells Theatre, 
 where he had played Hecate in Macbeth, only two nights 
 before his decease. For John Wilkins had been simply 
 " a poor player," ready to eke out his slender salary r by 
 undertaking the humble duties of authorship, at a minor 
 theatre ; that is to say, he had to write, alter, adapt, or 
 rearrange, for a stipend of about thirty-five shillings a 
 week, any sort of dramatic handiwork set to him by his 
 manager. The position has been graphically drawn by 
 Albert Smith, in \usAdventures of the Scattergood Family. 
 That Mr. Wilkins could rise superior to such a lot, and 
 compose plays like Civilization and The Egyptian, is, 
 
 4 In his twenty-seventh year. 
 
 F 
 
66 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 after all, but one more proof that genius, however tram- 
 melled, must, sooner or later, always come to the front. 
 Yet that a career of such rich promise should have been 
 thus early cut off, would be indeed sad to reflect upon, 
 could we not also turn to the reverse of the picture, 
 and call up, in imagination, the toil, and drudgery, of 
 that daily life, and the weary task so soon because so 
 well fulfilled, and the exchange. 
 
 Mr. John Wilkins left, at his death, several plays, 
 hitherto unacted, one of which, founded on Douglas 
 Jerrold's story, St. James' and St. Giles', was mounted for 
 Mr. Rayner in October. Mr. Davenport and Miss 
 Fanny Vining then " starred," amongst other plays, in an 
 American tragedy, Jack Cade, till Christmas, when Paul 
 Herring appeared, as clown, in the pantomime of The 
 Ocean Queen. A version, by Mr. Edward Stirling, of 
 La Priere des Naufrages, already so popular at the 
 Adelphi, and here entitled The Struggle for Gold, was 
 successfully produced in the middle of January, 1854, ' 
 and another play from the portfolio of Mr. Wilkins, 
 Charity's Love, early in March, for Mr. Davenport and 
 Miss Vining. " That astounding favourite " (vide bills), 
 Mr. Charles Pitt, returned at Easter and played Bottom, 
 in a creditably got-up revival of Shakspeare's Midsummer 
 Night's Dream, on Whit Monday, the 5th of June. The 
 American actor, Mr. Buchanan, was here in August, and 
 Mr. Gustavus Brooke played a round of Shakspearian, and 
 other characters, to immense audiences, in October and 
 November. Mr. George Honey also had an engage- 
 ment. The pantomime this Christmas was called Birds, 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgaie. 67 
 
 Beasts, and Fishes. Another posthumous play by Wilkins, 
 with the melodramatic title, Money and Misery, ran for 
 several weeks early in 1855. Searle and Rayner were 
 the leading actors at this time. Mr. Charles Pitt, " the 
 established tragedian," played in The Robbers of Schiller, 
 at the end of May, and on Monday, the nth of June, 
 Mr. Charles Matthews, with several members of the lately 
 disbanded Lyceum company, migrated to the far East, 
 and met with a real success. Their engagement lasted 
 for four weeks. Mr. N. T. Hicks took the lead again, 
 during Mr. Searle's tenancy in July and August. Mr. 
 Pitt returned for the beginning of the winter season, and 
 was followed by an English opera company, consisting 
 of Misses Rebecca Issacs and Dyer, Mr. Leffler, Mr. 
 George Tedder, and Mr. Augustus Braham, under the 
 conductorship of Mr. F. Kingsbury. The operas were 
 quite a hit, and were continued up to Christmas, when 
 The Fox and the Grapes served to introduce a new and 
 exceedingly clever clown, Mr. Forrest. This pantomime 
 ran till Easter in the following year. 
 
 The following is a specimen of the grandiloquent tone 
 which pervaded the announcements of the City of London 
 Theatre about this time. " None," to quote the affiches, 
 " but managers who really study their profession, can tell 
 the anxiety in catering for the public, how delightful it is 
 when their labour, and untiring zeal, is rewarded by a suc- 
 cess like the one attending the new drama." This imposing, 
 but rather illiterate, prelude had reference to a spectral 
 play, Selfishness, brought out in February, 1856, and 
 which was very well acted by N. T. Hicks, W. Travers, 
 F 2 
 
68 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 W. Searle, and Miss Marian Lacy. "Its originality," 
 said the bills, " was beyond conception." Nevertheless, 
 " the monster drama " only ran three weeks ! 
 
 Mdlle. Nau, once a prima donna of high repute in 
 Paris, and who might be remembered as singing for Mr. 
 Maddox at the Princess's Theatre, some time before, 
 headed an English opera company at Easter. Another 
 drama by Wilkins, The Frost of Youth, inaugurated the 
 winter season, and was followed by a very interesting 
 experiment, namely, the reintroduction, at a long interval, 
 of Mr. and Miss Vandenhoff, to an eastern public. These 
 performers, who belonged essentially to the Kemble 
 school of acting, had not for many years condescended 
 to the star system of such houses as the City of London, 
 and their appearance on Monday, the 27th of October, 
 in LovelPs beautiful and touching play, Love's Sacrifice, 
 excited no little interest in histrionic circles. Their 
 success was complete. The great situation, at the end 
 of the fourth act, was elaborately worked up by both, and 
 the curtain fell to literally unbounded applause. Love's 
 Sacrifice was followed by Talfourd's Ion, Romeo and Juliet , 
 and by Miss VandenhofFs own play, 5 Woman's Heart, in 
 all of which they maintained, and, indeed, strengthened, 
 the impression first made, and their engagement forms 
 another feature in the history of this theatre. The 
 pantomime, Anne Boleyn, was the two hundredth con- 
 cocted by Mr. Nelson Lee. Mr. Forrest was again the 
 
 5 Originally produced at the Haymarket Theatre, on 
 Saturday, the I4th of February, 1852. 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 69 
 
 Clown. It ran nearly till Easter, 1857, when Mr. Charles 
 Pitt returned to play in a new drama, The Spanish Girl. 
 The summer season was conducted, as usual, by Mr. 
 William Searle. At the commencement of the winter 
 the African Roscius, Mr. Ira Aldridge, was playing 
 Othello, Zanga in the tragedy of The Revenge, and 
 Gambia in the pretty old musical drama of The Slave. 
 Messrs. Johnson, and Nelson Lee, had some months 
 previously offered a premium for the best specimen of 
 "domestic" drama sent in. This resulted in the pro- 
 duction of Lucy Wentworth, or the Village-born Beauty, 
 by a Mr. Priest, given at the end of October. The plot 
 was of the simplest character, but the principal situations 
 had considerable pathos, and altogether it proved quite 
 successful. The only other instances of prize dramas 
 which occur to us are Mr. Webster's 5oo/. premium, for 
 the best specimen of comedy at the Haymarket, which 
 resulted in the acceptance, and failure, of Mrs. Gore's 
 Quid pro Quo, in 1844; and the T. P. Cooke prize 
 nautical drama of True to the Core, by Mr. A. R. Seious, 
 in 1866, at the Surrey. The pantomime of William the 
 Second, with the " inimitable and unapproachable " clown, 
 Mr. Forrest, was a hit. 
 
 A play of the u Susan Hopley" species, entitled A 
 Poor Girl's Temptations, by Mr. W. Travers, in which 
 the heroine was impersonated by Miss Augusta Clifton, 
 proved attractive, in March, 1858, and at Easter, the 
 Australian actors, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Holt, formerly 
 lessees of the Marylebone Theatre, appeared in a new 
 drama, The Secret Passion. Mr. Searle's summer season 
 
7O Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 commenced on the 3ist of May. The theatre was very 
 handsomely re-decorated during the autumn, and re- 
 opened on Monday, the 2oth of September, with a new 
 domestic drama, of " strong interest," entitled Twenty 
 Years in a Debtors' Prison, from the apparently inexhaus- 
 tible pen of Mr. Wilkins, supported by Messrs. W. Searle, 
 W. Travers, Beaumont Hughes, E. Shirra, Misses Augusta 
 Clifton, Laporte, and Mrs. Moreton Brookes, a very good 
 working corps. This was succeeded by another, The 
 Woman of the World, adapted by Mr. Nelson Lee, from 
 a story in Reynolds' Miscellany. According to the bills, 
 this achieved u a paramount success, never before excelled." 
 Mr. T. C. King was to have appeared in November, but 
 was obliged, through illness, to cancel his engagement. 
 The pantomime, King Comet and Prince Quicksilver, was 
 as successful as usual, but the new clown, a Mr. Harvey 
 Teesdale, made only a moderate impression. Solomon's 
 very dramatic picture, Waiting for the Verdict, suggested 
 a drama, upon the same subject, to a Mr. Hazlewood, 
 which was successfully produced in January, 1859, and 
 ran for thirty or forty nights. Mr. Edmund Falconer's 
 excellent comedy, The Extremes, was mounted at Easter, 
 with Mr. John Neville and Mrs. Weston in the leading 
 parts. A drama, Woman's Wrongs, by Mr. Courtney, 
 was the first event of the winter season, but, generally 
 speaking, the performances, up to Christmas, presented 
 no feature of interest. The pantomime was a parody of 
 Home's tragedy, Douglas, under the title of Young Norval 
 on the Grampian Hills, and introduced one, whom it was 
 indeed no empty puff to describe as "the great little 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 71 
 
 Huline," the favourite clown from the Princess's Theatre. 
 The clown and the pantomime were each a hit. 
 
 The old spectacle of The Prophet was revived at Easter, 
 1860, and was followed by a burlesque on Jane Shore, 
 which proved a failure. Mr. T. C. King made his debut 
 on Monday, the 3oth of April, in Hamlet, and during his 
 engagement played also such parts as Claude Melnotte, 
 Othello, and Macbeth. Mr. Nelson Lee's repeated at- 
 tempts to popularize the highest class of the drama were in 
 the highest degree creditable to him, but his system of 
 puffery was only worthy of Richardson 6 to whose booth 
 and business, by the bye, he had in former days succeeded. 
 Such paragraphs, moreover, as "the king's name is a 
 tower of strength," at the head of the playbills, were quite 
 inadmissible. On the termination of Mr. T. C. King's 
 engagement, the theatre again reverted to Mr. William 
 Searle. Mr. Harry Widdicombe, and Miss Charlotte 
 Saunders, appeared for the benefit of Mrs. John Wilkins, 
 on Tuesday, the yth of August, and Mr. N. T. Hicks 
 was again here for a short time in September. The 
 winter season began at Michaelmas with melodrama: 
 The Thieves' Secret, The Criminal's Flight, The Guilty 
 Mother, and C haunting Ben of Spitalfields, were specimens 
 of the fare now set before the public. Better things 
 came with the return, early in December, of Mr. T. C. 
 
 6 A celebrated travelling showman, who flourished during 
 the earlier portion of the present century. Richardson's 
 itinerant theatre, in fact, formed the professional cradle of 
 more than one actor, who subsequently achieved metropolitan 
 distinction. 
 
72 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 King, whose acting in Othello, Hamlet, and Virginias 
 was much admired for its power and finish. Miss Edith 
 Heraud played for Mr. King's benefit on Tuesday, 
 the 1 8th of December. The pantomime was Fair Rosa- 
 mond, with a new and good clown, Lupino. 
 
 A new play of some merit, The Star of the Woodlands, 
 by Mr. Nelson Lee, Jun., was successfully brought out 
 in March, 1861. Waiting for the Verdict was revived at 
 Easter, for the introduction of Mr. Graham, the favourite 
 actor from the Princess's, and was followed by The Green 
 Hills of the Far West, the best and most popular of all 
 the earlier pieces written by Mr. Wilkins. Mr. Graham 
 was also appointed to the post of stage-manager. The 
 old melodrama of The Miller and His Men was given, 
 with all the original music, at the end of April. Mr. 
 Nelson Lee continued to direct the summer season, and 
 early in June Mdme. Celeste accepted an engagement, 
 and came out in The House on the Bridge of Notre- Dame. 
 Mr. Charles Mortimer, Mr. Morelli, and Mr. Gomersal 
 were members of the company at this time. Mr. Charles 
 Verner was engaged for lead, and stage-management, at 
 the beginning of the winter, and played in Richelieu, for 
 Mr. Johnson's benefit, on Tuesday, the zoth of December. 
 The pantomime was Alonzo the Brave, with Lupino as 
 clown. The Idiot of the Mountain, a version of a popular 
 Surrey drama, was the first novelty of the year 1862. 
 Mr. Lee's pantomime ran up to the 22nd of March. Mr. 
 Travers attempted a summer season on Whit Monday, 
 the Qth of June. The theatre reopened for the winter, 
 rather later than usual, on Monday, the 2oth of October, 
 
The Drama in Norton- Folgate. 73 
 
 with Mr. Gustavus Brooke, as Sir Giles Overreach, in A 
 New Way to pay Old Debts. Mr. Brooke played Brutus 
 in Julius Ccesar, supported by Mr. Ryder as Cassius, and 
 Mr. J. F. Young, a rising actor, as Mark Antony, on 
 Monday, the 24th of Novem ber. The First Part of King 
 Henry the Fourth was given on Monday, the 8th of Decem- 
 ber, with Mr. Brooke as Hotspur, Mr. Young as Prince 
 Henry, and Mr. Ryder as Sir John Falstaff. Mr. Brooke 
 concluded an engagement, equally creditable to himself, 
 and the theatre, with a performance of Sheridan Knowles' 
 William Tell, on Monday, the 22nd of the same month, 
 and on Boxing-night Miss Harriet Coveney appeared in 
 the pantomime, Sing a Song of Sixpence. A new clown 
 from the provinces, Mr. William Mathews, proved a 
 particularly neat jumper. 
 
 The " laurel-crowned " pantomime ran till the ist of 
 March, 1863, when Mr. James Anderson played for a month, 
 in The Robbers, Ingomar, and Civilization. Mr. Young 
 opened at Whitsuntide with a new drama, Bow Bells. 
 An English opera company, consisting of Miss Anna 
 Hiles, Mdme. Laura Baxter, Mr. Patey, Mr. Aynsley 
 Cook, Mr. St. Albyn, and Mr. George Perren, sang in 
 July. On Saturday, the 3rd of October, the City reopened 
 for the winter, under the sole lesseeship of Mr. Nelson 
 Lee, with Falconer's Peep CfDay, prefaced by an in- 
 augural address, from the practised and skilful pen of 
 Mr. E. L. Blanchard, and spoken by Mr. J. F. Young, the 
 stage-manager, which we transcribe : 
 
 " Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not quite sure, 
 But rather think you've heard those words before. 
 
74 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Well, true it is, and, pity 'tis, 'tis true, 
 It isn't easy now to say what's new ; 
 Unless, indeed, some novelty was found 
 In lines that run a long way under-ground, 
 Or, 'twixt yourselves, me, and the Morning Post, 
 Raising our fashionable friend, The Ghost. 
 But, you all know, this house attention merits, 
 As being the proper place to raise your spirits, 
 To stir your hearts with dramas quite domestic, 
 Or raise a jest, maybe, in style majestic ; 
 In fact, a Public House and sign to borrow, 
 A House of Call, and call again to-morrow. 
 But stop, for my appearance there must be 
 Some sort of motive dear me, let me see 
 I know. On this which is our opening day, 
 Something particular I had to say ; 
 But in my haste to see your welcome faces 
 I've lost my part and can't tell where the place is. 
 There's one line in the play-bill, I am sure 
 * Places secured each day from ten to four.' 
 Well, now to frankly put the present case, 
 I, as a servant here, must know my place ; 
 And having got it, I come forth to say, 
 This really is a most important day. 
 ' If why ? ' you ask, I answer, * For this reason/ 
 It is the opening of our Winter season. 
 When your old favourite, Worthy Nelson Lee, 
 Becomes, as well becomes him, Sole Lessee ; 
 Though Sole Lessee he's only from this minute, 
 You all well know his soul has long been in it. 
 To brevity the soul of wit being debtor, 
 The Lessee thinks the less he says the better ; 
 Yet though he says but little, he will do 
 A great deal, if he's patronized by you. 
 Leaving his acts to show, as each month passes, 
 His three-act dramas and his one-act farces ; 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 75 
 
 And as his modesty cuts short his speech, 
 
 For him your vote and interest, I beseech. 
 
 You know how long he has woven Christmas rhymes, 
 
 Making you laugh with roaring pantomimes, 
 
 How many hundreds he has penn'd, remember, 
 
 That flung a sunbeam into dark December. 
 
 Well, now he asks you to assist in one 
 
 Of the best openings he has ever done, 
 
 Seeking your aid to kindly help him o'er 
 
 A change of scene he never had before. 
 
 You know his industry that never fails, 
 
 Just raise a breeze, enough to fill his sails ; 
 
 And this stout craft, all sands and shoals safe past, 
 
 With him for Pilot, will reach home at last. 
 
 Our freighted ship thus starts on Fortune's ocean, 
 
 Where Lee is now, I've not the slightest notion ; 
 
 But when there's any risk, my cry will be, 
 
 Brisk, boys ; look out a-head, and Helm-a-Lee ! 
 
 In days of old, for England, home, and beauty, 
 
 Nelson expected all to do their duty; 
 
 And in the present day we've nought to fear, 
 
 Our Nelson's motto always is ' I am here ! ' 
 
 And being here to give all satisfaction, 
 
 So pipe all hands and clear the deck for action." 
 
 Mr. George Belmore appeared in The Deal Boatman 
 at the end of October, and Mr. Ryder returned for three 
 nights, the 2ist, 22nd, and 23rd of December. Harlequin 
 Blackbeard ; or, Old Dame Trot and her Comical Cat, 
 was the pantomime, with Mr. William Mathews as clown, 
 and Mr. Morelli, an excellent pantaloon. 
 
 Caught at Last was the title of a new drama, written 
 by the lessee, and produced at Easter, 1864. On Tues- 
 day, the 3rd of April, Mr. Benjamin Webster appeared in 
 One Touch of Nature, and Paul Bedford glorious Paul 
 
76 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 sang a comic song for the benefit of Mr. Nelson Lee. 
 A Mr. Frederick Marchant was manager for the summer. 
 Byron's Manfredwas given, with appropriate scenic effects, 
 on the 25th of June, Mr. Alfred Rayner playing the title 
 role. The house again opened for the winter on Mon- 
 day, the loth of October. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Holt 
 played in the legitimate drama for four or five weeks in 
 November and December, and on the 26lh of the latter 
 month, The King of the Golden Valley was produced, with 
 44 a clown and a half" in the persons of Mr. Huline and 
 his youthful son. This pantomime ran up to the nth of 
 March, 1865. An imitator of the celebrated equestrian, 
 Adah Isaacs Menken, who styled herself "the beautiful 
 Menkon," performed in Mazeppa in April, but failed to 
 make an impression. Mr. Nelson Lee, although still 
 retaining the lesseeship, had now retired from all active 
 share in the management, which devolved upon Messrs. 
 Marchant and Travers. Mr. Creswick had an engage- 
 ment in July, and appeared in i\\Q flower Girl, Virginius, 
 and Othello. Mr. Alfred Rayner played Cardinal Wolsey 
 in September, and Miss Jane Coveney joined the com- 
 pany in October. Othello was mounted with some care 
 in November, to introduce a Mr. Newton Gotthold as 
 the Moor, Mr. William Travers as lago, Miss Le Thiere 
 as Emilia, and Miss Ada Cavendish, Desdemona. The 
 pantomime, King Flame, was written by Nelson Lee. 
 Some of the survivors of the ill-fated ship, " London," 
 were induced to exhibit themselves on the stage, for a few 
 weeks, in February, 1866. The house was opened in 
 July by Mr. Waldron, a good actor, with a version of the 
 
The Drama in Norton-Foliate. 77 
 
 Porte St. Martin drama, Le Bossu, but the new manage- 
 ment came to an abrupt termination during the autumn, 
 and Mr. Douglas, who had just been burnt out of the 
 neighbouring Standard Theatre, transferred his company 
 to the City of London at the beginning of November. 
 Mr. Nelson Lee again furnished the pantomime, entitled, 
 Ding, Dong, Dell. A very young girl who figured in it as 
 Miss Constance, has since become better known as Miss 
 Constance Loseby, the popular burlesque actress and 
 singer. The clowns were Almonti and Delevanti. 
 
 Miss Sarah Thorne played in January, 1867. Burton's 
 Christy Minstrels occupied the house in Lent. At Easter 
 it reopened under Mr. Morris Abrahams, of the Effing- 
 ham Theatre, with a very good company, comprising Mr. 
 T. Mead, Mr. David Jones, Mr. Brittain Wright, Mr. 
 William Spencer, and Miss Fanny Bennet. The per- 
 formancesone constant round of very inferior melo- 
 dramas call for no sort of observation, except that the 
 excellent actor Mr. T. Mead seceded from the theatre at 
 the end of November. Mr. Nelson Lee contributed the 
 Christmas novelty once more. Its title was Wat Tyler ; 
 or, Love, War, and Peace. The pantomime owing to 
 the rival attractions of the new Standard Theatre, lately 
 rebuilt on a greatly extended scale came to an untimely 
 end about the middle of January, 1868, and the house re- 
 opened as a circus under the direction of Herr Dassie. 
 On the ist of March Mr. Nelson Lee announced the 
 theatre to let, but his advertisement of " great chance for 
 a start in management," seemed to offer small induce- 
 ment to any one, since no candidate appeared to be 
 
78 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 forthcoming. Captain Horton Rhys, however, ventured 
 at Easter to produce a drama, Ellie Bmndon ; or. Revenge 
 and Love, in which Miss Catherine Lucette, Miss Julia 
 Seaman, Mr. Lewis Ball, Mr. Dolman, Mr. Dudley, and 
 the author played. The management and company were 
 of a higher class than those immediately preceding them, 
 but the house had sunk to so low an ebb the people in 
 the boxes smoking their short pipes during the perform- 
 ance that the speculation was abandoned within a fort- 
 night, and the City was again advertised to let, " on most 
 moderate terms." 
 
 Mr. George Webster brother of the proprietor of the 
 Adelphi next tried his hand, with a melodrama by J. B. 
 Johnstone, Paved with Gold, and a ballet-divertissement, in 
 which the cancan was announced to be danced by " a bevy 
 of the most lovely and graceful ballet ladies in the world." 
 This ballet was in itself a sufficient indication of the sort of 
 management to be attempted there. It lasted, however, 
 only for a week. At the end of June the luckless little 
 house was again opened, under the quadruple guidance 
 of Messrs. Harmer, Wright, Lane, and Roberts, with a 
 drama, Our dear old Home, in which the hideous spec- 
 tacle of a corpse, laid out in a winding-sheet, with the 
 moonlight playing upon its features, was introduced as 
 the sensation of the piece ! The theatre soon closed 
 again, and in August Mr. Nelson Lee sold the property 
 to the Great Eastern Railway Company for 6ooo/., who 
 relet it to a Mr. Harrison for music-hall purposes. The 
 place was then reopened, at prices varying from $d. to 
 id. In other words, the City of London Theatre, which, 
 
The Drama in Norton-Folgate. 79 
 
 for thirty years had held its own so bravely amongst the 
 Minors, and upon the boards of which so many of our 
 leading actors and actresses had not disdained to tread, 
 had at last descended to the level of a Penny Gaff ! ! It 
 is unnecessary to pursue the story further. Enough that 
 happily for the neighbourhood this last and worst 
 state of things has ceased to be; that the building has long 
 since been converted to other uses. The exterior, indeed, 
 is still the same. The classic front remains unchanged, 
 to mark the spot, and " point a moral " to the passer-by. 
 But its old frequenters know it no more, for the graceful 
 columns now merely serve to shelter and support a 
 Soup-Kitchen. 
 
 At the present date April, 1883 the City of London 
 Theatre has undergone another change. The portion 
 formerly occupied by the stage has been absorbed by the 
 Great Eastern Railway; but the auditorium and en- 
 trances, which retain all their former features, have been 
 leased to the East Central Temperance Association, who 
 now utilize the place for Sunday, and occasional week- 
 day, services, the other nights being set apart for cheap 
 concerts, on a similar scale to those adopted with such 
 good results at the Victoria Coffee Palace and Music 
 Hall. In its latest capacity the building is recognized 
 as a boon to the surrounding district.. 
 
8o Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 THE DRAMA IN PORTMAN-MARKET. 
 
 Another MINOR RECORD. 
 
 THE Marylebone Theatre? Where is it? Such, pro- 
 bably, would be the response of any, save the most in- 
 veterate, or veteran playgoer, when interrogated as to his 
 knowledge of the edifice in question. Yet though this 
 modest temple of the muses located, as its name implies, 
 in the north-western district of the metropolis has, for 
 several years, relapsed into the obscurity which charac- 
 terized its earlier existence, the Marylebone Theatre 
 possesses, nevertheless, a history of its own, and, in days 
 long past, could boast of more than one management, 
 whose intelligent efforts to popularize the best specimens 
 of the Poetic Drama were fully recognized, and fairly 
 supported, by the general public. 
 
 The Marylebone Theatre, then, is situated in Church 
 Street, a thoroughfare which connects Portman-Market 
 with the northern extremity of Edgware Road. It 
 occupies, with considerable additions, the site of a much 
 smaller house, known as the Pavilion Theatre, and which 
 existed as early as 1832. The Pavilion being unlicensed, 
 tickets of admission were sold, at a baker's shop, opposite 
 
The Drama in P or tman- Market. 8 1 
 
 the theatre, and at the old Salisbury coffee-house. The 
 prices of admission at this time, were Boxes, two shillings; 
 Pit, one shilling ; Gallery, sixpence. Mr. Henry Widdicomb, 
 and Mr. Cony, who later became famous, respectively, as 
 low comedian, and pantomimist, were at first the leading 
 players, and, although the performances were, generally 
 speaking, of the humblest description, we have met with 
 an old bill in which The Rivals, of Sheridan, was an- 
 nounced for the evening of the 28th of May, in this year. 
 A comic song by Widdicomb seemed to be the invariable 
 accompaniment of every play-bill. On Whit Monday, the 
 i ith of June, young Grimaldi began a two- weeks' engage- 
 ment, during which he appeared, as Man Friday, in Robin- 
 son Crusoe, as Black Caesar in The Fatal Thicket, and as 
 Scaramouch in Don Juan. On Friday, the 2 2nd of June, 
 he played clown, in a scene from Mother Goose, and gave 
 his father's famous song, "Hot Codlings." Mr. William 
 West was playing Dr. Ollapod, in The Poor Gentleman, 
 during the following week, and the clown, Paulo, lent his 
 services for Mr. Wallbourn's benefit, on Thursday, the 
 5th of July. Mr. Edward Wright, in years to come, the 
 favourite comic actor of the Adelphi, was in the company, 
 in November. The name of Mr. Edward Edwards appears 
 as playing here,in.i833. He was better known later, as Mr. 
 Edward Giovanelli. The universally popular comedian, 
 Vale, played Dick Drudge, in Douglas Jerrold's drama, 
 Nell Gwynne, on the 8th of March, in this year. On 
 Friday, the 2ist of March, 1834, the song "Serjeant 
 Slum " was sung, between the parts of the performance, by 
 Master Joseph Cave, " his first appearance on any stage." 
 
 G 
 
82 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 This boy will be readily recognized, as the present pro- 
 prietor of the Marylebone. In 1835, the name of the house 
 was changed to that of the Portman Theatre. Rather later 
 on it was rebuilt by a Mr. Leveridge, and opened, with 
 the new title of the Marylebone Theatre, under the 
 management of Mr. Hyde, on Monday, the i3th of No- 
 vember, 1837. That the new theatre was still to appeal 
 exclusively to the humbler inhabitants of its, even then, 
 thickly populated neighbourhood, might be inferred from 
 the nature of the first night's programme, which offered 
 nothing better than a melodrama, entitled The Beggar's 
 Haunt, or Fortune's Changes. The only names of any 
 mark, in the new company, were those of Cobham 
 looked upon, in his time, as the Kemble of the minor 
 theatres and Mr. J. W. Ray, who developed, later, into 
 a comedian of more than average ability. There was a 
 pantomime at Christmas, preceded by Lillo's old tragedy, 
 George Barnwell, and early in the ensuing year we find 
 such plays as Pizarro, Jane Shore, and JoJm Bull in the 
 bills, but the venture apparently did not prosper, and 
 the house eventually closed for some months. It was 
 reopened for the winter season of 1838-9, by Mr. John- 
 son and Mr. Nelson Lee, with a company which included 
 the names of Attwood, John Douglass, Fenton, Collins, 
 the pantpmimist, Paul Herring, Miss Thornton, and 
 Mrs. Stanley. As the results, however, did not appear to 
 be favourable, they abandoned it, early in the summer, to 
 Mr. Fox Cooper, who did not long continue his speculation. 
 We have failed to discover any trace of its doings in 
 the two following years, during which the place probably 
 
TJie Drama in Portman- Market. 83 
 
 remained shut up altogether, but it seems to have been, in a 
 great measure, reconstructed in 1842, and was reopened on 
 Monday, the i2th of December, in that year, as the New 
 Theatre-Royal, Marylebone, under the lesseeship of Mr. 
 Douglass, and the stage-management of Mr. Edward 
 Stirling always a reliable name. The new theatre was 
 built to accommodate 2300 people, and was pronounced 
 very handsome. The list of performers comprised the 
 names of Freer, Attwood, Rayner, and Cobham. Mr. 
 Osbaldiston and Miss Vincent played during the follow- 
 ing week, and Mr. Nelson Lee provided a new panto- 
 mime at Christmas. 
 
 The house, at length fairly started, remained, for some 
 years, in the hands of Mr. Douglass, whose management 
 not only answered, in a pecuniary sense, but was charac- 
 terized by a good deal of spirit and energy. Its more 
 noticeable events were as follows : Mrs. Waylett, a de- 
 lightful singer, and actress, in her day, appeared in 
 February, 1843, and Freer also played in Rob Roy, as 
 well as in the now forgotten, but once famous melo- 
 drama, One o'Clock, or the Knight and the Wood-Demon; 
 another fossil, the burlesque of Bombastes Furioso, was 
 in the bills, a few months later ; and in December, the 
 Coriolanus of Shakspeare was respectably represented. 
 Freer, Charles Dillon, the tragedian, Mr. Otway, and 
 Mrs. W. West, were the leading players throughout this 
 year, as well as during the greater part of the year 1844. 
 In March of the latter, The Castle Spectre of Monk Lewis 
 was given, with success. On its original production, at 
 Drury Lane, in 1797, Kemble and Sarah Siddons had 
 G 2 
 
84 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 not felt themselves above appearing in this play, which 
 was long the favourite ghost drama of every theatre, or 
 even barn, throughout the United Kingdom. That it 
 has now to a great extent become obsolete, is probably 
 due to an improved taste, which declines to tolerate the 
 inflated language which Mat Lewis has put into the 
 mouths of his leading characters. Yet, to a purely melo- 
 dramatic audience, The Castle Spectre must ever prove 
 attractive, owing to the cleverness of the various situa- 
 tions, and the admirable skill with which the interest is 
 led up to the several appearances of the ghost. Although 
 its kind may not be of the best, the old play is still the best 
 of its kind ; and, as a matter of fact, under the slightly 
 altered title of The Spectre of Conway Castle, it remains 
 to this day a stock piece in the repertory of the theatre 
 in Portman-Market. 
 
