Mr J C Lambert

In the course of these articles I have made occasional reference to— amongst Thespians— "the noblest Roman of them all."
GUSTAVUS VAUGHAN BROOKE.

Quite recently there was a newspaper controversy as to the correct name of the great tragedian, some of the controversialists contending that his name was Gustavas Vasa. I have undoubted testimony (the autograph of the actor in full), which gives the second name as Vaughan, and rightly so, as this was his grandmother's maiden name. Brooke was born in Hardwicke-place, Dublin, the 'place' being a crescent of fine houses right opposite St. George's Church, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the scene of the shooting of Head Constable Talbot by Thomas Kelly in the year 1867. Talbot was a spy in the ranks of the Fenians, who went as far as to attend Roman Catholic services and engage in the most solemn ceremonies to enlist the confidence of members of the Fenian Brotherhood, and then betray them. To Kelly was allotted the 'duty' of wiping out Talbot. One night he posted himself in an archway, past which he knew Talbot would go. After waiting patiently the doomed man sauntered along. Kelly fired, the bullet, hitting Talbot behind the ear. One of the most famous of Dublin surgeons performed an operation to extract the bullet. Talbot died. Kelly was tried for the murder, and was defended by the great Isaac Butt, whose defence was that the surgical operation, badly performed, caused death. Butt raised such a cloud of doubt over Talbot's identity of Kelly, and Dr Stokes' manipulation of the bullet, that the jury acquitted the accused, much to the astonishment of the two judges who tried the case. Kelly, however was convicted of shooting at and wounding a police constable on the pathway right in front of the house in Hardwicke-place where Brooke was born, and sentenced to 14 years' penal servitude. On serving about half the time he was discharged on the ground of ill-health, at 24 hours' notice, and immediately left for the United States, the Government of which allowed him to enter, as his offence in Ireland was political. He did not long enjoy his freedom, as the rigor of penal servitude had completely undermined his health.
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Hardwicke-place, Dublin, was a fashionable neighborhood at the time of Brooke's birth, and is still a good locality, though somewhat decayed. Brooke's father subsequently lived in Hardwicke-street, at No. 4, right opposite the residence of his wife's grandmother, Mrs. Vaughan, who lived at No. 44. Young Brooke was educated at a school conducted by a brother of Maria Edgeworth. He was intended for the legal profession, his father, knowing his natural gifts, being anxious that he should be called to the Bar and "walk the hall of the Four Courts." Brooke, however, at the immature age of 14 years, had been to Hawkins-street Theatre, otherwise known as the Royal, and had seen Macready, in high tragedy, and immediately became stage-struck ! In a day or two he waited upon Mr Calcraft, the lessee of the theatre, which at that time was a 'patent theatre' (that is, it was licensed to perform plays; and had the monopoly of such in Dublin ; other theatres there were, Fishamble-street for one, which evaded the patent law by interspersing the dialogue of the plays with songs and music), and asked for an engagement. Mr Calcraft did not discourage the juvenile, but said that he had no opening for him just then.
About this time another erratic genius, Edmund Keen (born 1787, died 1833), was advertised to appear in Dublin. His real name was Edmund Carey. His parentage was questioned, even by himself, and he frequently, to many persons who were not particularly in his confidence, affirmed his belief to be that Mrs. Carey was not his mother, but that he owed his existence to a lady who through, life passed as his aunt. That lady was for many years "under the protection" of the Duke of Norfolk, and was introduced by the Duke to David Garrick, who gave her an introduction to the managers of Drury Lane Theatre, where she appeared soon after the death of Garrick.
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In view of the controversy as to the receipts at certain Australian theatres by certain stars in the long ago, some figures of Edmund Kean's may be of interest : In the course of the season of 1814 Kean played 68 nights. - The total amount of money received at Drury Lane Theatre on these nights was £32,642 12s 6d. When Kean came to the theatre the nightly receipts averaged £212. During his nights the general average was £509 9s. The largest receipt on the performance of Shylock was £531 2s, of Richard III. £655 13s, of Hamlet £660, of Iago £578, of Othello £673. The number of persons who visited, the theatre during these 68 nights was 166,742. The result of the calculation is that the theatre cleared by his services alone £20,000.
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Of Edmund Kean, Lord Byron wrote : 'Just returned from seeing Kean in Richard. By Jove, he is a soul ! Life, nature, truth, without exaggeration or diminution. Kemble's Hamlet is perfect; but Hamlet is not nature.' Richard is a man, and Kean is Richard." Edmund Kean was announced to appear at the Theatre Royal, Hawkins-street, Dublin, on Easter Monday, 1833. That festival fell on April 9. But a few days before that date Mr. Calcraft received information that Kean was seriously ill, and would not be able to fulfil his engagement. As a matter of history, Kean died on May 15.
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In his dilemma Mr. Calcraft bethought himself of his youthful applicant, and sent a special messenger to No. 4 Hardwick-street and summoned to his presence the thespian aspirant. His first application for employment was so earnest that Calcraft asked him to recite, and was much struck by the ability and fervor which he displayed, but he naturally declined to receive so mere a tyro into his company. The defection of Kean, however, altered his determination, and Calcraft on his second interview with the lad Brooke engaged him to fill the place of the great star. Easter Monday, April 9, 1833, was the date fixed for his "first appearance on any stage." The piece chosen being "William Tell." Amongst the stock company at the Hawkins-street Theatre, there was Mr. J. C. Lambert who afterwards supported Brooke in Melbourne. At a benefit performance and presentation to Brooke, on the stage of the old Melbourne Royal, J. C. Lambert, who officiated as spokesman, told the story of Brooke's first appearance. He described the handsome lad, who, with an entirely new, fresh and piquent rendering of Tell, took the Dublin audience by storm, and the Dublin audience, be it remembered, is about the most critical any actor can pass before. Permanent employment at Hawkins-street followed. The Emma of the drama was Miss Huddart, afterwards Mrs. Warner. Brooke's success was so great that, at the age of 18 years, he was recognised as a star, and played starring engagements. In one of these engagements, at Sheffield, in 1838, Mr. George Coppin, then a slim young gentleman of 18 summers, played Osric to Brooke's Hamlet.
