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261 



terrupted the debate. A motion 

 was made to adjourn, but Mr. 

 Sheridan said, with great calmness, 

 •'that whatever might be the extent 

 of the private calamity, he hoped it 

 would not interfere with the public 

 business of the country;" he then 

 left the house, and the discussion 

 proceeded. Many of his friends ac- 

 companied him to the scene, but it 

 was too late for any effort to be 

 made; and all that the engines 

 could effect was, to save the houses 

 in Vinegar -yard, and Russell-street, 

 the roofs of which had caught fire, 

 from being burnt down. 



About half past twelve, parts of 

 the outward wails, both in Russell- 

 street, and Vinegar-yard, fell down, 

 and completely blocked up the pas- 

 sage, but fortunately no lives were 

 lost. 



All day yesterday great quantities 

 ofsmoke were issuing: from the ruins, 

 here and there small quantities of 

 fire were burning, and some of the 

 engines were occasionally playing. 

 The wall fronting Brydges-street is 

 standing up in the center as high as 

 the top of the grand box lobby, and 

 each end of that wall is standing 

 still higher; but the walls on each 

 side the theatre, namely, next Lit- 

 tle-Russell-street andVinegar-yard, 

 those beautiful stone walls, with the 

 collonade,&c. are completely down. 

 The houses inLittle-Uussell-street, 

 facing the theatre, are dreadfully 

 scared and whitened; some of them 

 had been on fire in the window 

 frames, and all the windows are 

 broken by the heat. In Vinegar- 

 yard two or three small houses 

 close to the box door, are burnt, 

 gutted with the fire, but the walls 

 are not down. 



Had not the wall in Little-Rus- 

 sell-strect fallen inwards on the the- 



atre, it must have crushed the op- 

 posite houses. That street is, not- 

 withstanding, filled up across to the 

 opposite pavement with the ruins, 

 chiefly of the fragments of the bro- 

 ken colonade, the stone pillars be- 

 ing broken into small pieces, and 

 with the stone- works and half burnt 

 beams of timber. The fire burnt 

 fully up to Drury-lane, to which a 

 part of the building, made into a 

 scenepaintingroom we believe, had 

 been lately carried. The walls in 

 Drury-lane are standing, but in all 

 quarters the wood work and inside 

 of the theatre are completely down. 

 The baker's shop closely adjoining 

 the building of the theatre in Drury 

 lane, does not appear to have been 

 in the least damaged, not even dis- 

 turbed ! it is open and at business 

 as if nothing had happened. 



The theatre was insured, but not 

 forasumnearits valueor with which 

 it can be rebuilt. The insurance isin 

 the Imperial, the British, the Globe, 

 the Hope, and the Eagle. Since 

 the destruction of Covent Garden, 

 the insurance in the new offices has 

 been increased. The loss to the 

 performers is most serious. They 

 have lost every thing — and, in one 

 day, several hundred persons are 

 thrown out of bread. There is no 

 place in town to which they can 

 have resort as a temporary theatre, 

 unless they were todivide themselves 

 into several parties, and act at the 

 minor theatres, in the Lyceum, Ca- 

 tharine-street, the Royalty, &c. 



27. The proprietors of Drury-lane 

 Theatre held a meeting on Mon- 

 day ai the house of Mr. Graham, 

 in order to hear the testimon}' of 

 such persons as could give any in- 

 formation respecting tlie situation 

 in which the fire broke out, and 

 what was the probable cause of it. 



Several 



