The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-28 00:00:00

THEATRICAL FESTIVITY.

(From the Era.)
Acording to annual custom Mr. J. B. Buckstone,
► the highly-respected lessee of the Theatre Royal,
Haymarket, entertained on Monday afternoon the
members of his company and a few of his personal
friends, at his picturesque villa at Sydenham, where
about 30 gentlemen assembled to partake of the
hospitality of the worthy manager. In his double
capacity as host and as Chief Baron of the Court of
Uncommon Pleas, a tribunal which takes humorous
cognisance of any local theatrical questions con-
nected with the Haymarket Theatre that may be
referred to its arbitration, Mr. Buck: tone presided
on the occasion, and was faced by Mr. Chippendale,
the stage manager,..who, in rising to propose the
health of their excellent chairman, earnestly and
appropriately addressed the company as follows :
Gentlemen,—l rise to propose the " Health of the Chief
Baron"--a gentleman who has presided over this honour-
able court for many years. It is an annual custom, and a
most pleasureable one. His knowledge of the laws that
govern us as a body is most profound. Amenities--those laws
which render the dusty road of life pleasant, and enable us
to hang up our memories in green places, his daily inter-
course with us prove his knowledge of. Humanity—from
whence springs charity and other virtues, his name at the
head of the numerous petitions presented to us, and the
labour (to him " a labour of love") and time he bestows in
forwarding in every way the charitable institutions of his
profession, is a convincing prof he is deeply imbued.
with that most righteous aw'f.V is shady of commer-
cial law are touchingly r del of every star-
day. ; and, as to the kiws of polity, you have to-day the
evidence of your awn senses, /Thus, rich in the knowledge
and practice of the social law*, it is not a matter for won-
der that be has retained his seat for so long a period, and
that we earnestly wish he may continue in it till his shrewd-
ness and tact as a manager enable kim to enter the haven
of independence, which, I am sure, you will join me in
hoping he may do at an age that will leave him many years
to enjoy the harvest of his industry and talent. Gentle-
men, I give you " Health and continued prosperity to John
Baldwin Buckstone."

The enthusiasm with which this was received,
and the equally warm and cordial response that
was given when Mr. Buckstone returned thanks in
one of his kindliest and most felicitous speeches,
could be but faintly indicated in print, though it
will not soon fade from the memory of those pre-
sent. He concluded by proposing the health of
Mr. Benjamin Webster, who was amongst the
guests, stating that Mr. Webster had honourably
ruled the destinies of the Haymarket Theatre fir
sixteen years, thirteen of which he (Mr. Buck-
stone) had been his actor. Mr. Benjamin Webster
repli6'd with great feeling. The health of Mr.
Charles Mathews was given, who responded to the
toast in a speech full of rapid fun, during which he
stated that although he bad once been Mr. Buck-
stone's manager, yet he would rather at any time
be that gentleman's actor. Notwithstanding the
unpropitious state of the weather, the visitors passed
a day of uninterrupted enjoyment, and a succession
of toasts and speeches followed the luxurious banquet
which the courteous lessee had so liberally provided,
till professional duties hurried a majority of the party
back to town. Ample testimony was adduced of
the genial and generous qualities of their hospita-
ble entertainer, and the good-fellowship and har-
monious co-operation of the Haymarket company,
so abundantly exhibited in connexion with the
event that had called them together, proved the
high esteem in which Mr. Buckstone was held as
a man and a manager, whilst the general public
the same evening as justly paid their well-earned
tributes to him as one of the most popular authors:
and actors of the modern stage.