either to conceal his own, or to confer a new interest on his novel speculation. Under the management of Mr. Daly, he acted the parts of Jaffier and Castalio, with considerable

success.

Returning to London, where rumour, if not fame, had preceded him, he there sought and obtained a permanent dramatic engagement. His progress henceforth was both auspicious and fortunate. Having married Miss Carmichael, a lady of Dublin, by whom he had two sons and four daughters, he now perceived the absolute necessity of labour, punctuality, and attention. In these particulars he was not wanting. Mr. Grant had personified several of the most eminent and conspicuous characters of the English drama in Dublin; and he now exhibited them with more chasteness and many improvements before a London audience. It is not unknown to his family and friends, that a popular sheriff of London was so much charmed with his first night's performance * in the English capital, that he presented him with a handsome sum of money at the conclusion of the third act..

Anterior to this period, however, he had trod the boards of two provincial theatres, Lancaster and Manchester, and it was at the former place where he was engaged by Mr. Grubb, then chief agent for Old Drury. He happened accidentally to see him in one of his favourite characters, and employed the good offices of Munden to bring about a negociation. Accordingly, after making his debut in Osmond, he undertook a series of characters, such as Penruddock, Rolla, &c., which were well suited to his cast of parts or mode of acting.

On the conflagration of Drury-Lane Theatre, Mr. Raymond might have fairly exclaimed, "Othello's occupation's gone!" but this melancholy and distressful circumstance proved on the whole fortunate. At first, indeed, his ruin and that of his family seemed inevitable, and he actually took a house in Pall Mall, for the express purpose of opening a bookseller's shop. Mrs. Coutts, then Miss Melon, by way of encouragement,

As Osmond, in the Castle Spectre," in 1799.

1

ordered, received, and paid for a very handsome Bible, by anticipation.

But another fate awaited him, and he was now called upon to display a new talent; one, indeed, very difficult in every point of view.

We have already noticed the annihilation of a splendid but ill-fated dramatic edifice, in the space of "one dread night." "This event," says a friend, "seemed to doom a deserving class of men and their dependants to ruin; but it ought not to be forgotten that the energies of the man, at that moment, co-operating with the experience of the actor, in the person of James Grant Raymond, were principally instrumental in keeping together a respectable corps of performers, and preserving the very name of the Drury-Lane Company. The activity, zeal, and perseverance - the undaunted couragethe quick perception -the inventive genius-the economical policy -the conciliating manners, and the firm resolve, were then all needful; and it is no exaggeration to say, that the mind of Mr. Raymond supplied them all. If, as we believe, the dauntless perseverance and commanding influence of a Whitbread alone could have raised the present splendid edifice from the ashes of the former, so are we convinced that none but a Raymond could, during the period of its erection, have preserved the spirit of Old Drury in the humble tabernacle of the Lyceum.

"This service alone is a prouder epitaph than can be written on the tomb of most men. But there is another point in the character of Mr. Raymond, distinct from any quality of the actor or the manager, and which it would be unjust to neglect or omit. As a man of letters, he did not certainly rank in the first class; but, that he was a respectable author, and an excellent critic, his Life of the unfortunate Dermody is a striking proof; whilst the tale itself of that indiscreet and erring child of genius is a testimony to the generosity and the benevolence of the heart of Raymond, which surpasses in real glory all the other rays of his character. Besides this, Mr. Raymond edited two volumes of his poems. He has also left two

tragedies; one on the subject of the unfortunate Louis XVI. and the other called the "Indian Captive." The latter was performed in Ireland, but neither have yet been published. We learn, however, with much satisfaction, that it is the intention of his family to sanction and assist the publication of an authentic Biography of this much respected and valuable man, and that these dramas will form part of the work.

"At the commencement of the season, Mr. Raymond had just entered for the second time upon the arduous and invidious duties of manager of Drury-Lane Theatre; he was also a member of the sub-committee of management; and the most cheering prospect of success was just opening to the concern, when the hand of Death suddenly snatched away the man, of whom the performers and the proprietors may truly say, 'Take him for all in all, we shall not look upon his like again!'

"Mr. Raymond, in 1792, married Frances the daughter of Mr. Carmichael, of Dublin, who survives him, together with two sons and four daughters."

He died after a very short illness, for he was seized with apoplexy, early in the morning, at his house in Chester Street, Grosvenor Place, Hyde-Park Corner, and was a corpse at five in the afternoon. Mr. Grant was in the 51st year of his age. His agitation of mind is said to have contributed not a little to this melancholy event. He had before acted, indeed, as a stage-manager in Dublin, under Mr. Daly; but his labours now were on a grander scale, and with a far more gigantic establishment. A numerous body of actors and actresses were not only to be kept in good humour, but all those delicate shades of colouring incident to the Green-Room, were to be adjusted with the utmost scrupulosity. In addition to this the board of Managers was to be courted and attended to with the most punctilious observance. It has been said, indeed, that Mr. Raymond had actually penned a letter of twelve or fourteen pages to Peter Moore, Esq., the chairman, which, not a little, hurt both his nerves and his feelings, and is reported to have brought on the distemper that at length proved fatal. If this be correct, it is the second death within

a very short period, occasioned by the management of DruryLane Theatre! Soon after his demise, a play was performed for the benefit of his respectable widow and children, which we trust, has proved advantageous.

List of the Works of the late Mr. Raymond.

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: 1. The Life of Thomas Dermody, 2 vols. 8vo. 1805. 2. The Harp of Erin, or Poetical Works of Thomas Dermody, 2 vols. 8vo. 1807.

No. XXX.

SIR JOHN PALMER, BART.

THE Palmers of Carlton, in Northamptonshire, boast of an ancient lineage, having been seated at Stoni-Stanton, in the county of Leicester, so early as 1408. The baronetcy was obtained in 1660; and Sir Geoffery, the first who possessed that title, had a seat in parliament, and must have been a man of some consequence, as he was selected one of the managers for conducting the prosecution of the famous Earl of Strafford. Having changed sides, and being bred to the bar, he was advanced to the rank of Attorney-General by Charles II., soon after the Restoration.

Sir Lewis, his eldest surviving son, seems to have both lived and died in great privacy; but his grandson, Sir Geoffery, sat as Knight of the Shire for the county of Leicester in four successive parliaments.

Sir John Palmer, the fifth and last Baronet, was the only surviving son of Sir Thomas, by Jemima daughter of Sir John Harpur, Bart., a grand-daughter of Thomas Lord Crew. He was born in 1735, succeeded his father, Sir Thomas, in 1765; and three years after, married Charlotte daughter of Sir Harry Gough, a Warwickshire baronet, and granddaughter of Thomas Lord Crew, by whom he had eight children, six sons and two daughters. He died at his seat in Northamptonshire in 1817, at the age of eighty-two, after having represented the county of Leicester in Parliament during fifteen years, from 1765 to 1780, at which period he retired to his patrimonial estate. He was a gentleman of pure and virtuous principles, steadily and zealously attached to the