The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-05 00:00:00

MEMOIR OF MR. POWER,.
COMEDIAN. _

The -ontinued absence of the President steamer,
among the passengers by which vessel was the gifted I
subject of this Memoir, having caused one universal feel-
ing of heartfelt sorrow throughout the empire, a brief
notice may not be quite unacceptable at the present pe-
riod. Mr. Power, whose brilliant talents as a comedian,
and honourable character as a gentleman, made him the
idol of the public and companion of the nobles of the
land, was born in the town of Waterford, in the year
1798. We give this from his own statement, though it
has been contradicted by some. Of his family little is
known beyond the fact that his mother was an actress,
and that from his earliest years her son was attached, to
the profession which in after life he so much adorned.
In the year 1813 his mother was engaged in the com-
pany of Mr. Williams, in the town of Cardiff, in Wales,
and Master Power was also an actor in such parts as his
age permitted. At this period an opportunity pre-
sented itself of placing our hero as an apprentice in the
office of Mr. M`Lecal, a printer in the town, which
his mother, with a praiseworthy regard for what
she considered his future interest, gladly embraced,
preferring for him the prospect of obtaining a trade
to the precarious profession of the stage. The
mother 'and son consequently were then separated,
she to pursue* her theatrical engagement with Mr.
M`Leod's company, which quitted Cardiff at the end of
the season, and he to remain in the town to learn his
trade. Though he had left the calling of an aetor, the
spirit of his first profession was strong within him, and
in 1814 Mr. Masterman to whom his indentures had been
made over, consented, on the return of the company to
Cardiff, to permit him to appear on the stage in that
town 'for limited period. During his engagement he
played
Romeo, Norval, Jaffier, Macbeth, and Murtoch
Delany. The three former parts, with others of the
same class, technically denominated the juvenile tragedy,
occupied his study during a considerable portion of his
riper years. - Shortly after this he quitted his employer,
and, abandoning the compositor's stick for the trage-
dian's truncheon, -resumed his career as a disciple of
Thespis, seeking in the various small towns of the prin-
cipality that practice in the various branches of his art
that so materially assisted in placing him ultimately in
the highest rank of his profession. In 1815 we find him
engaged in the theatre, Newport, Isle of Wight, under
the management of the well-known Mr. Thornton, where
he appeared in the character of Alonzo, in the tragedy
of Pizarro. Here he remained during -a season,
playing the range of character comprehended under
the term of light comedy and jutenile tragedy,
which in companies such as that of the Newport
Theatre are always undertaken by the same actor. In
1816 he joined the Canterbury circuit, then under the
management of the celebrated comedian Dowton, in the
same position as he had occupied in that of Newport.
In the towns of Canterbury, Chatham, Rochester, and
Tunbridge-wells for two seasons he continued to per-
sonata the parts before enumerated, and became thoroughly
studied in that department of the drama. In 1817,
though the instrumentality of Mr. Sims, the only thea-
trical agent at that period, he obtained an engagement at
the Theatre Royal, Crow-street, Dublin, then under the
direction of Mr. W. Farren, and presented himself be-
fore the critical tribunal of a Dublin audience, in the
character of Romeo, Miss O'Neil, who was then fulfill-
ing. an engagement as a star, sustaining the character
Juliet on this occasion ; and in the farce of "Raising the
Wind," on the same evening, he was the Jeremy Did-
dler. The letter is now before us in which Mr. Sims
introduces our hero to Mr. Frederick E. Jones,• the
patentee of the Crow-street theatre, as " a young man
studied in youthful tragedy and light comedy, and
posSessing a good wardrobe," an invaluable acquisition
to a young actor. His success during the first season
was not very brilliant. The manager imagined that
tragedy was not exactly his forte, and he gave no indica-
tion of the distinguished position he was afterwards de-
stined to hold. A circumstance occurred at the close of
the first season that gave a different tone to the director
of the theatre, and in some degree led to Mr. Power's
subsequent success in the metropolis of England. Miss
Kelly, who had been engaged for a short time as a star,
chose for her benefit the comedy of She Would and She
Would Not. By some chance the part of Trappanti, the
principicalsomic character, was unfilled, there being no
actor in the theatre studied in it. Miss Kelly, however,
was unwilling to change the play, it being by command
of the. cord Lieutenant, the Duke of Rutland. In this
dilemma Mr. Power was applied to, who instantly under-
took to perfect himself in the character. . The result was
most satisfactory. The audience were profuse in applause.
The manager perceived that the new actor had more ta-
lent than he was at first disposed to give him credit for,
and Miss Kelly gave him an assurance of her best recom-
mendation whenever he visited London. This promise
was afterwards kept to the letter. During the next season
he had gained considerably on the good graces of the
Dublin audience, and the following year he was estimated
as a very available comedian. The changes incidental to
the management of a theatre induced Mr. P. to quit Ire
laid, and, anxious for a wider field of action, he bent his
steps towards London, and having obtained an' introduc-
tion to the monarch of Drury-lane, the late Robert Wil-
liam Elliston, he appeared in the season of 1821 as Tris-
tam Fickle in The Weathercock. Whether from a want of
appreciation on the part of the manager, or a refusal of
the terms proposed, he did'not appear again during the
reign of Air. Elliston • and shortly 'after at the Coburg
Theatre, for the benefit of Mr. Amhirst, he acted Young
Wilding in the comedy of " The Liar." An offer from
De Camp; manager of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne thea-
tre, induced him to visit the North. Here he played
the Frenchmen, fops, and melodramatic parts. The play
of "John Bull"- having been chosen for a bespeak, Mr.
Ambirst, the stage-manager, cast him the part of Den-
nis Brulgruddery. This led to a serious misunderstand-
ing between Mr. Power and his friend, the manager.
the former considering himself personally insulted by
being selected for a part for which he had no qualifica-
tions, and insisted on playing Tom Shuffleton. Mr.