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There is a somewhat hazy idea that Mr. Brooke played Virginius at the Victoria Theatre, London, in the late thirties. In 1841, William Charles Macready engaged Brooke to share "second business" with James Anderson, at Drury Lane, but on entering the green room Brooke found himself cast for the minor part of Salarino in the "Merchant of Venice." Tearing down the 'cast' notice, Brooke left the theatre vowing that he would never appear there during Macready's management. Years after—in 1848— Macready visited Brooke in his dressing room at the Olympic (London), and candidly told him that he was now "the only English actor capable of upholding the grand tragic line, and that with proper care he need fear no competitor." At Manchester, in 1845, Brooke played Iago to Forrest's Othello, and was forewarned by his comrades that Forrest's voice would drown his own. The American put forward all his lung power in the third act, but the Iago of the night was equal to the occasion, and honors were divided. It was not until January 3, 1848, that Brooke made his real debut in London. It was at the Olympic, and the piece chosen for the ordeal was "Othello." The late Mr. William Barton of the John Bull Tavern, Little Collins-street, Melbourne, to whom I am indebted for much information concerning the London stage and the London prize ring, told me that he and a number of his friends were present on the occasion. They were there by invitation as old playgoers and first-nighters, and good judges of acting. Mr. Barton tells me that Brooke's Othello was a success, but not equal to Kean's. I may say that Mr. Barton's opinion of Kean was that he overshadowed every other actor of his time. In the same way he considered Jem Ward the don of the prize ring. Later on, in 1849, Brooke was managing the Theatre Royal, Rochdale, when J. B. Howe, the veteran English actor, made his first appearance as a professional. Like most actors, Mr. Howe first trod the boards as an amateur. He was an ironmonger's assistant when, in 1847, he paid £4 10s for the privilege of playing the leading part in "The Rover's Bride,"or "The Murder in the Bittern Swamp," produced at the Old Bower Saloon. The first lady with whom Mr. Howe ever walked on the stage was the mother of the present Mrs. Labouchere. Howe's right initials are 'T.B.,' for he was christened Thomas Burdett, after Sir Francis Burdett. He came to be known as J. B. Howe by an accident, being so billed by Mr. Biddles, the father of Mrs. Charles Calvert. This Mr. J. B. Howe must not be confounded with Mr. John Howe, who, in 1871, appeared at the old Victoria Theatre, Pitt-street, under the management of Mr. John Bennett.
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In December, 1851, Brooke appeared at the Broadway Theatre, New York, as Othello. His success in the United States led him to undertake the lesseeship of the Astor Place Opera House, in New York, which he opened in May, 1852. The venture was a most disastrous failure, and after another tour in the United States he returned to London and secured an engagement at 'Old Drury,' then under the management of Mr. E. T. Smith, father of Dr. L. L. Smith, the well-known sporting medico of Melbourne. Mr. E. Smith was at one time also lessee of Cremorne Gardens and Her Majesty's Theatre, London. The little doctor escaped the stage through the care of his mother, who sent him to Paris for his education, she not wishing her son to "fret his little hour upon the stage."
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Before leaving the United States, Brooke took a farewell benefit at the National Theatre, May 27, 1853, on which occasion he was presented with a magnificent service of solid silverplate. There was a splendid salver, a hot water kettle, and five other pieces. On the salver was inscribed : —
Presented to
G. V. BROOKE, ESQ.,
by a few of his many friends
in Boston, U.S.
May, 1853.
Brooke also had presented to him a silver centre-piece, by Australian friends. I wonder where all those valuable presents are now? In the melting pot, probably, long ago. The still active George Coppin visited England in 1854, with the object of engaging stars to earn some of the gold which was then in profuse quantities in Australia, waiting for someone to earn it. Brooke and Coppin were not strangers, as will be seen above, Coppin having met Brooke, and played with him in the English provinces. Coppin met his old chum, I think, at Birmingham, and immediately secured him "for the goldfields." Having netted his big fish, Mr. Coppin looked about him for someone to consistently support the star. Richard Younge, a very conscientious and all round good actor, was chosen as the chief male support, while a pretty, smiling, good-tempered young lady, belonging to an old theatrical family Fanny Cathcart — was selected as the leading lady. In the days of her youth Miss Cathcart was a charming actress, though she did not support Brooke in all his characters. For instance, she was not the Lady Macbeth, that part being filled by Mrs. Vickery. Fanny Cathcart was a daughter of James F. Cathcart, a well-known actor of his day, and sister of J. F. Cathcart, who came first to Australia in 1863, in the Kean season, he being leading man in the series of Kean performances in the colonies. He was for nine years with the Keans before coming to Australia, and had the honor of appearing 19 times before Queen Victoria. Cathcart was practically cradled in a theatre, as was his sister Fanny. After a season of nine months in Australia, in 1863 Coppin, the Keans, Cathcart and others left Sydney for San Francisco, having previously given three Shakespearian performances in the Old Masonic Hall, York-street. After a tour in the United States, J. F. Cathcart joined Barry Sullivan, and played, with him for seven years. In 1879 he returned to Australia and remained until his death in December, 1902, at the age of 75 years. Fanny Cathcart, soon after her arrival in Melbourne, married Robert Heir, out of which some legal complications arose, Mrs. Heir having broken the letter of her engagement with George Coppin. The latter, by the way, was a widower, at the time, and rumor had it that he wished to make Fanny Cathcart his wife, but thst she 'would have none of it.' The little dispute was, however, got over, and Mrs. Heir rejoined the Coppin combination. Miss Cathcart, Brooke, Young, and others came to Melbourne by the Argo ; Robert Heir, Fred Younge, and others whom Mr. Coppin had engaged in England, coming out later on. The Australian manager was not content with engaging an expensive company to support G. V. Brooke, but he brought an Iron theatre, made in sections in Birmingham, in which to house them. The imported playhouse was not ready, however, for the first appearance of Brooke and his confreres in Australia, so on arrival the great tragedian opened at
THE QUEEN'S THEATRE,
Queen-street, Melbourne, the property of John Thomas Smith, seven times Mayor of Melbourne, who owned and occupied the St. John's Tavern adjoining. The Queen's had been the home of drama in Port Phillip for over ten- years, and when its day was over it became a coach factory, the proprietor of which was Mr. Wm. Williams, an aristocratic coach builder, who was Mayor of Melbourne in 1866-7. The old Queen's on Brooke's advent was the only theatre in existence in Melbourne where Shakespearian pieces or the legitimate drama could he properly presented. It was Hobson's choice, therefore, at Hobson's Bay, and Brooke presented his Othello to an Australian audience on the limited stage of the stuffy little Queen's.