 Wright, Paul Bedford, and Miss Emma Stanley were 
 engaged in September, 1844, and were followed by Mr. 
 Denvil, in Lord Byron's Manfred. A Mr. Hudson Kirby 
 played on Wednesday, December lyth, for the benefit of 
 that once popular transpontine manager, Mr. Almar. For 
 Mr. Douglass's benefit, early in 1845, Wright and Paul 
 Bedford again acted, in company with Widdicombe, 
 Cony, Blanchard, and Mr, E. F. Saville. When the 
 theatre reopened for the winter of this year, the celebrated 
 mime, Wieland, was engaged to play the Imp in the 
 ballet-pantomime, The Daughter of the Danube. In 
 October, Mr. and Mrs. Honner were to be seen in the 
 pretty old drama, Mary, the Maid of the Inn. A Mr. 
 Grattan Dawson also " starred," in Macbeth and other 
 
The Drama in P or tman- Market. 85 
 
 plays. The clown, Paul Herring, was engaged for 
 Easter, 1846. Mr. Rayner appeared as Hamlet, in 
 January, 1847, an ^ afterwards, the American Dwarf, Tom 
 Thumb, was exhibited. In February, Mr. Bayntun Rolt 
 played in King Richard IIL, and a transatlantic actor, 
 Mr. J. R. Scott, in Pizarro, and Damon and Pythias. 
 Mr. Charles Dillon returned at Easter, in Don Ccesar de 
 Bazan. These efforts at legitimacy, though not without 
 merit, were all of the rough-and-ready order, and were 
 alternated, it may be added, with such sorry doings as 
 Paul the Poacher ; Jack Ketch, Bone Squash, The Last 
 Link of Love, Sarah the Jewess, or the Extorted Oath, 
 and lastly by a piece with the sonorous title, The Royal 
 Crusader, or the Black Brand of Rome ! 
 
 Mr. Douglass's management terminated at the end of 
 June, 1847, and on the ist of the following August, an 
 announcement appeared in the daily papers that Mrs. 
 Warner, who had recently withdrawn from Sadler's Wells 
 then, and long afterwards, under the ever-memorable 
 direction of Phelps and Greenwood, had taken the 
 Marylebone Theatre. Mrs. Warner, in her preliminary 
 circular, promised " the performance of such plays as may 
 appear best suited to the resources of the establishment," 
 and added that " an earnest endeavour will be made to 
 illustrate these plays appropriately and effectively. The 
 engagement of a company, selected with a reference to 
 the task of duly rendering the text of the great dramatic 
 authors, the assistance of artists of the first competence, 
 in the scenic and mechanical departments, and the 
 liberal and careful provision of all the other accessories 
 
86 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 to the histrionic art, will, it is hoped, enable the manage- 
 ment to accomplish this purpose." 
 
 Having been thoroughly cleansed and re-decorated, 
 the house opened for the season, on Monday, the 3oth 
 of August, with Shakspeare's play, A Winters Tale, in 
 which it is needless to say that Mrs. Warner played 
 Hermione one of her finest parts in her finest manner, 
 and was well supported by Mrs. Tyrrell, as Paulina, by 
 Miss Angell, a pleasing young actress, from Bath, as 
 Perdita, and by another and very clever debutante, from 
 Birmingham, Miss Charlotte Saunders, as Mopsa. Mr. 
 Graham, a prominent member, some years previously, 
 of Macready's company at Drury Lane, was the Leontes 
 of the night, Mr. James Johnstone, from Liverpool, 
 Polixenes ; Mr. George Vining, also from Bath, Florizel ; 
 and an excellent Autolycus was discovered, in Mr. Henry 
 Webb, who though almost unknown to London, had long 
 enjoyed exceptional popularity, as a comedian, through- 
 out the provinces. Generally speaking, the performance 
 was of the most careful kind. The scenery and acces- 
 sories, as promised beforehand, were rich, and in good 
 taste, and the whole entertainment augured well for the 
 success of the experiment. 
 
 A Winter's Tale was followed by The Hunchback and 
 The School for Scandal, both of which were acted and 
 mounted with equal propriety, and on Monday, the nth 
 of October, Hamlet was produced in a very artistic 
 manner. Mrs. Warner, herself, did not disdain the part 
 of Gertrude, and Ophelia was judiciously performed by 
 Miss Huddart. The Hamlet of Mr. Graham had many 
 
The Drama in P or tman- Market. 87 
 
 good points, and Mr. James Johnstone exhibited no 
 mean elocutionary power as Claudius. Mr. Belton was 
 the Laertes, Mr. Harvey, Polonius. Mr. Henry Webb 
 developed a rich fund of humour as the First Gravedigger, 
 and all the subordinate parts were well-filled. The mise- 
 en-scene was of the most creditable description, and, in 
 particular, the comings and goings of the Ghost were so 
 ingeniously contrived as to make this revival, for the 
 time being, quite the talk of the town. The Ghost itself, 
 by the way, found an efficient, though rather youthful 
 representative, in the person of Mr. George Vining. The 
 Gamester, The Jealous Wife, and The Provoked Husband, 
 with Mrs. Warner as Mrs. Beverley, Mrs. Oakley, and 
 Lady Townly, respectively, were next given, in addition 
 to 2 he Bridal, as Sheridan Knowles's not very felicitous 
 alteration of Beaumont and Fletcher's pathetic Maid's 
 Tragedy was called with Mr. George Vining as Melan- 
 tius, Miss Angell, Aspatia, and the Manageress, Evadne 
 a part which she might be truly said to have made her 
 own. 
 
 On Monday, the 29th of November, an almost unique 
 experiment was made in the revival of Beaumont and 
 Fletcher's comedy, The Scornful Lady, skilfully purified, 
 and adapted to the modern stage, by Mr. T. J. Serle. 
 The Scornful Lady had not been seen in London since 
 March, 1746, when it was given at Drury Lane, for Mrs. 
 Woffington's benefit if we except a version under the 
 title of The Capricious Lady, produced, for the celebrated 
 Mrs. Abington, at Covent Garden, in 1783. The heroine 
 of this comedy is a lady anonymous who from pride, 
 
88 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 conceals in public, the love which she really cherishes 
 for her admirer, the Elder Loveless. Loveless having 
 kissed her in the presence of company, the lady banishes 
 him, for a year's travel in France. Apparently complying, 
 he departs, leaving his house, and estate, to the care of a 
 spendthrift brother, the Younger Loveless, who is under 
 the surveillance, however, of his steward, Savil. The 
 steward proves unfaithful to his trust, and mingles with the 
 younger brother and his boon companions a Captain, a 
 Traveller, a Poet, and a Tobacco-man in every de- 
 scription of wild revelry. Meanwhile, the elder brother 
 returns, disguised as a mariner, and introduces himself as 
 a friend of the exiled lover, whom he describes as having 
 been drowned at sea. This intelligence induces an usurer, 
 Morecraft, to offer a sum of 6ooo/ to the prodigal, as 
 the price of his brother's estate. The lady, meanwhile, 
 has detected her lover's disguise, and retorts on his strata- 
 gem by feigning a willingness to console herself with the 
 attentions of another suitor, Wilford. The Elder Loveless 
 then declares himself, and the lady repeats her sentence 
 of banishment. He retaliates by laughing at her, and the 
 lady swoons. Worked upon by this, Loveless is unable 
 to maintain his show of indifference. Whereupon the 
 lady recovers, and overwhelms him with ridicule. He 
 forthwith affects to abandon his suit altogether, and goes 
 so far as to introduce Wilford, in the disguise of a woman, 
 as the mistress whom he intends to marry. This last 
 device brings the scornful lady to terms. She consents 
 to an immediate union, and Wilford is compensated with 
 the hand of her sister, Martha. There is also an amusing 
 
The Drama in Portman- Market. 89 
 
 underplot very coarse, in the original version bearing 
 upon the courtship of the Lady's curate, Sir Roger, and 
 her waiting-gentlewoman, Abigail. The cast of The 
 Scornful Lady at the Marylebone was as follows : 
 
 Elder Loveless . . -. Mr. Graham. 
 
 Younger Loveless . . . Mr. Belton. 
 
 Welford Mr. George Vining. 
 
 Morecraft .... Mr. Harvey. 
 
 Savil ..... Mr. George Cooke. 
 
 Sir Roger . . I .Mr. Henry Webb. 
 
 Captain Mr. James Johnstone. 
 
 Traveller .... Mr. Potter. 
 
 Poet Mr. Saunders. 
 
 Tobacco-man . . . .Mr. Rolfe. 
 
 Abigail Miss Charlotte Saunders. 
 
 Martha Miss Huddart. 
 
 The Lady .... Mrs. Warner. 
 
 Every one of these characters was thoroughly well 
 played, and the Scornful Lady of Mrs. Warner stood out 
 as a histrionic portrait, which will long remain a tradition 
 in the annals of the modern stage. 
 
 The manner in which this fine comedy was mounted, 
 reflected, no less than its presentment, the highest credit 
 on the management. The scenery, dresses, and decora- 
 tions, were remarkable for their correctness, in a day when 
 research, and accuracy, were so far less sought after, than 
 is the case at the present time. The interiors, in which 
 the action was laid, were all compiled from historical 
 sources, and one truly magnificent scene, the Lady's 
 Parlour, with its chimney-piece of white Carrara marble, 
 china vases, and clocks, and the then luxury at 1616, 
 
po Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 the date of the play of small carpets, was simply a mar- 
 vel of completeness and refined taste. The grand old 
 play proved worthy of its mounting, and was unanimously 
 received, by a house filled to overflowing with artists, 
 critics, and litterati, with every token of the most un- 
 qualified success. 
 
 The Scornful Lady ran up to Christmas, when an ex- 
 cellent pantomime, by Mr. E. L. Blanchard, entitled Eyes, 
 Nose, and Mouth, was brought out, with Tom Matthews, 
 the acknowledged legitimate successor of Grimaldi, as 
 clown. The Lady of Lyons, in which Mr. George Vining 
 performed Claude Melnotte, was given in January, 1848, 
 and on the last day of that month, Massinger's A New 
 Way to Pay Old Debts was put up. Here, Mr. Graham, 
 as Sir Giles Overreach, had to measure weapons with Mr. 
 Gustavus Brooke, who, then in the first flush of his 
 metropolitan fame, was playing the same character at the 
 Olympic and was not worsted in the encounter. 
 
 The Wrecker's Daughter, by Sheridan Knowles, with 
 Mrs. Warner in her original part of Marian, was the next 
 revival, and, subsequently, Shiel's Damon and Pythias, 
 Sothern's Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage, and Lo veil's 
 beautiful play, Love's Sacrifice with Miss Fanny Vining 
 as Margaret Aylmer were given, as well as a new fairy 
 extravaganza, The Enchanted Tower, by Mr. Charles 
 Selby, in which the more juvenile members of the com- 
 pany were exhibited to advantage. 
 
 Mrs. Warner now made another raid upon the Eliza- 
 bethan Drama, and produced on Monday, the 2nd of 
 April, Beaumont and Fletcher's tragedy, or, rather tragic 
 
The Drama in Portman- Market. 91 
 
 melodrama, The Double Marriage, with the subjoined 
 cast : 
 
 Juliana Mrs. Warner. 
 
 Martia Miss Fanny Vining. 
 
 Lucio Miss Charlotte Saunders. 
 
 Ferrand . . . . .Mr. Lacy. 
 Virolet ..... Mr. Graham. 
 Brissonet .... Mr. James Johnstone. 
 
 Camillo Mr. Tindall. 
 
 Rouvere Mr. Potter. 
 
 Villio Mr. Henry Webb. 
 
 Castruccio .... Mr. George Vining. 
 Pandulpho .... Mr. Clifford. 
 Duke of Sesse . . . Mr. Johnstone. 
 
 Ascanio Mr. Belton. 
 
 Boatswain .... Mr. George Cooke. 
 Master . . . . .Mr. Ho well. 
 Gunner . - . . . .Mr. Saunders. 
 
 The story is as follows : 
 
 Virolet, a Neapolitan noble, plots with some friends to 
 effect the downfall of Ferrand, King of Naples, but is 
 betrayed by Rouvere, and concealed by his wife Juliana, 
 who, in consequence, is put to the torture. He is then 
 liberated, and sent on a maritime expedition. This brings 
 the first act to a conclusion. In the second, Virolet is 
 captured by a proscribed Duke of Sesse now turned 
 pirate brought on board his ship, and drawn into con- 
 tracting a second marriage unknown to her father with 
 the Duke's daughter, Martia. He escapes with his new 
 wife in one of the ship's boats, and is forthwith pursued 
 by the pirates. The third act finds them all assembled 
 
92 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 at Naples ; depicts the various phases of court life, and 
 the humours of a royal favourite, Castruccio, who has 
 been given permission to assume, for one day, the robes 
 and authority of the King. Next occurs a stormy meet- 
 ing between Juliana, Martia, and Virolet. A divorce is 
 arranged between Virolet and his first wife, but the second 
 is simultaneously informed, that her marriage must remain 
 merely nominal. Meanwhile, the Duke, and his band, 
 conspire to revenge themselves on Ferrand, Virolet, and 
 Martia at once. At the beginning of the fourth act, we 
 find the pirates enrolled as guards in the service of the 
 King. Martia visits Juliana for the purpose of insulting 
 her, and threatens to be revenged upon Virolet, for her 
 disappointment. Juliana seeks Virolet, to warn him of 
 his danger. Their interview is broken in upon by Martia, 
 who disdainfully gives him back " his love, his vow," and 
 then proceeds, with Rouvere, to sell her honour to the 
 King, as the price of his assistance, in her scheme of 
 vengeance. The Duke and Virolet, in the meantime, 
 have formed a counter-plot against Ferrand, and the latter 
 assumes the dress of Rouvere in order to obtain access 
 more easily to his sovereign, whom he intends to slay. 
 But Juliana had also conceived the purpose of assassi- 
 nating Rouvere, and, encountering her husband, wounds 
 him mortally, by mistake. The popular commotion, set 
 on foot by the pirates, now grows higher, and in the 
 midst of it the King himself is killed by Sesse. Then 
 lastly comes the terrible interview between the Duke and 
 his infamous daughter, which is ended by the Boatswain 
 stabbing the latter, and excusing the act thus : 
 
The Drama in P or tman- Market. 93 
 
 " I confess 
 
 That she deserved to die ; but by whose hand ? 
 Not by a father's. Double all her guilt, 
 It could not make you innocent, had you done it ; 
 In me 'tis murder ; vs\ you 'twere a crime 
 Heaven could not pardon. Witness that I love you ! 
 And in that love I did it." 
 
 This formed a striking and unlooked-for denodmenf, 
 which brought the piece to a triumphant conclusion. 
 
 This play, rearranged with much ability by Mr. Serle, 
 cannot be considered as amongst the author's best. As 
 may be inferred from the above description, its plot has 
 no lack of incident. But the incidents are over-crowded, 
 and for the most part revolting, whilst the characters, 
 from the weak-minded, vacillating, Virolet, to the worth- 
 less Martia, are one and all repulsive, if we except the 
 devoted, and deeply-wronged, Juliana, portrayed, on this 
 occasion specially in the torture-scene with powerful, 
 and admirably sustained, skill by Mrs. Warner, who had 
 been rarely seen to greater advantage. The Double Mar- 
 rtage, nevertheless, abounds in effective situations 
 Beaumont and Fletcher were complete masters of stage- 
 effect more particularly the scenes between Juliana, 
 Virolet, and Martia, which were followed with unmistak- 
 able interest by the audience. As a whole, however, the 
 impression which it made was not equal to that of The 
 Scornful Lady, though, as a theatrical curiosity it had 
 not been given in London since 1683 it was interesting 
 to amateurs, and did not detract from, if it did not add 
 to, the high reputation won by Mrs. Warner for her ma- 
 
94 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 nagement, The drama was superbly mounted, and the 
 scenery of Mr. Cuthbert, which included the deck of the 
 ship a very elaborate set the Pirate Chiefs cabin, an 
 antique chamber in the palace, and a view of Naples, 
 seen through a ruined archway, was universally admired. 
 
 The Double Marriage tided the theatre on till Easter, 
 when Macready came over for a short series of per- 
 formances, in Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth. In these 
 plays, he was supported by the Ghost, lago, and Macduff, 
 of Mr. Henry Marston. Mrs. Warner, as before, played 
 Gertrude, nor did she consider Emilia beneath her 
 talents. Her Lady Macbeth had long been held, by old 
 playgoers, as by far the finest seen, since the days of the 
 famous Mrs. Siddons. With a revival oiKing Henry VIII., 
 in which she sustained the character of Queen Kathe- 
 rine, this lady took her leave of the Marylebone Theatre, 
 on Monday, the 8th of May. Mrs. Warner had to con- 
 fess the failure of her efforts to create an audience, and 
 pecuniarily she was a heavy loser by her speculation, but 
 in an artistic sense she had covered herself with .glory, 
 and her experiment, so honourably conceived, and to the 
 end so consistently carried out, will- ever remain a memo- 
 rable feature in the chronicles of the English stage. 
 
 After continuing closed for some weeks, the house was 
 reopened by Mr. Walter Watts, in the middle of July, 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Keeley in Bayle Bernard's romantic 
 drama, Lucille, a Tale of the Heart. Mr. Watts began 
 by managing on the starring system, but his stars were 
 supported by a good working company, and the same 
 careful attention was bestowed upon all the embellish- 
 
TJie Drama in P or tman- Market. 95 
 
 merits of the stage, as during the reign of Mrs. Warner. 
 If there was not the same continuous design, there was 
 still enough of merit, and elegance, in the performances, 
 to retain the prestige already gained. The Keeleys 
 remained for some weeks, playing in The Dream at Sea, 
 Martin Chuzzlewit, The Forty Thieves, and other of their 
 old Lyceum pieces, and were succeeded by the Irish 
 comedian, Mr. Hudson ; by the Americans, Mr. Daven- 
 port and Mrs. Mowatt, the latter an actress of more 
 sweetness than power, endowed with rare personal love- 
 liness and charm ; and by Mr. T. P. Cooke, who, of 
 course, brought with him The Pilot, Poor Jack, and the 
 inevitable Black-Eyed Susan. A one-act drama, which 
 still lives, The Midnight Watch, by Mr. Maddison Mor- 
 ton, first saw the light here in October, and was very well 
 acted by Miss Fanny Vining, Mr. H. T. Craven, and Mr. 
 James Johnstone. Early in November, Mr. Buckstone 
 and Mrs. Fitzwilliam commenced, with The Flowers of the 
 Forest, an engagement which lasted for the remainder of 
 the year. 
 
 Mr. Davenport and Mrs. Mowatt returned at the begin- 
 ning of 1849, and the management then settled down to 
 a steady course, relying upon the production of the Mo- 
 dern, in conjunction with the Elder, Drama. The com- 
 pany, in addition to the above, consisted of the Misses 
 Fanny Vining, Villars, M. Oliver, and Charlotte Saunders ; 
 Mrs. Newberry and Mrs. Johnstone ; Messrs. James 
 Johnstone, H. T .Craven, Belton, George Cooke, Herbert, 
 Norton, and J. W. Ray. " A new and original five-act 
 drama " of the picturesque and romantic school, entitled, 
 
96 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Armand, or the Peer and the Peasant, of which Mrs. 
 Mowatt herself was the authoress, was the first event of 
 the new year. Tobin's delightful comedy, The Honeymoon, 
 was given in February, with Mr. Davenport as Duke 
 Aranza, Mrs. Mowatt as Juliana, and Miss Vining as 
 Donna Volante. Mr. Watts also produced A Dream of 
 Life, written by himself, at the end of March, and Mr. 
 Benjamin Barnett appeared as Monsieur Jacques, in his 
 brother, Morris Barnett's version of Scribe's vaudeville. 
 Pizarro was revived in a very creditable manner, with 
 Mrs. Mowatt as Elvira, Miss F. Vining as Cora, and Mr. 
 Davenport as Rolla, in March. The Easter novelties 
 consisted of a five-act play, The Heart's Trials, by Mr. 
 Hughes, of the Adelphi Theatre, followed by a burlesque 
 on Guy Fawkes, written by Albert Smith. A little later 
 Mrs. Mowatt appeared as Juliet, to the Mercutio of Mr. 
 Davenport, and the Romeo of Miss Fanny Vining. In 
 May, a version of Latour's tragedy, Virginie. adapted for 
 the London stage, by Mr. John Oxenford, under the title 
 of Virginia, was brought out for Mrs. Mowatt, who had 
 seldom been seen to greater advantage. Early in June 
 Mrs. Centlivre's comedy, The Wonder, was given with 
 Miss Vining as Violante ; and a week later Mr. Henry 
 Spicer's drama, The Witch- Wife a composition of high 
 merit was produced, in which Mr. Ray created a marked 
 impression as Sir Gerald Mole, and Mrs. Mowatt sus- 
 tained the part of Cecil Howard with much grace and 
 feeling. The season closed in July, with a performance 
 of Lovers Sacrifice, and the old melodrama of Luke the 
 Labourer with Mr. Johnstone's Luke as the afterpiece. 
 
The Drama in P or tman- Market. 97 
 
 The theatre reopened on Monday, the lyth of Septem- 
 ber, with a new tragedy, Velasco, or Castilian Honour, by 
 an American author, Mr. Eps Sargent. In this Mr. Daven- 
 port, Mr. James Johnstone, Misses Vining and Oliver 
 appeared. Planche's extravaganza, Fortunio, was then 
 revived on a scale of much splendour, and Mrs. Mowatt 
 reappeared as Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing. 
 Charles Kemble's play, The Point of Honour, was pro- 
 duced for Mr. Davenport and Miss Vining in October \ 
 and we find O'Keefe's old musical farce, The Poor Soldier, 
 also in the bills. A more important event was the revival 
 of Shakspeare's Cymbeline at the end of this month. The 
 ensemble was found unsatisfactory, but Mrs. Mowatt was 
 an ideal Imogene. A new drama, The Crusaders, by a 
 Mr. J. Ebsworth, written chiefly in blank verse, was given 
 with success early in November, and Planche's White 
 Cat succeeded Fortunio, as the after-piece. During the 
 last weeks of the same month the excellent acting of Mrs. 
 Mowatt as Neighbour Constance, and the richness of the 
 decorations, gave considerable importance to the repre- 
 sentation of Sheridan Knowles's Love Chase. The final 
 " circumstance " of Mr. Watts' management was the revival 
 of Twelfth Night, in which Mr. Davenport played Mal- 
 volio to the Viola of Mrs. Mowatt. The season termi- 
 nated on Monday, the loth of December, the piece chosen 
 for the occasion being Knowles's Wife of Mantua, in 
 which Mrs. Mowatt played Mariana, and Mr. Davenport 
 St. Pierre. Mr. Watts x removed to the New Olympic 
 
 1 A few months later Mr. Watts, who was a clerk in the 
 Globe Insurance Office, was arrested on a charge of defalca- 
 
 H 
 
98 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Theatre at Christmas, as offering a wider field of enter- 
 prise, and the Marylebone was sublet to Mr. Edward 
 Stirling. 
 
 Mr. Stirling commenced operations on Boxing-night 
 with a pantomime, Harlequin Fairy-Land, the joint 
 invention of Mr. Walter Watts and Mr. Nelson Lee. This 
 was followed by a series of his own dramas, such as 
 Nicholas Nickleby, The Mendicant's Son, The Road of 
 Life, Jane Lomax, and others, all of the " domestic" order, 
 in which Mrs. Gordon took' the lead. At Easter, 1850, 
 Mr. Gustavus Brooke was engaged for a series of Shak- 
 spearian performances, supported by Messrs. James John- 
 stone, Belton, Herbert, and Mrs. Seymour. In the middle 
 of November Mr. Joseph Stammers, the well-known 
 entrepreneur of the once popular Wednesday concerts, 
 became lessee, and brought with him the charming Mrs. 
 Nisbett, who, as Lady Gay Spanker, Neighbour Con- 
 stance, and Helen in The Hunchback, delighted the inha- 
 bitants of Marylebone, but showed the limit of her powers 
 by attempting Portia to the Shylock of Mr. James 
 Johnstone. There was an excellent pantomime, Harle- 
 quin Alfred the Great, or the Magic Raven and the 
 Mystic Banjo, from the pen of Mr. George Herbert Rod- 
 well, at Christmas, with Tom Matthews as Clown. Mr. 
 Stammers dignified his theatre with the imposing title of 
 the " London English Opera." The only pieces given, 
 however, with even the slightest lyric pretension, were the 
 old musical dramas of Rob Roy and The Slave, and per- 
 
 tion, and died shortly afterwards, by his own hand, in 
 prison. 
 
TJie Drama in Portman- Market. 99 
 
 haps Shakspeare's Macbeth, with Locke's choruses, and 
 Mr. Henry Drayton as Hecate. 
 
 The house closed rather suddenly at the beginning of 
 February, 1851, and Mr. Stammers was made a bank- 
 rupt. The name of Mr. E. T. Smith next appeared at 
 the head of the announcements, in the autumn of this 
 year. This venture was, we believe, the beginning of a 
 managerial career, which, extending over the next twenty 
 years, or more, included in its course at least six of the 
 metropolitan houses, besides the gardens of Vauxhall, 
 Cremorne, and Highbury Barn. Mr. Smith led off with 
 English operas, supported by Mr. and Mrs. Donald 
 King, Mr. Henry Drayton, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Frazer, Mr. 
 Lawler, Miss Lanza, and Miss Helen Condell, all names 
 of a certain note in the musical world of that day. 
 Mr. N. T. Hicks and transpontine melodrama were 
 then tried. At Easter, 1852, he sublet the property to 
 Mr. George Bolton, who got up a very fair revival of The 
 Tempest, for the holiday-makers, and subsequently en- 
 gaged the eminent tragedian, Mr. James Anderson, for a 
 short series of performances, after which Mr. Smith him- 
 self resumed the cares of management, and introduced, 
 as Sir Giles Overreach, Mr. McKean Buchanan, an 
 American, whose style, though not without merit, was 
 marred by an extravagance, which prevented him from 
 securing a definite position n the London boards. 
 During Mr. Buchanan's engagement, which lasted for 
 some months, Shiel's old tragedy The Apostate, or the 
 Moors in Spain, was unearthed. This play had been 
 rendered famous at Covent Garden in 1817, by the 
 H 2 
 
loo Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 talents of Charles Kemble, Young, Egerton, and Miss 
 O'Neil, in combination. As might be imagined, it 
 scarcely caused any excitement now. Mr. Smith's 
 system of management was certainly not an elevated 
 one, yet he contrived, nevertheless, from time to time, 
 to present some very good acting to his patrons. In 
 addition to Mr. Buchanan, Mr. James Rogers and Mrs. 
 Brougham played in 1852. Charles Freer was here at 
 Easter, 1853, and was followed by Mr. Davenport, Mr. 
 Charles Selby, Mr. T. Mead, and Miss Fanny Vining. 
 Amongst the plays selected at various times, we find John 
 Wilkins' admirable Civilization, and Mrs. LovelPs no less 
 admirable Ingomar, in addition to the time-honoured 
 melodramas of The Tower of Nesle, The Red Rover, and 
 The Innkeeper of Abbeville, not to forget another, newer, 
 and yet more thrilling in its denomination, The Assassin 
 Monk, or the Sentinel of the Thirteenth Chime!!! 
 
 In the autumn of 1853, Mr. E. T. Smith removed to 
 the larger field of Drury Lane, and the Marylebone 
 Theatre passed into the hands of Mr. J. William Wai- 
 lack, an actor favourably known to the London public 
 by his performances of the Shakspearian drama a year or 
 two previously at the Haymarket. It was evidently the 
 aim of Mr. Wallack to regain for the house, if possible, 
 the position which it had held under the direction of 
 Mr. Watts and Mrs Warner. For this purpose he en- 
 gaged a company comprising, besides himself and Mrs. 
 Wallack, an actress of no mean ability, the names of 
 Messrs. Henry Vandenhoff, George Cooke, J. W. Shalders, 
 Edgar, F. Charles, C. Bender, Clinton, and W. Wallis ; 
 
The Drama in Portman- Market. 101 
 
 Misses Harriet Gordon, Fanny Garthwaite, Emily Horton, 
 and Mrs. Robertson. On the opening night, early in 
 October, the old comedy, A Cure for the Heartache, and 
 Planche's extravaganza, The Fair One with the Golden 
 Locks, were represented, and to these succeeded Speed 
 the Plough, Abelard and Heloise, and John Daly's drama, 
 Broken Toys. On Wednesday, the iQth of October, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wallack made their first appearance as the 
 Thane and his wife, in a very carefully got-up revival 
 of Macbeth. The Stranger, Othello, The Bridal in which 
 Mrs. Wallack as Evadne, and her husband as Melantius, 
 created a powerful impression and The Lady of Lyons 
 followed. Colley Gibber's version of King Richard III. 
 was given in November, with Mr. Wallack as Glo'ster, 
 and Mr. Henry Vandenhoff as Richmond. Miss Julia 
 Harland was added to the corps, for the after-pieces, upon 
 which much attention was bestowed by the manage- 
 ment. Among the more prominent of these were Francis 
 Talfourd's burlesque, Alcestis, Gay's Beggar's Opera, and 
 the old burletta Midas. A new farce by Mr. Albany 
 Fonblanque, entitled Metempsychosis; or, Which is 
 Which ? was also brought out. Of other revivals we may 
 notice The Honeymoon, and Maturin's now forgotten and 
 gloomy tragedy of Bertram, originally written for Ed- 
 mund Kean, in which Mrs. Wallack electrified her audi- 
 ence as Imogen. There was a very good pantomime at 
 Christmas, Harlequin King Ugly-Mug, and my Lady Lee, 
 of Old London Bridge, written by Mr. Nelson Lee. The 
 clown was Paul Kellino. Mr. and Mrs. Wallack re- 
 appeared in Pizarro at the beginning of February, 1854, 
 
IO2 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 and immediately afterwards Judge Talfourd's Ion was 
 produced with new and elaborate scenery and costumes. 
 Mrs. Wallack added greatly to her laurels as Ion, and 
 the Adrastus of Mr. Wallack also met with general ap- 
 probation. On the alternate evenings Byron's Werner 
 was given, with similar attention to the stage appoint- 
 ments. A version of the French spectacular drama, 
 La Priere des Naufrages, which, as The Thirst of Gold, 
 had already made a considerable sensation at the Adelphi, 
 was brought out at the end of February under the title 
 of The Struggle for Gold, and the Orphan of the Frozen 
 Sea. This was chiefly remarkable for the magnificence of 
 the mounting, and for the highly picturesque manner in 
 which Mrs. Wallack supported the character of the Indian 
 girl. A revival, also with new scenery and dresses, of 
 Romeo and Juliet, was to be noticed for the Romeo of 
 Mrs. Wallack, the Mercutio of Mr. Wallack, and for the 
 debut, as Juliet, of Miss Cleveland, now best known as 
 the accomplished actress and polished elocutionist, Mrs. 
 Arthur Stirling. Mr. Hoskins, from Sadler's Wells, was 
 engaged at Easter to play in Clari, the Maid of Milan, 
 reproduced with Sir Henry Bishop's songs and glees. 
 The holiday programme was supplemented by a fairy 
 extravaganza, The Magic Branch, from the pen of a new 
 and competent author, Mr. Collis. In this Mr. Shalders 
 distinguished himself in the twofold capacity of come- 
 dian and scene-painter, whilst Miss Harriet Gordon and 
 Mr. George Cooke completed the effect by their excel- 
 lent singing and acting. Mr. Eliot Galer, Mr. Henry 
 Drayton, and Miss Susannah Lowe subsequently gave 
 
The Drama in Porlman- Market. 103 
 
 a few performances of English opera, with an orchestra 
 and chorus directed by the composer, Mr. John Francis 
 Duggan. The legitimate drama was then resumed with 
 William Tell. Virginius, The Hunchback, The Love Chase, 
 Jane Shore, The Wonder, The Wife, and The School 
 of Reform, presented in rapid succession, and a season 
 both honourable and remunerative to the management 
 came to its conclusion at the end of the month of May. 
 
