The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-21 00:00:00

GENERAL, THEATRICAL FUND.

A series of entertainments was presented on Thursday
afternoon at Co Tent-garden Theatre for the benefit of the
General. Theatrical Fund. Many of our best-known actors
volunteered their services, and the performances on this
occasion, as heretofore, consisted of selections from stock
dramas, or from such plays as at present hold possession of
one or other of our London theatres. Varied, however,
and attractive as seemed the programme, it failed to secure
a moderate attendance, and the look of the largo house,
with its long lines of unoccupied seats, was exceedingly
gloomy and discouraging. Great praise is due to the actors,
all of whom had of course gratuitouslygiven their services,
for the manner in which they fought against and con-
quered the depressing influence of a house so thinly
attended as to be full of reverberations. All acted their
best, and the audience made up for scantiness of numbers
by the warmth of the reception it accorded to all. The
first act of " Katherine and Petruchio" was first per-
formed, Mr. Howe playing Petruchio, and Miss Ather-
stone, an actress new as yet to London boards, Katherine.
Mr. Andrews was Baptista, and Mr. Weathersby the
Music Master.

An occasional address, by Mr. Tom Taylor, followed
and was gracefully delivered by Mrs. Stirling. This
address, in the composition of which Mr. Taylor has been
less happy than usual, is as follows :
" `Time was, Time is, Time shall be'—so, 'tis said,
Rang the weird utterance of Bacon's head.
Here some irreverent punster on me drops,
With 'Pray, did Bacon's head speak through pork chops ?
No, 'twas a brazen head, like yours' (to audience); I hope
You won't think mine with his in brass can cope.
But I adopt its oracle, and say,
`Time was'—last century ; ' Time is'—to-day.
Time was,' the world known to the Drama's clients
Hold but a race of dwarfs and two huge giants.
High tower'd, like Gog and Magog, Guildhall-yard in,
The bulk of Drury-lane and Covent -garden,
Patent-armed, law-clubbed, and legitimate,
The cormorans of the theatric state—
When their mistakes and dulness did not more
Suggest relationship with Blunderbore ;
While at their feet, 'neath Chamberlain's stern sway,
A drown-trod mob of dwarfs, the minors, lay ;
Burletta, farce, burlesque, their diet spare ;
Drama's strong meat reserved for giant's fare.
Nor for blame only, but by way of praise
We may say there were giants in those days'—
The days when Garrick, Siddons, Kemble, Kean,
Held their art high and dignified the scene.
Their bright example leavened all around,
Till self-respeet the actor's calling crowned,
And Covent-garden's Fund and Drury-lane's
Attested Garrick's thrift and Kemble's pains.
Time was,' till, howe'er giants fought or fumed ;
Monopoly in art, like trade, was doomed ;
Aud, though the giants still loomed large to view,
The law said minors might grow giants too ;
If freedom from restraint and strong stage diet
Could make them Brobdignagians, they might try it.
Query ?—Since dwarfs of giants took the wall,
And all the drama was made free to all,
Have the dwarf minors been to giants fed,
Cr have the giants sunk to dwarfs instead ?
But to the stage be free trade 'kill' or cure,'
Free the stage is, and free it must endure.
If in that freedom Art have suffered wrong,
If the dwarfs have not liked their meat too strong,
If liberty to license have been wrung,
If Shakspere's music yield to Nigger tongue,
If hot sensation o'erbear sense's bit,
And doggrel and strained pun claim rank as wit,
If here and there, imported, not home-bred,
Indecency uplift her brazen head.
Common sense tells wo shall not mend our ways
By crying o'er spilt milk and good old days,
Out of the time that was or is, we're free
With strenuous hands to shape the time to be.
Think that the change which put the patents down
And from the Lane ' and Garden ' struck their crown,
Bidding St.ige Art's dominion grow and swell,
Widened its field of charity as well,
And called on those by the old funds that stood
To cut new channels and diffuse their flood.
Time wits,' the giant's kingdom it had watered,
Now they were hung and drawn, their kingdoms quar-
tered :
Time is '—and•l stand here in supplication
For aid to plans of general irrigation:
Time shall be '—h'm, p'rhaps—when we shall not wan
it:
Meanwhile we do : say, kind friends will you scant it ?
No ! come down handsomely in golden showers,
And prove 'it never rains here, but it pours.' "
The last act of "Dearer than Life" was then performed,
Mr. Toole personating Michael Garner ; Mr. L. Brough,
Uncle Ben ; and Miss H. Hodson, Lucy. Then came a
scene from " The Rivals," with Mr. Buckstone as Bob
Acres, Mr. Chippendale as Sir Anthony, Mr. Kendal a
Captain Absolute, Mr. Howe as ,Faulkland, and Mr. Clark
as Fag. The Strand company performed a selection from
"The Caliph of Bagdad ;" and the New Royalty compan
a selection from the perennial burlesque of "Black-Eyed
Susan." Miss Herbert, Mr. H. T. Craven, Mr. Belford
and other members of the St. James's company appeared'
in the third and best act of " The Needful." In addition
to this sufficiently long list of performances, Mrs. Howard
Paul volunteered her well-known Sneezing Song ; and Mr.
W. Harrison gave Balfe's song, " The Muleteer." The
performances occupied the theatre till close upon the time
when it must have been needed for the evening's pe r-
for mances.