In the 'Sportsman' (25/5/'04) I made casual mention of the charming singer and burlesque actress, Julia Mathews, who made her first Australian appearance in Sydney in the old Victoria Theatre, in December, 1854, when she was but ten years of age, the character being Little Pickle, in the 'Spoiled Child." Julia, however, had commenced her theatrical career at the MarionetteTheatre in Leicester-square, London. From there she went to the Strand Theatre in the opening of a pantomime produced there in 1853, while Mr. Aldcroft was manager. At the Strand she appeared in several juvenile characters with marked success, gaining the approval or the London press. At the Victoria, Sydney, Miss Mathews remained 12 months, when Mr. George Coppin induced her parents, who were always her "agent" to accept an engagement at the Olympic, Lonsdale-street, better known in those days as "The Iron Pot" from the nature of its structure. Here Miss Julia increased her popularity until she became the idol of the people. In parentheses, it may be said that in juvenile parts Julia Mathews had a rival in little Anna Marie Quinn, about whom more at another time. At the termination of her engagement with Mr. Coppin, Julia went on tour through the goldfields of Victoria, then studded with theatres, and yielding showers of gold, Dannae-like. Next we hear of her with G. V. Brooke at Melbourne Royal, in such parts as Moth in "Love's Labors Lost," the fool in "King Lear," and other juvenile Shakespearean parts. Later on, we are told, though I don't remember it, and know her career for many years, she appeared as Ophelia, Margaret Overreach ("New Way to Pay Old Debts"), and other characters of that class with Brooke. If she did it must have been as understudy to Fanny Cathcart (Mrs. Robert Heir-Darrell), or when Miss Cathcart had fallen out with the Coppin-Brooke Combination, a severance which lasted a couple of months. Miss Mathews' first appearance in burlesque was in the "Nymph of Lurleyberg." Subsequently she joined George Fawcett (Rowe, but he was never known as Rowe in Australia) at the old Princess' Theatre in Spring-street, one of the very few old houses that fell into the hands of "the knacker," instead of becoming a prey to fire, the usual fate of the theatre. At the Princess' Miss Mathews appeared in all the burlesque and singing parts, which helped to make her famous on the stage. Here also she played many light comedy parts in "The Irish Heiress," "London Assurance," etc., etc., in Irish parts such as Anne Chute in the "Colleen Bawn," in which latter, with Dick Stewart, she made a decided hit. From Melbourne Julia went to New Zealand, where she married Mr. W. H. Mumford, much to the disgust of her parents, who thus lost their "gold mine.'" After some months absence from the stage, she reappeared at the Princess', Dunedin, and at Christchurch and Hokitika. Upon her return to Melbourne, she appeared at the Haymarket under George Coppin's guidance. Here she drew great audiences, her singing and histrionic powers having matured wonderfully. From this engagement she went straight to London, where Mr. Russell, director of Covent Garden Theatre, secured her for the role of the Grand Duchess, in which, and other operatic parts, she gained much distinction. I am afraid that her visit to London was not of such a character as would enhance Julia's reputation before the world. We heard that she had attached herself to a high up member of the British aristocracy; that she kept her brougham and liveried servants, and had done with the stage. The 'cad' of the British aristocracy of the sixties was not built on the lines marital, as poor Julia soon discovered. When she severed this connection, Miss Mathews toured the Continent and America, meeting with success wherever she went. I forget who it was that piloted her, but I know that it was not Mr. Mumford. At the now famous City of St. Louis, Julia was struck down with rheumatic fever, and on May 18, 1876, succumbed to the attack at the early age of 32 years.

