Mr Gustavus Vaughan Brooke

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.

G. V. Brooke presented his Othello for the first time in Australia at the old Queen's Theatre in Queen-street, Melbourne, to, as a matter of course, an overflowing house. The prices were high, the lowest, if I remember rightly, being half-a-crown. There were Othellos before and after Brooke. I have seen most of them, and must still pin my faith to the ill-starred actor who went down in the London on that fateful day in January, 1866. Of course, I did not see Arabin, who opened the old—then new — Victoria Theatre in Pitt-street in 1838 in the character of the Moor; nor yet did I see Nesbitt M'Cron, whom the late Samuel Hawkes Banks considered equal to, if not excelling, Brooke. I saw the spluttering M'Kean Buchanan, the testy Bandmann, the old-school actor Creswick, and that other old-school actor James Anderson, Dampier, Carden, Clarence Holt, George Rignold, and an old Drury Lane actor who came out before Brooke went to England, but whose name has slipped my memory. I have seen minor actors play the part in stock companies, but neither major nor minor linger, so lovingly in the memory of old playgoers as Brooke. I remember one performance of 'Othello' at the old Royal, Melbourne, on a Saturday night, when the piece was so well played and staged in every detail that the hour of midnight struck as the curtain descended, and the afterpiece had to be abandoned. At one of Brooke's performances of Othello in the Melbourne Royal the Receipts reached £531 15s. I first saw Brooke in Australia as Evelyn in Bulwer Lytton's 'Money.' He had been fulfilling an engagement in Sydney, and had hurried to Melbourne on business, when advantage was taken to have one night's performance. That was in 1858. The house was crowded, and the actor apologised for having to play in his every-day costume, as his wardrobe was in Sydney. His first appearance was on the 10th of May, 1855, the play 'Othello' (in which he always opened). The Iago was Richard Younge ; the Cassio, Robert Heir ; Fanay Cathcart, Desdemona; Emilia, Mrs Guerin; the Brabantes, 'old Lambert.' But , Othello was not Brooke's only character, though it was the best of his Shakespearian. As Sir Giles Overreach, in 'A New Way to Pay Old Debts,' he was simply superb, his final scene being simply appalling. Mr. Barton told me that it equalled Edmund Kean's best effort, and Sir Giles was Kean's masterpiece outside Shakespearian drama. As Martin Walter in 'The Hunchback,' Matlow Elmore, ('Love's Sacrifice'), Virginius, and, characters of that stamp, no man has yet appeared in Australia to equal Brooke. He was the first to bring out here 'Louis XI.,' a part played by him in strong contrast to Charles Kean's rendering of the same character. It will be remembered that when Louis is plotting murder, the Angelus bell sounds, and the hoary old sinner takes off his cap ,to pray to the relics affixed to the headgear. Kean's rendering of that part caused the audience to laugh. Brooke was so solemn that the audience was hushed at the hypocrisy of the wretched monarch. But it was not alone in the heavy drama that Brooke flourished. His Irish comedy has never been excelled. The memory of his Felix O'Callaghan in 'On His Last Legs' can never fade. As Captain Murphy Maguire he kept the audience in a simmer of merriment from start to finish. The same with Pierce O'Hara in 'The Irish Attorney.' In low Irish comedy, of the John Drew and William O'Neill type, Brooke was a failure. He could act the gentleman, but not the bog-trotter.
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A good authority, Frank Brewer, in a little work published some years ago, entitled 'The Drama and Music in Australia,' says 'Brooke's reputation preceded him to Australia. His mental talents for the profession were of the highest order and his physical organisation was admirable. To a classical face of the Roman type and a well-formed majestic figure, was united a voice of exceptional volume and roundness, which he inflected with consummate skill. He was well educated, and had the manners of a polished gentleman. These natural and acquired elements to Brooke, to which a fine conceptive faculty was allied, eminently fitted him for the highest position in the realms of dramatic art. From 1848 to the time of his departure from England, he was probably one of the most popular actors in the United Kingdom yet; strange to say, the London critics and venerable playgoers were lukewarm towards him. Brooke certainly extracted from them unalloyed praise, his Master Walter was beyond the reach of cavil; but the admirers of Phelps and Charles Kean were so far prejudicial (no other word will express the exact state of feeling towards Brooke), that he was denied in London that full measure of approbation which was undoubtedly his due, without in any way detracting from the genius of Phelps, or the abilities, improved so much by study, of Kean. True; at times, Brooke was unequal to his performances. So was Edmund Kean, but in has great characters, when he rose to the top of his genius in Othello, Sir Giles, Master Walter, Matthew Elmore, Virginius, and others of his fine impersonations, he had in his best days no superior. High as was the opinion formed of Brooke in Sydney, he surpassed their expectations. The verdict was that he was the finest actor that had up to that time visited Australia. Had he devoted himself to comedy, particularly Irish comedy, he might have equalled Collins. In two characters he has not been surpassed in the colonies— Captain Murphy Maguire In “The Lerwin Family,” and O'Callaghan in “On His Last Legs.” The latter he made especially his own, and convulsed the audience with his amusing presentation of the volatile Irish gentleman reduced to the condition of living on his wits.
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In 1861, William Bede Dalley went to England as Immigration Lecturer, and in the same ship — the Great Britain— went G. V. Brooke. Dalley could appreciate talent in any man, and when the news of Brooke's death reached the colony, Dalley gave his opinion of the great actor to the world :— 'With one exception, that of Mr. Phelps, Mr. Brooke was unquestionably the first interpreter of Shakespeare upon the British stage. His physical advantages, voice, face, dignity of presence, instinctive gracefulness, were much greater than even those of Macready's great successor. But in subtle renderings, profound study and thought, Mr. Phelps was as no one more heartily acknowledged, than Mr. Brooke himself, the grander actor. I institute no comparison between him and a gentleman who recently visited this country, the bearer of a great dramatic name —Mr. Kean— and whose reputation is identified with spectacular representation in England, and my reason is simply this: that it would be a reflection upon the memory of Mr. Brooke to do so. Those who have never left this country, and whose acquaintance with the drama is exclusively derived from Mr. Brooke's acting, may be assured that in many respects nothing grander could be seen anywhere. The most fastidious critic was conquered into loving admiration by the mingled tenderness and terror of his Othello; while none could resist the melting softness of his accents in the last awful scene of fantastic sadness in which the noble Lear mingles 'matter and impertinency, reason and madness.' And then the life-like pictures of our own dear Irish humour and pathos, bringing, back to us by the magic of tone and gesture, scenes and times, and pleasures and sufferings. Where shall we ever see these again? In the Irish impersonations of Mr. Brooke one thing was very noticeable — no matter how low the character, there was always some hint of the gentleman in the performance. We have had many stage Irishmen in the colonies, notably Hudson, William O'Neill, John Drew, and John Collins, besides our local William Andrews, but none of them were ever on the same level as Brooke in portraying the Irish gentleman.
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When its good work could be of no service to the actor, then full fathom five in the Bay of Biscay, the -'London Times' pronounced a eulogy:— 'In January, 1848, Brooke appeared at the old Olympic Theatre, then under the management of Mr. Davidson. Virtually this was his first appearance in London, and not often has the approaching debut of an actor produced so large an amount of curiosity as in the case of G. V. Brooke. He had many offers from the metropolitan managers, but had refused them all, and these frequent negotiations, accompanied with news of brilliant successes in the provinces, kept his name before the Londoners, who 18 years ago were much more excitable on the subject of tragedy than they are at present. His performance of Othello, the part chosen for his first appearance, at once secured him a wide popularity. He repeated the part to creditable audiences for 30 successive nights, and for some weeks in 1848 he stood high amongst the theatrical lions of London, lively discussions as to his merits taking place in every assemblage where plays and players formed a topic of conversation. His physical advantages were very great. He had handsome and expressive features ; his figure was tall and commanding; and, above all, his voice not only rich and sonorous, but singularly capable of extremes of light and shade. It was in giving expression to violent emotions that be turned these natural gifts to the best account, and the storms of passion which distinguished his Othello and his Sir Giles Overreach were certain, in his best days, of commanding the tumultuous applause of thousands. He owed his proficiency not to crabbed art, but to fresh, healthy nature, and the 'inspired genius' is always a popular figure. A similar belief was entertained earlier in the century with respect to Edmund Kean, and among the theatrical gossips of 1848 those were not wanting who saw in G. V. Brooke the tragedian upon whom the mantle of Kean had fallen. In 1854 he took leave of the London public, and proceeded to Australia, where, as in America, his success was prodigious. He returned to London, after seven years' absence, in 1862, and again appeared as Othello at Drury Lane. When he perished in the s.s. London he was on his way to Melbourne to fulfil an engagement.'
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Just here I may be permitted to mention that Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Steele (Miss Adelaide Bowering) were engaged in London to support Brooke in his second tour in Australia. Mr. and Mrs. Steele came out in the sailing ship Western Ocean. I do not know whether the London passenger list was full, or Mr. George Coppin had on him a fit of economy, but it was fortunate for Mr. and Mrs. Steele that they came in the sailing ship. Mr. Steele informed me that the first they heard of the dreadful disaster to the London was from the pilot at Port Phillip Heads. I had the melancholy pleasure of spending an afternoon with Mr. Steele during the week. At 72 years of age he is still in good bodily health, but, alas! a cancer has attacked his tongue, and the once sweet voice of the well-graced actor is now merely a gutteral sound. Yet he bears his great misfortune with calm dignity, and is resignedly awaiting, as he says, 'the roll call.' Mrs. Steele died a few years ago in London.
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It was in the old theatre at Cork that Brooke made some of his earlier successes. In Dublin he was simply idolised. The houses he drew were packed. In Australia his countrymen rallied round him, and but for his weakness in the matter of strong drink his seven years' residence in Australia would have been a huge money success. I think, soon after the completion of his first engagement with Mr. Coppin, Mr . Brooke entered into partnership with that gentleman. They had a magnificent property to work upon. The Theatre Royal, the Olympic Theatre, and last, but not least, the splendid Cremorne Gardens, which had within its boundaries a bijou theatre, known as the Pantheon. Brooke appeared at the two first named, the Pantheon being given over to domestic drama of the drawing-room order. Cremorne Gardens were started by Mr. Coppin in 1856, little steamers plying on the Yarra conveying the patrons. They were grand times those old Cremorne days. A time came when Brooke and Coppin separated, the tragedian selecting the Theatre Royal as his share of the property, Mr. Coppin retaining the Gardens and the Olympic — the best end of the stick I have always thought. He (Brooke) engaged Robert Heir as his stage and general manager, Mrs. Heir being leading lady. Brooke was not content to sit at home at his ease, as the old song has it, but accepted engagements in all the cities and towns of the now Commonwealth. Bob Heir was not a success as a manager. I am afraid he was given to the production of plays which were calculated to 'show off' himself and his wife. Mrs. Heir was getting somewhat stale; in fact, the 'Argus' rudely told her that it was time she dropped Desdemona and took up Emelia; but what leading actress was ever known to adopt the advice of the press ? Mrs. Heir did not, though I think on one occasion she did play Emelia 'just to oblige' someone — Barry Sullivan, I think. To Bob Heir succeeded, as manager, a sterling old Sydney actor, Henry Edwards, who had joined with him in the management George Fawcett Rowe, but known only to us as George Fawcett. There were three brothers — George, Sandford, and Tom. Sandford generally looked after the front of the house, though on one occasion he played the part of Lord George Gordon in Fawcett Rowe's adaptation of Dickens' "Barnaby Rudge." The rule of Edwards and Fawcett continued some time, Brooke occasionally appearing in his best character, but unfortunately for himself, taking no interest in the working of the theatre. It was under the Edwards-Fawcett management that Brooke appeared in two original characters—in a one-act play, by Marston, I think, entitled 'Dreams of Delusion,' in which he performed the character of a mad doctor to perfection. The other original character was in a drama by R. H. Horne. 'The Death of Marlowe.' I am, however, not quite clear upon the point whether Brooke or Edwards played the leading part. The two little pieces held the stage for a week or so and then dropped out.
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While managing the Theatre Royal for G. V. Brooke, Edwards and Fawcett were also running the old Princess' in Spring-street, one of the very few theatres which escaped the ususal fate of theatres— fire— and where Marie Duret, Le Roy, Joseph Jefferson, and some other good men and women first appeared. Why and how Edwards, Fawcett, and Brooke "fell out," and George Coppin again fell in— don't misunderstand the phrase— with Gustavus Vaughan Brooke will be told another time.

