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the house should he extremely small; and therefore it is inadmissible in our Theatres. It is in admissible as to the first point (namely, the enormons width of the stage-opening), for the reasons which have been already stated (under the first head) upon that subject; and it is equally so upon the second point, because it is impossible to maintain a good Theatre, in this metropolis, upon such a revenue as would accure from an extremely small house.

"So long as the public taste for spectacle shall continue (and it is not likely to cease), all the objections to increased stage-opening, and with it, the magnitude and expence of the scenery, must remain in force; and so long as our Theatres shall be maintained by the money paid at the doors, it will be impossible to reduce the size of those Theatres below the scale of their necessary expences.

"The Greeks and Romans, in their Theatres, made use of scarcely any change of scenes, and their performances were given gratis to the public; consequently their Theatres were not subject to many of those considerations which attach to ours.

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disquisition, shewing a great architectural knowledge, Mr. Wyatt thus proceeds :→→→

"Impressed by the importance of all the foregoing considerations, I determined to adopt, in my design for a Theatre, the form which I have described; and although I was aware, at the time when my drawings and model were first made, that a certain proportion of the spectators, in the Boxes nearest the stage, would have but an imperfect view of the stage, I considered that as an unavoidable inconvenience in all Theatres, and not greater in that projected by me, than in all others; while, on the other hand, the form which I had chosen, possessed many advantages, which could not be derived from any other shape.

"The angles, however, to which I allude, in the Boxes nearest to the stage, have appeared to several persons who saw my model, as an imperfection in the design, and those persons seeming to view the defect more in its positive, than in its comparative bearing upon the perfection of a Theatre, I was led to reconsider, most attentively, this particular part of the design; and after a great deal of reflection, and a variety of experi

"Under these circumstances, therefore, the semicircle is totally inadmissible for a principalments, I determined to alter the shape, of that

Theatre in London.

part of the Theatre adjacent to the stage, by springing the proscenium from the back, instead of from the front of the Boxes, as at C in the annexed plan (No. 3, Plate No. 3.) and by

"The oval and the horse-shoe, as well as some flat-sided forms, have been supposed to be very advantageous in point of vision; but it is evident, that, in the oval, a large proportion of the specta-rounding off the fronts of the boxes nearest to the tors must be placed with their backs inclining towards the scene; and that in all of them (if the honse be not of extreme small dimensions) the front Boxes must be at a great distance from the stage; for in proportion as the sides shall approximate each other, the front must recede, provided the circumference be not varied.

"The fact is, that there is no object connected with the formation of a Theatre, which, in all its bearings, is of more importance, than, that the part of the house, which faces the scene, should be within a moderate distance from the stage: unless that be the case, it is obvious, that a very large proportion of the spectators must be excluded from a clear and distinct view of that play of the features, which constitutes the principal merit of the actor, in many of the most interesting scenes. If the actor's merit, in that particular, be not fairly appreciated, he must of course, be deprived of a proportionate share of the applause, which might otherwise have been bestowed on him; and this mortifying want of encouragement bringing with it a gradual and progressive defect of zeal and emulation, cannot fail, in the end, to reduce the number of good actors, and materially to injure the state of dramatic performances.

Having canvassed the different advantages of the oval, circular, semicircular, and horse-shoe forms of a Theatre, in a

stage, until they joined the wall which separates the proscenium from the spectatory, at the points marked D in the same plan. By this means I have contrived to display the scene to the very last seats in the Boxes, without increasing the stage-opening at all beyond what I had before intended. The scene (excepting in cases of spectacle) is seldom extended, in depth beyond thirty feet from the front line of the stage; a reference to the red line A, described upon the annexed plan, already alluded to, will show how large a proportion of the scene will be visible to spectators sitting in the seats which are the nearest to the stage, even when the scene shall be extended to the depth of forty-two feet from the front line of the stage; while the same persons will have the advantage of sitting one above another, with their faces towards the stage, instead of sitting side by side upon the same level, and with their shoulders toward the scene. The part in the plan (No. 3,) shows the small proportion of the scene which will not be visible to persons sitting on the seat

before-mentioned.

