their former system to pieces, and who was little disposed to value talents, that, however successful, combined so ill with his own. Lewis, the former manager, remained the first actor in comedy; but he necessarily depended upon the novelty which the established writers of the house annually supplied; for all these Kemble entertained a sovereign contempt, if he thought at all about them: the good old comedies he conceived quite sufficient to mix up with the long list of tragedies essential to his sister and himself. Lewis was excessively popular in the theatre; he could not always please, but he got through the duty of stage-manager with urbanity and pleasantry; he lived always close to the theatre-his habits were regularhe was always cool and efficient, and to all connected with the theatre, so intimately associated, that they were covered with gloom and apprehension by the change. Kemble had long enjoyed the reputation of being a scholar, and of being pedantic in scholarship: he was accused of playing the commentator, where it was of little moment, and of living upon points and pauses. It is astonishing what hatred was worked up against him, and

among other absurdities, those who disliked him, gifted him with black-letter tendencies, which most certainly he never had, though some friend on such a presumption gave him a MS. of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which it was supposed had been the favourite volume of his own Hotspur, and which he read with difficulty I know, and I am confident never read throughout. The old plays of his country he collected, because Mr. Garrick had done so before him; and besides that he thought there should be, in some library at hand, every play that could by possibility be used; that, if any impositions were attempted, their source might be pointed out. If there was some ostentation in all this; it is surely a natural foible in any actor to possess the materials of his art. His plays cost him many thousand pounds, and were uniformly bound together in several hundred volumes of the quarto shape. We may be sure as to Shakspeare, the god of his idolatry, he had every thing that could be got for money. He now set about revising that author's plays for his present theatre, and published them as he proceeded, in a full octavo size. When I bound them together, I asked him

to letter the volume for me, and he called it "Kemble's Covent Garden Theatre.

But as I must soon quit him in his new element, I just notice his success in Lord Townley, with that lovely woman, Miss Louisa Brunton, for his lady. Like Miss Farren, she was found to possess charms of every sort worthy of a coronet; but did not, when she assumed it, take away quite so much genius from the stage. Cooke was still the Richard, and Kemble condescended to Richmond, in the hope of conciliating his dear George: but when the return arrived of Cooke's condescension, namely, to act Pizarro to Kemble's Rolla, he came on knowing nothing of the language, and soon fell backwards as mute as a turtle. Happily his new friend was at hand to say that he was really ill (which every body saw), and Mr. Henry Siddons ready to read the part for him; at which, few I imagine, could grieve. His illness had left him by the tertian intermittent, for on the 20th he stood his ground in the character without shaking. Mrs. Siddons, as poor Richardson told Sheridan she would, had now fallen into Elvira sufficiently; and this was perhaps the greatest injury which the

Kembles inflicted upon Drury; for Sheridan had very indiscreetly published the play, so that any theatre could act it. He got a large sum, it is true, for the copyright.

Mrs. Jordan had no new character to the end of the year. She about this time, upon Frances, her eldest daughter's coming of age, took a handsome house for her in Golden Square, and she became at length Mrs. Alsop. Her two sisters, Lucy and Dora, lived with her in town; but they were frequently at Bushy with their mother. I understand some old gentleman of the name of Bettesworth, offered Miss Jordan a very handsome fortune to take his name, and become his representative.

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CHAPTER XX.

The reservoirs of some use at Drury Lane-The Caravan and the dog Carlo-Story of the piece-Sheridan and his preserver-Cinderella and her Slipper, with Venus and the Graces-Cherry's Soldier's Daughter-Mrs. Jordan in the Widow Cheerly-Her epilogue, a female army-The Sailor's Daughter, by Cumberland-Mrs. Jordan's benefitThe middle dish-Bannister returns to the HaymarketFawcett makes a ballet from the action of Shakspeare's Tempest-The Gay Deceivers-Elliston and his addressMaster Betty at Edinburgh-Home and his Douglas-A really GREAT GENIUS of the north descending to works below him-Re-writing all our literature-Substitutes-Standard works to be carefully reprinted-The followers of Didot-His application at seventy-three-Elliston at the Opera House-Mrs. Jordan herself opens the season of 1804-5, in Widow Cheerly-Mathews and Elliston now at Drury-Miss Duncan's first night-Phantom Latham and his dash-A féte royal at Weymouth-Elliston and Miss Decamp-The royal game, and the Michaelmas goose on a birth-day-Another farce for Mrs. Jordan, called Matrimony-Mrs. Jordan singularly fortunate as an actress-Escapes the mortification of Mrs. Siddons and of Mr. Kemble-The first of men adore the phenomenon Betty-His first appearance in LondonThe author present-Candid account of it-The preparations