 Encouraged by his well-merited success, Mr. William 
 Wallack issued a circular to the patrons of the Maryle- 
 bone Theatre, previous to the commencement of his 
 second season. In this he promised many alterations 
 and improvements, a stage lengthened by the removal 
 of a back wall to the depth of 1 1 5 feet, and an elegant 
 re-decoration in every part of the interior. More 
 interesting still, however, was his expressed purpose of 
 providing " a home for the highest Drama of England," 
 and of encouraging " to the utmost, the living proofs 
 and witnesses of its indestructible genius." Not only 
 were the plays of Shakspeare and the old dramatists to be 
 presented, with every attainable appliance of scenic and 
 decorative art, but " new and original dramas " were, 
 from time to time, to be introduced, and mounted with 
 the same care and cost. "Justice," added the lessee, 
 " will be done to the living, as to the dead ; and no 
 means left unattempted to raise the Victorian age, in its 
 dramatic relations, to a level with the Elizabethan era." 
 The tone of this preamble was perhaps grandiloquent, 
 but there was nevertheless an honest purpose, honestly 
 fulfilled, beyond. 
 
IO4 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Eventually the Marylebone reopened on Saturday, 
 the yth of October, with a revival of As You Like It, 
 strictly in accordance with the text of Shakspeare, and 
 profusely illustrated with new and beautiful scenery, 
 painted by Mr. Shalders, together with costumes of a 
 novel and picturesque design. An overture, entr'actes, 
 and some incidental music were also composed by Mr. 
 J. F. Duggan, who himself presided in the orchestra. 
 Mrs. Wallack's Rosalind astonished those who had 
 hitherto only seen her in such parts as Lady Macbeth, 
 and was played throughout with a gaiety, and youthful- 
 ness, which literally left nothing to criticize. Mrs. Wai- 
 lack received much graceful support from the Celia of 
 Miss Cleveland. Orlando was neatly rendered by Mr. 
 Edgar, and the Jacques of Mr. William Wallack proved a 
 very fine specimen of elocutionary power. The other 
 parts were respectably filled, and the whole gave un- 
 qualified satisfaction to a crowded and brilliant audience. 
 
 As regarded the new and original dramas promised in 
 the introductory address, it was soon understood that 
 the lessee had accepted three hitherto unacted plays, the 
 respective claims of which would be tested as speedily 
 as possible. The first of these, Videna, a drama in five 
 acts, founded on a legend in Geoffrey of Monmouth, 
 and written by Mr. John A. Heraud, was given on 
 Monday, the 23rd of October. The subject was found 
 overcharged with horrors, and the action, especially in 
 the last two acts, to be impeded by the dialogue, which 
 was much too verbose; but, thanks to the very fine 
 acting of the Wallacks and Miss Cleveland, and to the 
 
The Drama in Portman-Market. 105 
 
 beauty of the mounting, the play in itself by no means 
 devoid of interest obtained a certain measure of suc- 
 cess. The second, Love and Loyalty, by Mr. Robson, 
 was tried on Monday, the i3th of November. The 
 scene of this play was laid in the reign of Charles II., 
 and contained one very effective and poetical situation. 
 This was where the hero, Marston, son of a cavalier who 
 had fallen at Naseby, returns to his old home now in 
 the possession of a Roundhead, whose daughter, Juliet, 
 he loves and, standing on his ancestral hearth, appeals 
 to his r ather's portrait, when taunted by the old man 
 with his poverty and consequent unworthiness to be 
 her suitor. The scenes were too prolonged, and the 
 dialogue needed much compression, but the characters 
 generally were drawn with considerable skill. That of 
 Marston had a marked individuality, and, being exactly 
 fitted to Mr. Wallack's style of acting, secured the re- 
 quisite success of the piece. 
 
 The management now reverted to the old dramatists, 
 and revived the Venice Preserved of Otway, in which the 
 lessee played Jafrier, and his wife, Belvidera, with all 
 their accustomed excellence. A new candidate for popu- 
 lar favour, endowed with many personal advantages, Mr. 
 H. G. Mapleson, showed promise in the part of Pierre. 
 Mr. Nelson Lee's Christmas pantomime, Young Norval 
 on the Grampian Hills, was produced on a scale of 
 splendour, at that time unusual in a suburban theatre, 
 and in other respects fully answered its purpose, as a 
 temporary source of attraction. The third of the new 
 plays, promised at the beginning of the season, was pro- 
 
io6 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 duced early in February. This turned out to be the 
 old story of the Man in the Iron Mask dramatized, in 
 five acts, with much taste and skill by Mr. Bayle Bernard, 
 under the title of Leon of the Iron Mask. The extreme 
 length of the stage was made the most of by the scenic 
 artist, Mr. Shalders, who achieved wonders in a repre- 
 sentation of the interior of the Louvre. Shakspeare's 
 Winter's Tale was revived in a very elegant and elaborate 
 manner on Monday, the 5th of March. Much new busi- 
 ness was introduced, and the whole revival wore an air 
 of originality. Mr. Wallack proved very effective in the 
 part of Leontes, and the Hermione of Mrs. Wallack was 
 a very fine and classical performance. The statue scene 
 was greatly applauded. This was the last " circum- 
 stance " of Mr. William Wallack's management, which 
 terminated at the end of the month. The encourage- 
 ment bestowed upon his first season was deceptive. The 
 second showed a loss to the treasury, which left him no 
 choice but to relinquish an undertaking which, interest- 
 ing though it might be, to the better class of playgoers, 
 had proved, in a financial sense, so utterly unproductive. 
 His gallant effort, however, to establish a taste for the 
 Poetic Drama in the north-west suburb of the metro- 
 polis will always remain among the most cherished tra- 
 ditions of the obscure little theatre in Church Street. 
 
 Mr. Henry Meadows ventured on a spring season at 
 Easter, and in October a former lessee, Mr. John 
 Douglass, returned to his old quarters, bringing with him 
 Mr. Charles Freer, as stage-manager, and a rearrange- 
 ment which meant a reduction of prices. Miss Edith 
 
The Drama in Port man- Market. 107 
 
 Heraud appeared as Julia in The Hunchback, and Mr. 
 James Anderson played a welcome engagement, on alter- 
 nate nights, with an English opera company, which in- 
 cluded the names of George Perren and Hamilton 
 Braham. Mr. Douglass, who was a very good actor of 
 the T. P. Cooke type, appeared as Ben the Boatswain 
 in February, and Miss Glyn gave a reading of Macbeth 
 in March. Mr. E. C. Seaman next leased the house at 
 Easter, 1856, with a company containing the worthy 
 names of Mr. Stuart, Mr. Belford, Mr. Lewis Ball, Miss 
 Anderton, and Miss Hughes now Mrs. Gaston Murray. 
 Mr. Charles Mathews and Miss Fitzpatrick were playing 
 at different times in April, and Mr. and Mrs. Leigh 
 Murray, Mr. Edward and Mr. Gaston Murray, Flexmore, 
 Sam Cowell, and Miss Wadham assisted at Miss Hughes' 
 benefit on the 24th of that month. The enterprise 
 having turned out a failure, Mr. Seaman was replaced by 
 a Mr. Bigwood. During June we find artists like Miss 
 Glyn, Miss Oliver, and Mr. James Johnstone lending 
 their services for benefits, but, generally speaking, the 
 entertainments just now were of a very uninteresting 
 description. Mr. James Anderson again " starred," in 
 conjunction with Miss Agnes Elsworthy, for a week in 
 September, and Mr. Bigwood retired from the direction at 
 Michaelmas. The theatre remained closed till Boxing- 
 night, when it was reopened by the well-known actor, 
 Mr. Emery, with Shirley Brooks's drama, The Creole, and 
 a pantomime, Tit, Tat, Toe, by Francisco Frost. Buck- 
 stone's Isabelle was revived early in January, 1857, with 
 Miss Clifford from the Princess's in the title role, and a 
 
IO8 Some London Theatres , Past and Present. 
 
 domestic drama, Ruth Oakley, by Messrs. Harris and 
 Williams, with a plot resembling in many particulars 
 that of Kotzebue's Stranger, was produced, in which 
 Mr. Emery's rough, but natural acting, as a blacksmith, 
 created some attention. A version of Uncle Totrfs Cabin 
 served to introduce Miss Cordelia Howard, an American 
 child-actress of much aptitude, as Eva. An amateur, 
 Sir William Don, made his first appearance in London 
 as the Bailie, in Rob Roy, in March. Mr. Emery's tenancy, 
 though meritorious, was not more prosperous than those 
 of his predecessors, and the Marylebone again changed 
 hands at Easter, this time opening under Mr. Edgar, and 
 Mr. Elliston, with The Marble Heart. Mrs. Emma 
 Waller played Pauline, in The Lady of Lyons, for the 
 benefit of the latter, on Monday, June the i6th. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Clarence Holt made a praiseworthy fight for 
 legitimacy, with rather limited resources, in the ensuing 
 winter, opening with Wilkins's Civilization. Westland 
 Marston's Strathmore, and Lovell's Provost of 'Bruges were 
 revived in January, 1858. Unfortunately, another failure 
 had to be recorded, and early in the spring the house 
 was once more in the market. 
 
 The fortunes of the Marylebone at this period had 
 probably reached their lowest ebb. That the house 
 could boast of the longest stage, and the shortest seasons, 
 of any theatre in London, was a maxim laid down in 
 every greenroom. As a theatrical property, the estima- 
 tion in which it was held was so low, that no speculator 
 would care to touch it. At this crisis in its fate, how- 
 ever, Mr. J. H. Arnold Cave stepped in, and was daring 
 
The Drama in Portman- Market. 109 
 
 enough to try his chance, on a field which had hitherto 
 proved fatal to so many. Commencing his season on 
 Whit-Monday, the 25th of May, 1858, he managed to 
 keep open house for upwards of two years, without once 
 closing its doors. That the Marylebone Theatre now 
 took high ground, or 'that it did much for art, cannot 
 with truth be said. But it may, at any rate, be conceded 
 that Mr. Cave succeeded in paying his way, and that, 
 better still, he succeeded in making his way pay him. 
 The nightly programme, at first, was that of a mere theatre 
 of varieties, and based on the music-hall principle, but 
 gradually the drama such as it was again predomi- 
 nated, and, later on, actors of acknowledged reputation 
 could, now and again, be seen here. Mr. George Bel- 
 more, and Mr. Henry Forrester, then mere beginners, 
 about this date worked their way to the front, on these 
 boards. Mr. Townshend, formerly member for Green- 
 wich, essayed to play Shylock, with the aid of Miss 
 Anderton as Portia, in November of this year, and at 
 Christmas Mr. Frederick Fenton painted the scenery for 
 Mr. Hazlewood's pantomime of Goody Goose, in which 
 the lessee filled the part of Greenheart. Mr. Edward 
 Stirling's Aline, the Rose of Killarney ; Belphegor, the 
 Mountebank ; The Corsican Brothers; and Don Ccesar de 
 Bazan were given in the earlier months of 1859, and for 
 Mr. Cave's benefit, on the i6th of June, the nautical 
 drama, My Poll and my Partner Joe, together with 
 Shield's old ballad opera, Rosina. Sheridan Knowles's 
 William Tell was tried in September, and Mr. N. T. 
 Hicks, so famous in his own line, reappeared in No- 
 
no Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 vember. Mr. Charles Dillon returned in the following 
 March, and Mr. George Belraore, and Mr. W. Shalders 
 in April. The house closed for cleaning and repairs at 
 the end of July, but reopened in the middle of August. 
 A very clever boy, Master Percy Roselle, subsequently 
 remembered as the juvenile hero of King Pippin, and 
 other Drury Lane pantomimes, came out in November. 
 Mr. J. F. Young sustained the leading parts at this date. 
 Miss Marriott enacted Romeo, Hamlet, and Rosalind in 
 April, 1 86 1, and Mdme. Celeste fulfilled an engagement 
 in the July of that year, performing in The Abbe Vau- 
 dreuil, and in Bayle Barnard's St. Mary's Eve. 
 
 The most noteworthy event of 1862 was the engage- 
 ment for six nights, in April, of Mr. Benjamin Webster, 
 and Mr. Paul Bedford, for whom Watts Phillipps's cele- 
 brated play, The Dead Heart, was got up. Miss Mandle- 
 bert, a once favourite actress, was to be seen here in the 
 pantomime at Christmas. Mr. Arthur Stirling appeared 
 in Macbeth, and Hamlet, during Passion Week, 1863, and 
 Toole played for Mr. Cave's benefit on Wednesday, the 
 ist of April, as did also Mr. Belmore now established 
 as an actor of celebrity, at the West End, by his remark- 
 able creation of Stephen Hargreaves, the " Softy," in a 
 dramatic version of Miss Braddon's novel, Aurora Floyd, 
 at the Princess's Theatre. 
 
 We may briefly dispose of the remaining events in Mr. 
 Cave's management, which terminated about Easter, 
 1867. Moncrieffe's Claude Duval was revived in May, 
 1863. Mr. Benjamin Webster accepted another engage- 
 ment for six nights in the November of that year, and on 
 
The Drama in Portman- Market. 1 1 1 
 
 Christmas Eve the since celebrated Yokes family made 
 their first bow to a London public in the pantomime, 
 Harlequin Jack Frost. Mr. Henry Lorraine was here 
 in March, and Mr. Belmore in September, 1864. An 
 Australian actor, Mr. Neil Warner, had some success as 
 Hamlet and Shylock in March, 1865. Mr. Henry 
 Neville, Mr. H. J. Montague, Miss Lydia Foote, and 
 Miss Nellie Farren gave their services in Tom Taylor's 
 Ticket-of- Leave Man for Mr. Cave's benefit, during July, 
 1866. Mr. Felix Rogers, a burlesque actor of repute, 
 superintended the direction, whilst the lessee went over 
 to Sadler's Wells in August. Mr. James Anderson was 
 once more engaged in December, and produced his own 
 play of very considerable merit The Scottish Chief, in 
 which Miss Ada Cavendish sustained the part of Helen 
 Mar. Mr. T. Thome also played on one occasion, for a 
 benefit, at this date. The Dog of Montargis was revived 
 in March, 1867. Miss Augusta Thomson starred in 
 April, as well as Mr. Walter Montgomery, Miss Fanny 
 Addison, and Miss Atkinson from Drury Lane. Mr. 
 Cave, being engaged to direct the stage arrangements of 
 the Victoria Palace Theatre, sub-let the Marylebone, at 
 Whitsuntide, to Miss Augusta Thomson, and a Miss 
 Estelle Bodenham, who opened with the Beggars' Opera. 
 Mr. Henry Lorraine, Mr. Edmund Phelps, and Miss 
 Hudspeth were members of the company during their 
 brief tenure, which expired in August. Mr. Albert Mont- 
 gomery, and Mr. Clifford Lacy, held it successively during 
 the winter. Mr. Charles Verner was their principal 
 actor, and played, in conjunction with Mr. Arnold Cave, 
 
112 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 and Miss Mary Marshall ranked in her day among the 
 best of stage soubrettes for Mr. Lacy's benefit in July, 
 1868. 
 
 Early in the autumn of this year it was rumoured that 
 the Marylebone had found a new proprietor, who in- 
 tended to raise the prices, and restore it to the level of a 
 first-class theatre. Accordingly, on Saturday, the lothof 
 October, having been very handsomely re-decorated and 
 re-christened the " Royal Alfred," in compliment to 
 H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh who was present during 
 the evening it was opened, with some ceremony, under 
 the lesseeship of Mr. H. R. Lacey, and the stage direction 
 of the well-known actress, Miss Amy Sedgwick. The 
 lessee delivered an inaugural address, in which he spoke 
 of " throwing sensation to the winds," and " devoting his 
 theatre to high-class comedy." His speech was scarcely 
 borne out by the performance, which consisted of a 
 new drama of " strong interest," by Mr. C. H. Stephen- 
 son, entitled Pindee Singh, in which Mr. Neil Warner, 
 Mr. George Melville, Mrs. Stephens, Miss C. Forde, 
 and Miss Amy Sedgwick appeared, followed by a 
 very broad farce, The Goose with the Golden Eggs. Mr. 
 Lacey's efforts did not meet with the support antici- 
 pated, and the speculation was abandoned at the end of 
 a month. Mr. Lacey made a second attempt, with a 
 pantomime, Whittington and his Cat, at Christmas, and 
 on the termination of its run at the end of February, 
 1867, gave way to Miss Henrade, who opened on Easter 
 Monday with Boucicault's Flying Scud. Mr. Worboys, 
 Mr. Charles Harcourt, and Mr. George Sidney, then tried 
 
The Drama in Portman-Market. 113 
 
 their hands at management in succession, without much 
 result. Miss Rosina Ranoe played in the opening of 
 Mr. Soutar's pantomime, Gulliver's Travels, towards the 
 close of 1869. Mr. Giovanelli, who had recently relin- 
 quished the direction of Highbury Barn, occupied the 
 house in the winter of 1870-71, and had a benefit in 
 March of the latter year, at which Miss Fanny Huddart, 
 and Miss Rebecca Isaacs, Messrs. Alfred Rayner, Mclntyre, 
 Fairclough, C. Seyton, and George Honey, assisted. 
 
 Mr. Giovanelli was succeeded at Easter, 1871, by Mr. 
 Charles Harcourt, who opened with The Colleen Bawn, 
 and Burnand's burlesque, Black-Ey'd Susan, in which 
 Miss M. Oliver, and Mr. Dewar, appeared. The Alfred 
 Theatre, as it was still called, seemed now to assume a 
 better position than for a long time past. The well- 
 known tragedian, Mr. T. Swinbourne, was engaged for 
 first lead, and a series of Shakspearian representations, 
 including Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet, were very credi- 
 tably put upon the stage. As the summer advanced, the 
 performances assumed a lighter character. The Flowers 
 of the Forest, The Streets of London, Gilderoy, and Watts 
 Phillipps's Nobody's Child, were consecutively found in 
 the bills. The Gaiety company, comprising Miss Julia 
 Matthews and Miss Albertazzi, Messrs. J. D. Stoyle, 
 Aynsley Cook, and J. G. Taylor, played in opera- 
 bouffe. Miss Henrietta Hodson, a very talented and 
 popular actress, was also here, and a sensational drama, 
 Across the Continent, by an American author Mr. James 
 McCloskey made a decided hit in July. In October, 
 Shakspeare's King John was mounted, on a really superior 
 
 i 
 
114 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 scale, and its principal characters were very adequately 
 interpreted by a new actor, Mr. Pennington, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Charles Harcourt, and their company. A new 
 drama by Mr. Burnand, Paul Zegers, or the Dream of 
 Retribution for the leading part of which Mr. Marcus 
 Elmore was specially engaged was brought out in No- 
 vember. This play might well bear revival at theatres of 
 greater pretension. Later, there was a good pantomime, 
 The House that Jack Built, and a good clown, Harry 
 Paulo. Another new play, A Life's Race, written by a 
 Miss Evelyn, was given about the middle of February, 
 1872, and acted by the authoress, in conjunction with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Harcourt, Mr. Swinbourne, and that consum- 
 mate artist, Mr. Herman Vezin. Mr. Swinbourne also 
 played Sir Edward Mortimer, in The Iron Chest, and, on 
 the 1 6th of March, Mr. Lionel Brough gave his services 
 for the benefit of Mr. Harcourt, whose term had now ex- 
 pired. Miss Nelson made a brief experiment in manage- 
 ment during the following winter, and on Whit-Monday, 
 24th of May, 1873, Mr. Arnold Cave once more resumed 
 his old place as lessee, with the clever and fascinating 
 Miss Litton as " star " for the opening representations. 
 
 Mr. Cave, at first alone, and afterwards with Mr. 
 Albert West as partner, has, down to the present time, 
 retained the lesseeship of the Marylebone Theatre, 
 which speedily resumed its original nomenclature. He 
 has conducted it entirely as a low-priced theatre, for the 
 entertainment of the masses ; and the duration of his 
 management is the best proof of its success, and of the 
 approbation with which it is regarded by the neighbour- 
 
The Drama in Portman- Market. 1 1 5 
 
 hood. Appealing solely to one class of frequenters, and 
 those of a very humble description, splendour on either 
 side of the footlights was neither practicable, nor to be 
 looked for. Yet the house, nevertheless, has been re- 
 spectably conducted ; and, occasionally, actors of position 
 have trod its boards. Mr. T. C. King had an engage- 
 ment in June, 1873. Mr. Belmore, Mr. Emery, and Mr. 
 Alfred Rayner were more than once performing here ; 
 and Mr. Creswick played a round of Shakspearian parts 
 in December, 1876. For the rest, The Crimes and 
 Cruelties of Mother Brownrigg, The Mysterious House at 
 Chelsea, Steelcap the Robber, and " the interesting slave- 
 drama," Ida May, have happily been relieved by plays 
 of a worthier class, like All that glitters is not Gold, 
 Marianne, the Child of Charity an old and well-con- 
 structed domestic drama, written for the Victoria in the 
 days of Miss Vincent and Halliday's King of Scots. It is 
 curious, moreover, to note that within the last ten years, 
 pieces so venerable in their antiquity as the pantomime 
 of Mother Goose, Don Giovanni in London, Tom and 
 Jerry, The Scamps of London, and Therese^ the Orphan of 
 Geneva, together with those dearly-loved favourites of our 
 and our grandsires' childhood, The Miller and his Men, 
 The Castle Spectre, The Knight and the Wood-Demon, and, 
 above all others, Raymond and Agnes, or the Bleeding 
 Nun of Lindenberg have, at intervals, been given at 
 the Marylebone Theatre. Clearly, then, our manager 
 possesses classical inclinations, which, under other con- 
 ditions, might have developed themselves into something 
 more elevating than the above. But Mr. Cave is con- 
 i 2 
 
1 1 6 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 trolled by the exigencies of his situation, and, wise in 
 his generation, provides for his audiences such fare as 
 seems most likely to answer the purpose of both. As a 
 liberal, and very kind-hearted man, and as the pros- 
 perous proprietor of an institution, erstwhile the scene 
 of such innumerable misfortunes, he deservedly stands 
 high in the estimation of his neighbours ; and that he 
 may long continue to remain " the right man in the right 
 place " is, without doubt, the wish of all who know him. 
 Should the Marylebone, however, " in the whirligig of 
 time " fall into other hands, and sufficient capital be 
 forthcoming for the implanting of a purer taste, in a 
 quarter which boasts be it known its wealthier, as well 
 as its poorer inhabitants, such an enterprise, whatever the 
 result, would at any rate not be opening up entirely new 
 ground. For we believe we have shown, in the foregoing 
 sketch, that there have been periods in its earlier career, 
 when more than one brave and protracted fight was made 
 for the establishment of the highest forms of the drama, 
 both new and old, in the lowly little playhouse over- 
 shadowed by Portmar Market. 
 
"THREE LYCEUMS." 
 
 THE present Lyceum Theatre, in Wellington Street, 
 Strand the third standing upon the same site owes its 
 origin to a building erected in 1765, by the well-known 
 architect, James Payne, on some ground belonging to the 
 old town-house of the Lords Exeter. It was originally 
 intended for a Picture Gallery, and the " Incorporated 
 Society of British Artists " at first held their annual ex- 
 hibition here. But the Lyceum also, in its earlier 
 existence, seems to have been turned to many other uses. 
 In the winter of 1783, Signer Biaggini exhibited an air 
 balloon, described as "an Aerostatical Globe often feet 
 in diameter, at the Great Room, known by the name of 
 Lyceum, nearly opposite Somerset House, Strand." In 
 the following February, the Montgolfier balloon was 
 shown " for a few days, before its removal to Oxford, in 
 the Grand Apartment called the Lyceum, three doors 
 above Exeter Change." This balloon, we are told, was 
 forty feet in circumference, was entirely overlaid with 
 gold, and was exhibited by a Monsieur Chevalier. Other 
 balloons were also shown, by Lunardi, and Count Zam- 
 beccari, during this same year. They were followed, in 
 1 785, by an exhibition of waxwork, quaintly set forth, in 
 
1 1 8 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 the phraseology of that day, as "a Cabinet of Royal 
 Figures, most curiously moulded in wax, as large as 
 Nature." The visitors to this exhibition were further 
 informed that they might have their portraits taken, in 
 wax, or miniature, by the proprietor of the show, and 
 " should the Portraits not be thought the most striking 
 and correct likenesses, he would not expect anything for 
 his trouble." This was at any rate honest on the part of 
 the proprietor a certain Mr. Sylvester. 
 
 Collins gave a comic musical lecture, The Evening 
 Brush, in the years 1788-9, when Master Linley occa 
 sionally played the violoncello, between the parts. This 
 young Linley was subsequently the famous violoncello 
 player of the opera orchestra. George Savile Carey was 
 lecturing here, in April, 1789, and in December the elder 
 Dibdin gave his entertainment, The Oddities, or Dame 
 Nature in a Frolic. Dibdin also lectured in January, 
 1791, and in March of that year Moses Kean, the ventri- 
 loquist, and father or uncle of Edmund Kean, gave his 
 imitations. In or about the year 1794, Dr. Arnold, the 
 musical composer, converted the back part of the pre- 
 mises into a small theatre henceforth the first Lyceum 
 Theatre but was unable to procure a licence for theatrical 
 performances, owing to the then all-powerful opposition 
 of the Drury Lane and Covent Garden managers. Astley, 
 however, burnt out in Westminster, took refuge, with his 
 equestrian company, at the new theatre, in the months of 
 August and September. A little earlier, Mr. Reeve had 
 been giving his lecture, Mirths Museum, or the Country 
 Club, on the same boards. In 1795, it was opened 
 
" Three Lyceums" 119 
 
 as Handy's New Circus, with " The Little Devil " from 
 Sadler's Wells, and other popular performers. In 1798, 
 it was a " Theatre of Astronomy," in which Mr. Lloyd dis- 
 played his Dio-astro-doxon, or Grand Transparent Orrery. 
 On Monday, the 22nd of July, 1799, Mr. Wilks, of the 
 Dublin Theatre, delivered a lecture, A Cabinet of Fancy, 
 illustrated by transparencies. 
 
 In the year 1 800, Cartwright's ; ' Musical Glasses/' long 
 a favourite amusement with the public, were to be heard at 
 the Lyceum. During the next year, Mr. Phillipstahl set up 
 his Phantasmagoria ; and in 1802, "The Invisible Girl" 
 was the attraction. Robert Ker Porter's large pictures, 
 The Battle of Alexandria, The Earthquake at Lisbon, 
 The Battle of Lodi, and others, were successively shown, 
 duringthe early years of the present century. An exhibition 
 of gas illumination was the feature of 1804, and Laurent 
 attempted what would now be styled a variety entertain- 
 ment, consisting of music, dancing, and short pantomimes, 
 the first of which latter was Neptune, or Harlequin Wood- 
 cutter ; in 1805. The first play ever acted on the stage 
 of the original Lyceum Theatre was, we believe, Otway's 
 once famous, but now almost forgotten tragedy, Venice 
 Preserved. This was represented by some amateurs, on 
 Monday, the 2ist of April, 1806, under the special 
 patronage and countenance of the Duchess of Gordon, 
 one of the best-known leaders of society, at the time. 
 Robert Palmer gave \\\<s> Portraits of the Living and the Dead, 
 in August, and the singer, Incledon, his Voyage to India, 
 in September of the above year. Mr. Ingleby, " the king 
 of all the conjurors," leased the Lyceum, for the Christmas 
 
I2O Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 holidays of 1807-8, and in March, Dibdin introduced a 
 new vocal entertainment, The Professional Volunteers. Mr. 
 Ingleby was again here, in December, 1808, as well as for 
 the early months of the ensuing year. His advertisement 
 that "constant fires are kept in the theatre," would 
 scarcely be an inducement to attract visitors in the pre- 
 sent days of fire-panic, predominating in every place of 
 public*gathering. 
 
 The element of fire, however, indirectly exercised a 
 very material influence upon the fortunes of the Lyceum, 
 about this time. 1 The burning of Drury Lane Theatre 
 on the 24th of February, 1809, left the manager and 
 
 1 The Beefsteak Club, founded by the harlequin, John 
 Rich, in 1735, originally held its weekly meetings in a room at 
 Covent Garden Theatre. When that house was burnt down, 
 in the autumn of 1808, it was at first removed to the Bedford 
 Coffee-house, in the Piazza, an'd ultimately, in 1809, to the 
 Lyceum. Here it remained, until the destruction of the 
 second Lyceum Theatre, by fire, in 1830, when its quarters 
 were again compulsorily shifted to the coffee-house in the 
 Piazza. After the reconstruction of the Lyceum, a suite of 
 rooms were built for its accommodation under the same roof, 
 and in these the Club was installed in 1838, and continued to 
 occupy them, until the final dissolution of the Society in 1867. 
 The name of William Hogarth appears amongst the original 
 twenty-four members, and from a long list of celebrities who 
 subsequently joined it we may single out Theophilus Cibber, 
 in 1739 ; John Wilkes, in 1754 ; William Savage, in 1759 ; 
 and Samuel Johnson, in 1780. Amongst the many dis- 
 tinguished members at various times, after the Club had 
 settled in the Strand, were their Royal Highnesses the 
 Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.), the Duke of York, 
 and the Duke of Sussex ; also the late Duke of Leinster ; 
 
" Three Lyceums? 1 2 1 
 
 his company, on a sudden, without a home. It was will- 
 ingly enough that Mr. Wroughton, and the committee, 
 now seconded the efforts of Mr. Samuel John Arnold 
 son of the former proprietor to obtain a licence for the 
 Lyceum, since, although this only extended to the per- 
 formance of operas, and the lighter forms of the drama, 
 such as spectacle, pantomime, and extravaganza, for a 
 limited number of weeks in each year, an arrangement 
 could now very easily be come to, for its occupation, 
 during the remaining months, by " Their Majesties' ser- 
 vants," until the larger house in Brydges Street could be 
 rebuilt. Accordingly, all difficulties having been smoothed 
 away, the theatre enlarged, and redecorated was 
 opened by the Drury Lane company, on Tuesday, the 
 
 the Earls of Suffolk, Dalhousie, Bessborough, Strathmore, 
 and Stair ; Lord Brougham, Lord Broughton, Lord Methuen, 
 Lord Saltoun, Sir Francis Burdett, Sir John Hales, Mr. W. 
 H. Whitbread, M.P., Alderman Wood, Colonel Webster, 
 Colonel Foley, Mr. W. J. Denison ; John Kemble; Lonsdale, 
 the painter ; William Linley, the composer ; Mr. Samuel 
 John Arnold, proprietor of the theatre ; Robert Listen ; 
 R. B. Peake ; the well-known Mr. Henry Frederick Ste- 
 phenson, long Treasurer and Secretary of the Club ; its 
 Bard, Charles Morris, who was still a member, in 1835, at 
 the age of ninety ; his successor to the post of Bard, Charles 
 William Hallett ; Messrs. Barrington-Bradshaw, John Tre- 
 vanion, Campbell (of I slay), Riversdale Grenfell, Stewart 
 Marjoribanks, James Hope Vere, J. R. Bulwer, Edward 
 Tredcroft, Henry Robarts, Walter Arnold, &c. The last- 
 named member has for ever perpetuated the manners and 
 customs, the glories and lyrics, of the defunct Club, in his 
 interesting volume, The Life and Death of the Sublime Society 
 of Beef Steaks. 
 
