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diff --git a/44064-0.txt b/44064-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..227d300 --- /dev/null +++ b/44064-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13832 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44064 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 44064-h.htm or 44064-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44064/44064-h/44064-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44064/44064-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive/American Libraries. See + https://archive.org/details/apologyforlifeof01cibb + + + Project Gutenberg has the other volume of this work. + Volume II: see http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44065 + + + + + + AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF + + MR. COLLEY CIBBER. + + _VOLUME THE FIRST._ + + + + + _NOTE._ + + _510 copies printed on this fine deckle-edge demy 8vo + paper for England and America, with the portraits as + India proofs after letters._ + + _Each copy is numbered, and the type distributed._ + + _No._ 368 + + [Illustration: COLLEY CIBBER.] + + + + + AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF + + MR. COLLEY CIBBER + + _WRITTEN BY HIMSELF_ + + + + + A NEW EDITION WITH NOTES AND SUPPLEMENT + + BY + + ROBERT W. LOWE + + _WITH TWENTY-SIX ORIGINAL MEZZOTINT PORTRAITS BY + R. B. PARKES, AND EIGHTEEN ETCHINGS + BY ADOLPHE LALAUZE_ + + + _IN TWO VOLUMES_ + VOLUME THE FIRST + + + + + LONDON + JOHN C. NIMMO + 14, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND + MDCCCLXXXIX + + + + + Chiswick Press + + PRINTED BY CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. + TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. E.C. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Colley Cibber's famous Autobiography has always been recognized as one +of the most delightful books of its class; but, to students of +theatrical history, the charm of its author's ingenuous frankness has +been unable altogether to overweigh the inaccuracy and vagueness of his +treatment of matters of fact. To remove this cause of complaint is the +principal object of the present edition. But correcting errors is only +one of an editor's duties, and by no means the most difficult. More +exacting, and almost equally important, are the illustration of the +circumstances surrounding the author, the elucidation of his references +to current events, and the comparison of his statements and theories +with those of judicious contemporaries. In all these particulars I have +interpreted my duty in the widest sense, and have aimed at giving, as +far as in me lies, an exhaustive commentary on the "Apology." + +I am fortunate in being able to claim that my work contains much +information which has never before been made public. A careful +investigation of the MSS. in the British Museum, and of the Records of +the Lord Chamberlain's Office (to which my access was greatly +facilitated by the kindness of Mr. Edward F. S. Pigott, the Licenser of +Plays), has enabled me to give the exact dates of many transactions +which were previously uncertain, and to give references to documents of +great importance in stage history, whose very existence was before +unknown. How important my new matter is, may be estimated by comparing +the facts given in my notes regarding the intricate transactions of the +years 1707 to 1721, with any previous history of the same period. Among +other sources of information, I may mention the Cibber Collections in +the Forster Library at South Kensington, to which my attention was drawn +by the kindness of the courteous keeper, Mr. R. F. Sketchley; and I have +also, of course, devoted much time to contemporary newspapers. + +In order to illustrate the "Apology," two tracts of the utmost rarity, +the "Historia Histrionica" and Anthony Aston's "Brief Supplement" to +Cibber's Lives of the Actors, are reprinted in this edition. The +"Historia Histrionica" was written, all authorities agree, by James +Wright, Barrister-at-Law, whose "History and Antiquities of the County +of Rutland" is quoted by Cibber in his first chapter (vol. i. p. 8). The +historical value of this pamphlet is very great, because it contains the +only formal account in existence of the generation of actors who +preceded Betterton, and because it gives many curious and interesting +particulars regarding the theatres and plays, as well as the actors, +before and during the Civil Wars. As Cibber begins his account of the +stage (see chap. iv.) at the Restoration, there is a peculiar propriety +in prefacing it by Wright's work; a fact which has already been +recognized, for the publisher of the third edition (1750) of the +"Apology" appended to it "A Dialogue on Old Plays and Old Players," +which is simply a reprint of the "Historia Histrionica" under another +title, and without the curious preface. + +Following the "Historia Histrionica" will be found a copy of the Patent +granted to Sir William Davenant, one of the most important documents in +English stage history. A similar grant was made to Thomas Killigrew, as +is noted on page 87 of this volume. + +These documents form a natural introduction to Cibber's History of the +Stage and of his own career, which commences, as has been said, at the +Restoration, and ends, somewhat abruptly, with his retirement from the +regular exercise of his profession in 1733. To complete the record of +Cibber's life, I have added a Supplementary Chapter to the "Apology," in +which I have also noted briefly the chief incidents of theatrical +history up to the time of his death. In this, too, I have told with some +degree of minuteness the story of his famous quarrel with Pope; and to +this chapter I have appended a list of Cibber's dramatic productions, +and a Bibliography of works by, or relating to him. + +Anthony Aston's "Brief Supplement to Colley Cibber, Esq; his Lives of +the late famous Actors and Actresses," of which a reprint is given with +this edition, is almost, if not quite, the rarest of theatrical books. +Isaac Reed, says Genest, "wrote his name in his copy of Aston's little +book, with the date of 1769--he says--'this Pamphlet contains several +circumstances concerning the Performers of the last century, which are +no where else to be found--it seems never to have been published'--he +adds-'Easter Monday, 1795--though I have now possessed this pamphlet 26 +years, it is remarkable that I never have seen another copy of it.'" Of +Aston himself, little is known. According to his own account he came on +the stage about 1700, and we know that he was a noted stroller; but as +to when he was born, or when he died, there is no information. He is +supposed, and probably with justice, to be the "trusty Anthony, who has +so often adorned both the theatres in England and Ireland," mentioned in +Estcourt's advertisement of his opening of the Bumper Tavern, in the +"Spectator" of 28th and 29th December, 1711; and he was no doubt a +well-known character among actors and theatre-goers. He would thus be +well qualified for his undertaking as biographer of the actors of his +time; and, indeed, his work bears every mark of being the production of +a writer thoroughly well acquainted with his subject. This valuable +pamphlet has been, until now practically a sealed book to theatrical +students. + +The three works which make up this edition--Cibber's "Apology," Wright's +"Historia Histrionica," and Aston's "Brief Supplement"--are reprinted +_verbatim et literatim;_ the only alterations made being the correction +of obvious errors. Among obvious errors I include the avalanche of +commas with which Cibber's printers overwhelmed his text. A more +grotesque misuse of punctuation I do not know, and I have struck out a +large number of these points, not only because they were unmeaning, but +also because, to a modern reader, they were irritating in the highest +degree. The rest of the punctuation I have not interfered with, and with +the single exception of these commas the present edition reproduces not +only the matter of the works reprinted, but the very manner in which +they originally appeared, the use of italics and capitals having +especially been carefully observed. + +The "Apology" of Cibber has gone through six editions. I have reprinted +the text of the second, because it was certainly revised by the author, +and many corrections made. But I have carefully compared my text with that +of the first edition, and, wherever the correction is more than merely +verbal, I have indicated the fact in a note (_e. g._ vol. i. p. 72). The +only edition which has been annotated is that published in 1822, under the +editorship of Edmund Bellchambers. Whether the Notes were written by the +Editor or by Jacob Henry Burn, who annotated Dickens's "Grimaldi," is a +point which I have raised in my "Bibliographical Account of English +Theatrical Literature" (p. 373). I have been unable to obtain any +authentic information on the subject, so give Burn's claim for what it is +worth. The statement as to the latter's authorship was made in his own +handwriting on the back of the title-page of a copy of the book, sold by a +well-known bookseller some years ago. It was in the following terms:-- + + "In 1821, while residing at No. 28, Maiden Lane, Covent + Garden, the elder Oxberry, who frequently called in as he + passed, found me one day adding notes in MS. to Cibber's + 'Apology.' Taking it up, he said he should like to reprint it; + he wanted something to employ the spare time of his hands, and + proferred to buy my copy, thus annotated. I think it was two + pounds I said he should have it for; this sum he instantly + paid, and the notes throughout are mine, not Bellchambers's, + who having seen it through the press or corrected the proofs + whilst printing, added his name as the editor.--J. H. BURN." + +Whether Burn or Bellchambers be the author, the notes, I find, are by no +means faultlessly accurate. I have made little use of them, except that +the Biographies, which are by far the most valuable of the annotations, +are reprinted at the end of my second volume. Even in these, it will be +seen, I have corrected many blunders. Some of the memoirs I have +condensed slightly; and, as the Biographies of Booth, Dogget, and Wilks +were in all essential points merely a repetition of Cibber's narrative, +I have not reprinted them. In all cases where I have made any use of +Bellchambers's edition, or have had a reference suggested to me by it, +I have carefully acknowledged my indebtedness. + +Among the works of contemporary writers which I have quoted, either in +illustration, in criticism, or in contradiction of Cibber, it will be +noticed that I make large drafts upon the anonymous pamphlet entitled +"The Laureat: or, the right side of Colley Cibber, Esq;" (1740). I have +done this because it furnishes the keenest criticism upon Cibber's +statements, and gives, in an undeniably clever style, the views of +Cibber's enemies upon himself and his works. I am unable even to guess +who was the author of this work, but he must have been a man well +acquainted with theatrical matters. + +Another pamphlet from which I quote, "The Egotist: or, Colley upon +Cibber" (1743), is interesting as being, I think without doubt, the work +of Cibber himself, although not acknowledged by him. + +Many of the works which I quote in my notes have gone through only one +edition, and my quotations from these are easily traced; but, for the +convenience of those who may wish to follow up any of my references to +books which have been more than once issued, I may mention that in the +case of Davies's "Dramatic Miscellanies" I have referred throughout to the +edition of 1785; that Dr. Birkbeck Hill's magnificent edition of Boswell's +"Life of Johnson" is that which I have quoted; and that the references to +Nichols's reprint of Steele's "Theatre," the "Anti-Theatre," &c., are to +the scarce and valuable edition in 2 vols. 12mo, 1791. My quotations from +the "Tatler" have been made from a set of the original folio numbers, +which I am fortunate enough to possess; and I have made my extracts from +the "Roscius Anglicanus" from Mr. Joseph Knight's beautiful facsimile +edition. The index, which will be found at the end of the second volume, +has been the object of my special attention, and I have spared no pains to +make it clear and exhaustive. + + ROBERT W. LOWE. + LONDON, _September, 1888_. + + + + +PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. + + +The twenty-six portraits and eighteen chapter headings in this new +edition of Colley Cibber's "Apology" are all newly engraved. The +portraits are copperplate mezzotints, engraved by R. B. Parkes from the +best and most authentic originals, in the selection of which great care +has been taken. Where more than one portrait exists, the least hackneyed +likeness has been chosen, and pains have been taken to secure those +pictures which are likely to be esteemed as rarities. The chapter +headings are etched by Adolphe Lalauze, and the subjects represent +scenes from plays illustrating the costumes, manner, and appearance of +the actors of Cibber's period, from contemporary authorities. + + LONDON, _October, 1888_. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + PAGE + HISTORIA HISTRIONICA: AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE + ENGLISH STAGE xix + + LETTERS PATENT FOR ERECTING A NEW THEATRE liii + + TITLE AND DEDICATION TO THE LIFE OF MR. COLLEY CIBBER lxiii + + CHAPTER I. + + THE INTRODUCTION. THE AUTHOR'S BIRTH, ETC. 1 + + CHAPTER II. + + HE THAT TRITES OF HIMSELF NOT EASILY TIR'D, ETC. 28 + + CHAPTER III. + + THE AUTHOR'S SEVERAL CHANCES FOR THE CHURCH, THE COURT, AND + THE ARMY, ETC. 55 + + CHAPTER IV. + + A SHORT VIEW OF THE STAGE, FROM THE YEAR 1660 TO THE + REVOLUTION, ETC. 86 + + CHAPTER V. + + THE THEATRICAL CHARACTERS OF THE PRINCIPAL ACTORS IN THE + YEAR 1690, CONTINU'D, ETC. 119 + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE AUTHOR'S FIRST STEP UPON THE STAGE. HIS DISCOURAGEMENTS, + ETC. 180 + + CHAPTER VII. + + THE STATE OF THE STAGE CONTINUED, ETC. 227 + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE PATENTEE OF DRURY-LANE WISER THAN HIS ACTORS, ETC. 262 + + CHAPTER IX. + + A SMALL APOLOGY FOR WRITING ON, ETC. 299 + + + + + LIST OF MEZZOTINT PORTRAITS. + + NEWLY ENGRAVED BY R. B. PARKES. + + VOLUME THE FIRST. + + + PAGE + I. COLLEY CIBBER. After the painting by John Baptist + Vanloo, 1740 _Frontispiece_ + + II. CAIUS GABRIEL CIBBER, the sculptor, father of + Colley Cibber. After the picture by Laroon and + Christian Richter. (Collection of the Earl of + Orford, Strawberry Hill) 18 + + III. THOMAS BETTERTON. After the painting by Sir + Godfrey Kneller 88 + + IV. BENJAMIN JOHNSON, in the character of Ananias, in + Ben Jonson's "Alchemist," act iii. After the + picture by Peter Van Bleeck, 1738 104 + + V. EDWARD KYNASTON, comedian. After R. Cooper. 