Star.
London, England, 1826-07-06 00:00:00

ANECDOTES OF 010EEFFE.
1/110M Tin NSW MONTHLY MAGAZIN&

Legal preventatives often produce whimsical circum-
stances. A country manager, many years ago, took
upon himself to bring out Macklin 's " Love A-la-mode"
at hit theatre; upon which'Macklin wrote him word
that, if he attempted to do so, he would send him sheets
of parchment that would reach from Chancery-lane to
the neat gooseberry bush the nearest verge of Yorkshire'
to John O'Groat's house. The Manager's answer to
Macklin ran thus—to Ybur Love A=la•mode, Sir I I'm

sot going to play year Love A-la-mode ; I'll play my
cum Love A-la-mode ; I have twenty Love A-la-modes.
I could write a Love A. la mode every day in the week ;
I could write three hundred. and sixty-six Love A-la-
modes in a year."
The reason of Macklin's tenacity with respect to his
play was his never having sold the copyright to any
ewe, and he never had it pruned: therefore, whenever it
was acted in England, Scotland, and Ireland, his terms
were, half the profits over the nightly charges, and he
always played in it himself. When he came to rehear.
sal, his method was to take his MS. from the breast of
his great coat, where he had buttoned it up, put it into
the hands of the prompter, and, rehearsal &me, walk
quietly over to him, saying, " Give me that,"—take it
from the prompter's hand, button it up close again in
the breast of his coat, and walk out of the house to his
own lodgings.
Mackin was tenacious, and very properly sr', of the
performers-throwing in words of their own. Lee Lewis,
one morning at Covent Garden, at the rehearsal of Love
A-la-mode, in which he played Squire Groom, said some-
thing which be thought very smart. " Hoy, hoy said
Macklin, " what's that r 0," replied Lee Lewis, " 'tis
only a little of my nonsense." " Ay," replied Macklin,
" but I think my nonsense is rather better than yours ;
so keep to that if you please, Sir." Though so part cu-
bir in drilling the performers at rehearsals, aware of the
consequence of irritability, he kept his temper down ;
au instance of this happened one morning at rehearsal :
one of the performers got tired with over-particularity,
as he called it, and said to Macklin, " Why, this is worse
than the Prussian exercise!" Macklin, after a pause,
looked at the refractory actor, and said, " Suppose re
all go and sit down a little in the green room ?" He
walked in, and they followed ; he sat down, and they
seated themselves ; he then took out his watch, looked
at it, and laid it on the table, " Now," said he, " we'il
just sit here an hour." The performers, knowing his
great money drawing importance, acquiesced, and kept
rather an awful silence. The hour being expired, he
took up his watch, " Now," he said, 4. we are all in
good humour, and we'll go upon the stage and begin
our rehearsal." This circumstance took place in Capel-
street theatre. Dawson was manager, and was heartily
glad that Macklin could be induced to continue on his
boards, as all the boxes were then taken for 12 nights
of Macklin's performance. When the evil effects of
hasty anger approach, the consequences of which may
be areti ievable, it would be no harm if people could
suppress their own feelings, even for Macklids green-
room hour.

Before I dismiss my old friend, I must give an im-
mortal record of his opinion of the good people of Vie'
sod. He and I were walking through the Little Green,
in Dublin (st that time the market for fruits and vege-
tables). He seemed much pleased with the good humour
of the stile, s ; " Ay," said he, " they're comical and
good natured, and ready. witted, and obliging—that is,
I mean, what we call the lower order; but you never
can get a direct answer from them." "Oh," I said,
" that's not fair, put your question first."—" Well,"
said Macklin, coming up to an old woman who had a
basket of vegetables before her, " what's the price of
that caullower ?" —" That cauliflower r said she,

taking it op in her hand, " Sir, that's as fine a cauli-
flower as ever was seen, either in a garden or out of .a
garden."—" Well, but what's the pike of it?"—"The
price! the devil a prettier cauliflower could you see of
a long summer's day."—" Well, it's pretty enough, but
what's the price of it ?"—" What's the price of it ! arrah,
Sir, you may talk of tulips, and roses, and pinks, and
wallflowers, and gilliflowers, but the file, er of flowers
is a cauliflower."—" But why not tell me the price of
it."—" Ah, you'll not get such a cauliflower as this, Sir,
all over the market—here, feel the weight of it, Sir."
" There, O'Keeffe," said Macklin, "if you had laid a
wager with me that I could get a direct answer when I
pot a question to them, you'd have lost it."
My first sight of Dibdin was in 1762, when he acted
a conjuror in a pantomime at Covent•garden. And in
1781, Dr. Arnold introduced one of his airs in my

