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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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February 18-, ' 1854 . ] THE LEADEL l 65
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Buckstone as the uxorious doctor , and Mrs . Fitzwilliam as the jovial but too much loved wife . The little I have to say , is that Mr . George Vandenhoff wants impulse and airiness for comedy , " takes the stage" by far too emphatically , and was not serious even in the serious passages .
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BIRTHS , MARRIAGES , AND DEATHS . BIRTHS . BOSWELL . —Fob . 13 , at Blackadder , Lady Houston Boswell : twins , a son and daughter . JONES . —Feb . 8 , at Ludford , near Ludlow , the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Inigo Jones : a daughter . PEN / RTJDDOCKE . —Feb . 13 , at Upper Brook-street , Grosvenor-sqnare , the wife of Charles Penruddocke , Esq ., of Compton Park , Wilts : a daughter . W 1 N 0 HELSBA . —Feb . 11 , at Haverholm © Priory , the Countess of Winchelsea : a daughter . MARRIAGES . BARING—MARTINOFF . —Feb . 10 , at Paris , Henry Baring , Esq ., M . P ., to Madcmoisello Marie de Martinoff . RAVENSHAW—THOMSON . —Jan . 4 , at the Cathedral . Calcutta , John Henry Ravenshaw , Esq .. Bengal Civil Service , youngest son of Jobn Hurdis Ravonshaw , Esq ., of Sufflold-house , Richmond , Surrey , to Caroline , only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel "W . J . Thompson , C . B . DEATHS . FOBES . —Nov . 6 , at Melbourne , Australia , while bathing in th . o Yarra Yarra River , Richard , younger son of Mr . Henry Philip Fores , bookseller , of 4 . 2 , South rAudley-street , _ ( irovesnor-square , aged twenty-one .
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CHARLES MATHEWS AND HIS STRUGGLES . In tbe way of theatrical gossip * , let me advert to the letter Charles Mathews has published in the Times , as an affecting vindication of himself from tli . e calumnies which spread with fungus-like rapidity , borne on the four winds of idle gossip . It shows that the last twelve years of his life have been an honourable struggle , not the dishonourable career of recklessness it has pleased the world to credit him with . For the sake of preserving this document , I give it here : — TO THE EDITOR OF THE " TIMES . " Sib , —I think tie public must be heartily tired of me and my affairs , but as the Sunday press has chosen to put forth a number of misstatements respecting the late events at the Lyceum Theatre , I deem it right to come forward , as I have always done , and tell my d-wn story . I have stood in a false position towards the world for many years , and hare been content
to fight my battle manfully bearing patiently the load I took knowingly wxm n » v Bhonlifer * cheered on ibrough every trial by the possession of n zoodeansp " « ST " Pro wqr WMnyaew , the favour of th ? public * , and t& firm ^ ngTat I 52 ? performing . ^ JSlSuSSS tinder aW superhuman difficulties . For this I have never had crldh ; on ? he contSf the world before me to be an extravagant , thoughtless , reckless fellow , Wing an Idle d £ solute life , totally regardless of my own honour and the interests of others , f his charWtar I not only indignantly disclaim , but m support of such disclaimer I confidently wbSlSm who know me . There are persons in all classes to whom such an appeal can be made In fact , in consequence of the calumnies now circulating , I am inviting acoinmittee of aeatle men , whose names will be guarantees to the world , to examine into the troth of my state ment , and to set me right , at least in this respect , in the eyes of the public . After the misfortunes at Covent Garden , when the Insolvent Court had released me from a burden , I can truly say , " unjustly" placed upon me , I was set free as tie « r from every difficulty . I was free in the eyes of the law no less than in those of commercial morality but I did not consider myself free in the eyes of my own honour , and I at once voluntarily devoted the rest of my life , if necessary , to the task of repaying several thousands of pounds which I considered due from the man , though not from the manager . From that moment for fourteen years , I have steadily worked night and day , through difficulty and sorrow , through evil report , through obstacles and apparent impossibilities , in all timesat the mercy ot hundreds of people , all with the tempting power of arrest in their hands . I have been tracked noon and night , -beset at the doors qf the theatre , besieged in my dressing-room-the very moment before assuming the light-hearted characters of the drama before a lauebia ? audience , whose only remark has been , « * Look at him ; he likes it . " *« r ^* All this I have done in spite of the eternal and unthinking advice of friends that I should again " wipe it all off and have done with it ; " to which , advice I have invariably -answered , "No—I will work it all off . 