122 + + VI. ANTHONY LEIGH, in the character of the Friar, in + Dryden's tragi-comedy of "The Spanish Friar." + After the painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller 146 + + VII. ELIZABETH BARRY. After the painting by Sir + Godfrey Kneller, 1689. (Collection of the Earl + of Orford, Strawberry Hill) 160 + + VIII. MRS. BRACEGIRDLE as "The Indian Queen," in the + play by Sir R. Howard and J. Dryden. After the + picture by J. Smith and W. Vincent 188 + + IX. WILLIAM BULLOCK. After the picture by Thomas + Johnson. _Ad vivum pinxit et fecit_ 204 + + X. WILLIAM PENKETHMAN. After the painting by + R. Schmutz 238 + + XI. WILLIAM CONGREVE. After the painting by Sir + Godfrey Kneller, 1709, "Kit-Cat Club" 272 + + XII. CHARLOTTE CHARKE. After a study by Henry + Gravelot 288 + + XIII. SIR JOHN VANBRUGH. After the painting by Sir + Godfrey Kneller, "Kit-Cat Club" 306 + + + + + LIST OF CHAPTER HEADINGS. + + NEWLY ETCHED FROM CONTEMPORARY DRAWINGS BY + ADOLPHE LALAUZE. + + VOLUME THE FIRST. + + + I. CAIUS GABRIEL CIBBER'S FIGURES OF RAVING AND + MELANCHOLY MADNESS. From Bedlam Hospital.[1] + + II. SCENE ILLUSTRATING CROWNE'S "SIR COURTLY NICE." + After the contemporary design by Arnold Vanhaecken. + + III. SCENE ILLUSTRATING ETHEREDGE'S "MAN OF MODE; + OR, SIR FOPLING FLUTTER." After the design by Lud. + du Guernier. + + IV. SCENE ILLUSTRATING CONGREVE'S "DOUBLE DEALER." + After F. Hayman. + + V. GRIFFIN AND JOHNSON IN THE CHARACTERS OF TRIBULATION + AND ANANIAS, Ben Jonson's "Alchemist," act iii. + scene 2. Tribulation. "I do command thee (Spirit of + Zeal, but Trouble) to peace, within him." After the + original by Peter Van Bleeck, 1738. + + VI. SCENE ILLUSTRATING OTWAY'S "ORPHAN." After the + contemporary etching by G. Vander Gucht. + + VII. MRS. PORTER, MILLS, AND CIBBER. After a contemporary + engraving by J. Basire. + + VIII. SCENE ILLUSTRATING STEELE'S "FUNERAL, OR GRIEF À LA + MODE." After the contemporary design by G. Vander + Gucht. + + IX. MR. ESTCOURT AS "KITE" IN FARQUHAR'S "RECRUITING + OFFICER." After the contemporary design by E. Knight + and G. Vander Gucht. + + + + + HISTORIA HISTRIONICA: + + AN + + Historical Account + + OF THE + + ENGLISH STAGE, + + SHEWING + + The ancient Use, Improvement, + and Perfection, of Dramatick Representations, + in this Nation. + + IN A + + Dialogue, of _PLAYS_ and _PLAYERS._ + + ----_Olim meminisse juvabit._ + + _LONDON._ + + Printed by _G. Croom,_ for _William Haws_ at the + Rose in _Ludgate-Street_. 1699. + + + + +THE PREFACE. + +_Much has been Writ of late_ pro _and_ con, _about the Stage, yet the +Subject admits of more, and that which has not been hetherto toucht +upon; not only what that is, but what it was, about which some People +have made such a Busle. What it is we see, and I think it has been +sufficiently displayed in Mr._ Collier'_s Book; What it was in former +Ages, and how used in this Kingdom, so far back as one may collect any +Memorialls, is the Subject of the following Dialogue. Old Plays will be +always read by the_ Curious, _if it were only to discover the Manners +and Behaviour of several Ages; and how they alter'd. For Plays are +exactly like_ Portraits _Drawn in the Garb and Fashion of the time when +Painted. You see one Habit in the time of King_ Charles I. _another +quite different from that, both for Men and Women, in Queen_ Elizabeths +_time; another under_ Henry _the Eighth different from both; and so +backward all various. And in the several Fashions of Behaviour and +Conversation, there is as much Mutability as in that of cloaths. +Religion and Religious matters was once as much the Mode in publick +Entertainments, as the Contrary has been in some times since. This +appears in the different Plays of several Ages: And to evince this, the +following Sheets are an Essay or Specimen._ + +_Some may think the Subject of this Discourse trivial, and the persons +herein mention'd not worth remembering. But besides that I could name +some things contested of late with great heat, of as little, or less +Consequence, the Reader may know that the Profession of Players is not +so totally scandalous, nor all of them so reprobate, but that there has +been found under that Name, a Canonized Saint in the primitive Church; +as may be seen in the_ Roman Martyrology _on the_ 29th _of_ March; _his +name_ Masculas _a Master of Interludes_, (_the Latin is_ Archimimus, +_and the French translation_ un Maitre Comedien) _who under the +Persecution of the_ Vandals _in_ Africa, _by_ Geisericus _the_ Arian +_King, having endured many and greivious Torments and Reproaches for the +Confession of the Truth, finisht the Course of this glorious Combat. +Saith the said_ Martyrology. + +_It appears from this, and some further Instances in the following +Discourse, That there have been Players of worthy Principles as to +Religion, Loyalty, and other Virtues; and if the major part of them fall +under a different Character, it is the general unhappiness of Mankind, +that the_ Most _are the_ Worst. + + + + +A DIALOGUE OF PLAYS and PLAYERS. + + + LOVEWIT, TRUMAN. + +LOVEW. Honest Old Cavalier! well met, 'faith I'm glad to see thee. + +TRUM. Have a care what you call me. Old, is a Word of Disgrace among the +Ladies; to be Honest is to be Poor, and Foolish, (as some think) and +Cavalier is a Word as much out of Fashion as any of 'em. + +LOVEW. The more's the pity: But what said the Fortune-Teller in _Ben. +Johnson_'s Mask of _Gypsies_, to the then _Lord Privy Seal_, + + _Honest and Old!_ + _In those the_ Good _Part of a Fortune is told_. + +TRUM. _Ben. Johnson?_ How dare you name _Ben. Johnson_ in these times? +When we have such a crowd of Poets of a quite different Genius; the +least of which thinks himself as well able to correct _Ben. Johnson_, as +he could a Country School Mistress that taught to Spell. + +LOVEW. We have indeed, Poets of a different Genius; so are the Plays: +but in my Opinion, they are all of 'em (some few excepted) as much +inferior to those of former Times, as the Actors now in being (generally +speaking) are, compared to _Hart_, _Mohun_, _Burt_, _Lacy_, _Clun_, and +_Shatterel_; for I can reach no farther backward. + +TRUM. I can; and dare assure you, if my Fancy and Memory are not partial +(for Men of my Age are apt to be over indulgent to the Thoughts of their +youthful Days) I say the Actors that I have seen before the Wars, +_Lowin_, _Tayler_, _Pollard_, and some others, were almost as far beyond +_Hart_ and his Company, as those were beyond these now in being. + +LOVEW. I am willing to believe it, but cannot readily; because I have +been told, That those whom I mention'd, were Bred up under the others of +your Acquaintance, and follow'd their manner of Action, which is now +lost. So far, that when the Question has been askt, Why these Players do +not revive the _Silent Woman_, and some other of _Johnson_'s Plays, +(once of highest esteem) they have answer'd, truly, Because there are +none now Living who can rightly Humour those Parts; for all who related +to the _Black-friers_, (where they were Acted in perfection) are now +Dead, and almost forgotten. + +TRUM. 'Tis very true, _Hart_ and _Clun_, were bred up Boys at the +_Black-friers_, and acted Womens Parts, _Hart_ was _Robinson_'s Boy or +Apprentice: He acted the Dutchess in the Tragedy of _the Cardinal_, +which was the first Part that gave him Reputation. _Cartwright_, and +_Wintershal_ belong'd to the private House in _Salisbury-court_, _Burt_ +was a Boy first under _Shank_ at the _Black-friers_, then under +_Beeston_ at the _Cockpit_; and _Mohun_, and _Shatterel_ were in the +same Condition with him, at the last Place. There _Burt_ used to Play +the principal Women's Parts, in particular _Clariana_ in _Love's +Cruelty_; and at the same time _Mohun_ acted _Bellamente_, which Part he +retain'd after the Restauration. + +LOVEW. That I have seen, and can well remember. I wish they had Printed +in the last Age (so I call the times before the Rebellion) the Actors +Names over against the Parts they Acted, as they have done since the +Restauration. And thus one might have guest at the Action of the Men, by +the Parts which we now Read in the Old Plays. + +TRUM. It was not the Custome and Usage of those Days, as it hath been +since. Yet some few Old Plays there are that have the Names set against +the Parts, as, _The Dutchess of Malfy_; _the Picture_; _the Roman +Actor_; _the deserving Favourite_; _the Wild Goose Chace_, (at the +Black-friers) _the Wedding_; _the Renegado_; _the fair Maid of the +West_; _Hannibal and Scipio_; _King John and Matilda_; (at the Cockpit) +and _Holland's Leaguer_, (at Salisbury Court). + +LOVEW. These are but few indeed: But pray Sir, hat Master-Parts can you +remember the Old _Black-friers_ Men to Act, in _Johnson_, _Shakespear_, +and _Fletcher_'s Plays. + +TRUM. What I can at present recollect I'll tell you; _Shakespear_, (who +as I have heard, was a much better Poet, than Player) _Burbadge_, +_Hemmings_, and others of the Older sort, were Dead before I knew the +Town; but in my time, before the Wars, _Lowin_ used to Act, with mighty +Applause, _Falstaffe_, _Morose_, _Volpone_, and _Mammon_ in the +_Alchymist_; _Melancius_, in the _Maid's_ Tragedy, and at the same time +_Amyntor_ was Play'd by _Stephen Hammerton_, (who was at first a most +noted and beautiful Woman Actor, but afterwards he acted with equal +Grace and Applause, a Young Lover's Part); _Tayler_ Acted _Hamlet_ +incomparably well, _Iago_, _Truewit_ in the _Silent Woman_, and _Face_ +in the _Alchymist_; _Swanston_ used to Play _Othello_; _Pollard_, and +_Robinson_ were Comedians, so was _Shank_ who us'd to Act Sir _Roger_, +in _the Scornful Lady_. These were of the _Black-friers_. Those of +principal Note at the _Cockpit_, were, _Perkins_, _Michael Bowyer_, +_Sumner_, _William Allen_, and _Bird_, eminent Actors, and _Robins_ a +Comedian. Of the other Companies I took little notice. + +LOVEW. Were there so many Companies? + +TRUM. Before the Wars, there were in being all these Play-houses at the +same time. The _Black-friers_, and _Globe_ on the _Bankside_, a Winter +and Summer House, belonging to the same Company, called the King's +Servants; the _Cockpit_ or _Phoenix_, in _Drury-lane_, called the +Queen's Servants; the private House in _Salisbury-court_, called the +Prince's Servants; the _Fortune_ near _White-cross-street_, and the +_Red Bull_ at the upper end of St. _John's-street_: The two last were +mostly frequented by Citizens, and the meaner sort of People. All these +Companies got Money, and Liv'd in Reputation, especially those of the +_Black-friers_, who were Men of grave and sober Behaviour. + +LOVEW. Which I admire at; That the Town much less than at present, could +then maintain Five Companies, and yet now Two can hardly subsist. + +TRUM. Do not wonder, but consider, That tho' the Town was then, perhaps, +not much more than half so Populous as now, yet then the Prices were +small (there being no Scenes) and better order kept among the Company +that came; which made very good People think a Play an Innocent +Diversion for an idle Hour or two, the Plays themselves being then, for +the most part, more Instructive and Moral. Whereas of late, the +Play-houses are so extreamly pestered with Vizard-masks and their Trade, +(occasioning continual Quarrels and Abuses) that many of the more +Civilized Part of the Town are uneasy in the Company, and shun the +Theater as they would a House of Scandal. It is an Argument of the worth +of the Plays and Actors, of the last Age, and easily inferr'd, that they +were much beyond ours in this, to consider that they cou'd support +themselves meerly from their own Merit; the weight of the Matter, and +goodness of the Action, without Scenes and Machines: Whereas the present +Plays with all that shew, can hardly draw an Audience, unless there be +the additional Invitation of a _Signior Fideli_, a _Monsieur L'abbe_, +or some such Foreign Regale exprest in the bottom of the Bill. + +LOVEW. To wave this Digression, I have Read of one _Edward Allin_, a Man +so famed for excellent Action, that among _Ben. Johnson_'s epigrams, I +find one directed to him, full of Encomium, and concluding thus, + + _Wear this Renown, 'tis just that who did give + So many Poets Life, by one should Live._ + +Was he one of the _Black-friers_? + +TRUM. Never, as I have heard; (for he was Dead before my time). He was +Master of a Company of his own, for whom he Built the _Fortune_ +Playhouse from the Ground, a large, round Brick Building. This is he +that grew so Rich that he purchased a great estate in _Surrey_ and +elsewhere; and having no Issue, He built and largely endow'd _Dulwich_ +College, in the Year 1619, for a Master, a Warden, Four Fellows, Twelve +aged poor People, and Twelve poor Boys, _&c._ A noble Charity. + +LOVEW. What kind of Playhouses had they before the Wars? + +TRUM. The _Black-friers_, _Cockpit_, and _Salisbury-court_, were called +Private Houses, and were very small to what we see now. The _Cockpit_ +was standing since the Restauration, and _Rhode_'s Company Acted there +for some time. + +LOVEW. I have seen that. + +TRUM. Then you have seen the other two, in effect; for they were all +three Built almost exactly alike, for Form and Bigness. Here they had +Pits for the Gentry, and Acted by Candle-light. The _Globe_, _Fortune_ +and _Bull_, were large Houses, and lay partly open to the Weather, and +there they alwaies Acted by Daylight. + +LOVEW. But, prithee, _Truman_, what became of these Players when the +Stage was put down, and the Rebellion rais'd? + +TRUM. Most of 'em, except _Lowin_, _Tayler_ and _Pollard_ (who +were superannuated) went into the King's Army, and like good Men +and true, Serv'd their Old Master, tho' in a different, yet more +honourable, Capacity. _Robinson_ was Kill'd at the Taking of a Place, +(I think _Basing House_) by _Harrison_, he that was after Hang'd at +_Charing-cross_, who refused him Quarter, and Shot him in the Head when +he had laid down his Arms; abusing Scripture at the same time, in +saying, _Cursed is he that doth the Work of the Lord negligently_. +_Mohun_ was a Captain, (and after the Wars were ended here, served in +_Flanders_ where he received Pay as a Major), _Hart_ was a Lieutenant of +Horse under Sir _Thomas Dallison_, in _Prince Rupert_'s Regiment, _Burt_ +was Cornet in the same Troop, and _Shatterel_ Quarter-master. _Allen_ of +the _Cockpit_, was a Major, and Quarter Master General at _Oxford_. I +have not heard of one of these Players of any Note that sided with the +other Party, but only _Swanston_, and he profest himself a Presbyterian, +took up the Trade of a Jeweller, and liv'd in _Aldermanbury_, within the +Territory of Father _Calamy_. The rest either Lost, or expos'd their +Lives for their King. When the Wars were over, and the Royalists totally +Subdued, most of 'em who were left alive gather'd to _London_, and for a +Subsistence endeavour'd to revive their Old Trade, privately. They made +up one Company out of all the Scatter'd Members of Several; and in the +Winter before the King's Murder, 1648, they ventured to Act some Plays +with as much caution and privacy as you'd be, at the _Cockpit_. They +continu'd undisturbed for three or four Days; but at last as they were +presenting the Tragedy of the _Bloudy Brother_ (in which _Lowin_ Acted +Aubrey, _Tayler_ Rollo, _Pollard_ the Cook, _Burt_ Latorch, and I think +_Hart_ Otto) a Party of Foot Souldiers beset the House, surpriz'd 'em +about the midle of the Play, and carried 'em away in their habits, not +admitting them to shift, to _Hatton-house_, then a Prison, where having +detain'd them some time, they Plunder'd them of their Cloths and let 'em +loose again. Afterwards in _Oliver_'s time, they used to Act privately, +three or four Miles, or more, out of Town, now here, now there, +sometimes