"Nobody will deny the importance of this acquistion with respect to vision, in a part of the house, where, in general, there is no view at all of the stage.

"In the Theatre at Parma (which is particularly celebrated both for sound and vision), the frontispiece of the stage-opening is placed at a distance

of no less than forty feet from the termination of the spectatory, for the purpose of opening a view of the scene to the spectators sitting nearest to the stage; and the width of the stage-opening in that Theatre, with a view to the same desirable object, is extended to thirty-nine feet, exceeding, by four feet, the width which is given to that opening in my design. But it will appear by a reference to the annexed plan of that Theatre (No. 1, Plate No. 3), that when the scene shall be extended to the depth of forty-two feet from the front of the stage, not so much of the scene will be visible to persons sitting at the termination, of the back seats on both sides of the spectatory, as is visible in the same positions according to my design, while, at the same time, the whole of the forty-two feet between the spectatory and the front line of the stage, in the former Theatre, is lost space.

"The accompanying sketch of my plan (No. 3, Plate No. 3), will prove its comparative advantages in this respect, over that which I have just named. The parts tinted with yellow in the accompanying plans, Nos. I, and 3, (Plate No. 3), together with the red line A, (describing the visual rays from the last seats), show the propor tion of the scene which is not visible in either, to persons sitting at the very extremity of the circle; and the parts tinted green shew the proportion of the scene which is visible to persons sitting in those places.

"A reference to the annexed plan (No. 2, Plate No. 3), which is in the form of a horseshoe, with the seats of the spectatory terminating as has been usual in our Theatre, against the blank wall which separates the boxes from the stage; and with the proscenium springing from the front, and not (as in my design), from the back of the Boxes, will exemplify very fully the comparative advantages which are attendant upon the form which I have given to the proscenium, and to the Boxes adjoining the proscenium. The part tinted yellow in this plan also, together with the red line A, shows the proportion of the scene which is not visible to spectators sitting on the benches nearest to the stage; and the parts tinted green shows the proportion which is visible to those spectators.

but

"In discussing this subject, I have hitherto confined myself to those considerations, connected with the form of a Theatre, which appertain directly to the two primary objects of distinct sound and vision; and I trust that I have shown completely, that there is no admissible form so well calculated to secure those objects, as that which I have adopted iu my design, there is another consideration of great importaace, which appertains to the form which I have chosen, and which does not relate to either of the objects above-mentioned; namely, its decided superiority over every other form in point of beauty; for a circle is a form which will never weary or distress the eye.

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"In building our early Theatres in this country, little attention seems to have been bestowed upon the means of favouring sound or vision in the form of those Theatres. Their sides, were either nearly parallel, or diverging little from each other; and if those Theatres had not been confined to very small dimensions (such as would not be consistent with the present population and condition of the metropolis), there can be no doubt that their form would have been found to be extremely defective.

"The first gradation of improvement, in this. respect, appears to have been the introduction. of the oval and the horse-shoe, by rounding off the angles of the former shape; and thus we have been approaching gradually to that form which I now propose, and which deviates as little from the ancient models of the Greek and Ro man Amphitheatres, as the state of circumstances will admit.

"The original Theatres in Drury Lane and Covent-Garden, as well as the old Opera House, and Foote's Theatre in the Haymarket, were all: flat-sided; the latter (never having been re-built). is so to this day. The late Theatre in Drury-lane was nearly oval; and the present Opera House. is in the form of a horse-shoe.

"There is one other point in a great degree connected with the form and proportions of the Theatre, to which I must advert before I entirely, conclude this part of the subject; namely, the height of the ceiling.

"In forming my design, it has been my object to avoid raising the ceiling beyond the proportion which I think it ought, for the sake of symmetry, to bear to the area which it is to cover: that proportion is, in my opinion, about 3-4ths of the diameter of that area, but not less.

"In speaking of the area in this place, I wish it to be understood, that I mean the open area, bounded by the front line of the Boxes, and not by the wall at the back of the Boxes; the former, will always appear to be the area of the Theatre, excepting to persons sitting in the highest row of Boxes; who will be too near to the ceiling to judge at all of the relative proportions between the height of the ceiling and the breadth of the, Theatre.

