Mrs Mrs Vickery

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.

While Mr. G. V. Brooke was earning golden opinions from all sorts of people, away from his business headquarters, Melbourne, his affairs were in anything but apple-pie order. I have no doubt his managers, Robert Heir (first) and Henry Edwards and George Fawcett, did their best. But theatrical managers are born, not made, and however brilliant an actor may be, he may, as a businessman, be the veriest duffer that ever donned a stage wig. Other matters may have helped in a degree to bring Mr. Brooke's finances down. While he and Mr. Coppin were in partnership the opposition in city theatres was the old weather-beaten matchbox known as The Princess', which had a very different company, and the ancient Hippodrome in Lonsdale-street, which had a precarious existence in several names, The Lyceum, The Prince of Wales, etc. While the Royal was being run by Coppin and Brooke, the old Olympic— the 'Ironpot'—was kept carefully closed as a theatre, though it was a rent-producing establishment, with the Olympic Hotel on the corner, run by William Pitt, the scenic artist. The Olympic pit was boarded over, and each night (and morning) the light fantastic toe was tripped on the most 'Continental lines.' Cremorne, of course, was only open in the summer months, when the free end easy of Melbourne could enjoy George Coppin's gondola trips with quiet chats in cozy corners, with the girl of your heart, or with the girl who cared little for your heart if you had a soft head and a long purse.

