168 THE QUORN HUNT 



fectly illegitimate drama." It was written by Mr. Peake, 

 and had long been in rehearsal, but owing to an accident 

 to Mr. Anderson, one of the chief performers, and the 

 superior attraction of Mr. Charles Kean, it was reserved 

 for Easter, for at that time a novelty of some sort was pro- 

 duced at Easter as regularly as was a pantomime at Christ- 

 mas. It was said to illustrate the doings of a certain young 

 nobleman, in whom the reader will recognise the high- 

 spirited Lord Waterford, whose frolics and eccentricities 

 gained so much notoriety, not only in Melton Mowbray 

 but elsewhere. Most people had seen pictures of 

 Melton, in which Lord Waterford was represented 

 painting the toll-bar house a scarlet as bright as that of 

 his own coat, while his collection of door-knockers from 

 Melton and other places was said to be the largest in 

 the world. The characters in the play chiefly consisted 

 of about a dozen Meltonians, and it is said that their 

 persons and characters and habits were brought into 

 strong and striking contrast with those of a couple of 

 Frenchmen and the family of a retired merchant-tailor. 

 The success, however, of the piece depended upon some 

 tableaux which were given, and which represented the 

 exploits of Lord Waterford. The subjects there repre- 

 sented were three : first, " Larking at the Toll-gate ; or, 

 Comino- in for the Brush ; " second, " Taking a Five- 

 barred Gate in the Drawing-room ; " third, " Quick Work 

 without a Contract by Tip-top Sawyers." The second 

 was said to be the best. The five-barred gate was put 

 up in the stage drawing-room, and a horse, having more 

 the appearance of a hunter than anything generally seen 

 upon the stage, was brought in and made to take the 

 leap very cleverly. This reminds one of a play pro- 

 duced in London, representing some incidents in 

 Shropshire, when the Salopians went up to London to 

 show the theatrical people how a view halloa should be 

 given ; while it is also rather suggestive of " Formosa," a 



