In 1774 James Hook was appointed organist and composer, and remained at Vauxhall Gardens till 1820, exerting his facile, if not very distinguished powers, as a music-writer. In 1775 Catches and Glees were for the first time introduced into the concert. On an evening of July of this year Lord Sandwich and a party of friends amused themselves by starting some Catches and Glees of their own, which they sang from their box near the orchestra. General Haile, who sat in the next box, then requested a young lady who was with him to sing a song, which the band obligingly accompanied, to the great delight of the audience.[346] A favourite catch, “They say there is an echo here,” was performed in 1780, by two sets of singers and musicians, the stanzas of the principal band being answered by an invisible band of voices and wind instruments stationed over the Prince’s box at the bottom of the garden.
Vauxhall on a Gala Night
In 1783 Barthelemon led the orchestra, and a band of drums and fifes, horns and clarionets, was introduced to perambulate the gardens after the regular concert. These supplementary bands generally formed part of the later Vauxhall entertainments.
§ 4. 1791–1821.
In 1792 the ordinary admission was raised from one shilling to two shillings, and Grand Galas and Masquerades became features of Vauxhall.[347] On 31 May, 1792, there was a successful masked ball, and the gardens were a blaze of light. Amid a crowd of Haymakers, Punches, Chimney Sweeps, and Sailors, Munden, the actor, attracted attention in the character of a deaf old man.
People of all classes took part in these masqueradings. Deputy Gubbins went as a very fat Apollo, and his spouse, a portly matron, as Diana with a huge quiver. Master Gubbins was Cupid. But these characters were misunderstood by the newspaper-reporter, who described the Deputy as the Fat Knight, accompanied by his lady as Mother Quickly, and by the hope of all the Gubbinses as an awkward Toxophilite.[348]
The “Dashalls” and “Tallyhos” sometimes caused trouble, and a newspaper of 1812, describes how at a ball of this year, a crowd of masks followed “Mr. Cockadoodle Coates” with crowing and exclamations of “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo.”
An imposing festival took place on 20 June, 1813, to celebrate the Battle of Vittoria and Wellington’s victories. The Prince of Wales, and all the Royal Dukes were present at the banquet.
During this period (1791–1821) some capable vocalists made their appearance at Vauxhall; Darley (who had already sung at the gardens in 1789); Mrs. Franklin (who had previously appeared as Miss Leary); Mrs. Mountain,[349] the actress (1793); the well-known Charles Dignum (1794) and Mrs. Bland[350] the popular ballad-singer (1802). Dignum and Mrs. Bland remained Vauxhall favourites for some years.[351]