The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-15 00:00:00

HA YMARKET THEATRE.

Mr. Webster's farewell benefit last night attracted an
audience which filled every crevice of the house. At the
end of the Pretty Girls of Stilberg, which was the third
piece of the evening, ho came forward and delivered the
following address :
" Ladies and Gentlemen,—No words can express to you
how honoured and flattered I feel at this numerous assem-
blage of friends around me on this, my last appearance in the
character of lessee and manager of the little theatre in the
Haymarket. My final official duty is to offer you a grateful
farewell. Having grown in good opinion as au actor, it em-
boldened me to task your patience as a manager, and in cater-
ing for your amusement your patronage has given me no cause
to regret this experiment, though I bgan without the assist-
ance of a single farthing beyond what I had saved by rigid
economy out of a very small income. I found this theatre in
the lowest possible state when compared with other establish-
ments, and incapable of being kept open more than the four
summer months, when the leviathans Drury-lane and
Covent-garden—closed ; but, feeling that patronage was not
confined to period or place, I endeavoured to take John Bull
by the horns, and persevered till the leviathans gave way and
this favoured spot became the only constant home of the
drama for three years, once without closing a night, and I
should have continued to pursue that course had not the
principal performers complained of want of relaxation ; con-
sequently I have since made what are termed seasons ave-
raging about 10 months each. During the 16 years I have
held power here, the longest lesseeship in London on record,
I have had many very trying political and other not dramatic
influences to contend with, but no person employed by me
has ever felt them in manner or money ; and I can con-
scientiously state in all my transactions as man and manager,
I can leave an honourable and honest name to my chil-
dren. lam sure you will excuse this warmth of egotism on
a point so dear to me. A manager's life, ladies and gentlemen,
is not a bed of roses. With the mind ever on the stretch for
your pleasure, and his physical powers endlessly employed in
carrying out the mental efforts of others, who would induce
the thoughless to laugh at scars who never felt the wound of
such a position, though they have assisted to barb the arrow,
and to authors I find I have paid near 30,0001., if not more.
'Tis said, Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown ;' but far
more uneasy lies his head begirt with the tinsel crown of
theatrical sovereignty, where every popular favourite is a vice-
roy over him, and where the ways and means are not compul-
sory, but solely dependent on the will and pleasure of our so-
vereign, the public. However, if my labour in the cause of
the drama, which has been a labour of love, has met with the
approval of you, my tried and valued friends, it will not have
been love's labour lost.' Those who remember this theatre
when I first took it, sixteen years ago (of course I exclude the
ladies from so long a remembrance), must perceive the exten-
sive alterations, and I think I may venture to say improve-
ments, that I have accomplished during my tenancy ; abrupt
angles have given way to curves, and my circles, especially
froml have
kpeid• e stehnet
pit,occ uapnadn
ce
oy
u,
ladp,piena rang
or at
hc ee fru ls e inns
et,h
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ce
my exertions,
eyxeearit•
iho
na has
ausp,ptl
oi e
quoteits p
thece
tability, against any pit in London. I have stalled off what
was originally the orchestra, sometimes discoursing sweet
and actor too.' The pro-
scenium n sounds,otrhd
esoa fut
audible
heatpsweeterht
omo
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ms
of
cfa
nt
moa g e r
I have widened 11 feet, and entirely remodelled it,
and introduced gas for the fee of 5001. a-year, and the presen-
tation of the centre chandelier to the proprietors ; and, be-
hind the curtain, money has not been spared to render the
stage as perfect for dramatic representation as its limited
means will furnish. In fact, I have expended, with no ulti-
mate advantage to myself, on this property over 12,000/., be-
sides paying more than 60,0001. in rent , yet I have met with
anything but a generous consideration in return by the party
most interested in the result. I trust my successor, John Bald-
win Buckstone, my old friend and brother actor, will, as a
brother manager, experience a kindlier treatment ; at all
to the willdeserve it,co uarsa
gheor ee y
Ha sa hillvienwgpas
sz eead-
the future, you will perhaps pardon me if I
rovouemsnl events,
tsapmasendeavourstutroe
inform you that I have not turned my back on the Haymarket
without knowing with more certainty than Coriolanus did
that there is a world elsewhere—namely, the Theatre Royal
Adelphi, peopled with imaginative passages of life, serious
and comic, where I hope the exclusive devotion of my ener-
gies before and behind the curtain will insure me the gratifi-
cation of seeing many of the old familiar faces that have so
often gladdened my eyesight and heart here. I will, at least,
with the blessing of health, deserve the favour, both in the
quantity and quality of the material I shall present for your
inspection. lam bound to say that that successful establish-
ment has been the mainstay of my management, and, with
my previous successes here, placed me independent of the
world. Ladies and gentlemen, I fear I have been too diffuse,
but we are about to part suddenly from old friends. To the
performers who have served under my banner I publicly ten-
der my warmest thanks for their cordial co-operation at all
times and under all circumstances. To the press generally I
beg to acknowledge my sense of deep obligation, and, in
bidding you farewell on this stage. Ido so with the most
heartfelt gratitude, and with the sincerest wishes for your
happiness and prosperity. Ladies and gentlemen, God bless
you '"

