and, if I mistake not, we may say "His last shilling!" exclaimed the bishop; "surely, my dear sir, you cannot mean that he is now in any pecuniary difficulties? My good friend and secretary made very particular inquiries on that head before I asked you to invite him to meet me, and the result was perfectly satisfactory." "I am extremely happy to hear it," observed the doctor; "but the fact is, that I really know nothing of his circumstances, though, certainly, some months since, there was a whisper of his having incurred debts with some tradespeople of the neighbourhood." 'Some months since!" exclaimed his lordship; "ah, my dear doctor, that's quite another affair. My information is of a much more recent date. He has no such incumbrances now, you may rely upon it. At least, I hope not, for he ought not to be in debt." "Not if he can help it, my lord," said the doctor, with a very significant smile; "certainly not, if he can contrive to keep all clear and smooth, but how that is to be managed with seventy odd pounds a-year is utterly beyond my comprehension." "Simply because you have never been compelled to make the experiment," observed the bishop; "but I have. My first curacy did not bring me in quite so much, and yet I made it suffice for all my wants, and had somewhat to spare for the poor." It Now this was perfectly true; but his lordship, like many others who have been prosperous in life, when indulging in reminiscences of his past career, omitted certain contingencies which ought to be taken into consideration. Thus he seemed to have forgotten that, during the year of his holding the said curacy, he had not had occasion to appropriate any portion of his slender stipend to other than the simple household necessaries of the passing day. was his first cure, he came to it with a wardrobe superabundantly filled, took possession of a well-furnished house and well-stocked garden, and his cellar was liberally supplied by his father. How he might have managed had he continued there till his clothes were threadbare and his cellar empty is another affair; but he contrived to get through the year as has been stated, and the economical achievement was among his pleasant recollections. "You must have managed well, then, my lord," observed Dr. Barlow, and then with a smile inquired, "with a wife and three children did you say?" "No, no!" said the bishop, "oh, no! when I married I took pupils. That is what our friend here should have done long since. Well, well, it's settled now, and if-but I make no promises. You would be astonished to see the numerous applications made to me whenever any little thing falls in or even is likely to fall in. And from such quarters, too! Then we must also consider the un certainty of life. It would be wrong to say more than that I will not forget him." A WALK FROM LONDON TO FULHAM. PART II. FROM THE BELL AND HORNS, BROMPTON, TO LITTLE CHELSEA. To return to the continuation of MICHAEL'S PLACE. It is divided between Nos. 11 and 12 by MICHAEL'S GROVE, which led to Brompton Grange, for some years, the seat of the favourite veteran vocalist, Braham, who made his appearance as a public singer at the age of ten years, and so far back as 1787. The Grange was taken down in October 1843, and, in the course of the following twelve months, its spacious grounds have been covered by a decided crescent and other buildings. Brompton Grange, which was constructed by Novosielski for his own residence, was, previous to Mr. Braham's tenancy, occupied by a gentleman of large fortune and weak nerves, which were most painfully affected by the tone of a bell. After considerable research, this spot was selected for his London residence, in the belief that there he would be secure from annoyance. But the folly of human anticipation was speedily illustrated by the building of Brompton Church on the north side of his abode, and of Chelsea New Church on the west; so that, whatever way the wind blew, was certain of being wafted to the Grange, which was got rid of in consequence. From Michael's Grove, BROMPTON CRESCENT (Old Brompton Crescent, as it will now be called, unless the name of Eclipsed Crescent be assumed by it) is nearly a straight row of twenty-five houses, and forms an angle to the line of the main Fulham road, uniting with Michael's Place at "Crescent House," where the carriage communication is interrupted by a bar. No 9 was for some time in the occupation of Dr. Oswald Wood, the translator of Von Hammer's History of the Assassins, and who died, at the early age of thirty-eight, on the 5th of November, 1842, in the West Indies, where he held the appointment of Provost-Marshal of Antigua. At No. 13 Brompton Crescent resided Charles Incledon, the rival of his neighbour Braham, whose singing he was wont to designate as "Italianised humbug" declaring that no one but himself, Charles Incledon, knew how to sing a British ballad: and it must be admitted, that "The Storm" and "Black-eyed Susan," as sung by Incledon, produced a deep impression on the public mind. He was a native of Cornwall, and the son of a medical gentleman. As a chorister, under the tuition of Jackson, in Exeter Cathedral, Incledon acquired his knowledge of music; for when he was fifteen he entered the royal navy, in which he served in the West Indies from 1779 to 1783, when he abandoned the naval profession, and joined a theatrical company Southampton. After a popular professional career of upwards of forty years as a public singer, Incledon died at Worcester, on the 11th of February, 1826. at Of Incledon many amusing anec dotes are told, chiefly caused by his inordinate vanity, and his mental singleness of purpose. He thought of no one but himself; he saw nothing beyond the one and immediate object at which he grasped; and yet these faults were caused rather by natural weakness of intellect than by an unkind or selfish disposition. In fact, Incledon lived and died a petted servant of the public; which administered intoxicating draughts of applause to his self-esteem. Mr. G. H. Rodwell, already mentioned as an inhabitant of