in Noblemens Houses, in particular _Holland-house_ at +_Kensington_, where the Nobility and Gentry who met (but in no great +Numbers) used to make a Sum for them, each giving a broad Peice, or the +like. And _Alexander Goffe_, the Woman Actor at _Black-friers_ (who had +made himself known to Persons of Quality) used to be the Jackal, and +give notice of Time and Place. At Christmass, and Bartlemew-fair, they +used to Bribe the Officer who Commanded the Guard at _Whitehall_, and +were thereupon connived at to Act for a few Days, at the _Red Bull_; but +were sometimes notwithstanding Disturb'd by Soldiers. Some pickt up a +little Money by publishing the Copies of Plays never before Printed, but +kept up in Manuscript. For instance, in the Year 1652, _Beaumont_ and +_Fletcher's Wild Goose Chace_ was Printed in Folio, _for the Public use +of all the Ingenious_, (as the Title-page says) _and private Benefit of_ +John Lowin _and_ Joseph Tayler, _Servants to his late Majesty_; and by +them Dedicated _To the Honour'd few Lovers of Dramatick Poesy_: Wherein +they modestly intimate their Wants. And that with sufficient Cause; for +whatever they were before the Wars, they were, after, reduced to a +necessitous Condition. _Lowin_ in his latter Days, kept an Inn (the +three Pidgions) at _Brentford_, where he dyed very Old, (for he was an +Actor of eminent Note in the Reign of K. _James_ the first) and his +Poverty was as great as his Age. _Tayler_ Dyed at _Richmond_ and was +there Buried. _Pollard_ who Lived Single, and had a Competent Estate; +Retired to some Relations he had in the Country, and there ended his +Life. _Perkins_ and _Sumner_ of the _Cockpit_, kept House together at +_Clerkenwel_, and were there Buried. These all Dyed some Years before +the Restauration. What follow'd after, I need not tell you: You can +easily Remember. + +LOVEW. Yes, presently after the Restauration, the King's Players Acted +publickly at the _Red Bull_ for some time, and then Removed to a +New-built Playhouse in _Vere-street_, by _Claremarket_. There they +continued for a Year or two, and then removed to the _Theater Royal_ in +_Drury-lane_, where they first made use of Scenes, which had been a +little before introduced upon the publick Stage by Sir _William +Davenant_ at the _Dukes Old Theater_ in _Lincolns-Inn-fields_, but +afterwards very much improved, with the Addition of curious Machines, by +Mr. _Betterton_ at the New _Theater_ in _Dorset-Garden_, to the great +Expence and continual Charge of the Players. This much impair'd their +Profit o'er what it was before; for I have been inform'd, (by one of +'em) That for several Years next after the Restauration, every whole +Sharer in Mr. _Hart_'s Company, got 1000_l. per an._ About the same time +that Scenes first enter'd upon the Stage at _London_, Women were taught +to Act their own Parts; since when, we have seen at both Houses several +excellent Actresses, justly famed as well for Beauty, as perfect good +Action. And some Plays (in particular _The Parson's Wedding_) have been +Presented all by Women, as formerly all by Men. Thus it continued for +about 20 Years, when Mr. _Hart_ and some of the Old Men began to grow +weary, and were minded to leave off; then the two Companies thought fit +to Unite; but of late, you see, they have thought it no less fit to +Divide again, though both Companies keep the same Name of his Majesty's +Servants. All this while the Play-house Musick improved Yearly, and is +now arrived to greater Perfection than ever I knew it. Yet for all these +Advantages, the Reputation of the Stage, and Peoples Affection to it, +are much Decay'd. Some were lately severe against it, and would hardly +allow Stage-Plays fit to be longer permitted. Have you seen Mr. +_Collier_'s book? + +TRUM. Yes, and his Opposer's. + +LOVEW. And what think you? + +TRUM. In my mind Mr. _Collier_'s Reflections are Pertinent, and True in +the Main; the Book ingeniously Writ, and well Intended: But he has +over-shot himself in some Places; and his Respondents, perhaps, in more. +My Affection inclines me not to Engage on either side, but rather +Mediate. If there be Abuses relating to the Stage; (which I think is too +apparent) let the Abuse be Reformed, and not the use, for that Reason +only, Abolish'd. 'Twas an Old saying when I was a Boy, + + _Absit Abusus, non desit totaliter Usus._ + +I shall not run through Mr. _Collier_'s Book; I will only touch a little +on two or three general Notions, in which, I think he may be mistaken. +What he urges out of the Primitive Councils, and Fathers of the Church, +seems to me to be directed against the Heathen Plays, which were a sort +of Religious Worship with them, to the Honour of _Ceres_, _Flora_, or +some of their false Deities; they had always a little Altar on their +Stages, as appears plain enough from some places in _Plautus_. And Mr. +_Collier_ himself, p. 235, tells us out of _Livy_, that Plays were +brought in upon the Score of Religion, to pacify the Gods. No wonder +then, they forbid Christians to be present at them, for it was almost +the same as to be present at their Sacrifices. We must also observe that +this was in the Infancy of Christianity, when the Church was under +severe, and almost continual Persecutions, and when all its true Members +were of most strict and exemplary Lives, not knowing when they should be +call'd to the Stake, or thrown to Wild-Beasts. They communicated Daily, +and expected Death hourly; their thoughts were intent upon the next +World, they abstain'd almost wholly from all Diversions and pleasures +(though lawfull and Innocent) in this. Afterwards when Persecution +ceased, and the church flourisht, Christians being then freed from their +former Terrors, allow'd themselves, at proper times, the lawfull +Recreations of Conversation, and among other (no doubt) this of Shewes +and Representations. After this time, the Censures of the Church indeed, +might be continued, or revived, upon occasion, against Plays and +Players; tho' (in my Opinion) it cannot be understood generally, but +only against such Players who were of Vicious and Licencious Lives, and +represented profane Subjects, inconsistant with the Morals and probity +of Manners requisite to Christians; and frequented chiefly by such loose +and Debaucht People, as were much more apt to Corrupt than Divert those +who associated with them. I say, I cannot think the Canons and Censures +of the Fathers can be applyed to all Players, _quatenus_ Players; for if +so how could Plays be continued among the Christians, as they were, of +Divine Subjects, and Scriptural Stories? A late French Author, speaking +of the Original of the _Hotel de Bourgogne_ (a Play-house in _Paris_) +says that the ancient Dukes of that Name gave it to the Brotherhood of +the Passion, established in the Church of Trinity-Hospital in the _Rue +S. Denis_, on condition that they should represent here Interludes of +Devotion: And adds that there have been public Shews in this Place 600 +Years ago. The Spanish and Portuguize continue still to have, for the +most part, such Ecclesiastical Stories, for the Subject of their Plays: +And, if we may believe _Gage_, they are Acted in their Churches in +_Mexico_, and the Spanish _West-Indies_. + +LOVEW. That's a great way off, _Truman_; I had rather you would come +nearer Home, and confine your discourse to Old _England_. + +TRUM. So I intend. The same has been done here in _England_; for +otherwise how comes it to be prohibited in the _88th_ Canon, among those +past in Convocation, 1603. Certain it is that our ancient Plays were of +Religious Subjects, and had for their Actors, (if not Priests) yet Men +relating to the Church. + +LOVEW. How does that appear? + +TRUM. Nothing clearer. _Stow_ in his Survey of _London_, has one Chapter +_of the Sports and Pastimes of old time used in this City_; and there he +tells us, That in the Year 1391 (which was 15 _R._ 2.) a Stage-Play was +play'd by the Parish-Clerks of _London_, at the _Skinner's-well_ beside +_Smithfield_, which Play continued, three Days together, the King, +Queen, and Nobles of the Realm being present. And another was play'd in +the Year 1409, (11 _H._ 4.) which lasted eight Days, and was of Matter +from the Creation of the World; whereat was present most part of the +Nobility and Gentry of _England_. Sir _William Dugdale_, in his +Antiquities of _Warwickshire_, p. 116, speaking of the _Gray-friers_ (or +_Franciscans_) at _Coventry_, says, Before the suppression of the +Monasteries, this City was very famous for the Pageants that were play'd +therein upon _Corpus-Christi_ Day; which Pageants being acted with +mighty State and Reverence by the Friers of this House, had Theatres for +the several Scenes very large and high, plac'd upon Wheels, and drawn to +all the eminent Parts of the City, for the better advantage of the +Spectators; and contain'd the Story of the New Testament, composed in +old English Rhime. An ancient Manuscript of the same is now to be seen +in the _Cottonian_ Library, _Sub Effig. Vespat. D._ 8. Since the +Reformation, in Queen _Elizabeth's_ time, Plays were frequently acted by +Quiristers and Singing Boys; and several of our old Comedies have +printed in the Title Page, _Acted by the Children of_ Paul's, (not the +School, but the Church) others, _By the Children of Her Majesty's +Chappel_; in particular, _Cinthias Revels_, and the _Poetaster_ were +play'd by them; who were at that time famous for good Action. Among +_Ben. Johnson_'s Epigrams you may find _An Epitaph on S. P._ + +(Sal Pavy) _one of the Children of Queen_ Elizabeth's _Chappel_, part of +which runs thus, + + _Years he counted scarce Thirteen + When Fates turn'd Cruel, + Yet three fill'd Zodiacks he had been + The Stages Jewell; + And did act (what now we moan) + Old Men so duly, + As, sooth, the_ Parcæ _thought him one, + He play'd so truly._ + +Some of these Chappel Boys, when they grew Men, became Actors at the +_Black-friers_; such were _Nathan Feild_, and _John Underwood_. Now I +can hardly imagine that such Plays and Players as these, are included in +the severe Censure of the Councils and Fathers; but such only who are +truly within the Character given by _Didacus de Tapia_, cited by Mr. +_Collier_, p. 276, _viz. The Infamous Playhouse_; _a place of +contradiction to the strictness and sobriety of Religion_; _a place +hated by God, and haunted by the Devil_. And for such I have as great an +abhorrance as any man. + +LOVEW. Can you guess of what Antiquity the representing of Religious +Matters, on the Stage, hath been in _England_? + +TRUM. How long before the Conquest I know not, but that it was used in +_London_ not long after, appears by _Fitz-Stevens_, an Author who wrote +in the reign of King _Henry_ the Second. His words are, _Londonia pro +spectaculis theatralibus, pro ludis scenicis, ludos habet sanctiores, +Representationes miraculorum, quæ sancti Confessores operati sunt, seu +Representationes passionum quibus claruit constantia Martyrum_. Of this, +the Manuscript which I lately mention'd, in the _Cottonian_ Library, is +a notable instance. Sir _William Dugdale_ cites this Manuscript, by the +Title of _Ludus Coventriæ_; but in the printed Catalogue of that +Library, p. 113, it is named thus, _A Collection of Plays in old English +Metre,_ h. e. _Dramata sacra in quibus exhibentur historiæ Veteris & N. +Testamenti, introductis quasi in Scenam personis illic memoratis, quas +secum invicem colloquentes pro ingenio fingit Poeta. Videntur olim coram +populo, sive ad instruendum sive ad placendum, a fratribus mendicantibus +repræsentata._ It appears by the latter end of the Prologue, that these +Plays or Interludes, were not only play'd at _Coventry_, but in other +Towns and Places upon occasion. And possibly this may be the same Play +which _Stow_ tells us was play'd in the reign of King _Henry_ IV., which +lasted for Eight Days. The Book seems by the Character and Language to +be at least 300 Years old. It begins with a general Prologue, giving the +arguments of 40 Pageants or Gesticulations (which were as so many +several Acts or Scenes) representing all the Histories of both +Testaments, from the Creation, to the choosing of St. _Mathias_ to be an +Apostle. The Stories of the New Testament are more largely exprest, +_viz._ The Annunciation, Nativity, Visitation; but more especially all +Matters relating to the Passion very particularly, the Resurrection, +Ascention, the choice of St. _Mathias_: After which is also represented +the Assumption, and last Judgment. All these things were treated of in a +very homely style, (as we now think) infinitely below the Dignity of the +Subject: But it seems the Gust of that Age was not so nice and delicate +in these Matters; the plain and incurious Judgment of our Ancestors, +being prepared with favour, and taking every thing by the right and +easiest Handle: For example, in the Scene relating to the Visitation: + + _Maria._ But husband of oo thyng pray you most mekely, + I haue knowing that our Cosyn Elizabeth with childe is, + That it please yow to go to her hastyly, + If ought we myth comfort her it wer to me blys. + + _Joseph._ A Gods sake, is she with child, sche? + Than will her husband Zachary be mery. + In Montana they dwelle, fer hence, so moty the, + In the city of Juda, I know it verily; + It is hence I trowe myles two a fifty, + We ar like to be wery or we come at the same. + I wole with a good will, blessyd wyff Mary; + Now go we forth then in goddys name, &c. + + A little before the Resurrection: + + _Nunc dormient milites, & veniet anima Christi de inferno, cum_ + Adam & Eva, Abraham, John Baptist, _& aliis._ + + _Anima Christi._ Come forth Adam, and Eve with the, + And all my fryndes that herein be, + In Paradys come forth with me + In blysse for to dwelle. + The fende of hell that is yowr foo + He shall be wrappyd and woundyn in woo: + Fro wo to welth now shall ye go, + With myrth euer mor to melle. + + _Adam._ I thank the Lord of thy grete grace + That now is forgiuen my gret trespace, + Now shall we dwellyn in blyssful pace, &c. + +The last Scene or Pageant, which represents the Day of Judgment, begins +thus: + + _Michael._ _Surgite_, All men aryse, + _Venite ad judicium_, + For now is set the High Justice, + And hath assignyd the day of Dome: + Kepe you redyly to this grett assyse, + Both gret and small, all and sum, + And of yowr answer you now advise, + What you shall say when that yow com, &c. + +These and such like, were the Plays which in former Ages were presented +publickly: Whether they had any settled and constant Houses for that +purpose, does not appear; I suppose not. But it is notorious that in +former times there was hardly ever any Solemn Reception of Princes, or +Noble Persons, but Pageants (that is Stages Erected in the open Street) +were part of the Entertainment. On which there were Speeches by one or +more Persons, in the nature of Scenes; and be sure one of the Speakers +must be some Saint of the same Name with the Party to whom the Honour is +intended. For instance, there is an ancient Manuscript at _Coventry_, +call'd the _Old Leet Book_, wherein is set down in a very particular +manner, (fo. 168) the reception of Queen _Margaret_, wife of _H._ 6, who +came to _Coventry_ (and I think, with her, her young Son, Prince +_Edward_) on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy-Cross, 35 _H._ 6. +(1456). Many