I do not think poor Julia's life was a very happy one. From her infancy on the boards she was the breadwinner for her parents ; her teens being simply the drudgery of the stage. Her mother's eye A  never off her on the stage, and her father, who was a check-taker at the pit entrance, had his eye on her from the front. Julia was never seen without one or other in attendance. I had it from Julia's own lips at a rehearsal of "The Irish Heiress," on the stage of the old Princess', that she could have married R. O'Hara Burke, explorer, then an inspector of police at Castlemaine, and that it was her rejection of his suit that induced him to accept the leadership of the expedition, which ended so disastrously to himself and others. Yet she wore his miniature on her breast, and mourned his death. Perhaps it was a good advertisement.
Having reminisced about 'old Rogers' ("Sportsman," 6/7/'04), let us have a turn at 'old Lambert.' He differed from Mr. Rogers inasmuch as he had a very long English training in good theatres before he came to Australia. I heard him on a 'farewell' benefit night (which was not a farewell), say that when he first met G. V. Brooke at the Theatre Royal, Hawkins-street, Dublin, he (J. C. Lambert) was playing juvenile parts. The actor who passed successfully the ordeal of a Dublin theatre of 60 or 70 years ago was somebody. Dublin was the top rung on the ladder of fame, which landed the actor in London. Mr. Lambert commenced his theatrical career in his native county of Norfolk, and his commencement was that of a strolling player, and he has left in a MS. autobiography some amusing recollections of his barnstorming and stroller's life. His first appearance in Australia was at the old Queen's, in Queen-street, Melbourne, another of the old houses that did not go down by fire. Strange to say, be failed to immediately impress the Melbourne public, but the time did come when the play-goers by the Yarra Yarra, next to Brooke, swore by Lambert. My first sight of Mr. Lambert was as Mr. Aspen in the "Nervous Man," G. V. Brooke being the M'Shane. Heavens! what a scream it was from start to finish! The name indicates the character. About the year 1865 there was published a handsome quarto volume entitled 'The Lambert Album.' It contained 16 character portraits of the actor, and there were but three copies of the volume published! The portraits were by the old firm of Batchelder and O'Neil. There were two portraits of Mr. Lambert as Sir Peter Teazle, as Sir Anthony Absolute, as Lord Ogleby, as Justice Shallow, as Sir John Falstaff, as Sir John Vesey, and as Daddy Hardacre. I have seen Lambert in all these characters and many more, excepting Lord Ogleby. In everything he did Mr. Lambert was as perfect as stage effect could make him. In the smallest, as in the largest, characters he was simply perfect in his make-up. As the Apothecary in, "Romeo and Juliet," a character of half-a-dozen lines, he took as much pains to make perfect as he did in Sir Peter Teazle or Anthony Absolute. Many good critics say that Lambert, as Sir Peter Teazle, has never been equalled upon the Australian stage. I have seen Wallack (Julia Harland's father), Lambert, Rogers, Coppin, Cathcart, Hoskins (Julia Harland's husband), and some others in the part, and I must admit my preference for Lambert. Mr Rogers was, as I have said, more the bucolic Sir Peter, but a fine performance nevertheless.

