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Leader (1850-1860), 15th March 1856, Edition 2 of 2, Page 6, THP AXDEYNE CHABITT. ' AiOBWEiwsJi me0fe...

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      The Literary Fund. The Annual General Me...

      scales of- expenditure / he * wowld * supply- the-- answers He . ? went ,, last June , ; to . ifcat highly genteelplaeej W ? lflB ? fcrponis , to attend a > special , generalmeeting , of tinscorporation . . AUosring , for the ; absence-. of . the younger and fairer portion of the female- sex ,. lie found xfc . very- much like ? Almack's in- the morning * ( A > Zmtffh . ) The ball was opened / by ) nothing : leB & than- as marquis , who walked through a minuet -with , very great decorum . ( LaMghter * . ) After- that , a member afVthe : House of Commons gracefully tools the floora mere commoner unfortunatel y ^ but a gentleman highly connected ; To him . succeeded a distinguished lord , the soa of another distinguished lord ,, and to him . & bishop ; and the-minor church stood up with

      the . stock-exchange and the "bar , and so on . ( IicvuffM &' . ) Now , it was in those * things-r-it was in being = studiously genteel , in keeping up ; a fine appearance—it ' was in the vulgar , common , social vice of holding on to great connexions at any price—that the money of the ; fund -was expended . ( Cheers . ) He remembered-at a recent anniversary festival of the society ^ a distinguished literary mail who occupied the chair Baying , towards the small hours , that he felt very much like the servant in plush wrho was permitted to sweep the stage when tHere- were no more great people to come . on . ( A laiigh . ) He ( Mr . Dickens ) felt like a kind pf ; Rip / Van Wiiikle-reversed , wblo Ikad gone to sleep backwards ; amd ^ wbke =. again— ( a , lamgii )— to find

      this ; 14 teraa ? jf ? Fund surcoiuid ' ed with adjuncts- and ! associations ; irojn \ vMchVh © earnesfcly wished ) to- see itemancipated . ThatiBloomsbury ^ housej . in which the S ^ n ^^ carrted / ontita buswessi was part bf the * same bI * QV % No > manon earth could tell that meeting cvyhy it » was necessary , to ^ -have & house mwMca to hold /; a f ^ . meetiags ; of t & e . Cominittee of the Literary ; Eund inr-ltheiyeaTj . when no such aecommodatiqn . was- ever pBcessary : ^ fc > f the-Artfets ' -Eund . As ; to » i ; he : ofBceri to wljato . ;; altu 3 ion i lad : beea > made ( Mr ; Blewittjv the seereitavyk-he 'woqld ma & e i bold to say . that , the asaerr

      iion that hda . services * - w = ere absolutely necessary in making inquiry into the . easesvof ; applicants ? for assist ^ artce from ^ he fund £ wasra preposterous -pre * enceji > and 4 &&^; , working literary , imeny . managing , tlreir own 3 ^ ir s ^; wdiiid : hav < e a . mu ch ^^^ betteE-knowledge of . thosa aS & irs ithan could .- eyat- bevattainetkby any ? committee ( Hear # eew % ) ; He , asserfce % i ; oo , ihat > the secrecy to Ytkucilk . this society laid claim as one- of Its greatest ajfctfcib ^ tesmas ^ noiobsev ^ eA ia practice ) an & sthat the ¦&& i $ Le & o £ its- most deserving- applicants ! were to nua & berss of people-perfectly well known . —Mr : John iforster spoke to -Qxe same effect .

      , •• Jtfri- Blackmore contended that the administration oijiblie ; fund-simplybyjliteraryimen ; wOuld ; jbe Ukelyvto i » trbduce a hole-and-corner spirit , and that needy aut & oi ^ > w ^ ould : prefer , tb brings theirs wants * before noblemen , and gentlemen rather than "bef 6 re their own brethrenir-r-Mri Mtonckton MHlnes ,- MjP ., expressed the same , opinion , and reproved ' Mr : Dickenjs for * his ) an * feagoniflnai to tho - soeietyr and . for his- sneers-: at ; the patronage : bestowed by . the aristocracy ; . He might be * allowed tofretnindb the ; meeting' thati the < list ' . the

      Opposition 'propounded last year > as . ; the council of the soeijety ; -was * composed almost 1 entirely of lords'and right honourables . ( A : laugh . ) With respect to the . li ^ se- in ^ which the society ! was -located , he * would put it . to Mi-i Dickens to say whether ; amid the competition * of i so , im » ny , new : societies } , it waa not an advan ^ tagevtoianinstitution-like that to have * " a local habitation ; and a . name ?'' May . Dickens had ! made this ! BOmewhat of ? ai -personalI question asi it affected" the ' ^ BpretetyjJVfr . Blewitt : ( Mr . Dickens deniedjithat he > Had done so . )

