Next year Henry Bishop's operatic drama "The Slave" was produced at Covent Garden, and a novel pantomime entitled "Robinson Crusoe," with Grimaldi as Friday. It was, moreover, on June 13 of this season that Kemble played Coriolanus for the last time, and retired. In 1818 Macready appeared in an acting version of "Rob Roy,"--a novel which Sir Walter Scott had published shortly before. This year, moreover, saw the birth of Gounod, and the death of Mrs Billington, heroine of so many Covent Garden triumphs. In 1819 several oratorios were given under Henry Bishop, with Samuel Wesley the church musician as conductor; while on June 9, at the benefit of Mr and Mrs Charles Kemble, Sarah Siddons appeared on the stage for the last time in her life: a few months before this the beautiful Miss O'Neill retired from the boards. Shelley passed away in 1822 (the year which followed that of the coronation of George IV.); while within a few weeks there took place an interesting benefit performance, at which "The Rivals" was acted, with the following cast:-- _Sir Anthony_ Munden. _Captain Absolute_ Charles Kemble. _Faulkland_ Young. _Acres_ Liston. _Lydia_ Mrs Edwin. _Mrs Malaprop_ Mrs Davenport. The next year is specially noteworthy for the production, in May, of Henry Bishop and Howard Payne's opera, "The Maid of Milan," which contained the air "Home, Sweet Home"; while in the following December, a tragedy by Mrs Hemans saw the light under the title "The Vespers of Palermo." The year is, however, perhaps most important to us from the, at that time, unparalleled constellation of stars who were appearing at Drury Lane: Macready, Kean, Young, Munden, Liston, Elliston, Terry, Harley, Knight, Miss Stephens, and Mme. Vestris. In 1824, the year of Byron's death, Henry Bishop left Covent Garden for Drury Lane, and Carl Von Weber was engaged in his place, in honour of which event "Der Freischütz" was brought out at the English Opera House, being also produced in the autumn at Covent Garden, where it was given for no less than fifty-two performances during the season of 1824-25. And what of the salaries which were being received by theatrical stars at the beginning of the nineteenth century? The great Charles Mathews writes at this time of a proposed engagement, "Now to my offer, which I think stupendous and magnificent, £17 a-week." John Kemble, for acting and managing, was receiving £36; Miss O'Neill, at the most brilliant portion of her career, never had more than £25 a-week; while Mrs Jordan at her zenith had thirty guineas; and Charles Kemble, until he became his own manager, never received more than £20 a-week. Strange reading, indeed, when we compare it with the salaries which theatrical stars were receiving during the last few years of Garcia's life. CHAPTER V. OPERA IN AMERICA. (1825-1826.)