I mentioned previously that when George Coppin separated from Brooke he took with him most members of the old company. With that company and additions, George Coppin rehabilitated the old 'Ironpot,' and commenced a dramatic season. I was there on the opening night, the first I had ever been in the 'Pot.' The play was Falconer's comedy of "Extremes," or "Men of the Day." The cast, a strong one. It is an every-day costume comedy, rich, plebeian
and poverty-stricken aristocrats, the latter with a design upon the vast wealth of the former. A wealthy coal mine owner left his fortune of over a million to two persons, on condition that they married within six months. At the reading of the will the Lancashire cousins were looked down upon by their aristocratic-beggared friends, but the aspect of affairs changed when it was found that the old Lancashire woman, Mrs. Wildbriar, was worth half a million in her own right, while her daughter Jenny had a few thousands of her own, and the clodhopping son, in the red vest, owned to a big pile irrespective of what he expected from his mother. The poverty stricken swell, Sir Lionel Norman, believing that Lucy Vavasour would inherit the dead man's wealth, paid assiduous attention to her, but he discovered the condition of the will, that she should marry Frank Hawthorne, and if each refused the other, the wealth would be devoted to building homes for the orphan children of miners. There was also a condition that if one said 'yes,' and the other said 'no,' the money was to go to the one saying 'yes.' Believing that Frank must accept Lucy Vavasour, Sir Lionel Norman devotes his attention to Miss Jenny Wildbriar, who however, has a beau in the person of Everard Digby, a barrister, to whom she had been introduced under the title of the Marquis of Banterdown, a little device she had seen through. One of the crowd of penniless swells 'makes up' to Mrs. Wildbriar, and a penniless lady with a long pedigree fastens on to Robin Wildbriar. When the six months expire, and the executors of the will assemble the interested parties, after some cogitation, Lucy accepts the condition, while Frank Hawthorne rejects it. A very fine scene follows. Lucy explains that she guessed that Frank meant to refuse, and had she refused the money would be lost. Frank, being a bit of a poet, had composed some verses which, by chance, had fallen into Lucy's hands, and she declares that she will wear the willow all her life if he a second time refused her. In the cast were Richard Younge, Fred. Younge, T. S. Bellair, G. H. Rogers, Russell, Wilson (the scenic artist, who played Robin Wildbriar), Rose Dunn, Fanny Young (sister of Charles), the sisters Allen, a Miss St. Clair, and last, but not by any meant least, Mrs. Bellair, The opening night was that of the day on which Flying Buck won the first Champion Race at Flemington, January 1, 1859. It is fixed in my memory by reason of a doggerel epilogue spoken by Fred. Younge, wherein, he spoke of—
" . . . . . the ruck.
Viewing the heels of Flying Buck."
Soon after, Mr. Coppin produced "World and Stage," in which he appeared himself. Then the usual season followed, with always good results to George Coppin.
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It would be somewhat difficult for one not within the ring to get at the actual facts of Brooke's quarrel with Edwards and Fawcett. Ambrose Kyte was up to his neck in it. E. and F. had been borrowing money from, the then supposed millionaire, and Ambrose lent them so much money that they gave him the lease of the theatre as his security. All the soiled linen was publicly washed. The 'Age' newspaper, which accepted the correspondence, fairly revelled in the disclosures. To add to the trouble, the lady we knew as Mrs. Brooke became Mrs. Edwards, and Brooke, much to the scandal of the public, had his name linked with a leading actress whom he afterwards married at Liverpool. Friends interested themselves in Brooke's affairs, mediated with Mr. Coppin, and the pair became friends. Some people said that they were never separated, that it was only one of 'Coppin's dodges ;' but I don't think there was any 'dodge.' George Coppin was too careful a man to create a 'dodge' which should lose him money. The reconciliation was made, however. Mr. Coppin undertook the management of Mr. Brooke's theatre and affairs, and promised to make them straight.
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The opening piece under the resumed management of Mr. Coppin was Tobin's comedy of "The Honeymoon," followed by "The Serious Family," a big bill which crowded the house in every part, though the night was stormy and the rain pouring down in torrents. No rain could extinguish the interest felt in the reappearance in the same pieces of the old favorites, Coppin and Brooke, I made a unit in that great audience, and I shall never forget the reception Brooke met with on his entry as Duke Aranga. The demonstration was only equalled when George Coppin appeared as the Mock Duke. Avonia Jones played the parts of Juliana in "The Honeymoon," and Mrs. Ormsby Dalmaine in "The Serious Family." There appeared also, that night, after a long absence, Mrs. Vickery, a sterling actress in such parts as Mrs. Candour and Lady Sowerby Creamly, likewise was she great in the "Roman Mother," and no matter who else was in the company, Mrs Vickery was the Lady Macbeth. The feeling of the audience throughout the evening was displayed more than once when Brooke and Coppin were alone upon the stage.