      ¦ finally , an / amendnteotj proposed by Mfc ' -Murray , otf / Albemarle-siFcet , approving : of « the > constitution > and ' mwnaganaentoft the- > society . / , was - carrieptibyv StiVoteai . against-. 3 D in , fft-vdur of Mr . Mike's resolution

      246 T H E L E A 7> E B. Tno. 312. Saturd...

      246 T H E L E A 7 > E B . TNo . 312 . Saturday

      Thp Axdeyne Chabitt. ' Aiobweiwsji Me0fe...

      THP AXDEYNE CHABITT . ' AiOBWEiwsJi me 0 fejng ; of jnejcabers of the dramatic puofessioBjv ^ itei'aryimen and othors , wasrheld on Thuraday / in tlie Adelphi TJwatrej to take into consideration the ' xl & GvB & itpr ofi ' iftMnediatelly ; presontingi a'Mnenaonla . 1 to tbe- / Gharity . G ^ mmissionersj , praying « that . in the * ravin sionj of- the , ¦ funds of Bulwicht College / . fotindediby Dtlvfardj-Atlleyoe ,, the aoborj thtr olaim « iof' tuenauwjKl ? , ere pf << tb , e ) dramatic profession might be- considered . ' 9 ? he , < chtoic , \ iiM taken- l ) y Mr < Dickens , whoj . afteiv a sketch ,. of thonlifo of AJ . leyn «> iprocqeded * . ;—< t Wliew hte ashea ^ httd' laitl two a hundred , ¦< , years - undep the ohapol of theDulwioh instltution . i ftrcerfcaini l . Rofnl ,

      oad-voyy / much needed pwbKo body ,, cftll « Gl ; fcl « s Oliiarity ComnajsBloners ^ found- thaiv this endowment ' , was-« Wt 2 rei »( 0 lyj rich avnd ciipablo . of great- extension !; which « W » n ^ i <« ith © y , r « oommemded tCfthe . LegiiB ]» tui < e > . ( Hear * , ^*) w' - ' 4 Jtt 4 ' hoi © . uprises > a » otli 0 B f , ftraou »< . ootor and tfepa . trim mimjager-of our ) time > true , to his \ trust ,, wfc «> vs always Iteoping within the- proposed' esten-WO « V '» , pmy . B . t that one-fowth . of its benefit may Wi * y ^ JWIW ! itoi- jppor pilayors of both , boxqs , and ' ^^^ Idr ^^ f- ; po (> ir . playew . ( Mear ? hear . ) t ^ SSSS ^^ ^ modwato . BuppjOBiUw . that Sffife ^^ W' ^ m * gceatftot ofthia Si «« iS * ° « t ^ ^ «» .. go . by . tc ; all thvo . ay ^ ^ b we ftttd ^^ oQifttlojw , Of , m ! wiLoio , cadalionW ) , W «

      ^ bavfr « n & diabolical anecdote awd one remarkable feet . i ( daughteri ) To dispose- , of the diabolical anecdote , [ firsfe > . i | i may be sufficient to mention ( tai < b it i s- an old i Puritan idea ) that , on one occasion , when Alleyne J playedythe' iDevil , ' he found on the . stag © -wifchihim a , gemiines devil , \« hich apparition so terrhied' . liimthat \ be imnaediatelyi . retired from the stage , and ,: as- an expiatioafor ever having belonged to it , founded ^ God ' s Giffc ^ of Dulwieh College . ( Lauffhtei \) Now , there is no reason whatever for believing that he ever-played ' the ' Devil ? a . t all ; and , indeed , I find ait angel's-suit jamonrg the lisfe of Ms wardrobe . ( Lcmg & ten ) But , as , the story has been told by- an old . gentleman wh'o [ wrote a charming old book about devils who ^ wentin

      and out of old ' wainscoting with a melodious twang , perhaps , under these circumstances ,- we may , without disrespect to this particular devil , get rid of him with a melodious twang of general consent : ( Lnuffhter . ) The remarkable f & ct isof more importance . It is thi 3 —that , in . theorigiualgifb , Edward Alleyne limited the gift to the inhabitants' of certaitt parishes , includioghds own .- These parishes ejEpressly incltided the very districts above others , in which- th < actors of tile time habitually resided . Not to weary you with names of persona' and d & tes , I will simply state that the books of his own parish are still in existence , and we find in them the names of the thoroughly well-known actors who were rated