Pageants and Speeches were made for her Welcome; out of all +which, I shall observe but two or three, in the Old English, as it is +Recorded. + + _St. Edward._ Moder of mekenes, Dame Margarete, princes most + excellent, + I King Edward wellcome you with affection cordial, + Certefying to your highnes mekely myn entent, + For the wele of the King and you hertily pray I shall, + And for prince Edward my gostly chylde, who I love principal. + Praying the, John Evangelist, my help therein to be, + On that condition right humbly I giue this Ring to the. + + _John Evangelist._ Holy Edward crowned King, Brother in + Verginity, + My power plainly I will prefer thy will to amplefy. + Most excellent princes of wymen mortal, your Bedeman will I be. + I know your Life so vertuous that God is pleased thereby. + The birth of you unto this Reme shall cause great Melody: + The vertuous voice of Prince Edward shall dayly well encrease, + St. Edward his Godfader and I shall pray therefore doubtlese. + + _St. Margaret._ Most notabul princes of wymen earthle, + Dame Margarete, the chefe myrth of this Empyre, + Ye be hertely welcome to this Cyte. + To the plesure of your highnesse I wyll set my desyre; + Both nature and gentlenesse doth me require, + Seth we be both of one name, to shew you kindnesse; + Wherefore by my power ye shall have no distresse. + + I shall pray to the Prince that is endlese + To socour you with solas of his high grace; + He will here my petition this is doubtlesse, + For I wrought all my life that his will wace. + Therefore, Lady, when you be in any dredfull case, + Call on me boldly, thereof I pray you, + And trust in me feythfully, I will do that may pay you. + + +In the next Reign (as appears in the same Book, fo. 221) an other +Prince _Edward_, Son of King _Edward_ the 4, came to _Coventry_ on the +28 of _April_, 14 _E._ 4, (1474) and was entertain'd with many Pageants +and Speeches, among which I shall observe only two: one was of St. +_Edward_ again, who was then made to speak thus, + + Noble Prince Edward, my Cousin and my Knight, + And very Prince of our Line com yn dissent, + I Saint Edward have pursued for your faders imperial Right, + Whereof he was excluded by full furious intent. + Unto this your Chamber as prince full excellent + Ye be right welcome. Thanked be Crist of his sonde, + For that that was ours is now in your faders honde. + +The other Speech was from St. _George_; and thus saith the Book. + + ----Also upon the Condite in the Croscheping was St. George + armed, and a kings daughter kneling afore him with a Lamb, and + the fader and the moder being in a Towre aboven beholding St. + George saving their daughter from the Dragon, and the Condite + renning wine in four places, and Minstralcy of Organ playing, + and St. George hauing this Speech under-written. + + O mighty God our all succour celestiall, + Which this Royme hast given in dower + To thi moder, and to me George protection perpetuall + It to defend from enimys fer and nere, + And as this mayden defended was here + By thy grace from this Dragons devour, + So, Lord preserve this noble prince, and ever be his socour. + +LOVEW. I perceive these holy Matters consisted very much of Praying; but +I pitty poor St. _Edward_ the Confessor, who in the compass of a few +Years, was made to promise his favour and assistance to two young +Princes of the same Name indeed, but of as different and opposite +Interests as the two Poles. I know not how he could perform to both. + +TRUM. Alas! they were both unhappy, notwithstanding these fine Shews and +seeming caresses of Fortune, being both murder'd, one by the Hand, the +other by the procurement of _Rich._ Duke of _Glocester_. I will produce +but one Example more of this sort of Action, or Representations, and +that is of later time, and an instance of much higher Nature than any +yet mentioned, it was at the marriage of Prince _Arthur_, eldest Son of +king _Henry 7_. to the Princess _Catherine_ of _Spain, An. 1501_. Her +passage through _London_ was very magnificent, as I have read it +described in an old M.S. Chronicle of that time. The Pageants and +Speeches were many; the Persons represented St. _Catherine_, St. +_Ursula_, a Senator, Noblesse, Virtue, an Angel, King _Alphonse_, _Job_, +_Boetius_, &c. among others one is thus described. + + When this Spech was ended, she held on her way tyll she cam + unto the Standard in Chepe, where was ordeyned the fifth + Pagend made like an hevyn, theryn syttyng a Personage + representing the fader of hevyn, beyng all formyd of Gold, and + brennying beffor his trone vii Candyilis of wax standyng in + vii Candylstykis of Gold, the said personage beyng environed + wyth sundry Hyrarchies off Angelis, and sytting in a Cope of + most rich cloth of Tyssu, garnishyd wyth stoon and perle in + most sumptuous wyse. Foragain which said Pagend upon the sowth + syde of the strete stood at that tyme, in a hows wheryn that + tyme dwellyd _William Geffrey_ habyrdasher, the king, the + Quene, my Lady the Kingys moder, my Lord of _Oxynfford_, with + many othir Lordys and Ladys, and Perys of this Realm, wyth + also certayn Ambassadors of France lately sent from the French + King; and so passyng the said Estatys, eyther guyvyng to + other due and convenyent Saluts and Countenancs, so sone as + hyr grace was approachid unto the sayd Pagend, the fadyr began + his Spech as folowyth: + + _Hunc veneram locum, septeno lumine septum._ + _Dignumque_ Arthuri _totidem astra micant._ + + I am begynyng and ende, that made ech creature + My sylfe, and for my sylfe, but man esspecially + Both male and female, made aftyr myne aun fygure, + Whom I joyned togydyr in Matrimony + And that in Paradyse, declaring opynly + That men shall weddyng in my Chyrch solempnize, + Fygurid and signifyed by the erthly Paradyze. + + In thys my Chyrch I am allway recydent + As my chyeff tabernacle, and most chosyn place, + Among these goldyn candylstikkis, which represent + My Catholyk Chyrch, shynyng affor my face, + With lyght of feyth, wisdom, doctryne, and grace, + And mervelously eke enflamyd toward me + Wyth the extyngwible fyre of Charyte. + + Wherefore, my welbelovid dowgthyr Katharyn, + Syth I have made yow to myne awn semblance + In my Chyrch to be maried, and your noble Childryn + To regn in this land as in their enherytance, + Se that ye have me in speciall remembrance: + Love me and my Chyrch yowr spiritual modyr, + For ye dispysing that oon, dyspyse that othyr. + + Look that ye walk in my precepts, and obey them well: + And here I give you the same blyssyng that I + Gave my well beloved chylder of Israell; + Blyssyd be the fruyt of your bely; + Yower substance and frutys I shall encrease and multyply; + Yower rebellious Enimyes I shall put in yowr hand, + Encreasing in honour both yow and yowr land. + +LOVEW. This would be censured now a days as profane to the highest +degree. + +TRUM. No doubt on't: Yet you see there was a time when People were not +so nicely censorious in these Matters, but were willing to take things +in the best sence: and then this was thought a noble Entertainment for +the greatest King in _Europe_ (such I esteem King _H._ 7. at that time) +and proper for that Day of mighty Joy and Triumph. And I must farther +observe out of the Lord _Bacon_'s History of _H._ 7. that the chief Man +who had the care of that Days Proceedings was Bishop _Fox_, a grave +Councelor for War or Peace, and also a good Surveyor of Works, and a +good Master of Cerimonies, and it seems he approv'd it. The said Lord +_Bacon_ tells us farther, That whosoever had those Toys in compiling, +they were not altogether Pedantical. + +LOVEW. These things however are far from that which we understand by the +name of a Play. + +TRUM. It may be so; but these were the Plays of those times. Afterwards +in the Reign of K. _H._ 8. both the Subject and Form of these Plays +began to alter, and have since varied more and more. I have by me, a +thing called _A merry Play between the Pardoner and the Frere, the +Curate and Neybour Pratte_. Printed the 5 of _April_ 1533, which was 24 +_H._ 8. (a few Years before the Dissolution of Monasteries). The design +of this Play was to redicule Friers and Pardoners. Of which I'll give +you a taste. To begin it, the Fryer enters with these Words, + + Deus hic; the holy Trynyte + Preserue all that now here be. + Dere bretherne, yf ye will consyder + The Cause why I am com hyder, + Ye wolde be glad to knowe my entent; + For I com not hyther for mony nor for rent, + I com not hyther for meat nor for meale, + But I com hyther for your Soules heale, &c. + +After a long Preamble, he addresses himself to Preach, when the Pardoner +enters with these Words, + + God and St. Leonarde send ye all his grace + As many as ben assembled in this place, &c. + +And makes a long Speech, shewing his Bulls and his Reliques, in order to +sell his Pardons for the raising some Money towards the rebuilding, + + Of the holy Chappell of sweet saynt Leonarde, + Which late by fyre was destroyed and marde. + +Both these speaking together, with continual interruption, at last they +fall together by the Ears. Here the Curate enters (for you must know the +Scene lies in the Church) + + Hold your hands; a vengeance on ye both two + That euer ye came hyther to make this ado, + To polute my Chyrche, &c. + + _Fri._ Mayster Parson, I marvayll ye will give Lycence + To this false knaue in this Audience + To publish his ragman rolles with lyes. + I desyred hym ywys more than ones or twyse + To hold his peas tyll that I had done, + But he would here no more than the man in the mone. + + _Pard._ Why sholde I suffre the, more than thou me? + Mayster parson gaue me lycence before the. + And I wolde thou knowest it I have relykes here, + Other maner stuffe than thou dost bere: + + I wyll edefy more with the syght of it, + Than will all thy pratynge of holy wryt; + For that except that the precher himselfe lyve well, + His predycacyon wyll helpe never a dell, &c. + + _Pars._ No more of this wranglyng in my Chyrch: + I shrewe your hertys bothe for this lurche. + Is there any blood shed here between these knaues? + Thanked be god they had no stauys, + Nor egotoles, for then it had ben wronge. + Well, ye shall synge another songe. + +Here he calls his Neighbour _Prat_ the Constable, with design to +apprehend 'em, and set 'em in the Stocks. But the Frier and Pardoner +prove sturdy, and will not be stockt, but fall upon the poor Parson and +Constable, and bang 'em both so well-favour'dly, that at last they are +glad to let 'em go at liberty: And so the Farce ends with a drawn +Battail. Such as this were the Plays of that Age, acted in Gentlemens +Halls at Christmas, or such like festival times, by the Servants of the +Family, or Strowlers who went about and made it a Trade. It is not +unlikely that[2] Lords in those days, and Persons of eminent Quality, +had their several Gangs of Players, as some have now of Fidlers, to whom +they give Cloaks and Badges. The first Comedy that I have seen that +looks like regular, is _Gammer Gurton's Needle_, writ I think in the +reign of King _Edward_ 6. This is composed of five Acts, the Scenes +unbroken, and the unities of Time and Place duly observed. It was acted +at _Christ_ Colledge in _Cambridge_; there not being as yet any settled +and publick Theaters. + +LOVEW. I observe, _Truman_, from what you have said, that Plays in +_England_ had a beginning much like those of _Greece_, the Monologues +and the Pageants drawn from place to place on Wheels, answer exactly to +the Cart of _Thespis_, and the Improvements have been by such little +steps and degrees as among the Ancients, till at last, to use the Words +of Sir _George Buck_ (in his _Third University of_ England) _Dramatick +Poesy is so lively exprest and represented upon the publick Stages and +Theatres of this City, as_ Rome _in the_ Auge _(the highest pitch) of +her Pomp and Glory, never saw it better perform'd, I mean_ (says he) _in +respect of the Action and Art, and not of the Cost and Sumptiousness_. +This he writ about the Year 1631. But can you inform me _Truman_, when +publick Theaters were first erected for this purpose in _London_? + +TRUM. Not certainly; but I presume about the beginning of Queen +_Elizabeths_ Reign. For _Stow_ in his Survey of _London_ (which Book was +first printed in the Year 1598) says, _Of late Years, in place of these +Stage-plays_ (i. e. those of Religious Matters) _have been used +Comedies, Tragedies, Interludes, and Histories, both true and feigned; +for the acting whereof certain publick Places, as the Theatre, the +Curtine, &c. have been erected_. And the continuator of _Stows_ Annals, +p. 1004, says, That in Sixty Years before the publication of that Book, +(which was _An. Dom. 1629_) no less than 17 publick Stages, or common +Playhouses, had been built in and about _London_. In which number he +reckons five Inns or Common Osteries, to have been in his time turned +into Play-houses, one Cockpit, St. _Paul_'s singing School, one in the +_Black-friers_, one in the _Whitefriers_, and one in former time at +_Newington_ Buts; and adds, before the space of 60 years past, I never +knew, heard, or read, of any such Theaters, set Stages, or Playhouses, +as have been purposely built within Man's Memory. + +LOVEW. After all, I have been told, that Stage-Plays are inconsistant +with the Laws of this Kingdom, and Players made Rogues by Statute. + +TRUM. He that told you so strain'd a point of Truth. I never met with +any Law wholly to suppress them: Sometimes indeed they have been +prohibited for a Season; as in times of _Lent_, general Mourning or +publick Calamities, or upon other occasions, when the Government saw +fit. Thus by Proclamation, 7 of _April_, in the first Year of Queen +_Elizabeth_, Plays and Interludes were forbid till _All hallow-tide_ +next following. _Hollinshed_, p. 1184. Some Statutes have been made for +their Regulation or Reformation, not general suppression. By the Stat. +39 _Eliz._ c. 4, (which was made _for the suppressing of Rogues, +Vagabonds and sturdy Beggars_) it is enacted, + + S. 2, That all persons that be, or utter themselves to be, + Proctors, Procurers, Patent gatherers, or Collectors for + Gaols, Prisons or Hospitals, or Fencers, Barewards, common + players of Interludes and Ministrels, wandering abroad, (other + than Players of Interludes belonging to any Baron of this + Realm, or any other honourable Personage of greater Degree, to + be authoriz'd to play under the Hand and Seal of Arms of such + Baron or Personage) All Juglers, Tinkers, Pedlers, and Petty + chapmen, wandering abroad, all wandring Persons, &c. able + in Body, using loytering, and refusing to work for such + reasonable Wages as is commonly given, &c. These shall be + ajudged and deemed Rogues, Vagabonds and sturdy Beggars, and + punished as such. + +LOVEW. But this priviledge of Authorizing or Licensing, is taken away by +the Stat. 1 _Ja._ 1. ch. 7, S. 1, and therefore all of them (as Mr. +_Collier_ says, p. 242) are expresly brought under the foresaid Penalty, +without distinction. + +TRUM. If he means all Players, without distinction, 'tis a great +Mistake. For the force of the Queens Statute extends only to _wandring +Players_, and not to such as are the King or Queen's Servants, and +establisht in settled Houses by Royal Authority. On such, the ill +Character of vagrant Players (or as they are now called, Strolers) can +cast no more aspersion, than the wandring Proctors, in the same Statute +mentioned, on those of _Doctors-Commons_. By a Stat. made _3 Ja._ I. ch. +21. It was enacted, + + That if any person shall in any Stage-play, Enterlude, Shew, + Maygame, or Pageant, jestingly or prophanely speak or use the + holy name of God, Christ Jesus, the holy Ghost, or of the + Trinity, he shall forfeit for every such offence, 10_l._ + +The Stat. 1 _Char._ I. ch. 1, enacts, + + That no Meetings, Assemblies, or concourse of People shall be + out of their own Parishes, on the Lords day, for any Sports or + Pastimes whatsoever, nor any Bear-bating, Bull-bating, + Enterludes, Common Plays, or other unlawful Exercises and + Pastimes used by any person or persons within their own + Parishes. + +These are all the Statutes that I can think of relating to the Stage and +Players; but nothing to suppress them totally, till the two Ordinances +of the Long Parliament, one of the 22 of _October 1647_, the other of +the 11 of _Feb. 1647_. By which all Stage-Plays and Interludes are +absolutely forbid; the Stages, Seats, Galleries, _&c._ to be pulled +down; all Players tho' calling themselves the King or Queens Servants, +if convicted of acting within two Months before such Conviction, to be +punished as Rogues according to Law; the Money received by them to go to +the Poor of the Parish; and every Spectator to Pay 5s. to the use of the +Poor. Also Cock-fighting was prohibited by one of _Oliver_'s Acts of _31 +Mar. 1654_. But I suppose no body pretends these things to be Laws; I +could say more on this Subject, but I must break off here, and leave +you, _Lovewit_; my Occasions require it. + +LOVE. Farewel, Old Cavalier. + +TRUM. 