The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-23 00:00:00

The Actors' Shakspere Supper.

The members of the profession to which Shaks-
pere belonged were determined to be first in the
field in celebrating the tercentenary of his birth,
and accordingly they gave a professional demons-
tration in the shape of a supper at the Freemasons'
Tavern last evening, when the chair was announced

to be taken by Mr. Benjamin Webster at a quarter
to twelve, Mr. Buckstone occupying the vice-chair.
About 400 sat down, among whom were Mr. Paul
Bedford, Mr. J. Clarke, Mr. E. Clarke, Mr. W.
Montgomery, Mr. Fergusson (the eminent surgeon),
Dr. Hastings, Dr. O'Connor, Mr. J. L. Toole, Mr.
H. Webb, and Mr. Frank Toole.

The chair was not taken until nearly a quarter
past twelve.

The CHAIRMAN rose Pnd said—Gentlemen, the
tercentenary birthday of Shakspere has commenced.
(Loud cheers ) Respect the hour, and behold the
great genius in whose honour we are assembled.

Air. Webster then unveiled, amid loud applause,
a bust of Shakspere.

The CHAIRMAN then said—" May good digestion
wait on appetite, and healt'a on both." (Cheers.)
Supper baying been partaken of,

The CHAIRMAN said—" For what we have re
ceived may the Ep!rit of Shakspere bless the meet
ing."

The usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been
proposed and duly honoured,

Mr. BUCKSTONE, who was cordially applauded in
proposing the toast of the evening, said—Gentle-
men, the toast I have been deputed to propose is
one that it will be your duty and your pleasure to
receive with every expression of delight, as that
toast is " The Birth of Shskspere." (Cheers.) This
day 300 years ago a baby boy was born, born in
that low-rooted room at Stratford-upon-Avon, on
whose walls thousands upon thousands of pilgrims
to that humble shrine have inscribed their names.

The happy mother of that boy, while listening to
his " mewling and puking," never dreamt of the
immortality awai:ing the little stranger nestling at
her boson], never thought that that boy would not
bo " of an age, but of all time"—(hear)—that he
who could then but murmur inarticulate sounds—
(uproarious laught,r)—would live to give a poetic
and a lasting lustre to the English tongue it had
never known before—(loud cheers)—and bequeath
to England those imperishable plays that have made
our country's drama the noblest in the world.
(Loud cheers.) And when I ;ook around me and
see this large gathering of English actors to com-
memorate the birth of Shakspere, I consider it not
only a glorious movement, not only one that has
❑ever before been accomplished, but one that is an
honour to us all; and to see you thus united,
thus socially sitting together, with no other
thoughts and feelings than those of goodwill and
kindness to one another, and all eagerly assisting in
a great celebration, I am reminded of one of the
verses of a song for Shalispere's birthday, Written
years ago by my old and still unforgotten friend,
the late Laman Blanchard, who there says of Shaks-
pere—

"All his mighty mind was love ;
Yes--sure his pen was once a feather
In the wing of Noah's dove ;
It links us so in peace together."
Loud cheers.) Now, gentlemen, let us drink
"The Birth of Shakepere"—the birth of one who
was not only our great poet—not only an actor—
but, I am happy to add, as a source of comfort and
encouragement to our chairman and myself, he was
a manager—(laughter)—and paid his salaries—
(laughter)—a virtue which both of us have hitherto
strictly emulated. (Renewed cheers'and laughter.)
And as a celebration like this may not occur again
for another hundred years, and as it is not very
possible that many of us will be alive then—(loud
laughter)-1 call upon you to honour the toast of
our illustrious Englishman to honour it on this
April morning—
" The hallowed morn
When Will was born,
In the spring time of the year"—
with hearty and joyous English cheers. Gentle-
men, "The Birth of Shakspere."
The toast was drunk with loud and prolonged
cheers, and was followed by the following sonnet,
written expressely for the occasion by Mr. John
Brougham, the music composed by Mr. A. Mellon :-
46 What shall his crown be ? Not the laurel leaf
That, blood•-besprinkled, decks the warrior's head,
Who grasps at Glory, as Destruction's chief :
A living monument to thousands dead,
Bequeathing a vast legacy of grief—
Some peat-incarnate, fed with human life,
Born of Ambition or the list of strife.
" In regal coronet shall we proclaim
Him Monarch P That would circumscribe his worth;
A kingly diadem would only shame
The kinglier THOUGHT, whose realm is the whole earth I
Such petty vanities tut mock his fame.
Profane it not—he is all crowns above :
Hero of PEACE—Evangelist of LOVR 1"
The piece was loudly encored, and was followed
by continuous cheering.
The CHAIRMAN said —Gentlemen, Mr. Alfred
Mellon is unavoidably absent, although nothing
would have given him greater pleasure than to have
been present to witness the approbation with which
you have received his composition. (Cheers.) Mr.
Brougham is present, and ho has won half the ad-
miration. (Cheers.) Anything more beautiful than
his ode it is impossible to conceive. (Cheers.)
In answer to the unanimous call of those present,
Mr. Brougham came forward and was roudly
cheered.
The CHAIRMAN then rose and said—l approach
the next toast with a reverence, I may say an awe,
at the dazzling mightiness of the subject, and the
knowledge of my littleness to propose it. This feel-
ing will, I fear, make my speech come from me as
birllime does from frit Ze—wil!.pluck out brain and all
—and leave a most lame and impotent conclusion ;
but my heart is buckled to the task, and I will
stand the hazard of the die. Genios can only be
fully estimated by a kindred genius, and seldom