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.
*********
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.
*************
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.
**********
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.
***********
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.'
***********
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.

Charles Lamb, in an essay on some old actors, remarks that the casual sight of on old playbill which he had picked up brought back such a flood of memories that he was constrained to 'write them up.' Lamb says : 'These old remembrances makes us feel how we once used to read a play-bill, not as now, peradventure, singling out a favorite performer, and casting, a negligent eye over the rest, but spelling out every name, to the very mutes and servants of the scene.' This was written over 80 years ago, and the words are applicable to-day. There is no greater delight to an old playgoer than in turning over a sheaf of old play-bills and living in the past, and with these dead and gone actors recalling happy days that are no more.

Next, perhaps, to the delight of recalling the actors and actresses of our boyhood days is the present delight of running through old books and papers, musty with age; when in search perhaps of one object you light upon another and are equally a gainer of pleasure. One day recently, to get rid of some cobwebs which had gathered about the brain, I strolled among some of my old familiar friends, the second-hand booksellers of Sydney, and in the shop of Mr. J. Murphy, 22 Castlereagh-street, I came across what was to me an almost priceless treasure, a copy of the play-bill of the opening night of the old Queen's Theatre, Melbourne, now nearly 60 years ago. Mr. Murphy very kindly presented me with the relic, and as it brings back to earth, in memory, some of our ancient favorites, I may be excused for quoting it in extenso.

QUEEN'S THEATRE ROYAL,

QUEEN-STREET, MELBOURNE.

OPENING NIGHT.

THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 1, 1845.

The proprietor having completed his arrangements for the opening of the New Theatre Royal, Queen-street, on the above-named evening, has the honor of announcing to the patrons of the drama —the public of Melbourne and its vicinity—that he had secured all the available talent in the province, and is in communication with neighbouring colonies for the purpose of adding strength to his company.

Previous to the rising of the curtain an opening address will be delivered by Mr. Nesbitt.

ON THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 1, the performances will commence with Tobin's celebrated Comedy (in five acts),

THE HONEYMOON.

Duke Aranga ……………… Mr. Nesbitt

Balthazar ………………….. Mr. Capper

Count Montalban …………. Mr. Boyd

Rolando ………………….... Mr. Cameron

Jacques …………………….. Mr. Lee

Lampedo ………………...… Mr. Cochrane

Campillo …………………... Mr. C. Boyd

Lopez ……………………… Mr. Miller

Servant …………………….. Mr. Jacobs

Juliana ……………………... Mrs. Cameron

Zamora …………………….. Mrs. Knowles

Volanto …………………….. Mrs. Boyd

Hostess …………………….. Mrs. Avins

Villagers …………………… Messrs. Jones and Smith

In Act 4 a rustic dance incidental to the Comedy.

End of the Comedy, an Admired Song by Mrs. Knowles; a Comic Song by Mr. Miller.

To conclude with the laughable Farce of the

UNFINISHED GENTLEMEN ;

or

BELLES, BEAUX, CANTABS AND TIGERS.

Lord Totterley (an

Adonis of 60) ………………. Mr. Capper

Hon. Frisk Flammer ………... Mr. Boyd

Jem Miller (an Incipient tiger

or gentleman's gentleman)….. Mr. Miller

Charles Danvers ……………. Mr. C. Boyd

Bill Downey (an unfinished

gentleman, a polished philoso-

pher) ………………………… Mr. Lee

Bailiffs ………………………. Messrs. Cochrane and Jones

Louisa (with songs) ………..... Mrs. Knowles

Chintz ……………………..… Mrs. Cameron

Doors open at half-past 6. Performance to commence at 7 precisely.

Dress circle 5s, half-price 3s ; upper Circle 4s, half-price 2s ; pit 2s 6d, half price 1s 6d ; gallery 1s 6d, no half price.

Proprietor, Mr. Smith ; stage manager, Mr. Nesbitt; mechanist, Mr. Capper.

Vivat Regina.

* * *

Mrs. Avins was the last of the thespians who opened the "old Queen's" to "Pass over." She died in the Actors' Homes, built by Mr. George Coppin some years ago. Mrs. Avis had been a subscriber to the Dramatic and Musical Fund founded by Mr. Coppin, which gave her a claim on the Homes, of which she availed herself.

Mr. Capper died between the ages of 80 and 90 years. I had the pleasure of meeting the ancient on more than one occasion, long after he had retired from the stage. He was particularly fond of reminiscing both in the newspapers and on the platform and was as full of old lore as the hungriest antiquarian could desire. Mr. Capper wrote a book, about which more at another time.

Six weeks later, the success of Mr. John Thomas Smith's theatre having precipitated matters, Mr. George Coppin, with a company, crossed over from Launceston, under the following agreement ; —

''Theatre, Launceston,

“May 30, 1845.

