DEATH OF FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10780, 31 May 1911, Page 6

DEATH OF FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT.

[Br Electric Telegraph—Copyright.] (Pkii Press Association.) lieceived May o.D, at 0.-J p.m. London, -May 3U. Sir W. S. Gilbert spent the day in London and returned to Harrowuealu in the afternoon. A lew minutes latei a friend found him dead in an open-.m swimming bath at Grimsdyke, where he was teaeiung two children to swim. William Schwcnck Gilbert, dramatic author, was born on .-November lbtli, lS3(j. at 17. Southampton street, Strand, London. At an early age. lie was taken abroad, and lor a short tune was placed in a at.-Jioulogne. When brought 'back to England at the a"e of seven or eight he was a handsome flaxen-haired boy, whose good looks were such that Sir David Wiikie, noticin" him at church, contrived to get hold of"him, and painted his portrait. He was soon after sent to a private school at Great Ealing, where he remained until he was 16. ' He took all the chief prizes for English, Greek, and Latin verse at this school. He also wrote plays which were represented by the bovs. among them being a tnrilling | melodrama, entitled "Guy Eawkes," for ' which he also painted the scenes, arranged the accessories, and undertook I the "stage management, besides enacting the principal part. From Ealing he ! went to King's College, intending to complete his education at Oxford; but in 185-3, when the Crimean War Was At I its height, commissions in the Royal Artillery were laid open to'competitive examinations. Young Gilbert, then 19, was attracted" by the.-prospects. He gave up the idea of Oxford, took. Ins degree at London University, and comineiiced reading for the examination. But before itxame off the Crimean War had come to conclusion. -■ M.r Gilbert i now turned' liis thoughts in another ' direction,' and; passing the prescribed examination, obtained- tin assistant clerkship in the Education Department of the" Privy - Council 'Office. This position he held fbr'fb'iir'lyea'rs, when, coming into possession - or a few hundred pounds, he resolved to emancipate himself frt/m -what''lie liad amusingly described as "the detestable-tbrfildom of that baleful office,"'and accordingly rei (signed hi 1861. '• ' He had previously i enteW'd himselfas a student of 'the Inner Temple,' and w"as .now- ftble to pay the -fees necessary for being called to the Bar. He "then set I 'tip in chambers . hs a ]6iii4ig r the Northfern Circuit, attended the London and /Westminster Courts, the t Old Bailey, the " Manchester aiid Liverpool Assizes, the 'Liverpool' Sessions' and. Passage iCourt. His practice; however, was very ismall and unremurierative, ;and he soon -Sound - it' necessary ■ t& look -'for othersourccs of income? His first' plunge Hnto .literature w-as made in-1858, being Itlie translation '' of the song ~ Madamethen ■ singing, which. Svag-iirinfed- on; - the : programme. Mr relates how he used to attend jthfe nightly th order , to have (the satisfaction'-of- seeing people Tead 'his' effusion. But, in 1861, Mr H. J. ißyrbii "started "Euri," .to which' new • ; p6ridditial : 'Gilbert'¥ent ; ia' 4n 2 article and idrawing, composed, % he- says; with m- ! finite labor. That they tvere good api peared" from the' fact that' '.Byron- immediately sent his printer ; to "the -young barrister; tfith a request tliat he would" continue to contribute weekly "for' the term of his natural- life.", This offer, " \yith much diffidence,, lie' accepted, and continued working for "Fun" several ■ vears. He sobli' begaiV contributing oc-casionally-to "Cftriihill," ""London Socictv," "Tinsley's," - "Temple Bar, ■ and "Punch." He also wrote "London Letters" to the "Invnlide Russe," and ; became dramatic critic to the now de- • fuiicfc "Illustrated Times;" '• ? Atnorig his • contributions to "Fun", at this time, .' were the famous "Bab Ballads." 1' ind- | in'g that literary work p&id' liim. much i better than besides being i more congenial to his tastes, lie soon J left : tli6ißar altogether. Mr Gilbert's i introduction to dramatic work was ob- ■- tain&l * through "- { fcli& medium' of his friend, the late T. W r -JRobertsou. This gentleman had been 'asked by Miss Herbert, who was then lessee of the St. James', ■ to who could turn out a bright Christmas piece within a fortnight.! 