1 will not seek protection till all honourable means are exhausted . Is it too much to ask the public to assist me in my struggle .--not with money —they do th .- » t most liberally—but with their good word ? Is it too mien tdasklhem to give me credit rather than blame for my exertions ? Is'it too much ; to ask them ! instead , of SrESf iTf wT that i s tol ^» to *** & * # reporf of . a wmmittei w ^ ahafhavft tested the truth of what I assert ,, and meanwhile give the prisoner at the . Dae that benefit Si prisoners are allowed—of b ^ ing considered innocent until , proved guilty ? "¦ , ] ^ W : nJ f *? y ™^ P x ^ ij ac ? u | e V 06 of a dishonourable act , I here caU upon"W to come forward and substantiate it . 1 declare that my only crime is that I cannot pay-fast eatougnPS one has ever yet found me refuse to pay when I had the money ; foF | as to the absurW dishonourable insmuation , that I havemoney privately laid by wnSe 7 . allov myijelf tobepersecuted for the want of it and have also to pay for it dearer than any one elsT that may be taken as a type of what the invention of gossips can circnlate . ! ™ 7 i t 0 . * " late events at the Lyceum Theatre , these are the plamfacts : —FindmirthaUne claims , dating from last Easter , were pressing so heavily upon the present great rlVeipts ^ the greatness of the receipts , of course , causing the greatness of the pressure , aiiaTtaeteby jeopardising the interests ; of the general company , I called half a dozen of the principals ito my room ( mind I called them , not they me ) , and told them that , to guard their mterests , T had resolve to set apart from the nightly receipts the sum requisite for ihe current sauries , leaving to myself the task of meeting all claims , for the past as best I could ; claims , t emphatically observe , solel y connected with the theatre , and none of them wifll Vmy personal expenditure . It is right the public should know this . My proposal -was received Tvifch the warmest satisfaction . -. * The consequence was immediate . No sooner was the first night ( Monday last ) over , and the receipts appropriated to this legitimate purpose , than fifty judgments vfere at once acted upon , and at five o ' clock on Tuesday I was arrested .. It being too late'ta make other arrangements , and a splendid audience having assembled , the customary mode resbrteditb oa the sudden indisposition of a principal performer was adopted , and the indulgence of » the audience requested for another gentleman to read my part . This was , strange to say—and probably the first time such a thing ever happened in a London theatOT ^ Tinanuiiouslywlused , and the money was returned at the doors . On the next evening th « bars imposedby all tnoso judgment creditors were removed , and at half-past five I sent word to the company that I should be with them in an hour , begging them to be ready to perform , their duty : At twenty minutes past six I was there , and found the whole company ,, with R ' . few : honourable exceptions , had deserted their posts and quitted the theatre . The doors were once more closed in the face of a numerous audience , and ruin seemed inevitable . T . ¦ I have since called my old fellow-labourers back to their duty , explained the real state of affiurs , and I am now happy to say all is . going on as flourislungly as evsr < with cordiality behind the curtain , and good humour in front of it . Such is a brief statement of my fourteen years' struggle and of my latest difficulty . The theatre is again open to audiences numerous as before , and even more indulgent . T _ , ' . . „ lam , Sir , your obedient servant , Lyceum , Feb . 12 . o . J . MATHEWS . The English have too much love of fair play not to respond to this anpeal . r ¦ f One more bit of gossip : Charles Kean revives Richard III . on Monday next . It is understood , that in order to give reality to this Shakspearian performance , " six Richnaonds" are engaged to be on the field . ' Viviaw .