'Tis properly said; we are almost all of us, now, gone and +forgotten. + + + + +LETTERS PATENT FOR ERECTING A NEW THEATRE + + + 15 January, 14 Car. II. 1662. + + A Copy of the LETTERS PATENTS then granted by King Charles II. + under the Great Seal of England, to SIR WILLIAM D'AVENANT, + KNT. his Heirs and Assigns, for erecting a new Theatre, and + establishing of a company of actors in any place within London + or Westminster, or the Suburbs of the same: And that no other + but this company, and one other company, by virtue of a like + Patent, to THOMAS KILLIGREW, ESQ.; should be permitted within + the said liberties. + +CHARLES the second, by the Grace of God, king of England, Scotland, +France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all to whom all these +presents shall come, greeting. + +[Sidenote: Recites former patents, 14 Car. I. ann. 1639, to Sir Will. +D'avenant.] + +Whereas our royal father of glorious memory, by his letters patents +under his great seal of England bearing date at Westminster the 26th day +of March, in the 14th year of his reign, did give and grant unto Sir +William D'avenant (by the name of William D'avenant, gent.) his heirs, +executors, administrators, and assigns, full power, licence, and +authority, That he, they, and every of them, by him and themselves, and +by all and every such person and persons as he or they should depute or +appoint, and his and their laborers, servants, and workmen, should and +might, lawfully, quietly, and peaceably, frame, erect, new build, and +set up, upon a parcel of ground, lying near unto or behind the Three +Kings ordinary in Fleet-street, in the parishes of St. Dunstan's in the +West, London; or in St. Bride's, London; or in either of them, or in any +other ground in or about that place, or in the whole street aforesaid, +then allotted to him for that use; or in any other place that was, or +then after should be assigned or allotted out to the said Sir William +D'avenant by Thomas Earl of Arundel and Surry, then Earl Marshal of +England, or any other commissioner for building, for the time being in +that behalf, a theatre or play-house, with necessary tiring and retiring +rooms, and other places convenient, containing in the whole forty yards +square at the most, wherein plays, musical entertainments, scenes, or +other the like presentments might be presented. And our said royal +father did grant unto the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs, +executors, and administrators and assignes, that it should and might be +lawful to and for him the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs, +executors, administrators, and assignes, from time to time, to gather +together, entertain, govern, privilege, and keep, such and so many +players and persons to exercise actions, musical presentments, scenes, +dancing, and the like, as he the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs, +executors, administrators, or assignes, should think fit and approve for +the said house. And such persons to permit and continue, at and during +the pleasure of the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs, executors, +administrators, or assignes, from time to time, to act plays in such +house so to be by him or them erected, and exercise musick, musical +presentments, scenes, dancing, or other the like, at the same or other +houses or times, or after plays are ended, peaceably and quietly, +without the impeachment or impediment of any person or persons +whatsoever, for the honest recreation of such as should desire to see +the same; and that it should and might be lawful to and for the said Sir +William D'avenant, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, to +take and receive of such as should resort to see or hear any such plays, +scenes, and entertainments whatsoever, such sum or sums of money as was +or then after, from time to time, should be accustomed to be given or +taken in other play-houses and places for the like plays, scenes, +presentments, and entertainments as in and by the said letters patents, +relation being thereunto had, more at large may appear. + +[Sidenote: 13 Car. II. exemplification of said letters patents.] + +And whereas we did, by our letters patents under the great seal of +England, bearing date the 16th day of May, in the 13th year of our +reign, exemplifie the said recited letters patents granted by our royal +father, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, at large +may appear. + +[Sidenote: Surrender of both to the king in the court of Chancery.] + +And whereas the said Sir William D'avenant hath surrendered our letters +patents of exemplification, and also the said recited letters patents +granted by our royal father, into our Court of Chancery, to be +cancelled; which surrender we have accepted, and do accept by these +presents. + +[Sidenote: New grant to Sir William D'avenant, his heirs and assignes.] + +[Sidenote: To erect a theatre in London or Westminster, or the suburbs.] + +Know ye that we of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and meer +motion, and upon the humble petition of the said Sir William D'avenant, +and in consideration of the good and faithful service which he the said +Sir William D'avenant hath done unto us, and doth intend to do for the +future; and in consideration of the said surrender, have given and +granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do +give and grant, unto the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs, +executors, administrators, and assigns, full power, licence, and +authority, that he, they, and every one of them, by him and themselves, +and by all and every such person and persons as he or they should depute +or appoint, and his or their labourers, servants, and workmen, shall and +may lawfully, peaceably, and quietly, frame, erect, new build, and set +up, in any place within our cities of London and Westminster, or the +suburbs thereof, where he or they shall find best accommodation for +that purpose; to be assigned and allotted out by the surveyor of our +works; one theatre or play-house, with necessary tiring and retiring +rooms, and other places convenient, of such extent and dimention as the +said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs or assigns shall think fitting: +wherein tragedies, comedies, plays, operas, musick, scenes, and all +other entertainments of the stage whatsoever, may be shewed and +presented. + +[Sidenote: And to entertain players, &c. to act without the impeachment +of any person.] + +And we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, grant unto the said +Sir William D'avenant, his heirs and assigns, full power, licence, and +authority, from time to time, to gather together, entertain, govern, +priviledge and keep, such and so many players and persons to exercise +and act tragedies, comedies, plays, operas, and other performances of +the stage, within the house to be built as aforesaid, or within the +house in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, wherein the said Sir William D'avenant +doth now exercise the premises; or within any other house, where he or +they can best be fitted for that purpose, within our cities of London +and Westminster, or the suburbs thereof; which said company shall be the +servants of our dearly beloved brother, James Duke of York, and shall +consist of such number as the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs or +assigns, shall from time to time think meet. And such persons to permit +and continue at and during the pleasure of the said Sir William +D'avenant, his heirs or assigns, from time to time, to act plays and +entertainments of the stage, of all sorts, peaceably and quietly, +without the impeachment or impediment of any person or persons +whatsoever, for the honest recreation of such as shall desire to see the +same. + +And that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Sir William +D'avenant, his heirs and assigns, to take and receive of such our +subjects as shall resort to see or hear any such plays, scenes and +entertainments whatsoever, such sum or sums of money, as either have +accustomably been given and taken in the like kind, or as shall be +thought reasonable by him or them, in regard of the great expences of +scenes, musick, and such new decorations, as have not been formerly +used. + +And further, for us, our heirs, and successors, we do hereby give and +grant unto the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs and assigns, full +power to make such allowances out of that which he shall so receive, by +the acting of plays and entertainments of the stage, as aforesaid, to +the actors and other persons imployed in acting, representing, or in any +quality whatsoever, about the said theatre, as he or they shall think +fit; and that the said company shall be under the sole government and +authority of the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs and assigns. And +all scandalous and mutinous persons shall from time to time be by him +and them ejected and disabled from playing in the said theatre. + +[Sidenote: That no other company but this, and one other under Mr. +Killigrew, be permitted to act within London or Westminster or the +suburbs.] + +And for that we are informed that divers companies of players have taken +upon them to act plays publicly in our said cities of London and +Westminster, or the suburbs thereof, without any authority for that +purpose; we do hereby declare our dislike of the same, and will and +grant that only the said company erected and set up, or to be erected +and set up by the said Sir William D'avenant, his heirs and assigns, by +virtue of these presents, and one other company erected and set up, or +to be erected and set up by Thomas Killigrew, Esq., his heirs or +assigns, and none other, shall from henceforth act or represent +comedies, tragedies, plays, or entertainments of the stage, within our +said cities of London and Westminster, or the suburbs thereof; which +said company to be erected by the said Thomas Killigrew, his heirs or +assigns, shall be subject to his and their government and authority, and +shall be stiled the Company of Us and our Royal Consort. + +[Sidenote: No actor to go from one company to the other.] + +And the better to preserve amity and correspondency betwixt the said +companies, and that the one may not incroach upon the other by any +indirect means, we will and ordain, That no actor or other person +employed about either of the said theatres, erected by the said Sir +William D'avenant and Thomas Killigrew, or either of them, or deserting +his company, shall be received by the governor or any of the said other +company, or any other person or persons, to be employed in acting, or in +any matter relating to the stage, without the consent and approbation of +the governor of the company, whereof the said person so ejected or +deserting was a member, signified under his hand and seal. And we do by +these presents declare all other company and companies, saving the two +companies before mentioned, to be silenced and suppressed. + +[Sidenote: To correct plays, &c.] + +And forasmuch as many plays, formerly acted, do contain several +prophane, obscene, and scurrilous passages; and the womens parts therein +have been acted by men in the habits of women, at which some have taken +offence: for the preventing of these abuses for the future, we do hereby +straitly charge and command and enjoyn, that from henceforth no new play +shall be acted by either of the said companies, containing any passages +offensive to piety and good manners, nor any old or revived play, +containing any such offensive passages as aforesaid, until the same +shall be corrected and purged, by the said masters or governors of the +said respective companies, from all such offensive and scandalous +passages, as aforesaid. And we do likewise permit and give leave that +all the womens parts to be acted in either of the said two companies for +the time to come, may be performed by women, so long as these +recreations, which, by reason of the abuses aforesaid, were scandalous +and offensive, may by such reformation be esteemed, not only harmless +delights, but useful and instructive representations of humane life, to +such of our good subjects as shall resort to see the same. + +[Sidenote: These letters patents to be good and effectual in the law, +according to the true meaning of the same, although, &c.] + +And these our letters patents, or the inrolment thereof, shall be in all +things good and effectual in the law, according to the true intent and +meaning of the same, any thing in these presents contained, or any law, +statute, act, ordinance proclamation, provision, restriction, or any +other matter, cause, or thing whatsoever to the contrary, in any wise +notwithstanding; although express mention of the true yearly value, or +certainty of the premises, or of any of them, or of any other gifts or +grants by us, or by any of our progenitors or predecessors, heretofore +made to the said Sir William D'avenant in these presents, is not made, +or any other statute, act, ordinance, provision, proclamation, or +restriction heretofore had, made, enacted, ordained, or provided, or any +other matter, cause, or thing whatsoever to the contrary thereof, in any +wise notwithstanding. In witness whereof, we have caused these our +letters to be made patents. Witness our self at Westminster, the +fifteenth day of January, in the fourteenth year of our reign. + + By the King. + HOWARD. + + + + + AN APOLOGY + FOR THE LIFE OF + _Mr._ COLLEY CIBBER, _Comedian_, + AND + Late PATENTEE of the _Theatre-Royal_. + + _With an Historical View of the_ STAGE _during + his_ OWN TIME. + + WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. + + ------------------------------_Hoc est + Vivere bis, vitâ posse priore frui._ Mart. lib. 2. + + _When Years no more of active Life retain, + 'Tis Youth renew'd, to laugh 'em o'er again._ Anonym. + + + The SECOND EDITION. + + _LONDON:_ + + Printed by JOHN WATTS for the AUTHOR: + And Sold by W. LEWIS in _Russel-Street,_ near + _Convent--Garden._ + + MDCCXL. + + + + +TO A CERTAIN GENTLEMAN.