The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-11 00:00:00

OLYMPIC THEATRE.

The management of Messrs. F. Robson and W. S.
Emden commenced last night under the most favour-
able auspices. At the conclusion of the first piece, " A
Subterfuge," which served for the exhibition of some
very refined acting on the part of Mrs. Stirling, Mr. F.
Robson nme forward and delivered his opening address,
which wag as follows :
That's all I know—

The words I rad to speak awhile ago
And may have yet, for back they still may come anon,
Have taken flight at such a strange phenomenon.
That must have been the work of fairy elves,
I don't know if you noticed it yourselves.
Let me describe it :—On this very stage,
My home from infancy—not as to age,
I could talk when I came here—that's all one,
But here I felt my feet and learnt to run.
Well, scarcely had I found myself alone
Within this house, whose size I thought I'd known,
Wheu this occurred—the stage sank down twelve feet,
The roof flew up and seem'd the skies to meet,
The walls ran back and left of boards a plain,
Say from Newcastle-street to Drury-lane.
I in the midst of it—about as large
As a stray oyster in an empty barge,
Or Hari-us—Mario—l beg your pardon,
Sitting among the bricks of Covent Garden.
E'en now it seems than formerly much bigger,
Yet rather more adapted to my figure.
What in the size of my paternal mansion
Could have created such a strange expansion ?
I know—and auy youth can feel with me,
Whose tender parents have gone out to tea
And left him all alone (his heart's desire),
With strict injunctions not to play with fire,
To mind the house. How vast each room appears;
And on a person of such tender years
What dread responsibilitiel to fall.
Suppose, for instance, visitors should call.
Seats in the best of rooms he can't refuse them ;
But what to give them—how shall he amuse them ?
He cannot do the ill-behaved or glum thing
And keep the doors shit, or he might lose something.
To make the best of it he can but try—
Ladies and gentlemen, that boy am I.
They who as parents kind in art have stood for me
(Who never gave me aught but what was good for me),
Have left the house, perhaps for many a day,
Not to enjoy themselves, I grieve to say ;
And I am left to fill the master's place,
And save his house's honour from disgrace.
Well, I have been educated with propriety,
I have passed four years in vecy good society' ;
And for a host I've had instructions ample
In studying a gentleman's example.
Besides (my recent image to employ),
I've this advantage o'er the lonely boy—

My anxious father and considerate mother
Have left me in charge of my b;,g brother—
A steady youth, with brain quite free from dizziness,
Who has for years attended to the business.
You know him—of ill-breeding not a particle,
And such a judge of a superior article;
Trusting to his urbane and wise direction,
I need but play, he'll see to the connexion.
From drawing room to shop ! The flight's absurd.
Let me be serious—in a parting word.
An exiled King, hail'd back to France's Throne,
Slid to his people ('cis a tale we'l known)—
" Why do you shout ? The Monarch you restore
Brings France no change—only one Frenchman more?'
In our small realm, decreed to rulers new,
The form of government approved by you,
We would not change—improvements here and there,
When wanted, to attempt we will not spare—
Our base the same—no grief shall you express
Save for an actor and an actress less.
This address was excellently spoken by the new
manager, who was received with the greatest enthusiasm.
When called at the conclusion of the oration he led for-
ward his partner, Mr. W. S. Emden, and an outburst
of enthusiasm was the satisfactory result.
Mr. Wilkie Collins's "Lighthouse," was afterwards
played for the first time. Everything that could be done
to render a piece effective wa3 done on this occasion;
and the success of tbe drama was proved by the c-11 for
the author, who bowed from a private box. The excel-
lent burlesque on " Masaniello " brought the evening's
performance to a mirthful conclusion.