The National Register.
London, England, 1813-02-14 00:00:00

TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER.

110

isereemmersemesek,
with the greatest presence of mind, determined to get into the old itia.i's
house in the disguise of a footman, and, in that character, t,) n like lo‘e
to, and run otf with his daughter Sophia (Miss KELLY). Ile got into
the house, but he waN never afterwards heard to talk of his inti nded
scheme, or seen to make love to the lady, or even to speak to her. He
spade awkward pantomimic mis..akes, such as beating his master's coat
while the master was sitting in the chair asleep—petting snuff into
the
tea-pot instead of tea, which set the parties sneezing, a very natural re-
sult from ta+ting water that had Leen mixed with snuff; and he either
uttered bad puns, or afforded others the opportunity of being so guilty ;
as fir instance, when a chin was soaped by mistake, the offender was to
be lathered ; and when some noise that was heard was said to be only a
rat, it was called a umpi►►g rat. An Irish fortune-hunter, Patrick
O'Fagan (Mr. JotiwsT'oN F.), appeared, but having nothing to do, we
cannot pretend to describe his merits. Like a shadow he came, and so
departed Williams (Mr. WAt.t.xcx), the reed lover, a Naval Lieute-
nant, made hisfirst appearance just before the conclusion of the whole;
but, after having rolled himself about in his peculiar and inimitable
style fur some nroment., the null contents bec"
ame so loud in their cries
of .4 No, ! Oft; of Manager, Manager! that we heard not what
fine things he might have expressed.
There were some songs, but the one which gave the great-
est satisfaction was sung by Mr. BANNISTER, and consisted
of puns on the names of our Newspapers, truly observing,
that the Courier was slow in coming—that The Day did not
appear before Night, and that The. Pilot had lost his way .1
This was encored..-The Performers did the utmost to save
the piece.
When the curtain fell, BANNISTER, as the absent man,
remained on the stage. apparently unconscious the perform-
ance had reached its close. The hisses and cries of disap-
probation, which had risen very high, still continued. He
remained long on the stage, and the audience long kept up
the tumult. When the storm had subsided a little (a very
little) he endeavoured to make himself heard, and expressed
surprise at ending himself there; but added, since be was
there, he might as well give out the Piece for a second re-
presentation. This was strongly opposed. He went on to
epeak the Prologue in the Play in Hamlet :
" For us, and for our Tragedy.
Here stooping to your clemency.
We beg your hearing pritiently. •
This had not the effect of conciliating the audience, and. he
retired.
A cry was now made for the Manager, and was continued
for some time without eflect. The cry became general, and
" RAYMOND," " Manager," " Come forward," &c. were
vmciferated from all parts of the house. Towards the end
of Ale farce, the audience had risen to oppose the perform-
ance. They now resumed their seats, and patiently (but not
quietly) waited the appearance of the Manager. For some
time they waited in vain, but at length the lamps rose again,
:and a minute after Mr. itAvstoND made his appearance:
He was welcomed with universal applause, and silence ob-
tained, spoke as follows
-Ladies and Gentlemen--I was in a different part of the house, or
would certainly sooner have obeyed your stonnions—(Loud applause).
It certainly is not the wish of the Proprietors of this Theatre to cause to
be represented any piece that may be obnoxious to you."
Here the speaker was loudly applauded, and shouts of
M victory," were continued for some time. Silence was
again obtained with some difficulty, and Mr. RAYMOND
proceeded—
" Ladies and Gentlemen—When this piece has undergone some al•
terations"—[Here he was interrupted, and cries of " No, No !" were
beard from every part of the lonise.] Mr. RAYMOND resumed.—
" Ladies and Gentlemen—lt eertaiiily is not the wish of the Pro-
prietors to represent any piece which is obnoxious to you, but as every
Piece produced is attended with considerable expense, when such al-
teratitms are made"—[Here he was again interrupted with strong marks
of diapprobetion.)—" When aiterations are made, will you suffer it
again to be submitted to you i"
Loud cries of " No, No," again burst forth. Some of the
audience called out el Yes," but these were completely over-

FEB. 14

powered by the opposition. Mr. RAYMOND having ascer-
tained that the " Noes had it," bowed and retired, and, of
course, it was expected " The Absent Apothecary" would
hencefw th he absent.
What was therefore the astcnishment of the public, to Fee
it announced for representation the next and following days.
Justice hay, however, at length overtaken it ; and after a re-
sistance, which h:ts only served to create general disgust, the
Manager 114 s at last been compelled to withdraw it en-
tirely from the Stage.