The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-18 00:00:00

The late STEPHEN GEO. KEMBLE, Esq.

( From The Durham Advertizer, June 14.)

This worthy charaeter whose death was re-
corded in our last, was the third son of Mr. ROGEn KEMBLE,
and brother of Mr. JOHN KEMBLE, 'of Mrs. SIDDONS, and
of Mr., CHARLES KEMBLE, those distinguished ornaments
of the British stage. Mr. STEPHEN KEMBLE was born on
the 3d of May, 1758, at Kingston; in Herefordshire. His fa -
ther forcibly impressed with the uncertainty of the theatrical
profession, resolved to devote his son Stephen to a pursuit that
seemed less precarious—and for this purpose, after giving him
as good an education as could be obtained, at so early an age
as that at which boys are usually sent into the world, he placed
him as an apprentice to anerninent surgeon at Coventry. His
son, however, disliked the profession ; and having imbibed,
in his intercourse with the theatrical company of which Mr.
Roger Kemble was .manager, a propensity for the stage, he
left his master, and joined in an itinerant company at Kidder-
minster. From that period he devoted himself wholly to the
stage, till a change of circumstances—the fruits of his talents
and industry—enabled him to retire from it with a comfortable
independence. • '
It would be as fruitless as difficult to pursue Mr. Kemble
through,the whole of his theatrical career. It is sufficient to
say, that having a strong partiality for the stage, and an excel-
lent understanding, he gradually improved in his art; and after
acquiring considerable reputation in various parts of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, he made his first appearance on the Lon-
don
boards at Covent-Garden Theatre in September, 1783. The
part he chose was Othello, and he_supported it with truth, feel-
ing; and judgment.
In the November following, Mr. Kemble was married to Miss
Satellell of the same theatre—a young lady who had deser-
vedlyA acquired high estimation with the public.
'ln the course of the following year, an unlucky misunder-
standing with the prop:ietors of the theatre induced Mr. and
Mrs. Kemble to relinquish their connection with it. They
left the capital, and entered into enegements with some of
the provincial managers. They remained a few years in the
country performing with gfeat success, but were invited by the
elder Colman, an excellent judge of theatrical merit, to join
his company at the summer theatre in the Haymarket. Here
Mr. and Mrs. Kemble had many opportunities of displaying
-their talents, and increasing their reputation. The situation,
however, of being dependent on• the will and judgment of a
manager not agreeing with Mr. Kemble's feelings and hopes,
he became a manager himself, and conducted for some years
the theatres of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle-upon-
Tyne. He afterwards joined to his theatrical circuit the Dur-
ham, Sunderland, North and South Shields, Stockton, 'and
.Scarborough theatres_; and in 1800 he relinquished the Edin-
burgh and Glasgow theatres. In 1806, Mr. Kemble retired
from the management of the Newcastle Theatre, and in- the
following year he sub-let the whole of the other theatres (of
-which he had obtained a long lease from Mn'. Cawdell, the
widow of the former manager) to Messrs. Anderson and
Faulkner.
Obtaining a considerable reputation in various places by his
performance of Falstaff, Mr. Kemble was ambitious to have
his provincial fame ratified by the decision of a London au-
silence, and .having signified his wishes to the proprietors of
Drury-lane Theatre, they readily acquiesced, and he visited
the metropolis in consequence a few years ago. He performed
several times with. the greatest success, and he repeated his
performance before a London audience some time afterwards.
in Auglist„ 1818,..when the- affairs of Drury. Lane Theatre
were not in the most prosperous state, and while the share-
holdeis were divided amongst ffiemselves, Mr. Kemble was
pointed by the sub-committee to the arduous situation of Ma-
nagerof chat theatre—a' situation which lie filled with great
credit to himself, apd satisfaction, as far as was possible, to the
conflicting parties who were interested in the success of the
establishment. At the close of the season, Mr.. Kemble return.'
.ed into the country, resolved to spend his remaining days in
peace and quietness, though he has since occasionally perform-
ed, and given public readings. He made his final appearance
upon the stage so lately,.as the 20th of last month, when he
performed in the Durham Theatre the part of Sir Christopher
Curry, in the play of hide and Yarico, for the benefit of Mr.
and Miss Bland, to whom he gave his gratuitous assistance.
As an actor Mr. Kemble was always correct and impressive,
and in hig best days he was unrivalled in the 'character we have
just named. He alsos excelled in the parts of Sir Anthony
Absolute, Sit. Robert Bramble, and such others as were marked
with inflexible integrity and genuine worth; and no man per-
haps read Shakspeare with more correctness, or delivered the
sentiments of that great author with finer effect. Of his decla-
mation we need only quote the opinion of one than, to establish
its excellence—the late Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Esq. said
of' Mr. Stephen. Kemble, that he was the best declaimer he had
ever heard on or off the-stage. •
We have hitherto spoken,of Mr. Kemble only in his public
character a's an actor ; in private life lie was also distinguished,
and few men will be equally missed from the society in which
they move. For the.last ten years of his life (if we except his
occasional absence) he had resided at the Grove, a delightfully
Pleasant and retired spot, which he purchased in the Mime-
diate vicinity of this city. He was very generally acquainted
with, the inhabitants of Durham, and as generally respected;—
possessed of a kind and affable disposition, and of an intelli-
gent rn.ind, well stored .With the materials to promote social har-
mony., his company was much sought after, and he invariably
Contributed to the enjoy ment of those with whom he associated.
He was always among the foremost in the ranks of loyalty
and patriotism,- and we have frequently, heard him declare, he
felt grateful that he lived under so excellent a King, and so ad-
mirable a form of Government. His benevolence was another
striking characteristic, as he was ever ready to afford relief to
suffering, hypartity. ; the benefits which he so frequently gave
to the public charities, during his theatrical management, stand
reCorded, and will for ages shed a lustre on his memory.
• Mr. Kemble closed his mortal career on:Wednesday the stli
instant. He was interred on Tuesday last the 11th, within the
Chapel of the Nine Altars, at the eastern extremity of the Ca
thedral Church of' Durham. The funeral was intended to have
been private,,but many of the friends of the deceased simulta-
neously assembled to pay the last sad tribute of respect, and
they accompanied the mournful procession from Mr. Kemble's
late residence to the Abbey. The chief mourners were Mr.
Henry Kemble, the son of the deceased, Mr. Arlswright, his
son•-m-law, and
.Mr. Bland, nephew to :Mrs: Kemble. The
funeral service was performed in an impressive manner by.the
Rev. W. N. Darnell, B.D. one of the Prebendaries of Dur-
ham, and the body was committed to the silent tomb in the
presence of many hundreds of spectators who appeared gene-
rally'to mourn the loss which society had sustained.
Just as we had finished the above imperfect sketch, we re-
ceived the following lines from 'Stockton :
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION

