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streets; so broken and bankrupt; that the FOUND DEAD on the black

board at the police station might have announced the decease of the

Drama; and the pools of water outside the fire…engine maker's at

the corner of Long…acre might have been occasioned by his having

brought out the whole of his stock to play upon its last

smouldering ashes。



And yet; on such a night in so degenerate a time; the object of my

journey was theatrical。  And yet within half an hour I was in an

immense theatre; capable of holding nearly five thousand people。



What Theatre?  Her Majesty's?  Far better。  Royal Italian Opera?

Far better。  Infinitely superior to the latter for hearing in;

infinitely superior to both; for seeing in。  To every part of this

Theatre; spacious fire…proof ways of ingress and egress。  For every

part of it; convenient places of refreshment and retiring rooms。

Everything to eat and drink carefully supervised as to quality; and

sold at an appointed price; respectable female attendants ready for

the commonest women in the audience; a general air of

consideration; decorum; and supervision; most commendable; an

unquestionably humanising influence in all the social arrangements

of the place。



Surely a dear Theatre; then?  Because there were in London (not

very long ago) Theatres with entrance…prices up to half…a…guinea a

head; whose arrangements were not half so civilised。  Surely;

therefore; a dear Theatre?  Not very dear。  A gallery at three…

pence; another gallery at fourpence; a pit at sixpence; boxes and

pit…stalls at a shilling; and a few private boxes at half…a…crown。



My uncommercial curiosity induced me to go into every nook of this

great place; and among every class of the audience assembled in it

… amounting that evening; as I calculated; to about two thousand

and odd hundreds。  Magnificently lighted by a firmament of

sparkling chandeliers; the building was ventilated to perfection。

My sense of smell; without being particularly delicate; has been so

offended in some of the commoner places of public resort; that I

have often been obliged to leave them when I have made an

uncommercial journey expressly to look on。  The air of this Theatre

was fresh; cool; and wholesome。  To help towards this end; very

sensible precautions had been used; ingeniously combining the

experience of hospitals and railway stations。  Asphalt pavements

substituted for wooden floors; honest bare walls of glazed brick

and tile … even at the back of the boxes … for plaster and paper;

no benches stuffed; and no carpeting or baize used; a cool material

with a light glazed surface; being the covering of the seats。



These various contrivances are as well considered in the place in

question as if it were a Fever Hospital; the result is; that it is

sweet and healthful。  It has been constructed from the ground to

the roof; with a careful reference to sight and sound in every

corner; the result is; that its form is beautiful; and that the

appearance of the audience; as seen from the proscenium … with

every face in it commanding the stage; and the whole so admirably

raked and turned to that centre; that a hand can scarcely move in

the great assemblage without the movement being seen from thence …

is highly remarkable in its union of vastness with compactness。

The stage itself; and all its appurtenances of machinery;

cellarage; height and breadth; are on a scale more like the Scala

at Milan; or the San Carlo at Naples; or the Grand Opera at Paris;

than any notion a stranger would be likely to form of the Britannia

Theatre at Hoxton; a mile north of St。 Luke's Hospital in the Old…

street…road; London。  The Forty Thieves might be played here; and

every thief ride his real horse; and the disguised captain bring in

his oil jars on a train of real camels; and nobody be put out of

the way。  This really extraordinary place is the achievement of one

man's enterprise; and was erected on the ruins of an inconvenient

old building in less than five months; at a round cost of five…and…

twenty thousand pounds。  To dismiss this part of my subject; and

still to render to the proprietor the credit that is strictly his

due; I must add that his sense of the responsibility upon him to

make the best of his audience; and to do his best for them; is a

highly agreeable sign of these times。



As the spectators at this theatre; for a reason I will presently

show; were the object of my journey; I entered on the play of the

night as one of the two thousand and odd hundreds; by looking about

me at my neighbours。  We were a motley assemblage of people; and we

had a good many boys and young men among us; we had also many girls

and young women。  To represent; however; that we did not include a

very great number; and a very fair proportion of family groups;

would be to make a gross mis…statement。  Such groups were to be

seen in all parts of the house; in the boxes and stalls

particularly; they were composed of persons of very decent

appearance; who had many children with them。  Among our dresses

there were most kinds of shabby and greasy wear; and much fustian

and corduroy that was neither sound nor fragrant。  The caps of our

young men were mostly of a limp character; and we who wore them;

slouched; high…shouldered; into our places with our hands in our

pockets; and occasionally twisted our cravats about our necks like

eels; and occasionally tied them down our breasts like links of

sausages; and occasionally had a screw in our hair over each cheek…

bone with a slight Thief…flavour in it。  Besides prowlers and

idlers; we were mechanics; dock…labourers; costermongers; petty

tradesmen; small clerks; milliners; stay…makers; shoe…binders;

slop…workers; poor workers in a hundred highways and byways。  Many

of us … on the whole; the majority … were not at all clean; and not

at all choice in our lives or conversation。  But we had all come

together in a place where our convenience was well consulted; and

where we were well looked after; to enjoy an evening's

entertainment in common。  We were not going to lose any part of

what we had paid for through anybody's caprice; and as a community

we had a character to lose。  So; we were closely attentive; and

kept excellent order; and let the man or boy who did otherwise

instantly get out from this place; or we would put him out with the

greatest expedition。



We began at half…past six with a pantomime … with a pantomime so

long; that before it was over I felt as if I had been travelling

for six weeks … going to India; say; by the Overland Mail。  The

Spirit of Liberty was the principal personage in the Introduction;

and the Four Quarters of the World came out of the globe;

glittering; and discoursed with the Spirit; who sang charmingly。

We were delighted to understand that there was no liberty anywhere

but among ourselves; and we highly applauded the agreeable fact。

In an allegorical way; which did as well as any other way; we and

the Spirit of Liberty got into a kingdom of Needles and Pins; and

found them at war with a potentate who called in to his aid their

old arch enemy Rust; and who would have got the better of them if

the Spirit of Liberty had not in the nick of time transformed the

leaders into Clown; Pantaloon; Harlequin; Columbine; Harlequina;

and a whole family of Sprites; consisting of a remarkably stout

father and three spineless sons。  We all knew what was coming when

the Spirit of Liberty addressed the king with a big face; and His

Majesty backed to the side…scenes and began untying himself behind;

with his big face all on one side。  Our excitement at that crisis

was great; and our delight unbounded。  After this era in our

existence; we went through all the incidents of a pantomime; it was

not by any means a savage pantomime; in the way of burning or

boiling people; or throwing them out of window; or cutting them up;

was often very droll; was always liberally got up; and cleverly

presented。  I noticed that the people who kept the shops; and who

represented the passengers in the thoroughfares; and so forth; had

no conventionality in them; but were unusually like the real thing

… from which I infer that you may take that audience in (if you

wish to) concerning Knights and Ladies; Fairies; Angels; or such

like; but they are not to be done as to anything in the streets。  I

noticed; also; that when two young men; dressed in exact imitation

of the eel…and…sausage…cravated portion of the audience; were

chased by policemen; and; finding themselves in danger of being

caught; dropped so suddenly as to oblige the policemen to tumble

over them; there was great rejoicing among the caps … as though it

were a delicate reference to something they had heard of before。



The Pantomime was succeeded by a Melo…Drama。  Throughout the

evening I was pleased to observe Virtue quite as triumphant as she

usually is out of doors; and indeed I thought rather more so

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