[3] + + +_SIR,_ + +Because I know it would give you less Concern to find your Name in an +impertinent Satyr, than before the daintiest Dedication of a modern +Author, I conceal it. + +Let me talk never so idly to you, this way; you are, at least, under no +necessity of taking it to yourself: Nor when I boast of your favours, +need you blush to have bestow'd them. Or I may now give you all the +Attributes that raise a wise and good-natur'd Man to Esteem and +Happiness, and not be censured as a Flatterer by my own or your Enemies. +----I place my own first; because as they are the greater Number, I am +afraid of not paying the greater Respect to them. Yours, if such there +are, I imagine are too well-bred to declare themselves: But as there is +no Hazard or visible Terror in an Attack upon my defenceless Station, my +Censurers have generally been Persons of an intrepid Sincerity. Having +therefore shut the Door against them while I am thus privately +addressing you, I have little to apprehend from either of them. + +Under this Shelter, then, I may safely tell you, That the greatest +Encouragement I have had to publish this Work, has risen from the +several Hours of Patience you have lent me at the Reading it. It is +true, I took the Advantage of your Leisure in the Country, where +moderate Matters serve for Amusement; and there, indeed, how far your +Good-nature for an old Acquaintance, or your Reluctance to put the +Vanity of an Author out of countenance, may have carried you, I cannot +be sure; and yet Appearances give me stronger Hopes: For was not the +Complaisance of a whole Evening's Attention as much as an Author of more +Importance ought to have expected? Why then was I desired the next Day +to give you a second Lecture? Or why was I kept a third Day with you, to +tell you more of the same Story? If these Circumstances have made me +vain, shall I say, Sir, you are accountable for them? No, Sir, I will +rather so far flatter myself as to suppose it possible, That your having +been a Lover of the Stage (and one of those few good Judges who know the +Use and Value of it, under a right Regulation) might incline you to +think so copious an Account of it a less tedious Amusement, than it may +naturally be to others of different good Sense, who may have less +Concern or Taste for it. But be all this as it may; the Brat is now +born, and rather than see it starve upon the Bare Parish Provision, I +chuse thus clandestinely to drop it at your Door, that it may exercise +One of your Many Virtues, your Charity, in supporting it. + +If the World were to know into whose Hands I have thrown it, their +Regard to its Patron might incline them to treat it as one of his +Family: But in the Consciousness of what I _am_, I chuse not, Sir, to +say who you _are_. If your Equal in Rank were to do publick Justice to +your Character, then, indeed, the Concealment of your Name might be an +unnecessary Diffidence: But am I, Sir, of Consequence enough, in any +Guise, to do Honour to Mr. ----? Were I to set him in the most laudable +Lights that Truth and good Sense could give him, or his own Likeness +would require, my officious Mite would be lost in that general Esteem +and Regard which People of the first Consequence, even of different +Parties, have a Pleasure in paying him. Encomiums to Superiors from +Authors of lower Life, as they are naturally liable to Suspicion, can +add very little Lustre to what before was visible to the publick Eye: +Such Offerings (to use the Stile they are generally dressed in) like +_Pagan_ Incense, evaporate on the Altar, and rather gratify the Priest +than the Deity. + +But you, Sir, are to be approached in Terms within the Reach of common +Sense: The honest Oblation of a chearful Heart is as much as you desire +or I am able to bring you: A Heart that has just Sense enough to mix +Respect with Intimacy, and is never more delighted than when your rural +Hours of Leisure admit me, with all my laughing Spirits, to be my idle +self, and in the whole Day's Possession of you! Then, indeed, I have +Reason to be vain; I am, then, distinguish'd by a Pleasure too great to +be conceal'd, and could almost pity the Man of graver Merit that dares +not receive it with the same unguarded Transport! This Nakedness of +Temper the World may place in what Rank of Folly or Weakness they +please; but 'till Wisdom can give me something that will make me more +heartily happy, I am content to be gaz'd at as I am, without lessening +my Respect for those whose Passions may be more soberly covered. + +Yet, Sir, will I not deceive you; 'tis not the Lustre of your publick +Merit, the Affluence of your Fortune, your high Figure in Life, nor +those honourable Distinctions, which you had rather deserve than be told +of, that have so many Years made my plain Heart hang after you: These +are but incidental Ornaments, that, 'tis true, may be of Service to you +in the World's Opinion; and though, as one among the Crowd, I may +rejoice that Providence has so deservedly bestow'd them; yet my +particular Attachment has risen from a meer natural and more engaging +Charm, The Agreeable Companion! Nor is my Vanity half so much gratified +in the _Honour_, as my Sense is in the _Delight_ of your Society! When I +see you lay aside the Advantages of Superiority, and by your own +Chearfulness of Spirits call out all that Nature has given me to meet +them; then 'tis I taste you! then Life runs high! I desire! I possess +you! + +Yet, Sir, in this distinguish'd Happiness I give not up my farther Share +of that Pleasure, or of that Right I have to look upon you with the +publick Eye, and to join in the general Regard so unanimously pay'd to +that uncommon Virtue, your _Integrity_! This, Sir, the World allows so +conspicuous a Part of your Character, that, however invidious the Merit, +neither the rude License of Detraction, nor the Prejudice of Party, has +ever once thrown on it the least Impeachment or Reproach. This is that +commanding Power that, in publick Speaking, makes you heard with such +Attention! This it is that discourages and keeps silent the Insinuations +of Prejudice and Suspicion; and almost renders your Eloquence an +unnecessary Aid to your Assertions: Even your Opponents, conscious of +your _Integrity_, hear you rather as a Witness than an Orator--But +this, Sir, is drawing you too near the Light, _Integrity_ is too +particular a Virtue to be cover'd with a general Application. Let me +therefore only talk to you, as at _Tusculum_ (for so I will call that +sweet Retreat, which your own Hands have rais'd) where like the fam'd +Orator of old, when publick Cares permit, you pass so many rational, +unbending Hours: There! and at such Times, to have been admitted, still +plays in my Memory more like a fictitious than a real Enjoyment! How +many golden Evenings, in that Theatrical Paradise of water'd Lawns and +hanging Groves, have I walk'd and prated down the Sun in social +Happiness! Whether the Retreat of _Cicero_, in Cost, Magnificence, or +curious Luxury of Antiquities, might not out-blaze the _simplex +Munditiis_, the modest Ornaments of your _Villa_, is not within my +reading to determine: But that the united Power of Nature, Art, or +Elegance of Taste, could have thrown so many varied Objects into a more +delightful Harmony, is beyond my Conception. + +When I consider you in this View, and as the Gentleman of Eminence +surrounded with the general Benevolence of Mankind; I rejoice, Sir, for +you and for myself; to see _You_ in this particular Light of Merit, and +myself sometimes admitted to my more than equal Share of you. + +If this _Apology_ for my past Life discourages you not from holding me +in your usual Favour, let me quit this greater Stage, the World, +whenever I may, I shall think This the best-acted Part of any I have +undertaken, since you first condescended to laugh with, + + _SIR_, + + _Your most obedient_, + + _most obliged, and_ + + _most humble Servant_, + + COLLEY CIBBER. + + Novemb. 6. + 1739. + + + + +AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. COLLEY CIBBER, &c. [4] + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _The Introduction. The Author's Birth. Various Fortune at + School. Not lik'd by those he lov'd there. Why. A Digression + upon Raillery. The Use and Abuse of it. The Comforts of Folly. + Vanity of Greatness. Laughing, no bad Philosophy._ + +You know, Sir, I have often told you that one time or other I should +give the Publick some Memoirs of my own Life; at which you have never +fail'd to laugh, like a Friend, without saying a word to dissuade me +from it; concluding, I suppose, that such a wild Thought could not +possibly require a serious Answer. But you see I was in earnest. And now +you will say the World will find me, under my own Hand, a weaker Man +than perhaps I may have pass'd for, even among my Enemies.--With all my +Heart! my Enemies will then read me with Pleasure, and you, perhaps, +with Envy, when you find that Follies, without the Reproach of Guilt +upon them, are not inconsistent with Happiness.--But why make my Follies +publick? Why not? I have pass'd my Time very pleasantly with them, and I +don't recollect that they have ever been hurtful to any other Man +living. Even admitting they were injudiciously chosen, would it not be +Vanity in me to take Shame to myself for not being found a Wise Man? +Really, Sir, my Appetites were in too much haste to be happy, to throw +away my Time in pursuit of a Name I was sure I could never arrive at. + +Now the Follies I frankly confess I look upon as in some measure +discharged; while those I conceal are still keeping the Account open +between me and my Conscience. To me the Fatigue of being upon a +continual Guard to hide them is more than the Reputation of being +without them can repay. If this be Weakness, _defendit numerus_, I have +such comfortable Numbers on my side, that were all Men to blush that are +not Wise, I am afraid, in Ten, Nine Parts of the World ought to be out +of Countenance:[5] But since that sort of Modesty is what they don't care +to come into, why should I be afraid of being star'd at for not being +particular? Or if the Particularity lies in owning my Weakness, will my +wisest Reader be so inhuman as not to pardon it? But if there should be +such a one, let me at least beg him to shew me that strange Man who is +perfect! Is any one more unhappy, more ridiculous, than he who is always +labouring to be thought so, or that is impatient when he is not thought +so? Having brought myself to be easy under whatever the World may say of +my Undertaking, you may still ask me why I give myself all this trouble? +Is it for Fame, or Profit to myself,[6] or Use or Delight to others? For +all these Considerations I have neither Fondness nor Indifference: If I +obtain none of them, the Amusement, at worst, will be a Reward that must +constantly go along with the Labour. But behind all this there is +something inwardly inciting, which I cannot express in few Words; I must +therefore a little make bold with your Patience. + +A Man who has pass'd above Forty Years of his Life upon a Theatre, where +he has never appear'd to be Himself, may have naturally excited the +Curiosity of his Spectators to know what he really was when in no body's +Shape but his own; and whether he, who by his Profession had so long +been ridiculing his Benefactors, might not, when the Coat of his +Profession was off, deserve to be laugh'd at himself; or from his being +often seen in the most flagrant and immoral Characters, whether he might +not see as great a Rogue when he look'd into the Glass himself as when +he held it to others. + +It was doubtless from a Supposition that this sort of Curiosity wou'd +compensate their Labours that so many hasty Writers have been encourag'd +to publish the Lives of the late Mrs. _Oldfield_, Mr. _Wilks_, and Mr. +_Booth_, in less time after their Deaths than one could suppose it cost +to transcribe them.[7] + +Now, Sir, when my Time comes, lest they shou'd think it worth while to +handle my Memory with the same Freedom, I am willing to prevent its +being so odly besmear'd (or at best but flatly white-wash'd) by taking +upon me to give the Publick This, as true a Picture of myself as natural +Vanity will permit me to draw: For to promise you that I shall never be +vain, were a Promise that, like a Looking-glass too large, might break +itself in the making: Nor am I sure I ought wholly to avoid that +Imputation, because if Vanity be one of my natural Features, the +Portrait wou'd not be like me without it. In a Word, I may palliate and +soften as much as I please; but upon an honest Examination of my Heart, +I am afraid the same Vanity which makes even homely People employ +Painters to preserve a flattering Record of their Persons, has seduced +me to print off this _Chiaro Oscuro_ of my Mind. + +And when I have done it, you may reasonably ask me of what Importance +can the History of my private Life be to the Publick? To this, indeed, I +can only make you a ludicrous Answer, which is, That the Publick very +well knows my Life has not been a private one; that I have been employ'd +in their Service ever since many of their Grandfathers were young Men; +And tho' I have voluntarily laid down my Post, they have a sort of Right +to enquire into my Conduct (for which they have so well paid me) and to +call for the Account of it during my Share of Administration in the +State of the Theatre. This Work, therefore, which I hope they will not +expect a Man of hasty Head shou'd confine to any regular Method: (For I +shall make no scruple of leaving my History when I think a Digression +may make it lighter for my Reader's Digestion.) This Work, I say, shall +not only contain the various Impressions of my Mind, (as in _Louis the +Fourteenth_ his Cabinet you have seen the growing Medals of his Person +from Infancy to Old Age,) but shall likewise include with them the +_Theatrical History of my Own Time_, from my first Appearance on the +Stage to my last _Exit_.[8] + +If then what I shall advance on that Head may any ways contribute to the +Prosperity or Improvement of the Stage in Being, the Publick must of +consequence have a Share in its Utility. + +This, Sir, is the best Apology I can make for being my own Biographer. +Give me leave therefore to open the first Scene of my Life from the very +Day I came into it; and tho' (considering my Profession) I have no +reason to be asham'd of my Original; yet I am afraid a plain dry Account +of it will scarce admit of a better Excuse than what my brother _Bays_ +makes for Prince _Prettyman_ in the _Rehearsal_, viz. _I only do it for +fear I should be thought to be no body's Son at all_;[9] for if I have +led a worthless Life, the Weight of my Pedigree will not add an Ounce to +my intrinsic Value. But be the Inference what it will, the simple Truth +is this. + +I was born in _London_, on the _6th_ of _November 1671_,[10] in +_Southampton-Street_, facing _Southampton-House_.