For the late STEPHEN GEORGE KEMBLE, Esq. Comedian.

Stop passenger, a moment stay,
And on this grave thy tribute pay—
. The tribute of an honest tear ;
For He, who now lies buried here,
Did many a heart and eye beguile
Of many a tear, and many a smile.
STEPHEN GEORGE KEMBLE now no more
Will set the table in a roar !
Nor make our hearts with pleasure swell—
, 0 ! who shall play his part so well !
• lie's goneln Faith—(yet may we mourn)—
A happy visitant to Shakspeare's bourne,
From whence nu traveller shall e'er return. .
" Take him for all in all"—no gospel truth more plain—
" We shall not look upon his like again !"
Stockton, June 12, 1822.

SUDDEN DEATII.—A woman named Chambers
was charged in the St. Giles's watch-house book, with an assault
at Marlborough-street Police Office, yesterday ; and her sister,
who was a witness in her behalf, was waiting at Mr. Wright's,
the Marlborough Head, opposite the Office, with a young
'child in her arms. It was covered over with a shawl, and sup-
posed to be sleeping, but on uncovering the face it was found
to be a corpse.
MELANCHOLY ACClDENT.—Yesterday morn•
as Mr. Knight, a respectable tradesman, residing in St.
John's-square, Clerkenwell, accompanied by his wife, severa•
of his children, and some friends,. were going over the upper
part of the Wellington Brewery, in the City-road, to view
the apparatus; Mrs. Knight, not perceiving an aperture in
the floor,' fell through into the' landing below. *Her legs,
thigh, and collar-bone were broken, and she was taken up in
an almost lifeless state. Every thing surgical skill could sug-
gest was resorted to, and she was conveyed home without
hopes of recovery..
SINGULAR INSTANCE OF LONGEVITY OF A
Hoitsr.—There is now living and in the possession of the Pro-
prietors of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation, where ..he has
been the most part of his life, a horse 63. years old thiS grass ;
he is perfectly sound and free from blemish, and has been in
, regular work till within a few years. He is now kept at, ease
for his past service; which have been great to an extreme. He.
is about a mile from Warrington, and any person having the
curiosity to see him, may call at the Blackßear public-house,
in Lutchford.--( Liverpool Advertiser. )