No. 14 Brompton Row, resided at No. 15 Brompton Crescent, in 1830. No. 20 Brompton Crescent was, between the years 1822 and 1844, occupied by Mr. Planché, well known as, perhaps, the most prolific and skilful dramatic writer of the day, and as a gentleman of high literary and antiquarian attainments. His connexion with the last musical efforts of C * Brompton Grange, where long may a Muse like his be invoked to amuse a delighted multitude! the German composer Weber, in his opera of Oberon, which was produced at Covent Garden on the 12th of May, 1826, cannot be forgotten; and to Planché's knowledge of costume and taste for pictorial effects the English stage is deeply indebted. In the drawing-room of this house have some of our most agreeable acting dramas been composed, and nothing could have been, in its style and appointments, more typical of Planche's dialogue than was the apartment, smart and neat, fit for all occasions, and suited in a moment to the present purpose, whatever that might be. It was polished and elegant; but there was nothing superfluous, beyond a bit of exquisite china on the mantel-piece, or a picture, excellent in its way, on the wall; something which pleased the eye, and which the mind received and relished like a nicely pointed joke. A well-painted portrait of Planché himself, by Briggs, the Royal Academician, which has been engraved, hung opposite to the fireplace; and, as if to carry out the similitude between Planche's writings and the place where they were written, folding-doors revealed a back drawingroom, which, like his memory, was richly stored with the works of heralds and antiquaries, and of our elder dramatists and poets, so judiciously arranged, that in a moment he was certain of producing the precise passage or the effect which he desired. At the same time so completely was this little battery of knowledge masked under quaint bindings and tasteful covers, that no one suspected what a mine of learning lay beneath; nor, like his own mental resources, was a volume displayed without cause, or unclasped without its effect. Mr. C. J. Richardson, an architect, whose publications illustrative of Tudor architecture and domestic English antiquities have materially tended to diffuse a feeling of respect for the works of our ancestors, and to forward the growing desire to preserve and restore edifices which time and circumstances have spared to the country, resides at No. 22 Brompton Crescent. Speaking earnestly to Planché respecting the pains and pleasures of authorship, L. E. L. once said, "I would give this moment all the fame of what I have written, or ever shall write, for one roar of applause from crowded house, such as you must have heard a thousand times." The continuation of MICHAEL'S PLACE, which we left on our right to visit Michael's Grove and Brompton Crescent, is the corner house, now Dr. Cahill and Mr. Hewett's, Within the last few months Mr. Planché has removed to a new and detached house, built on the site of No. 12, where Lewis Schiavonetti, a distinguished engraver, died on the 7th of June, 1810, at the age of fifty-five. He was a native of Bassano, in the Venetian territory, and the eldest son of a stationer, whose large family and moderate circumstances made him gladly accept the offer of Julius Golini, a painter of some repute, to receive his son, at the age of thirteen, for instruction in the arts. In three years after, Golini expired in the arms of his youthful pupil. Upon the death of his master he determined to seek the patronage of Count Remaudini, who had given employment to Bartolozzi and Volpato, and began to study the mechanical process of engraving, under a poor man named Lorio, who, unable to support himself by his profession, officiated as Weber died on the 7th of June following, at No. 91 Great Portland Street, in his fortieth year. sacristan to a church, and could offer him no better accommodation for study than the sacristy. The circumstances of Schiavonetti not permitting him to seek for higher instruction, he remained with this master about twelve months, when, finding that he had learned all that poor Lorio was able to teach, and feeling an aversion to work occasionally among dead bodies, he determined to alter his situation. A copy of a "Holy Family," from Bartolozzi, after Carlo Maratta, gained Schiavonetti immediate employment from Count Remaudini, and attracted the notice of Suntach, an engraver and printseller, in opposition to Remaudini. About this time there came to Bassano a Mr. Testolini, of Vicenza, a wretched engraver of architecture, but a man of consummate craft and address. He became acquainted with Schiavonetti at Suntach's, and, finding in his genius and tractable disposition a tool which he could use to great advantage, he engaged him to work at his house. Bartolozzi's engravings in the chalk manner were then in great repute at Bassano, and Testolini made several abortive attempts to discover the process. His young friend succeeded better, and imitated several of Bartolozzi's prints to perfection; and Testolini took some of Schiavonetti's productions to the son of Bartolozzi at Venice, and passed them as his own. They gained him an introduction to that artist, and an invitation to London, where he was then in full occupation, and his works highly appreciated. The change of climate seems to have deteriorated the talents of Testolini, but such was his adroitness that he gained a complete ascendancy over the easy temper of Bartolozzi, and lived in his house at North End, Fulham, about three years. During that time, finding that yet more important advantages might be derived from the aid of his former friend, he made several propositions to Schiavonetti to come to London. These were for a time declined; the rising fame of the young artist caused his talents to be better appreciated, and some Venetian noblemen offered him a pension and constant employment if he would abandon his proposed emigration. Testolini, to frus trate this, procured Bartolozzi to write a letter of persuasion, partly dictated by himself; and, confident