SMITH'S COMPANY
Was not noyv remarkable for efficiency, yet on the yvhole the entertainments possessed a tolerable share of attraction, in yvhich a novelty, knoyvn as the " Veilburn-n/w-Chambers dancing " constituted a main feature, and was m u c h appreciated. There yvas besides an inclement winter, but as spring advanced, the theatrical horizon began to brighten, and toyvards the close of the year there was an evident change for the better in both management and professional material. Christmas-tide brought Mr. and Mrs. Hambleton, from Sydney, but yvith the passing ayvay of the holidays, the aspect of affairs yvas discouraging. O n the n t h February, 1847, the St. Patrick Society returned Smith's good turn by crowding the theatre when "The Layvyer's Clerk" and " Paddy M u r p h y " yvere played, and £65 taken. But a heavy bloyv yvas in waiting for the proprietor, and fate struck it in the early days of April, by inducing M a d a m e Veilburn, the popular danseuse, to caper away from the establishment, and Smith put the police after her yvith a warrant of arrest for a breach of the Masters and Servants Act. In plain language, the " light-legged lady " had struck yvork and bolted, and the police found her stowed ayvay on board " T h e Sisters," bound for Adelaide. She yvas apprehended, and brought up at the Police Office, but the Magistrates held they had no jurisdiction, as a terpsichorean artiste yvas in no sense a servant, within the meaning of the layv. Smith survived the Veilburn defection and plodded away with a degree of quiet perseverance, proving himself the possessor of more stamina than he yvas credited yvith. T h e winter solstice yvas n o w on, and winter in old times meant bad business for evening entertainments. T h e 10th May, yvas a gala occasion at the theatre, by reason of the "benefit " of a Mr. Searle, an actor moderately clever as an utility man, and a great gun yvith the Oddfelloyvs. T h e event yvas under the patronage of the " D u k e of Y o r k " Lodge of the Ancient and Independent Order, yvho m a d e a grand turn out, and the house held £66. T h e brethren mustered in full force, and the interior of the theatre was so " Oddfelloyvishly" done up as to give it a novel appearance. A "chaste and beautiful banner," by Opie, the scene painter, yvas displayed over the stage, and on each side the " Dispensation" and a splendid oil painting of "Justice." T h e P.G.s and N.G.s and other alphabetically distinguished officials of the fraternity, exultant in satin collars and sashes, trimmed yvith gold and silver lace, bloomed forth from the central boxes of the dress circle—the minor officers with " plain silk and velvet sashes " in the adjoining boxes, so many sitting satellites within the orbit of greater luminaries. W h e n the curtain rose, the solitaryfigureof Brother Hambleton appeared in fullfigas an Oddfellow, which "produced a most profound sensation ;" every seat in the house yvasfilled,and m a n y yvere glad to obtain standing room. In an interval, Searle's daughter, a seven-year-old, sang " T h e Syviss Toy Girl" in admirable style. T h e juvenile yvas rewarded yvith a shower of bouquets, transformed during the transit into half-crowns, and the child instead of being scared by the pattering of the metallic hailstones on the stage, had the presence of mind not only to pick them up but pocket t h e m — a n ingenuous feat beheld yvith loud plaudits, in the midst of yvhich the youngster bowed her acknowledgment and withdreyv. Hambleton, in about a week after had his turn, when the house took £Ho, the largest receipts ever known. In June the proprietor changed the evenings of performance to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Saturday being exempted in consequence of Smith's desire not to trench upon the Sabbath. A Mr. Saville, from Sydney, introduced as "a near relative of Helen Faucit," yvas taken on, and afinalexit occurred by M r . G. P. Groves, an actor of m u c h promise, dying one night from delirium tremens at the Rose Thistle and Shamrock, in Elizabeth Street. T h e season wound up with a proprietorial benefit, patronised by the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows ; and Smith appropriated half the takings of another night, towards the erection of some public lamps, as a commencement of the lighting of the town. In July he advertised for tendersforthe erection of 15 lamps in Q u e e n Street, two to be placed at the intersection of each street, as far as Flinders Street, and the rest to be set up about the theatre. Nothing further worthy of special mention occurred until the evening of the 1st December, when there yvas a lively time of it. A Mr. R a e took his benefit from an average attendance, but there yvas some " bilking " of the bill by no means agreeable. It was advertised " that a celebrated American nigger would sing a version of ' Jim Crow ' localized by an amateur," but there was neither nigger nor s o n g — a " dark " transaction rowdily resented by the "gods." L a m p s yvere smashed, windows riddled, and pieces of moulding wrenched from thefittingsand hurled into the pit and on to the stage. Providentially, however,