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After "The Honeymoon," Brooke appeared in front of the curtain, and addressing the audience, said that he most heartily thanked them for the recognition manifested by them of the old as sociations of the house, and of his services in their behalf. The old friend who had performed with him that night was, he believed, the only friend he had in the colony; but while congratulating Mr. Coppin and himself on what had taken place, he would allow that gentleman to speak for himself. Brooke broke down more than once during the speech, and was picked up again by the vigorous applause of the audience. Mr. Coppin then came forward, and it was some moments before he could proceed. As soon as the applause subsided he said that it was most deeply gratifying to his feelings to find himself welcomed back as he had been to the boards of that theatre. It really looked like a vote of confidence, a sentiment which was cheered to the echo. When Mr. Brooke took the theatre he had promised to do all in his power to maintain the legitimate drama, and Mr. Brooke had done so. He (Mr. Coppin) Had now, at Mr. Brooke's request, assumed the management of the theatre for six months, during which he hoped, by assiduity and industry, and with the kind assistance of the public, to retrieve his broken fortune (Brooke had made £40,000 in his six years' Australian residence; a tidy sum to make up in six months, George) and to give him a substantial recognition of his talents on his departure for Europe. He could only say that nothing should be wanting on his part to bring about so desirable a result. Before retiring, Mr. Coppin begged to congratulate the public on having a second gas company (strange to say Ambrose Kyte was the promoter of the second gas company, which had the effect of bringing down the price of gas to a reasonable figure). The public would scarcely believe that after the thousands of pounds which the Gas Company had received from the theatre, the company had that night threatened to cut off the supply, unless the amount due — a paltry £43 — were paid instanter. Mr. Coppin humorously said that as he did not usually carry that amount about with him, the gas collector had kindly accepted his personal cheque, and if that had not been forthcoming the theatre would have been in utter darkness. Mr. Coppin then announced that on Saturday night a complimentary benefit would be given to that very promising young actress, Miss Rosa Dunn. On Boxing Night a panto mime would be produced which he hoped would give them every satisfaction: and, finally, he might state that an engagement had been made with Sir William and Lady Don, who would appear in due course. He hoped that, with such elements of novelty and talent, a succession of entertainments would be provided which might justly claim the support of the public, and lead to the successful results he had ventured to anticipate.
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In the course of his speech that night Mr. Coppin further said that the reception he had met with that night seemed a vote of confidence on his former management of the Theatre Royal. He had a character for 'dodging,' but he could honestly say and unhesitatingly declare that he had never abused that confidence in his promises as a manager. He had kept faith with the public. He regretted deeply that the satisfaction he felt on these grounds should be counterbalanced by the unfortunate circumstances in which he found the theatre placed at that moment. When he brought Mr. Brooke out from England he volunteered to him a promise that he would not leave him until he had secured for him an independency for the rest of his life, and he had kept his word. Last year (said Mr. Coppin) Mr. Brooke had made choice as his share of their joint business of the Theatre Royal, which was then in a thriving condition, and bringing a rental of £400 a year, or, instead, made him an offer of £20,000, clear of the liability to the amount of £8000 which then existed upon it. Now, by misrepresentation and deceit, to use no harsher terms, for none but such could be used, he thought, if the theatre were being disposed of for a sum so radically below its real value, for, terms which a usurer would blush to look upon, the theatre was passing out of Mr. Brooke's hands, not only so, but he found that Mr Brooke's testimonial, with which he had been presented by the public, his plate, and a portion of his wardrobe were deposited in the pawnshop, and a most usurious rate of interest charged for them, which, not having been paid, the property was forfeited. Mr. Brooke was moreover, indebted to the amount of £4000. Some people, said Mr. Coppin, might ask what was all this to them; but of one thing he felt convinced, and that was that the very large portion of the public would feel deep sympathy for the position in which Mr. Brooke was placed.
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In this connection the following, copied into the Sydney 'Empire' of 50 years ago, will be read with interest :— 'An Extensive Theatrical Engagement : Mr. G. V. Brooke and Mr. Coppin.— The American Manager . — Mr. G. V. Brooke has made an engagement with Mr. Coppin, through Mr. J. H. Wilton, to proceed to the colonies and act 200 nights, Mr. Coppin securing to him £10,000, in addition to the expenses of himself and four. Miss Fanny Cathcart accompanies the tragedian. The 200 nights are to be performed in nine months. A contract has also been entered into with Messrs. Fox and Henderson for the construction of an iron theatre, 120ft by 45ft, which will go with Mr. Brooke, costing complete about £5000. Mr. Brooke will sail in the new steamer Pacific.'
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Mr. J. B. Steele, who was engaged to support Mr. Brooke on his second visit to Australia, died on Friday, in the Cancer Hospital at Liverpool (N.S.W.). He was buried with Masonic honors on Saturday. Mr. Steele was 72 years of age. In next issue will appear a sketch of the career of the deceased gentlemen.

