Haymarket, and his brother, who is at present at the Olympic. In this company he occasionally played in tragedy, for we find him, in 1806, playing Shylock, Orozembo, and Hassan, at Southend. As he played all the principal low comedy, some parts in tragedy, occasionally sang between the pieces, and printed the bills, our readers may imagine he had his hands full; yet the heart of an itinerant comedian is vulnerable, and OXBERRY "snatched a moment" to gaze upon Miss Catherine Elizabeth Hewitt, then little better than 16 years of age, a lady of most respectable connexions. Albeit the subject of this memoir had as little of the Romeo in his externals as a lady could wish for, he pleaded his cause in such a manner, as to render refusal impossible, and in this eventful year (1806) he persuaded her "To resign the barren title of virgin, for that of wife." By this lady he had three children, two of whom, a son and daughter, are now living. To give our readers some idea of the talent then engaged in Mr. Trotter's circuit, we subjoin a copy of a play-bill. By particular desire. For the Benefit of MR. HARLEY.* THEATRE, SOUTHEND. Octavian, Mr. Vining;† *Not Mr. Harley of Drury-lane theatre. + At present stage-manager of the Olympic, and late a member of the Drury-lane company. Virolet, Mr. Jones; Ganem, Mr. Fitzwilliam ;* Bulcazen Muley, Mr. King; Sadi, Mr. F. Vining;† Roque, Mr. Brooke;‡ Kilmallock, Mr. Harley; Lope Tocho, Mr. Oxberry; Zorayda, Mrs. King; Floranthe, Miss Benson ;§ Agnes, Mrs. Trotter. After which, the comic Dance of The Jack in Distress, Mr. Vining; Robin, Mr. Jones; Giles, Mr. Harley; Louisa, Miss Benson. To which will be added, the Farce of Colloony, Mr. Jones; Edward, Mr. Vining; Caroline, Miss Benson; Cubba, Miss Hewitt. Tickets to be had at the Hotel, the Inns, Library, and of Mr. Harley, Mr. Glass's, Prospect Place, Southend. On Wednesday, for the Benefit of Mr. Brooke, * Now at Drury-lane. + Now of the Haymarket. Manager of a company in the south of England. Whilst at Worthing, in 1807, Mr. OXBERRY attracted the attention of Mr. Siddons, the husband of the celebrated tragic actress, through whose recommendatiou he obtained an engagement at Covent Garden theatre, at £5. £6. and £8. per week. To town our comedian came, and there became infected with a disorder not peculiar to actors, namely, modesty. So little reliance did he place in his own powers, that he went a dozen times to the stage-door of the theatre, ere he once mustered resolution enough to cross the threshold. At last he passed the rubicon, had an interview with Johu Kemble, and fixed Robin Roughhead for his opening part. When the moment arrived for his appearance, he was actually forced from the wing, and he remained for some seconds before a metropolitan audience, in a state of complete stupefaction: his performance was cold, constrained, and ineffective. The next morning (Nov. 8, 1807,) he was cast for Zekiel Homespun, but fearing to tread in the steps of Emery, he assumed Lord Duberly instead; and in this performance he had to contend against the recollection of Suett's inimitable personation of the same character. The motive of the manager in engaging our comedian was to fill the place of Emery, who (in consequence of a quarrel) was about quitting the theatre; but the latter gentleman prudently arranging his difference, OXBERRY was shelved, or played as Munden's or Emery's double, in case of the indisposition of either of those established favorites. These sort of performances neither tended to increase his talent or his fame, and he became heartily tired of his engagement; and, at the end of the season, having received an offer of £5. per week from Mr. Beaumont, for the Glasgow theatre, he applied to Mr. Harris to release him from his articles, to which he readily agreed. At Glasgow, he appeared as Sir David Daw, in The Wheel of Fortune, with such effect, that he bore the appellation of “Sir David” from the “gude folks,” ever afterwards, and at his benefit he cleared £70, a substantial proof of the estimation he was held in, in "the land o' cakes." With the Glasgow company he went to Aberdeen, where it was found necessary, in getting up Adelgitha, to cast our hero Michael Ducas. At this period, Mr. OXBERRY was by no means tragedy-struck, and absolutely refused to play the part; but Mrs. Beaumont having exerted her influence, he reluctantly consented. Mr. H. Johnston was the Lothair, yet Mr. OXBERRY made so great an impression in Ducas, that tragedy was considered his forte in that town, and he played Macbeth, Shylock, Glenalvon, and Richard there, with great applause. The returning season brought him again to Glasgow, where he played all the low comedy, with, if possible, increased effect. At this time, Mr. Raymond, who was starring in the north, offered him terms for the Lyceum, but Mr. OxBERRY, "having the fear of the metropolis" before his eyes, declined the offer. A larger salary was shortly afterwards proffered, and the invitation was too tempting for refusal. He made his appearance at the Lyceum in an opera by H. Siddons, called, The Russian Impostor; and in this piece fresh difficulties arose, for singing was not amongst Mr. OXBERRY'S qualifications; however, he was wound up to the attempt, and, with all his faults upon his head, made as palpable a hit as ever was made in the metropolis. Mr. Arnold saw his value, and, in the middle of the first season, re-engaged him for three years, at £7, £8, and £9, per week. The managers of Drury-lane Thea tre also secured his services at the same salaries, and, at the expiration of that engagement, renewed for four years, at £9, per week, for the first year; £10, for the second; and £12, for the two last. At the beginning of the season of 1820, Mr. Elliston re=duced the salaries, and offered OXBERRY £10, which, as well as a subsequent proffer of £12, was refused. Thus self-deprived of a regular engagement, he starred at the minor theatres; and, at Sadler's Wells, the East London, and the Surrey, attracted full houses. He subsequently I became stage-manager of the Olympic, where he shewed more good nature than good sense, and suffered the theatre to get considerably in his debt; and as he pinned the trade of a printer to his professional duties, he furnished the bills of the house, for which he received certain bills in return, that were more troublesome than useful. In December, 1821, our hero determined to show the versatility of his pursuits, as well as of his genius, and took the Craven's-head Chop-house, in Drury-lane, which instantly became the resort of a great deal of the dramatic and literary talent of the town; as the good-humoured host used to tell his visitors-" We vocalize on a Friday, conversationize on a Sunday, and chopize every day." Mr. OXBERRY was always a free liver, and the allurements of company led him into excesses, which, perhaps, shortened his existence. He expired in an apoplectic fit, on the 9th June, 1824. As an actor, he stood alone, in parts like Slender, Leo Luminati, and Abel Day, and was perhaps second only to Emery in Tyke, John Lump, Robin Roughhead, &c. but his dialect was not so rich as that of some of his contemporaries. He bestowed too little study on his profession, or he |