122 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 nth of April, with Colman's comedy John Bull, followed 
 by the farce of The Prize. These were supported by 
 Messrs Siddons, Bannister, Johnstone, Miss Duncan, 
 and Mrs. Henry Siddons. On the next night, Elliston 
 played Captain Absolute, to the Lydia Languish of Miss 
 Duncan. The Soldier's Daughter, The West Indian, 
 The Cabinet with Braham, and Mrs. Mountain The 
 Honeymoon, The Heir-at-Law, a new comedy, Grieving s 
 a Folly, which had had a run of several consecutive 
 nights, The Poor Gentleman, Three, and the Deuce, The 
 Critic, Pizarro, The School for Scandal, Love in a Village, 
 Rosina, Ella Rosenberg, and The Stranger, were presented 
 during the brief season which terminated on Monday, the 
 1 2th of June. On Monday, the 26th of June, the Lyceum 
 was reopened, on his own account, by Mr. Arnold, as the 
 English Opera House, by which name it long continued 
 to be known. The opening novelty was a new ballad 
 opera, Up all Night, or the Smuggler 's Cave, composed 
 by a Mr. King, with Dowton, Phillips, Horn, Mrs. Bishop, 
 and Mrs. Mountain, in the principal parts. There was 
 also a ballet, Love in a Tub, with music by Bishop. The 
 scenery for both pieces was painted by Mr. Greenwood, 
 the well-known scenic artist. The Princess of Wales, 2 
 who seems to have greatly affected this theatre, was 
 present on the occasion. Various novelties were pro- 
 duced in the course of the season, the most noticeable 
 amongst them being a three-act musical piece by Theo- 
 dore Hook, entitled Safe and Sound, the cast of which 
 
 2 Afterwards Queen Caroline, wife of George IV. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 123 
 
 included Dowton, Horn, Phillips, Oxberry, Penson, 
 Smith, Wewitzer, Mrs. Mountain, Mrs. Bishop, and Mrs. 
 Orger. Mrs. Billington appeared as Mandane, in Ar- 
 taxerxes, for Mrs. Mountain's benefit, on Monday, the 
 nth of September, and Mr. Arnold's first season termi- 
 nated most auspiciously, about a week later. 
 
 Although Mr. Arnold's licence only extended to the 
 summer months, the Drury Lane company, as previously 
 arranged, occupied it in the winter, commencing their 
 season on Monday, the 25th of September, and terminating 
 it on the ist of June, 1810. On the first night Sheridan's 
 Duenna was performed, followed by The Mayor of Gar rett, 
 in which Dowton and Miss Harriet Mellon afterwards 
 successively Mrs. Coutts, and Duchess of St. Albans 
 played. In October we find Wroughton and Miss Dun- 
 can, playing Mr. and Mrs. Oakley, in The Jealous Wife, 
 and Wrench, the excellent comedian from the Bath and 
 York Theatres, making his first bow to a London public, 
 as Belcour, in the The West Indian. Mrs. Edwin, with 
 a figure styled symmetry itself, and Knight, also made 
 their debuts in the same month, as the Widow Cheerley, 
 and Timothy Quaint, in The Soldier's Daughter. The 
 three new-comers made a most favourable impression, and 
 in conjunction with the delightful Miss Duncan, Misses 
 Ray and Kelly, Mrs. Orger, Mrs. Powell, and Mrs. 
 Sparks, Messrs. Dowton, Mathews, Raymond, De Camp, 
 &c., well sustained the reputation of Drury Lane, in 
 comedy. Tragedy was scarcely attempted, indeed the 
 company, as then organized, was unequal to it. Conse- 
 quently a revival of Monk Lewis's Adelgitha^ early in 
 
1 24 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 1 8 10, proved a melancholy failure, one of the performers, 
 Mr. De Camp, appearing to such disadvantage, and 
 being so stormily received, in the character of Lothair, 
 that he thought proper to address the audience, and to 
 inform them that he had not assumed the part from choice, 
 but had had it forced upon him by the management. 
 Such a proceeding would be scarcely put up with, in any 
 metropolitan theatre of pretension now. Massinger's noble 
 play The City Madam, altered and adapted by Sir James 
 Burges, under the new title of Riches, or the Wife and 
 the Brother, was produced in February, 1810, with Mr. 
 Raymond as Luke; Powell, Sir John Frugal here 
 Traffic ; Mrs. Edwin as Lady Traffic ; Miss Ray and Mrs. 
 Orger as the daughters. The play was repeated for four- 
 teen nights, but the alterations, on the whole, were very 
 far from improvements, though a success was at the time 
 obtained. The play was much better done, and the 
 original title retained, by Mr. Phelps and Mrs. Warner, 
 many years afterwards, at Sadler's Wells. 
 
 In March a musical piece, The Maniac, attributed to 
 Mr. Arnold, was brought out for Mrs. Mountain and Mrs. 
 Bland. This had a considerable run at the time, and 
 became, for some years after, a favourite stock-play, both 
 in town and the provinces. The winter season came to 
 a close with a revival of As You Like It, on the ist of 
 June, but the house was reopened, almost immedi- 
 ately, for the English Opera Season, with Miss Kelly as 
 Madge, in BickerstafFs Love in a Village. The doings of 
 the English Opera, this summer, werewithout importance, 
 the most interesting event being the return of Braham, 
 who sung in The Haunted Tower, and other favourite 
 
" Three Lyceums" 125 
 
 pieces, during a brief engagement in August. The Drury 
 Lane company, strengthened by the accession of Mrs. 
 Glover, and of a new comedian from Bath, a Mr. Love- 
 grove, returned for the winter, in the third week of Sep- 
 tember, and remained till the middle of June, 1811. Mrs. 
 Glover made her first appearance at the Lyceum, as Mrs. 
 Oakley, on Friday, the 28th of September, and Mr. 
 Lovegrove came out as Lord Ogleby in the following 
 week. Mrs. Edwin maintained her position, as a most 
 winning and graceful actress, throughout the season, 
 essaying amongst other parts, Peggy, in Wycherley's 
 Country Girl, to the Moody of Wroughton, the Sparkish 
 of Russell, and the Alethea of Mrs. Orger. Eschewing 
 Pantomime, the management offered a fairy spectacle, 
 The Magic Bride, as their Christmas novelty, on Boxing- 
 night. A new comedy, Lost and Found, by Mr. Masters, 
 was brought forward, with indifferent results, at the 
 beginning of the new year, but a musical farce, The Bee- 
 hive, with music by Horn, and characters by Mathews, 
 Wrench, Lovegrove, Mrs. Mountain, and Miss Kelly, de- 
 servedly fared much better. A little later on, Braham, 
 and Mrs. Bland, were to be heard, during the spring, in 
 The Siege of Belgrade, The Castle of Andalusia, and in a 
 new opera by Arnold, The Americans. Mathews played 
 Puff, and Sir Fretful Plagiary parts, long afterwards, 
 doubled with equal success, by his son for his benefit on 
 the 3rd of June, and the season ended on Monday, 
 the 1 8th. 
 
 Mr. Arnold's summer season of 1811 was distinguished 
 by more than one event of lasting interest to the lovers of 
 theatrical history. The first of these was the production 
 
126 Some London Theatres \ Past and Present. 
 
 of an extravaganza, The Quadrupeds, or the Manager's 
 Last Kick. The Quadrupeds in reality a revival of 
 Foote's mock-heroic was meant as a satire upon the 
 introduction of real horses for which donkeys and mules 
 were here substituted in a spectacle, Timour the Tar- 
 tar, recently mounted at Covent Garden, and which had 
 provoked much censure from the sticklers for the legiti- 
 mate. On Thursday, the nth of August, another and 
 more important novelty saw the light. This was Monk 
 Lewis's long-celebrated melodrama, One O 1 Clock, or 
 the Knight and the Wood Demon, founded on an old 
 ballet of the same name, here expanded into three acts, 
 with incidental songs, by King. The new play was found 
 so long on the first night, that the audience became im- 
 patient, and the manager had to come forward, to request 
 their forbearance, and promise curtailment. This having 
 been effected, it was repeated on the following night, 
 with a success which has not yet altogether died out, for 
 One O'Clock may still be met with in the provinces, as 
 well as, occasionally, at our minor metropolitan theatres, 
 whilst its fame, as a tradition of the stage, will certainly 
 never be effaced. Mrs. Mountain was the original 
 Clotilda, Miss Kelly, Una, and Mrs. Bland, Paulina. 
 The night of Monday, the Qth of September, witnessed 
 the production of the poet Moore's solitary contribution 
 to the stage, in the shape of a comic opera, entitled M.P., 
 or the Blue Stocking. The story of this opera relates 
 to the two sons of a Sir William Canvas, who had married 
 their mother, at first privately, in France, but afterwards, 
 and before the birth of the second, had gone through the 
 ceremony publicly, in England. At his death, the 
 
" TJiree Lyceums." 1 27 
 
 younger, Charles, trusting to his brother's absence at sea, 
 and to the difficulty of proving the first marriage, forth- 
 with assumes the title. The scene is laid at Brighton, 
 where also appear a French emigrant family, named De 
 Rosier. Madame de Rosier had, it transpires, been a 
 witness to the first marriage, consequently, the would-be 
 Sir Charles alternately employs threats, and bribery, to 
 suppress her testimony, but unexpectedly the elder bro- 
 ther returns from sea, and, establishing his claims, mar- 
 ries a wealthy Miss Selwyn, in whose affections his 
 worthless brother had also, during the interim, endea- 
 voured to supplant him. There is, in addition, an under- 
 plot, turning upon the attachment of young De Rosier and 
 a Miss Hartington. All, of course, ends happily, with 
 the marriage of the four lovers. Oxberry, Horn, Ray- 
 mond, Philipps, Lovegrove, Mrs. Bland, Mrs. Mountain, 
 and Miss Kelly helped to secure the success of this little 
 play, which Moore had made a vehicle for the introduc- 
 tion of some of his most captivating melodies, conspi- 
 cuous amongst which were, it may be added, " Spirit of 
 Joy," and " Farewell to the land, where in childhood I 
 wandered," sung by Philipps, and "Young Love lived 
 once in a humble shed," by Mrs. Bland. A most bril- 
 liant audience, including all the art-critics, and dilettanti, 
 crowded the Lyceum on the first night of M.P., which 
 eventually ran, without interruption, up to the end of an 
 unusually profitable and successful season. It will be 
 remembered that M.P. was also the title adopted by the 
 late Mr. T. W. Robertson, for the last of his comedies, 
 produced at the Prince of Wales' Theatre, early in 1870. 
 Pending the reconstruction of their own theatre, the 
 
128 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Drury Lane comedians once more sought shelter beneath 
 the roof of the now popular little Lyceum, opening for 
 their winter season, with The Clandestine Marriage, on 
 Monday, the 23rd of September. Mrs. Edwin played 
 Beatrice, to the Benedick of Wrench, and Miss Duncan, 
 Rosalind, to the Jacques of Wroughton, at the end of 
 the same month. M.P. was also revived, cast as before, 
 and on one occasion George Barnwell was put up, with 
 Mrs. Glover as Millwood, and Mr. Putnam as the hero. 
 Braham also gave a round of his favourite characters, and 
 at Christmas a pantomime was produced, on the subject 
 of The White Cat, with Hartland as Harlequin, Barries, 
 Pantaloon, Kirby, Clown, and pretty Miss Vallencey, 
 Columbine a goodly quartet of their kind. She Would, 
 and She Would Not, was revived for Miss Duncan, in 
 January, 1812, and was acted twelve times in all during 
 the season. At the end of February, a new play, by Sir 
 James Burges, The House of Morville, " drawn," said the 
 bills, " in humble imitation of the ancient English Drama- 
 tists," resulted, unfortunately, in humiliating failure. 
 To make amends, Mrs. Le Fanu's comedy, Prejudice, 
 or Modern Sentiment, supported by Wrench, Dowton, 
 Johnstone, Miss Duncan, and Mrs. Edwin, was most 
 favourably received. For some unexplained reason, its 
 title was changed, on the second night, to Sons of Erin, a 
 proceeding which does not appear to have interfered with 
 its success. Dowton played Falstaff, in The First Part 
 of King Henry IV., for his benefit, on Monday, the 2yth 
 of April. A new operatic romance, by Arnold, entitled 
 The Devil's Bridge, with Braham, De Camp, Mrs. Bland, 
 
" Three Lyceums!' 1 29 
 
 and Miss Kelly, was produced on the 6th of May. The 
 Devil's Bridge won a lasting popularity, and long remained 
 one of the stock-pieces of the British Theatre. The 
 Drury Lane company bade their final farewell to the 
 Lyceum henceforth, for many years, known only as the 
 English Opera House on the i8th of June, with a per- 
 formance of Colman's/^ Bull, played gratuitously for 
 the benefit of the English prisoners in France. 
 
 Mr. Arnold's opera seasons of 1812 and 1813 had no 
 features of special interest. During both, novelties were 
 of course brought out, but these, though commanding a 
 certain vogue at the moment, had no permanent success, 
 and were soon forgotten. In 1814, however, we find T. 
 Cooke, Raymond, James Wallack, Pyne, Liston, Fawcett, 
 Mrs. Orger, and Miss Kelly a very strong array figur- 
 ing in ** a new operatic anecdote," Frederick the Great, 
 produced early in August. A little later, Thomas 
 Dibdin's Harlequin Hoax was brought forward, with 
 Raymond as stage-manager, Knight, the author, Patch, 
 and Chatterley, the prompter. Both ran for several weeks, 
 and this latter production was frequently revived here, and 
 elsewhere. Younger playgoers may recall a modernized 
 version of Harlequin Hoax, under the title, The Mana- 
 geress in a Fix, or, Please to Remember the Grotto, pro- 
 vided by Mr John Oxenford, for the St. James's Theatre, 
 whilst under Miss Herbert's direction, on Boxing-night, 
 1865. One more event in the season of 1814 must not 
 go unrecorded. This was the advent of the dancer so 
 famous for her beauty, and for her subsequent elopement 
 with Mr. Hughes Ball Maria Mercandotti, to dance the 
 
 K 
 
1 30 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 eachucha; and of the incomparable clown, Grimaldi, to 
 sing Typitywichet, and to figure in a scene from Mother 
 Goose ; for Fawcett's benefit, on Monday, the i$th of 
 August. It was Grimaldi's first and only connexion with 
 the Lyceum, for though under an engagement to Mr. 
 Arnold some years later, illness then precluded him from 
 appearing. The English Opera House reopened for the 
 season of 1815, on Saturday, the i5th of July, with 
 a revival of The Devil's Bridge, in which the great 
 comedian, Harley announced as " Mr. Harley, from 
 the Theatre Royal, Brighton " made his debut in 
 London, as Marcelli, and long before the evening 
 was over, had established a position, never subse- 
 quently disputed, during a professional career of more 
 than forty years. Mr. Harley next played Pedrillo, in 
 The Castle of Andalusia, and Leatherhead, in M.P. Of 
 the last-named performance, the critic of the Morning 
 Chronicle wrote, 
 
 "Mr. Harley is an actor of genuine merit. His 
 humour is simple and unaffected. He speaks and acts 
 from the impulse of his feelings, and imitates no pre- 
 decessor in the part. He is no common candidate 
 for public favour." 
 
 The " musical after-piece," as it was styled, of The Maid 
 and the Magpie, was also produced during the season. 
 In this, Miss Kelly drew all London to the Lyceum, by 
 her wonderfully moving acting as Annette. 
 
 The season terminated on Friday, the i5th of Sep- 
 tember, when Mr. Raymond, the stage-manager, an- 
 nounced that the house would be entirely reconstructed 
 
" Three Lyceums" 1 3 T 
 
 between then, and the following summer. Mr. Ray- 
 mond's speech was as follows : 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen, seven years have elapsed 
 since the proprietor of the English Opera, under the 
 immediate sanction of his Majesty, first solicited your 
 patronage to his infant undertaking. Many were then 
 of opinion that his attempt to establish a theatre for 
 musical performers would end in disappointment ; but 
 experience has proved that exertions to merit the favour 
 of the public, are sure of their reward, and that he who 
 labours diligently in your service, is certain to reap the 
 gratifying harvest of your approbation. So highly does 
 the proprietor of this theatre estimate the encouragement 
 you have bestowed, that as a next step towards raising 
 the character of the English opera, and establishing the 
 undertaking on a solid basis, he means to embark on a 
 much wider field ; and such arrangements have been 
 made, as, he trusts, will enable him, at an early period of 
 next summer, to greet the patrons of the present Lyceum, 
 in an entirely new, airy, and commodious Theatre. 
 
 " He will not promise you much splendour, but he 
 promises you the best talent which indefatigable research 
 can procure. 
 
 " It has ever been his pride to bring forward merit to 
 your notice, and it will ever be his boast that many of 
 your established favourites on the larger stage, have 
 been reared in your favour, beneath this humble roof. 
 
 " In the new building, everything will be attentively 
 studied, which can contribute to your easy accommo- 
 dation ; but, above all, to your perfect safety. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 " The avenues and lobbies will be spacious, and the 
 ingress, and egress, to and from every part of the theatre, 
 will be so contrived, that the most desirable facilities 
 will be afforded to the very crowded, brilliant, and over- 
 flowing audiences, which the proprietor has the pleasure 
 to anticipate. 
 
 " With renewed thanks for past support, and with the 
 hope of future encouragement, in the name of the pro- 
 prietor, in my own, and in that of all the performers, I 
 heartily, and respectfully, bid you farewell." 
 
 Such were the last words addressed to an audience, 
 within the walls of the first Lyceum. 
 
 The debris of the old theatre having been cleared 
 away, the foundation-stone of the new one was laid, on 
 the 2oth of January, 1816, by the wife of the proprietor, 
 who then laid upon it a tablet of copper, engraved with 
 the following inscription : 
 
 ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE. 
 
 The first ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE was established 
 for the encouragement of Native Talent by 
 SAMUEL JAMES ARNOLD, in the year 1809. 
 
 Under the immediate patronage of 
 
 His MAJESTY KING GEORGE THE THIRD. 
 
 And the first stone of this new Theatre was 
 
 laid by his Wife, MATILDA CAROLINE ARNOLD, 
 
 On the 2oth of January, 1816, in the 
 Fifty-sixth year of his MAJESTY'S reign. 
 
 The new theatre, of which Samuel Beazley was the 
 builder, opened on Saturday, the i5th of June, with an 
 occasional address, spoken by Miss Kelly ; the opera of 
 
Three Itymms** 133 
 
 Up all Night, or the Smuggler's Cave the piece which 
 had inaugurated Mr. Arnold's management of the former 
 house and the musical farce of The Boarding House. 
 Mr. Bartley, who was now stage-manager, in place of 
 Raymond, apologized, in the course of the evening, 
 for the unfinished state of everything, but as might be 
 expected with such an architect, much taste had been 
 displayed in the fitting-up, and decorations, and the 
 evening, on the whole, passed off extremely well. The 
 Beggar's Opera, The Castle of Andalusia, The Duenna, 
 The Siege of Belgrade, Artaxerxes, Frederick the Great, 
 Love in a Village, The Maid and the Magpie, One O* Clock, 
 were successively mounted, but the first season was 
 marked by no new production of any importance. The 
 newly-married Duke and Duchess of Gloucester paid a 
 visit to the new Lyceum, on Friday, the nth of August ; 
 and the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland came on the 
 i yth of the same month. The veteran Incledon sang the 
 part of Macheath, to the Lucy and Polly of Miss Kelly, 
 and Miss Lydia Kelly, on Friday, the 22nd of August, 
 and once more appeared, as Steady, in The Quaker, on 
 the 3 1 st. Horn, Isaacs, Wilkinson, Wrench, Bartley, 
 and Miss Kelly, were the leading performers, this season, 
 and that excellent actress, Mrs. Bartley, appeared, for the 
 -first and only time, we believe, on these boards, to recite 
 Collins's Ode to the Passions, on the last night of the season 
 
 the 5th of October. Mrs. Chatterley joined the company 
 
 in the following year, which was distinguished by nothing 
 else save the introduction of gas, as a means of lighting 
 the house. The English Opera House shared the general 
 
134 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 depression, which pervaded every class of theatrical pro- 
 perty, at this time, and in September the business was so 
 bad, that the device was hit upon, of giving two sets of 
 performances and, of course, two separate payments' 
 for admission in one evening. The first began at six, 
 and lasted till nine, the second occupying from half-past 
 nine till twelve. These performances were not identical, 
 the earlier one comprising How to die for Love, and 
 Wanted, a Governess ; the other, Fire and Water, and 
 The Woodmaris Hut a very favourite melodrama. The 
 galleries were very well filled on the first night, but the 
 better classes stayed away, and eventually the smallness 
 of the attendances induced the management to abandon 
 the scheme, at the end of the season which occurred 
 soon after. 
 
 During the next, and for many succeeding winters, the 
 house was occupied in the intervals between the opera 
 seasons by Mr. Walker, who gave lectures on Astro- 
 nomy, entitled Eidouranion, and by Mathews, with his 
 inimitable At Homes, a mixture of monologue, music, 
 and ventriloquism. Pearman, Harley, and Miss Carew 
 joined the company in 1818, and a still further accession of 
 strength was gained in the celebrated mime and character- 
 actor, Mr. T. P. Cooke, for whom the ballet, La Perouse, 
 was mounted with much splendour. A new musical farce, 
 Amateur sand Actors, by Peake, was produced this season, 
 as well as another, The Rendezvous for Harley, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Chatterley, and Miss Kelly. Both of these proved 
 hits, and remain till now in the recognized repertory of 
 stage-plays. The next year's doings presented nothing 
 
" Three Lyceums r 135 
 
 remarkable, and it was not until the summer of 1820 
 that the first real success of the new theatre was obtained. 
 This was with the production on Wednesday, the Qth 
 of August of a new "romantic melodrama" by Planche, 
 entitled, The Vampire, or the Lordof the Isles. Founding 
 his plot upon Dr. Polidori's tale of Levantine superstition, 
 Mr. Planche transposed the scene to Fingal's Cave, and 
 the Isle of Staffa, which desolate rock with less regard 
 to local accuracy than stage effect he endowed with a 
 forest, and a baronial castle. The Vampire has always 
 been so completely a tradition of the old Lyceum days, 
 that without transcribing the story, doubtless familiar to 
 every one at all versed in dramatic literature, its original 
 cast should be recorded here. 
 
 In the Introductory Vision. 
 
 Unda, Spirit of the Flood . . . Miss Love. 
 
 Ariel, Spirit of the Air .... Miss Worgman. 
 
 The Vampire Mr. T. P. Cooke. 
 
 Lady Margaret Mrs. Chatterley. 
 
 In the Drama. 
 
 Ruthven, Earl of Marsden, the Vampire . Mr. T. P. Cooke. 
 
 Ronald, Baron of the Isles . . . Mr. Bartley. 
 
 Robert, his English Attendant . . Mr. Pearman. 
 
 McSwill, the Baron's Henchman . . Mr. Harley. 
 
 Andrew, Steward to Ruthven . . . Mr. Minton. 
 
 Father Francis Mr. Shaw. 
 
 Lady Margaret, Daughter of Ronald . Mrs. Chatterley. 
 
 Effie, Daughter of Andrew . . . Miss Carew. 
 
 Bridget, Lord Ronald's Housekeeper . Mrs. Grove. 
 
 The thrilling nature of the various situations, the 
 
136 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 beauty of the scenery, the charm of the Scotch melodies, 
 and the wonderful conception of the principal character 
 by T. P. Cooke, formed a combination of attractions 
 which could not fail to draw the town, and for some 
 seasons to come this was just one of those things which all 
 playgoers felt they must go to see. And although, at this 
 interval, The Vampire, in its original form, would pro- 
 bably be found pld-fashioned, yet so strong is the leading 
 part, so intense, without being revolting, is the interest, 
 and so ample is the scope for pictorial decoration, that 
 granting the possession of a Ruthven we have often 
 thought that it might be advantageously re-fitted for one 
 or other of our modern theatres. Many years after, Mr. 
 Boucicault gave another Vampire* to the stage, with 
 entirely new scenes and characters, but the incidents 
 proved too realistic or, in plainer English, too painful 
 for the general public, and so, despite its merits 
 which were many it failed. 
 
 In January, 1821, the house was reopened with a 
 miscellaneous entertainment, termed Soirees Amusantes, 
 after which Mr. Mathews resumed his At Homes. It is 
 a fact worth noticing that Mrs. Glover essayed to play 
 Hamlet, for her benefit, on Monday, the i8th of June, 
 in this year. The season proper commenced soon 
 after with The Vampire, to be immediately succeeded by 
 Rosina, Inkle and Yarico, and The Beggar's Opera. In 
 the latter, Miss Forde, engaged in place of Miss Carew, 
 
 * At the Princess's Theatre, then under Charles Kean's 
 management, in 1852 ; and again, in an abridged form, as 
 The Phantom, at the Adelphi, in 1862. 
 
" Three Lyceums r 137 
 
 appeared as Polly. The Witch of Derncleugh, an operatic 
 version of the new and popular novel, "Guy Mannering," 
 was given on the 3oth of July, with T. P. Cooke as Dirk 
 Hatteraick, Wilkinson as the Dominie, Pearman, Henry 
 Bertram, and Miss Kelly, Meg Merrilies. John Emery, 
 so noted for his delineation of Yorkshiremen, was next 
 engaged, and on Thursday, the i6th of August, a new melo- 
 drama, The Miller's Maid, written by Mr. J. F. Savile, 
 and for which Mr. Arnold had composed some music, 
 was produced. The story turned on the love of Giles 
 and George, the miller's men, for his maidservant, 
 Phebe. Bartley played the Miller, Emery, Giles, T. P. 
 Cooke, George, and Miss Kelly, Phebe. The ensemble 
 may, therefore, be well imagined. Emery in particular 
 was very fine, and the success of the new play was com- 
 plete. The season closed on the 27th of September 
 as it had begun with The Vampire. Mr. Bartley gave a 
 course of Astronomical Lectures in February, 1822. Mr. 
 West a very old actor had a benefit on the yth of 
 April, and on the ensuing night Mr. Granby, from the 
 Dublin Theatre, made his first appearance in London as 
 Sir Edward Mortimer, in The Iron Chest. Mr. Granby, 
 later on, long occupied a position of respectability on the 
 metropolitan stage. The celebrated singer, Incledon, 
 took his farewell of the stage on Friday, April the i9th, 
 singing in The Quaker and The Turnpike Gate. On this 
 occasion Mrs. Glover played Lady Elizabeth Freelove, 
 in The Day after the Wedding ; Miss Stephens sang the 
 Echo Song ; and Madame Vestris made her first appear- 
 ance in a locality where, subsequently, she long reigned 
 
138 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 supreme, singing, "In infancy our hopes and fears," from 
 the opera of Artaxerxes. The English Opera season 
 began on the ist of July, with The Vampire, The Miller's 
 Maid, and a new operetta, Love among the Roses, in which 
 Mr. James Bland made his first appearance in London. 
 The company also included Bartley, Pearman, Wrench, 
 Broadhurst, Wilkinson, Tyrone Power, Henry Phillips, 
 and T. P. Cooke ; Misses Kelly, Carew, Carr, Povey, 
 and the juvenile actress, Miss Clara Fisher. Emery was 
 also engaged, but died, almost suddenly, 3 soon after the 
 opening. Miss Clara Fisher attracted some notice in 
 The Spoiled Child, The Romp, and similar pieces. A new 
 comic opera, All in the Dark, or the Banks of the Elbe, 
 was the first novelty of any importance, and was quite 
 successful. On the lyth of July Love in a Village was 
 revived, after a four years' interval, with a rather strong 
 cast, including, Miss Povey as Lucinda, Miss Kelly, 
 Madge, Pearman, Young Meadows, Broadhurst, Eustace, 
 and Bartley, Justice Woodcock. It was heard with much 
 pleasure, and repeated several times. A new melodrama, 
 Gordon the Gipsy, with T. P. Cooke and Miss Carr in 
 the leading parts, was brought forward early in August. 
 In this the very unusual expedient was adopted of leaving 
 the heroine at the end of the play without either lover 
 or husband. Gordon the Gipsy succeeded, however, 
 thanks to its well-sustained interest and powerful situa- 
 tions. A new opera in five acts, Gil Bias at seventeen, 
 twenty-five, and fifty-two, was next given. Miss Kelly 
 
 3 On the 23rd of July, at the early age of forty-five. 
 
" Three Lyceums!' 139 
 
 played the part of Gil Bias at seventeen; Pearman, 
 at twenty-five ; and Bartley, at fifty-two. To us this 
 would sound " confusion worse confounded," but the 
 opera seems to have had a success which would scarcely 
 be obtained by any play under the same conditions now. 
 On the 3jst of August the farce of Gretna Green was 
 brought out, in which Miss Kelly's Betty Finnikin re- 
 mained a tradition to the end of her career, as did also 
 the Jenkins of Wrench. The English opera seems to 
 have been a very profitable speculation this year. 
 
 The "events" of 1823 were, the first appearance at 
 the Lyceum of Keeley, who made Ins entry in a new 
 piece, The Swing Bridge Q{ no particular merit ; the 
 engagement of Wallack, who came out as Rhoderick 
 Dhu, in The Knight of Snowdon founded on Scott's 
 Lady of the Lake ; and the production of a new melo- 
 drama, Presumption, or the Pate of Frankenstein. The 
 last, notwithstanding its sad and repellent story, remains 
 as another Lyceum memory, owing to the acting of T. P. 
 Cooke as the monster, which at once became the sensation 
 of the season. Mathews also reappeared this summer, 
 playing in the farce of Monsieur Tonson, besides giving 
 his popular monologues. There was an unusually good 
 company in 1824. In addition to Bartley, Wrench, 
 Pearman, Broadhurst, Isaacs, Phillips, and Henry Phil- 
 lips, James Bland, Rayner, Keeley, Power, and T. P. 
 Cooke, Misses Povey, Carr, and Kelly,' engagements 
 had been effected with Braham, Mathews, and Miss 
 Stephens, and with the pantomimists, Ellar, Barnes, and 
 J. S. Grimaldi. The elder Grimaldi would also have 
 
140 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 played for a few nights, had he not been incapacitated 
 by ill-health. The opening opera was The Barber of 
 Seville, with " Signor Rossini's celebrated musick," inter- 
 spersed with gleanings from Dibdin, Phillips, Fioravanti, 
 and Mozart Fancy the Barbiere thus mutilated now ! 
 Yet such usage was very ordinary, in the case of English 
 and Italian opera, at the time. Miss Harvey, a 
 debutante, as Rosina; Miss Holdaway, Bertha; Chap- 
 man, Figaro ; Bartley, Bartolo ; J. Isaacs, Basilic ; 
 Broadhurst, Fiorello \ Phillips, Almaviva ; and the 
 afterwards more celebrated Henry Phillips, as Officer 
 of the Guard, were the singers participating in 
 this singular pasticcio. It was followed by a new 
 pantomime, Monkey Island, in which young Grimaldi, 
 Ellar, Barnes, and Miss Romer appeared. The old bur- 
 letta Tom Thumb was next revived with Master Burke 
 as the hero ; and Braham returned, to sing Count Belino, 
 in The Devil's Bridge. The foot of the play-bills, from 
 the commencement of the season, had contained a para- 
 graph to the effect that " a New Musical Performance of 
 an extraordinary character" was in active preparation. 
 This statement was explained, and the mystery solved, 
 on Thursday, the 22nd of July a night ever memorable 
 in the annals of the Lyceum by the production, for the 
 first time in England, of the celebrated Weber's equally 
 celebrated opera Der Freyschiitz, here described as "an 
 eccentric vehicle for musick, and scenick effect," and of 
 which we subjoin the cast : 
 
 Ottocar Mr. Baker. 
 
 Kuno Mr. Bartley. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 141 
 
 Rudolph Mr. Braham. 
 
 Caspar Mr. Bennett. 
 
 Rollo Mr. Henry Phillips. 
 
 Killian Mr. Tayleure. 
 
 Agnes Miss Noel. 
 
 Ann Miss Povey. 
 
 Witch of the Wolfs Glen . . Mrs. Bryan. 
 