In the mid sixties, when Barry Sullivan, having raised the Theatre Royal and its plays to the highest pitch of excellence, returned to England, Mr. Lambert and five others, having private means, leased the theatre and made money. The five were H. R. Harwood, Richard Stewart, T. S. Bellair, Vincent, and Hennings, the scenic artist. On Mr. Vincent's death I think his widow, Miss Clevland, stepped into his shoes. It was under this management that Mr. J. C. Williamson and the genial Maggie Moore first "Struck Oil." And in this connection a good story is told. Mr. Harwood (real name Biggs, a carpenter by trade, who made his debut as an actor at the old Victoria in Pitt-street in 1855; conducted the negotiations. The Williamsons wanted a certain figure. Harwood demurred, as 'Dutch comedy' had been done to death by Emmet, and the negotiations were about to fail, when, with keen business instinct and a knowledge of what they could do with "Struck Oil," Miss Moore asked if Harwood would share the house after a certain sum for expenses, Harwood jumped at the offer, and closed with the "Muricans." How did Mr. Harwood bite his nails for weeks after, when he stood on the pavement in Bourke-street and watched the people flocking to the Royal. He and his partners gained, of course, but Harwood said that he missed "all the tat" through not giving the Williamsons the salary they asked.

At the Royal, Mr Lambert and his partners made money, and the former retired into private life at a time when his powers had reached maturity. Having only his wife, who also played occasionally, Mr Lambert's income need not be heavy to enjoy the later years of life. As a citizen he was above reproach. He was not a society man; he habitually attended divine service at St. Peter's and carried the plate, "and was so quiet, demure and respectable that he might be taken for a bank manager, or for the respectable bank clerk in a large commercial house."

Mr Lambert retired to the town where he was born to spend the evening of his life, the now cathedral city of Wells. From "Buttlands," Wells, in September 1868, he wrote to a Melbourne friend a chatty letter, in which he showed that he was perfectly satisfied with his life and its cheerful coming close: — "I am living in my native town, which possesses about three thousand inhabitants, among whom are many old school fellows and ancient friends. My life is passing very happily in reading, writing, shooting, sleep, billiards and bowls. The place is attractive enough to induce professional people to visit it. Emma Stanley was here for one night, and we had a long-chat together. We have now a company of actors, gentlemen in appearance, not devoid of talent, and playing to good houses.

On Monday next a circus opens; so you will see my dear friend, that I am not quite mentally, as I hope not for some years to be physically, buried. The happiest portion of my professional life , was spent in Melbourne, but the greatest felicity I have enjoyed from my birth I now experience.'" And when the time came to "ring down," Death found J. C. Lambert quite ready.

"Died at Hobert Town on the 19th of March, 1862, Sir William Don, aged 36 years." Such was the unexpected announcement that met the Melbourne public three days later. Ten years before that I saw the dead walls of the city of Dublin placarded with the announcement that "Sir William Don, Baronet, the Eccentric Comedian," was about to appear at the Theatre Royal. His advent to Australia had a special interest for myself and all who came from the city by the Liffey; for had not Sir William Don taken unto himself for wife one of the prime favorites of the old Queen's, in Dublin, Miss Emily Saunders? There were three of the name at the Queen's Charlotte Saunders and a brother, a co median, bow-legged, whom we gallery boys nicknamed “Bandy Saunders." But Dublin had known Sir William Don be fore he took to the stage as a profession. He had been A.D.C. to one of the Lords-Lieutenant of Ireland, and well up in Dublin society, and had well advertised himself in private theatricals before, on loss of fortune, he took to the boards as a professional. The first appearance of the Dons in Melbourne was made in 1860. Lady Don in "The Daughter of the Regiment," and Sir William in the farce of "Toodles." Just imagine a 6ft 6in man in such a character as Mr. Toodles. The Marsh troupe of child comedians had previously introduced the farce to Melbourne, when Master George played the part; the contrast between the 4ft-nothing boy and the 6ft 6in baronet was ludicrous. To add to the fun, Don had all the stage furniture made in miniature, so that he walked as easily over chairs and tables as he did over footstools. His greatest hit, however, was as Queen Elizabeth in Kenilworth burlesque, with Lady Don as the Earl of Leicester. Six feet six inches, and splendidly made up, as the red-haired virgin Queen! But Sir William Don did not confine himself to English comedy; he excelled an Bailie Nicol Jarvie, Jock Howison, Dandie Dinmont, and suchlike; but perhaps one of the most extraordinary performances he ever took part in, and certainly one of the most extraordinary that I ever witnessed, was when "The Rivals" was produced with an "Ollapodrida" company — all stars and all good men in their several lines. Amongst them was Sir William Don, as Fag! John Drew, the Irish comedian, was Bob Acres; so you may guess what a 'screamer' it was. Of Lady Don's ability no eulogy can be too high. As a vocalist and an actress she was attractive in everything she appeared in, and even without her husband she held her own on the stage until the baronet's family thought it was but right that his widow should "retire on her rank." There was no estate, but I believe the Wauchopes of Edmonstone, near Edinburgh , and Newton House, Mussellburgh, N.B., to whom the barren title went on Sir William's death, saw to the widow's comfort. Sir William Don had gone through two large fortunes before he had taken to the stage, and when he threw up his commission in the Guards and took to the boards, it was in the hope of being able to buy back his old Scottish home. In a stage speech at Melbourne, in which he advised everybody to avoid debt, he said that he had been in the hands of usurers since he was "so high," indicating about 8ft from the boards. "To owe £20," said he, "and have £19 19s 11d to pay it with, was simply misery, but with £20 1s heaven!" To a friend in Melbourne he wrote from Hobart Town, a fortnight before his death, in a very cheerful strain :— "I have been dreadfully weak and pulled down since I have been here, and in bad spirits; but within the last two or three days I have Sir Walter Raleighed wonderfully. This is the most magnificent climate in the world. Come over at once. We shall be here for a fortnight longer and then Launceston two weeks, then back to Melbourne for Adelaide. Our success has been very great, Behold the proof:
Receipts at Launceston, one week    £416
Receipts at Hobart Town, one week £360
Total ................................................ £776
Our share ..........................................£388