[11] + +My Father, _Caius Gabriel Cibber_,[12] was a Native of _Holstein_, who +came into _England_ some time before the Restoration of King _Charles_ +II. to follow his Profession, which was that of a Statuary, _&c._ The +_Basso Relievo_ on the Pedestal of the Great Column in the City, and the +two Figures of the _Lunaticks_, the _Raving_ and the _Melancholy_, over +the Gates of _Bethlehem-Hospital_,[13] are no ill Monuments of his Fame +as an artist. My Mother was the Daughter of _William Colley_, Esq; of a +very ancient Family of _Glaiston_ in _Rutlandshire_, where she was born. +My Mother's Brother, _Edward Colley_, Esq; (who gave me my Christian +Name) being the last Heir Male of it, the Family is now extinct. I shall +only add, that in _Wright's_ History of _Rutlandshire_, publish'd in +1684, the _Colley's_ are recorded as Sheriffs and Members of Parliament +from the Reign of _Henry_ VII. to the latter End of _Charles_ I., in +whose Cause chiefly Sir _Antony Colley_, my Mother's Grandfather, sunk +his Estate from Three Thousand to about Three Hundred _per Annum_.[14] + +In the Year 1682, at little more than Ten Years of Age, I was sent to +the Free-School of _Grantham_ in _Lincolnshire_, where I staid till I +got through it, from the lowest Form to the uppermost. And such Learning +as that School could give me is the most I pretend to (which, tho' I +have not utterly forgot, I cannot say I have much improv'd by Study) but +even there I remember I was the same inconsistent Creature I have been +ever since! always in full Spirits, in some small Capacity to do right, +but in a more frequent Alacrity to do wrong; and consequently often +under a worse Character than I wholly deserv'd: A giddy Negligence +always possess'd me, and so much, that I remember I was once whipp'd for +my _Theme_, tho' my Master told me, at the same time, what was good of +it was better than any Boy's in the Form. And (whatever Shame it may be +to own it) I have observ'd the same odd Fate has frequently attended the +course of my later Conduct in Life. The unskilful openness, or in plain +Terms, the Indiscretion I have always acted with from my Youth, has +drawn more ill-will towards me, than Men of worse Morals and more Wit +might have met with. My Ignorance and want of Jealousy of Mankind has +been so strong, that it is with Reluctance I even yet believe any Person +I am acquainted with can be capable of Envy, Malice, or Ingratitude:[15] +And to shew you what a Mortification it was to me, in my very boyish +Days, to find myself mistaken, give me leave to tell you a School Story. + +A great Boy, near the Head taller than myself, in some wrangle at Play +had insulted me; upon which I was fool-hardy enough to give him a Box on +the Ear; the Blow was soon return'd with another that brought me under +him and at his Mercy. Another Lad, whom I really lov'd and thought a +good-natur'd one, cry'd out with some warmth to my Antagonist (while I +was down) Beat him, beat him soundly! This so amaz'd me that I lost all +my Spirits to resist, and burst into Tears! When the Fray was over I +took my Friend aside, and ask'd him, How he came to be so earnestly +against me? To which, with some glouting[16] Confusion, he reply'd, +Because you are always jeering and making a Jest of me to every Boy in +the School. Many a Mischief have I brought upon myself by the same Folly +in riper Life. Whatever Reason I had to reproach my Companion's +declaring against me, I had none to wonder at it while I was so often +hurting him: Thus I deserv'd his Enmity by my not having Sense enough to +know I _had_ hurt him; and he hated me because he had not Sense enough +to know that I never _intended_ to hurt him. + +As this is the first remarkable Error of my Life I can recollect, I +cannot pass it by without throwing out some further Reflections upon it; +whether flat or spirited, new or common, false or true, right or wrong, +they will be still my own, and consequently like me; I will therefore +boldly go on; for I am only oblig'd to give you my _own,_ and not a +_good_ Picture, to shew as well the Weakness as the Strength of my +Understanding. It is not on what I write, but on my Reader's Curiosity I +relie to be read through: At worst, tho' the Impartial may be tir'd, the +Ill-natur'd (no small number) I know will see the bottom of me. + +What I observ'd then, upon my having undesignedly provok'd my +School-Friend into an Enemy, is a common Case in Society; Errors of this +kind often sour the Blood of Acquaintance into an inconceivable +Aversion, where it is little suspected. It is not enough to say of your +Raillery that you intended no offence; if the Person you offer it to has +either a wrong Head, or wants a Capacity to make that distinction, it +may have the same effect as the Intention of the grossest Injury: And in +reality, if you know his Parts are too slow to return it in kind, it is +a vain and idle Inhumanity, and sometimes draws the Aggressor into +difficulties not easily got out of: Or to give the Case more scope, +suppose your Friend may have a passive Indulgence for your Mirth, if you +find him silent at it; tho' you were as intrepid as _Cæsar_, there can +be no excuse for your not leaving it off. When you are conscious that +your Antagonist can give as well as take, then indeed the smarter the +Hit the more agreeable the Party: A Man of chearful Sense among Friends +will never be grave upon an Attack of this kind, but rather thank you +that you have given him a Right to be even with you: There are few Men +(tho' they may be Masters of both) that on such occasions had not rather +shew their Parts than their Courage, and the Preference is just; a +Bull-Dog may have one, and only a Man can have the other. Thus it +happens that in the coarse Merriment of common People, when the Jest +begins to swell into earnest; for want of this Election you may observe, +he that has least wit generally gives the first Blow. Now, as among the +Better sort, a readiness of Wit is not always a Sign of intrinsick +Merit; so the want of that readiness is no Reproach to a Man of plain +Sense and Civility, who therefore (methinks) should never have these +lengths of Liberty taken with him. Wit there becomes absurd, if not +insolent; ill-natur'd I am sure it is, which Imputation a generous +Spirit will always avoid, for the same Reason that a Man of real Honour +will never send a Challenge to a Cripple. The inward Wounds that are +given by the inconsiderate Insults of Wit to those that want it, are as +dangerous as those given by Oppression to Inferiors; as long in healing, +and perhaps never forgiven. There is besides (and little worse than +this) a mutual Grossness in Raillery that sometimes is more painful to +the Hearers that are not concern'd in it than to the Persons engaged. I +have seen a couple of these clumsy Combatants drub one another with as +little Manners or Mercy as if they had two Flails in their Hands; +Children at Play with Case-knives could not give you more Apprehension +of their doing one another a Mischief. And yet, when the Contest has +been over, the Boobys have look'd round them for Approbation, and upon +being told they were admirably well match'd, have sat down (bedawb'd as +they were) contented at making it a drawn Battle. After all that I have +said, there is no clearer way of giving Rules for Raillery than by +Example. + +There are two Persons now living, who tho' very different in their +manner, are, as far as my Judgment reaches, complete Masters of it; one +of a more polite and extensive Imagination, the other of a Knowledge +more closely useful to the Business of Life: The one gives you perpetual +Pleasure, and seems always to be taking it; the other seems to take none +till his Business is over, and then gives you as much as if Pleasure +were his only Business. The one enjoys his Fortune, the other thinks it +first necessary to make it; though that he will enjoy it then I cannot +be positive, because when a Man has once pick'd up more than he wants, +he is apt to think it a Weakness to suppose he has enough. But as I +don't remember ever to have seen these Gentlemen in the same Company, +you must give me leave to take them separately.[17] + +The first of them, then, has a Title, and----no matter what; I am not +to speak of the great, but the happy part of his Character, and in this +one single light; not of his being an illustrious, but a delightful +Companion. + +In Conversation he is seldom silent but when he is attentive, nor ever +speaks without exciting the Attention of others; and tho' no Man might +with less Displeasure to his Hearers engross the Talk of the Company, he +has a Patience in his Vivacity that chuses to divide it, and rather +gives more Freedom than he takes; his sharpest Replies having a mixture +of Politeness that few have the command of; his Expression is easy, +short, and clear; a stiff or studied Word never comes from him; it is in +a simplicity of Style that he gives the highest Surprize, and his Ideas +are always adapted to the Capacity and Taste of the Person he speaks to: +Perhaps you will understand me better if I give you a particular +Instance of it. A Person at the University, who from being a Man of Wit +easily became his Acquaintance there, from that Acquaintance found no +difficulty in being made one of his Chaplains: This Person afterwards +leading a Life that did no great Honour to his Cloth, obliged his Patron +to take some gentle notice of it; but as his Patron knew the Patient was +squeamish, he was induced to sweeten the Medicine to his Taste, and +therefore with a smile of good humour told him, that if to the many +Vices he had already, he would give himself the trouble to add one more, +he did not doubt but his Reputation might still be set up again. Sir +_Crape_, who could have no Aversion to so pleasant a Dose, desiring to +know what it might be, was answered, _Hypocrisy, Doctor, only a little +Hypocrisy_! This plain Reply can need no Comment; but _ex pede +Herculem_, he is every where proportionable. I think I have heard him +since say, the Doctor thought Hypocrisy so detestable a Sin that he dy'd +without committing it. In a word, this Gentleman gives Spirit to Society +the Moment he comes into it, and whenever he leaves it they who have +Business have then leisure to go about it. + +Having often had the Honour to be my self the But of his Raillery, I +must own I have received more Pleasure from his lively manner of raising +the Laugh against me, than I could have felt from the smoothest flattery +of a serious Civility. Tho' Wit flows from him with as much ease as +common Sense from another, he is so little elated with the Advantage he +may have over you, that whenever your good Fortune gives it against him, +he seems more pleas'd with it on your side than his own. The only +advantage he makes of his Superiority of Rank is, that by always waving +it himself, his inferior finds he is under the greater Obligation not to +forget it. + +When the Conduct of social Wit is under such Regulations, how delightful +must those _Convivia,_ those Meals of Conversation be, where such a +Member presides; who can with so much ease (as _Shakespear_ phrases it) +_set the Table in a roar_.[18] I am in no pain that these imperfect +Out-lines will be apply'd to the Person I mean, because every one who +has the Happiness to know him must know how much more in this particular +Attitude is wanting to be like him. + +The other Gentleman, whose bare Interjections of Laughter have humour in +them, is so far from having a Title that he has lost his real name, +which some Years ago he suffer'd his Friends to railly him out of; in +lieu of which they have equipp'd him with one they thought had a better +sound in good Company. He is the first Man of so sociable a Spirit that +I ever knew capable of quitting the Allurements of Wit and Pleasure for +a strong Application to Business; in his Youth (for there was a Time +when he was young) he set out in all the hey-day Expences of a modish +Man of Fortune; but finding himself over-weighted with Appetites, he +grew restiff, kick'd up in the middle of the Course, and turn'd his back +upon his Frolicks abroad, to think of improving his Estate at home: In +order to which he clapt Collars upon his Coach-Horses, and that their +Mettle might not run over other People, he ty'd a Plough to their Tails, +which tho' it might give them a more slovenly Air, would enable him to +keep them fatter in a foot pace, with a whistling Peasant beside them, +than in a full trot, with a hot-headed Coachman behind them. In these +unpolite Amusements he has laugh'd like a Rake and look'd about him like +a Farmer for many Years. As his Rank and Station often find him in the +best Company, his easy Humour, whenever he is called to it, can still +make himself the Fiddle of it. + +And tho' some say he looks upon the Follies of the World like too severe +a Philosopher, yet he rather chuses to laugh than to grieve at them; to +pass his time therefore more easily in it, he often endeavours to +conceal himself by assuming the Air and Taste of a Man in fashion; so +that his only Uneasiness seems to be, that he cannot quite prevail with +his Friends to think him a worse Manager than he really is; for they +carry their Raillery to such a height that it sometimes rises to a +Charge of downright Avarice against him. Upon which Head it is no easy +matter to be more merry upon him than he will be upon himself. Thus +while he sets that Infirmity in a pleasant Light, he so disarms your +Prejudice, that if he has it not, you can't find in your Heart to wish +he were without it. Whenever he is attack'd where he seems to lie so +open, if his Wit happens not to be ready for you, he receives you with +an assenting Laugh, till he has gain'd time enough to whet it sharp +enough for a Reply, which seldom turns out to his disadvantage. If you +are too strong for him (which may possibly happen from his being oblig'd +to defend the weak side of the Question) his last Resource is to join in +the Laugh till he has got himself off by an ironical Applause of your +Superiority. + +If I were capable of Envy, what I have observ'd of this Gentleman would +certainly incline me to it; for sure to get through the necessary Cares +of Life with a Train of Pleasures at our Heels in vain calling after us, +to give a constant Preference to the Business of the Day, and yet be +able to laugh while we are about it, to make even Society the +subservient Reward of it, is a State of Happiness which the gravest +Precepts of moral Wisdom will not easily teach us to exceed. When I +speak of Happiness, I go no higher than that which is contain'd in the +World we now tread upon; and when I speak of Laughter, I don't simply +mean that which every Oaf is capable of, but that which has its sensible +Motive and proper Season, which is not more limited than recommended by +that indulgent Philosophy, + + _Cum ratione insanire._[19] + +When I look into my present Self, and afterwards cast my Eye round all +my Hopes, I don't see any one Pursuit of them that should so reasonably +rouze me out of a Nod in my Great Chair, as a call to those agreeable +Parties I have sometimes the Happiness to mix with, where I always +assert the equal Liberty of leaving them, when my Spirits have done +their best with them. + +[Illustration: CAIUS CIBBER.] + +Now, Sir, as I have been making my way for above Forty Years through a +Crowd of Cares, (all which, by the Favour of Providence, I have honestly +got rid of) is it a time of Day for me to leave off these Fooleries, and +to set up a new Character? Can it be worth my while to waste my Spirits, +to bake my Blood, with serious Contemplations, and perhaps impair my +Health, in the fruitless Study of advancing myself into the better +Opinion of those very--very few Wise Men that are as old as I am? No, +the Part I have acted in real Life shall be all of a piece, + + ----_Servetur ad imum, + Qualis ab incepto processerit._ Hor.