an enormous sensation at Goodman's Fields Theatre, quite "drew the town," with disastrous results to the box offices of the other houses. Things reached a climax when Fleetwood, the manager of Drury Lane, secured the services of the new "star" at the salary, then unheard-of, of six hundred guineas. Rich retaliated by engaging next season the most talented and popular actress of her time, Mrs. Cibber, who played Desdemona to Quin's Othello. The next celebrated actress who trod the boards of Covent Garden Theatre was Mrs. Clive.

In 1808 occurred the disastrous fire. This calamity has been attributed to a piece of smouldering wadding, fired from a gun during the course of the play, "Pizarro," which was being acted on that fateful evening. The fire, as far as can be ascertained, began at about four o'clock in the morning, and in the course of two hours the place was gutted. A number of firemen lost their lives by the fall of a part of the roof. Of the eleven houses in Bow Street fronting the theatre, seven were burnt to the ground, including a tavern called the "Smugglers." The fire

destroyed Handel's organ, which he bequeathed to Rich, the wardrobe of dresses and properties, the wines of the Beefsteak Club, and, what was more important, the library of original MS. scores of operas. So strong was the sympathy felt for Kemble that a subscription list, most liberally supported, for funds to rebuild the theatre was at once started. The Duke of Northumberland offered Kemble £10,000, which he would only accept as a loan. The Duke, however, when the foundation-stone of the new theatre was laid, returned the bond, with the message that he hoped it would go to the bonfire which he presumed would celebrate the joyful event.

The first stone of the new structure was laid by the Prince of Wales, who had headed the subscription list with £1,000, with full Masonic honours on December 30, 1808, and it is to be remarked that Kemble on the previous evening was initiated into the mysteries of ancient Freemasonry. The architect was R. Smirke, jun., afterwards Sir Richard Smirke, who also designed the Mint, General Post Office, and the British Museum.

It may be observed, before leaving the subject, that this was not the only theatre whose destruction was due to the firing of a gun on the stage. One of the earliest of our theatres, viz. the Globe at Bankside, at which Shakespeare acted, suffered a like fate from a similar cause. It was built in 1593, and burnt down in 1613 during a performance of "Henry VIII."

The advent of the new theatre was marked by disgraceful scenes of riot and disorder, on account of the raising of the prices which was found necessary because of the enormous expenditure which the rebuilding entailed. Exception was also taken to the private boxes. The disturbances were known as the O.P. (old prices) riots, which continued for seventy-seven nights, in spite of the arrest of many of the ringleaders. The bad feeling appears to have been more particularly manifested against Kemble. Madame Catalini came in for a share of it, apparently because she was a foreigner, on the "heave half a brick at him" principle. Kemble employed pugilists to go into the pit and fight the rioters. For this action, which only in