has genius been judged by its peers. It hes been
said, perhaps, truthfully , that the works of Shak•
spere are his greatest monument ; but why statues
should only rise out of blood instead of brains is to
me a paradox. If, then, his works be indeed his
noblest monument, what words of mine can do

justice to his memory when brass and stone w

moulder and decay, while his inspired poesy will
exist till doomsday. His works have been justly
and not irreverently called the Bible of literature,
and while the sacred book of Holy Writ solaces the
civilised world with heavenly love and hope, the

book of Shakspere fills the human mind in our
earthly pilgrimage with unalloyed pleasure and the
highest aspirations. His plays abound in the deepest
researches of nature and art, clothed in most eloquent
language, each carrying out a separate and distinct
moral, with philosophy looking into the remotest
recesses of the heart, but into the world of the future,
showing that he was not for an ago but for all time.
His writings are rife with lessons for every class,
conveyed with most amazing and amusing power.
He makes no distinction ; and whether with play-
fullest wit or most serious argument, he teaches
clemency to royalty, humility to aristocracy, tole-
rance to the people, and duty to all. Shakspere had
a masteramind on all subjects, which is more than
can be said of any other man of any age or any
country, and a thorough knowledge of his works
affords endless food for conversation or rtflection.
No profession, no art, no philosophy, no science but
may find an apt quotation in Shakspere. Even the
wondrous power of electricity may quote, " I'll put a
girdle round the earth in 40 minutes." Teeming with
those principles that elevate the soul of the poet to
the height of his genius, he charmed and con-
soled humanity by his art, fulfilling thus his
glorions mission, which posterity will reverence.
Many eminent men have attained, in the memories
of man, greater renown than any hereditary or
heraldic names can boast, but not one has attained
the deserved distinction of the immortal Shakspere.
If it be true that men of genius die only in the
flesh; if it be true that, after the cruel hour which
puts a term to their magnificent creations, they con-
tinue among us in the spirit—the work of enchant-
ment for which they came oa earth—we can say of
Shakspere that he will live to charm the present, as
he
.has the past and after us all future generations.
The kingdom of genius is the greatest inheritance
on earth, for what king ever sat in such state as
Shakspere, who is enthroned in the hearts of all
mankind ? He has spoken of the divinity that doth
hedge a king. What divinity, then, doth hedge
our Shakspere ? I see assembled here the workers
out of his works to do honour to his memory. Could
he look down upon us it would add another joy to
his place above, for I verily believe had fate not
driven him within the walls of a theatre those
dramas which have such a world-wide fame could
never have sprung Minerva-like from his brain.
The practical knowledge necessary for such a task
could only be acquired by such association, and we
may justly feel proud that amid actors his dramatic
genius had birth. Of Shakspere's self we know
little. The poet has done nothing to dispel the
night in which the man was enveloped. What
relations had Shakspere with his contemporaries ?
To what political party was he attached ? To what
social fraction, to what philosophical or religious
sect did he appertain ? Oa all these points history
is dumb, so mysterious, obscure, so enveloped in
shadow has been the life of that glorious being ; and
perhaps it is wisely ordained to leave these earthly
matters to imagination, which will endow him with
greater earthly attributes. However, if we are
to believe in " Shakspere's boys," the guardian
of horses became the pastor of men. He died, we
know, in ease and comfort, which is not the
lot of all who essay to climb the thorny steep
of literary fame, for the crown of the poet is
often that of the martyr. Nations far and wide are
uniting to do honour to the poet of the world, for
as his writings are said to be for all time, so are
they for all civilised nations, present or to come.
Oar hearts unite themselves to render a solemn
homage to him whose genius was stored with the
richest and most varied of inspirations. If the
spirits of the departed be permitted to revisit the
glimpses of the moon, let us hope his spirit hovers
over us now whilst we drink in solemn silence, our
hearts only speaking love and,adoration, to the im-
mortal memory of Shakspere.
The toast was drunk in solemn silence.