" Dead Alive." My words are, " See the lAossoni of
spring." and it is sung by Edward. The original was in
Garrick's "Jubilee," the words " Flow on, silver Avon."
On the English army going to the Continent in 1795,
under the command of the Duke of Yoik, I wrote a
musical afterpiece, called " Sprigs of Laurel.- founded
on the circumstance cf a sentinel in St. J imes's Park

qiiitt.ng his post, and running over Westminster Bridge
t.• join the detachment ordered to embai k for Hollarhs.
Ni. Harris, being out of tow n, had not seen the dialogue
at this time ;but on my mentioning the subject in &letter
to him, he desired me to write the songs and send them
without delay to Shield, and that he would bring out
the piece immediattly. He did so. JAnstone and In-
&don, as my Itival Soldiers, were mo.t capital,and sung
their favourite dialogue duet of " Silly in our Alley,
to which I wrote new words—" I each girl that I
come meat." Mrs. Mountain was very will in Mary ;
.Mrs. Martyr spirited in George Streamer, the little
midshipman ; and Munden highly diverting in the
mast impudent, bold, audacious character that I think
ever appeared before any audience—hien Nipperkin.
Mr. Harris gave ate fifty guineas for this piece; and I
Aare. nothing of its having been published until I saw'
a printed book of it lying on his table at Knightsbridge.
Even in this step my kind friend had my future interest
warmly in view, and made every enquiry how it could
- be presented by myself to the Queen, to whom 1 had
dedicat'd it; but, such a measure being found contrary
to etiquette, I invented an etiquette of my own. I had'
a balk of the " Sprigs of Laurel" royally bound; andl
h ring sealed it up in due form, directed it to her Ma.
jes.ty the Queen, and booked it at the White Horse
Cellar, to go by the Windsor coach. "I comforted my-
self with the thought, through the whole of this busi-
ness, that I had done what was consistent with the duty
of a good and faithful Irish subject, who could write an
opera in compliment to her son, the Royal Commander-
in• Chief, and had two-pence in his pocket for booking.
The coast of Dorsetshire, which I had visited in the
summer of 1'791 (and of which visit of seven weeks I
kept a regular written. journal), furnished me, in cha-
racter and incidents, with some new ideas towards a
comedy for the Haymarket. I sent it to Mr. Colman.

' This comedy leas my sr London Hermit, or Ram-'
Wes in Dorsetshire." Parsons, at the last rehearsal,
clapped me on the shoelder,and said, "Take my word
fQr it, by boy, this will be as 4reat favourite as soy
that ever came from your calmest' pate." And in Toby
Thatch he did his beg to verify his prophecy. I had
the pleasure of dining that day at the house of Mr.
Michael Kelly, at the top of Suffolk-street, on the right
hand ; and after a cheering day of good humour,
crossed over to the theatre to be present at my Her-
mit's reception in London. I was in the front of the
house but not in view of the audience, and it began so
tame and civil, though 'thought I had woundit u'p to
the full stretch of a laughable pin,that I was frightened,
and made my way down to get behind the scenes. Put
before I reached the wings, my gladdened ears were
stunned by loud bursts of laughter from every part of
the house. Tully was on ; and in that character my
friend John,t use was quite at home. Mr. Colman
came to me behind the scenes, and in a friendly, cordial
manner, said,—" O'Keeffe, you bear your blushing
honours thick upon you." His words were true enough,
and no frost since came to nip them ; for the play was
Acted twenty nights, which for a short summer season
is a great run.
Lewis went to see it, and remarked to some of his
friends in the box with him,—" Of all the characters I
ever witnessed, I should like to act that of Jilin Grum."
It is to be observed, that the said John Grum has not a
line to say in the whole comedy. My Orator Mum, in
" The Son-in-law," was thought to be an ingenious
kind of monosyllable machine ; but he is an orator corn--
pared to John Grum, who, in real life, is a very com-
mon, and sometimes conveniet, comprnion to prosers.
When I heard of this remark, thought I, had Lewis
only acted Orators Mums and John Grums, he would
never have made 50,0001. by his prOfession.

LAW REPORT.

COURT OF CHANCERY, JULY S.
CONiT V. HARRIS AND OTHERS.

Mr. HART appeared in support of a motion that
Mr. Robinson, the receiver of Covent Garden Theatre,
should pay into Court 18,6001. the amount of two sums
which appeared to be due from him on the face of his
accounts as allowed by the Master. It appeared by the
Counsel's statement, that Mr. Robinson had made pay-
ments on account of the theatre out of the monies which
had been in his hands, and which would materially re-
duce this amount ; but as the Master thought that under.
the order of the Court those sums could not be allowed
by him, the result of the statement showed this balance
against the receiver, which the plaintiff' now claimed to
have brought into Court.
Mr. HEALD, fur the receiver, explained that the sums
had been paid fur the embellishment and repairs of the
theatre, anJ chat they were necessarily paid, because if
they had nrt been, the lease might have been forfeited
or avoidable for breach of ti e conditions contained in
it. He complained strongly of the injustice of the pre-
sent attempt to make .he receiver answerable for sums
which it was well known he had in his possession, and
added, that he now held only 2001. of the theatre's
money, while 8001. was due to himself on the account
of salary. _ _ _

The Limb CoArremx.os desired to see the papers, and promised
to give judgment on Friday next.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JOLT S.
YOUNG V. BANGLET.
This was an action brought to restrain the defendant
from inclo3ing certain waste lands, in the parish of
Cookharn, in Set kshire, to the prejudice of the plaintiff
(Sir Samuel Young) and others, who were entitled to
commons of pasture on the said lands. It appeared the
defendant had lately become Lord of the Manor of
these waste lands, which he thoight proper to plant
with trees in the year 1821, whereby the growth of the
herbage was obstructed so as not to be sufficient to
graze the usual number of cattle. The plaintiff's tight
to commons for larger cattle, but not to sheep, was
proved, whereas the declaration stated a right to all
commonable cattle in general. The CHILI JUSTICE
pronounced the variance fatal, and plaintiff was norm