“We, the undersigned, hereby agree to proceed to Melbourne by the brig Swan, and to perform there under the management of George Coppin, Esq., for a season, and to return to Launceston when required, he paying passages both ways; and we also bind ourselves under a penalty of £25— to be paid to the said George Coppin— that we will not perform at the Melbourne Theatre, or any other place of amusement, unless it is under the management of the said George Coppin, or by his free will and consent.

'”Signed) Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young, Mrs. and Miss Thompson, Messrs. F. B. Watson, E. A. Opie, J. Hambleton, J. Wilks, B. Rae, J. Megson, W. Howson, A. Howson, and A. M'Donald.”

Mr . Opie, or one of the same name, was a scene painter, and Mr. J. Megson was leader of the orchestra.

On arrival Mr, Coppin found that he could not come to terms with Mr. J. T. Smith, who, by the way, was also the proprietor of the St. John's Tavern, next door, and sooner then be "stuck," or allow the monopolist to dictate his own terms, Mr. Coppin engaged the large room at the Royal Hotel, in Collins-street, where afterwards stood the well-known and much-frequented, and where now stands the Union Bank of Australia, with a firm determination to oppose the theatre. John Thomas Smith appears to have taken fright at the energy of the man from Launceston, and came to terms. What these terms were, Mr. Smith announced in his playbill:-

QUEEN'S THEATRE ROYAL,

Queen-street, Melbourne.

The proprietor is happy to announce to his friends and the public generally that he has entered into an agreement with Mr. Coppin and the entire of his Corps Dramatique, to perform alternate nights with the present company for one month only. Trusting the greatest combination of talent ever witnessed in any of the colonies will receive the patronage and support it will ever be his study to deserve.

On Saturday evening, June 21, 1845, the entertainments will commence with Sir E. Lytton Bulwer's celebrated play (In five acts), entitled the

LADY OF LYONS.

Claude Melnotte ………… Mr, Charles Young

Colonel Damas ………….. Mr. Rogers

Beauseant ……………….. Mr. Thompson

Glavis …………………… Mr. Coppin

Mons. Deschappelles Mr. Watson

Pauline ………………….. Mrs. Coppin

Madame Deschappelles … Mrs. Watson

Previous to the play, and during the

evening, the band will play : — Overture, 'Italiana in Algero' (Rossini); overture, 'Fra DiaVolo' (Auber); .quadrille, 'Royal Irish' (Julien).

Wreath dance ……………. Mrs. Chas. Young

Song—

'Should He Upbraid 'Me …. Mrs. Rogers

Comic song ……………… Mrs Hambleton

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young will dance the 'Tarantella,' in the costume of the country.

To be followed by an entirely new interlude (never acted here), called

THE FOUR SISTERS.

An entirely new comic double, Irish Jig by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young.

The whole to conclude with the very laughable farce of the

TURNPIKE GATE.

Crack the Cobbler …………. Mr. Coppin

Joe Standfast ………………. Mr. Rogers

Nights of performances during the present month Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

On Monday night will be produced Howard Payne's celebrated tragedy of

BRUTUS,

By the members of the Melbourne Company.

On Tuesday evening will be produced the celebrated comedy of

THE SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER,

And a variety of entertainments by the Launceston Company.

The prices of admission and the time of opening were as on the first night of the theatre.

*************

Sixty years ago the playgoers of Melbourne got enough for their money. Those who recollect Charlie Young as a comedian will try to imagine him as Claude Melnotte, and then the Tarantella and double Irish jig! and the afterwards classic Mrs. Charles Young-Herman Vezin dancing a double Irish jig. I won der what London Haymarket audiences would have thought of it. However, it would appear as if, in the long ago, all thespians engaged for general utility and general usefulness. You won't require the fingers of one hand to count those of these double bills who new remain on earth.

After a time the amalgamation of the companies took place under the sole management of Mr. Coppin, Mr. J. T. Smith (the proprietor) taking a share of the profits for his rent. I have obtained an insight into the methods and cost of working an early-day theatre. Leading actors in 1845 received from 30s to 40s a week, and were satisfied. Ten years afterwards the same class of actor got from £7 to £12 per week. The entire working of the Queen's Theatre in 1845, with the combined companies, in expenses, was under £60 a week. What profits the manager and lessee must have divided !

What accounts we read of the same old Queen's in the golden roaring 'fifties, when red-shirted, sun-browned diggers, 'lucky diggers' lounged in the dress circle, smoked their pipes, called out to their acquaintances in other parts of the house, pelted their favorites on the stage with golden nuggets, and drank champagne at fabulous prices, ate and drank, sang and danced, as if the good times were never to end. And while the theatres crowded nightly with prices quadrupled, the St. John's Tavern adjoining did a roaring trade. John Thomas Smith, a Magistrate and a member of the City Council, raked the shekels into the till in bucketfuls. The daily and nightly saturnalia beggared description. The time and place are apropos for an incident, which occurred in the early days of the Queen's Theatre and St. John's Tavern.

In July 1846, the neighborhood of the theatre was the scene of an alarming riot, which kept Melbourne in some excitement for more than a week, and threatened at one period to end in a

general fight between Orangemen and Roman Catholics. The Orangemen decided to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne by a banquet in the Pastoral Hotel, which stood on the north-east corner of Queen and Little Bourke streets. The building was

decorated for the occasion, and Orange flags were displayed on polls from the windows facing Queen-street. This display aroused the passions of the R.C's., who assembled in hundreds round the Pastoral Hotel, many on both sides being armed. The Mayor, James Frederick Palmer, hurried to the spot. He ordered the door of the hotel to be opened, and entered, for the purpose of putting a stop to the riot ; but the R.C's., now finding the door opened, rushed through the hallway to the staircase, where they

were met by the Orangeman, and a regular battle ensued.

J. F. Palmer was a medical man, who, on arrival in Melbourne, found that the manufacture of gingerbeer and cordials would pay better than would the vending of Epsom salts and jalap. Palmer in after life became Speaker of the mixed Legislative Council, and President of the Legislative Council under Responsible Government. The doctor was squat, fat man, with a pair of calves that would have been the envy of Dr. Dill Macky to-day.

The crowd in front fired into the hotel, and 'Yellow-bellies' quickly responded. At this moment Father Geoghegan arrived and attempted to restrain his parishioners. As the good old padre (he was the first priest in Melbourne, and became Bishop of Adelaide); was in some danger of getting an ounce of lead, John O'Shannassy and a Mr. Hurley went over to his rescue, when Hurley got a bullet in the shoulder. Another man, drinking a glass of ale in the bar of the St. John's Tavern was badly wounded in the cheek, the shot having crashed through the bar window. The riot now was at its height; the doors, windows, and the furniture of the Pastoral Hotel were demolished ; the one party attacking the building and endeavoring to force an entrance, the other , defending every inch of ground. Fortunately some soldiers appeared upon the scene, and temporary peace was secured.

The R.C/s were induced to disperse by the promise of Dr. Palmer, and his brother magistrates that the Orange dinner should not total place. Three or four persons were badly wounded in the riots. Several of the Orange party were taken into custody and bound over to keep the peace. Mr. William Hinds, a grocer of Queen-street, was charged with firing the shot which wounded Mr. Hurley, and was committed for trial. The town was alarmed the whole of the night by skirmishes between detachments of both factions. On the following day the rival

greens and yellows assembled in different parts of the town. The whole of the hotels were closed by order of the authorities. Many of the shops were shut, and a dense fog, perhaps opportunely settled down upon the town. The police and military were called out, and having formed in Market-street, proceeded to an hotel in Flinders-street, where fifty Orangemen were assembled, but who quickly dispersed when the military and police appeared. They next proceeded to the top of Flinders-street, where afterwards stood the Stork Hotel, where some eighty Roman Catholics were assembled. After some hesitation these were persuaded to go to their several homes. The town was put under martial law for the night, and the soldiers bivouacked in Collins-street, opposite the Royal Exchange Hotel, which stood where the Bank of New South Wales stood thirty years ago. This riot gave birth to the Party Processions Act, prohibiting any party flag from being explayed under any circumstances in the colony of New South Wales, an Act more honored in the breech than in the observance.