Amhirst, who foresaw his rising excellence in Irish
parts, remonstrated with him and succeeded in inducing
him to study the character. 'At tlfe conclusion'of the
country season he returnee to London, and at the end
of 1821, under the management of the late Mr. Reeve,
the composer, he performed for a short time at the
Olympic, in a version of " Tom and Jerry" (adapted
by T. Dibdin), the parts of a Frenchman, a fop,
an Irishman, and .a Yorkshire-fox-1111liter. The Easter
Monday of 1822, Mr. Power appeared as a meinber of
Astley's theatre 'under the management of Mr. Davis,
in the part .of Corinthian Tom, the piece being written
to suit the peculiar style of- the Amphitheatre, intro-
ducing a mail-coach, horses, a real fox-hunt, &c. &c. A
difference arising at the end of the second week between
Mr: Davis and himself, he instantly broke his engage-
ment and quitted the theatre. The same year, at the
Olympic Theatre again, where he was engaged as the
stage-manager, Mr. Power obtained considerable popu-
larity in a farce written for him, called A Race for a
Wife, in which Mr. Elton sustained the other principal
character. This season he occasionally acted an Irish
part. Mr. Russell, then lessee of the Brighton Theatre,
offered him the situation of principal actor and stage-
manager, which was accepted. Previous to his departure
for Brighton, the lamented death of the late John Emery,
on July 24th of that year, occasioned a benefit for his
widow and children • and the season having just termi-
nated at Covent-garden, a company was formed for the
occasion from the various theatres then open. The play
of The Rivals, having been selected by the committee,
at the head of whom was Mr. George Robins, Mr.
Power made his first appearance before a Covent-garden
audience as Fag. Mr. C. listable, who performed Cap-
tain . Absolute, was much struck with his style
of acting the part, warmly congratulated him in
the green-room, and erpressed a hope that he should,
ere long, meet him in the theatre as a member of the
corps dramatique in the usual season. The result of this
benefit, through the great exertions of the Committee
and the indefatigable zeal of Mr. George Robins, was
such that a sum of nearly 4,0001. was realized for the
widow and family. Brighton was Mr. Power's next
scene of action, and here he was the representative of
Lord Trinket, Rugantino, Macbeth, Doricourt, Three
Fingered Jack, cum multis aliis. On his return to Lon-
don. Miss Kelly's recommendation procured him an en-
gagement from Mr. Arnold at the English Opera ; and
in 1823 he made his appearance in the part of Teague,
in the "Honest Thieves ;" and Mr. Arnold's opera of
" Broken. Promises" obtained him much fame in the part
of Corporal Driscol, an Irish corporal. The musical
farce of "Love laughs at Locksmiths" was revived
Burin ; the season, and Risk was assigned to Mr. Power.
Tmusic of this part being somewhat difficult unless
the actor be a musician, caused the leader, Mr. Moun-
pqousesnibe
eleotfh7Aerfra. rKlevoeurl dbbeienpgl played that
deficientth. evening,at.in
th
Moun-
tain, to declareduring the last rehearsal thatit was-im—
ienmersisce;
he was, however,mistaken in this particular, and- th
piece was
producedlia though with indifferent' success.e
The late gr.
h.
thews, then acting in the theatre,
after witnessing
and Murtoch Delany,
applying himself exclusively Seriously urged on him the policy of
to the study of Irish charac-
ters. To this friendly
with the opinion of his
suggestion'
which was also in
otheraccord-
ance theatrical brethren, he
dissented, exprzssing a
doubt whether any actor could
h
character, while there-
collection
Johnstone'sexcellence was so
become popular
opful thear late i n
joh lineii
composer
fresh in the memory of the London playgoers,
winter season of 1824, under the direction of
Ad
ni
h.
thlenlathe
late
Mr. Rodwell, brother to the present popular
and author, Mr. G. H. Rodwell, he joined the
of The
company. and appeared in the popular burletta
Young Widow. He increased in public favour in the
Misschar saet.eßr
000fthMtahnedeyvoilluen,gWm,r.ridenowchopreladai. playing Splash, and
e drama ofn
Valmondi was next 'got up in a style never before wit-
nessed in a minor theatre. The piece was written to suit
the taste of the public, who were then charmed with the
horrors of the Der Freischutz school, and the part of
Valmondi, the hero of the piece, was sustained with
great etfoc/ by Mr. Power. The next summer he re-
turned to is former situation at the English Opera,
where he continued to enjoy the reputation of a valuable
actor until the conclusion of the season, when an
offer from Mr. Charles Kemble introduced him to the
boards of Covent-garden Theatre, as Rolando in
this period the principal line of comedy was in the pos-
The Honer n, on Wednesday, July 4, 18;26. At
session of Mr. R. Jones, and the whole range of Irishmen
was occupied by Charles Connor. The lamented death
of the latter gentleman, who died suddenly, returning
home through Hyde Park, on Saturday, October 7,1826,
at once placed Mr. Power in his proper sphere. His per-
formance of Doctor O'Toole, originally acted by Mr.
Connor, was most successful. O'Shaughnessy, an the
£lOO Note; Phelim O'Scud, Teddy the Tiler, and O'Slash,
in the Invincibles, followed in rapid succession. The
whole class of farce writers then discovered in him a
mine of humour, to use a phrase of a popular author and
friend of Mr. Power's, that only required working, and
at onto planed him at the head of his prosession as a
disciple of 'Momus. Until the year 1830, he continued
at Covent-garden, occupying his time in the vacation of
that' theatre, at the Theatres Royal Haymarket, Bir-
mingham, Dublin, &v. con Mr. Charles Kemble resign-