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THE LOVELOCK . The British Lion was not dead but sleeping ; he is roused at last to mild growls of royal wrath , showing that let " Manchester Men" wrap themselves in never so many yards of calico and fustian , they cannot swaddle him . The British nation rises against Russia . Chelsea is resolute , and Notti ng-hill comes forward ' * as one man 1 " The " Autograph of all the Russians" trembles in his shoes ; and well he may , since the national spirit is so A roused that a British pit recovers its old energy , and damns—yes , actually * damns a new play , not by any means with faint praise or " first night " triumphs , but vrith good hearty yaJis , and ironical applause . I thought Sheridan ' s mot , that u damns have had their day , " had come true , such flaccid supine indifference had playgoers for many years exhibited . Monday night dispelled the delusion , and the unhappy author of The Lovelock was told that there were bounds even to the patience of a British pit . The play was damned . Did it deserve its fate ? Frankly I think it did . There w < ere no redeeming points ; and had it not been acted as , it was by Wigan , Robson , Emery , and Mrs . Wigan , it nearer could have been endured to the end ; but their acting , the artistic scenery and dresses , aided by the hope that something must be coming to warrant such care and costume , kept us patient till the fourth act . I will not pause to criticise the piece , but simply note that the failure did not result from any one special defect in the story so much as from the radical and irremediable defect in the author—the total absence of dramatic sense , power , instinct , art- —call it what you will—which makes a man a dramatist . Not only was the story vague , childish , and uninteresting , but the characters wanted individuality —even the conventional outlines of stage types ; the actions seemed motiveless ; and the dialogue was of " that formless flaccid iind'which , is essentially undramatic ; even when the ideas and phrases were felicitous , they missed effect because tley were not expressed in dramatic forms . \ How the play , may read , I cannot say , but presume it must have some charm in it , or the manager would not have produced it . The difference , however , between what will read with effect and what will act with effect , is generic . Arid yet what pains had been bestowed on it ! Wigan , whose appearance reminded onje of Macready in Lear and Werner , played a long , dreary , unintelligible part with great elaborateness and with touches of beautiful truthfulness . Aobson , in both parts , showed himself an actor capable of coercing attention even to the most insignificant details . Emery was admirably " made up , " and played a monotonous character with as much effect as possible . And Mrs . Wigan , in a part of motiveless malignity , was incisive , natural , and amusing ; by her mode of delivering her points , she made the audience laugh even during their discontent ana weariness . But nothing could save the piece , and nothing saved it .
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BRITISH FUNDS FOR THE PAST WEEK . ( Otoaiira Pbiobb . ) Sat . I Mon . Tues . Wed . Thur . FHd . Bank Stock 21 C ! 216 217 218 218 3 per Cent . Red ' 02 * 02 f 92 f 021 02 * 934 8 por Cent . Oon . An . 91 } 92 Oil 01 ? © If » l | Consols for Account ! 91 } 91 J 91 J » 1 * Oil 918 81 per Cent . An j 98 j 93 | 93 J 03 98 * 93 | New 6 por Conts Long Ana . I 860 .... 5 Sff India Stock 230 H 32 285 Ditto Bonds , £ 1000 10 10 7 Ditto , under jf 1000 10 10 7 1 L p Ex . Bills , £ 1000 20 p , 20 p 20 p 31 p 18 p 18 p Ditto , . £ 000 ; 11 > P 20 p 21 p 18 p I 8 p Ditto , Bmall 19 p 20 p 21 p 18 p 18 p
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CORN MARKET . Marie Lane , Friday Evening , Feb . 17 . Local Trade . —The trado during the week liaa contin uod as dull as we have previously had occasion to report . The supplies of all Grain have been moderate . At this dav ' s market there is a small attendance of buyers , and all artiolea remain precisely as on Monday . Floating Trade . —Wo have to report a fair number of arrivals off the coast this week—say 34 cargoes in all . Tho trado has heon altogether lifeless sinoo last Friday . Some sales have been mado of cargoes , boLh arrived and on passage , but there in no briskness and purchasers do not appear vor \ confldont that thoy aro doiiiR right in operating . None of tlio facts which we navo hitherto put forward as likely to affect tho course of prices , appear to have boon incorrectly stated ; nevertheless , tho opinion whioh waa frequently oxpros . sod by hoitio persons a mouth ago , that Wheat would roach 120 a , has p iven place to doubts of oven prowmt rates being maintained , iuid this notwithstanding tho
warlike appearance of political affairs . Farmers continue to supply the country markets sparingly , and the most careful Inquiries we have been enabled to make load to the conclusion , that 'with the exception of individual oases , thero are no great accumulations of stock held throughout the country generally—in London . n < f doubt stocks are large . Alting the British Channel they are not so . We have had buyers of Wheat for immediate consumption from that quarter . In the Bristol Channel , and the West Coast generally , wro can hear of few persons largely in stock , and the same is the case on the Bast Coast . Glasgow is fully stocked . Ireland has , we think , rather more than wo had been given to understand by tho Irish themselves , but wo cannot find tliat stocks there are large . In Franco , and Belgium the same fluctuations of opinion from day to day as we have here are apparent . Up to the present time the movement thero has been downwards .