The old Princess' Theatre, in Spring street, was built in 1854 by Mr. G. B. W. Lewis, who married Rose Edouin. It was of corrugated iron, and called Astley's Amphitheatre; and therein, with a good stud of trained horses, gave the uproarious diggers the delight of a circus. In 1857 John Black, who built the Theatre Royal in Bourke-street, bought the place, and, by adding a stage, etc., converted it into the Princess' Theatre, wherein Joseph Jefferson made

his first appearance. Of the great American actor-manager more hereafter. While George Coppin was building the Olympic — or 'iron pot'— John Black was building the Theatre Royal. That was in 1855. Mr. Black, in three years, made a huge fortune— or 'pile,' as the diggers named it— as a carrier between Melbourne and the diggings. His long line of drags and wagons were the means of supplying thousands of diggers with the necessaries of life, as much as £100 a ton being paid as freight to Bendigo, 100 miles from Melbourne. Mr. Black's great ambition was to own a theatre, and a fine building he erected. It was the first building lighted with gas in the city. The streets were then lighted with oil lamps, though a company had been formed, and was building its works on the Yarra. Mr. Black, however, built his own retorts, and made his own gas. Black thought that he could manage a theatre as well as he did his horse and bullock teams, but he found to his cost that the two enterprises took a totally different stamp of man to control. After a year of small successes and some heavy failures he leased the theatre to George Coppin, who immediately transferred G. V. Brooke and his company from the 'iron pot' to the Bourke-street establishment. The Theatre Royal was opened with 'The School for Scandal,' Mr. G. H. Rogers being the Sir Peter Teazle. The old Royal had many ups and downs from the first day that John Black opened it, and numerous owners, mortgagees, lessees and managers tried their luck in it. Few, outside the actual covenanting parties, knew who really did own the Royal. Fred. Bayne, the solicitor, had some big interest in it in the late fifties, as he claimed and got the free use of a stage box. The dress circle entrance was on a different leasehold, and at one time complications were threatened. In the late fifties Brooke and Coppin were lessees. The pair dissolving partnership, Brooke retained the Royal, Coppin taking the old Olympic and the Cremorne Gardens. Brooke at this time should have been worth £50,000. Henry Edwards and George Faucett Rowe became managers after Bob Heir had resigned. Brooke went travelling, and things got messed up generally. Then Ambrose Kyte, with a rent roll of about £10,000 a year, came in, lending the management money and getting the lease as security. He put Barry Sullivan in, and for some years the Royal was the best-conducted theatre in the Southern Hemisphere.

(To be continued.)

There died in Melbourne, last week, one who may be termed the mother of the Australian stage, if 90 years of life can give the lady a claim to the title. Mrs. Theodosia Stewart was the widow of Richard Stewart, comedian, who died but last year, and has been a figure in Australian theatres for over two generations. My first recollection of Mrs. Stewart was in the year 1861, if my memory is not playing me a trick, when she came from Sydney to Melbourne with her husband, Richard Stewart, and a small family of three girls and one son. But Mrs. Guerin was even then a veteran on the stage. She had appeared years before at the old Victoria Theatre in Pitt-street, and had a splendid record. Her first husband, I am informed, was a Mr. Stirling—what his occupation was I have at present no knowledge. On his death she married a Mr. Guerin, who, I think, had a seat in the orchestra. I have before me a playbill of the:
ROYAL VICTORIA THEATRE
of August 2, 1851,
'When will be produced a drama of intense interest, entitled 'Therese, or the Orphan of Geneva.' Carwin, Mr. Willis; Fountain, Mr. Griffiths ; Picard, Mr. G. H. Rogers ; Lavigne, Mr. F. Howson ; Therese, Mrs. Guerin ; Bridget, Mrs. Gibbs ; Nannette, Miss A. Hart. Flute solo with variations, Mr. Robert ...hen; ballad, ''A Lovely Youth," Madame Carandini; drum polka, Miss F. Griffiths ; ballad, 'The Keepsake,' Madame Sara Flower ; song, 'Those Odious Diggings.' Mr. John Howson. The whole to conclude with the extravaganza of "The Loves of Lord Bateman and the Fair Sophia.''
That is just 53 years, the lady then being 37. Here is another bill which may be quoted, as the entertainment took place two nights after, and Mrs. Guerin was in the cast :
ROYAL VICTORIA THEATRE.
Under the patronage of the Captain and Officers of the Oriental and Peninsular Steam Navigation Company's steamship Chusan, For the Benefit of Madame Sara Flower, On Monday Evening, August 23. The performance will commence with the Grand Operatic Drama, entitled, "The Female Mascaroni; or, The Fair Brigands." Dance, Miss F. Griffiths. Grand instrumental trio arranged from Meyerbeer’s opera of "Il Clociato" for piano, violin, and violincello. Madame Sara Flower, Mr. A. Moore, and Mr. Frank Howson. Duet : 'As it Fell Upon a Day.' Madame Sara Flower and Mrs. Guerin. To be followed by the interlude, 'Sent to the Tower.' Comic Song : 'Seven Ages,' Mr. G. H. Rogers. Favorite Song, Madame Carandini. The whole to conclude with the farce, "Out on the Loose". Boxes may be secured on application at the Royal Victoria Theatre. Tickets may be obtained of Messrs. Woolcott and Clarke, Lower George-street; and at Madame Sara Flower's residence, Riley-street, South Head-road.

There is much food for reflection in these two playbills. How often have I listened enraptured to the notes of poor Sara Flower, sweetest of singers: or hung on the notes of Carandini. No mention here of the four daughters who afterwards grew in beauty, and became as famous as their mother; and G. H. Rogers, of whom I wrote quite recently in a comic song, 'The Seven Ages.' I heard him in it once. Sara Flower rested in the old Devonshire-strict Cemetery, near Rosalie Durand, and both have been removed to La Perouse; Carindini died not long ago in England, The Howsons went to California; and now the last of a long list, Mrs. Guerin-Stewart, has gone over, at the age of 90 years.

In Melbourne, Mrs. Guerin appeared but at intervals, and then purely in drama, I never heard her sing, excepting in the chorus of witches in 'Macbeth,' while her husband was the Hecate. Lock's music was always given then with Shakespeare's tragedy. Mr. Stewart was always employed, and at a good salary, before he became one of the six who had leased the Royal ('Sportsman,' l3/7/'04). In addition, the family was growing up, and required tuition, which the mother was fully qualified to give. Docy (Theodosia) was the first to face the footlights ; Maggie next, quickly followed by Nellie and Dick, jun., the latter two being Stewarts, the two former Guerins. When Mr. Richard Stewart retired from the stage he was possessed of sufficient means to keep himself and wife comfortable in their old age, but, like Mr. H. R. Harwood, he lost all in the boom days ! At an advanced age Mr. Stewart returned to work ; his occupation being that of treasurer to one of the big theatrical firms. This position he filled until his death, a couple of years ago.

Henry R. Harwood was married thrice, his first wife was a great Melbourne favorite, Miss Mortimer. She made Harwood the actor he was. His second wife was not, I think, upon the stage. On her death he married Mrs. Collins, a widow, but better known to us as Docy Stewart, who survives him. Richard Stewart, junior, married one of the Deorwyns. Though broken in fortune in her great age, Mrs. Guerin-Stewart was lovingly looked after by Dick and the girls. In 1857, in a Sydney directory, 'Mrs. Guerin, actress,' resided at 97 Woolloomooloo-street, right opposite George Commins' Cottage of Content Hotel.

*****

The programme of Madame Sara Flower's benefit is interesting in many particulars The Chusan was the first P. and O. mail boat to enter Sydney Harbor, the first of a long line of splendid steamers. To celebrate the arrival of the steamer a grand ball was given, at which such reverend seigniors as Stuart Alexander Donaldson, James Martin, Charles Nicholson, W. C. Wentworth, and other notabilities acted as stewards. Four hundred applications for tickets had been made and were 'considered' by the stewards. How many were refused we know not, but no doubt the exclusives were exclusive, and made many hearts ache by refusals

******

Apropos Charles Dillon ('Sportsman,' 25/5/'04), a correspondent writes that the Dillons in Sydney in 1863 were a decided success, and that they elevated the drama in this city. They appeared at the old Victoria on April 4, the house then being under the management of Raphael Tolano, the initial piece being 'Louis XI,' a drama first played in Australia by G. V. Brooke, and subsequently made famous by Charles Kean, it being one of that actor's best characters. I think Kean was the original Louis XI. Supporting Dillon at the Vic. was Henry Neil Warner, a grand actor, who never did himself justice. He always reminded me of a great actor in the English provinces, who made periodical appearances in Dublin, his native city, T. C. King. Just here let me interpolate an anecdote. When G. V. Brooke was last in Dublin, he, with J. L. Toole, went to visit T. C. King in Queen's-square. "Everybody thought that King was dying, and he certainly looked as if he had not long to live. "We went into his bedroom"— I am quoting Tco'e— "and I was very much impressed with the sorrowful manner in which they erected each other, their deep, rich voices adding to the solemnity of the occasion. Poor Brooke was much moved at the close. 'Well, my dear Tom,' he said, 'Please Good, you'll soon get better.' 'God bless you, Gus, you're very kind, but we'll never meet again.' Brooke leaned over the bed, and kissed King very tenderly on the forehead, and said, 'Good-bye ' We had a cab at the door. When we got into it Brooke said, 'Poor Tom! I fear he is right. We shall never see the dear fellow again.' Brooke sailed a few days after for Australia, and was drowned at sea." T. C. King lived for many years after. He was alive in 1888, according to J. L. Toole.