"I do not believe that the height of the ceiling can, in any degree, injure or affect the sound of the voice in the lower parts of the Theatre; it. may materially assist in conducting the sound into those parts of the honse which are nearest to it; but it must, in every Theatre, be much too high to act as a reverberator, or sounding-board, to the lower parts of the house.

"If this were not the fact, the voice would be quite indistinct and inaudible in a cathedral church, where the roof is at a vast height, the form of that roof not calenlated for direct reverberation of sound; and the person uttering the sound, at the reading-desk, piaced in a situation by no means so well calculated to convey the

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sound of his voice generally among his auditors as that in which an actor upon the stage is placed; || yet we know that, even under all these circumstances, the voice is heard, in most of the cathedral churches, quite as well as it is in many chapels; which is a positive proof that a low ceiling is not essential to the strength and clearness of sound in a Theatre.

"If it were necessary to support this opinion by further argument, the Whispering Gallery, in St. Paul's Cathedral, would serve as an additional proof that sound may be distinctly heard in a very large enclosed area (provided that area be in itself so constructed as to facilitate the conveyance of sound), without any direct reverberation from above the great height of the dome above the floor of the Whispering Gallery, together with the large aperture in the centre of the dome itself, are sufficient to demonstrate, that the extraordinary effect of sound, in the Whispering Gallery, is, in no degree, produced by reverberation from above.

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"Under this conviction I have been influenced in the height at which I have fixed the ceiling, by the proportion which appeared to me to be most in symmetry with the area to be covered by that ceiling.

"The open area within the front line or breastwork of the Boxes, is 58 feet from side to side upon the level of the dress Boxes; upon the level of the two upper tier of Boxes it is three feet more, making together 61 feet; and the height of the ceiling, from the centre of the Pitt, is 48 feet, or two feet three inches more than 3-4ths of the open area of the Theatre, within the breastwork of the second tier of Boxes. The height of the ceiling in the late Theatre in Drury-Lane was 56 feet 6 inches, or 8 feet 6 inches more than the height which I have given to that part in my design.

Mr. Wyatt then passes to the important consideration of the accommodation of the public in ingress and egress.

"THE FACILITY OF INGRESS AND EGRESS. -One of the first principles, which I prescribed to myself in providing for the facility of ingress and egress, was to attach similar approaches and accommodation to each side of the house respectively; thus, whatever doors of entrance, staircases, avenues, &c. are provided for one side of the house, the same precisely are provided for the other side.

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"In pursuing these principles of convenience and security, I have been careful to separate the external doors of entrance, to the several parts of the house, as much as could, consistently with other important objects; and I have made all those external doors, as well as the internal doors, the staircases, and the avenues, as wide as possible, taking particular care to preserve an equality of width in all parts where disparity in

that respect would be likely to produce inconvenient pressure or obstruction. In the staircases, for instance, leading to the two Galleries, I have taken off all angles upon the landings, making those landings, throughout, exactly the same width as the steps; so that whatever crowd may, at any time, find its way into either of those channels, will pass through it, whether ascending or descending, without impediment or danger; while persons going to the Pit will reach the floor of that part of the house, without meeting with a single step, excepting those at the external doors of the Theatre.

"All the door-ways throughout these parts of the house are from five to six feet wide, according to circumstances; the steps and landings of the staircases to the Galleries are five feet, and those to the Boxes six; the staircases to the Galleries, as well as those to the Boxes, are to be of stone. In the great stone staircase leading to the Boxes; the ascent is first in one flight, and then in two; and so on alternately to the top; the centre flights being exactly double the width of the side flights throughout; so that the conflux of persons from the side flights never can choak or obstruct the centre flights; and these staircases are capable of containing upon their own steps and landings a greater number of persons by one-third, than the whole of the Boxes can contain; consequently the ingress and egress to and from the Boxes never can be obstructed for want of room upon the staircases: the whole of the Boxes are capable of containing one thousand one hundred and ninety-two persons; and the two staiscases in question will jointly contain one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two persons; the two-shilling Gallery is calculated to contain four hundred and eighty-two persons; and the two staircases leading to it will contain eight hundred and sixty-eight persons; the oneshilling Gallery contains space for two hundred and eighty-four spectators; and the two staircases leading to that gallery will contain nine hundred and forty-eight persons; allowing (as in both the preceding instances) as much room to each person as they are supposed to occupy when sitting in the Theatre; and of course more than they would really occupy upon a crowded staircase.