That Shakespearian controversy (in the "Sportsman," May 18, 1904) has awakened long dormant memories, and a pleasant evening recently spent with one, who, like myself, lives chiefly in the past, has served to recall many incidents in connection, with music and the drama not before seen In print.

What old faces we brought back in our gossip! What happy days we revived! The days when John Gordon Griffiths managed the old Victoria Theatre in Pitt-street, numbering in his company such artistes as Sarah Flower, Madame Carandini, Sam Howard (known as "Gypsy”“ and sometimes Tinker" Howard, the former from his appearance, the latter from his trade before taking to the stage), Mrs. Guerin (afterwards Mrs. Richard Stewart, and still with us), the Sisters Howson and their brothers, and many others of equal calibre and fair fame.

John Gordon Griffiths was a Shropshire man, born in August 1810, and shortly after leaving school joined a dramatic company. He became a member of the M’Kay circuit, and subsequently joined Mr. Alexander at Glasgow. It was while with these managers that Mr. Griffiths acquired a knowledge of Lowland Scotch, which made him a success in such parts. After leaving Scotland he played in London, and there met Mr. Joseph Wyatt, of the Victoria Theatre, Sydney, who induced him to come south.

He arrived in 1842, and opened in “Hamlet.” He met with great opposition, mainly, I think, from the friends and admirers of Francis Nesbitt McCron, who was in or near Sydney at the time. Griffiths, however, overcame the trouble, and eventually become manager of the Victoria Theatre, and in 1855 filled the same position at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Castlereagh-street. He retired after a short term, and took up his residence at the Pier Hotel, Manly, where he died on March 4, 1857. Gordon Griffiths was a good man, and a good actor.

The years 1855-56 saw many eminent actors in Sydney, Julia Mathews, Mrs. Charles Poole, Fanny Cathcart (Mrs. Robert Heir, and afterwards Mrs. Geo. Darrell), Lola Montez, Mrs. Charles Young (afterwards Mrs. Hermann Verzin), Mrs. James Stark, Julia Harland (a daughter of the house of Wallack and wife of William Hoskins), Marie Duret, the sisters Gougenheim, etc., etc., G. V. Brooke, George Coppin, Joe Rayner, Robert Heir, Richard Younge, Charles Young (not related), J. P. Hydes, James Stark, William Hoskins, John Dunn (father of Mrs. Marcus Clarke and Mrs. L. L. Lewis, M’Kean Buchanan, Charles Burford, etc., etc. Mr. George Coppin is the only one in this list who, to my knowledge is still amongst us. Strange to say, Mr. Coppin "managed" most of them at one time or other, and “imported” direct not a few of them. Julia Mathews and Lola Montez died in the United States; Charles Poole died in Boston, in the same country; and, presumably, Mr. and Mrs. Stark, Mr. M’Kean Buchanan, and Marie Duret returned to the country from which they hailed, and laid their bones there. Mrs. Charles Young, after a chequered domestic career, died not long since in England, I believe. Julia Harland and Fanny Cathcart lie near Ellen Mostyn, Mrs. Vickery, Marie St. Denis, Hattie Shepherd, John Dunn, G. H. Rogers, and other Thespians in the Melbourne General Cemetery. Poor Bob Heir sleeps his last sleep at the Bluff, having died at sea on his way, with his wife, to fulfil Maoriland engagements. Dick Younge died in England, Charles Young at his residence, the Museum Hotel, William-street Woolloomooloo, next to the Blind Asylum of to day.

I have in front of me an interesting playbill of the good, old-fashioned sort, about three feet in length and one foot wide. It is dated 1859, and was from the printing office of Charlwood and Son, “Herald” passage, Bourke-street East. It is issued for the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, and announces the farewell performances of MR. G. V. BROOKE. The play on this particular night is “Macbeth,” Brooke in the principal part, of course; Richard Younge as Macduff; Ben Tannett, the scenic artist (who, like W. J. Wilson, played occasionally), was the Banquo; dear old Lambert, his wife, and “Old” Downey, with the cracked voice, were the witches; Harwood was Duncan; Bob Lawrence (who married Carrie George) was Malcolm; Fanny Morgan, Donaldbain; and Tilly Earle, Fleance - The Lady Macbeth was Mrs. Vickery, one of the best I have ever seen in the character. Locke’s music was given in full, the Hecate being a Mr. Hancock, who, with his wife, was popular as a singer. Brooke did not go to London then, nor for a couple of years afterwards. When Richard and Fred Younge left Brooke he brought Henry Edwards from Sydney as manager, and Edwards brought Dick Stewart, Wigan, Bill Andrews, and other old Sydneyites. Then George Fawcett Rowe was brought into the management, and in their hands it was said that G. V. Brooke was ruined. Ambrose Kyte was now the supposed owner of the Theatre Royal, and it must be admitted, if he were truthful, that he assisted the treasury with much money. About this time, 1861, Miss Avonia Jones appeared upon the scene, at the Theatre Royal. She was the daughter of an actress (Mrs. Melinda Jones) who had filled a leading position on the American stage; her father was the Count Joannes, "a vain clever and eccentric author and actor, from whom the wife was separated." Avonia inherited nothing from her father but his handsome face; - at least Avonia herself said so. I never saw the father, but Avonia Jones was handsome and attractive, and on her arrival in Melbourne, in 1860, she was but 24 years of age. Here is a description of her, published in 1878, when she had been years dead, by one who knew her well and intimately. “Tall, well-made, with a lithe form and expressive features, and a sweet, powerful and flexible voice, she seemed born to become a tragedy queen. A classic head, wreathed with hair as black as a raven’s wing, eyes equally dark, and a complexion that was clear, though colourless, surmounted a figure that readily responded to every phase of emotion she was called upon to portray.” No wonder that the advent of such a lady at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, caused some disruption in the Brooke household. The lady whom we knew as Mrs. Brooke joined her fortunes, domestic and otherwise, with Mr. Henry Edwards, and a newspaper war, much scandal and a lot of bitterness were imported into matters theatrical in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-one, in Melbourne.