* * *

Getting back to Dillon and his sup ports in 1863. Fred Younge, Charles Burford, F. C. Appleton, J. Hall, Sam Howard, Danie's (? which), J. P. West, Jas. Hasker, H. Clifford, and C. W. Barry, the latter a sterling actor of the old school of tragedians. The ladies were — Mrs. Dillon. Mrs. Charles Poole, Mrs. Fred Younge, Mrs. Charles Jones, and some others more or less noted. Charles Dillon had, I admit, a long list of characters in which he shone — 'The Gamester' (to my mind this was Charles Kean's greatest part), 'Wild Oats,' 'Ruy Blas,' 'The Willow Copse,' 'The Wife's Secret,' etc. No doubt in his prime, or when I saw him in Dublin in the early fifties, he was great in these char actors, but he had become stale when I saw him, in 1863, in Australia. An anecdote of John Dunn ('Sportsman,' 20/7/04). The Zavistowski Sisters were playing at Bendigo. The Zavs were a mother and two daughters. In the company at Bendigo was John Dunn, 'Cast-iron Jack,' as he was call ed. A local scribe expressed his dissatisfaction with the Zav trio. and especially with the mother, whom, I think, he accused of having swindled a washerwoman out of her weekly wash bill, or was it Madame who accused the newspaper man of having bilked the laundress? Anyhow, Madame provided herself with a greenhide whip, and, waylaying the ink slinger, laid it lustily about his shoulders. A police court case resulted, Madame being summoned for assault. The court was crowded, of course, and much amusement resulted from the trial. The bench of magistrates considered that an assault had been committed, but under great provocation, and fined the defendant Zav one shilling. Then 'Cast-iron Jack' strutted to the table, and, dumping down a handful of silver, handed melodramatically to the clerk, the required coin.

*****

In the course of this series I have had occasion to make mention of Avonia Jones, who became the wife of the lamented G. V. Brooke, in Liverpool, in 1863 ('Sportsman,' 25/5/04.). In the year 1860 the dead walls and hoardings of Melbourne were plentifully adorned with huge posters, printed by Charlwood and Son, and Shaw, Harnett and Co., announcing that Mrs. Melinda Jones and Avonia Jones, mother and daughter, had arrived, and would appear at an early date. In those times Thespians were not heralded as they are to-day— three or four months before arrival. They just dropped in, as it were, from the, clouds, and did their 'fixings' on arrival. The Jones's had arrived at a period when there was a decided lull in matters theatrical. Prior to the Ladies from the States, we had numerous tragic stars, Mr. and Mrs. James Stark, Mary Provost, G. V. Brooke, Nesbitt M'Cron, Clarence Holt, M'Kean Buchanan, a spluttering actor, , who had one good character, Sir Har- court Courtley ('London Assurance'), ; and Henry Neil Warner. While G. V. Brooke held the Australian stage as the 'greatest tragedian of the age,' no great actor in the higher walks of the drama visited these shores. When Brooke left the colonial stage clear, Barry Sullivan arrived, having as his agent Mr. J. H. Wilton, who came in a similar capacity with G. V. Brooke. Then Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean appeared upon the scene, Engineered by Mr. George Coppin. Then we had Montgomery Howe, James Anderson, Creswick, etc., so that in 1860, when Mrs. and Miss Jones arrived, they at once filled the public eye— Mrs. Jones physically, Avonia mentally. The mother, a weighty woman, made but one appearance, when she played Romeo to her daughter's Juliet. I cannot say that she conveyed to me an agreeable idea of the love-sick young gentleman of Verona. The latter was corpulent, and displayed wealth of limb which was certainly not practical. Mrs. Jones had filled a leading position on the American stage, and the daughter, who was born in 1836, clung to her for domestic reasons, with a tenacity which was described as 'filial even to piety.' The father of Avonia Jones, the Count Joannes, was a vain eccentric, yet clever author, and actor. Why the wife separated from him and took the daughter with her need not be dealt with now ; suffice it that, in the opinion of her friends, she acted wisely. Miss Jones, it is said, inherited nothing from her father but his good looks and great ability. Her personal gifts were 'tall. well-made, with a lithe form and expressive  features and voice. She seemed born to become a tragedy queen. A classic head, wreathed with hair as dark as a raven's wing, and a complexion that was clear, though colorless, surmounted a figure that regularly responded in every phase of emotion she was called upon to Portray. Such was the enthusiastic eulogy passed upon the lady by a critic of the day, a critic who still lives and occasionally criticises; I cannot enthuse as did this writer, as I have a distinct recollection of certain Americanisms and a touch of nasal twang. Had she lived and studied, Miss Jones would have made a great actress. Her Medea was perhaps her best piece of acting; but later on when playing with Brooke, she made a great Lady Macbeth. Another great hit was in 'As You Like It.' and as Beatrice in 'Much Ado About Nothing,' although on one occasion poor Brooke, as Benedict, was so "overcome" that the performance was sadly marred. Space does not permit of going through her list of characters, but no actress of her age — she was but 32 when she died— had played such a round of characters and played them so well.

*****

In 1861 she went to England with her mother and G. V. Brooke, and appeared at Drury Lane theatre, where she created a marked sensation. In Birmingham Brooke was arrested for debt and had to go through the Bankruptcy Court. On his release he and Miss Jones played at Manchester. At this time they had not been married, and the Manchester "Examiner" thus noticed this performance: "The great and ever interesting tragedy of Macbeth was last night given for the benefit of Miss Jones, who had evidently gained friends among our playgoers during a brief engagement. On this occasion she had procured the services of Mr. Gustavus Brooke, and as this gentleman has not appeared in Manchester for some ten or twelve years there could be no surprise at seeing the house crammed to excess in every part, stalls, boxes, pit, gallery, all equally crowded. Mr. Brooke on his appearance with Banquo on the heath, was received in the most enthusiastic manner, and shared his 'calls' with Miss Jones."

*****

As a truthful chronicler, some not very pleasant facts must be given. Mr. Brooke had a domestic quarrel with the lady whom we all recognised for years in Melbourne as his wife, and the lady left, placing herself under the protection of Mr. Henry Edwards, an old time Sydney actor, well and favorably remembered in the fifties. Mr. Edwards had succeeded Robert Heir as Brooke's manager, and by some means could not make ends meet, hence the quarrel between the two men, in which, possibly, the lady may have had a share of the blame thrust upon her. Mr. Edwards now dead, was in Sydney a few years ago with "Little Lord Fontelroy," He and Mrs. Edwards (Mrs. Brooke that was) kept for many years an hotel at Callao. When Mr. and Mrs, Brooke separated, Avonia Jones brought a good deal of scandal on herself by constantly appearing in the street and elsewhere with the tragedies. It was determined to return to England At that time there was an exodus of actresses and actors from Australia. Miss Jones took a farewell benefit, at which Brooke did not appear. She delivered an address, in which she slated her critics for entrenching upon her private life. One newspaper ungenerously stated the address was written for her by a professional address writer, and that this "beloved parent" was prompting her through the hole in the baize curtain." Mr. Brooke had announced his departure in the ship Suffolk, and as a guarantee that he was at last going, the receipt for the passage money was published in the newspapers. Mrs. and Miss Jones took their passages in the ship The Great Britain, and Brooke went in the same vessel. An army of bailiffs were waiting on Sandridge Pier, to make an arrest. Richard Younge was arrested at the suit of Robert Heir, but promptly settled the claim. (By the way, a very well-informed friend, who knew both gentlemen well, tells me that Richard and Fred Younge were not brothers, a delusion under which I have labored for 55 years.) Miss Jones was arrested at the suit of Mr. R. H. Horne ( "Orion") for £30, the price of a tragedy ordered, but which she refused to accept. Two gentlemen guaranteed to pay any claim Mr. Horne could sustain, and Miss Jones was released. Anxious inquiries were made for Mr. Brooke, but it was not until The Great Britain had sailed that it was assured that the tragedian had got away from our shores. When in Europe and America, Miss Jones kept up a constant correspondence with some Australian friends. In one letter she gave details of the career of Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. Miss Jones knew Booth intimately. He had been her playmate in childhood, and her letter at the time of the tragedy is extremely interesting.

(To be continued.)