"The avenues and door-ways leading to the Pit, being no where less than six feet wide, and being throughout (from the Pit floor to the external doors of the Theatre) upon the same level, the persons going to or from that part of the house can, at no time, be exposed to any difficulty or danger in passing in or out.

Adverting to the respectability of many persons who go occasionally to the Theatre at the second price, and considering the inconvenience to which such persons have hitherto been exposed, by waiting for the time of admission, either out of doors, or among the servants in the hall, I have been led to provide a remedy for this

inconvenience; and have, in my plan, made an arrangement for admitting those persons, at any period of the performance, to a well-aired comfortable room, where, after having paid their money, they may be at liberty to wait the uncertain time of what is called "half-price;" an accommodation which is estimated (by persons well acquainted with these matters), to be capable of attracting an additional £20 per night, which, for two hundred nights, is £4000 per annum.

"DECORUM.-Among the principal objects which call for reform, in the Theatres in London, no one appears to be much more important, than that of protecting the more rational and respectable class of spectators from those nuisances to which they have hitherto been exposed, by being obliged to pass through lobbies, rooms, and avenues, crowded with the most disreputable members of the community, and subject to scenes of the most disgusting indecency.

"An avowed exclusion of any particular class of people, from either part of the house (excepting the private Boxes) would be utterly impracticable; and therefore the best plan is to form an arrangement, which shall virtually

amount to an exclusion of those whom it is desirable to exclude, without any declared intention of so doing.

"As an indispensible provision towards the accomplishment of this desirable object, I have, in my plan, entirely abolished those Boxes which have hitherto been placed immediately at the back of the Dress Circle; (and which are vulgarly called the Basket Boxes.) It is very well known to every one,who has been in the habit of frequenting the Theatres, that the women of the town never hire, or attempt to appear in what are called the Dress Boxes; and that the ladies who do occupy those boxes, would be enabled to go to the play with great comfort and security, if it were not for the nuisances to which they are liable in passing to and from

their Boxes.

"The Basket, therefore, being abolished, and no lobbies, coffee-rooms, or other appendage of that description, being placed contiguous to the Dress Circle, nor within a considerable distance from it, the women of the town and all the most disorderly spectators, will find that part of the house so ill adapted to their convenience, that they will totally desert it, and naturally resort to whatever part of the house shall furnish the accommodation which they require.

"The same considerations, which I have stated, as a reason for refraining from an avowed exclusion of any particular class of the community, must, of course operate against appropriating to the exclusive use of this circle of Boxes a separate entrance and staircase. According to my plan, those persons going to the Dress Boxes will enter at the same doors, and

ascend the same staircases (to a certain height), as those going to any of the Boxes above; but having passed the first flight of the staircases, they will enter the corridor immediately at the back of the Dress Boxes, and will then be quite separated from the rest of the house, and not at all liable to any molestation; there being no lobby, coffee-room, or lounging-place of any description, to lead to this part of the house any of those persons who would be a nuisance to it.

According to the above principles, I have not only provided a ready access to the Dress Boxes, and refrained from placing near them any lobby, or room, which might serve as a in those Boxes; but I have, upon the next receptacle for persons who conld not have seats floor, provided a spacious and handsome suite of rooms, which will unquestionably attract all those whom it is desirable to remove from below stairs.

"There is one other circumstance, which I must mention, as materially appertaining to good order and decorum within the Theatre; namely, house. I have (as before stated), made the wall the equal depth of the Boxes throughout the at the back of the Boxes, in my plan, concentric with the breastwork or front of the boxes; and consequently, the distance from one to the other must be equal in all parts of the Theatre, the result of which is, that there will be no gloomy recess in any part of the Boxes, to favour the riotous or improper proceedings of disorderly persons; every one will be brought in full view of the house, and within the light of the chandeliers; and, that being the case, many will be held in awe of observation, who might otherwise have disturbed the house by noisy and licentious conduct.