The journey from here to -Launceston is really wonderfully beautiful. You will be delighted with It. Come at once." Even then the grave was opening for him, and he knew it not. Lady Don survived him 13 years, dying in England September 20, 1873, leaving an only daughter. To Sir William Don is attributed a freak which has been set down also to the credit or debit of W. E. Gladstone. Sir William had a habit of travelling third-class on the railway out of Edinburgh. To break him off the habit, the officials one day caused a number of chimney sweepers, with their bags and brushes, to be put into the same compartment. Don took in the situation. 'Come along with me, my lands," and after "shouting" for them in the refreshment room, he purchased first-class tickets for the lot, and planted himself and the sweeps in a first-class carriage. When they reached the end of their journey the drab cloth linings of the Carriage were sooty indeed.

(To be continued.)

To be chronologically correct, it must be mentioned that the opening of the Victoria Theatre was the death warrant of the Theatre Royal. Barnet Levey died before the 'Vic'' was completed, and his widow kept the Royal open for a while, but the theatre suddenly closed on March 22, four days before Joe Wyatt opened his new venture. The Royal remained closed until the big fire removed it in March 1840. The fire originated in a stable on the adjoining premises, belonging to a Mr. Blanch, a mathematical instrument maker. The officers of a regiment then in Sydney, who had been attending a ball, hurried to the fire and assisted to remove goods, etc. In the early forties an Italian opened a canvas show in Hunter-street, and subsequently erecting a stage and scenery, named the concern the Olympic, and commenced in opposition to Wyatt. He got together a good company, but after a time the canvas theatre collapsed.

About the time that Levey opened the Royal in George-street, a theatre was opened in Launceston, and, we read that Mr. Cameron took a company from that town to Hobart Town and opened in "The Stranger." The first theatre named in the northern capital of Tasmania was the Royal Olympic, which formed part of the London Tavern, as did the Royal in George-street, Sydney. Amateur theatricals were popular in those days, chiefly amongst the military, and amongst these military amateurs was our own George Herbert Rogers. There exists a playbill in Launceston of a performance of "Charles II, or the Merry Monarch," given by the men of the 96th Regiment. In 1845 Mr. George Coppin leased the Olympic, and kept it open for a number of years. In 1850 the Lyceum Theatre, in Cameron-street, was opened under the management of Mr. James Melville. The Cornwall Rooms and the Royal Clarence theatre were opened in the same year. At the Rooms Miss Catherine Hayes appeared, the charges being 21s, 10s 6d, and 5s. The Theatre Royal was opened in 1857 it stood where the Empire now stands, and on its stage many Thespians of note appeared. ln 1863 the Lyster Opera Troupe appeared at the Royal. The Royal was closed in 1878.

In Southern Tasmania, Hobart now has one theatre, and that an old one. The De Graves family had something to do with its erection. One of its early managers was Robert Osborne. Later on J. W. Watson and John Davies held the reins. In the early days, at the Freemasons Hotel, in Harrington-street, was a theatre owned or leased by Mr. and Mrs. Clarke. There the soldiers from the barracks congregated, and the townspeople also patronised the show. Tommy Atkins was not then excluded from the theatre. Later on the Tasmanian Hall across the street was devoted to the drama. Mr. Delsarte had some connection with this establishment. Then there was the Hobart Hall in the same street. Next there was the Royal Albert Theatre, chiefly supported by seafaring men. This latter has been transformed into an hotel and is known as the Carlton. Circuses flourished, too, in those early days. Of the old actors in those old Tasmanian theatres one still lives in Sydney, at about 90 years of age— Mr. James Hasker.