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MONEY MARliETAND CITY INTELLIGENCE . , t , , , , Friday Evening , February 17 , 1854 . The Funds have been wonderfull y well supported during the week ; but after the settlement of tho Account on Tuesday , they began to droop ; yot Eto incredulous is the public as to any real war taking place , that we shall not see any great fall until the first shot has boon fired , wheu no diploniaca abroad or dirt-eating at homo will explain that away iing ; Ush shares have boon nrm , although but little dealt in I ' retich shares aro lower . Tho people in Paris seem now to hav « set their house in order for the worse , and tho Emporor ' a letter thin week has not mendod matters . Tho delay in tho doparturo of our army for the Eaat , although easilyunderstood by tho initiated , gives a last hopo to the poacoat-al 3-events advocates . Land Companies , and Crystal Palace sharos continue toloraoiy nrm . Minos not much inquired after . A | j ; ua Frias arc reported to be in a position to divide a 25 per cent , dividend !! i , m ^' usular > uininK sharos aro bolter , despite of tho 5 s . call - 100 O tons of oro will be shipped and delivered in all , March ana April , and tlio accounts of tho richness of those mines iu real \ y fabulous , l ' ort RoyalH in Jamaica liavo made a litllu start upwards ; th < : silvorthat has boon assayed is very rich . iMiKllah gold-inimiig adventures aro u . uiol at present naving
nothing very brilliant to report . Money is very easy , and every confidence shown whatever as to the issue of the siruggle about to commence . Consols leave off at 8 . 30 alia w * —
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FOREIGN FUNDS . - —— - ( Last Ofjtjcial Quotation duiuno the WebK END ^ ira Thukbdat Evening . ) Brazilian Bonds 00 Russian JJonds , 6 per Buenos AyrosO per Conts . 09 Cents 1822 lOBd Chilian Oj > or Cents 102 Russian 44 per Cents ... 90 Danish 3 i ) or Conts SpanishSp . Ct . NewDof . 1 » A Ecuador Uonds 4 Spanish Committee Cert . Mexican 3 por Cents . ... 26 i of Ooup . not fun . 4 Mexican 3 por Ct . for Venezuela 34 per Cents " 28 i Ace , February 14 £ 4 J Belgian 4 . J per Cents .. I ' ortuKueao 4 por Cents . ... Dutch 24 per Cents . . 61 Fortugueao 3 p . Cents . ... Dutch 4 i > erOcnt . Oortif . 02 *
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Consols , 91 * . I ; Caledonian . 53 * , 54 ; Chester and Holyhead , 15 j , 16 J j Eastern Counties , 18 i , isf : Edinburgh and Glasgow , 61 , 64 ; Great Western , 82 J , 82 * ; Lancashire and Yorkshire , 66 * . 67 ; London ^ Brighton , and South Coast , 96 , 97 , ; London and North Western , 104 , 104 J ; London and South Western , 81 , 82 ; Midland , m . 885 ; Oxford , Worcester , and Wolverhampton- 84 . 86 ; Scottish Centrals , 90 . 82 : SJ ^ a ? ^*? ' jK ? ' J ^« , Newcastle , and Berwick 69 | , 70 *; York and North Midland , 49 , 50 ; East IndUn 2 | . 8 * . pro . ^ Luxembourg ( Railway ) , 7 . 7 f . Ditto , Pref . 1 , U ; Northern of France , 29 * , 29 f ; Pans and Lyons , 12 $ , 18 pm Pans and Orleans , 42 , 44 ; Paris , and Bouen . 35 , 87 , cxdiv . Rouen and Havre , 174 , 18 * ; Paris and Strasbourg , 28 | , 2 S | Sambre and Meuse , 8 , 8 * : West Flanders , 3 | , 4 * ; Western » L £ ra 5 y > 2 f , 3 * pm . ; Crystal Palace , i , lj pm . . North British Australasian . 1-16 dis . par . ; Australasian Agricultural , 41 , 48 ; Scottish Investment , Iff , 1 } pm . ; South Australian . 88 , 40 ; Van Diemen ' s Land , 18 . 14 ; Agua Frias 1 pm ., li ; Anglo-Califomian , par , 1-16 ; Colonial Gold , 1-lft pm ., 8-16 ; Brazil Imperial , 5 J , 6 ; Great Nuggetts , 1 dis . par : Linares , 10 , 11 ; Nouveau Monde , par , 4 , Port Philip , f dis . ff dis . ; South Australian ( copper ) , 1 dis .. 4 dis . ; United Mexican , 3 , 8 j : Walters , g , $ dis . ; Peninsula , 14 , If pin . ; Obernhofs , i dis ., par s Port Royals , 3 , i pm . ; Motealfo's , i , 8 pm . ; Poltimores , 1-16 , 8-16 pm .
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 18, 1854, page 165, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2026/page/21/
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