 The Bridesmaids were represented by Mrs. Weippert, 
 Miss Holdaway, and other ladies of the company. Miss 
 Romer led the waltz, in the first act, and the chorus and 
 orchestra were augmented for the occasion. The charac- 
 ters were, one and all, most carefully rendered, Braham 
 in particular being considered to have surpassed himself, 
 both in singing and acting, as Rudolph, whilst as for 
 the Zamiel of Mr. T. P. Cooke, well might the critic of a 
 daily paper the Morning Post describe this actor as 
 being endowed with " that peculiar talent, which is sure 
 to place every devil, vampire, spirit, or nondescript, in 
 his own especial keeping." It was agreed, on all sides, 
 that nothing in its way so startling, or so powerful, had 
 ever been seen before. The success of Der Freyschutz 
 was literally unbounded. London seemed suddenly to 
 have gone wild upon the subject. Its music was to be 
 heard in every drawing-room, and the opera, in one form 
 or another, was speedily attempted at nearly every 
 theatre throughout the kingdom. As a matter of course 
 also, the two Patent Houses had elaborately mounted ver- 
 sions prepared for their ensuing winter campaigns. But 
 from all and each in right perhaps of its Zamiel the 
 English Opera House was held to have borne away the 
 palm, and to this very day, old playgoers invariably 
 
142 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 associate Der Freyschutz with the Lyceum whilst they 
 rarely refer to the Lyceum, without reverting to the glories 
 of Der Freyschutz. 
 
 Subsequently Miss Stephens, and Miss Paton, in turn 
 replaced Miss Noel as Agnes, in Der Freyschutz, which 
 ran with scarcely an interruption, up to the end of the 
 season. Early in the next one, a Miss Coward made her 
 first appearance in London, as Rosina, in Shield's ballad 
 opera of that name, and, on the same evening, as Little 
 Pickle, in The Spoiled Child. Miss Coward was even 
 then credited by the Press with a voice, and musical cul- 
 tivation, of no mean excellence, as well as with consider- 
 able comic powers, gifts especially the last which, in 
 years to come, were found developed in such rare per- 
 fection, in Mrs. Keeley. For the rest, the Lyceum rested 
 chiefly on its former triumphs, the novelties produced 
 being all inferior, with the exception of a little piece The 
 Shepherd's Boy, in which a scene of recognition, between 
 Cooper, as the Marquis de la Tour, and Miss Kelly, 
 as Alexis, was acted by both in their finest manner, and 
 created a profound impression. A new act-drop had been 
 painted for the theatre, by the scenic artists, Thomas and 
 William Grieve, previous to the season of 1826. The 
 tenor Sapio replaced Braham, this year, appearing, in 
 conjunction with Miss Paton, and Henry Phillips now 
 advanced to a leading position in Tarrare, an ineffective 
 opera by Salieri, which had been brought out the year 
 before. The prevailing taste for the supernatural was 
 amply gratified this summer, by the production of The 
 Death- Fetch, or the Student of Gottingen. This was 
 
" Three Lyceums!' 143 
 
 founded on the Irish story of The Fetches, in " Tales of 
 the O'Hara Family," and the scene changed to Germany. 
 The music was composed and arranged by Mr. C. Horn. 
 Admirably got up, and very well acted and sung by 
 Archer, Bartley, Pearman, Keeley, and the Misses Paton, 
 Coward, and Kelly, The Death-Fetch had a success 
 which placed it in the stock-repertory of the house, and 
 it may still be met with occasionally, we believe, in the 
 provinces. Winter's opera, The Oracle, produced in its 
 integrity in August, expensively mounted, and aided by 
 the exertions of Thorne, Sapio, Miss Paton, and Miss 
 Goward, was also most favourably received. The first 
 event of 1827, was the revival, on the opening night, the 
 2nd of July, of Dryden's masque, Arthur and Emmeline. 
 The music, selected from the compositions of Purcell, was 
 sung by Pearman, Thorne, Henry Phillips, Miss Paton, 
 and Miss Kelly. It was followed by a new melodrama 
 The Cornish Miners, with incidental music by George 
 Herbert Rodwell. O'Smith made his debut in this piece, 
 as successor to the line of characters previously played 
 by T. P. Cooke. On the 2oth of July, Miss Betts, after- 
 wards so long associated with Drury Lane, under Mr. 
 Bunn, made her first appearance on any stage, as 
 Rosetta, in Love in a Village. On the 24th, The Ser- 
 jeant's Wife, a drama in two acts, by John Banim, was 
 given, in which Miss Kelly as Lisette, and Miss Goward 
 as Margot, quite transcended themselves. Bartley, Pear- 
 man, Keeley, James Bland, and O'Smith were also cast 
 for this play, the absorbing interest of which carried it 
 through the season, and obviated the necessity of any 
 
144 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 further novelty, although The Freebooters, by Pae'r best 
 remembered as the composer of Agnese was also 
 mounted, in August, with Miss Betts, in the part of Isa- 
 bella. 
 
 Mathews, and his At Homes, were displaced in the 
 spring of 1828, by the French company, who had pre- 
 viously played at the more distant theatre in Tottenham 
 Street. They opened with Moliere's Tartuffe, and re- 
 mained at the Lyceum, which had been most gorgeously 
 redecorated for their reception, till the middle of June. 
 The principal performers were Perlet, Laurent, Laporte, 
 Preval, Mademoiselles Irma, Falcon, and Jenny Vertpre. 
 The English Opera season began on Monday, the 30th of 
 June, when Miss Harriet Cawse sang in The Freebooters. 
 On the next night, Madame Feron came out as Rosina, in 
 The Barber of Seville. On this occasion The Vampire was 
 the after-piece, and served to introduce Mr. James Vining 
 from Bath to a London audience, as Ruthven. On 
 Monday, the yth of July, The Bottle Imp, a new melo- 
 drama, by R. B. Peake, with music by G. H. Rodwell, 
 was brought out, with O'Smith as the Imp, James Vining, 
 Keeley, Wood, and the Misses Cawse, in the other parts. 
 The story of The Bottle Imp was based upon the German 
 legend, that the possessor of a bottle imp could command 
 riches, power, and prosperity of every kind, at the mere 
 wish, but that if he retained the spirit to the end of his 
 life, his soul was forfeited to the Evil One. Meanwhile 
 he had the privilege of disposing of the bottle, provided 
 he sold it for less than he gave. The adventures of this 
 bottle made up a most exciting and interesting play, the 
 
" Three Lyceums." 145 
 
 success of which was decided. The Noyades, or Love and 
 Gratitude, was the next novelty. This was a well-written 
 little two-act piece, relating to the French Revolution, 
 in which Miss Kelly made a great effect. It was followed 
 by the musical farce He Lies like Truth, with a good 
 part for Wrench. On the 2yth of July was given an 
 English version of Mozart's Cost fan Tutti, entitled Tit 
 for Tat, with Madame Feron as Despina, Miss Betts and 
 Miss Cawse as the sisters Fiordelisa arid Dorabella, and 
 Henry Phillips carrying away all the honours as Al- 
 fonso. The opera, got up under Mr. Hawes's superintend- 
 ence, was warmly applauded. Not for me. or the New 
 Apple of Discord, being another version of 'Twas I, was the 
 next novelty, on the 23rd of August. Weigl's Gli Amori 
 Marinari was next adapted to the English stage, as The 
 Pirate of Genoa. It was produced early in September, 
 with H. Phillips, and Madame Feron, when the light and 
 agreeable character of the music, and its excellent ren- 
 dering, gained for the opera a success. An operetta, The 
 Quartette, or Interrupted Harmony p , given on the i8th of 
 September, was the last event of a very enterprising and 
 remunerative season. 
 
 Some alterations in the gas-fittings necessitating the 
 temporary close of Covent Garden Theatre, the company 
 came over to the English Opera House, for a brief series 
 of performances during the winter. On the first of these, 
 Edmund Kean played Richard III., to the Richmond of 
 Charles Kemble, and the Lady Anne of Miss Jarman 
 afterwards Mrs. Ternan. Miss Jarman next played Rosa- 
 lind, in As You Like It, to the Orlando of Charles Kemble. 
 
 L 
 
146 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Kean also played Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice, 
 with Charles Kemble as Bassanio, Miss Jarman as Portia, 
 and Miss Goward, Nerissa. In The Belle's Stratagem, 
 Charles Kemble was Doricourt, and the comedian Green, 
 best known in the green-room as " Gentleman " 
 Green Flutter. Kean, also played Sir Giles Overreach, 
 in A New Way to Pay Old Debts, to the Wellborn 
 of C. Kemble. The latter, and Miss Jarman ap- 
 peared as Mr. and Mrs. Oakley, in The Jealous Wife. 
 Kean played Othello, to the lago of Warde, and the 
 Cassio of Charles Kemble ; and the same eminent 
 tragedian also appeared as Sir Edward Mortimer in 
 The Iron Chest. Lastly, Madame Vestris took the part 
 of Mrs. Page, with Bartley as Falstaff, in The Merry 
 Wives of Windsor. Madame Vestris also appeared in 
 the after-piece of The Invincible*. These performances 
 lasted from Monday, the ryth of November, to Monday, 
 the ist of December, and certainly form an interesting 
 addition to the chronicles of the theatre. The French 
 company returned in January, 1829. Lafont, and Made- 
 moiselle Jenny Coulon were added to the troupe, which 
 remained here till the beginning of June, and on the 27th 
 of that month the house reopened for the English Opera 
 season. The company now comprised Sapio, Henry 
 Phillips, Wood, Bartley, James Bland, James Vining, 
 Keeley, O'Smith, Miss Kelly, Miss Goward who had 
 lately changed her name, and become Mrs. Keeley 
 Miss Betts, the Misses Cawse, Miss Pincott now Mrs. 
 Alfred Wigan and the excellent actress of old women, 
 Mrs. C. Jones. To these may be added Mr, Frank 
 
" Three Lyceums" 147 
 
 Matthews, who made his first appearance, on the ist of 
 July, as Waldeck, in The Bottle Imp. The direction of 
 the music was again confided to Mr. Hawes. The first 
 novelty was a romantic drama, The Sister of Charity ', 
 which had a marked success, owing to the fine acting of 
 Miss Kelly, as Sister Ursula. The Robber's Bride, an 
 opera from the German, composed by Ferdinand Ries, 
 was produced, on the i5th of July, with Sapio, Henry 
 Phillips, and Miss Betts. A three-act piece by Peake, 
 with music by Rodwell, The Spring Lock, was also given 
 with success, on the i8th of August. The most impor- 
 tant event of the season, however, was the production, 
 on the 25th of that month, of Marschn.er's opera Der 
 Vampyr. The libretto, the story of which was identical 
 with that of his pretty melodrama, was translated by 
 Planche, but in the opera the scene was laid as in the 
 original tale in the Banat of Lemiswar. Henry Phillips 
 was the Vampire, Count Mavrocordato, and acquitted 
 himself admirably in a most difficult part. The success 
 of Der Vampyr was decided, though it did not create 
 anything like the enthusiasm aroused by Der Freyschiitz. 
 The house closed on Friday, the 2nd of October, and it 
 may be interesting to note that the last performance con- 
 sisted of The Spring Lock, Sold for a Song, and The Bottle 
 Imp. The French company, reinforced by Portier, and 
 Mademoiselle St. Ange, came back at the beginning of 
 the new year. But their prospects, which were more 
 than usually hopeful, were quickly blighted by the total 
 destruction of the second Lyceum, by fire, early in the 
 morning of Thursday, the i6th of February 1830. 
 L 2 
 
1 48 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 The cause of this disaster was never directly brought 
 home, but might probably have been traced to a defect in 
 the gas pipes. There had been a performance on the night 
 before, and the smell of escaping gas was then very per- 
 ceptible. Whatever the reason, the result was doubly un- 
 fortunate, for the public thus lost a beautiful and favourite 
 resort, whilst the proprietor, being entirely uninsured, 
 was left, as it seemed, an all but ruined man. But Mr. 
 Arnold was not the man to sit down beneath misfortune. 
 Keeping together the personnel of his theatre, he carried 
 on the English Opera, for the next three or four seasons, 
 at the Adelphi, or Olympic, devising in the meantime 
 plans for the restoration of his own house. The inability 
 of raising- money, for some time rendered this impractic- 
 able, but all obstacles having been at length removed, 
 the Lyceum was again rebuilt, and opened once more 
 under the familiar title of the English Opera House on 
 Monday, the i4th of July, 1834. The architect, as be- 
 fore, was Samuel Beazley, who had made considerable 
 alterations in the external structure, placing the principal 
 entrance in Wellington Street, the old one, towards the 
 Strand, being now set apart for the frequenters of the 
 pit only. The audience part of the new building was, 
 at the time, considered as in our opinion it still remains 
 by far the handsomest, and best-proportioned, of all 
 the London theatres. Mr. Hawes was reappointed 
 director of the music, and a new post, that of melo-dra- 
 matic director, was assigned to the popular actor O'Smith. 
 Serle succeeded Bartley, in the management of the stage. 
 The inaugural performance consisted of The Yeoman's 
 
" Three Lycetims" 149 
 
 Daughter, Call again To-morrow, and a former Lyceum 
 success, Amateurs and Actors. Mr. Serle spoke a rhymed 
 address, and amongst the old favourites were recognized 
 Mr. and Mrs. Keeley, Wrench, Frank Matthews, Ox- 
 berry, John Reeve, James Bland, and Miss Pincott, 
 together with Wilson, Henry Phillips, and Mrs. Waylett. 
 Miss Romer should also be added. The first novelty 
 of any importance, in the new theatre, was an opera, 
 Nourjahad, the maiden essay of a young composer, Mr. 
 Edward Loder, son of John Loder, and pupil of Fer- 
 dinand Ries. The book was written by Mr. Arnold. 
 The opera had an encouraging reception, and some por- 
 tions of it were much admired, particularly a trio, "Soft 
 is the murmur," and a barytone song, " There's a light 
 in her laughing eye." The singers were Wilson, H. 
 Phillips, Misses Healey and Romer. Unfortunately, 
 Nourjahad did nothing for the treasury, but another 
 new opera, brought out a few weeks later, had a 
 much more substantial result. This was The Mountain 
 Sylph, set by John Barnett to a story nearly identical 
 with that of the ballet, La Sylphide inseparably linked 
 with the famous name of Taglioni. In the opera, Miss 
 Romer was the Sylph ; Wilson, Donald; Keeley, Christie; 
 and Henry Phillips, the Wizard, Hela. The success of 
 The Mountain Sylph, at the time, was really immense, 
 and although, as an opera, it has long since most un- 
 deservedly passed out of hearing, yet the air, " Farewell 
 to the mountain," and the trio, " This magic-wove scarf," 
 will never be forgotten, so long as a feeling and love for 
 melody remain. The Mountain Sylph ran with boundless 
 
150 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 applause, to overflowing houses, for fifty-eight consecutive 
 nights, an almost unprecedented occurrence, so far as an 
 opera was concerned, in those days. Among the lesser 
 events of the season, which ended in the middle of No- 
 vember, were, the production of a little drama, Cramond 
 Brig still an accepted after-piece with some intro- 
 duced Scotch airs, delightfully warbled by Wilson ; and 
 an operetta, Genevieve, adapted from the French, by Mrs. 
 Cornwall Baron Wilson, and the music of which un- 
 pretending trifle was written by Mr. G. A. Macfarren. A 
 spectral drama, The Death Guest, though much belauded 
 in the bills, failed to command anything of a run. 
 
 The year 1835 was ushered in by a series of French 
 plays, with Frederick Lemaitre and Jenny Vertpre'. The 
 former made quite a sensation in Robert Macaire and 
 Trente Ans, ou La Vie d'un Joueur. Mr. Arnold re- 
 opened his house at Easter with a new opera, written by 
 Miss Mitford, and composed by Mr. Packer, entitled 
 Sadak and Kalasrade, or the Waters of Oblivion, into 
 which, by the way, it was speedily submerged, so un- 
 dramatic alike were the music and the tale. A new farce, 
 My Fellow Clerk, by John Oxenford, in which Miss 
 P. Horton and Mrs. Frank Matthews made their first 
 appearance here, and a new drama, The Shadow on the 
 Wall, by T. J. Serle, which followed, were unequi- 
 vocally successful. Mrs. Keeley's acting in the last was 
 found quite equal to that of Miss Kelly in her best days. 
 An. English version of La Sonnambula, for Miss Romer, 
 was next given, and another farce by Oxenford, / and My 
 Double ; and a little later an opera by Mr. Rodwell, The 
 
" Three Lyceums?' 1 5 1 
 
 Spirit of the Bell, the music of which, if unambitious, was 
 unaffectedly pleasing. Ices were distributed, gratis, to 
 the occupants of the pit and boxes during the hot 
 weather which prevailed in June and July, and the 
 manager issued an odd advertisement, to the effect that 
 " in consequence of its complete ventilation, the tempera- 
 ture of this theatre is many degrees cooler than that of 
 the external atmosphere." Neither ices nor the promise 
 of a cool temperature, unfortunately, sufficed to allure the 
 public into a theatre which, since its rebuilding, they 
 seemed somehow to have taken far less kindly to, than 
 in the old days ; and finally, owing to his heavy pecu- 
 niary losses, Mr. Arnold, whose many years of managerial 
 enterprise and activity certainly merited a very different 
 fate was compelled to withdraw from the direction at 
 the end of July. 
 
 Some of the company now formed themselves into a 
 commonwealth, and reopened the house on the loth of 
 August with a new Scotch drama, The Covenanters, in 
 which a Mr. Mclan made a strong impression by his 
 admirable acting. The incidental music was selected, 
 and partly composed, by Mr. Edward Loder. Another 
 drama, The Old Oak Tree, with music by Macfarren, was 
 also received with favour. An English version of Mer- 
 cadanti's Elisa e Claudio was given early in September, 
 with no result except the introduction of the bass singer, 
 Mr. Stretton, to a London audience. A new romantic 
 drama, The Dice of Death, with O'Smith as Mephisto- 
 pheles, and for which Loder had composed some pretty 
 music, was produced in the middle of September. Mr. 
 
152 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Rayner, after many years' absence, returned to the 
 Lyceum, as Giles, in The Miller's Maid, in October. In 
 November, a new drama, by Bayle Bernard, Womaris 
 Faith, proved to be an extremely good and successful play. 
 Mr. Denvil made his first appearance here at Christmas, in 
 a piece called Minerali, and a pantomime, Ride a Cock- 
 Horse, was got up, of which the chief merit lay in its 
 clown, Harry Boleno. The house closed early in 1836, 
 but was opened with concerts in March, in which Clara 
 Novello, Madame Caradori- Allan, and Mrs. Alfred Shaw 
 took part, and on the 21 st of this month Sheridan Knowles 
 played Julian St. Pierre, in his own drama, The Wife of 
 Mantua, for a benefit. On Easter Monday, the English 
 Opera House was again opened by a commonwealth, who 
 engaged a good company, with Mr. J. H. Tully as 
 musical director. Their opening novelty was a drama by 
 Bayle Bernard, Lucille, a Tale of the Heart, which, with 
 Mrs. Keeley, Miss P. Horton, Williams, and Oxberry, in 
 the leading characters, deservedly made a great hit. The 
 plot of this drama was founded upon a story in Bulwer's 
 " Pilgrims of the Rhine." Mrs. Nisbett and Miss Jane 
 Mordaunt next appeared in The Captain's Not a Miss. 
 Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, arranged by Mr. Tully, as 
 will it be believed ? a " Grand Musical Drama in Two 
 Acts," with Mrs. Keeley as Valentine, was mounted on 
 the 25th of April. The best comment on this unfortunate 
 production will be to give the duration of its run three 
 nights ! Miss Murray, a charming actress, whose career 
 was prematurely cut short by death, was added to the 
 company in May, in a new piece by Oxenford, The Gun- 
 
" Three Lyceums!' 153 
 
 powder Plot. On Monday, the i3th of June, a new do- 
 mestic drama, in three acts, by Bayle Bernard, entitled 
 The Farmer's Story ', with Mrs. Keeley who seems to 
 have been, at this time, the prop of the house as Mary 
 Lockwood, was produced, and achieved a marked and 
 thoroughly deserved success. Mrs. Fitzwilliam played in 
 July, and in August the American comedian, Mr. Hackett, 
 drew the town, as Wildfire, in The Kentuckian. Mr. 
 Leffler came out in September, as Hela, in The Mountain 
 Sylph, in which Wilson and Miss Shirreff also sang. A 
 new operatic drama, founded on Byron's " Corsair," The 
 Pacha's Bridal, written by Mark Lemon, and for which 
 a young composer, Mr. Frederick Romer, supplied some 
 very pleasing music, was, in addition, presented about the 
 same time. Yates gave his Imitations, for Miss Betts* 
 benefit, on the 3rd of November, and Madame Vestris and 
 Charles Mathews played in The Loan of a Lovtr, for 
 Peake's (the treasurer) benefit, on the 1 5th of the same 
 month, which was also the last night of the season. 
 
 The well-known librarian, Mr. Mitchell, of Bond Street, 
 with the active co-operation of Signor and Madame 
 Puzzi, 4 engaged the Lyceum for a season of Italian Opera 
 
 4 The celebrated horn-player, Giovanni Puzzi, was born at 
 Parma in 1793, and was educated at Fontanellato, in that 
 duchy. Giving evidence, from his earliest years, of a great 
 musical talent, he was sent, at the age of fourteen, to Paris 
 by an Italian nobleman, Count Sanvitali, whose two sons had 
 been his schoolfellows. Immediately on his arrival in Paris 
 he was introduced to the composer Paer, who, after hearing 
 him play, at once procured him an engagement in the private 
 band of the Emperor Napoleon, and also as principal soloist 
 
154 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Buffa, this winter. The operas given were EElisir 
 d'Amore, II Furioso (Donizetti), Scaramucria, La Chiara 
 
 in the orchestra of the Theatre Italien, A few years later, 
 in 1814, on the recommendation of the great Duke of Wel- 
 lington, he removed to London, where he eventually settled 
 for life. Through the patronage of the Duke he speedily 
 obtained an excellent position in the artistic world, and the 
 direction of nearly all private concerts, as well as those of 
 the court of King George IV. The personal friend of three 
 successive managers of the Opera-house in the Haymarket 
 Ebers, Laporte, and Lumley he was during a long series of 
 years selected to negotiate the engagements for the opera, a 
 post for which he was particularly fitted, owing to his re- 
 markable tact and address, combined, moreover, as these 
 qualities were, with a thorough knowledge of business. Cam- 
 porese, Catalani, Colbran-Rossini (wife of the great com- 
 poser), Signer and Madame Ronzi di Begnis, Pasta, Pisaroni, 
 David, Donzelli, Rubini, Persiani, Grisi, Mario, Coletti, 
 Frezzolini, Tadolini, Barbieri-Nini, and many others, were 
 all introduced to England through the instrumentality of 
 Signor Puzzi, and the last acquisitions due to his good offices 
 were the still remembered favourites, Marietta Piccolomini 
 and Antonio Giuglini. Amongst those whom he sent over 
 in 1827 was the Signora Giacinta Toso, whom he described 
 in a letter to Ebers as belle comme ttne ange, jeune de dix- 
 neuf ans, eleve du Conservatoire de Milan. The attractions, 
 both of voice and person, of Mademoiselle Toso, were found 
 on her arrival to fully justify this description, but within a 
 very few months she became the wife of Puzzi, and a little 
 later retired from the stage. Both Signor and Madame Puzzi, 
 however, continued their connexion with the King's known 
 later as Her Majesty's Theatre, as the friendly negotiators 
 of engagements with the artists, combining this with the 
 private teaching of music and singing, but their connexion 
 with the Opera ceased soon after the retirement of Mr. 
 
" Three Lyceums " 155 
 
 di Rosenberg (Ricci), Nina Pazza (Coppola), Un Anno 
 ed un Giorno (Benedict), and Le Nozze de Figaro (Mo- 
 zart), sung by Mademoiselle Blasis, Miss Fanny Wynd- 
 ham, and Mademoiselle Giannoni, Signori Torn, Catone, 
 Ruggiero, Bellini, and Sebastiano Ronconi. There was 
 a good orchestra, selected from that of the King's 
 Theatre, with Mori as leader and Benedict as conductor. 
 Blasis and Torri were already known as artists of expe- 
 rience, Miss Fanny Wyndham, afterwards Madame F. 
 Lablache, made a most successful debut, and the beautiful 
 Mademoiselle Giannoni, 5 as the demented heroine of Cop- 
 pola's opera, then showed an almost exceptional promise, 
 but seems never to have been heard of after this season. 
 Sebastiano Ronconi was an excellent buffo, and the lovely 
 tenor of Signer Catone charmed every hearer. All the 
 operas pleased, and especially Le Nozze, which was a bril- 
 liant success. The Chiara di Rosenberg was interesting, as 
 serving to disprove the malicious statement previously cir- 
 culated to the effect that Balfe had appropriated the music 
 
 Lumley. Signer Puzzi died a few years since, but his widow, 
 in conjunction with two of her daughters, both very clever 
 musicians, still continues to give lessons in singing. Few 
 members of the musical profession at any time, have been 
 more respected in public, or more beloved in private life, than 
 the entire Puzzi family. 
 
 5 Chorley, in his Thirty Years' Musical Reminiscences, 
 vol. ii. page 5, has accidentally confounded Mademoiselle 
 Giannoni with Madame Ronconi wife of the famous bary- 
 tone, Giorgio Ronconi who sang with little success at Her 
 Majesty's Theatre in 1842, and at Covent Garden in 1847. 
 The two singers, however, were not identical. They were 
 sisters. 
 
156 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 for his own Siege of Rochelle. The two works were now 
 found to be totally dissimilar, and as a matter of fact, Balfe's 
 was much the best opera of the two. Lafont, Monsieur 
 and Madame Allen, and Mademoiselle Vertpre then gave 
 a series of French performances, and in July Mr. Bunn 
 took the reins, opening on the 24th of that month with 
 Balfe's Catherine Grey, sung by the composer, Seguin, 
 S. Jones, Misses Rainforth and Romer. That favourite 
 and admirable actor, Compton, made his entry on the 
 London boards on the same night, as Robin, in the 
 ballad opera of The Waterman. The celebrated Pasta sang 
 " Di tanti palpiti," on the stage of the Lyceum, for the 
 benefit of M. Bernard on Friday, the 28th of July, 1837. 
 A new melodrama, Blanche of Jersey, written by Peake, 
 with music by John Barnett, had a genuine success in 
 August. Amongst other events we find the old burletta 
 Midas, revived about this time, with Apollo, Miss Romer ; 
 Daphne, Miss Rainforth ; Mysis, Mrs. C. Jones ; Nysa, 
 Miss Poole, and Midas, Mr. Williams. Mr. Bunn's 
 tenancy expired at Michaelmas. Mr. Mitchell began a 
 second season of Opera Buffa on the i6th of November, 
 with Mesdames Franceschini, Scheroni, Bellini, Miss 
 Fanny Wyndham, and Madame Eckerlin, Signori Catone, 
 Sanquirico, Bellini, Castellan, and Frederico Lablache. 
 As before, M. Benedict was the conductor. The operas 
 given were LItaliana in Algieri, L'Inganno Felice (Ros- 
 sini), L'Elisir d'Amore, Betly (Donizetti) Scaramuccia, 
 21 Nuovo Figaro (Ricci), Elisa e Claudio (Mercadante), 
 Nina Pazza (Coppola), and Le Nozze de Figaro (Mozart). 
 Miss Wyndham had improved greatly, the debut of young 
 
" Three Lyceums" 157 
 
 Lablache was interesting, and Catone's sympathetic 
 organ was more admired than ever, but as a whole the 
 company proved inferior to last year's, Madame Eckerlin, 
 upon whose shoulders the burden of prima-donnaship 
 principally rested, being an artist with a fine method, but 
 an almost extinguished voice. 
 
 The English Opera House was again managed by a com- 
 monwealth in the summer of 1838. The Qtieen's Command^ 
 " a Dramatic Sketch in Four Scenes," introduced on the 
 1 4th of July a Mr. William Shakespeare, as the poet. 
 The " sketch " and the actor were both failures. The real 
 name of the latter, it is said, was Walton. On Monday, the 
 1 3th of August, a new opera by G. A. Macfarren, The Devil's 
 Opera, was produced. The libretto, written by the com- 
 poser's father, was meant as a satire upon the taste for 
 diablerie prevalent at the time, and which had resulted in 
 such opera-books as Der Freyschutz^ Robert le Diable^ 
 and others. The story bore upon a plot entered into by 
 the friends of a certain Marchese Posilipo, to cure him of 
 his love of the study of necromancy, by passing off a black 
 slave, named Diavoletto, as the real Devil. Hence the title 
 The Devil's Opera. This was the first work of pretention 
 emanating from the pen of the then very young composer. 
 The chief fault brought against it by the critics was that 
 Mr. Macfarren had treated in too serious a style a libretto 
 which was obviously a mere satire. The music neverthe- 
 less had much merit, and the concerted pieces were most 
 skilfully treated. Of these, a trio " Good Night," sung by 
 Miss Rainforth, Miss Poole, and Mrs. Seguin, was con- 
 sidered the gem. The other singers were Messrs. Frazer, 
 
158 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Seguin, and S. Jones. Miss Poole, at that time very young, 
 disguised herself as an ol&gouvernante, very cleverly. Wie- 
 land's pantomime, as the mysterious slave, and would-be 
 demon, Diavoletto, was something marvellous. He was 
 universally acknowledged as the finest mime seen since 
 Grimaldi, and a worthy representative of the great school 
 of Dubois. The Devil's Opera was completely successful. 
 About this time a benefit was got up for the once cele- 
 brated pantaloon, Barnes, whose circumstances were 
 greatly reduced by the ill-health which for some time had 
 prevented him from following his profession. Besides 
 the company who were singing in The Devil's Opera, 
 Cooper, Leffler, Ducrow, and Mrs. Fitzwilliam gave their 
 services, and Wieland devised a pantomime scene, 
 Shakespeare 's Seven Ages, in which Barnes did "the lean 
 and slippered pantaloon," supported by several panto- 
 mimists, the principal of whom being Hartland, Ellar, 
 Montgomery, and Miss Fairbrother. The following 
 pathetic address was also written for the occasion, and 
 delivered by its author Leman Rede : 
 
 " Who has not felt, as time and care creep on, 
 And childhood's laughing hours are faded, gone, 
 Memory turn back with fond and lingering gaze, 
 To Christmas revels and to boyhood's days ? 
 Cast back your thoughts to twenty years ago 
 (I don't expect the ladies can do so) 
 Have you no visions of a Parker's grace ? 
 Bologna's elegance ? Grimaldi's face ? 
 And 'mid that merry throng, in life's gay noon, 
 Of Barnes, the lean and slipper'd Pantaloon ? 
 Ye knew him then; and by each radiant brow 
 That smiles around me, he's remember'd now. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 159 
 
 Your presence proves your memory, and his worth. 
 
 And you, the fairest portion of the earth, 
 
 And younger spirits, hearing in his name 
 
 But the faint echo of a bygone fame, 
 
 Gazed ye with joy upon the sable sprite 
 
 Who won your laughter and applause to-night ? 
 
 Think as you linger on that fairy scene 
 
 What Wieland is, poor Barnes may once have been. 
 
 Turn, and behold that creature lying low, 
 
 A pining sufferer, in want, in woe ; 
 
 Shall he, who made your childhood's laughter, live 
 
 Needing the succour that your hands can give ? 
 
 Or ye young 'hearts, which no such memories haunt, 
 
 Though ye know not his merits, feel his want ; 
 
 Together cheer the couch of age and pain, 
 
 And bid the grief-chill'd mourner smile again. 
 
 Or, oh ! if tears must yet that cheek bedew, 
 
 Let them they're tears of gratitude to you. 
 
 You are not feebly thank'd by him alone, 
 
 For his heart's joy is echo'd by your own. 
 
 The charity by which that lorn one lives 
 
 Blesses alike both him who takes and gives. 
 
 His heartfelt prayer he offers up to you, 
 
 Props of his age, Heaven bless you, and adieu ! " 
 
 Poor Barnes only survived till the 28th of this month. 
 Mr. Elton appeared in Rob Roy on the 6th of September. 
 The season closed with the thirty-sixth representation of 
 The Devil's Opera, on Friday, the 28th of September. 
 