Mr. Santley then sang "Take, oh take, those lips
away," composed expressly for this occasion by Mr.
A. Mellon, which was encored and vociferously
applauded.

Dr. O'CONNOR proposed " The Players' Art,"
observing that every actor present might be proud
of belonging to the profession of which Shakspere
was so distinguished a member, Might we long
appreciate the players' art, and might we long have
players to strut upon the stage to do honour to those
immortal plays Shakspere had given us. (Cheers.)
Mr. BROUGHAM briefly responded on behalf of
the actors present.
There was then a general call for Mr. G. V.
Brooke, upon which

Tile CHAIRMAN said that he should be delighted
to call upon Mr. Brooke to propose " The British
Drama," (Loud cheers.)
Mr. G, V. BROOKE then proposed " The British
Drama ;" after which the toast of " The Illustrators
of Shakspere" was proposed and cordially received.
The company separated at a late hour.

The following vocalists offered the tribute of their
art on this occasiol :—Mr. Santley, Mr. G. Perren,
Mr. A. St. Albyn, Mr. B. Bowler, Mr. Fielding,
Mr. Barnby, Mr. Coward, Mr. W. H. Eburne, Mr.
Geo. Tedder, Mr. T. Distin, Mr. Aynsley Cook,
Mr. J. A. Shaw, Mr. J. Rouse, Mr.Bartleman, Mr.
G. Honey, Mr. J. Patey, Mr. H. Distin, Mr. W.
H. Montgomery, and Mr_ Dawson. Mr. Benedict
conducted the part-songs and choruses. The general
musical arrangements were under the direction of
Mr. Alfred St. Albyn.

APOTEEECARIESI-11ALL.—The following aro the
names of tho gentlemen who passed their examination in
the science and practice of medicine, and received certifi-
cates to practise, on Thursday, April 21 :—Richd. Istance,
Carmarthen; John Edmund Gunning, Surbiton, Surrey;
Joseph Carter Neynoe Murphy, 75th Regiment ; John
William Devereux Bain, Brunswick-terrace, Blackwell.
ST. ANN'S SOCIETY.—The annual dinner of the

- -
Royal Asylum of the Society of St. Ann was held
yesterday at the London Tavern, the Lord Mayor in the
chair. The ordinary loyal and patriotic toasts having been
drunk and responded to, the Lord Mayor rose to propose
the toast of the evening, " Prosperity to the Asylum of St.
Ann." His lordship commenced by warning his hearers
that it was of very little use to drink the toast if they did not
come forward to support the very deserving charity whose
claims he was about to advocate, The Royal Asylum of St.
Ann was established as tar back as the year 1702, for afford-
ing home, clothing, maintenance, and education to the
children of those who had moved in a superior position in
life, but who from misfortune had been compelled to cast
themselves on the generosity of their more fortunate
brethren. This great metropolis was acknowledged to be
the centre of the wealth of the empire, and as its chief
magistrate he was proud to say that it was also the centre
of its charity. The great city companies which formed part
of its corporation had often been accused of being fond of
indulging in social pleasures, but he would remind his
hearers that on such occasions they never forgot to help
their poorer brethren, who through force of circumstances
had been thrown into a less fortunate position than them-
selves. The institution in whose cause they were assem-
bled this evening had special claims on the charity of
those present, for none cf them knew how soon those
who were dear to them might require its assistance and
support. The institution, besides affording to its pupils
the advantages of a very liberal education, was perfectly
liberal in its operations, none of those religious restrictions
being found among its rules which in the case of other
charitable corporations were found to be so irksome. After
what he had said he was sure it was needless for him to
urge the interests of the asylum any further. It had been
his lot on several occasions to advocate many charities con-
nected with this metropolis, but it was seldom he had done
so with so much pleasure as in the present instance. The
secretary then announced subscriptions to the amount of
only £6OO, a very small sum for so deserving a charity.
This is, no doubt, to be accounted for by the fact that a notion
has got abroad that the asylum is possessed of large re-
sources, whereas the truth is that it is one of the poorest in
London, and almost entirely dependent for support on its an-
nual subscriptions. The healths of the trustees, of the war.
dens, of Mr. Leeks, the energetic secretary, and of the other
officers of the institution, wore then proposed, and the meet-
ing broke up at a late hour. Besides the Lord Mayor, there
were present Lord H. Gordon, Sir Van N. Pole, Sir F.
Agar, Sir It. Sydney, Col. North, M.P., Captain Claxton,
R,N.) and many others intereated in the charity.

