S70 LONDON. 
theatre is fitted up in a ftyle of great magnificence, and very three (hillings, to the firft gallery twto (hillings, and the 
fuitable to the objeft. The drop-lcene, reprefenting the fecond gallery one (hilling. The doors are open at fur 
Caltalian vale at the toot of mount Helicon, is particularly 
beautiful. Under the romantic (hade of laurels and poplars, 
the Mtufts and Graces ling and dance around a ltatue of the 
God of Love, which they entwine with garlands of flow¬ 
ers; whillt, at the top of the facred hill, Pegafus wings 
his flight through the air, and gives birth to the famous 
fountain Aganippe, the inebriating waters of which, flow¬ 
ing in fanciful divifions from rock to rock, irrigate the 
enamelled meadows at the bottom of the mountain. This 
truly poetical compofition was executed after the defign and 
under the direction of Cypriani, and does great honour to 
his inventive genius, as well as to his graceful tafle in dif- 
tributing his groups.—The fronts of the boxes are painted 
in compartments, a (ilver ground, w ith (mail goltl frames. 
The (everal tiers are diftinguilhed from each other by a 
difference in the ornaments in the centre of the compart¬ 
ments. The dome prefents a (ky, in which the flame-co¬ 
lour predominates. The coup d'ccil of the whole is rich 
and magnificent. The interior of the houfe is within two 
feet in dimenfions of the great theatre at Milan. The ftage 
is fixty feet in length from the wall to the orcheftra, 
eighty feet in breadth from wall to wall, and forty-ffx feet 
acrofs from box to box. From the orcheftra to the centre 
of the front boxes, the pit is fixty-flx feet in length and 
fixty-five in breadth, and contains twenty-one benches, 
befides paflage room of about three feet wide, which goes 
round the feats, and down the centre of the pit to the or¬ 
cheftra. The pit will hold eight hundred perfons : price 
of admiflion, half-a-guinea. In altitude, the internal part 
of the houfe is fifty-five feet from the floor of the pit to 
the dome. There are five tiers of boxes, and each box is 
about (even feet in depth, and four feet in breadth, and is 
Co conftrufted as to hold fix perfons with eafe, all of whom 
command a full view of the ltage. Each box has curtains 
to incloleit, according to the fafhion of the Neapolitan thea¬ 
tres, and is turnifhed with fix chairs, but not raifed above 
each other like the feats of our Englifh theatres. The boxes 
hold near nine hundred perfons; and the price of admiflion 
to them is half-a-guinea. The gallery is forty-two feet 
in depth, lixty-two in breadth, contains feventeen benches, 
and holds eight hundred perfons; price of admiflion five 
(hillings. In the former opera-houies there was an upper 
gallery at 3s. 6d. The lobbies are about twenty feet fquare, 
where women attend to accommodate the company with 
coffee, tea, and fruit. Formerly the opera-performers 
were not only all Italians, or nearly fo, hut confifted of 
the bed that Italy could furnifli. Latterly, however, 
dancing has fo greatly prevailed, as to have threatened to 
triumph over the more refined and noble art of mufic. To 
allow time for the performance of ballets, operas which 
originally confifted of three afts have been reduced to two; 
and a ballet is now often extended to a greater length than an 
adl of an opera. The inltrumental band has generally been 
efteemed the bed in this kingdom, and the fecond in Eu¬ 
rope. The opera ufually opens for the feafon in Decem¬ 
ber, and continues its reprefentations till June or July, 
on the Tuefday and Saturday of every week; and lorne- 
times on Thurlday, which day is particularly let apart for 
the benefits. 
Oppofite to this, is the Little Theatre, for which a patent 
was originally granted to Mr. Foote, upon the occaficn 
mentioned vol. vii. p. 549. It is a plain brick building 
with nothing to make it confpicuous, except a portico, 
fo much wanted at Drury-lane, to (belter the perfons wait¬ 
ing for admittance in bad weather. This Cummer-theatre, 
though not fo elegant and fpacious as either of the winter- 
lioufes, is fitted up in a neat and tadeful dyle, and is ca¬ 
pable of containing a numerous audience. It is opened, 
during the Cummer months, for the reprelentation of plays 
and Englifh operas. The term ol its patent extends from 
the 15th of May to the 15th of September. This houfe 
contains three tiers of boxes, a pit, and two galleries. The 
price of admiflion to the boxes is five (hillings, to the pit 
o’clock, and the performance begins at feven. Half-price 
is not taken at this theatre. For an account of a dread¬ 
ful accident which happened here about twenty years ago, 
fee p. 125, 6. of this article. 