'HeJ 'recommended Gilbert. The play lie .wrote, was entitled "Dulcamara"," 'a biiHesique on "L'Eli- ' sire D'Amorel" It' w;as ; writteii in ten days : and rehearsed- in a- week, 'being produced at'.the St. James', at Christmas, 1866, proving ;Ji' success. ; The question of price had riot been discussed, but when Mr Emden —Miss Herbert's actiiig' 'm'aruiger—came to: the author, and asked him to name a sum, the latter modestly suggested £3O. The money was immediately-paid,"-and : tberi the acting manager gave him a word of advice, . "Never sell-so goool a piece as this for £3O again." "And 1 never have," Mr ; Gilbert remarked -when relating the storyt - Being now; fairly- launched, he kept on writing for the stage. "La Yivandiere," a burlesque of "La Figliadel Reggimentoj" '\ras produced at the ; Quedn'sTheatre; "and ran' 120 nights. "The : -Merry ZingarS," : a patfody of the "Bohemian Girl," had an- equally long run. For the opening of the Gaiety he produced "Robert the Devil," a burlesque of the opera. His"first comedywas "An Old' Score-"' which was accepted by Mr Hollingsliead because it • was' seht 'in r printed? ' It did. not' make ' a mark, however. :After this he Wrote a "series of ""Entertainments" for Mr German Reed, which were principally remarkable because Arthur Cecil, Cor- : heyCrraiii, Xeonora Brahain, and Fanny ; Hollands made their respective' debuts ' in orie or other of them. Sir' Gilbert . now*'tried the experiment of'a'blank verse b'uiTesqtie,'-in : 'whi'CE"a picturesque stbfy should "be told in a'strain of inock J heroic seriousness. This was ''The . poem, ■ which was produced' <it* the Olympic by i Mrs Listaii. • - He. was;tlien commissioned : by Mr Biickstorie .tcK write a blank verse fairy comedy pn-'Madaine de Genlis' novel, "Le Palais de la Verite," and accordingly turned out "The Palace of Trutji,"which! ' wiik produced 'at' the Haymarket in 1870.' This was followed by and' ; Galatea," which Mrs" Kend a I _ th en contributed to make : a grand : 'ahd. Which since . been frequently revived'for''other actresses," Notably " Miss "Mary Anderson. "Thei^Wicted'Wofld," : k--= fairy; comedy in three ; dcte, was ■ also successful. i a- - modern comedy in; four acts, was indifferently rCceivedsin London', but hid :a .gbod run in the provinces with Mr Wilson-Barrett's company. The Court' Theatre was built and opened by Miss Marie Litton in 1872, and ,the first piece produced there was frbm Mr Gilbert's penj a comedy entitled' "Randall's Thumb." This was followed: by bis "On; Guard," a more successful piece.- ; Then came "The Hajjpy Lafld,'" wliich was a parody on his own ".Wicked World," and which attracted attention at tlie time owing to the caricatures o£''statesmen introduced into it—caricatures that were shortly suppressed by the Lord Chamberlain. This'burlesque, however, was chiefly written by Mr Gilbert a'Becket, though the was Mr Gilbert's. He also 'essayed two adaptations, "Great Expectations" aiid "Ought We to Visit Her," both of which were very successful. Mr - Gilbert's most effective comedies were -"Sweethearts" at the Prince -of Wales', in 1874; "Broken Hearts," at the Court, 1875; "Tom Cobb," at the St. James', 1875; "Dan'l Druce," 1870; and "Engaged," 1877, at-"the Haymarket. These are the most popular and favorable examples of liis most serious work, in which the qualities of his delicately cynical humor, keen wit, and accurate judgment of human nature are displayed at their best. All of them have been more than once revived. Probably the most powerful drama is "Dan'l Druce," which is founder! mi (he story of "Silas Marner." But "Sweethearts" and "Engaged"' would be safely termed the most popular. Some other plays, "Gretchen." "The Xe'er-do-Weel."'aiKl "Foggerty's Fairy," did not prove so attractive. In IS7o began Mr Gilbert's famous partnership with Sir Arthur Sullivan. "Thespis" was the first piece they produced in common. It was written in three weeks, rehearsed in one. and ran at the Gaiety for 80 nights. "Trial by Jury" at the Royalty, followed next, and was a surprising succeis. Then, commissioned by the now defunct "Comedy Opera Company," fhe partners executed a two-act opera. "The Sorcerer," which was produced ai the f>pera C''omit|Ue in 1877. and ran for six mnnihs. It was in this pieceth'it Mr Gcorrre and Mr Rnrland Barriiigton made th<?ir first appearance on the professional stage.

The grand success of these experiments in a new field was productive of further efforts' in a like direction. "H.M.S. Pinafore," .1878, "The Pirates of Penzance," 1880, and "Patience," 1882. amply testified to the popularity and. attractiveness of these picturesque and fascinating comic operas. So much was this the case that Mr D'Oyly Carte felt justified in building a new theatre, the Savoy, for their special accommodation. Thither "Patience" was removed in ISP3, having a total run of 19 months. Other operas of the same complexion, by Gilbert and Sullivan, produced there .subsequently have Ijeen "lolanthe," "1833, "Princess Ida," 1884. "The Mikado," 1883, "Ruddigore," 1887, "The Yeomen of the Guard," 1888, and "The Gondoliers," 1889. These delightful pieces are so well known that any comment upon them would be. superfluous here. Series of Mr Gilbert's phivs have been published ill 187G and 1881. After this occurred a break in the partnership, and Mr Gilbert, in 1802, in collaboration with the late Alfred Cellier, produced "The Mountebanks." In the next year, however, he produced, with Sir Arthur Sullivan, "Utopia Limited," which was produced at the Savoy. In 1894 he produced "His Excellency" at the Lyric, the music being by Ivan Caryll, and later was said to lie engaged on a new work with Sir A. Sullivan.