"It is notorious that the Basket Boxes, and the dark back seats above stairs, are almost the only places where riot or quarrel take place.

"I have now discussed the several parts of my design, under the four distinct heads which I, at first proposed; and in defining the principles→→→ stating the facts-describing the comparisonsanda

dasserting the advantages, connected with that design, it has been my endeavour to avoid all partiality or prejudice; and to represent with clearness, precision, and truth, every circumstance, to which I have had occassion to advert, in the course of the discussion. If those principles have been justly defined; if those facts have been correctly stated; if those comparisons have been truly described; and if those advantages have not been exaggerated, four manifest conclusions obviously follow:

"First. That the size or capacity of the Theatre, as governed by the width of the proscenium or stage-opening, and by the pecuniary return to be made to those persons, whose property may be embarked in the concern, is the

largest, and therefore the best, which can be adopted.

"Secondly. That the form or shape of the Theatre, as connected with the primary objects of distinct sound and vision, is, independently of its advantages in point of beauty, incomparably superior to any other form.

"Thirdly.-That the facility of ingress and egress, as materially affecting the convenience of those going to every part of the house respectively as well as their lives, in cases of sudden accident or alarm, is secured to a much greater degree, than has usually been the case in the Theatres of this metropolis.

"Fourthly.-That decorum among the several classes of visitants to the Theatre, as essential to the accommodation of the more respectable part of those vistants, and consequently,

of great importance to the interest of the Theatre, is provided for, to an extent which cannot fail to raise the reputation of the Theatre, and essentially to benefit the interests of the public, as well as of those immediately concerned in the profits of the Theatre."

Such are the principles upon which the new Theatre is to be constructed. They are at ouce full of novelty and science.They comprehend the amusement (together with that which has been always thought an impossible combination), the purity and decorum of public places.-They do great honour to the architectural genius and the moral taste of Mr. Wyatt.

ZARA; OR THE ADVENTURES OF AN ENGLISH WIFE.

THE faint glimmering of the moon on the surface of the waters is not more uncertain than the condition of human life Let the sons and daughters of affliction receive com fort from hope; let not the happy boast too much of their prosperity, nor the miserable sink into despondency and despair. Virtue has always a resource in Providence, which improves the blessings and mitigates the evils of life. We are about to relate a tale which occurred in the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the pirates of Tunis were the - most dangerous and rapacious of maritime

states.

After two years' constant attendance, Ernestus obtained his mistress in marriage. The parents of this beautiful lady had for a long time opposed the happiness of Ernestus, who was a man of but small fortune; but being at last appointed Colonel of a regiment, and then in the road to preferment, as he was naturally a brave and intrepid man, they con sented to bestow on him their daughter.

Marriage, so far from diminishing the tenderness of the Colonel, increased his affection, and the possession of Eivira appeared to him as the must inestimable treasure. In the midst of this scene of delight, he was ordered with his regiment to Minorca, where he was to remain in garrison for some time. The idea of being separated from his Evira overwhelmed him with grief; and though he fear

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ed to expose her to the dangers of the sea he resolved at last to take her with him. Elvira, who could not support the thought of being separated from her husband, rejoiced in the resolution he had taken. They embarked at Portsmouth, and a favourable wind seemed to promise them a safe and speedy passage; but fortune had devoted them to disasters which they did not foresee.

The vessel was on a sudden attacked by a Tunisian pirate. The dispute, in which the Colonel fought like a lover and an Englishman, was long and obstinate, but being at last overpowered by numbers, the pirates made themselves masters of the vessel. How shall we paint the despair of Elvira and the distress of the Colonel? He was wounded in the arm, and his lovely w fe was by his side when the corsairs boarded the vessel. The Tunisian Captain was struck with the noble air of the Colonel and the beauty of Elvira. The natural savageness and barbarity vanished in a moment from the breast of the Captain, who ou the sight of his illustrious captives ordered the greatest care to be taken of the Colonel, and the utmost respect paid to Elvira.

The pirates, contented with what they had taken, instantly made for Tunis; where they no sooner arrived than they began to think of making a division of their prize. As the Colonel and his lady had not been separated during the voyage, they were in hopes they

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