of its effect, he set out for Italy to bring Schiavonetti over. During his absence Bartolozzi gained an insight into his real character and interested views, and, on his return with his protégé, told him that his house was no longer open to him, but that Schiavonetti was welcome to consider it his home. Testolini, however, having found a house in Sloane Square, soon persuaded Schiavonetti that it would be better for him to follow his fortune than to remain with Bartolozzi, to which Schiavonetti consented. This circumstance terminated the connexion between Bartolozzi and Schiavonetti, and shortly after the reputation of the latter as an engraver became established in London, where he conducted every transaction he was engaged in with an uprightness and integrity that cause his memory to be equally respected as a gentleman and as an artist. The "Madre Dolorosa," after Vandyke; the portrait of that master in the character of Paris; Michael Angelo's cartoon of the "Surprise of the Soldiers on the banks of the Arno;" a series of etchings from designs by Blake, illustrative of Blair's Grave, with a portrait of Blake after Phillips; the "Landing of the British troops in Egypt," from De Louther bourg; and the etching of the "Canterbury Pilgrims," from Stothard's admired picture, are some of the most esteemed works of Lewis Schiavonetti. His funeral, which took place on the 14th June, from Michael's Place, was attended by West. the president, Phillips, Tresham, and other members of the Royal Academy, by his countryman Vendramini, and almost all the distinguished engravers of the day, with other artists and friends to art. The greater portion of No. 13 Michael's Place is shewn in the sketch of No. 12, and the former may be mentioned as the residence of the widow of the builder, Madame Novosielski, who died here on the 30th November, 1820. This was the address of Miss Helen Faucit, immediately previous to her recent suc cessful appearance as an applauded actress in the English drama before a French audience, and is at present in the occupation of Mr. Weigell, a gem engraver, whose works are highly prized. Miss Pope, an actress of considerable reputation, died at No. 17 Michael's Place, on the 30th July, 1818, aged seventy-five. Her talents had been cultivated by the celebrated Mrs. Clive, and she was distinguished by the notice of Garrick. As a representative of old women, Miss Pope is said to have been unrivalled; and, for more than half a century, she remained constant to the boards of Drury Lane Theatre, never having performed at any other, with the exception of a season at Dublin and another at Liverpool. Mr. John Heneage Jesse, in 1842, while engaged in the publication of Memoirs of the Court of England, from the Revolution of 1688 to the Death of George II., 3 vols. 8vo., a continuation of his History of the Court of England during the Reign of the Stuarts, lodged at No. 18. forming the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. No. 25 Michael's Place may be pointed out as the house in which Miss Pope, "the other delicious old woman," dwelt previous to her removal to No. 17; and No. 26, as the lodgings of Mrs. Mathews, when occupied in the composition of the Memoirs of her husband,* the eminent comedian, "A man so various, that he seemed to be, Not one, but all mankind's epitome." The ground upon which Michael's Place and Brompton Crescent are built was known by the name of "Flounder Field," from its usual moist and muddy state. This field contained fourteen acres, and was part of the estate of Alderman Henry Smith, which in this neighbourhood was upwards of eighty-four acres. He was a native of Wandsworth, where he is buried. From very humble circumstances, he rose to be an alderman of London-from circumstances so humble, indeed, that, according to tradition, he had been in early life whipped out of a parish in Surrey for begging there. Being a widower, and without children, he made over all his estates in 1620 to trustees for charitable purposes, reserving out of the produce 5001. a-year for himself. He died in 1627-8, and the intent of his will appears to have been to divide his estate equally between the poorest of his kindred, and in case of any surplus it was to be applied to the relief and ransom of poor captives. Mr. Smith is said, but we know little of the history of this benevolent and extraordinary man, to have himself suffered plication having been made for many a long captivity in Algiers. No apyears to redeem captives, and the claimants' portion, under the name of Smith, having become so subdivided that it allowed so little to each individual as to be scarcely worth the trouble of claiming, in 1772 an act of parliament was passed authorising the appropriation of this bequest, which had accumulated to a large amount, to certain charitable purposes. Mr. Yates, the manager of the Adelphi Theatre, and an actor of considerable and varied powers, resided at No. 21 Michael's Place immediately previous to his accepting a short engagement in Ireland, where he ruptured a blood-vessel, and returned to England in so weak a state that he died on the 21st June, 1842, a few days after his arrival, at the Euston Hotel, Euston Square, from whence it was considered, when he reached London, imprudent to remove him to Brompton. He was in the forty-fifth year of his age, and made his first appearance in London at Covent Garden on the 7th November, 1818. On the 30th November, 1823, Mr. Yates married Miss Brunton, an exemplary woman, and the accomplished actress now bearing his name. Before Mr. Yates' tenancy, No. 21 was the residence of Mr. Liston, whose comic humour will long be remembered on the stage. Mrs. Davenport, a clever actress and an admirable representative of old women, died at No. 22, in 1842. On the 25th of May, 1830, she retired from the stage, after an uninterrupted service of thirty-six years at Covent Garden Theatre, where she took her "first, last, and only benefit," per ALEXANDER SQUARE, on the * 4 vols. 8vo.; I. and II. 1838; III. and IV. 1839. VOL. XXXI. NO. CLXXXII. |