At Spiers and Pond's 'Hall by the Sea’, at Margate, when the 'Special Bohemian' of the 'Orchestra' arrived at his destination ('Sportsman,' September 28, 1904), he found 'A crowd, a Tricon playing, surrounded with gas jets, looking as if Spiers and Pond were practising hard to set the Thames on fire, more gas devices and jets over the facade (for which word I am indebted to the 'Standard'), and a large poster, which informed me that Claribel's Ballads were to be sung every night.

***

'On being restored to consciousness'—he does not say how he became unconscious, I have my suspicions — 'I found the concert had commenced. M. Jullian was the conductor; and the programme included the names of Madame Parepa, Mdlle. Liebhart, Miss Eyles, Miss Rose Herssee, Mr. Farquharson, Mr. Weiss, and Mr. Perron (vocalists), Miss Kathleen Ryan, Miss Kate Gordon, and Herr Strauss. Herr Meyer Lutz was the accompanist, The hall was crammed, and the concert went off like one of Spiers and Pond's champagne corks. The orchestra is first-rate, and Jullian conducts with all the chic of his father before him. I never heard popular music more popularly played than the lighter selections on Saturday. As for the singing, we had the pompous Parepa, who was not half so much to my Bohemian taste as the graceful and unpretending Rose Hersee, who sang 'Where the Bee Sucks' in a way that electrified Margate right through the hall and out and across the road, right down to the bathing machines. Then there was Fraulein Liebhardt, who was vociferously recalled for her 'Lover and the Bird' (especially the 'Bird'), and the chivalrous-looking Weiss, who kept his 'Watch at the Fore’, although it was long past that hour, and, of course, his watch must have been awfully slow, although the song wasn't; and there was the terrific basso from the colonies called Farquharson, who accompanied capitally on the piano and sang the 'Wolf' with the most hilarious hilarity. (At this point I had an interview with Spiers and Pond in the refreshment room.) George Perren was then on with Mr. Weiss, and, as by this time the place had been formally opened, the duet was appropriately 'Hall's Well,' after which Miss Kathleen Ryan played a lot of Weber on the piano, and a flutter went through many a manly Margate heart to behold that clever and fascinating young lady, with the large dark eyes, and the power of the wrist, not to mention— (Spiers and Pond have just sent for me). To resume, Miss Kate Gordon also gave us a touch of her very excellent quality on a somewhat obdurate Broadwood, and Miss Eyles having contributed 'The Lady of the Lea,' which the programme informed us was composed by 'Claribel' (Ha! ha! I now see how her songs are to be done every night!), and Spiers and Pond having executed a most successful duet together in the shape of a bow from the orchestra, exhausted nature could do no more, and I rushed off to sup with a noble and intimate friend at No. 4 Royal Crescent. When I emerged from the hall a very beautiful experiment in lights was going on under the direction of my talented and affable friend, Mr. George Dolby. It appeared that whenever the transparencies at the hall were lit up, all the Margate lights, including the pier lights, went down. It had an indescribably beautiful effect, and, as such, reflects great credit on Spiers and Pond. Our old friend Dolby did not seem to see it in the same light, and made severe remarks upon the Gas Company. Mr. Thorne (local assistant of Mr. Hingston, the manager), having been despatched to sit on the gasometer, peace and harmony were restored, and your old Bohemian speedily found his weary form reposing elegantly on a sofa, at No. 4, above distantly referred to. There was hock, much hock, a beautiful balcony, and cigars; also fair women, and a murmurous sea in front. I like the lot, my noble friend , ———.

'Come! (said your own Bohemian to the company generally) unto these yellow Margate sands, with yellow Margate boots on at 4s 6d, and there take hands. Where the wild waves tumble o'er— and in which I shall bathe to-morrow, probably in the afternoon, drinking in the meantime a cup of kindness yet (with a slice of lemon in it) to Spier's and Pond, than whom I——'

(Here our correspondent's letter becomes luckily illegible. We are, however, enabled from other and more trustworthy sources to state that the Margate Hall-by-the-Sea is likely to prove a well-merited success.— Ed.)

***

The old Melbourne Royal and the historic cafe are doomed. After a life of half a century, with a fire midway, the old building, I believe, goes. The history of the Melbourne Theatre Royal will include the history of the best days of the Victorian stage, when the acting was acknowledged to be at his best, and without the adjunct of pretty scenery and elaborate properties. The theatre was built by John Black, a name unknown in theatricals until then, but well known on the road between Melbourne and Sandhurst as a carrier in the early fifties, at a time when carriage meant £100 per ton. Out of his pile Mr. Black built the Royal, and lost his pile. It was opened in 1855 with the 'School for Scandal.' The old Queen's was then open, and doing well, G. V. Brooke being the attraction. The Queen-street house was good enough for the prehistoric days of Melbourne, but with the discovery of gold and the advent of thousands of gold-seekers, and the success of thousands of these in gold finding, the 'playhouse' erected by John Thomas Smith in the forties was found to be inadequate to the public wants.

When George Coppin (whom God preserve) went to England in search of talent, and found G. V. Brooke, he also bethought him that, being such an expensive star-— £300 a week— and he dependent upon one small theatre, was not, in colonial parlance, good enough. Accordingly he made his way to Birmingham, and entered into a contract with Messrs Bellhouse and Co. to build him in sections an iron theatre, capable of holding £300. Mr. Coppin's first agreement with G. V. Brooke was, I believe, for 200 nights at £50, or a total of £10,000. The theatre was named the Olympic, out of compliment to the theatre so named in which, in 1847, G. V. Brooke made his first London appearance. The Melbournites, however, dubbed it the 'Iron Pot,' though it was as pretty and cozy a theatre as anyone could wish. Brooke, however, did not open it; that honor was bestowed on the Wizard Jacobs, as Brooke was playing elsewhere. In 1856 George Coppin became possessed of the Royal. In that year Brooke and Coppin entered into partnership, before, I think, the original engagement was concluded. They separated in 1858, Brooke retaining the Royal, Coppin taking as his share of the assets the 'Iron Pot' and Cremorne Gardens, at which latter place he did a roaring business. It was then, I think, that Brooke commenced to lose money. As I have pointed out before he was not a business man and relied upon others to look after his interests. At first Richard Younge managed for him, then Robert Heir. Henry Edwards, from Sydney, was engaged in the stock company, and George Fawcett was running the old Princess'. On the failure of Heir as manager, Edwards and Fawcett were appointed. Their management ended in disaster. Ambrose Kyte was owner of the building, and had been called upon on many occasions for accommodation cheques to keep the ghost walking. The failure of Edwards and Fawcett, as managers, was the means of healing a breach that had occurred between Coppin and Brooke, and the former returned to the Royal as manager. Its position at this time was not satisfactory. After giving Burton's circus a show, Wilton had it for a while, and under his auspices, in 1862, Barry Sullivan appeared. In 1863 Sullivan showed what he could do in management, and in 1865 William Hoskins and Clarence Holt joined hands, holding together until 1867, when the theatre came under the joint management of six very worthy stage men — J. Chambert, Charles Vincent, H. R. Harwood, Richard Stewart, T. S. Bellard, and John Hennings, the scenic artist. The six held together, and did well for some time. Each man had his allotted duty in management, and did it. The first break in the six was the death of Charles Vincent, occasioned by an accident, deemed of small moment at the time. He had purchased a horse, and was about mounting to go for a ride when the animal became restive and threw the rider; in the fall one of his hands was injured, lockjaw set in, and the popular husband of Miss Cleveland went the way of all flesh. Mr. Lambert went England and ended his days in the village in which he first saw the light. Tom Bellair went into hotel management. He kept the Rainbow at Ballarat for some years, and died in the principal hotel at Wagga Wagga. Harwood retired, and went on a tour to to India and China, I think. The partnership then became Coppin, Greville and Hennings, and Harwood again joined later on. The old Royal Theatre was burned in March, 1872. The piece being performed on the fatal night was the 'Streets of New York,' the hero of which was played by a very capable actor of those days, James Carden, Miss Eloise Juno also being in the company. Mr. G. R. Ireland and all the members of the company suffered losses in wardrobes, etc. The historic cafe was then in the occupation of the renowned scenic artist, William Pitt, father of the architect of today. Mr. Pitt had for many years kept the Garrick's Head Hotel, opposite the Eastern Market, where his right-hand Hebe was the now Mrs. Roberts, of the Criterion Theatre Hotel, Sydney, but then well known to us youngsters as Miss Polly Smith. The first to discover the fire was Jack Conway, the well-known cricketer, who was smoking a midnight cigar at the window of Sayers' Prince of Wales Hotel, Bourke-street. Six months previously the Haymarket Theatre was burned down, and but a few weeks before the Prince of Wales Opera House, in Castlereagh-street, went under to the same agency. In the seventeen years life of the old Royal there were memories both pleasant and painful. In the seventeen years there were, it might be said, three periods, the Brooke, the Sullivan, and the Montgomery. Mark the distinction between the two pieces, that at the opening 'The School for Scandal,' and that at the close, 'The Streets of New York!' A decadence truly.