      to the relief of the poor , and the two names highest ratedL were those of Edward Alleyne and William Shiaispeare . { Mear , hear . )] Surely we caa hardly have better corroboration of the intentions of > the founder- in- naming these districts ; Add to this ,, -the first successor ., of- Edward Alleyne waphimself an actor ,, and there * is strong reason tobelievethat tvirp ; o £ the original ^ officers o £ the charity were also , actors ^ Add to thisj that } at every period 1 of his life , Edward AJleyne neveir forgot'the actor , or Syas forgotten by him , or ceased to be . i remembered for-his fames as an . actor * Two years after he commenced buildingthe college ^ he forgave a delt of £ 200 to a , company of actors at . one : blow . -I ; find also

      among is papers a letter from a poor actor , who wrote to Mm thus : — 'Mr . AUyn , I ebmmend my love and humble duty to you , giving you thanks for your great boon bestowed upon-me in . my sickness when I was ia great want ^ - & od : r bless you for it . ' Lord Bacon writes of the college and itsfounder , the actor ^— ' I like well that -Ai ' rya playeth at the lasfact of his life so we 31 ; ( Wear , hear . ) Alleyne himself writes to the former possessor of that ground on which the college tunr-stands , aud'in which Ma remains now rest , who had taiinted him , as a mean soul might , with his former pursuit— ' That I was a player I cannot deny , and Pam sure I will not . ( O / teers . ) My means of living were honest , and with the poor abilities

      wherewith God , blest me , I was able to do something for myself , my relation s , and my friendB : majry of them living at < this day will not refuse to own what they owed me . Therefoi-e I am not ashamed . ' ( Loud cheers . ) Now , ladies-and" gentlemen , it would be a grievous' wrong to the writer of these noble words , and a great , injury to the memory of so manly a nature , to suppose Mm capable of having-spurned down-the ladder , by which he had risen , or setting hisi face against the road-by . which he came . ( ZTecw , hear : ) : I venture to say that , in all biography , there is -not an instance of any man of honest self-reliance and ; greatnesB of soul being . guilty of so base an action . ( Hear , v hear ;) Edward Alleyne never was . The

      industry : of my friend Mr . John Payne Collier , shows ' usi what he was in Ms habits as he lived , and lit iai easy in > Ms secluded life at Dulwich to trace the many pleasant tendings- of Ma feet to the old path , and ; his . many delightful tendings to his old occupation ^ ( ffear , Jiear . ) When he went from Dulwich to London on , horsobaok > he rode with a- page behind him , and loved to ¦ dine at the theatrical ordi-(' nauiy and surround himself with old > familiar faces . / Mear hear . ) We are told , too , that on Twolfth-Inaght he always had a play performed atthe college . Iiate in life , Ma . theatre was burned down , and he ' applied himself : with energy to its reconstruction , T ! ae * manusorjpfc of ono of his own parts has been found , ages . after he is dead , and everyfcMng in and albout hitot testifies' to the truth and fidelity of hia eirjapleilvearti T-he grncious presence I observe in the

      boxes reraunda ^ me that last night , when I was- refreshing my . memory with the perusal of ( hia- good life > I > hadi one uneasy doubt about him . I believe that' one . of hia stipulations was , that thefellowB of hist college should'be single men . This appeared to noe > to . bo uncomfortablei ( Laughter . ) J soon found , however , that Ms intention * w « b to oonsole and rocompenBQ them for their miserable solitude , inasrauchiaa he had a wife of his own to whom he was tondoi'ly attaohed , and whom ho woe accustomed to addreBBJ by the endearing epithet of ' mouse . ' ( Lauyhten ) And when that gruA y cat , which ie our common : fdo , dispatched her , lie provided himsolf with nnoDhor mouse with all oonvenioiit speed . " Mr . Benjamin ' Webster then briefly addrefjued the jaoetingf in- behalf of extending the application of the « harity > and mentioned that until reoontly the stone that , oovered ALlleyne'e ^ rove woe lying aa the

      skittloparisMoners Camberwell appointed to inquu-e mto the subject , said that the parish to which ne belonged would not in any way oppose the present movement—A gentleman named Farmer , who stated that he was one of the poor scholars of the charity contended that the proposed scheme was not in harmony with the intentions of the founder , and proposed an amendment to one of the resolutions , to that effect , whieh was lost , no one having bee n found to support it but the seconder .

      mittee of the of ground of the Half Moon public-house atDulwiel A few observations on the general question were also mj ^ LM \ r - , Feelev > Mr - Buckstone , Mi-. ITarley , Mr Bobert Bell , % v Albert Smith , Mr . T . P . Coo & Sfc Josep h' PaxtonV ? : KE . R , Mr . Creswick , and Mr . Wigan - and resolutions in accordance with the design of the mee ^ ng ( incl uding : a proposition for a memorial to the Home Secretary ) were carried unanimously Mr ; ^ mt ryj who stated that he was one of a com-

      The Destruction Of Covent-Gardbn Theatre...