Mrs Melinda Jones appeared seldom; she was without doubt “fat, fair and (certainly) forty.” I saw her play once, the character Romeo, her daughter being the Juliet. That was at the old “Princess” Theatre, in Spring-street. When Brooke saw the young lady he fell in love with her right off, and married her, as we then understood. When the quarrel with Edwards and Faucett caused G. V. Brooke to fall back upon George Coppin as his manager, the latter brought Richard Younge and other old supporters back to the old house – in Bourke-street. The nightly speeches by Coppin and the daily letters by Kyte, Faucett, and Edwards were choice, but the Shakespearian and other performances with Brooke and Avonia Jones in the leading characters, will live in memory.

Nothing has been seen before, and I am certain that nothing has been since, to equal them as joint performers. A great exodus of theatrical people, London-wards, took place then, the brothers Younge, Hancock and his wife, Mrs and Miss Jones, G. V. Brooke, and others taking part. Even then there was trouble. Richard Younge had a writ served on him at, I think, the suit of Robert Heir; Miss Jones was threatened with arrest at the suit of R. H. Home (“Orion”) who claimed to have written a drama which the lady declined; Brooke was sought for by the Sheriff’s officers, but could not be found; Younge promptly satisfied the claim against him. Miss Jones gave surety to defend any action which Horne might bring (he never brought one); and the Great Britain was said to have gone without the great tragedian. Wherever he had hidden himself, Mr. Brooke did leave in the Great Britain, and reached London.

It was announced some years afterwards that he had married Avonia Jones on February 28, 1863, at St. Philip’s Church, Liverpool. He led a very erratic life in England, Mrs. Brooke (Miss Jones) having left him for a time, ostensibly as a duty to her mother, but in reality because of her husband’s unhappy fondness for strong drinks. Playing at Belfast, poor Brooke was incapable one night of performing. The audience hissed, and Brooke, in dudgeon, advanced to the footlights, bowed to the audience, stuttered out a farewell, and left that stage, never to return. At Birmingham he was arrested for debt, and to obtain his release had to declare himself bankrupt. At last he picked himself up, and determined, with his only sister, to return to Melbourne under engagement to his old friend George Coppin. He took passage in the S.S. London, which, as all the world knows, foundered in the Bay of Biscay in January 1866, and Brooke and his sister went down in her. Richard Younge had returned to Australia before, and at a dramatic performance in Sydney delivered an address on the death of Brooke when the news reached this city.

I have before me another old playbill, only one of many, time stained, mildewed, and yet revered. It was issued from the Caxton Printing Office, 146 Pitt-street Sydney. Old Sydneyites will remember that it stood between the then Foxlow-place and Brougham-place, known in later days as Moore street and Rowe-street. The building was peculiar, being somewhat of the colonnade type. The printer himself was also peculiar, and E. G. is sadly remembered by some. He did most if not all, the theatrical and sporting printing. He was a jolly good sort; and at Jack Hampton’s Metropolitan Hotel in the garden beneath the trees, enjoyed with his friends the good things of things of this life. But Mr. G. fell on evil days, and Fiji for a time, and subsequently San Francisco, was his home. One cannot help but admire, however inexcusable, the ingenuity with which he engineered his way out of Sydney. He drove a handsome buggy, with a spanking horse, the admiration of Sydney. On the morning of his departure — a Saturday— he went among his friends and raised £30 each from half a dozen— “wages had to be paid,” and other engagements had to be met. To each he sold the horse and buggy, promising delivery in the afternoon. The last friend visited was a reverend father at St. Mary’s, who readily advanced such a prominent citizen as Mr. G. the sum required, and the reverend father became the proprietor of the horse and buggy. His claim was disputed, but he had a receipt and possession. A steamer was off Miller’s Point ready to sail. Mr. R. B. Smith - Bob Smith - the solicitor was on board seeing friends off. He encountered Mr. G., the latter saying that he was seeing some friends off also. He ostensibly got into a waterman’s boat, watched Bob Smith off and returned to the steamer; and sailed with her. The maddest man in Sydney on Monday, when the news of Mr. G.’s elopement was made known, was Robert Burdett Smith! Unlike another very prominent citizen and sporting man, who left about the same time, Mr. G. did not return to the city of the beautiful harbour. The Golden Gate was good enough for him.