As the actors were homeless through the fire, and out of work, and many out of cash, something had to be done for their relief. Among the most attractive efforts to gather in coin was a cricket match on the principal Melbourne ground, the cricketers in costume, and to some extent supporting the characters they sustained. George Coppin appeared as Paul Pry, J. R. Greville as 'A party by the name of Johnstone,' Mr. Hennings as Claude Melnotte, Mr. Carden as Enoch Arden, Richard Stewart as Lord Dundreary, Ireland as Cassio, John Dunn as 'That Rascal Jack,' Appleton as Ronaldo, Roberts as Asa Trenchard, old Jimmy Milne as Mike Feeney, and minor men in various guises. At the time of the fire the Princess' was empty, and the lessee, William Saurin Lyster, offered it to Mr. Coppin and his friends for a short season. Mr. Coppin made a speech — he was always great on speeches — in which he detailed his sorrows. Six years previously he had started life afresh without a sixpence; he had succeeded, but the fire had swept away most of the provision which he had made for old age and a large family. Yet Mr. Coppin re-built the Royal and opened the new venture on Cup night (Cup winner, John Tait's The Quack), 1872, with an address written by Dr. Neild and spoken by Mrs. Collins, then (later on Mrs. H. R. Harwood) nee Docy Stewart. Then followed 'To Oblige Benson' and 'Milky White,' in both of which Mr. Coppin appeared. The company proper was at Adelaide, but Coppin did not wish to miss a bumper house such as always eventuates on Cup night. Since then the fortunes of the theatre have been varied. Many new theatrical ventures have sprung into existence, the most formidable being the gorgeous Princess'.

At the time of the opening of the Theatre Royal (No. 2), the Princess' was in full swing with a strong company under Stuart O'Brien and Miss Jones, heavy tragedy being the order of the night. During the same Cup week a dramatic benefit was given Mr. John Whiteman, who had filled as many parts in life as did the late George Adams. Mr. Whiteman was a blacksmith by trade, and a poet by instinct, his little volume, 'Sparks from the Anvil,' being readable. He had been a publican, and in that, as in other trades, had his ups and downs. On the benefit night Coppin and Stewart appeared; Marcus Clarke wrote an address, which was spoken by John Edwards the younger. Looking over those old bills, one comes across many names now absolutely forgotten, of the seniors George Coppin being about the only one of a long list now remaining; and about this time— 1872 — there arose a controversy regarding 'deadheads,' in which Mr. George Coppin, Morton Tavares, and others took part. The germ of the controversy was as to whether Vice-Regal patrons should not pay for seats occupied in the theatre even on 'command nights.' The Vice Regal delinquent at whom George Coppin was hitting, and hitting mighty hard, was Viscount Canterbury, who in his earlier days was known as John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton. The correspondence was carried on with some vigor, the theatrical critics, strange to say, siding with the deadheads, from a fellow-feeling perhaps. There was a dramatic association in existence in Melbourne at the time, and the matter was thoroughly threshed out at its meetings. Viscount Canterbury, who appears, from the correspondence, to have been a persistent deadhead, asked Mr. Coppin to send in an account of the 'items,' but this Mr. Coppin declined to do, on the ground that his profession never gave credit. Of this interesting dispute more anon.

(To be continued.)

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.)

The rejoicings over the success of the New South Wales horses in the intercolonial matches in October, 1857 at Flemington took a form agreeable to at least two of the parties concerned. Old Sydneyites who had taken up their abode in Victoria were determined that the horseman who had upheld the honor of the mother colony on a 'foreign field,' as it were, should not go unrewarded. Accordingly, some active spirits set about getting up a testimonial to Mr. John Higgerson, who had successfully steered Veno to Victory on the memorable October 3. Subscriptions were had for the asking, the result being that a very handsome gold-mounted whip was purchased for presentation to the successful jockey. The presentation was made on the stage of the Theatre Royal, at a performance given under the patronage of the Victoria Jockey Club 'and the Sydney sporting visitors.' The piece staged was an old-time melodrama, 'Fraud and its Victims,' a play we never hear of nowadays. The chief performer on the male side was an actor then new to Melbourne, Mr. W. H. Stephens, who earned for himself the nickname of 'Jockey' Stephens, through his capital performance of a jockey in some racing drama. In thosegood old racing days a 'laughable farce,' as the playbills had it, wound up the evening's performance. Between the play and the farce, Mr. Hamilton, of 'Bell's Life,' appeared on the stage, accompanied by Mr. Johnny Higgerson. Mr. Hamilton, in a neat and appropriate speech, made the presentation. The whip mountings were exquisite, and the gold band bore the inscription : —

'Presented to Mr. Johnny Higgerson,

Trainer and Rider

of G T. Rowe, Esquire's c g

Veno,

as a Memento of the Challenge Match.

October 3rd, 1857.'

Though it was Mr. Higgerson's first appearance on the boards of a theatre, his 'stage' being usually a four-wheeler, Mr. Higgerson was not amiss in his speech of thanks. The newspapers of the day did not report the speech, but I know that Mr. Higgerson said that Wellington did not feel prouder at Waterloo than he (Johnny Higgerson) did on Veno in the champion match. The owner of Veno, Mr. G. T. Rowe, who was in the dress circle, had to bow his acknowledgments of the applause which greeted him when recognised. The Sydney sportsmen and the Sydney press admitted that the Victorians took their defeat in a manly fashion, asserting that they would have better luck next time. The gold-mounted whip, the subscribers explained, was not presented as an acknowledgment of Veno's victory, but as a mark of esteem to Mr. Higgerson as a man of whom they were all proud, who did his best in the interests of his employer. Mr. W. H. Stephens, the 'other star' of the night, after a couple of years tearing the colonies, went to London, and became a most successful actor and manager, and was, I think, the first of a long list who having made a name in Australia, made fame and fortune in England.

As Tomboy, ridden by Sam Holmes, had conquered Veno, ridden by Higgerson, in one race at the meeting held immediately after the intercolonial matches, it was thought only right and proper that 'old Sam,' as he was known in after years when he kept the Horse and Jockey Inn, at Enfield on the Liverpool-road, N.S.W., should also have a presentation. This took the shape of a gold watch and chain and a purse of sovereigns. Anthony Greene was the spokesman, and Sam Holmes made a very neat speech. Tomboy was also to have 'shown' on the stage, but Mr. Greene had to apologise for the equine hero, stage fright, or something akin to it, having prevented Tomboy making his bow to the crowded audience at the Princess', for it was at that theatre that Mr. Holmes had his presentation. 'Fraud and its Victims' at the Royal had given way to 'Sardanapulus,' with Mr. G. V, Brooke in the leading part. It was announced as one of a series of performances prior to G. V. B.'s return to England. These announcements were frequently made, and an announcement of a final appearance by Mr G. V. Brooke, became a by-word as one of 'Coppins dodges.' On the night when the presentation was made to Mr Sam Holmes, the sisters Gougenheim—Joey and Adelaide— were playing in 'Court and Stage' supported by George Fawcett, who subsequently went to London and achieved success as an actor and playwright, under the name of George Fawcett Rowe, the latter being his real name.

If not actually on the night of the presentation to Mr. Holmes, it was on the night previous, that Joey, who was the more energetic of the sisters, made a bitter complaint that they, as 'stars,' had great difficulty in getting an opening in Melbourne, unless they accepted undignified terms. As Mr. George Coppin was absent from Melbourne, Mr. G. V. Brooke wrote the newspapers explaining the position. The agent of the sisters had written Mr. Coppin from Hobart Town offering their services at the Royal on certain terms, which we may suppose, from the tone of Mr. Coppin's reply, to have been, perhaps, exorbitant. Brooke gave a copy of Coppin's letter. There it was stated that the expenses were £600 a week! but that he would give the sisters £100 a week and two half-benefits, the engagement to be for a fortnight or a month. These terms, the sisters indignantly rejected, and gave themselves to the old wooden structure known as The Princess', in Spring-street. This old wooden 'Matchbox,' as it was named, had pit, stalls, and bores, and might hold £100 a night on a pinch. What terms they made with George Fawcett we know not, possibly share and share, after deducting a sum for expenses. Strange to say, the 'Old' Queen's' in Melbourne, the Princess' just mentioned, and an old theatre still standing in Durham-street, Bathurst, a relic of the roaring days of the Turon Diggings, and in which G. V. Brooke played, are the only ones, I am creditably informed, which have escaped destruction by fire.

