gulations. "All students (painters, sculptors, or archi tects,) having obtained gold medals, shall have the privi lege of becoming candidates (by rotation) to be sent abroad on his majesty's pension, which allows the successful candidate 30. for his journey there, 100l. per annum for three years, and 301. for his journey back."

There are other regulations by which the Royal Academicians are governed, which are too diffuse for insertion in this work.

The Hercules at the foot of the staircase has been a constant object of admiration.

The LIBRARY of the Royal Academy is ornamented with a covered cieling, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Cipriani. The centre, by Reynolds, represents the Theory of the Arts, formed as an elegant and majestic female seated in the clouds, her countenance looking towards the heavens; holding in one hand a compass, and in the other a label, inscribed, "THEORY IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS TRULY NATURE." The four compartments, by Cipriani, are distinctive of Nature, History, Allegory, and Fable.

The COUNCIL ROOM is richly stuccoed, and the cieling exhibits paintings from the pencil of West. The centre picture represents the Graces unveiling Nature; surrounded by four pictures of the Elements, from which the imitative arts collect their objects, under the description of female figures, attended by genii. Large oval pictures adorn the two extremities of the ceiling, the work of Angelica Kauffman, representing Invention, Composition, Design, and Colouring. In the angles or spandrells in the centre, are four coloured medallions, representing Apelles, the painter; Phidias, the sculptor; Apollodorus, the architect; and Archimedes, the mathematician; and eight smaller medallions, held up by lions, round the great circle, represent in chiaro-obscuro, Palladio, Bernini, Michael Angelo, Fiamingo, Raphael, Dominichino, Titian, and Rubens; painted by Rebecca.

Nearly

Nearly opposite Somerset Place, and passing the New Church, is a filthy avenue, called Little Drury Lane; which led to a road by the side of Craven House, and other mansions of the nobility, to St. Giles in the Fields, and to the country. This road, as appears by Aggas's map, was bounded by hedges, and partly adorned by trees*.

CATHARINE STREET + leads to BRIDGES STREET, in which is situated the THEATRE ROYAL, called Drury Lane Theatre.

* It is a strong trait of the little regard that was paid to what may be termed the police of the metropolis, that from the age of Elizabeth to the middle of the last century quarrels were frequent in our streets, particularly about Covent Garden, Drury Lane, and the west end of the town, where assassinations sometimes happened, and, owing to the general, custom of wearing swords, bloodshed almost daily, or rather nightly, ensued. "The 11th of February, 1592," says Gilbert Talbot, in a letter written to his father, "Lord Rytche riding in the street a dagger was shot at him." Indeed it does appear by the statutes 5 Hen. IV. c. 5, and 37 Hen. VIII. c. 6, that beating, wounding, maiming, and other enormities of this nature, had always prevailed to a very considerable degree. Through the peaceful reign of James, the manners of the people assumed somewhat of a milder cast; but in the subsequent civil wars rancour and ferocity reigned predominant, while their emanations were seemingly tolerated. The assault of Sir John Coventry in the street, and slitting his nose, in revenge, as was supposed, for some obnoxious words spoken by him in parliament, produced the famous Coventry Act, 22 & 23 Car. II. c. 1. Yet this, however it might check, did not remedy the evil. Enormitics of this nafure in our streets were frequent. Lords Rochester, Mahon, Warwick, and many others, thus distinguished themselves. To attack the feeble watch with drawn swords, and scour the streets, was considered as one of the first accomplishments. The Scowerers, the Sweaters, the Mhocks, and, antecedent to these, the Tryers, were formidable bodies. It has always been our opinion, that these excesses, to use the softest appellation, were much too mildly treated by our dramatic and periodical writers. Dryden, Shadwell, and Vanbrugh, gave them too much encouragement on the stage; while Addison, from the press, seems only to have hesitated dislike to them; the consequence of which, we conceive, was, that Buckingham, Thynne, Montfort, Coote, and many others, fell sacrifices to the ferocity and profligacy of the times; from which, indeed, the duke of Ormond narrowly escaped.--Moser's Vestiges.

+ Where Catharine Street now stands a stream of water issued to the Thames, over which, in the Strand, was a bridge called Strand Bridge.

Early

Early in the last century there was a theatre in this place, which was sometimes called The Phoenix, and sometimes The Cockpit. Mr. Malone says, "This theatre had been originally a cockpit. It was built or rebuilt not very long before the year 1617, in which year we learn from Camden's Annals of king James the First,' it was pulled down by the mob, 1617, Martii 4. Theatrum Ludionum nuper erectum in Drury Lane à furente multitudine diruitur, et apparatus dilacerator," It was sometimes called The Phenir from that fabulous bird being its sign, and was situated opposite the Castle tavern in Drury Lane; it was standing some time after the Restoration. The players who performed at this theatre in the time of king James the First, were called the queen's servants till the death of queen Anne, in 1619. After her death they were for some time denominated the lady Elizabeth's servants; and after the marriage of king Charles the First, they regained their former title of the queen's players. How soon the demolished theatre was rebuilt, we are uncertain; but the first play in print expressly said to have been acted at Drury Lane, is "The Wedding," by James Shirley, printed in the year 1629, from which time until the silencing the theatres by the fanatics a regular series of dramas acted there may be produced. On the revival of the stage Sir William Davenant, in the year 1658, took possession of it, and performed such pieces as the times would admit, until the eve of the Restoration. At that period Mr. Rhodes, a bookseller, who had formerly been wardrobe keeper to the company at the Blackfryars playhouse, fitted up the Cockpit, and began to act plays there with such performers (of which two, Betterton and Kynaston, had been his apprentices) as he could procure. Soon afterwards two patents being obtained by Sir William Davenant and Thomas Killegrew, Rhodes's company were taken under the protection of the former, and with him went to Lincoln's Inn Fields, and were stiled Servants of the Duke of York.