COVENT GARDEN PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS.-

ANNUAL CONCERT.

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took place last evening, at the Great School Room,
on which occasion a very large and brilliant audi-
ence attended. Mr. Hurwitz decorated the large
room most tute,fully with innumerable banners and
flags of all nations, combined with a profusion of
floral pendants and festoons, and Mr. Brucciani, of
Great Russell-streat, sent some of his choicest
statuary from his celebrated studio, which,
combined with other embellishments, produced
an effect which was pleasing in the extreme.
The programme was both a varied and excellent
one, and although it was of more than ordinary
length the whole was accomplished before eleven
o'clock, Miss Rose Batsford sang Wallace's ballad,
" Flow on, oh, silver Rhine," with much taste, and
Mis Scott's rendering of Lovell Phillips' ballad,
" Fairy Visions," was sweetly telling. Miss Plum-
mer we must particularly compliment for the man-
ner in which she gave Meyerbeer's " Nobil Signor"
from the 64 Huguenots ;" it was sung with great
skill, and elicited general applause. Miss Pallant
also distinguished herself by the sweet and pretty
manner in which she sang a little ballad en-
titled " The Brook ;" it obtained for her an encore,
which it richly deserved. Mr. Dale gave poor Weiss's
song, " The Village Blacksmith," remarkably
well, and Mr. H. W. Pallant sang " Let me like
a Soldier fall" most effectively. But what shall
we say of the humorous effusions of Mr. H. Booking
—it was comic singing par excellence. There vise
a rich vein of humour running through the whole
of his songs, and his rendering of Clifton's ditty,
" Jones's Musical Party," and Walker's " Faust ill
Five Minutes," was so particularly successful that
it called forth the most enthusiastic applause. The
instrumentalists were Miss Barringer and bliss
Coleman. Miss Barringer performed one of Mullen-
thal's elegant compositions for the pianoforte with
great skill and such a delicate touch that it evoked
loud and general applanse ; she afterwards performed
one of Goria's studies with the sante effect and finish'
Miss Coleman gave a selection from Meyerbeer's
opera, " Robert le Diable," with so much firmness
and brilliancy that it evoked an enthusiastic encore!
in complying with which she 'substituted MadraT:
Oury's " transposition" of the Jacobite air "
March of the Cameron Men," which she alsa
exe-
cuted remarkably well. Upon Mr. Barringer an",
Mr. G. Bell, who sang "My Pretty Jane To
" Never Mind the Rest" with much tart;
and feeling, devolved the conduct of the conces,
both gentlemen had the pleasure of receiving the
warmest congratulations of the company on ',,re
success that had attended their efforts. They
richly entitled to this mark of appreciation, for est_
gentleman was indefatigable in his endeavours If
secure the comfort of every lady and gentleinsi'
present.

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