Mr. Holmes, in acknowledging the gift of a watch and chain and a purse of sovereigns, was not to be outdone by Mr. Higgerson in similes; Mr. Holmes said that he was prouder of his position that night than Nelson at Trafalgar! Some little unpleasantness was hinted at over the race won by Tomboy. It was a sweep of 25 sovereigns with 100 sovs added. There were several starters, the principals being Van Tromp, Veno, and Mr. Purcell's Tomboy. Higgerson was on Veno, Waldock on Van Tromp, and Holmes on Tomboy, three as upright jockeys as ever threw leg over saddle. It was said that Holmes rode light, having got rid of some of his weight; and what pained the Victorians more than anything else was the fact that Messrs. Rowe and Atkinson believed it; and Sam Holmes was a Sydney man, too. Those who knew Sam Holmes will, I know, say that such a charge was simply ridiculous. The jockey weighed out and weighed in the same weight, and there was no opportunity, even if he wished it, to play hanky-panky with the weights between times. It may be mentioned that in this race Van Tromp was nowhere but in the race run half an hour afterwards he got second place.

Within the week in which the great Intercolonial Matches were run, the Victoria Jockey Club held, I think, its first meeting. This was the club of which Mr. J. M. Tarlton (U. S. Consul), Henry Phillips, George ???????, Edward Row were stewards, with Mr. W. P. Symons as secretary, and Mr. Richard Goldsbrough as honorary clerk of the course.

Just think of 'John Bull' Goldsbrough, 20 stone if an ounce, in starlet, and breeches, as clerk of the course! It was late in the season, and the horses were not in the best of condition, and the meeting was remarkable for the defeat of all the favorites.

The Intercolonial Matches seem to have given a zest to racing in Melbourne, the V.J.C. meeting on October 7, 8 and 9 being very largely patronised. Tattersall's newly founded rooms attracted a crowd, the regulations framed and the admission fee proving a barrier to a large number of noisy 'bummers,' who did no business and whose chatter, clatter and bounce had been intolerable. This 'push' had to content itself with the kerbstone when Tatt's was established. In the rooms the Sydney people were well represented, foremost amongst them being Mr. G. F. Pickering, editor and part proprietor of 'Bell's Life in Sydney.' It was noticeable that the Sydney contingent wagered only on Sydneyside horses.

The first race of the meeting was a Maiden Plate. Nine came to the post, amongst them a horse called Yankee, entered as a five-year-old, made first favorite, and backed heavily all through. This horse Yankee had done all his galloping as one of a team in Cobb and Co.'s coaches! The coaching crowd believed that they had found a wonder, but the result proved that Yankee was great at a mile, but no further. Though Joe Smith, a well-known rider of the time had the mount, he found his horse beaten at the mile. A horse with the Hibernian name Bathershins proved the winner, while Lady of the Lake, a sister of Alice Hawthorne, ran into third place.

Under the auspices of this club the Victorian Derby of 1857 was run. The entries were Mr. William Greene's Tricolor, Dr. Bathe's Vain Hope, Mr. Dawes' Union Jack, Mr. H. Phillips' Cavalier, Mr. E. Row's Melbourne, Mr. Payne's Skylark, and Mr. Davis' Marco. The added money was £150, the race being won by Tricolor, bred at Woodlands, the old home of Pomeroy Greene and his sons Rawdon and Molesworth. The winner had only been in Anthony Greene's hands for six weeks prior to the race. The Jockey Club Cup, £150 added money, brought a number of well known horses to the post, and was the cause of a special match being made between two of the runners. There were five entries: Mr. Warby's Cardinal Wiseman, Mr. A. Chirnside's Alice Hawthorne, Mr. John Sevoir's Sir Robert, Mr. B. D. Clarke's Camel, and Mr. Payne's Sinbad; welter weights, members of the Jockey Club up. Alice Hawthorne was the favorite against the field. The race was a two-miler, the winner turning up in Cardinal Wiseman, ridden by Mr. Rutland; Alice, with Mr. John Orr up, being second. That night at Tattersall's it was stated that Cardinal Wiseman's victory was only a fluke, and a match between 'The Churchman' and Alice was spoken of. On the following evening the match was made, the owners of Alice laying £1000 to £500, 2½ miles, welter weights, 12st 41b the horse, 12st 1lb the mare, to be run on the afternoon of the next day. Next afternoon the betting was 6 to 4 on Alice Hawthorne, which became firmer when it was known that Johnny Higgerson had the mount on the mare, and the 'gentleman jock,' Mr. Rutland, was to steer 'The Cardinal.' The start was a dead level one. Almost immediately the mare forged ahead, the Cardinal made an effort and passed the mare, the latter, however, got in front again, but Higgerson hauled off at the boggy ground under the hill, where the grandstand is now. Turning into the straight the pair were stride for stride, fighting for every foot; the mare was beaten by three lengths, in 3min 22sec. The horse Cardinal Wiseman surprised everyone. Mr. Warby had purchased him a few weeks before for 200 guineas, for stud purposes, but proving what horse masters call 'too playful,' he was given to one Bentley to train and make what he could out of him. It was now decided that Alice Hawthorne had seen 'her day.' In the first ten days of October, 1857, she had been tried four times, having as riders Steve Mahon, Mitchell, Johnny Higgerson and Mr. John Orr, and she failed to score a win with either up. All four riders gave the verdict 'out of form.'

The Victoria Jockey Club had a 'Great Metropolitan' as part of the programme. It was run on the second day, the added money being a modest 200 sovs. with a sweep of 15 sovs. The starters were: Veno (Higgerson up), Mr. Jenkins' Voltaire, Alice Hawthorne (with Mitchell up), Van Tromp, and five others, Veno and Alice went stride for stride from the start, when Veno went to the front, leaving Alice to fight for second place with Voltaire, who beat the mare by a head. The third day was wet, the entries being second and third rate, and the interest deadened by the absence of the 'big game.' At Tattersall's, at the settling up, everything passed off in first-class fashion. There were no complaints, because there were no defaulters. The bookmakers proper had not as yet become an institution, the betting being done between friends and by well-known sportsmen. Cash betting had not been thought of. Joe Thompson was but 20 years of age, and still in obscurity. The late Sammy Isaacs had not started 'pencilling' at Kirk's Bazaar. I think little Sammy, who 'pattered' for the fighting men at their booth at Flemington on race meetings, was the first recognised layer of the odds per book and pencil.

At the 'settling,' when the champagne had gone round, and everyone was satisfied with himself, his neighbor, and owner of Van Tromp, issued a challenge the world generally, Mr. William Frazer, to Victorian sportsmen, two challenges, in fact. The first was that he (Mr. Frazer) would find a horse in the Geelong district, which he would match against any other Victorian horse for 250 sovereigns, in six weeks' time, two miles, over the Geelong course. The second challenge was somewhat similar, the distance being 1½ mile, Mr. Frazer explained that both horses were strangers to the Flemington and Geelong racecourses. Nothing came of the challenges at the time. But while challenges were flying about Melbourne, new ground had been broken in Sydney. In 'Bell's Life in Sydney' appeared an advertisement worded after this fashion :— A gentleman from Ipswich, Moreton Bay (there was no Queensland then), will back his horse, Newbolt, against the champion of Australia or any horse in the colony (New South Wales, which included everything north of Gabo lighthouse), for nothing less than 500 to 1000 sovereigns, £250 allowed either party removing his horse to either turf. Stakes ready at the Willow Tree Inn, Pitt-street. No deposit but cash down. Match to be made in four weeks, the race run in three months from this date. October 17, 1857. An answer expected by Saturday, as the gentleman is about to leave the colony. No race within 22 days of the horse landing at either post. I don't think the Sydney sportsmen paid much heed to the gentleman from Ipswich, who had such a high opinion of his horse Newbolt.

A coincidence, surely! While I was writing about the Edouin family ('Sportsman,' 27/4/'04) and Cremorne one of the family, Mrs. G. B. W. Lewis nee Rose Edouin, was on her way to pay a professional visit to Sydney, and the lady is now in our midst.

The Mr. Warby mentioned above belonged to an old— very old— Campbelltown (New South Wales) family, which had a big interest in certain valuable Sydney properties. The old Yorkshire Stingo Hotel, at the corner of Castlereagh and Goulburn streets, was an heirloom of the family. Likewise the old Liverpool Arms, at the corner of King and Pitt streets, a house dating back to the old 'lag days' of the colony, but which, when rebuilt, had its name changed to 'Warby's.' I believe it has now passed out of the Warby family.