[17] Her valedictory address ran: “Mrs. Bateman begs to announce that her tenancy of the Lyceum Theatre terminates with the present month. For seven years it has been associated with the name she bears. During the three years and a half that the business management has been under her special control, the liberal patronage of the public has enabled her to wind up the affairs of each successive season with a profit. During this period ‘Macbeth’ was produced for the first time in London without interpolation from Middleton’s ‘Witch.’ Tennyson’s first play, ‘Queen Mary,’ was given; and Shakespeare’s ‘King Richard III.,’ for the first time in London from the original text. Mrs. Bateman’s lease has been transferred to Mr. Henry Irving, to whose attraction as an artist the prosperity of the theatre is entirely attributable, and she confidently hopes that under his care it may attain higher artistic distinction and complete prosperity. In conclusion, Mrs. Bateman ventures to express her gratitude for the kindness and generosity extended to her by the public—kindness that has overlooked many shortcomings, and generosity that has enabled her to faithfully carry out all her obligations to the close of her tenancy.—Lyceum, August 31, 1878.” [18] It was built in 1830, so it is now over sixty-five years of age. The lease, held from Lord Exeter, has not many years to run—some twenty or so, I believe. [19] He was described by a friend as “always just arrived by the mail in time to see the fish removed, or as going off by the early coach after the last dance at four in the morning.” He wrote his own epitaph— “Here lies Samuel Beazely, Who lived hard and died easily.”