"Dem urchins what sing my song,
Had better mind dar books,
For anyhow dey can't be Crows,
You see d'ar only Rooks.
Wheel about, etc."
For some reason or other this buffoonery became a perfect rage; there were Jim Crow hats, Jim Crow coats, neckerchiefs, etc.; nay, it even was made use of in political satire.
There were frequently two opera companies singing at the same time; one German, of not much account, the other Italian, which included names which are historical in the musical world. Among the men were Garcia, Lablache, Rubini, and Tamburini, and among the ladies were Albertazzi, Garcia, Grisi, Malibran (who died in 1836), and Pasta. And they were well paid, as we see from an extract from the Town, quoted in the Times of May 20, 1833—
"Opera Charges.
"The following sums are paid nightly to the performers at the King's Theatre: Pasta, £200, Taglioni, £120, Rubini, £100, Tamburini, £100, Donzelli, £50, Zuchelli, £50. Madame Pasta will receive £3500 for the season; and the amount payable to the principal characters alone, on the rising of the curtain, is above £1000."
The premières danseuses were Taglioni, the two Elslers, Carlotta Grisi, and Duvernay, who married a country banker, Mr. Lyne Stephens, and who died enormously rich, either late in 1894 or early in 1895, when her collection pictures, etc., were sold at Christie's, and fetched fabulous prices. A great male dancer was Perrot.
It is an easy transition from opera to the drama, and among actors we find the names of Paul Bedford, J. B. Buckstone, T. P. Cooke, A. Ducrow, W. Farren, J. P. Harley, Chas. J. Kean, R. Keeley, C. Kemble, J. Liston, W. C. Macready, John Parry, J. Phelps, J. Reeve, J. Vandenhoff, B. Webster, F. H. Yates, and C. M. Young. Among actresses I may mention Madame Celeste, Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Honey, Fanny Kemble, Mrs. Nisbet, Miss Ellen Tree (afterwards Mrs. Chas. Kean), Miss Vandenhoff, and Madame Vestris.
During this reign died several veterans of the stage. In 1831 died Mrs. Siddons and Elliston; in 1832, Munden; in 1833, Edmund Kean; in 1836, Richardson, the showman; and in 1837, the famous clown, Joey Grimaldi.
There were besides two names not to be forgotten, not belonging to professors of the legitimate drama, but yet worthy in their way to be chronicled—namely, Charles Matthews, who died in 1835, famous for his "At Home," and his "Monopolylogue," and "Love, the Polyphonist."
There was a curious police case in 1831, re a curious subject—no less than Madame Vestris's leg; and the following is a portion of the case as reported in the Times of January 21st:—