Amongst the members of the theatrical profession mentioned in these bygone annals, none occupied a larger space in public affection than GEORGE HERBERT ROGERS, with whose death the Australian stage lost one of its best and brightest ornaments. But very few of his stamp have appeared upon the colonial stage. In London he would have ranked with the elder Farren, who is said yet to have left no successor, and he died in 1861. Mr Rogers was the son of a physician, whose widow married Major Elsey, of the Bank of England. His family was connected with that of Joseph Rogers, whose name appears frequently in volumes of Poetry chiefly of a religious character, and also with the Poet Herbert Rogers, from whom he took his second name. As brothers he had Professor Henry Rogers and John Rogers, and as half-brother Dr. Elsey, of the Port Essington expedition. An unfortunate family squabble drove Rogers when a young man from home, and in a wild moment he entered as a private soldier in the 51st Regiment at Chatham. Before his friends could take steps to purchase his discharge, or effect a reconciliation the, 51st was ordered to Van Diemans Land, and Mr. Rogers went with his company. Though repeatedly invited to return home, Sergeant Rogers as he had become, steadily refused; he had not forgotten, and I believe never did forget, the domestic trouble that drove him from home, and from the probabilities of a distinct position in the best circles of England. In connection with private theatricals at Hobart Town Rogers showed marked ability, even among the professionals with whom he sometimes appeared. The Colonel of the regiment, a patron of the drama, gave Mr. Rogers every latitude, and the lady lessee of the theatre attached to the Freemasons' Hotel, in Harrington-street, Mrs. Clarke, was eager on all occasions to obtain his services. The Colonel was a frequent visitor behind the scenes, and the fair lessee worked her point very adroitly. Though enlisted for 21 years, the term of the service, and though unwilling that the regiment should lose the services of such a steady man as Sergeant Rogers, the Colonel admitted that there was nothing in the regulations to prevent Sergeant - Rogers buying himself out of the army, provided that he (the Colonel) saw no objection. With such a fair pleader the Colonel was brought to see no objection, and Sergeant Rogers became Mr. Rogers, of the Theatre Royal, Hobart Town. I believe the fair lessee found the sovereigns with which to make the novel purchase, but as Mr. Rogers the actor was as great a favourite as was Sergeant Rogers the soldier, the indebtedness was soon wiped out.

In a particular range of old men Mr. Rogers had no compeer in Australia. Mr. J. C. Lambert has been frequently brought into comparison, but, though frequently playing the same characters, no comparison could be made; both excelled, because both gave distinct and widely different readings. In such characters as Sir Anthony Absolute, Mr. Rogers led, while as Sir Peter Teazle, Lambert's rendering was the more refined, the more courtly; yet when you saw Rogers as Sir Peter, you were forced to inquire whether Sheridan meant the baronet to be courtly or ''country," for that is how I distinguish between the pair. Sir Anthony suited Rogers eminently; the choleric old baronet was personified to the life. I remember on one occasion, in the middle of a scene, where Sir Anthony leaves, having "disowned" his son, the Captain, the enthusiasm of the audience rose to such a pitch that the actor was compelled to return and bow his acknowledgments. In such parts as Mr Hardcastle ("She Stoops to Conquer") Grandfather Whitehead, Lord Duberly, Lord Ogelby, and old men in domestic drama and high comedy, his sway with the audience was unbounded. In his acting he was sympathetic to a degree. I recollect, at the Melbourne Theatre Royal, when Lady Don reappeared in the "Daughter of the Regiment," how sympathetic the house was, the sympathy being induced by one little touch of nature on the part of Mr. Rogers, the touch that makes us all kin. Lady Don had left her husband, Sir William, in a Hobart Town grave. It was her first appearance, I think, since his death; certainly it was her first in Melbourne since the sad event. Rogers was the old sergeant of the play. When Lady Don came to the front she completely broke down, and, falling on the shoulders of "old Rogers," she sobbed aloud. It was no stage trick, but the genuine outburst of a heart that had sustained an irreparable loss. The old sergeant took her to his arms, and gently patting her on the shoulder whispered words of condolence. The audience silently awaited the recovery of the lady, and when she was able to speak her first lines, Lady Don had no reason to be other than satisfied with her reception. She was still remembered, and her dead husband had not been forgotten.

Coming to Mr. Rogers' professional career, Mr G. V. Brooke expressed the opinion that he equalled William Farren; and Charles Mathews, when in Australia, expressed his wonder that Rogers had never tried the British stage, as he was sure that he would have been successful. Charles Mathews offered, if Mr. Rogers would go to London, to ensure him an engagement, but Rogers was too deeply rooted in the affections of Australian playgoers to take the trip— not that he had any reason to believe that he would be a failure. Mr. Rogers married a sister of the late Charles Young, comedian (see "Sportsman," 22/6/'04), and left a family of six, three sons and three daughters. Two of the latter adopted their father's profession. One of the sons is Mr. Horace Rogers, reporter, of the "Sydney Morning Herald." Mr. G. H. Rogers died at Melbourne on February 13, 1872, the cause of death being the bursting of a blood vessel, his age being given as 53 years. The genial actor, good citizen and staunch friend, was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery, in close proximity to a number of players who had "gone before"— Ellen Mortyn, Marie St. Denis, Mrs. Vickery, Hattie Shephard, and many others. On his tombstone are inscribed the lines by Longmore: —

"There is no death; what seems so is transition.
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life Elysian,
Whose portal we call death."