The Haymarket is a large ftreet afcending by a gentle 
dope to the top of Coventry-ftreet; and received its name 
from being the principal market for hay and (traw, which 
are fold here thrice a-vveek, Tuefday, Thurfday, and Sa¬ 
turday. 
To theeafl: of the Haymarket is a fpacious fquare, con¬ 
taining an area of between two and three acres, which is 
called Leicefter-fquare, from a large manfion which for¬ 
merly flood on the north fide of it, belonging to the earls of 
Leicefter. This houfe was the refidence of Frederic prince 
of Wales, father of his prefent majelty ; and was the birth¬ 
place of the whole of the family, except the king, who 
was born at Norfolk-houfe, in St. James’s-fquare. This 
building was afterwards occupied by the curious and va¬ 
luable mufeum of fir Afhton Lever. See vol. xii. p. 534. 
The fite is now occupied by a handfome modern ftreet, 
called Leicelter-place. Adjoining to this is a large brick, 
building, called Saville-houfe, which was the refidence of 
his majefty when prince of Wales, and afterwards of fir 
George Saville; from whofe family the name of the houfe 
is derived. The inner part of the fquare is inclofed with, 
iron rails, and adorned with grafs plats, plantations of trees, 
and gravel walks. In the centre is a gilt equeftrian fta- 
tue of his late majefty, George II. which was brought 
from Canons, the magnificent (eat of the duke of Chandos. 
In Leicefler-itreet is the houfe where the great fir Ifaac 
Newton refided ; it is now an hotel.—In Lifle-ftreet, at 
the back of Leicefter Place, is the principal chapel of the 
Swedenborgians, or followers of Emanuel Swedenborg, a 
Swedilh nobleman, who died in London in the year 177a. 
He was a man of extraordinary talent and erudition, as 
we (hall evince when we come to his article. At prefent 
we are to fpeak only of the religious part of his charafier. 
He profefled himfelf to be the founder (under the Lord) 
of the New Jerufalem Church , alluding to the New Jerufalem 
fpoken of in the Book of the Revelation. His tenets, al¬ 
though peculiarly diftinft from every other fyftein of di¬ 
vinity in Chriftendom, are neverthelefs drawn from the 
Scriptures, and fupported by quotations from them. He 
aflerts, that in the year 1743 the Lord manifefted himfelf 
to him in a perfonal appearance 5 and at the fame time 
opened his (piritual eyes, fo that he was enabled conftantly 
to fee and converfe with fpirits and angels. He now began 
to print and publifh various wonderful things, which, he 
fays, were revealed to him, relating to heaven and hell, 
the (late of men after death, the worfhip of God, the fpi- 
ritual fenfe of the Scriptures, the various earths in the 
univeri'e, and their inhabitants, with many other extraor¬ 
dinary particulars, the knowledge of which was perhaps 
never pretended to by any other writer, before or fince 
his time. Baron Swedenborg, in his Treatife concerning 
Heaven and Hell, and of the wonderful things therein, 
as heard and feen by him, makes the following declara¬ 
tion : “ As often as I converfed with angels face to face, 
it was in their habitations, which are like to our houfes 
on earth, but far more beautiful and magnificent, having 
rooms, chambers, and apartments, in great variety ; as 
alfo fpacious courts belonging to them, together with 
gardens, parterres of flowers, fields, See. where the angels 
are formed into focieties. They dwell in contiguous ha¬ 
bitations, difpofed after the manner of our cities, in (treets, 
walks, and (quares, I have had the privilege to W'aik 
through them, to examine all around about me, and to 
enter their houfes , and this when I was fully awake, hav- 
ing my inward eyes opened.” 
The dilcriminating tenets of this feft feem to be the 
following : Holding the doctrine of one God, they main¬ 
tain that this one God is no other than Jefus Chrift, and 
that he always exifted in a human form 3 that, for the lake 
3 of 
