1881-1884.] AMUSEMENTS. 431 Wood Street-why should not men smoke in their clubs and institutes and reading-rooms and coffee palaces? There was no good reason to the contrary, and so Mr. Morley freely conceded the point, although he retained his dislike to smoking to the last. The evil of smoking was mainly in its association with drink, and there he drew the line. Then came the question of billiards. In his earlier days bagatelle had, by some absurd distinction, been regarded as a permissible game, whereas billiards had been branded as a "worldly" game. If men played games of these kinds at all, it was surely a sensible thing that they should play the best, and those which required the exercise of the greatest skill. There was a billiardroom at Hall Place, where Mr. Morley often enjoyed a game with his sons and their friends- why should there not be one wherever it could be afforded, in club and institute and coffee palace? There was no good reason to the contrary, and Mr. Morley conceded this point freely. It was not until quite late in life that he turned his attention to the whole question of amusements. Nor is this to be wondered at, for, in the first place, he had been intensely engaged upon questions which he had deemed to be of more vital importance; and, in the second place, it is only in quite recent years that professedly Christian people have begun to look into the matter in a really tolerant spirit. It seemed to Mr. Morley, that as the masses would have amusements, and as they were increasingly in demand, it would be wiser to seek to purify them of evils, which are not of necessity their essential elements, than to denounce them altogether. One aspect of this question, when it was brought before him, he faced with Christian common sense. The Victoria Theatre, in the Waterloo Bridge Road (formerly known as the "Old Vic," or "Queen Victoria's Own Theayter"), was once the resort of the lowest of the low, the scum of the New Cut and its miserable courts and alleys. It was the meetingplace of the beggary and rascality of London, the focus of every form of vice. It was, as Charles Kingsley says in "Alton Locke," "a licensed pit of darkness, a trap of temptation-profligacy and ruin triumphantly yawning night after night." The testimony of the police was unanimous, that it was hardly safe for decent people even to pass by it. "Seldom a Saturday passed without seven or eight police cases, sometimes thirty or forty, and on Boxing nights we have had to clear the gallery." The bloodthirsty tragedies performed on the stage, with "Bravo Hicks" as the hero; the wretched dramas of the "Jack Sheppard and "Claude Duval" type; the unlimited sale of intoxicants between the acts, and the saturnalia in the streets at midnight, when the performances were overcombined to make the "Old Vic" a hotbed of crime. All this was greatly changed in 1880, when, at Christmas time, the "Vic" was reopened as the "Victoria Temperance Music Hall," the staple at 1881-1884.] THE ROYAL VICTORIA HALL. 433 traction being a “Variety Entertainment," consisting of comic songs, clog-dancing, hornpipes, acrobatic performances, nigger minstrelsy, performing animals, comic ballets, and such like—the ordinary entertainment at music-halls, but cleansed from objectionable matter. The movement was originated by a company, and it was hoped that the Hall would be selfsupporting, and perhaps yield a dividend. A short time sufficed to prove that the hope was ill-founded, and the company was wound up by voluntary liquidation. When the Victoria Hall was first started, Mr. Morley did not join the movement, on the ground that the promoters did not contemplate anything beyond music-hall performances, and of these he strongly disapproved. There were, however, many who had watched the scheme, and were convinced that it had been a moral success, although a financial failure. They accordingly formed themselves into a committee, raised subscriptions to help them in the work, and determined to reorganize the affair on a different plan, namely, to improve the quality of the performances, and to devote certain evenings to ballad concerts, temperance meetings, and science lectures, as well as to the inevitable "Variety Entertainment." Mr. Morley satisfied himself that few things were more wanted for the poorer classes than a reform in their amusements. He took into consideration the tastes and the habits of the people to be catered for, quite apart from his own tastes and habits, and when he was assured that nothing would be permitted that could reasonably be construed as wrong, he gave in his adhesion to the movement. On the 19th of June, 1882, he warmly advocated the cause at the annual meeting, held that year at the Mansion House, and, in the course of his speech, told a quaint story of a Quaker who at a certain meeting had said, "My friends, there is a vast amount of feeling being spoken about, but I should like to know how much your feelings amount to?" Mr. Morley added, "I should like to ask the same question of this meeting. I feel £500 a year for five years, and I hope many others will do the same." It was not, however, until after his return from Cannes, in 1884, that he joined the Executive Committee, and threw himself heart and soul into the movement. It was at a most important period, in fact, a crisis in the history of the committee, that he came forward. But for his so coming, the work would, in all probability, have collapsed. The annual rent was a burden that the funds could not bear; but an opportunity presented itself of buying the remainder of the lease, and, if this could be done, the funds would be relieved for a period of thirteen years from the greater part of the rent. Towards the purchase, a lady gave the munificent sum of £1,000 to Miss Cons, who from the first had been the mainstay of the whole movement. She brought the matter before Mr. Morley, and he, without 1881-1884.] THE ROYAL VICTORIA HALL. 435 a moment's hesitation, said, "I will give the same if you can get the remaining £2,000 to make up the required sum." The influence of his name worked wonders; the old committee, dispirited by the long continued strain of their uphill work, took fresh courage, the required sum was subscribed, and the Royal Victoria Hall started forth on a new career of usefulness. He felt, however, that the cause needed moral support and personal service no less than gifts of money, and he determined to devote his energies to the work. At first he was quite inexperienced in the business, so, with his usual persistent earnestness, he began at the beginning, went thoroughly into every detail, made himself master of all the machinery of the concern, and, as he said, "qualified himself for partnership." Miss Cons, in a letter to the present writer, says: He constantly expressed his determination to do his share in our happy partnership,' as he always termed our work together. And indeed it was a happy partnership for us, as his clear head and warm, sympathetic heart were always a tower of strength to us against worries and petty troubles which fritter away one's powers. His speeches aroused public attention, so that money and helpers came to our aid, and I was thankful not to have to claim his oft-repeated promises, 'Now, don't you worry about money. I will not let this important work flag for want of that. It is not fair that you workers should be troubled on that score.' He took such interest in every detail that, in spite of his many engagements, he continually made little appointments to see me and consult about matters rather than trust to letter discussions. Then he would run into the Hall for an hour, and see what lecture or other entertainment was going on, and his rare keen enjoyment was quite refreshing to us who are tired out with such things. On other nights he would come to |