the cost of much blood and treasure, and there is no reason why it should hold on to existence in the person of a Lord Chamberlain.

Lord Chesterfield's memorable protest on the passing of Sir Robert Walpole's Act of 1737, is probably not forgotten. If the players are to be punished,' he said, 'let it be by the laws of their country, and not by the will of an irresponsible despot.' The present abuse of this discretionary power is shown in the case of Ash Wednesday. No warrant for even the general observance of this day can be respected in a Protestant country, and the restrictions on the players, and players only, which are powerless under the present licensing system over one-fourth of London and nearly the whole of the country, have little more than the antiquity of a century to recommend them even to the lovers of old observances. The present Lord Chamberlain, without being pressed by his Act of Parliament, has extracted a promise, under pressure, from every manager within his jurisdiction, not to open theatres in any form.

on Ash Wednesday—a logical but oppressive proceeding while former, lord chamberlains were content only to suspend stage-plays on that particular day which in future ought to be known in the calendar as St. Thespis the Martyr.

MR. PHELPS AT THE GAIETY.

M

R. PHELPS'S first appearance at the Gaiety Theatre was in the week before Christmas, 1873,

when he was engaged to give eight special representations of certain old comedies in conjunction with Mr. Charles Mathews, Mr. J. L. Toole, Mr. Hermann Vezin, Mr. Lionel Brough, etc. He made his first entry as Dr. Cantwell in the Hypocrite,' Mr. Toole playing Mawworm for the first time after a very short period of study, and the rest of the characters being represented by Miss Farren and members of the Gaiety Company. This piece was played for six nights to the largest receipts ever known at the theatre,

and the following three nights were devoted to Colman's comedy of 'John Bull,' with Mr. Phelps as Job Thornbury, Mr. Toole as Dennis Brulgruddery, Mr. Charles Mathews as the Hon. Tom Shuffleton, Mr. Hermann Vezin as Peregrine, and Mr. Lionel Brough as Dan, supported by the general company. The receipts were equally great for these performances, and the orchestra was utilised for extra stalls. Mr. Phelps, unlike Mr. Charles Mathews, did not consider himself injured by appearing in this combination, and this short preliminary engagement was the forerunner of many others which were equally pleasant and profitable to both of us. As in Mr. Charles Mathews's case, there were no written agreements between us, but we perfectly understood each other's views; and from December 1873, to the day of Mr. Phelps's lamented death, he considered himself more or less engaged to me, and never thought of any public appearance without coming to consult me. At first I used his invaluable services at my Saturday matinées,

and at these he played a number of his best comedy parts, intermixed with Cardinal Wolsey and Shylock. He avoided Sir Pertinax Macsycophant in The Man of the World' for nearly four years, and I never pressed him to play it. He told me he thought it was the most trying part in the whole range of the British drama, and when he felt physically equal to it he would let me know. The time came at last, after one of his long fishing holidays, and the result was a very fine performance of his great comic masterpiece.

When Mr. Toole went to America in 1874, and I had the Amphitheatre in Holborn and the Opéra Comique in the Strand under my direction, in addition to the Gaiety, I was enabled to offer Mr. Phelps a night engagement at the Gaiety. We produced The Merry Wives of Windsor' at Christmas, 1874, with scenery by Mr. Grieve, and original music by Mr. Arthur Sullivan. Mr. Phelps played Falstaff, and associated with him in the cast were Mr.