      THE DESTRUCTION OF COVENT-GARDBN THEATRE . Aisr inquest into this lamentable occurrence has been held at the Piazza Hotel , Covent-garden , by Mr . Bedford , the Westminster coroner , and a jury . From the evidence received on the first day ( Tuesday ) , it appeared that Mr . Palmer , head gasman at the theatre , discovered the fire just as " God save the Queen , " was being struck up . " I saw through the cracks in the flooring of the carpenter's shop , " he states in his evidence , " something resembling a transparency on . a starry night . I immediately became almost speechless , and X fell back and said to Mr . Anderson , ' The place is on fire . ' He said , ' , hush ! Nonsense !' and then > looking up himself , he exclaimed , ' Good God ! the place is all on fire . For your life's sake , get out of it . ' Castles , the fireman , then ran towards a brother fireman , named Butler , and shouted , 'Bill , the house is on fire ! ' The two immediately went up to the carpenters ' shop at the top of the house , and saw a large heap of'fire burning on the left hand side . Tie smoke was suffocating , and they retreated—Castles tumbling down some of the stairs from the stupefying effects of the vapour . This witness being asked by the coroner if he could account for the origin of the fire , answered , " I really must say I think the means were taken there to do it . " Being further asked'if he meant that the theatre was sebon fire , he said , " Yes . " He stated , as his reasons for this belief ( which he afterwards admitted was a mere suspicion ) that the smoke was peculiar—not like common burning smoke—and that the time was remarkable , all the firemen , being then employed on the stage in getting the people out . There were some iron gas fittingB in the carpenter ' s shop , but they had not been used since Christmas , an d the gas was turned off from them . Mr . Slomau , the machinist , however , had perceived a very strong smell of gas in this room , as well as in other parts of the theatre , and had repeatedly and earnestly called attention to it . The great chandelier was suspended immediately under the carpenter ' s shop , and was lighted through a hole in thefloor ^ from which the gas'jets were about ten or eleven ¦ feet distant ; but the witnesses denied that

      the floor of the shop was ever dangerously heated in this way . Three firemen were always on duty at night ; and it was their business to go round every hour—but not , added the witnesB Castles , during the performances . On the night of the fire , the last time Castles was in tlie carpenter ' s shop was between seven and eight o ' clock , at which time there was n fire . He shut the door on leaving , but found it open when he went up , on discovering the fire . In reply to a question as to whether he had not felt it his duty on that night , there being a bal masque , to go round very frequently , he said , "Wo were , generally on the move , and we considered it our duty to be where wo thought there was most danger , among the people , who were throwing their oigara and fusees about in every part of the theatre . "

      The inquiry was adjourned . We have reoeived a circular from Mr . Albano architect of the late theatre , correcting some errors , with ! respect to his building operations , which had found circulation in the press , though but one of them was admittod into our own columns . Mr . Albano ( who finishes some'very interesting details ) objects to the word " remodelling , " contending , with justice , that he entirely rebuilt the audience part of the house , together with varioun other partB , sxioh as saloons , offices , Btah-cneoH , & c . This was effected in little more than four months , by means of working night and

      day , and employing throe gangs of workmen . " Tho published statements as to tho cost of my works , " says Mr . Albano , " have been very erroneous , varying , as they do , from £ 40 , 000 to ,- £ 75 , 000 . Tho whole oost of the works , building , painting , & o ., was under £ 28 , 000 ; besides this Bum , £ 4 , 000 wan expended far fixtures , ohandolier ( wltich I had couvertod from tho old ono at tho trifling expense of £ 350 ) , gas flttingfl , looking-glaaaoH , oarpoting and furnishing moat gorgeouBly her Majesty ' s apnrtmontn , boxos , saloons , artistes' roomu , & o . The insinuation that ' bond timber' floonaa to have been introduced , or loft in tho walla

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 15, 1856, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_15031856/page/6/