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Article PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. ← Page 3 of 3 Article EXTRACTS FROM MR. OULTON'S " HISTORY OF THE THEATRES OF LONDON, Page 1 of 8 →
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Public Amusements.
to his honour and his conscience—to that honour Avhich made him an assassinto that conscience which renders him Avretched . The struggle produced in Wilford ' s mind by the desire of establishing his own innocence , and his unwillingness to violate his oath of secrecy , is considered as the confusion arising from a consciousness of guilt . Nothing now remains but to establish the facl , ; and for this purpose the trunk is opened , and the jewels are produced . In vain does Wilford assert his innocence , and appeal to Sir Edward for the truth of his assertions : his guilt appears established beyond the possibility of doubt . But just as sentence is
about to be pronounced , from one of the papers Avliich Fitzharding holds in his hand , drops a bloody knife- '—the very knife with which Sir Edward Mortimer had committed the murder for which he was tried . The effect produced by this extraordinary event maybe easily conceived : Wilford ' s innocence is proclaimed ; Sir Edward faints , and is taken oft' the stage , and the piece ends . The novel of Caleb Williams has been recommended to every " tiny scribbler for ¦ th e stage " as a good subject to dramatize . It could not have , fallen into better hands than those of Mr . Colman ; but from a llimsiness in the story itself , and
from other insuperable difficulties , it disappointed the expectations of one of the most crouded audiences of this season . Mr . Kemble , tvho has long been very ill , forced himself out of a sick chamber before he was near well . At tlie beginning of the Play he could hardly speak . At the second act Wroughton apologized for him , as his illness was much worse , and solicited indulgence for him merely to go through the succeeding scenes ; in the middle of which a strong disapprobation appearing in the house , he came for-Avard , professing " that he could not but feel conscious that he was the unhappy
cause of much of the disapprobation the audience AA'as pleased to express ; as in consequence of his disorder the piece materially suffered ; he trusted that on' a second representation , Avhen he should be able to give it its full force , the audience would have a better opportunity of deciding on the merits of the author . — This appeal Avas loudly and very generally answered by . a cry of " No , No , yoa are not ; " and after some further contention the performers tvere suffered to proceed to the close of three of the longest acts we ever Avitnessed , as it wanted but a few minutes of eleven o ' clock when the curtain dropped . The whole of the music is of so superior a cast , that if Storace had never Avritten a note before , this alone would stamp him with the
1 ¦ ¦ longe supereminet omnes . In this piece Mr . Godwin ' s characters and story are nearly copied;—poetical licence has de \ 'iated but in a small degree , and that only in the catastrophe . The Iron Chest has since been opened two or three times , but will never obtain a cordial reception .
Extracts From Mr. Oulton's " History Of The Theatres Of London,
EXTRACTS FROM MR . OULTON ' " HISTORY OF THE THEATRES OF LONDON ,
FROM 1771 TO 1 / 95 . " ( CONTINUED FROM P . 134 . ) ROYALTY THEATRE . THE wild attempt to raise this Theatre ( for I cannot say its riseas it nevet
, attained that honour ) and its speedy dissolution are instances not to be paralleled in theatrical history . The first stone of the spacious building intended for a netv Theatre , erected near Wellclose-square , tvas laid by Mr . John Palmer , of Drury-Lane Theatre ; a grand procession being made on the occasion . Mr . Palmer , assisted by his son , deposited , in a cavity appropriated for that purpose , an inscription ., which vyss D d 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Public Amusements.
to his honour and his conscience—to that honour Avhich made him an assassinto that conscience which renders him Avretched . The struggle produced in Wilford ' s mind by the desire of establishing his own innocence , and his unwillingness to violate his oath of secrecy , is considered as the confusion arising from a consciousness of guilt . Nothing now remains but to establish the facl , ; and for this purpose the trunk is opened , and the jewels are produced . In vain does Wilford assert his innocence , and appeal to Sir Edward for the truth of his assertions : his guilt appears established beyond the possibility of doubt . But just as sentence is
about to be pronounced , from one of the papers Avliich Fitzharding holds in his hand , drops a bloody knife- '—the very knife with which Sir Edward Mortimer had committed the murder for which he was tried . The effect produced by this extraordinary event maybe easily conceived : Wilford ' s innocence is proclaimed ; Sir Edward faints , and is taken oft' the stage , and the piece ends . The novel of Caleb Williams has been recommended to every " tiny scribbler for ¦ th e stage " as a good subject to dramatize . It could not have , fallen into better hands than those of Mr . Colman ; but from a llimsiness in the story itself , and
from other insuperable difficulties , it disappointed the expectations of one of the most crouded audiences of this season . Mr . Kemble , tvho has long been very ill , forced himself out of a sick chamber before he was near well . At tlie beginning of the Play he could hardly speak . At the second act Wroughton apologized for him , as his illness was much worse , and solicited indulgence for him merely to go through the succeeding scenes ; in the middle of which a strong disapprobation appearing in the house , he came for-Avard , professing " that he could not but feel conscious that he was the unhappy
cause of much of the disapprobation the audience AA'as pleased to express ; as in consequence of his disorder the piece materially suffered ; he trusted that on' a second representation , Avhen he should be able to give it its full force , the audience would have a better opportunity of deciding on the merits of the author . — This appeal Avas loudly and very generally answered by . a cry of " No , No , yoa are not ; " and after some further contention the performers tvere suffered to proceed to the close of three of the longest acts we ever Avitnessed , as it wanted but a few minutes of eleven o ' clock when the curtain dropped . The whole of the music is of so superior a cast , that if Storace had never Avritten a note before , this alone would stamp him with the
1 ¦ ¦ longe supereminet omnes . In this piece Mr . Godwin ' s characters and story are nearly copied;—poetical licence has de \ 'iated but in a small degree , and that only in the catastrophe . The Iron Chest has since been opened two or three times , but will never obtain a cordial reception .
Extracts From Mr. Oulton's " History Of The Theatres Of London,
EXTRACTS FROM MR . OULTON ' " HISTORY OF THE THEATRES OF LONDON ,
FROM 1771 TO 1 / 95 . " ( CONTINUED FROM P . 134 . ) ROYALTY THEATRE . THE wild attempt to raise this Theatre ( for I cannot say its riseas it nevet
, attained that honour ) and its speedy dissolution are instances not to be paralleled in theatrical history . The first stone of the spacious building intended for a netv Theatre , erected near Wellclose-square , tvas laid by Mr . John Palmer , of Drury-Lane Theatre ; a grand procession being made on the occasion . Mr . Palmer , assisted by his son , deposited , in a cavity appropriated for that purpose , an inscription ., which vyss D d 2