 A Signer Negri conducted some Promenade Concerts, 
 at Christmas, and early in 1839; and on Easter Monday 
 Mr. Penley tried his hand at management, with a good 
 company, including Mrs. Stirling, Messrs. Creswick, 
 Addison, Henry Bedford, and the comedian Vale. Mr. 
 Penley's management unfortunately collapsed in a very 
 
1 60 Some London Theatres } Past and Present. 
 
 short time, but the house seems to have been occasionally 
 opened for benefits, in May and June, and at one of 
 these Mrs. Honey appeared, in The Married Rake. On 
 Monday, the 22nd of July, the composer Balfe in those 
 days also, a barytone singer of no mean reputation 
 opened here, playing Count Zeno, in his own opera, 
 Diadeste, Frazer, Leffler, and Miss Rainforth made up 
 the operatic corps. Balfe's brief season, which lasted till 
 the 3ist of August, was marked by one or two other inci- 
 dents worthy of commemoration. The pantomimist, Nor- 
 man, the friend and contemporary of Grimaldi, played in 
 the melodrama, Frankenstein, revived as an after-piece ; 
 Grisi, Persiani, Tamburini, and Rubini, sung in a concert, 
 on Monday, the iyth of August, for the benefit of a 
 fellow artist, Signer di Angioli ; and La Sonnambula was 
 given, on the last night of the season, for the manager's 
 benefit, when Madame Balfe formerly Mademoiselle Lina 
 Roser made her first appearance on the English stage, as 
 Amina, with very distinguished success. Balfe now 
 withdrew, but the Lyceum was kept going for another 
 month, by some members of the company, who played 
 in a new ballad opera, The Lass of Gowrie, and in the 
 old melodrama, The Miller and His Men. Mr. Morris 
 Barnett also appeared in Monsieur Jacques, and the clown, 
 Tom Matthews, in his great master Grimaldi's pantomime 
 Puck and the Puddings. The house then reverted, for 
 several months, to Promenade Concerts, but theatrical 
 performances were again given in the summer of 1840, 
 by a portion of the Covent Garden company, consisting 
 of Mrs. Orger, Mrs. Walter Lacy a most pleasing and 
 
" Three Lyceums" i6r 
 
 accomplished actress, who retired far too soon from 
 professional life, Mrs. Brougham, Miss Cooper, Messrs. 
 T. Green, Brougham, Compton, George Wild, and Granby. 
 Mrs. Walter Lacy delivered an address on the opening 
 night, written by Mark Lemon, and sustained the leading 
 part in a new drama, The Three Secrets, from the same 
 hand. Mr. W. S. Emden was the stage-manager of this 
 venture, and Miss Kelly returned for one night to the 
 scene of so many bygone triumphs, to play Lucy Lockit, in 
 The Beggar's Opera, for Frank Matthews' benefit, on 
 Monday, the 3ist of August. 
 
 In March, 1841, Balfe once more took the Lyceum, 
 for the production of his opera, Keolanthe, which in spite 
 of its not very happily-chosen libretto by Mr. E. Fitz- 
 Ball charmed every one, by the freshness, elegance, and 
 thorough melodiousness of its music. In the part of 
 Keolanthe, Madame Balfe proved herself to be, both in 
 singing, and acting, a complete artist of the good old 
 school ; Miss Gould, a pupil of John Barnett, made a 
 very promising debut ; and the other parts were most 
 creditably filled by Wilson, H. Phillips, and Stretton. 
 The composer himself conducted an excellent orchestra, 
 on the occasion. On Tuesday, the 3oth of March, the 
 Queen paid her first visit to the Lyceum, for the purpose 
 of hearing Keolanthe. The experiment, however, in a 
 financial sense, unfortunately did not answer, and after 
 a season much less prosperous than it deserved to be, 
 the house closed, on Saturday, the i5th of May. 
 The drama was again attempted daring the summer 
 months, Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Waylett, Miss Fortescue, Mrs. 
 
 M 
 
1 62 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Selby, and Mr. T. P. Cooke being the principal ex- 
 ponents, and at the end of August, " The Council of 
 Dramatic Authors " leased the theatre, for the produc- 
 tion of a drama, Martinucci, written by Mr. George 
 Stephens, which was rendered interesting as introducing 
 Mr. Phelps, and Mrs. Warner, to a Lyceum audience. 
 This was the only occasion, we believe, on which these 
 artists ever played there. Elton also had a part in this 
 play, which although not well received by the critics, had 
 a short run. Jullien, and his band, were here early in 
 1842, and a few months later, on the break-up of the 
 Vestris management, at Covent Garden, the principal 
 members of that company opened at the Lyceum. The 
 company was a very good one, including, as it did, the 
 names of Harley, J. Bland, Walter Lacy, J. Vining, 
 Brougham, Frank Matthews, Oxberry, and Alfred Wigan, 
 Mesdames Brougham, Humby, Jane Mordaunt, Murray, 
 Pincott, Marshall, and the dancer, Miss Ballin. The 
 house existed chiefly on revivals, but a new burletta, 
 The Water Witches, was produced, on the 6th of 
 June. Carter exhibited his lions in September, and 
 on the 28th of that month, Pierce Egan played Bob 
 Logic, in a version of Tom and Jerry, now entitled Life 
 in Dublin, for his benefit. Jullien gave another series 
 of concerts in December, and Van Amburgh opened the 
 house as a circus, at the beginning of 1843. Mrs. Way- 
 lett so renowned for her exquisite ballad-singing was 
 manageress at Easter, in this year, when Mr. Samuel 
 Emery son of John Emery made his first appearance 
 in London, choosing for his debut his father's great part 
 
" Three Lyceums" 163 
 
 df Giles, in The Miller's Maid. Mrs. Waylett gave up 
 the management at the end of May, and the house then 
 remained closed for several months. Jullien next re- 
 occupied it, in the middle of November, giving his con- 
 certs up to Christmas. On the 2pth of January, in the 
 following year, Captain Harvey Tuckett, whose physique 
 enabled him to dispense with padding, essayed to play 
 Falstaff, in The Merry Wives of Windsor, but like every- 
 thing else at this unfortunate theatre, the attempt ended 
 in failure, and within a fortnight it closed again. 
 
 Fortune nevertheless at length deigned to smile upon 
 the long luckless Lyceum, when on Easter Monday, 
 the 8th of April, 1844 it was opened, under the lessee- 
 ship and management of Mr. and Mrs. Keeley. It is a 
 fact, we believe, very little known, that towards the close 
 of 1843, an agreement had been all but signed, con- 
 stituting Phelps, Anderson, and Keeley, the joint lessees 
 of the Lyceum, for the performance of the Poetic Drama. 
 At the last moment, however, the affair " went off," and 
 eventually Keeley entered upon the direction alone. It 
 is interesting to reflect upon " what might have been," had 
 the original plan been carried out, though the chances 
 are, in our opinion, that such a combination could 
 not have had any long continuance. With three such 
 luminaries sitting in conjunction upon the managerial 
 throne, a conflict of interests must soon have arisen, 
 and then one or other would have gone to some other 
 theatre. And what the Keeleys 6 thought of their fitness 
 
 6 And yet there were few finer exponents of the comic 
 characters of the Shakspearian drama as, for instance, 
 M 2 
 
1 64 Some London Theatres ', Past and Present. 
 
 for the Poetic Drama, was doubtless expressed in the 
 following lines of the inaugural address, written by Gilbert 
 A'Beckett, and delivered with all her accustomed point 
 by Mrs. Keeley: 
 
 " The drama called legitimate may thrive 
 As well in two or three acts as in five. 
 Man by his mind, not by his height, we rate ; 
 Talent, not length, makes plays legitimate." 
 
 Burlesque was the class of entertainment upon which the 
 new management mainly relied, and that on the opening- 
 night, on the subject of the Forty Thieves by Gilbert 
 A'Beckett and Mark Lemon with Miss Fairbrother as 
 an extremely attractive Abdallah, at once hit the taste of 
 the public. Open Sesame was followed, at intervals by 
 Aladdin (Albert Smith and Charles Kenney), Whitting- 
 ton and his Cat, Cinderella, The Enchanted Horse (all by 
 Albert Smith and Tom Taylor) ; Hop o* my Thumb 
 (Albert Smith) to introduce the American dwarf, Tom 
 Thumb, in March, 1846; Robin Hood, The Magic 
 Horn, The Enchanted Forest (Charles Dance), and The 
 Wood Demon, or One d Clock (Albert Smith and Charles 
 Kenney). A series of adaptations of Charles Dickens' 
 novels were also brought out, the first being a version of 
 Martin Chuzzlewit with Keeley as Mrs. Gamp by 
 Mr. Edward Stirling, with a prologue by Albert Smith, 
 which we append : 
 
 " We owe this story of the present hour 
 To that great master-hand whose graphic power 
 
 Touchstone and Audrey, or Launcelot Gobbo and Nerissa 
 than this exceptionally gifted pair. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 165 
 
 Can call up laughter, bid the tear to start, 
 And find an echoing chord in every heart ; 
 Whom we have learn'd to deem a household friend ; 
 Who midst his varied writings never penn'd 
 One line that might his guileless pages spot, 
 One word that dying he would wish to blot." 
 
 The Chimes, by Mr. E. Stirling, at Christmas, 1844, 
 and The Cricket on the Hearth, by Albert Smith, in 
 December, 1845, with S. Emery as John Peerybingle ; 
 Keeley, Caleb Plummer; Miss Louisa Howard, May 
 Fielding ; Miss Mary Keeley, Bertha ; Miss Turner, Tilly 
 Slowboy ; and Mrs. Keeley (who was never better suited), 
 Dot. The Battle of Life was also dramatized, by Albert 
 Smith, in December, 1846. Mrs. Keeley playing Clemency 
 Newcome. Tom Taylor's well-known drama, To Parents 
 and Guardians, was first produced at the Lyceum, on 
 Monday, the i4th of September, 1846, with Alfred Wigan, 
 as Monsieur Tourbillon ; Keeley, Waddilove ; Mrs. 
 Wigan, Virginie ; Miss Howard, Mary Switch ; and Mrs. 
 Keeley, Bob Nettles. A pantomime, The Butterfly's Ball, 
 on Boxing Night, 1 846, though written and produced 
 with much elegance, proved, comparatively, a failure, 
 and only ran a few weeks. Shirley Brooks' drama, The 
 Creole, was brought out in Easter week, 1847. The only 
 attempt in the strictly legitimate line, was a revival, at 
 Easter, 1845, of Farquhar's comedy, The Recruiting 
 Officer, which, as might be supposed, proved quite un- 
 suited to a body of actors trained to such very different 
 work, and was almost immediately withdrawn. The 
 company which Mr. and Mrs. Keeley gathered round 
 them during their three memorable years of management 
 
1 66 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 included Messrs. Alfred Wigan, S. Emery, Leigh Murray, 
 Frank Matthews, F. Vining, Meadows, Oxberry, Belling- 
 ham, Kinloch, J. W. Collier, Mrs. Alfred Wigan, Misses 
 Woolgar, Fortescue, Fairbrother, Villars, Louisa Howard, 
 Mary Keeley, May, and Isabel Dickenson. They with- 
 drew, owing, as it was said at the time, to some financial 
 disagreement with Mr. Arnold, to the regret of every 
 one, early in the summer of 1847. 
 
 The next lessees were Charles Mathews and Madame 
 Vestris, whose reign, extending from the autumn of 1847 
 to the spring of 1855, however chequered behind the 
 curtain, was certainly one of unexampled brilliancy before 
 it. The theatre reopened under their management on 
 Monday, the i8th of October. It had been superbly rede- 
 corated, and one portion of the embellishments, the orna- 
 mentation of the box-fronts, on which medallions of 
 cupids, vases, flowers, and birds stood out in strong 
 relief, remains with a difference of colouring pretty 
 much as it was, at the present time. The drop-scene, 
 depicting a group of nymphs emerging from behind a 
 mass of crimson drapery, has long since been replaced 
 but never improved upon. The new company, con- 
 taining the names of Charles Mathews, Frank Matthews, 
 Harley, Buckstone, John Reeve, R. Roxby, H. Hall, 
 Leigh Murray, Granby, Charles Selby, Meadows, Belling- 
 ham, Diddear, C. Horn, Parselle, H. Marshall, Mesdames 
 Stirling, Fitzwilliam, C. Jones, Leigh Murray, Mac- 
 namara, Misses Kathleen Fitzwilliam, Louisa Howard, 
 Fairbrother, Marshall, Gilbert, Grove, Laidlaw, and Ma- 
 dame Vestris, was, if anything, too powerful, and therefore, 
 difficult to handle. Its members gradually disbanded, 
 
" Three Lyceums? 167 
 
 and moved on elsewhere, Frank Matthews, Roxby, and 
 Mrs. Macnamara alone continuing with the lessees up to 
 the close of their management, but, from first to last, there 
 was always a good working company to be found at the 
 Lyceum. Mr. Roxby was stage-manager, Mr. Edward 
 Fitzwilliam, director of the music, and Mr. William 
 Beverley the principal scenic artist. The opening novelty, 
 a three-act vaudeville, The Pride of the Market, taken 
 from the French, by Planche', with Vestris as Marton, was 
 found slight, but supplemented a little later by Box and 
 Cox, with Buckstone, Harley, and Mrs. Macnamara, and 
 by Oxenford's little play, The Tragedy Queen, with Mrs. 
 Stirling as Mrs. Bracegirdle served to carry the house on 
 till Christmas, which brought with it The Golden Branch, 
 by Planche. This was the first of a series of drama- 
 tized fairy tales fairy extravaganzas their author loved 
 to style them which have rendered "the days of Ma- 
 dame Vestris " a unique feature in the annals of the 
 Lyceum. The others were The King of the Peacocks, 
 The Island of Jewels, King Charming, The Prince of 
 Happy Land, The Good Woman in the Wood, and Once 
 upon a Time there were Two Kings. The pen of Planche 
 had long been famous ; the pencil of Beverley had 
 already placed him in the front rank of scene-painters, 
 but now they were, for the first, and, we believe, the only 
 time, brought into conjunction, and their efforts guided 
 and controlled by the master-mind of Vestris, whose 
 taste and judgment in everything relating to stage-effect 
 were absolutely faultless. It is not too much to affirm 
 that such a combination has never been seen since, nor 
 was it ever seen before. It was the last scene of one of 
 
1 68 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 these extravaganzas, The Island of Jewels, where the 
 simple device was employed of a column of palm-leaves 
 gradually unfolding, and disclosing the regalia of King 
 Emerald bathed in a flood of golden lime-light which 
 originated the modern pantomime transformation scene 
 so elaborated, and so utterly vulgarized, since. Planche, 
 in his memoirs, describes himself as having been alto- 
 gether " painted out " by this scene. We have always 
 held him to be mistaken, and for this reason. His engage- 
 ment with Madame Vestris having come to an end, the last 
 Christmas extravaganza produced under her manage- 
 ment in which, by the way, she was too ill to appear 
 was written by William Brough. Prince Prettypet and the 
 Btitterfly\\d& extremely clever, but its wit proved too broad 
 for an audience habituated to the more delicate graces 
 of the elder author, and so, though the mounting was as 
 perfect as ever, it is a fact that the piece did not draw, 
 was withdrawn long before the usual time, and finally the 
 house was closed altogether. 
 
 Vestris, then in the autumn but such an autumn of 
 her days, was still, either as a fairy prince or a confidante, 
 or latterly as an old woman, invariably the life and soul 
 of these exquisite feeries, acting, to the last, with all her 
 former finish, and singing with nearly all her former 
 charm, whilst the rest of the characters were assigned to 
 the leading members of her company, as constituted at 
 the time. Amongst these may be specially instanced 
 Harley, as a sort of Arcadian shepherd, a la Watteau, 
 in The Golden Branch ; Henry Marshall, the never-to- 
 be-forgotten little green dog, Fretillon, of The King of 
 the Peacocks ; Frank Matthews and James Bland, the two 
 
" Three Lyceums" 169 
 
 acknowledged kings of burlesque ; Mrs. Macnamara, a 
 veteran actress always at hand for queens or gouver- 
 nantes; Miss Louisa Howard, Miss Kenworthy, and Miss 
 Agnes Robertson (now Mrs. Dion Boucicault), a beau- 
 tiful trio of fairy princesses ; Miss Kathleen Fitzwilliam, 
 and Miss Julia St. George, whose vocal talents were one 
 of the most important features ; and Miss Rosina Wright, 
 who, as a guardian spirit or benevolent fairy, invariably 
 led the dancing in the indispensable ballet scene. Charles 
 Mathews took no part in these Christmas fairy tales, and 
 contented himself with merely " playing in " the house, 
 in one or other of his favourite characters, but he was in 
 the cast of all the Easter extravaganzas. These also 
 written by Planche were Theseus and Ariadne, The 
 Seven Champions of Christendom, Cymon and Iphigenia, 
 and The Queen of the Frogs. They were produced 
 with the same completeness, though with less lavish 
 outlay, had shorter runs, and occupied less of public 
 attention. 
 
 The remaining events of the Vestris and Mathews 
 management were as follows. Gay's Beggar's Opera was 
 revived in June, 1848, with Madame Vestris, Miss Fitz- 
 william, Mrs. C. Jones, the tenor Harrison, Harley, Frank 
 Matthews, and Meadows. Blanche's BlueBeardQKt of 
 the old Olympic triumphs was also reproduced, with 
 Miss Fitzwilliam, as Fleurette. Buckstone, Mrs. Fitzwil- 
 liam, and Mrs. Stirling, quitted the company at the end 
 of this season. On the reopening, at the beginning of 
 October, Mrs. Yates had joined, and made her first ap- 
 pearance, to an overwhelming reception, as Tilburina, in 
 The Critic. Mr. John Reeve, jun., made his debut soon 
 
170 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 afterwards, in a new comic drama, My Father did so before 
 Me. On Monday, the 2oth of November, Shakspeare's 
 Merry Wives of Windsor was revived, with Madame 
 Vestris as Mrs. Ford ; Mrs. Yates, Mrs. Page ; Miss 
 Fitzwilliam, Anne Page; Mrs. Macnamara, Mrs. 
 Quickly; Granby, Sir John Falstaff; Charles Mathews, 
 Slender ; and Meadows, Sir Hugh Evans a powerful 
 cast. Planche's favourite vaudeville, A Romantic Idea, 
 with Charles Mathews, was first produced in March, 1849, 
 and A Wonderful Woman, by Charles Dance, in the fol- 
 lowing May. The School for Scandal was revived at the 
 end of this season, with Vestris, Mrs. Yates, Harley, 
 Cooper, F. Matthews, and C. Mathews, and Colman's 
 old musical drama, Inkle and Yarico, was given for 
 Harley's benefit, on Monday, the 3rd of July. When the 
 Lyceum opened for the winter season of 1849, Mrs. Yates, 
 Miss Louisa Howard, and Miss Kathleen Fitzwilliam, had 
 left, and were replaced by Mrs. Humby, Miss Kenworthy, 
 and Miss Julia St. George. Miss M. Oliver, and Miss 
 Isabel Dickenson were also added to the company. 
 Charles Dance's comedietta, Delicate Ground, was pro- 
 duced in November, with Vestris as Pauline. Mrs. 
 Humby remained for one season, making her mark as 
 Fatima in Cymon and Iphigenia, and was succeeded by 
 Mrs. Frank Matthews. Mr. George Vining and Mr. Basil 
 Baker were among the new engagements in the winter of 
 1850, the principal novelties of which before Christmas 
 were, a fairy drama, by John Oxenford, The Romance of 
 the Rose, and a melodrama in three acts, by Planche, A 
 Day of Reckoning. The latter was a play of much more 
 weight than any new one hitherto given by the manage- 
 
" Three Lyceums? 171 
 
 ment, and was admirably got up, but failed in a great 
 measure, owing to the principal part being intrusted to 
 Charles Mathews, who was obviously unsuited to it. 
 Much happier was the result of a version by Slingsby 
 Lawrence, of De Balzac's Mercadet, under the title of The 
 Game of Speculation, in October, 1851. In this, the Mr. 
 Affable Hawk of Mathews remained, to the end of a long- 
 protracted career, one of his best and most popular parts. 
 The customary extravaganza was superseded at Easter, 
 1852, by a novelty, in eight acts taken from the French 
 by Slingsby Lawrence with the appropriate title of A 
 Chain of Events. The varied incidents, the faultless 
 acting, and the wonderful scenic effects which included 
 a practicable ship in a storm by Beverley, secured for 
 this unusually long drama a cordial reception and a con- 
 siderable run. Miss Laura Keene, a young actress of 
 much promise, made her first appearance in A Chain of 
 Events. Planche's Golden Fleece originally produced at 
 the Haymarket at Easter, 1845 was given here, in Oc- 
 tober, with Madame Vestris and Charles Mathews in their 
 old parts, Medea and Chorus, Miss Julia St. George fol- 
 lowing Miss P. Horton, as Jason. Mr. Belton, Miss 
 Eglinton, Miss Wyndham, and Miss Robertson, had now 
 joined the company. The Christmas piece, The Good 
 Woman in the Wood, was the most elegant in design, and 
 the most exquisitely mounted, of all the Vestris series. 
 
 At Easter, 1853, Mr. Slingsby Lawrence in conjunc- 
 tion with Charles Mathews was responsible for another 
 long piece, this time described as " A Dramatic Tale in 
 Nine Chapters," entitled A Strange History. It is diffi- 
 cult to understand why a public who, but a year since, 
 
\J2 Some London Theatres , Past and Present. 
 
 had so willingly accepted eight acts, should now so 
 unanimously reject nine. Yet such was the case. The 
 new play was by no means uninteresting, it was full of pic- 
 turesque situations, and was played, down to the smallest 
 character, most artistically, whilst the scenery was acknow- 
 ledged to surpass anything hitherto attempted, even by 
 Beverley. We remember an Alpine pass, and hut whence 
 issued Miss St. George, to sing an Alpine song with a 
 bridge suddenly carried away by an avalanche, just as the 
 heroine Christina (Vestris) was about to cross it, in search 
 of her children ; and an elaborately-constructed woodland 
 glade, with a stream and cascade of real water as pictures 
 of a beauty entirely unique. Neither avalanche, nor glade, 
 however, nor the numberless " sensations " scattered so 
 freely over the play, sufficed to save it. The action was 
 pronounced too complex, and the personages who took 
 part in it, needlessly numerous. A Strange History 
 therefore failed, and its failure was a very heavy blow to 
 the management, which the subsequent success of The 
 Lawyers a version of Les Avocats, also by Lawrence 
 by no means sufficed to redeem. 
 
 The popular low comedian from the Adelphi, Mr. 
 Wright, a Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Frederick Robinson, 
 were amongst the new engagements for the winter. 
 The first of these came out in a little piece with the 
 voluminous title, The Commencement of a Bad Farce 
 which it is to be hoped will turn out Wright at Last. 
 It was condemned, because the farce was really a bad 
 one ; but independent of this, the actor, whose humour 
 was always of the broadest, proved quite out of his 
 element in the refined atmosphere of the Lyceum. He 
 
" Three Lyceums? 1 7 3 
 
 never took root there, and after a few months very 
 wisely returned to his old quarters. Mr. James Bland 
 was engaged at Christmas, and A Bachelor of Arts, a 
 new comedy, in two acts, by a hitherto unknown name, 
 Mr. Pelham Hardwicke, not only supplied Charles 
 Mathews with a part which exactly fitted him, but served 
 to introduce Miss Hughes now Mrs. Gaston Murray 
 to the London public, with whom she has ever since re- 
 mained so great a favourite. A Miss Talbot caused some 
 sensation in March, 1854, by her remarkable personal 
 beauty, in a slight vaudeville, A Charming Widow. On 
 Thursday, the i5th of June, was produced an English 
 version of Madame Emile de Girardin's La Joie fait Peur, 
 here entitled Sunshine through the Clouds, with Vestris, 
 and Frank Matthews, in the parts created by Madame 
 Allan, and Reignier. Vestris embodied with consum- 
 mate art a role which, it was 'said, she literally left a 
 bed of sickness to play. It was destined to be her swan- 
 song, and she appeared, for the last time on the stage, in 
 it, for her husband's benefit, on Wednesday, the 26th of 
 July. From that date this gifted and long-admired 
 artist was never seen again in public, and died after a 
 lingering and painful illness, some two years later on 
 the 8th of August, 1856. The Lyceum opened once 
 more, under Charles Mathews, in November, with a some- 
 what diminished company, of which the lessee, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Frank Matthews, Mr. J. Bland, Mr. Robert Roxby, 
 Mr. Basil Baker, Mr. C. Swan, Mrs. Macnamara, and the 
 Misses Oliver, Talbot, Fanny Ternan, Harriet Gordon, 
 and Hughes, were the principal members. But the 
 Lyceum had lost its presiding spirit. The Christmas 
 
174 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 novelty, Prince Pretty pet, failed to attract after the first 
 few weeks, and at length, utterly disheartened, Mathews 
 suddenly closed the house, abandoning, to use his own 
 words, " the cares of management, at once, and for ever," 
 at the end of March, 1855. 
 
 Professor Anderson, " The Wizard of the North," gave 
 his necromantic entertainment, Magic and Mystery, at the 
 Lyceum, which had remained shut up all the summer, in 
 September. It was attended with such golden results, 
 that at Christmas he removed to Covent Garden, fired 
 with the ambition of there producing the pantomime of 
 1855-6. The preliminary announcement of this panto- 
 mime was probably the cleverest theatrical advertisement 
 ever penned. The merit of such things is usually con- 
 sidered to consist in their conciseness. 7 This one occupied 
 at least a column and a half, and yet every line of it was 
 interesting reading. It made a considerable sensation at 
 the time, and therefore deserves to be put on record here. 
 The author we believe was Professor Anderson's acting- 
 manager [query, or treasurer ?] Mr. E. P. Kingston. The 
 pantomime itself, however, La Belle Alliance, though, as 
 a literary effort it was written by George Augustus Sala 
 of a high order, failed to come up to the general ex- 
 pectation, and the " Wizard " lost by it all the money 
 previously made in Wellington Street. Finally, Covent 
 Garden was itself burnt down, on the night, or rather 
 morning, of a masquerade, given for his benefit, in March, 
 1856. The Royal Italian Opera being thus left without 
 a home, Mr. Gye forthwith secured the Lyceum for the 
 
 7 See the Times for Monday, 24th of December, 1855. 
 
" Three Lyceums." 17$ 
 
 season. Wisely eschewing the spectacular operas of 
 Meyerbeer as being unsuited to the smaller arena, the 
 director contented himself with the lighter works of the 
 purely Italian school. Norma, Lucrezia Borgia, LElisir 
 d'Amore, II Earlier e, II Conte Ory, and others, not for- 
 getting // Trovatore, were here listened to with delight, when 
 interpreted by such artists as Grisi, Bosio, Marai, Nantier 
 Didiee, Mario, Gardoni, Tamberlik, Graziani, Tagliafico, 
 and Ronconi. A new tenor, Signor Neri-Beraldi, was also 
 received with much favour. Mademoiselle Cerito danced ; 
 and Costa's orchestra was found as perfect in the small, 
 as in the larger house. The off-nights were devoted to 
 the introduction of the Italian actress, Adelaide Ristori, 
 who, though supported by with the exception of Signor 
 Bellotti-Bon a very indifferent company, created a pro- 
 found impression, in the Medea of Legouve, the Pia di 
 Tolomei of Marenco, the Rosmunda of Alfieri, and in 
 Goldoni's comedy La Locandiera. In the autumn a 
 new lessee, for the English drama, was found in Mr. 
 Charles Dillon, an actor whose powers were of a high 
 order, and, at that time, not disfigured by the tendency to 
 rant, in which, during his later years, he was not unfre- 
 quently apt to indulge. Mr. Dillon opened with a version, 
 by Mr. Charles Webb, of Belphegor the Mountebank, in 
 which he played the showman, to the last, his best and 
 most popular part. The after-piece was a burlesque by 
 William Brough, Perdita, or the Royal Milkmaid. The 
 boy, Henri, in the drama, and the Perdita of the burlesque, 
 were intrusted to a very young girl, who has long since 
 risen to the very summit of her profession. The name 
 
176 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 of this youthful actress was Marie Wilton. 8 The other 
 performers whom Mr. Dillon had collected were Messrs. 
 Barrett, J. G. Shore, Calhaem, Stuart, and the then little 
 known or appreciated Mr. J. L. Toole, Mrs Weston, 
 Mrs. Buckingham White, Miss H. Gordon, Miss Woolgar, 
 and Mrs. Charles Dillon. The new management seemed 
 to be characterized by much spirit and liberality, in 
 the way of novelties. A new melodrama, The King's 
 Musketeers, was tried in October, and another, The 
 Black Doctor^ in November. Both were adaptations from 
 the French. At the beginning of December, a new and 
 original romantic drama, in five acts, by a new author, Mr. 
 Edmund Falconer, entitled The Cagot, had quite an 
 enthusiastic reception. The literary merits of this play 
 were great, and its sentiment fine, but, like all Mr. 
 Falconer's subsequent plays, it was much too verbose. 
 The part of the Cagot-mother, was played by Mrs. Weston, 
 and that of her supposed son, Raoul, by Mr. Charles 
 Dillon, in a very superior style. With Christmas came 
 a burlesque, Conrad and Medora, founded upon the 
 popular French ballet, Le Corsaire, by William Brough, 
 and chiefly remarkable for the fine scenery of Mr. 
 Fenton. To this burlesque, a short harlequinade was 
 appended, with Tom Matthews as clown. Another 
 new five-act poetical drama, A Life's Ransom, by West- 
 land Marston, was very favourably received, in February, 
 1857, after the run of which, the lessee essayed the parts 
 of Don Caesar de Bazan, Richelieu, Virginius, and 
 Hamlet, justifying his previous reputation in all. On the 
 8 Now Mrs. Bancroft. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 177 
 
 termination of the season, early in April, Mr. Dillon 
 announced its pecuniary success, and the intended re- 
 sumption of his management, in the coming winter. 
 
