330 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



front of the boxes bear five and six 

 lights each. The principal green- 

 room is also splendidly illuminated 

 by a large chandelier, correspond- 

 ing with those on the stage, rich 

 ornaments bearing lights on the 

 chimney-piece, &c. 



The Pit, besides its usual lateral 

 passages, has two central passages, 

 which extend through its whole 

 length from the front boxes to the 

 Orchestra, an improvement, the ad- 

 vantage of which will be most bene- 

 ficially felt both in egress and in- 

 gress, when the house is crouded. 

 It ought also to be mentioned, that 

 the seats in the pit are gradually 

 elevated in a manner which will 

 greatly conduce to the convenience 

 of the audience. The eye of each 

 individual will be raised so high, 

 that it will be impossible for the 

 head of the person sitting before 

 him to intercept his view of the 

 stage. The seats are 2,5 inches 

 broad, and are covered with light 

 blue cloth, edged with scarlet. 



The upper gallery is divided into 

 five compartments, and maybe thus 

 considered a tier of five boxes, with 

 a separate door at theback to each: 

 these doors open into a spacious 

 lobby, one side of which is the back 

 of the gallery, and the other the ex- 

 terior wall of the theatre, with the 

 windows into the street. The lobby 

 to the middle gallery beneath is si- 

 milarly situated. One great advan- 

 tage attends this construction: in 

 summer the doors of the galleries 

 and the windows of the lobbies be- 

 ing left open, the audience in those 

 parts cannot be oppressed by the 

 heat, as in the former theatre. 

 Untler ihegallery isa row of private 

 boxes, constituting the third tier. 

 They consist of 26 in number, with 

 a private room behind each. The 



access to these boxes is by a beauti- 

 ful staircase, exclusively appropri- 

 ated to them, and not connected with 

 any other part of the house, — with 

 also a saloon, exclusively — spacious 

 and magnificent in the extreme. 

 This saloon is adorned with mag- 

 nificent columns of Sicilian marble, 

 the colour of which is a beautiful 

 light verd antique, instead of por.- 

 phyry. Busts of Shakespeare, Mil- 

 ton, &c. are introduced in various 

 parts of it, drawings in chiaro oh- 

 scuro, principally from the works 

 of our dramatic poets, executed in 

 an elegant and scientific manner,-— 

 splendid lustres and chandeliers, 

 and the most sumptuous furniture, 

 contribute to the decoration of this 

 magnificent apartment, which for 

 convenience, taste, and elegance, 

 will become another Ranelagb. 

 The carpeting is laid down in these 

 boxes, but the furniture of each, and 

 also of the adjoining room, will be 

 according to the taste of the several 

 occupants, among whom are some 

 of the royal dukes, and the leading 

 persons of rank and fashion in the 

 country. The lower boxes appear 

 to be upon the same plan with those 

 in the old house. There is an ad- 

 ditional seat ; each box will thus 

 hold twelve persons, being three 

 more than in the old house. 



There is not a point of the house, 

 before the curtain, that does not 

 command a complete view of the 

 stage; nor a point in which a word 

 distinctly spoken on the stage is 

 not perfectly audible to the re- 

 motest extremity. 



The artist has been also particu- 

 larly attentive to the comfort and 

 accommodation of the performers. 

 The gentlemen's dressing rooms are 

 on one side, and those of the ladies ', 

 on the other. The wardrobe room 



is 



