quy, of the reform. My recent visit to France, and the general impression on the town that I was making great preparations for the production of Auber's opera of Gustave, furnished the malcontents with another pretext for the continuance of their warfare. I was now accused of the high crime and misdemeanour of encouraging foreign, at the sacrifice of native talent; a sure way of exciting John Bull's national feeling, for the moment-but only FOR the moment. Give "John" any thing to please him, and not one penny does he care if it be the invention of his greatest enemy (and in his heart there is none so great as a Frenchman), or the offspring of his most determined rival. He will perhaps be more amused by, and if not he will more liberally patronise, any thing of alien extraction-being the most unpatriotic varlet, in mere matters of taste, that crawls between heaven and earth. "John" has been told over and over again by the composers and fanatici of this country, that he doats upon music, and is a better judge of it, than the citizens of most other nations; but directly "John" is asked to swallow the compositions of these worthy people, he goes off to the continent, and runs riot with Rossini, Auber, Bellini, Meyerbeer, &c. Perhaps the wags will say, this is a proof of his judgment; I am content with saying that at all events it is no proof of his nationality.

With reference to both the points of discontent herein touched upon, I was addressed by Mr. John Barnett, who, for some imaginary slight, (I certainly never

intended to pass any real one upon him,) had before abused me in some of the papers, and threatened to do so again. I sent the following reply, which closed our correspondence:

"T. R. Covent Garden,

"Oct. 16, 1833.

"Sir,

"It is a matter of the most perfect indifference to me what you publish, or what pamphlets or projects you join in; nor should I have considered it at all necessary to have replied to your letter upon the subject of a freedom to the two theatres of which I am lessee, but to contradict a statement therein contained; viz: that English composers are prevented having their works performed. This is not the fact; for I shall be most happy to receive, and give all the support I can to the talents of any and every English composer. You have no claim on me, beyond that of contempt for the falsehoods you have on a former occasion published about me; and you may be assured of one thing, that the public cares nothing about either of us beyond the temporary gratification which our exertions afford them. They have much more to do than to read, and, with such talents as yours, you ought to have more to do than to write, any such absurdity.

I must beg to decline any further correspondence on this subject; but whenever you have any work to submit to the public, I shall be at all times ready

to allow my theatres to be the medium of so doing,

and to pay you for your labour.

Your obedient servant,

To Mr. John Barnett."

A. BUNN."

What may have been Mr. Barnett's opinion since this period, I know not; but it gratifies me to say that I subsequently had the pleasure of introducing his masterly opera of Fair Rosamond, and his lighter, but charming one of Farinelli, to an audience of his countrymen; and it will be long, in my humble opinion, before any works of equal (certainly of greater) beauties are introduced to them.

The first effects of the GRAND JUNCTION were now about to be realized; the resources of both theatres in opera and ballet being brought to bear upon the representation of Gustavus the Third, which appeared on the 16th of November, with a degree of success seldom witnessed, and calculated to silence, in a great measure, the murmurs of the few, from the approbation it elicited at the hands of the many. It certainly operated as a violent check to the proceedings of the dissatisfied; and furnishes further testimony of the truth of the old adage, that when you are hitting your adversary a rap over the knuckles, you may as well hit him a good one.

141

CHAPTER VIII.

Ambassadors foreign and otherwise—Advantages of a tout ensemble— the decline of Pantomime, the cause, and the loss supplied-A humorous instance of stage direction-Gustavus and St. GeorgeDucrow's parrot, and the Hebrew Melodies-Count D'Orsay and Mr. Kenney-Mr. Farren and Prince Talleyrand-Cabinets of St. James's and the Tuileries-The case of a wig-The best way to cut a play—Alarm at the prospect of war allayed-William Godwin -Sardanapalus-Lord Byron, Mrs. Mardyn-Mr. Moore-Mister William Dimond.

GUSTAVUS THE THIRD, and the glories of its Masked Ball, set the Cockneys in a complete fever; the town became literally Gustave-mad; and that grand desideratum in managerial matters, viz. its being unfashionable not to have seen any particular piece, was achieved. To such a pitch of fashion had the attendance to this opera reached, that I have seen on the stage, during the masquerade in the last act, between thirty and forty Peers of an evening, and have more than once numbered amongst them three foreign ambassadors.* This species of entertainment was almost the only field open at the time, which had

* I take this opportunity of mentioning a diplomatic anecdote, though not in connection with any of these real SIMON PURES! A

not been hackneyed, and for the successful prosecution of which the TALENT was to be procured. Tragedy and comedy were then, as they are now, nearly defunct -for one great reason, that the order of talent which could have sustained them is no where to be found. In the absence of such, the flashes of genius which used to keep the stage alive are lost; and thus connoisseurs became disappointed, and the ignorant bored to death. It ceases, then, to be a matter of surprise, that a more signal success attended this representation than the stage had for many years witnessed, by the mere effect of a tout-ensemble. In the production of this piece, no particular reliance was placed upon the peculiar advantage of any one performer's acting; consequently no loss could be sustained by the introduction of any unnecessary airs or extraneous dignity, which too often arises from such causes; there were no exorbitant salaries paid to any

Noble Lord, with whose friendship I have been honoured for many years, entered the green-room on one of these evenings, and seeing an apparently distinguished foreigner on a settee, asked Lord William Lennox, "Who he was?" His Lordship, up to the joke, replied, "The Turkish Ambassador: shall I introduce you?" Up they accordingly came, when the former asked his Highness's opinion of Le bal masqué. The ambassador spoke highly of it; but when the Noble Lord, who had long been a resident in the French capital, observed, "Oui, oui, mais ce n'est pas si bien monté qu'à Paris ;" his Highness, with a sudden change of accent and language, replied, "That's all gammon, Toм!" The effect was ludicrous enough, and the familiarity only pardonable, from the Noble Lord (GRAVES) having more than once told the ambassador (BUNN) he would cut his acquaintance, if he ever called him by any other name than Tom!