The address was frequently interrupted by applause, and
at its conclusion several bouquets were thrown upon the
stage. Three supplemental cheers were likewise given by
the audience.

Mr. Webster's management of the Haymarket has con-
tinued for so many years, and has been distinguished by
such an earnest and unflinching struggle to maintain the
literary drama, that a short recapitulation of its principal
features will not be misplaced on this occasion.
On the 12th of June, 1837, the Haymarket Theatre
opened under the management of Mr. Webster with the
tragedy of Hamlet, the principal character being sustained
by Mr. Macready, whose engagement formed the chief
feature of the earlier part of Mr. Webster's first season.
During this engagement the modified version of Beaumont
and Fletcher's Maid's Tragedy, entitled the Bridal, was
first produced with Messrs. Macready and Elton and Mrs.
Warner as the principal personages. In the same season
Mr. Ranger, who is still a favourite actor in the provinces,
appeared as a delineator of French character, with con-
siderable success. But the most important
_eventw as
of
the
production of Mr. Knowles's Love Chase. This isone
the few, very few, pieces of the modern repertoire that have
attained a permanent position, and,
the talents of Mrs. the first season of
its performance, admirably drew forth
Glover, Mrs. Nisbett, Mr. Webster, and Mr. Strickland.
The season of 1838 was remarkable for the commence-
ment of that successful career at this house which Mr.
Power, without material interruption, continued till the
time of his final departure for America. The White Horse
of the Peppers and the Irish Lion will long be remembered,
if not for their intrinsic value, at any rate for their utility
in eliciting the humour of that inimitable Hibernian, Whose
loss was one of the saddest events connected with the mys-
terious fate of the President. Mr. Macready had com-
menced him epoch-making management of Covent-garden in
the winter of 1837 ; but, nevertheless, he appeared at the
Haymarket in the summer of 1838, and. his engagement
was the occasion of producing Mr. Serjeant Talfourd's tra-
gedy of the Athenian Captive. The reputation which the
legal poet had gained by his celebrated lon was then about
two years old, and the production of another tragedy from
the same pen was anticipated with curiosity. Mr. Sheri-
dan Knowles and Miss Elphinstone were also among the
" stars" of 1838, and the _Maid of Mariendorpt, a play
from the pen of the former, obtained an ephemeral success.
Nor would a record of this year be complete without an
allusion to the farce of Tom Noddy's Secret, which, although
the subject had been previously adapted at another house,
created a furore through the late Mr. Strickland's excellent
acting. Mr. Strickland was one of those valuable actors
whose death—like that of too many more—has left a gap
in the profession which has never been supplied.
During 1839 Mr. Charles Kean had a farewell engage-
ment at the Haymarket prior to his departure for America,
and the same year witnessed the return from America of
Miss Ellen Tree (now Mrs. Charles Kean), who made a
most successful debut at the same theatre in the character .