Storeys of Old.

known lessee of theatres in the west of England. Mr. Gofton's engagement here being a weekly one, he was employed for any character that he could possibly appear in, and he calculates that in one week here he played twenty parts. From Bedford he went for a few months to Oldham, where he supported Mr. J. H. Dewhurst, and thence he went to Warrington. At the latter place he acted two very long parts, and sang between the acts. For all this work his average pay amounted to fourpence halfpenny per night. Not finding this treatment to his taste, Mr. Gofton accepted an engagement with Mr. J. P. Weston at the Theatre Royal, Bolton, where he remained for three months playing all manner of characters. He subsequently Joined Mr. E. D. Davis (then the lessee of the Newcastle Theatre Royal) at the Theatre Royal, Liverpool, where Mr. Gofton played in the pantomime of 1869-70. He then transferred his services to the Adelphi Theatre in the same city, under the management of Mr. T. T. Heath. He afterwards joined Mr. Copeland at the old Amphitheatre, Liverpool, for the Easter production, and, at the same house he helped to support Madame Celeste and Mr. William Creswick. At the termination of that engagement he joined the company at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, Glasgow, for the summer season. Mr. Gofton then went to Mr. W. Sydney, at Stockton, and for the autumn and winter seasons of 1870-71 to the Princess's Theatre, Edinburgh, under the management of R. McNeill, who first advised Mr. Gofton to play old men and character parts. From Edinburgh he went for a few weeks to Dunfermline, and then appeared in several small towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In the summer of 1871 he found himself at Aberystwith where he gained much experience and practice. The bill being changed each evening, the work was hard but serviceable as a good foundation for the young actor. There he first played Hardcastle, Colonel Damas, Jasper Plum, and similar parts. Mr. Gofton then entered into an engagement with Mr. Jonas Finch, at the Theatre Royal, Oldham. He played here, among many other characters, John of Gaunt in Richard II, Apemantus in Timon of Athens, Polonius, Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, and Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing. From Oldham Mr. Gofton went to Mr. Brinsley Sheridan at Warrington, where the work was again hard. As an example it may be mentioned that in one evening Mr. Gofton acted the following parts in Macbeth: Duncan, Hecate, the First Murderer, and The Physician, and sang not only all the music set down for Hecate, but all the bass numbers as we Mr. Gofton then accepted an engagement with Mr. Imeson, under whose management he remained at Middlesboro' and Jersey for three years, in the capacities of actor, and general manager. At the end of that period, namely Whitsuntide, 1875, he opened at the Liverpool Theatre Royal as Uncle Tom. In the autumn he played at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, under the management of Messrs. Glover and Francis. There he remained for nearly three years and a half. He gained considerable knowledge of his profession and experience during this time, and made rapid strides in public favour. In the spring of 1876, during a visit of the travelling companies to Glasgow, he played a month's special engagement at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, as Brian the Hermit in The Lady of the Lake. He also fulfilled a three months engagement with Messrs. Gunn at Dublin, and acted such dissimilar parts as Corporal Max, with songs, in The Swiss Cottage and Tiresias in Sophocles' tragedy of Antigone. Under the management of Messrs. Glover and Francis he supported Mr. Barry Sullivan in Hamlet for three weeks, playing the Ghost at Glasgow, the King at Edinburgh, and Polonius at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He also played a week's engagement with Mr. Eliot Galer, the celebrated tenor, at Leicester, supporting Miss Ada Cavendish as Adam in As You Like It, Colonel Damas, Capulet, and in Miss Guilt. This led to Mr. Gofton's being engaged by Mr. Galer for the season of 1878-9, and to an offer to support Miss Ada Cavendish at the St. James's Theatre, During the summer of 1878 he acted for a short season at Edinburgh, and, returning to Glasgow, at the termination of his Leicester engagement, he played with Mr. John Coleman. In August, 1879, he went to the United States and Canada for a tour with Herr and Mrs. Bandmann as stage manager. Returning to England in April, 1880, he appeared at Bristol, with the Messrs. Chute, as the O'Grady in Arrah-na-Pogue, also officiating as stage manager. Mr. Gofton then came to Sadler's Wells to stage manage the production of William Tell, Romeo and Juliet, and The Lady of Lyons, for Mrs. Bateman. In the autumn of 1880, he returned to Bristol for Mr. Sims Reeves'