 Mr. Gye's arrangements for the rebuilding of Covent 
 Garden being still uncompleted, he again held the opera 
 at the Lyceum this summer. The leading singers were 
 the same as last year, with the exception of Mademoiselle 
 Jenny Ney, who had not been re-engaged, and with the 
 addition of two young prime donne, not hitherto heard 
 in England. These were Mademoiselle Euphrosyne 
 Parepa, and Mademoiselle Victoire Balfe, daughter of the 
 popular composer of that name. Mademoiselle Parepa, 
 who came out as Elvira in I Puritani, Was then pronounced 
 merely promising, but ultimately ripened into a most valu- 
 able and complete artist. As Amina in La Sonnambula^ 
 Mademoiselle Victoire Balfe, an elegant-looking girl, in 
 all the bloom and freshness of early youth, was at 
 once recognized as a thoroughly-prepared singer, who 
 only needed time for the strengthening and develop- 
 ment of her powers. Mademoiselle Balfe's professional 
 career was however terminated within two or three years, 
 by a brilliant private marriage. Mr. Gye's novelties this 
 season were La Traviata (Verdi), in which Bosio, as the 
 heroine, showed herself to be as infinitely superior in 
 singing as she was utterly inferior in acting to the rival 
 Violetta in the Haymarket, Marietta Piccolomini; and 
 ^y#Zfe.'#/<?(Auber). given, we believe, for the first time 
 in Italian, and the success of which with Bosio, Zer- 
 lina; Marai, Lady Rocburg; Ronconi, Lord Rocburg; 
 Gardoni, Fra Diavolo ; Tagliafico, Giacomo ; and Zelger, 
 
 N 
 
1 78 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Beppo was perfect. Fra Diavolo was probably never 
 better sung, acted, and mounted anywhere than it was 
 at the Lyceum in the season of 1857. Ristori was 
 again engaged, and added to her repertoire Gamma, in 
 Signer Montanelli's play of that name; Bianca, in an 
 Italian translation of Dr. Milman's fine tragedy, Fazio ; 
 and Lady Macbeth in which she was, of course, superb. 
 The popular tenor, Mr. William Harrison, and Miss 
 Louisa Pyne, who had recently returned from America, 
 entered into partnership for a three months' season of 
 English opera in the autumn, with the aid of Madame 
 Caradori, Miss M. A. Prescott, Miss Susan Pyne, Mr. St. 
 Albyn. Mr. George Honey, Mr. Ferdinand Glover, Mr. 
 Weiss, and others, a chorus drawn from the choristers of 
 Covent Garden, and an excellent orchestra conducted by 
 Mr. Alfred Mellon. Their inaugural opera, The Crown 
 Diamonds of Auber, on Monday, the 2ist of September, 
 testified unmistakably that the word ensemble was tho- 
 roughly understood, and had been carefully attended to 
 in everything relating to the general execution. The 
 scheme however seemed to languish, until the production 
 of a new opera by Balfe, on Thursday, the 2Qth of Oc- 
 tober. This was The Rose of Castille, the story of which 
 was identical with that of Adam's Muletierde Toledo. Its 
 triumph was immediate and complete. The introductory 
 chorus, "List to the gay castanet," the laughing trio, 
 " I'm not the Queen," and a ballad, "The Convent Cell," 
 so chastely rendered by Miss Louisa Pyne who was never 
 heard to greater advantage than on this occasion were 
 among the many bright bits of this very bright and pleasing 
 
" Three Lyceums" 179 
 
 work ; but better than any, to our thinking, was the mule- 
 driver's fresh and tuneful air, "I am a simple muleteer," 
 given in his happiest and most vigorous style by Harrison. 
 The Rose of Castille drew immense houses down to the 
 expiration of the Pyne and Harrison term, and secured 
 the financial success of their enterprise. Mr. Dillon re- 
 sumed his management at Christmas, with a gorgeou 
 oriental spectacle and pantomime on the subject ofLatta 
 Rookh, in which Miss Woolgar, Mrs. Buckingham White, 
 and Mr. Toole figured, together with Tom Matthews, 
 who was again engaged as clown. Early in January, 
 1858, Lalla Rookh was preceded in the bills by a brilliant 
 little comedy in three acts, from the pen of Leigh Hunt, 
 with the title of Lover? Amazements, extremely well 
 acted by the lessee, and his wife, Miss Woolgar, and Mr. 
 J. G. Shore. Another new piece, A Hard Struggle, by 
 Westland Marston, at the beginning of the ensuing month, 
 though affording full scope for the talents of both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Dillon, was only moderately successful. Miss 
 Helen Faucit was engaged about this time, and appeared 
 as Pauline, in The Lady of Lyons, Beatrice, in Much Ado 
 about Nothing, and as Lady Macbeth. Mr. Charles Dillon 
 brought his season to a close at the end of March with a 
 revival of Casimir Delavigne's Louis XL, in which he 
 fully sustained his reputation by a very fine impersonation 
 of that most subtle and perfidious of monarchs. 
 
 Mr. George Webster opened the Lyceum, for a few 
 weeks, in July, with Mrs. Charles Young now Mrs. Her- 
 man Vezin in a version of La Dame aux Camellias, and 
 later, with the coloured tragedian Mr. Ira Aldridge, in 
 
 N 2 
 
180 Some London Theatres ^ Past and Present. 
 
 Othello. Mr. Aldridge, an actor of merit, had made 
 some sensation, several years before, as Zanga, in The 
 Revenue, but had not recently been seen in London. Mr. 
 Webster's management, which was only provisional, was 
 taken up, later on, by Mr. Edmund Falconer the author 
 of The Cagot for the production of a new comedy, in 
 three acts, The Extremes, or Men of the Day, with Mr. 
 Leigh Murray, Mr. Emery, Miss Kate Saxon, and Mrs. 
 Weston, in the leading parts. The Extremes was so 
 successful, that its writer was enabled to resume the 
 management at Christmasafter a few weeks' interim, 
 during which the theatre was occupied by Jullien 
 with a new classical extravaganza, by Mr. Robert Brough, 
 The Siege of Troy, supported by Mrs. Keeley, Miss Julia 
 St. George, Miss Talbot, Mr. Emery, Mr. James Rogers, 
 and Mr. Charles Young. The Siege of Troy was 
 illustrated by some very fine scenery, painted by Mr. 
 William Callcott, and was altogether so magnificently 
 mounted, as almost to recall the days of Vestris. It- 
 was found, however, long and dull, and did nothing for 
 the treasury. Madame Celeste was engaged at the be- 
 ginning of 1857, and came out in a new melodrama, 
 Marion de VOrme. A Sister's Sacrifice, founded upon 
 Lamartine's story of Genevieve, was the next novelty, for 
 Celeste, Mrs. Keeley, and Emery, to be succeeded, in 
 its turn, by another, The Last Hope, written by John 
 Oxenford. All these were well received, but none secured 
 a run. Mr. Falconer evidently counted much upon a 
 new drama of his own, in five acts, Francesca, a Dream 
 of Venice. This, which had been for some time an- 
 
" Three Lyceums? 1 8 1 
 
 nounced, was at length given, on the night of his bene- 
 fit, Thursday, the 3ist of March. Francesca for which 
 Mr. Callcott had supplied some lovely Venetian scenery 
 contained many effective situations, and much good 
 writing, but was far too long, and so notwithstanding 
 the admirable acting of Mrs. Charles Young (Francesca), 
 and Messrs. Falconer and Gaston Murray, it turned 
 out a failure, and shortly afterwards the house was closed. 
 After remaining for many months without a tenant, a new 
 lessee was found in Madame Celeste, who engaged a 
 company, of which Mr. Walter Lacy, Mr. James Vining, 
 Mr. James Johnstone, Mr. F. Villiers, Mr. Forrester, 
 Mr. John Rouse a new low comedian from Bristol 
 Miss Kate Saville, and Miss Julia St. George, were the 
 principal members. Mr. William West, was stage- 
 manager, and Mr. William Callcott, scenic artist. Ma- 
 dame Celeste opened the Lyceum, on Monday, the 28th 
 of November, with an adaptation, by Mr. Charles Selby, 
 of Les Enfers de Paris, which he here placed upon the 
 boards under the name Paris and Pleasure. In this 
 " drame fantastique? as the bills styled it, Celeste sus- 
 tained no less than seven characters, and was considered 
 by everybody to have never acted better. At Christmas, 
 King Thrushbeard, a combination of spectacle and 
 pantomime, by Mr. Francis Talfourd, with the additional 
 assistance of Mr. Callcott's scenery, fully sustained the 
 reputation of this theatre for splendour. Dickens' Tale 
 of Two Cities was skilfully adapted to the stage, by Tom 
 Taylor, with the manageress as Madame Defarge, in 
 January, 1860, and ran for some weeks, to good houses. 
 
1 82 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 In March, the old drama of The Serjeant's Wife, was 
 revived, with Mrs. Keeley, in her original part of Mar- 
 got, and Madame Celeste as Lisette. A short time 
 later, a new and very effective little drama, The Abbe 
 Vaudreuil) written by Colonel Addison, was produced. 
 Celeste played the Abbe, in her most effective manner. 
 The season terminated soon after Easter. For the re- 
 opening, at the beginning of October, Tom Taylor had 
 provided a new comedy, The Brigand and his Banker, 
 founded on Edmond About's novel, Le Roi des Mon- 
 tagnes. This, although capitally played by Madame 
 Celeste, Mrs. Keeley, Miss M. Ternan, Mr. George 
 Vining, and an American comedian, Mr. Watkins, failed 
 completely, and was superseded in a very few nights 
 by Boucicault's Irish Heiress. Miss Lydia Thompson 
 appeared in Magic Toys, and a Miss Gougenheim made 
 her debut as Neighbour Constance, in The Love 
 Chase, to the Widow Green of Mrs. Keeley. Bayle 
 Bernard's Adelphi drama, The Wept of the Wishton Wish 
 was also revived, and a new play, Adrienne, or the Secret 
 of a Life, by Mr. Leslie, produced. A clever actor of 
 Irishmen, Mr. John Drew, came out, in a new version, 
 by Mr. Stirling Coyne, of Handy-Andy. Mr. Falconer 
 contributed a most graceful and fanciful Christmas piece, 
 Chrystabelle, or the Rose without a Thorn. This was 
 beautifully put upon the stage, and added to its author's 
 literary fame. A new and very good melodrama, The 
 House on the Bridge of Notre-Dame, by Rophino Lacy, 
 brought out in February, 1861, was the last novelty of 
 Madame Celeste's management, which terminated in the 
 
" Three Lyceums" 183 
 
 middle of April, and it was believed that this old favourite 
 of the public had sustained a heavy pecuniary loss. 
 
 Her Majesty's Theatre being closed, owing to the 
 sudden retirement of Mr. E. T. Smith, Signor Puzzi and 
 Mr. Mapleson collected the majority of the singers, and 
 gave a short season of Italian Opera at the Lyceum in 
 June and July, with Titiens, Alboni, Giuglini, Signor and 
 Madame Gassier, Vialetti, and a new barytone, Signor 
 Delie Sedie, who proved a real and valuable acquisition. 
 Signor Arditi conducted these performances, the feature 
 of which was the production of Verdi's newest opera, 
 Un Ballo en Maschera, for the first time in England, on 
 Saturday, the 22nd of June. The reception accorded to 
 Un Ballo en Maschera was enthusiastic, and though 
 now but seldom heard in London, it long remained one 
 of the composer's most popular works. The other 
 operas mounted in this almost improvised, but spirited, 
 little season, were // Don Giovanni (Mozart), Les 
 Huguenots (Meyerbeer), Martha (Flotow), Norma (Bel- 
 lini), Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti), and // Trovatort 
 (Verdi). In August Mr. Edmund Falconer was again 
 established in his former quarters, with a new drama, 
 Woman, or Love against the World, in which Mrs. 
 Charles Young, Mr. Walter Lacy, and Mr. Herman 
 Vezin, sustained the leading parts. This had a run of 
 sixty or seventy nights, and encouraged the manager to 
 bring forward another of his pieces, an Irish drama, in 
 four acts, entitled Peep O' Day, or Savourneen Deelish. 
 The great effect of this drama was a scene in the third act, 
 the Foil Dhuiv, or Dark Valley, into which the heroine 
 
184 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Kathleen Kavanagh (Mrs. D. P. Bowers), was enticed 
 by a letter from her husband, George Purcell, for the 
 purpose of being murdered by an agent, in order to 
 facilitate his second marriage with an heiress. The bridge 
 by which she crossed had been cut away by the assassin, 
 but her brother, Henry Kavanagh (Mr. Herman Vezin), 
 and Barney O'Toole (Mr. Falconer) opportunely appeared 
 at the edge of the cliff, and the former, at the moment 
 when all seemed lost, swung himself, by the branch of 
 an overhanging tree, into the chasm, and achieved the 
 rescue of his sister. The effect of this scene which of 
 its kind was admirably conceived was immense, and 
 obtained for what was otherwise a rather dull and spun- 
 out melodrama a run of at least twelve months, extending 
 to the middle of November, 1862, when Mr. Falconer's 
 term expired, and he removed to Drury Lane. A bur- 
 lesque, Little Red Riding Hood> by Mr. Leicester Buck- 
 ingham, had been brought out at Christmas, 1861, con- 
 taining a very fine panorama, painted by Telbin, of the 
 Lakes of Killarney. On its withdrawal the panorama 
 was still exhibited as an after-piece, during the remainder 
 of the run of Peep O 1 Day. 
 
 The night of Saturday, the loth of January, 1863, saw 
 the Lyceum again opened, and this time under the 
 management of the popular French actor, Mr. Fechter, 
 who had enlisted under his banner the Misses Car- 
 lotta Leclercq, Kate Terry, Henrade, Lavenu, Messrs. 
 George Vining, John Brougham, Henry Widdicombe 
 the favourite low comedian from the Surrey Theatre 
 Mclntyre, J. G. Shore, F. Charles, Garden, and Raymond. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 185 
 
 The new lessee started well, with a redecorated house and 
 a romantic drama, The Duke's Motto, adapted from Le 
 ossu, of Paul Feval, by John Brougham. Fechter and 
 that most captivating actress, Miss Kate Terry, were seen 
 to striking advantage in the new play, which was magnifi- 
 cently mounted, and otherwise thoroughly well played 
 by everybody, great or small, concerned in its production. 
 Full of unlooked-for incidents and stirring adventures, 
 The Duke's Motto at once hit the taste of the public, and 
 drew an uninterrupted succession of overflowing houses 
 down to the end of the season, in the second week of 
 August. Many improvements had been effected in the 
 machinery and lighting of the stage, in the interval 
 between the first and second season, which commenced 
 on Saturday, the 3ist of October. Miss Pauline Leclercq, 
 Messrs. Emery, and George Jordan, were added to the 
 company, which had lost, however, the services of Mr. 
 George Vining. Mr. William West was now stage- 
 manager a most judicious appointment. The house 
 opened with Bel Demonio, a " Love Story, in Four Acts," 
 from the pen of Mr. John Brougham. This turned out 
 to be another version of a French play, already anglicized 
 as Pope Sixtus V., by Dion Boucicault, some years pre- 
 viously at the Olympic. Fechter and his company were 
 all at their best in Bel Demonio, the effect of which was 
 enhanced by a very rich and varied mise-en-scene, and 
 though scarcely so successful as its predecessor, The 
 Duke's Motto, it ran to full houses till Easter, 1864, when, 
 in order to give some rest to the lessee, John 
 Brougham's clever comedy, Playing with Fire, with the 
 
1 86 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 author, Emery, Shore, Widdicombe, Miss Carlotta 
 Leclercq, and Mrs. .Winstanley, was represented for 
 several nights. On Saturday, the 2ist of May, Hamlet 
 was revived, on a very elaborate scale, with Miss 
 Kate Terry as Ophelia ; Miss Henrade the Actress ; 
 Miss Elsworthy, Gertrude ; Emery, Claudius ; John 
 Brougham, Polonius; Jordan, Ghost; G. F. Neville, 
 Laertes ; Shore, Horatio ; F. Charles, Osric ; Wid- 
 dicombe, First Gravedigger ; and Fechter as the Danish 
 Prince. The thoughtful, natural, and picturesque em- 
 bodiment of Hamlet by this eminently picturesque 
 actor, was already familiar to the London public, but 
 the present revival revealed, in addition, an almost ideal 
 Ophelia in Miss Terry, who now played that character, 
 we believe, for the first time. Another marked feature 
 was the First Gravedigger of Widdicombe. Telbin con- 
 tributed some very fine scenery for the revival, which 
 presented many novel features in the general arrange- 
 ment, notably in the Player's Scene, and the Churchyard 
 in the last act. Altogether this production of Hamlet 
 was unusually interesting, and would have commanded a 
 much longer run, had not the precarious state ofFechter's 
 health rendered it necessary to close the house, at the 
 end of June. 
 
 The winter season began on Saturday, the 22nd of 
 October, with a version, by Mr. Bellew with suggestions 
 by Charles Dickens and the lessee of Paul Meurice's 
 Fan/an, la Tulippe, under the title of The King's Butterfly. 
 The theatre had sustained an irreparable loss by the 
 secession of Miss Kate Terry, but the piece, notwith- 
 
" Three Lyceums" 187 
 
 standing, was very well rendered by Fechter, Ryder a 
 new and important acquisition Widdicombe, F. Charles, 
 Mclntyre, Misses Carlotta Leclercq, Henrade, and 
 Lavenu. The scenery was painted by Mr. William Call- 
 cott, who illustrated each of the five acts with an 
 elaborately built-up set. The first of these, a Norman 
 village, with a perfectly solid-looking tower, bridge, and 
 a practicable water-wheel, working, in the front, and a 
 glowing autumnal landscape in the background ; and in 
 the fourth act, a charming Watteau picture, in the 
 grounds of Versailles, were especially praised. But the 
 long waits between the acts, entailed by the construction 
 of these scenic marvels, were found terribly wearisome 
 on the first night, and possibly contributed in no slight 
 degree to the coldness of the audience. Anyhow, The 
 King's Butterfly another adaptation of which, Court and 
 Camp, though less sumptuously mounted, had proved 
 very fairly attractive at the Princess's Theatre in the 
 preceding year was but frigidly received, and so within 
 a few weeks the manager had to fall back upon his old 
 Princess's success, Ruy Bias. A new version of Robert 
 Macaire, entitled The Roadside Inn, was produced early 
 in January, 1865, with Fechter as Robert, and Widdi- 
 combe, inimitable as Jacques Strop. Mr. Fechter's corps 
 de ballet was always very attractive, and a Storm Dance 
 in The Roadside Inn was greatly admired, as a Divertisse- 
 ment des Marguerites had been previously in the less for- 
 tunate King's Butterfly. Ryder and Mademoiselle Beatrice 
 appeared as Mr. and Mrs. Haller in the old play of The 
 Stranger, in March, and at Easter a new edition of 
 
1 88 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Paillasse, now called The Mountebank, was essayed with 
 much apparent success by Fechter, Ryder, Emery, 
 Widdicomhe, Miss Carlotta Leclercq, and Mademoiselle 
 Beatrice. This play, which, as usual, was very well got 
 up, had the further interest of introducing young 
 Fechter as the Showman's Son. The Mountebank, how- 
 ever, only ran for two or three weeks, to be replaced by 
 Don Ccesar de Bazan, and the ever-welcome Ruy Bias. 
 This season, which, though enterprising, had been an 
 acknowledged failure, terminated at the end of May. 
 
 Mr. Fechter reopened his house later than usual on 
 Monday, the 6th of November, with a new melodrama, 
 in three acts, The Watch-Cry, skilfully adapted from the 
 French, by Mr. Palgrave Simpson, in which the lessee was 
 supported by Emery, Widdicombe, C. Horsman, Clifford, 
 Fitzpatrick, and Miss Elsworthy. In the first act, 
 Fechter was to be seen and heard as an improvisatore; 
 in the second, when supposed to be dumb, he had to go 
 through the entire scene in pantomime, with the exception 
 of once delivering the signal, "Archers of the palace, 
 watch." The actor's wonderful power of facial expression 
 secured the triumph of this act, and ultimately a favour- 
 able reception for The Watch Cry. Another drama, of 
 a far higher class, also by Mr. Palgrave Simpson, Tfie 
 Master of Ravenswood, founded upon Scott's Lammer- 
 moor novel, and with which it had been originally 
 intended to open the season, was brought out on Christ- 
 mas Eve. Fechter was, of course, Edgar Ravenswood, 
 and Miss Leclercq, though perhaps a little mature for 
 the part, made a very graceful, poetical, and lovely 
 
" Three Lyceums" 189 
 
 Lucy Ashton. Miss Elsworthy very exactly represented 
 Lady Ashton ; and Mrs. Ternan returned to the stage, 
 in order to give prominence to the little part of Alice. 
 Mr. George Jordan was rather too dignified as the 
 pusillanimous Lord Keeper; Mr. Herman Vezin 
 excellent as Bucklaw, and Widdicombe equally so as 
 the adventurous Craigengelt. Mr. Fitzpatrick played 
 Douglas Ashton, and pretty Miss Lavenu his boy- 
 brother Henry. Emery rendered this cast most 
 satisfactorily complete, as Caleb Balderstone. The 
 Mermaiden's Well and the Kelpie's Flow were amongst 
 the more conspicuous specimens of Grieve's scenery, 
 which throughout had been painted in his finest manner. 
 The final catastrophe had been altered from the one in 
 novel, and the hapless lovers now went down together in 
 the quicksand. The Master of Ravenswood had, as 
 indeed it well deserved, a long and triumphant run, ex- 
 tending far on into April, 1866, when Hamlet was repro- 
 duced, though the other drama was still occasionally 
 performed. Miss Leclercq, always thoroughly artistic, 
 was the Ophelia in the new cast of Hamlet. Mr. 
 Addison replaced Mr. Brougham as Polonius, and 
 Herman Vezin materially strengthened the ensemble as 
 Laertes. Mr. George Jordan now played the Ghost, and 
 played it well. On Whit-Monday, the 2ist of May, a 
 version of The Corsican Brothers was produced, with new 
 scenery by Grieve. In this version the Opera-Masquerade 
 preceded the appearance of the Ghost in Corsica, and a 
 transparency was substituted for the traditional sliding- 
 trap, in the spectral entrances. Neither innovation was 
 
igo Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 found to be any improvement, yet the play charmed not- 
 withstanding. Fechter surpassed himself as the twin- 
 brothers, and was most effectively played up toby Jordan 
 as Chateau-Renaud. Herman Vezin made a distinct 
 feature of the small part of Montgiron. The Corsican 
 peasants, Orlando and Colonna, were capitally 
 rendered by Emery and Widdicombe. Mrs. Ternan, 
 Miss Henrade, and Miss Lavenu, respectively repre- 
 sented Madame dei Franchi, Emilie de 1'Esparre, and 
 Rosette. Mr. Cormack's arrangement of the dances 
 proved most felicitous, and Grieve's scenery was pro- 
 nounced perfect. The Corsican Brothers preceded 
 latterly by a little piece, Doctor Davy, adapted from the 
 French vaudeville, Le Docteur Robin, by the now well- 
 known dramatic author, Mr. Francis Albery ran to the 
 end of the season, which closed on Saturday, the 3oth of 
 June, with a performance of Hamlet, given for Fechter's 
 benefit, when the Prince and Princess of Wales signified 
 their appreciation of the actor's managerial efforts by 
 being present. Mr. and Mrs. Boucicault occupied the 
 Lyceum in the autumn with a domestic drama, The Long 
 Strike; and at Christmas Fechter returned, with his 
 regular company, in a new adaptation of the old Porte 
 St. Martin melodrama, La Vie (Tun Joueur, under the 
 title of Rouge et Noir, prepared by Mr. Henry Leslie, 
 with Fe'chter as Maurice, and Miss Leclercq, Pauline, in 
 which parts they created a decided effect. As usual 
 Grieve's scenery was much admired. Rouge et Noir ran 
 into the ensuing March, when a few representations of 
 Hamlet and Don Ccesar de JBazan were given ; and a 
 
" Three Lyceums? 191 
 
 little later The Duke's Motto was reproduced, with the 
 manager in his great part of Henri de Lagardere, and 
 Miss Henrade as Blanche de Nevers, in which it must 
 be confessed that she formed but a poor substitute for 
 Miss Kate Terry. The theatre closed in May, and re- 
 opened for Fe'chter's last season, on Monday, the i6th of 
 September, with a revival of Lord Lytton's play, The 
 Lady of Lyons, for which Grieve had painted the entirely 
 new scenery. In this the lessee played Claude Mel- 
 notte a part for which he proved admirably suited 
 Jordan, Beauseant ; Addison, Damas ; H. Mellon, 
 Deschappelles; Mrs. Henry Marston, Madame Des- 
 chappelles ; Miss Elsworthy excellent in a part rather 
 out of her line the Widow Melnotte ; and Miss Carlotta 
 Leclercq, equally excellent, as Pauline. The play had 
 been slightly altered and rearranged from the original, but 
 went extremely well, and was mounted with the same 
 splendour and refined taste which had distinguished 
 every one of the lessee's productions, new or old, at the 
 Lyceum. The Lady of Lyons was the concluding effort 
 of Mr. Fechter's management, which terminated, very 
 little, it may be feared, to his financial advantage, though 
 it certainly detracted nothing from his prestige, on 
 Saturday, the i6th of November, 1867. 
 
 Mr. E. T. Smith, in his time connected with so many 
 places of public amusement, was the next tenant of the 
 Lyceum, which he opened at Christmas, with a panto- 
 mime, Cock Robin. Mr. Smith's pantomimes were in- 
 variably good, and Cock Robin formed no exception to 
 the rule. Narcisse, a romantic play, fashioned after the 
 
192 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 manner which Fechter had made so popular, served to 
 introduce a German actor, Herr Bandman, to an English 
 audience, in February, 1868. Herr or Mr. Bandman, 
 as he henceforth came to be known, a fine-looking man, 
 and a very showy actor, made a distinctly good impres- 
 sion as Narcisse, and received more or less efficient 
 support, from Messrs. Fernandez, Basil Potter, J. G. 
 Shore, and William Farren, Miss Milly Palmer, and Miss 
 Herbert. The last was, indeed, a most bewitching repre- 
 sentative of Madame de Pompadour. Miss Furtado had 
 also a small part in this play, the action of which was 
 supposed to occur in the reign of Louis XV. Narcisse, 
 however, though very well received, did not suffice to 
 keep the house open beyond the end of March. A Mr. 
 Fairclough appeared, as Hamlet, at the beginning of the 
 winter season, and in October, The Rightful Heir, altered 
 by Lord Lytton from one of his early plays, The Sea 
 Captain, was brought out, with Mr. Bandman, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Herman Vezin, and Miss Milly Palmer. The JRight- 
 ful Heirw& received, on the first night, with enthusiasm, 
 and afterwards had a considerable run. Mr. Smith pro- 
 duced another pantomime, Harlequin Humpty Dumpty, 
 at Christmas, with the since celebrated Yokes' family, 
 and Rowella, as clown. A new and original play, Life 
 for Life, by Westland Marston. was given, early in March, 
 1869. for Miss Neilson, Mr. Herman Vezin, and Mr. 
 Coghlan. This met with much approval from the Press 
 and the public, and ran till the end of April, when Mr. 
 E. T. Smith threw up the management, and the house 
 was once more " to let." An amateur, Mr. Allerton, 
 
" Three Lyceums!' 193 
 
 rented it in the autumn, bringing with him, Mr. Walter 
 Lacy, Mr. Coghlan, Mr. Wybert Reeve, and Miss Kate 
 Saville. The most interesting event of a brief and by 
 no means prosperous season, was the production of The 
 Syren, very neatly adapted, by Mr. Palgrave Simpson, 
 from Octave Feuillet's powerful but repulsive play, 
 Dalilah. Miss Kate Saville represented the heroine, 
 and Mr. Coghlan made his mark as Count Carnioli. 
 Mr. Allerton played the victim of Dalilah's treachery 
 with much good intention and no little talent, but 
 showed that, as yet, he had nearly all the business of 
 his art to learn. 
 
 The Lyceum was next reopened, on Saturday, the 
 22nd of January, 1872, by the Messrs. Maunsell, with a 
 translation of Herve's opera-bouffe, Chilperic. Although 
 Offenbach's favourite works, such as Orphee aux Enfers, 
 La Belie Hellne, and La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein, 
 had been already given in English at various metropolitan 
 houses, this was, we believe, the first theatrical venture 
 specially devoted to a form of entertainment which has 
 since become so generally popular. On the present 
 occasion, nothing had been left undone to ensure success. 
 The theatre had been thoroughly cleaned and redeco- 
 rated, a new drop-scene painted, and the opera itself 
 was mounted in the most luxurious and complete 
 manner. Mrs. Keeley also, who had for some time 
 retired from the stage, was pressed into the service, to 
 return for one night and deliver not without emotion 
 an appropriate address, contributed by Oxenford, and 
 was greeted with all the honours due to one whose 
 
 o 
 
194 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 memory was still so affectionately and so justly 
 cherished. Herve himself played in the new operd-bouffe, 
 which presented moreover two other new candidates for 
 public favour Marius, and Selina Dolaro. The recep- 
 tion given to Chilperic was most encouraging, much more 
 so, indeed, than that accorded to another novelty which 
 preceded it. This was a satirical comedy in two acts, 
 Corrupt Practices ; by Mr. Frank Marshall. It was surely 
 a vexatious mischance which caused a work of such real 
 talent and promise to be put forward as a mere lever de 
 rideau to an opera-bouffe. In spite of the pointed brilliancy 
 of its dialogue, and some very good acting on the part of 
 Coghlan, G. F. Neville, G. Vincent, Miss L. Thome, 
 and Miss Fitzlnman, the play fell comparatively flat 
 with an audience whose interest was centred upon what 
 they naturally regarded as the important event of the 
 night. Eventually, however, Corrupt Practices righted 
 itself with the public, and the two pieces then ran well 
 together up to Easter. At that date, Herve's Le Petit 
 Faust in many respects a better work than Chilperic 
 was brought out, in which a young girl, Miss Jennie Lee, 
 who subsequently came to the front, showed considerable 
 aptitude, in the small part of a street arab. The Messrs. 
 Maunsell relinquished their speculation at the beginning 
 of July. Mr. Falconer made one more effort at manage- 
 ment, in September, with another Hibernian drama, 
 called Innisf alien, or the Men in The Gap. This was 
 a total failure, and the doors of the Lyceum then 
 remained closed for the rest of the year, if we except 
 an unfortunate attempt, on the part of some amateurs, 
 
" Three Lyceums" 195 
 
 on Christmas Eve, to perform A Christmas Carol, with 
 Mr. Joseph Stammers as Scrooge. For some cause or 
 other most of the performers failed to put in an appear- 
 ance, the result being no performance behind the foot- 
 lights, and a general uproar in front of them. Mr. 
 Stammers, who died a few months later, will be best 
 remembered, as the originator of the once popular 
 Wednesday Concerts, at Exeter Hall. An Italian com- 
 pany occupied the house early in 1871, and gave several 
 now almost forgotten operas, such as the Matrimonio 
 Segreto of Cimarosa, and the lovely Italiana in Algieri, 
 and Cenerentola, of Rossini, as well as a new one, All 
 Baba, by the famous contrebassist, Bottesini, which 
 notwithstanding the cleverness of much of its music left 
 no lasting impression. Tito Mattei conducted, and the 
 operas were rendered in good style, but the only vocalists 
 above the average, were a Mademoiselle Colombo now 
 Madame Mattei and the buffo, Borella. 
 
