No. XXVIII.

MR. JOSEPH GEORGE HOLMAN.

THIS dramatic writer, and comedian, was born in London, in 1764, and is said to have been descended from Sir John Holman, of Warkeworth Castle, near Banbury, Bart., whose title is long since extinct. His father appears to have served originally in the army, but towards the latter end of his life, he undertook the more profitable duties of some parochial office, which enabled him to maintain his family, and perhaps, leave something for the education of his son.

This parent having died while the boy was still a child, his affectionate mother placed him under the tuition of the late Dr. Barrow, then master of an academy of some celebrity in Soho Square. The annual theatrical exhibitions of this gentleman, during the Christmas holidays, for the purpose of aiding his pupils in declamation, gave a tone, object, and colour to his future destiny in life.

Young Holman, towards the conclusion of the year 1778, happened to be selected for the character of Hamlet, and was greatly applauded, rather as some of his contemporaries assert, for the force of his utterance, than any great dexterity in the histrionic art.

His friends destined him for the church, and he was entered at Queen's College Oxford; but he was induced, however, in 1784, to embrace the stage as a profession, and he accordingly first appeared at Covent Garden Theatre as Romeo, in which character, according to the critics, he "ranted," rather than performed. Improvement, however, in this as in all other cases, followed practice, and Holman began to attain a certain degree of familiarity at least, as

well as ease, and self-possession, which a novice can never aspire to. He was for a time a successful, although never a first-rate performer in England.

Having soon quitted the London stage, in consequence of his merits being under-rated, and his salary therefore inadequate to his claims; he repaired first to Dublin, and afterwards to Edinburgh, in the latter of which cities, he acquired great popularity. After a short interval, Mr. Holman returned to Covent Garden; then appeared on the boards of the Hay-Market; afterwards repaired once more to Ireland, and purchased a share in the theatre of that capital, which was disposed of to great loss, in consequence of the unpromising aspect of the times. In 1798, he married the youngest daughter of the Honourable and Reverend Frederick Hamilton, with whom he obtained some fortune; but this lady died in 1810. Meanwhile this disciple of Roscius, had determined to remove to the Trans-Atlantic continent. This speculation at first proved productive both of fame and money; for he performed there, with an unusual degree of applause. Finding this a lucky adventure, he returned to London, in 1812, for the express purpose of engaging performers for his new Theatre at Charles-town, in South Carolina, a gay, but unhealthy provincial capital. During his short stay in England, he appeared once more at the summer theatre of the HayMarket, in the character of Jaffier, which he played to his own daughter's Belvidera; for he had actually brought up Miss Holman to the stage!

On his return, this gentleman experienced the fate of most, if not all managers; for he was thwarted behind the scenes; parties were made against him, among the inhabitants; a general disobedience ensued, and an appeal was made to the public, in opposition to his authority, which like every other ruler, he of course deemed sacred, and inviolable. To add to the miseries of a revolutionary theatrical atmosphere, he actually caught an endemic autumnal contagion, with which the scene of his short-lived dramatic monarchy is annually visited! Stricken with the unrelenting hand of death, he endeavoured

to avoid his fate by flight to the healthier region of the state of New York; but he, and nearly all his Thespian company, consisting of Mr. Saunders, Miss Moore, &c. &c. fell a prey to this unrelenting disorder. He is said to have married Miss Latimer, a vocal performer, but two days before his death; and she appears in a short time to have experienced a similar fate! Mr. Holman died at Rockaway, a small sea-port and bathing place in Long Island, on the 24th of August, 1817, in the 53d year of his age. As an actor, he never occupied the first place in England, as he afterwards did in America; but his Lord Townly, was deemed a good performance, and, indeed, it enabled him to become the rival of Kemble, who played all his master-pieces against this one conspicuous character, during a whole season, and that too, as has been said, with equivocal success! He was esteemed both as a private gentleman and a scholar; and also particularly respected on account of his urbanity and gentle manners.

List of the Dramatic Works of the late Mr. Holman.

1. The Comic Opera of " Abroad and at Home," 8vo. 1796. 2. The Red Cross Knights, a Play, 8vo. 1799. 3. Votary of Wealth, a Comedy, 8vo. 1799. 4. What a Blunder! a Comic Opera, 1800. 5. Love gives the Alarm, a Comedy, 1804.

6. The Gazette Extraordinary, a Comic Opera, 8vo. 1814.

No. XXIX.

MR. JAMES GRANT RAYMOND,

LATE MANAGER OF DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

THE object of this short memoir rose from a humble station partly by his theatrical talents, and partly by a certain knowledge of the world, which, in due time, developed to his searching eye, all the springs and movements that actuate the human heart.

James Grant was born on the 29th March, 1769, in that small and comparatively fertile valley, which is watered by an impetuous river, or rather torrent, the stream of which, in point of swiftness, fully answers the account of the Rhone, in the bold and animated description of his wars in Gaul, left us by Julius Cæsar. Hence it has been termed "Strath-Spey," or the Glen of the Spey. This has been time immemorial the residence of an ancient and powerful clan; the brother of the chief of which resides at this present moment at Castle-Grant, so denominated from his own name aud that of his followers.

All the Grants derive their origin from Ludowick Grant, a celebrated Celtic warrior, whose descendants, after being created baronets, have, in the person of the present head of the family, become Earls of Seaford. Being consequently related to each other, James, like the rest, doubtless, traced his origin to this invader, who by means of his clay-more, or broad sword, either acquired or defended his ample possessions. His father was a hardy veteran, who fought and fell in America.

At a proper age, young Grant was removed to the school of Inverkeithing, a parish in the shire of Banff, on the banks of the river Deveron; and as his parents were not rich, and his

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prospects but limited, he resided for some time along with a blind gentleman, who possessed an estate in that neighbourhood, and was cousin to the Earl of Fife. He is said, however, to have spent a session at King's College, Old Aberdeen, with a view of qualifying him for the church, at the earnest entreaty of his widowed mother; but he seems to have soon abandoned the pursuit of ecclesiastical stipends and employments; for in Scotland, the office of clergyman, although respectable, is not seductive. There the "ministers of the gospel," neither hunt, nor shoot, nor fish; they preach, however, twice a week, pray daily, and regularly instruct their flock in all Christian duties.

From this period, Mr. Grant appears to have led a rambling life during many years. Having repaired to England about the age of nineteen or twenty, after a short residence here, he afterwards visited Ireland, but in what capacity is not well known. It appears to have been there, however, that he imbibed a taste for the stage, in consequence of hearing the late Edmond Tighe, Esq., a distinguished scholar and man of fortune in the sister island, recite the tragedy of Oroonoko. This gentleman, the friend and schoolfellow of David Garrick, is said to have possessed much of his manner, genius, and animation. He declaimed, therefore, with equal spirit and effect. From this moment, Mr. Grant, who is said to have been some time at sea as a midshipman, resolved finally to make the stage his profession. He accordingly offered himself as a candidate for fame and employment to the manager of the Dublin theatre, and having exhibited such a specimen of his talents as appeared to countenance his pretensions, he made his appearance as the "sable Indian Prince," a character which had first inspired him with a taste, or rather a passion, for the histrionic art. The representation was such as on one hand to excite applause, and on the other, to give all manner of encouragement for him to pursue his career: his youth and ardour, on this occasion, contributed not a little to win the hearts of an Irish audience. Either at this time, or soon after, he assumed the cognomen of Raymond, (a very romantic name)