Referring to Mr. Joseph Wyatt, who built the Victoria Theatre in 1838, I have described him as a leather merchant and ironmonger having his place of business next to the School of Arts in Pitt Street I find that Mr. Joseph Wyatt was a draper carrying on business in the early thirties (and before) at "16 Lower Pitt street," at No. 15 being his brother William, carrying on as a boot and shoemaker or dealer. The number then stood to the north of the School of Arts of today. In 1844 Mr. William Knight was the leasee of the Victoria Theatre, while Mr Joseph Wyatt occupied the Victoria Hotel, attached. On the southern side Mr A. J. Levy kept the Garrick's Head, and on the northern a few feet away, Mr. William Dind, of very healthy memory in connection with theatricals, kept the Star and Garter. On the corner of King-street was the Black Boy Inn afterwards known as the Liverpool Arms and, when kept by Ben Palmer and J B Moore, a house of call for theatrical people. Nearly opposite the Victoria Theatre a little to the north perhaps, was the Clown Inn, kept by no less a personage than George Coppin, then 25 years of age, now with 60 added on, and still hale and hearty and talking of spending £20,000 on alterations end improvements to the Theatre Royal, Melbourne. This Clown Inn was one of Mr. Coppin's unfortunate speculations. He did not, however, risk his all there, but quickly went to Launceston, as seen above, where he showed that he knew more about drawing audiences than he did about drawing beer. I believe the old gentleman, if he once more appeared in the "Spider Dance," or as Jem Baggs in the "Wandering Minstrel," would draw again. With the exception that Mr. Coppin was succeeded in the Clown Inn by Mr. Geo. Skinner, who in the same year removed himself and the name to a house at the corner of Hunter and George streets; that Mr. William Knight had become a landholder; and that John Gordon Griffiths, whose private residence was in Bligh street, had succeeded him as lessee of the theatre, the occupants of 1844 held their positions for some years after. In those days publicans and innkeepers were not "rolling stones."
In 1843 Mr. Joseph Simmons, restless when unoccupied, opened the City Theatre in Market-street, where now stands an hotel, two doors from George-street. I am not sure that it is not the actual building with a new front. Associated with Simmons in this venture was a Mr. Bellmore, of whom little is known. The theatre was opened on May 20, Nesbitt M'Cron delivering a prize address. There were three pieces staged, "The Balance of Comfort," "The Painter of Ghent," and "Magnetic Influence." The company included Knowles, Fenton, Belfield, Meredith, Phillips, Madame Goutrot, Senora Ximenes, Mrs. Wallace, and three "Misses" Jones, Taylor, and Thompson. The population was not large enough to support two playhouses, and the smaller went to the wall. For a time the "City" became an auction mart, but in the early seventies Mr. Michael Hegarty, hailing from Melbourne, came along, secured the premises, and opened them as a cafe, the attraction being the waitresses in fancy bloomer costumes. I believe the venture did pay, as Mr. Hegarty enlarged his sphere of operations and removed to the old Adelphi, in York-street, of which more anon.

Of the company performing under Mr. Simmons, one is remembered well in Sydney by the old generation — Mr. P. Belfield, better known by the sobriquet of "Paddy Belfield", though his name was Peter. Mr. Belfield was a tailor by trade, to which he reverted when he left the stage, or the stage left him. My last recollection of Mr. Belfield as an actor was when he played the King in "Hamlet" to Barry Sullivan at the old Royal, in Melbourne, when Sullivan was playing his first engagement in 1862. Truth compels me to say that I had never seen the King so played, before or since. I believe, like dear old "Paddy," Gardner, Mr. Belfield at one time appeared in Irish characters, and I am of opinion that he could play such. In the early seventies Mr. Belfield was in business as a tailor, in partnership with his son Francis, in the now Oxford-street, near the old Robin Hood Inn, between Brisbane and Edward streets. While there he conceived the idea that the Surry Hills and Woolloomooloo should be able to support a theatre of their own, and that that theatre should be "agin his own door." Negotiations were opened up with Mr. Sydney Burdekin, who granted a lease of certain vacant land in Liverpool-street, with a right of entrance from Oxford-street. The site was about midway between the old-time Blind Beggar public-house— now Andy Flanagan's — and the lane leading down to Yurong-street. The shares were £1 each, payable, I think, in shilling subscriptions. The walls got up some feet when the funds ran short, and the scheme collapsed. Sydney Burdekin seized the bricks and built a neat row of cottages on the site. Mr. Belfield subsequently started business in George-street, Brickfield Hill. "One morn I missed him on the accustomed hill," and found that he had become the lessee of the Victoria Hotel, attached to the Victoria Theatre, in Pitt-street. That was in 1878. He played the part of host for a few years, and returned to his trade, this time in Liverpool-street, a few doors from George-street, and here he made his "last stand." In 1889 he was gathered to his fathers, after an extended colonial career, varied by many ups and downs. All said and done, there were many worse men than the old Thespian, "Paddy" Belfield.

(To be continued.)