 After another dreary interregnum, Mr. Bateman, father 
 of the well-known tragedienne, Miss Baternan, became 
 lessee, and opened with Fanchctte, a dramatic idyl of 
 rather slight texture, adapted by Mrs. Bateman from La 
 Petite Fadette of Georges Sand, played by Messrs. 
 Henry Irving, Addison, G. Belmore, Miss Georgiana 
 Pauncefort, and a pretty debutante, Miss Isabel Bateman, 
 a younger daughter of the manager. Mr. Irving's per- 
 formance of Landry, the gloomy lover of Fanchette, was 
 the leading feature of this piece, which had only a 
 moderate success. Mr. Charles Warner, a young actor, 
 who had not as yet found his opportunity to come 
 o 2 
 
196 Some London Theatres ', Past and Present. 
 
 later, 7 elsewhere also appeared in the farce of Bam- 
 boozling, and Mr. Bateman brought with him an excel- 
 lent scenic artist, in Mr. Hawes Craven. Fanchetle was 
 superseded, at the end of October, by a new version of 
 Pickwick, by Mr. James Albery, in which Mr. Irving 
 strengthened the good opinion already formed of him 
 by a life-like portrait of the adventurer, Alfred Jingle. 
 Both these novelties were got up in the most careful 
 and artistic manner, but failed to draw attention, in any 
 marked degree, to the new enterprise. On Saturday, 
 the 25th of November, however, things took another 
 turn, on the production of a new drama, The Bells, being 
 an adaptation by Mr. Leopold Lewis of Erckman-Cha- 
 trian's Le Juif Polonais. The Mathias of Irving imme- 
 diately created a most profound impression, establishing, 
 in one night, the reputation of the actor and the per- 
 manent success of the management. All London went 
 to see The Bells, and nothing else was spoken of in the 
 artistic world but the marvellously realistic death-scene 
 of Irving. The play ran for one hundred and fifty 
 consecutive nights, to overflowing houses, and was supple- 
 mented, at Easter, by a revival of James Kenney's old 
 farce written for Covent Garden, in 1803 Raising the 
 Wind, with Irving inimitable as Jeremy Diddler. Later on 
 Miss Bateman made her first appearance at the Lyceum, 
 in her great part of Leah, and afterwards played with fine 
 effect, in a new tragedy, in three acts, by Mr. W. G. Wills, 
 on the subject of Medea in Corinth, supported by Ryder, 
 
 7 As Coupeau, in the melodrama, Drink, produced at the 
 old Princess's Theatre, on Whit-monday, 2nd of June, 1879. 
 
" Three Lyceums? 197 
 
 T. Swinburne, Charles Warner, and Miss Virginia Francis 
 another daughter of Mr. Bateman. The second season 
 of the new management commenced on Saturday, the 
 28th of September, with a new and very well-written 
 play, by Mr. Wills, King Charles /., in which Irving 
 confirmed his position, by a very fine performance of 
 King Charles, and Miss Isabel Bateman played with much 
 grace and tenderness, as Queen Henrietta Maria. King 
 Charles I. ran for one hundred and eighty nights, to be 
 replaced in the spring of 1873, by another new drama, 
 from the same source, founded on the tale of Eugene. 
 Aram. The plot of Mr. Wills differed widely from that 
 of Bulwer Lytton's novel. Here Eugene (Mr. Irving), 
 falls in love with Ruth Meadows (Miss Isabel Bateman), 
 the daughter of the Vicar of Knaresborough, (Mr. W. 
 H. Stephens), is taxed by Houseman (Mr. Edgar), in 
 the vicar's parlour, with the murder of Clarke, confesses 
 his guilt to Ruth, in the churchyard of Knaresborough, 
 and dies in her arms. Eugene Aram was essentially a 
 play of one part, and that part was exactly fitted to the 
 idiosyncrasy of Irving, who was seen to the greatest ad- 
 vantage, as the conscience-stricken student. It had at 
 least a very fair success, and held its own until Miss 
 Bateman returned to wind up the season with Medea. 
 The next winter brought with it a revival of Richelieu, in 
 which Irving made a powerful effect as the Cardinal, the 
 house being roused to the greatest enthusiasm by his 
 magnificent delivery of the imprecation in the fourth act. 
 He was well supported by Clayton, as Louis XIII., and 
 by Mr. J. B. Howard, as De Mauprat ; but Miss Isabel 
 
198 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Bateman, though showing much intelligence, was clearly 
 overweighted, as Julie de Montemar. 
 
 On Saturday, the 7th of February, 1874, Philip, a 
 new romantic play, by Mr. Hamilton Aide, was pro- 
 duced. The story of this play bore on the love of two 
 brothers, Philip (Irving), and Juan (Clayton) de Mira- 
 flore, for a young French girl, Marie (Miss Isabel Bate- 
 man), \hzprotegee of their mother. In a fit of jealousy, 
 Philip stabs Juan, as he supposes, and then makes his 
 escape to France. Later, we find Philip married to 
 Marie, whom he suspects of a criminal attachment to a 
 stranger, who has recently appeared on the scene. On 
 the unexpected return of her husband, Marie conceals 
 this stranger in her oratory, and denies that any one has 
 been with her. Phillip orders the door of the oratory to 
 be walled up, whereupon Marie, whilst protesting her 
 innocence, confesses that a man is hidden there. The 
 stranger is dragged forth, tears off his disguise, and 
 reveals himself as the lost Juan. Mutual explanations 
 of course follow, and Juan promises to leave them, and 
 to bury his love in exile for ever, as the curtain falls. 
 Irving and Clayton were alike admirable in their re- 
 spective roles, and Miss Isabel Bateman played very 
 nicely as Marie. Two slighter parts, the old Countess 
 de Miraflore and a Count de Flamareus, were most artis- 
 tically filled in by Miss Pauncefort, and Conway. Philip, 
 which had the advantage of a very picturesque mise- 
 en-scene, had a pronounced success. On Saturday, the 
 3ist of October, Hamlet was revived, with Irving, 
 Hamlet ; Swinburne, Claudius ; Chippendale, Polonius ; 
 
" Three Lyceums" 199 
 
 T. Mead, Ghost ; Conway, Osric ; Compton, First 
 Gravedigger; G. Neville, Horatio; Beaumont, Guilden- 
 stern ; Miss Pauncefort, Gertrude ; and Miss Isabel 
 Bateman, Ophelia. In the face of elocutionary defects, 
 at that time apparently insurmountable, Irving yet created 
 an immense effect, in many portions of this tragedy, and 
 especially in the players' scene. Here the agonized man- 
 ner in which the grief-crazed Prince flung himself upon 
 his father's seat, when the rest of the company had hastily 
 withdrawn, was just one of those " touches " which could 
 not fail to stir the heart of even the coldest and most 
 unimpressionable spectator. Mr. Irving was, upon the 
 whole, extremely well supported. The Claudius of 
 Swinburne, the Polonius of the veteran Chippendale, 
 the Guildenstern of Beaumont, the Ghost of Mead, and 
 the First Gravedigger of Compton, were to be instanced 
 as thoroughly good Shakspearian performances; nor 
 should the Osric, and Laertes, of those younger but 
 rapidly rising actors, Conway and Leathes, be over- 
 looked. Gertrude was, of course, safe in the hands 
 of so judicious and experienced an actress as Miss 
 Pauncefort, but the Ophelia of Miss Isabel Bateman, 
 although invariably painstaking and intelligent, was 
 found to be occasionally unequal. Few, it may here 
 be said, who only witnessed the earlier efforts of Mr. 
 Bateman's third daughter, are probably aware of the 
 excellence to which she subsequently attained. At 
 this initiatory period, whilst the mind and the inten- 
 tion were invariably evident, her extreme youth, and 
 consequent lack of physical strength, rendered her not 
 
2OO Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 always able to carry out her aims. A few years later, 
 and at another theatre New Sadler's Wells when the 
 requisite time, and experience, had enabled her to realize 
 her conceptions, Miss Isabel Bateman in parts far 
 heavier than those which she had ever essayed, at the 
 Lyceum showed that she had developed into a highly 
 accomplished, as well as a most winning and sympathetic 
 actress, and now, unfortunately for the public, whilst still 
 young, and in the maturity of her talents, she has retired, 
 we believe, altogether from the stage. Much had been 
 anticipated, in the getting-up of this revival of Hamlet, 
 but in reality very little comparatively speaking 
 seemed to have been achieved. The decorations were 
 everywhere appropriate, and occasionally handsome, but 
 they were nothing more. Far less in fact had been 
 effected than was customarily the case under the intelli- 
 gent direction of the Batemans. The attraction of the 
 new Hamlet, however, may fairly be said to have carried 
 everything else before it, and resulted in the play being 
 retained in the bills, until the 29th of June, 1875, when 
 the house closed for the summer. 
 
 Mr. Bateman, the lessee, had died, after a very short 
 illness, on the 22nd of March in this year, but the ma- 
 nagement was continued by his widow, who reopened, 
 on Saturday, the 25th of September, with a most artistic 
 revival of Macbeth, in which Irving appeared as Macbeth ; 
 Swinburne, Macduff; Henry Forrester, Banquo; E. H. 
 Brooke, Malcolm; Miss Pauncefort, Hecate; Mead, John 
 Archer, and Mrs. Huntley, the Witches ; and Miss Bate- 
 
." Three Lyceums? 201 
 
 man, Lady Macbeth. The Macbeth had many fine 
 points, but on the whole was felt to be a disappointment. 
 The Lady Macbeth of Miss Bateman has at all times 
 been held to be one of her grandest impersonations, and 
 the other parts were all well rendered. As a spectacle, 
 Macbeth was altogether faultless, and the appearance of 
 the witches, first seen in mid-air during a thunder-storm, 
 through a gap in the clouds, had a most weird and 
 picturesque effect. Macbeth continued attractive for 
 many weeks, and in the middle of February, 1876, Mrs. 
 Bateman brought forward Othello, on the same liberally- 
 appointed scale ; but the Othello of Irving again failed to 
 satisfy expectation. The lago of Forrester, the Cassio of 
 E. H. Brooke, the Brabantio of Mead, and the Emilia of 
 Miss Bateman, were the best features of this revival, 
 which gave place, in April, to Tennyson's Queen Mary, 
 with Miss Bateman as Mary Tudor, and Irving as Philip 
 of Spain. Although an artistic success for Miss Bate- 
 man and Irving, who were both seen to the highest ad- 
 vantage, Queen Mary proved financially a failure. As a 
 literary effort, the superiority of this play was beyond all 
 question, but it was not adapted for stage-representation, 
 and consequently did not draw. A very creditable repro- 
 duction of Mrs. Cowley's old comedy, The Helle's Stra- 
 tagem, with Irving in his favourite character of Doricourt, 
 formed the concluding effort of an energetically con- 
 ducted season, which terminated on Saturday, June the 
 24th, when Miss Helen Faucit played lolanthe, in Theo- 
 dore Martin's version of King Rene's Daughter, for 
 
2O2 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 living's annual benefit. The Lyceum was underlet in 
 the autumn to Mr. Carl Rosa, for English operatic per- 
 formances. The Water Carrier (Cherubini), Fidelia 
 (Beethoven), The Flying Dutchman (Wagner), The Lily 
 of Killarney (Benedict), Giralda (Adolphe Adam), Ma- 
 ritana (Wallace), and a new opera, Pauline, founded on 
 The Lady of Lyons, by a young composer, Mr. F. H. 
 Cowen, were the chief features of Mr. Rosa's season. 
 The principal singers were Messrs. Santley, Ludwig, 
 Celli, Aynsley Cook, Packard, Turner, and Charles 
 Lyall, Mademoiselle Torriani, Miss Julia Gaylord, and 
 Miss Josephine Yorke. The dramatic season commenced 
 with Macbeth, on Saturday, the 1 6th of December, and, 
 early in 1877, Mrs. Bateman revived Dean Milman's tra- 
 gedy of Fazio, with her eldest daughter as Bianca, E. H. 
 Brooke, Beaumont, and Mead, in the other parts. Fazio 
 had long since been laid aside, but, as a theatrical 
 curiosity, was now found for a few nights interesting, and 
 the Bianca of Miss Bateman deservedly met with many 
 admirers, as did also, and with equal justice, the Fazio 
 of Mr. E. H. Brooke. On Saturday, the 2pth of 
 January, 1877, King Richard III., according to the text 
 of Shakspeare Colley Gibber's version having been 
 wisely discarded by Mrs. Bateman was produced. Ad- 
 mirable in its comedy touches, but occasionally deficient 
 in tragic power and intensity, the Richard of Irving 
 was, nevertheless, universally acknowledged to be one of 
 his best and most finished efforts. Miss Bateman brought 
 all the force of her faultless elocutionary method to bear 
 upon the part of Margaret, but was generally felt to have 
 
" Three Lyceums" 203 
 
 rather over-emphasized its tone. On the other hand, Miss 
 Isabel Bateman showed marked progress as Lady Anne, 
 Miss Pauncefort as Elizabeth ; Swinburne, Buckingham ; 
 Walter Bentley, Clarence ; Beaumont, Edward IV. ; E. H. 
 Brooke, Richmond ; Lyons, Hastings ; and Mead as the 
 First Murderer; took great pains with their respective 
 characters. This interesting revival ran till the middle of 
 May, when the old melodrama, The Courier of Lyons > took 
 its place, with Irving in the doubled parts of the citizen 
 Lesurques and the highwayman Dubosq, doing the fullest 
 justice to both. For some reason or other, The Courier 
 of Lyons was now rechristened The Lyons Mail It ran to 
 the end of a very prosperous season in July. The theatre 
 was opened again at the end of August with a drama- 
 tized version of Wilkie Collins' novel, The Dead Secret, 
 for Miss Bateman. This was not a success. The regular 
 winter season did not commence till Boxing-night, when 
 The Lyons Mail was again performed. The first interest- 
 ing event of the new year was the presentment of Casimir 
 Delavigne's Louis Xf. y as arranged by Boucicault. In 
 this, as the French King, Irving deservedly achieved one of 
 his greatest triumphs. A new play by Mr. W. G. Wills and 
 Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, on the subject of The Flying Dutch- 
 man,a.nd entitled Vanderdeckenjwas produced on Saturday, 
 the 8th of June. Irving's Vanderdecken was a singularly 
 fine study, and Mr. Walter Bentley showed decided ability 
 as Olof, but the piece had only a moderate run. Mr. Irving 
 appeared for the last time during that season, at the end of 
 July. Miss Bateman then returned for a few performances 
 of Mary Warner, and at the end of August Mrs. Bateman 
 
2O4 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 relinquished her lesseeship to the actor " whose attrac- 
 tion as an artist " as she very gracefully acknowledged 
 in her valedictory address had so materially conduced 
 to the financial prosperity of what had certainly been, on 
 the whole, a most spirited and interesting seven years of 
 management. 
 
 Having completely, and very handsomely, redecorated 
 the Lyceum, Mr. Irving commenced his management on 
 Monday, the 3oth of December, 1878, with Hamlet \ en- 
 tirely remounted on a scale of great splendour and 
 elaboration. There were several important changes in 
 the cast, amongst which we may note that Forrester now 
 played Claudius ; Chippendale, Polonius ; and Swinburne, 
 Horatio. Mr. Kyrle Bellew was now the Osric, in place 
 of Conway ; and the matchless Compton who had died 
 during the year before was succeeded dare we say 
 replaced? by Johnson, an excellent low comedian, 
 as the First Gravedigger. Lastly, there was a new 
 and most attractive Ophelia, in the person of Miss 
 Ellen Terry. Hamlet ran till the middle of April, 1879, 
 when The Lady of Lyons was produced, with Irving as 
 Claude Melnotte; Walter Lacy, Colonel Damas; Forrester, 
 Beauseant; Kyrle Bellew, Glavis; Cooper, Deschappelles ; 
 Johnson, the Landlord ; Tyars, Gasper ; El wood, Gervais ; 
 Andrews, Desmoulins; Mrs. Chippendale, Madame Des- 
 chappelles ; Miss Pauncefort, the Widow Melnotte ; and 
 Miss Ellen Terry, Pauline Deschappelles. With much 
 to recommend it, Claude Melnotte could still scarcely 
 be considered as one of Irving's most successful efforts > 
 and in electing to portray the gentler, rather than the 
 
" Three Lyceums" 205 
 
 scornful attributes of Pauline Deschappelles, Miss Ellen 
 Terry certainly departed from every recognized tradition 
 of the part. In so doing, however, she may, without 
 flattery, be said to have originated a tradition of her own, 
 for the benefit of future representatives, so inexpressible 
 from first to last, was the charm of her delineation. In 
 emerging from retirement, to strengthen the cast, as 
 Damas, Mr. Walter Lacy, by his highly-finished acting 
 and polished elocution, delighted all old play-goers, and 
 formed an interesting study for the benefit of younger 
 ones. The Lady of Lyons admirably acted, as a whole, 
 and very beautifully put upon the stage, had a successful 
 run of several weeks. Mr. Irving then played a round 
 of his most popular parts, and brought his first season to 
 a close on Saturday, the 26th of July. Colrnan's old 
 play, The Iron Chest, was revived on the reopening of 
 the house in September. The part of Sir Edward Mor- 
 timer, long a favourite with Edmund Kean, as well as, 
 subsequently, with his son, Charles Kean, and Phelps, 
 was on this occasion naturally assumed by the manager, 
 who has seldom played better, or been seen to more 
 advantage. Barnes, as Fitzharding j Mead, as Rawbold ; 
 S. Johnson, as Stephen ; and Miss Pauncefort, as Judith ; 
 all played remarkably well. Miss Florence Terry made 
 a very pleasing Lady Helen, and a very young actor, Mr. 
 N. Forbes, although ineffectively made up for the part, 
 showed much aptitude as Wilford. Much of the 
 original music by Storace was retained for the orchestra, 
 and the production had the further advantage of some 
 good scenery by Hawes Craven. The Iron Chest, how- 
 
206 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 ever, was found too gloomy for modern audiences, and 
 
 ! made way, in a very few weeks, for a magnificent revival 
 of Shakspeare'"s Merchant of Venice. In this revival 
 Irving's Shylock found many admirers, and a few oppo- 
 nents, though there could be only one opinion as to the 
 
 . amount of care and thought which he had brought to 
 bear upon its study. For ourselves we have always 
 reckoned Shylock among the very finest of his many fine 
 achievements. The Portia of Miss Ellen Terry might be 
 held to want rather more weight, in the Trial-scene, but 
 as a whole completely enchanted her public. Among the 
 other conspicuous performers were Barnes, as Bassanio ; 
 Beaumont, as the Duke of Venice ; Tyars, the Prince 
 of Morocco ; and Johnson, as Launcelot Gobbo ; but 
 
 indeed the entire cast called for nearly everything to 
 praise, and scarcely anything to condemn. The scenery 
 by Hawes Craven, Cuthbert, Walter Hann, and William 
 
 ^Telbin was indeed exquisitely beautiful. In May, 1880, 
 lolanthe, a new version, by Mr. W. G. Wills, of King 
 Rene's Daughter, was brought out. This graceful litte 
 idyl afforded a fresh field for the talents of Miss Terry, 
 Mead, and Irving, and also of Mr. Hawes Craven, who 
 provided a wondrously luxuriant garden-scene, for its 
 illustration. To allow, however, of lolanthe being given 
 as an after-piece to The Merchant of Venice, the latter 
 was now played in four acts by the simple expedient 
 of omitting the fifth altogether. The taste of such an 
 arrangement in a theatre of such real and well-sub- 
 stantiated claims to supremacy in everything relating to 
 
" Three Lyceums" 207 
 
 Art was certainly questionable, and it was paying 
 moreover but a poor compliment to Shakspeare. 
 
 Owing to the long-continued attraction of the The Mer- 
 chant of Venice, the reproduction long expected of that 
 best of all modern supernatural dramas, The Corsican 
 Brothers, was postponed till the opening of the winter 
 season on Saturday, the i8th of September. Mr. Irving 
 retained Boucicault's version, so long and so justly 
 popular at the old Princess's, in place of the one already 
 given, some years previously, by Fechter at the Lyceum. 
 The period of the action, however, was now thrown back 
 to the beginning of the century, with no sort of gain to 
 the general effect, since it entailed a costume the reverse 
 of picturesque or becoming. The elaborate Corsican 
 interior of the first act, also, although a very fine set, was 
 far too bright in colour to form even with the lights 
 turned down a sufficiently gloomy framework for the 
 entry of the Ghost ; and in the grand scenic display of 
 the second, the interior of the Opera-House, the old 
 theatre in the Rue Lepelletier always hitherto repre- 
 sented was now superseded by a salle, wonderfully 
 brilliant and realistic, it is true, with its practicable boxes 
 peopled by living occupants, and its fountain of real 
 water in full play, but which in no way resembled any 
 Parisian theatre past or present. The " Clearing of 
 the Forest of Fontainbleau," in the last act, however, 
 was a stage-picture worthy of all praise, and here Irving 
 (Fabien dei Franchi), and Terriss (Chateau-Renaud) 
 one of the most rising and talented actors of the day 
 
208 Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 neither of whom, earlier in the evening, were felt to 
 have entirely come up to expectation, now altogether 
 surpassed themselves, acting and fencing in such a 
 manner as to challenge comparison with the best of their 
 predecessors in Oxford Street, or else where. Miss 
 Fowler, who is invariably prepossessing, made a very 
 tender and pathetic Emilie de L'Esparre, a part rather 
 out of her line. This part is an ungrateful one for 
 leading ladies, its interest being merely transient, and 
 confined entirely to the second act. In bygone days, 
 however, we remember to have seen it made much of 
 by two actresses now vanished from the scene Miss 
 Murray and Miss Heath. The Masquerade was gor- 
 geous in the extreme, and, as forming one more proof 
 of the manager's boundless liberality in outlay, we may 
 add that the Pierrots who so conspicuously figured 
 in it, were no mere ordinary supernumeraries, but the 
 sons of the celebrated clowns, Rowella, Deulin, Giova- 
 nelli, Waite, Boleno, and Huline. But upon the whole, 
 the splendours of this latest edition of The Corsican 
 Brothers appeared to us somewhat overdone. Our old 
 friend, the Ghost, seemed in danger of being finally laid 
 by the force of its own magnificence. 
 
 The return of Ellen Terry, at the beginning of 1881, 
 brought with it a new tragedy in two acts, The Cup. 
 This was a dramatized form by Tennyson, of a story 
 from Plutarch, which had been already rendered illus- 
 trious by the genius of Ristori in Montanelli's Italian 
 version, Camma. Beyond the extremely picturesque act- 
 ing of Miss Terry, Irving, and Terriss, The Cup revealed 
 
" Three Lyceums" 209 
 
 new scenic glories in a Galatian Landscape, seen under 
 the various aspects of day and night, and a massively 
 built-up Temple of Artemis. On Easter Eve, The Bellas 
 Stratagem was given for the first time under the present 
 management, with Irving in his happiest vein^-as 
 Doricourt ; and Miss Ellen Terry a most charming 
 Letitia Hardy. Mrs. Cowley's comedy served also to 
 introduce that old and experienced actor, Mr. Howe, to 
 the Lyceum boards as Hardy. In May the famous 
 American tragedian, Booth, was engaged to alternate 
 with Irving the parts of lago and the Moor, in Shak- 
 speare's Othello. Matured by years of study, the Othello 
 of Irving showed a very great advance upon his earlier 
 attempts in that part, but it was in the far more difficult 
 and subtle character of lago, that he was seen to the 
 greatest advantage. The triumph of the English actor, 
 no less than that of his transatlantic brother-artist, was 
 here universally admitted. In other respects Booth had 
 the advantage of much better professional support than 
 had been the case in his previous appearances 7 elsewhere. 
 The Cassio of Terriss, the Brabantio of Mead, and the 
 Duke of Beaumont, were all impersonations far above 
 the average. Needless to add that Miss Terry was 
 Desdemona. The mounting of Othello, though without 
 profusion, was rich and appropriate, and the entire scheme 
 redounded greatly to the artistic feeling and spirit of 
 the manager. In the autumn the house was sublet to an 
 Italian Opera company, under the musical guidance of 
 
 7 At the new Princess's Theatre, during the winter months 
 of 1 880-8 1. 
 
 p 
 
2IO Some London Theatres, Past and Present. 
 
 Signer Li Calsi. The only singers of any eminence were 
 Marimon, Rose Hersee, the barytone Padilla, and the 
 tenor Frapolli. The experiment, however, did not 
 answer, and was soon abandoned. 
 
 When the Lyceum reopened at Christmas, Albery's 
 excellent comedy, Two Roses, first produced at the Vau- 
 deville in 1870, was added to the theatrical repertory. 
 Irving resumed his original character of Digby Grant, 
 with well-merited success, and Mr. David James was 
 expressly retained for that of " our Mr. Jenkins." Howe 
 played Mr. Furnival; Terriss and a new actor, Mr. 
 George Alexander, were respectively Jack Wyatt and 
 Caleb Deecie. Miss Pauncefort was " our Mrs. Jenkins," 
 and the Misses Helen Matthews and Winifred Emery 
 made two very pleasing representatives of the heroines. 
 Two Roses pleased greatly, but was withdrawn to make 
 way on Wednesday, the 8th of March, 1882, for a revival, 
 on a very grand scale, of Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet, 
 with the subjoined cast : 
 
 Escalus, Prince of Verona . . Mr. Tyars. 
 
 a young Nobleman, kins- "1 
 Paris | man to the Prince / Mr. G. Alexander. 
 
 ( Heads of two Houses, ") 
 
 Montagu \ at varia nce with each C Mr. Harbury. 
 Ga P ulet C other j Mr. Howe. 
 
 Romeo, son to Montague . . Mr. Irving. 
 
 C Kinsman to the Prince, ) 
 Mercutio ( and friend to Romeo ' j Mn Terriss " 
 
 C Nephew to Montague, ") 
 Benvoli [ and friend to Romeo j Mr ' Child " 
 Tybalt, Nephew to Lady Capulet . Mr. Glenny. 
 
" Three Lyceums" 2 1 1 
 
 Friar Laurence, a Franciscan . . Mr. Fernandez. 
 Friar John, of the same Order . Mr. Black. 
 Balthazar, Servant to Romeo . . Mr. Hudson. 
 
 Sampson J Servants to Capulet / Mr. F. Archer. 
 
 Gregory ) [ Mr. Carter. 
 Abram, Servant to Montague . . Mr. Lowther. 
 An Apothecary .... Mr. T. Mead. 
 
 Chorus . . . . . . Mr. Howard Russell. 
 
 Peter . . Mr. Andrews. 
 
 Citizen ...... Mr. Harwood. 
 
 Lady Montague, Wife to Montague Miss H. Matthews. 
 Lady Capulet, Wife to Capulet . Miss L. Payne. 
 Juliet, Daughter to Capulet . . Miss Ellen Terry. 
 Nurse to Juliet .... Mrs. Stirling. 
 
 The Romeo was in one sense, perhaps, a disappoint- 
 ment to those who had gone to the theatre with the 
 conviction that Irving could do no other than fail 
 in a part so completely out of his ordinary line. 
 The result, however, went to prove that if no new 
 triumph had been absolutely gained, there was, on the 
 other hand, no such word as failure to record. If the 
 popular tragedian, like every one of his most gifted pre- 
 decessors, could scarcely be said to have altogether 
 succeeded in his gallant endeavour to realize an almost 
 impossible ideal, there was nevertheless muchfre- 
 quently very much both to praise, and to admire, 
 throughout his entire assumption, and more particu- 
 larly in the latter portions of it, whilst certain manner- 
 isms of style shortcomings shared in common with 
 every other great actor for which he had been often 
 previously censured, were only conspicuous by their all 
 p 2 
 
212 Some London Theatres, Past and Present 
 
 but total absence now. With the remembrance, still 
 fresh, of the lamented Miss Neilson, a spirit of hyper- 
 criticism, and even of detraction, might doubtless be 
 apparent in many who followed the progress of the new 
 Juliet. Yet when the curtain fell upon the last act, it 
 was agreed, without one dissentient voice, that although 
 some scenes might very possibly have been less 
 happily treated than others, the same ineffable gift of 
 charm, so pre-eminently distinguishing everything which 
 Miss Ellen Terry has ever touched, had once more 
 been most abundantly manifested, from first to last, 
 by that truly fascinating actress, here. At so recent 
 a date it appears unnecessary to dwell upon the indi- 
 vidual merits of the remainder of the cast, since this was 
 exhaustively done at the time by every leading journal 
 of the day, It will be sufficient to say that all did their 
 best with the work, great or small, assigned to them, and 
 that the word " best " should be understood to imply that 
 the highest available standard of excellence had been 
 secured for the rendering of every character. The pri- 
 mary idea, moreover, seemed to be the avoidance of any- 
 thing which might cause any one part to stand out with 
 undue prominence at the expense of the others, and on 
 the contrary, to secure, as far as possible, the perfect 
 blending of the company in one harmonious whole. We 
 cannot, however, refrain from devoting a few words of 
 special notice to the one who at present may very pro- 
 perly be regarded as the Mother of the Stage we allude 
 to Mrs. Stirling. No such embodiment of the Nurse of 
 Juliet has, in truth, been witnessed for many years past 
 
" Three Lyceums" 213 
 
 in London, nor could it, we imagine, have well been sur- 
 passed by any actress at any period in the history of the 
 British drama. It was, indeed, such a Nurse as Mrs. 
 Marston, Mrs. Glover nay even Mrs. Davenport's self 
 would have loved to look upon. It afforded to younger 
 playgoers the opportunity of witnessing a very just speci- 
 men of the old, as distinguished from the new, school of 
 acting. And it added one more, and that a distinctly 
 marked source of attraction to the many which served 
 to make up the well-deserved triumph of a truly unique 
 production. For the rest, this revival of Romeo and Juliet 
 lingers in our memory like the recollection of some beau- 
 tiful dream. It was not that the pictures exquisite as 
 they were of Hawes Craven, Cuthbert, Walter Hann, 
 and Telbin, had not been already equalled by themselves, 
 or other artists, here or elsewhere, but that the various 
 scenes, by the adroit manner in which the lights were 
 lowered during their removal, seemed actually to melt 
 into each other, whereby their dreamy nature was sen- 
 sibly heightened and consistently maintained throughout. 
 The dresses, too, were not only of the richest materials, 
 but so admirable was the mingling and contrast of 
 colour, that the effect of each stage-picture proved 
 absolutely faultless. Rare skill also was observable in 
 the drilling of the supernumeraries, notably in the 
 Market-Place, with its ever-shifting stream of nobles and 
 citizens ; in the glittering ball-room, with its crowds of 
 courtiers, and its lovely torch-dance, with the dancers in 
 white and gold ; and in the grouping of the populace on 
 the staircase of the Capulets' Tomb. The manager had 
 
214 Some London Theatres > Past and Present. 
 
 evidently profited by the visit of the Meiningen Com- 
 pany to Drury Lane during the preceding summer and 
 had even improved upon the example then set. It is 
 scarcely too much to say that the entire representation of 
 Romeo and Juliet at the Lyceum was, in the abstract, 
 simply the perfection of High Art. 
 
 Romeo and Juliet ran, without intermission, to the close 
 of the season, at the end of July, 1882. It was repro- 
 duced when the house reopened for the winter, on 
 Saturday, the 2nd of September, and was ultimately 
 withdrawn, to make room for another of Shakspeare's 
 plays, the comedy of Much Ado about Nothing, on 
 Wednesday, the nth of October, in the same year. 
 In this revival, Irving as Benedick, and Miss Ellen 
 Terry as Beatrice, were at once admitted to be altogether 
 at their best, winning unstinted approval at the hands of 
 the critics, and almost measureless applause from a most 
 enthusiastic and densely-crowded house. With the 
 omission of Mrs. Stirling, for whom indeed there was no 
 part, and the addition of Mr. Forbes Robertson, engaged 
 for Claudio, the other performers in Much Ado about 
 Nothing were nearly identical with those already seen 
 in Romeo and Juliet, and played with the same care and 
 finish, as before. In all that regarded the accessories of 
 the stage, the same lavish outlay might be discerned, 
 tempered by the same judgment, and the same fault- 
 less taste. Nor was there any difference perceptible 
 in the pictorial effects, save that the sunny landscapes 
 and sapphire seas of the Sicilian coast naturally authorized 
 a greater warmth of colour, than would have been ap- 
 
" Three Lyceums" 2 1 5 
 
 propriate, in the more sombre surroundings of cypress- 
 clad Verona. The one revival, in short, impressed the 
 audience equally with the other than which no higher 
 praise could possibly be accorded. 
 
 Within a few weeks from the withdrawal of Much Ado 
 about Nothing, the present intellectual direction of the 
 Lyceum, falls, for a time, at any rate, into abeyance. 
 Mr. Irving goes with Miss Terry, and his company, to 
 the United States, in the autumn, on a starring tour, of 
 some duration, leaving his theatre, meanwhile, in the 
 hands of the American speculator, Mr. Abbey, who is 
 scarcely likely, we fancy, during a temporary occupa- 
 tion, to conduct it on the same artistic principles. 
 Whether our great Actor-Manager, at a later period it 
 is said next year will find himself able to take up the 
 thread of popular interest at the point where he left it, 
 remains to be seen, but to judge from past examples, 
 the outlook is not, we fear, altogether unfraught with 
 danger. We have no desire, however, to foreshadow 
 evil for one to whom the English public is so greatly 
 indebted. We would rather wish him, and his artists 
 for artists, one and all, in truth they are their full measure 
 of success in the New Country, together with a speedy 
 and safe return to the house so rich in its reminiscences 
 which in the interests of playgoers, it is to be hoped, 
 may long remain their resting-place the third of THREE 
 LYCEUMS. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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