This playbill is of the Victoria Theatre In the sixties, when Rachael Tolano was lessee, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dillon the stars, and “Belphegor the Mountebank” and “The Bonnie Fishwife” the bill of fare. Charles Dillon was announced as the great London tragedian, and was pronounced “a triumphant success.” It was the last week but two of their engagement. In the company was Henry Neil Warner, Fred Younge, C. H. Burford, Sam Howard, Appleton, James Hasker, and some minor men, including Mr. Harlowe, who was a brother of Richard and Frederick Younge, but, being a minor actor and merely a prompter, the brothers insisted on a nom-de-theatre. Amongst the ladies were Mrs. Charles Poole, Mrs. C. Jones, Mrs. M’Gowan and Miss Dickson. In the afterpiece Mrs. Dillon was the Miss Thistledown and Maggie Macfarlane. As the former she sang the old ballad “Ever of Thee,” and in the latter, of course, “Caller Herring.”

I saw Charles Dillon in Dublin in the early fifties as Belphegor, and I saw him in Australia in the sixties in the same character. He had not improved. Australia seldom gets an actor in his prime. I saw J. L. Toole in the Queen’s, Dublin, as Fanfaronade in “Belphegor,” with Dillon, and I saw him in the Royal, Sydney, and I thought it was a cruelty to induce the old gentleman so far away from the scenes where he was tolerated to such places as Sydney and Melbourne, where every playgoer is a critic.

Though Charles Dillon - of course I am speaking of the Charles Dillon of the mid-sixties, not the stage fraud who visited us under the same name years after - played a “round of characters,” he pinned his fame to the melodrama. “Belphegor” not only In Australia but in England, and it was, when the actor was in his prime, a splendid performance. The only man whomever played it in Australia to equal Dillon was to my mind, Clarence Holt, father of Bland Holt.

The Bancrofts, in their published memoirs, pay a high compliment to Dillon in this character. It may be perhaps from the fact that Mrs. Bancroft, when a little lady known only in the West of England as Marie Wilton — and now Lady Bancroft, thank you! — played Henri, that the particular circumstance is mentioned, but the mere mention shows how jealous the “star” of our old days was of any “fat” falling to the stock actor, Dillon objected to the little lady weeping at his pathos, but as she explained that she could not help weeping, he insisted that her weeping attracted public attention from him. Eventually the matter was referred to the manager, who decided that Henri could weep to his (her) heart’s content.

Henry Neil Warner was an especial favourite at Ballarat when that city was golden and could support a theatre and a good company. Warner was a great actor, but, like all good men in his line, had his little failing. When Barry Sullivan first appeared in Melbourne, Warner was engaged to support him, and did so very ungenerously. There was a prejudice against Sullivan at the time, why I know not. Warner was the favourite, and as the curtain fell Warner was called for, Sullivan ignored. One night, the play was “Richelieu,” Warner of course the Nemours. At the conclusion Warner as usual was called for, but Sullivan stepped in front. The decrepitude of the Cardinal had been left off, and Sullivan stood, towering in rage, amidst hisses, hoots and shouts of “Warner,” “Off, off” etc., etc. Sullivan bided his time. When a lull came he stepped forward with, “What do you want? I did not come here to make a name; I brought it with me.” The tone of the audience changed towards him, and after a year or two Barry Sullivan ruled at the Royal, with a double company, composed of the best men and women in Australia. Warner subsequently went to America, and, I believe, died there.

(To be continued.)