Serious Railway Accident near Driffiell

esa ?
On Wednesday morning, about ten o'e orkin,
ligenco reached Hull that a serious and frightiten,
accident had occurred on the Hull and ScarboreeFU
line, near Driffield. At first a rumour spread volt/
great rapidity to the effect that at least three Per
sons had been instantaneously killed. On the arrival
of the first train from Scarborough, however, the
real extent of the disaster was made known. For-
tunately matters were not so bad as had been "Pre:
sented, although several of the passengers had en
taiued serious injury. The train to which the arc'
dent occurred was the government train which leaves
,
Hull at 20 minutes past six o'clock in the eaoreates
for Bridlington and Scarborough. The train wag
somewhat loneer than usual, and owing to the r'rlf.
field cattlefair being held a large number of butclafe3
cattle dealers, and drovers from Hull were smogs_
the passengers. The carriage next to the engine Rag
a third-class one, and it was to this carriage that t .1
accident occurred. The train proceeded as usual entl
it passed Lockingtou. Soon after leaving that
etatiou the carriage began to jolt in a manner 8115';
thing but agreeable to the passengers. This wa
thought nothing of at first, and was believed to b
a
caused by the line being scarcely level. This W°o
found not to be the case, as the jolting got worse'
and before long became almost unbearable. Therefr
were about forty passengers in the carriage, and 48
a time they were fully convinced that the earrieg.
had got off the line. The train was going at eousl,
derable speed, and they every moment expected
that the carriage would be overthrown, so violent
was the shaking. Tho engine-driver and Ora
d
were made aware that something was wrong, find
both applied their breaks to stop the traite. Before
the train could be stopped many of the passeugerri
became so alarmed that at one time it aPPearedf,
highly probably that several of them would jurrie
out before the speed had been much reduced. Some
of the more prudent of their fella w-travellers, h°?7,l
ever, dissuaded them from rushing on what appeared
to bo almost certain death. So great was the Pa—
„
in the carriage that some of the female passenger°
would have jumped out had they not been forcibly'
restrained. Notwithstanding every persuasion dr.
Ledger, butcher, Regent-street, Hull, sprang out c!,
the carriage and fell very heavily to the groriou'
By this time the alarm had spread to several of t 49
other carriages, and Mr. Shearemith, butcher, Cutl/'
be rland-street, Hull, and Mr. Straker, of BevalleP
jumped from one of the other carriages, both re.
ceiving very serious injuries. Before the train could
be brought to a stand, the floor of the first cot:orl'
ment of the first carriage was suddenly spilt ill
two, and the passengers with great difficulty'
climbed into the next compartment, thus escaPi4
serious injury. The train was stopped a short di"
tance from Hutton Cranswick, when it was foul
that the broken carriage was off the line, nh"
that the tire of ono of the wheels wag
broken. The passengers, having satisfied 01°11:
selves as to the cause of the accident, started lit
great numbers back along the line in search of Or°
who had jumped out of the carriages, and whom they'
fully expected to find either horribly mangled Or
killed. Mr. Ledger was found lying on his back 'll
a state of insensibility. He was much bruised about
the head, and on one eye there was a frightful gs9'
from which the blood was oozing. Mr. Shearen3ith
was found in a state of great suffering,having brokerl
one of his legs in the fall. Mr. Streaker had also
received serious injury, and had by the leap 1.'0173
the train put out one of his ankles. A Mr. Strekevo
jun., and Mr. S. Edmonds, Hull, also jumped fro9l,
the train, but escaped unhurt. The sufferers receive'
every attention, and were brought to Hull by' the
train from Scarborough, which arrived at the seen°
of the disaster a short time after its occurrence'
The shattered carriage having been got out of the
way the passengers were conveyed to their destine'
tion.—Eastern Counties Herald.