[20] + +I will not go out of my Character by straining to be wiser than I _can_ +be, or by being more affectedly pensive than I _need_ be; whatever I am, +Men of Sense will know me to be, put on what Disguise I will; I can no +more put off my Follies than my Skin; I have often try'd, but they stick +too close to me; nor am I sure my Friends are displeased with them; for, +besides that in this Light I afford them frequent matter of Mirth, they +may possibly be less uneasy at their _own_ Foibles when they have so old +a Precedent to keep them in Countenance: Nay, there are some frank +enough to confess they envy what they laugh at; and when I have seen +others, whose Rank and Fortune have laid a sort of Restraint upon their +Liberty of pleasing their Company by pleasing themselves, I have said +softly to myself,----Well, there is some Advantage in having neither +Rank nor Fortune! Not but there are among them a third Sort, who have +the particular Happiness of unbending into the very Wantonness of +Good-humour without depreciating their Dignity: He that is not Master of +that Freedom, let his Condition be never so exalted, must still want +something to come up to the Happiness of his Inferiors who enjoy it. If +_Socrates_ cou'd take pleasure in playing at _Even or Odd_ with his +Children, or _Agesilaus_ divert himself in riding the Hobby-horse with +them, am I oblig'd to be as eminent as either of them before I am as +frolicksome? If the Emperor _Adrian_, near his death, cou'd play with +his very Soul, his _Animula_, &c. and regret that it cou'd be no longer +companionable; if Greatness at the same time was not the Delight he was +so loth to part with, sure then these chearful Amusements I am +contending for must have no inconsiderable share in our Happiness; he +that does not chuse to live his own way, suffers others to chuse for +him. Give me the Joy I always took in the End of an old Song, + + _My Mind, my Mind is a Kingdom to me!_[21] + +If I can please myself with my own Follies, have not I a plentiful +Provision for Life? If the World thinks me a Trifler, I don't desire to +break in upon their Wisdom; let them call me any Fool but an Unchearful +one; I live as I write; while my Way amuses me, it's as well as I wish it; +when another writes better, I can like him too, tho' he shou'd not like +me. Not our great Imitator of _Horace_ himself can have more Pleasure in +writing his Verses than I have in reading them, tho' I sometimes find +myself there (as _Shakespear_ terms it) _dispraisingly_[22] spoken of:[23] +If he is a little free with me, I am generally in good Company, he is as +blunt with my Betters; so that even here I might laugh in my turn. My +Superiors, perhaps, may be mended by him; but, for my part, I own myself +incorrigible: I look upon my Follies as the best part of my Fortune, and +am more concern'd to be a good Husband of Them, than of That; nor do I +believe I shall ever be rhim'd out of them. And, if I don't mistake, I am +supported in my way of thinking by _Horace_ himself, who, in excuse of a +loose Writer, says, + + _Prætulerim scriptor delirus, inersque videri, + Dum mea delectent mala me, vel denique fallant, + Quam sapere, et ringi_----[24] + +which, to speak of myself as a loose Philosopher, I have thus ventur'd +to imitate: + + _Me, while my laughing Follies can deceive, + Blest in the dear Delirium let me live, + Rather than wisely know my Wants and grieve._ + +We had once a merry Monarch of our own, who thought chearfulness so +valuable a Blessing, that he would have quitted one of his Kingdoms +where he cou'd not enjoy it; where, among many other Conditions they had +ty'd him to, his sober Subjects wou'd not suffer him to laugh on a +_Sunday_; and tho' this might not be the avow'd Cause of his +Elopement,[25] I am not sure, had he had no other, that this alone +might not have serv'd his turn; at least, he has my hearty Approbation +either way; for had I been under the same Restriction, tho' my staying +were to have made me his Successor, I shou'd rather have chosen to +follow him. + +How far his Subjects might be in the right is not my Affair to +determine; perhaps they were wiser than the Frogs in the Fable, and +rather chose to have a Log than a Stork for their King; yet I hope it +will be no Offence to say that King _Log_ himself must have made but a +very simple Figure in History. + +The Man who chuses never to laugh, or whose becalm'd Passions know no +Motion, seems to me only in the quiet State of a green Tree; he +vegetates, 'tis true, but shall we say he lives? Now, Sir, for +Amusement--Reader, take heed! for I find a strong impulse to talk +impertinently; if therefore you are not as fond of seeing, as I am of +shewing myself in all my Lights, you may turn over two Leaves together, +and leave what follows to those who have more Curiosity, and less to do +with their Time, than you have.--As I was saying then, let us, for +Amusement, advance this, or any other Prince, to the most glorious +Throne, mark out his Empire in what Clime you please, fix him on the +highest Pinnacle of unbounded Power; and in that State let us enquire +into his degree of Happiness; make him at once the Terror and the Envy +of his Neighbours, send his Ambition out to War, and gratify it with +extended Fame and Victories; bring him in triumph home, with great +unhappy Captives behind him, through the Acclamations of his People, to +repossess his Realms in Peace. Well, when the Dust has been brusht from +his Purple, what will he do next? Why, this envy'd Monarch (who we will +allow to have a more exalted Mind than to be delighted with the trifling +Flatteries of a congratulating Circle) will chuse to retire, I presume, +to enjoy in private the Contemplation of his Glory; an Amusement, you +will say, that well becomes his Station! But there, in that pleasing +Rumination, when he has made up his new Account of Happiness, how much, +pray, will be added to the Balance more than as it stood before his last +Expedition? From what one Article will the Improvement of it appear? +Will it arise from the conscious Pride of having done his weaker Enemy +an Injury? Are his Eyes so dazzled with false Glory that he thinks it a +less Crime in him to break into the Palace of his Princely Neighbour, +because he gave him time to defend it, than for a Subject feloniously to +plunder the House of a private Man? Or is the Outrage of Hunger and +Necessity more enormous than the Ravage of Ambition? Let us even suppose +the wicked Usage of the World as to that Point may keep his Conscience +quiet; still, what is he to do with the infinite Spoil that his imperial +Rapine has brought home? Is he to sit down and vainly deck himself with +the Jewels which he has plunder'd from the Crown of another, whom +Self-defence had compell'd to oppose him? No, let us not debase his +Glory into so low a Weakness. What Appetite, then, are these shining +Treasures food for? Is their vast Value in seeing his vulgar Subjects +stare at them, wise Men smile at them, or his Children play with them? +Or can the new Extent of his Dominions add a Cubit to his Happiness? Was +not his Empire wide enough before to do good in? And can it add to his +Delight that now no Monarch has such room to do mischief in? But +farther; if even the great _Augustus_, to whose Reign such Praises are +given, cou'd not enjoy his Days of Peace free from the Terrors of +repeated Conspiracies, which lost him more Quiet to suppress than his +Ambition cost him to provoke them: What human Eminence is secure? In +what private Cabinet then must this wondrous Monarch lock up his +Happiness that common Eyes are never to behold it? Is it, like his +Person, a Prisoner to its own Superiority? Or does he at last poorly +place it in the Triumph of his injurious Devastations? One Moment's +Search into himself will plainly shew him that real and reasonable +Happiness can have no Existence without Innocence and Liberty. What a +Mockery is Greatness without them? How lonesome must be the Life of +that Monarch who, while he governs only by being fear'd, is restrain'd +from letting down his Grandeur sometimes to forget himself and to +humanize him into the Benevolence and Joy of Society? To throw off his +cumbersome Robe of Majesty, to be a Man without disguise, to have a +sensible Taste of Life in its Simplicity, till he confess from the sweet +Experience that _dulce est desipere in loco_[26] was no Fool's +Philosophy. Or if the gawdy Charms of Pre-eminence are so strong that +they leave him no Sense of a less pompous, tho' a more rational +Enjoyment, none sure can envy him but those who are the Dupes of an +equally fantastick Ambition. + +My Imagination is quite heated and fatigued in dressing up this Phantome +of Felicity; but I hope it has not made me so far misunderstood, as not +to have allow'd that in all the Dispensations of Providence the Exercise +of a great and virtuous Mind is the most elevated State of Happiness: +No, Sir, I am not for setting up Gaiety against Wisdom; nor for +preferring the Man of Pleasure to the Philosopher; but for shewing that +the Wisest or greatest Man is very near an unhappy Man, if the unbending +Amusements I am contending for are not sometimes admitted to relieve +him. + +How far I may have over-rated these Amusements let graver Casuists +decide; whether they affirm or reject what I have asserted hurts not my +Purpose; which is not to give Laws to others; but to shew by what Laws I +govern myself: If I am mis-guided, 'tis Nature's Fault, and I follow her +from this Persuasion; That as Nature has distinguish'd our Species from +the mute Creation by our Risibility, her Design must have been by that +Faculty as evidently to raise our Happiness, as by our _Os Sublime_[27] +(our erected Faces) to lift the Dignity of our Form above them. + +Notwithstanding all I have said, I am afraid there is an absolute Power +in what is simply call'd our Constitution that will never admit of other +Rules for Happiness than her own; from which (be we never so wise or +weak) without Divine Assistance we only can receive it; So that all this +my Parade and Grimace of Philosophy has been only making a mighty Merit +of following my own Inclination. A very natural Vanity! Though it is +some sort of Satisfaction to know it does not impose upon me. Vanity +again! However, think It what you will that has drawn me into this +copious Digression, 'tis now high time to drop it: I shall therefore in +my next Chapter return to my School, from whence I fear I have too long +been Truant. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _He that writes of himself not easily tir'd. Boys may give Men + Lessons. The Author's Preferment at School attended with + Misfortunes. The Danger of Merit among Equals. Of Satyrists + and Backbiters. What effect they have had upon the Author. + Stanzas publish'd by himself against himself._ + +It often makes me smile to think how contentedly I have set myself down +to write my own Life; nay, and with less Concern for what may be said of +it than I should feel were I to do the same for a deceased Acquaintance. +This you will easily account for when you consider that nothing gives a +Coxcomb more delight than when you suffer him to talk of himself; which +sweet Liberty I here enjoy for a whole Volume together! A Privilege +which neither cou'd be allow'd me, nor wou'd become me to take, in the +Company I am generally admitted to;[28] but here, when I have all the +Talk to myself, and have no body to interrupt or contradict me, sure, to +say whatever I have a mind other People shou'd know of me is a Pleasure +which none but Authors as vain as myself can conceive.----But to my +History. + +However little worth notice the Life of a School-boy may be supposed to +contain, yet, as the Passions of Men and Children have much the same +Motives and differ very little in their Effects, unless where the elder +Experience may be able to conceal them: As therefore what arises from +the Boy may possibly be a Lesson to the Man, I shall venture to relate a +Fact or two that happen'd while I was still at School. + +In _February, 1684-5_, died King _Charles_ II. who being the only King I +had ever seen, I remember (young as I was) his Death made a strong +Impression upon me, as it drew Tears from the Eyes of Multitudes, who +looked no further into him than I did: But it was, then, a sort of +School-Doctrine to regard our Monarch as a Deity; as in the former Reign +it was to insist he was accountable to this World as well as to that +above him. But what, perhaps, gave King _Charles_ II. this peculiar +Possession of so many Hearts, was his affable and easy manner in +conversing; which is a Quality that goes farther with the greater Part +of Mankind than many higher Virtues, which, in a Prince, might more +immediately regard the publick Prosperity. Even his indolent Amusement +of playing with his Dogs and feeding his Ducks in St. _James's Park_, +(which I have seen him do) made the common People adore him, and +consequently overlook in him what, in a Prince of a different Temper, +they might have been out of humour at. + +I cannot help remembring one more Particular in those Times, tho' it be +quite foreign to what will follow. I was carry'd by my Father to the +Chapel in _Whitehall_; where I saw the King and his royal Brother the +then Duke of _York_, with him in the Closet, and present during the +whole Divine Service. Such Dispensation, it seems, for his Interest, had +that unhappy Prince from his real Religion, to assist at another to +which his Heart was so utterly averse.----I now proceed to the Facts I +promis'd to speak of. + +King _Charles_ his Death was judg'd by our School-master a proper +Subject to lead the Form I was in into a higher kind of Exercise; he +therefore enjoin'd us severally to make his Funeral Oration: This sort +of Task, so entirely new to us all, the Boys receiv'd with Astonishment +as a Work above their Capacity; and tho' the Master persisted in his +Command, they one and all, except myself, resolved to decline it. But I, +Sir, who was ever giddily forward and thoughtless of Consequences, set +myself roundly to work, and got through it as well as I could. I +remember to this Hour that single Topick of his Affability (which made +me mention it before) was the chief Motive that warm'd me into the +Undertaking; and to shew how very childish a Notion I had of his +Character at that time, I raised his Humanity, and Love of those who +serv'd him, to such Height, that I imputed his Death to the Shock he +receiv'd from the Lord _Arlington's_ being at the point of Death about a +Week before him.[29] This Oration, such as it was, I produc'd the next +Morning: All the other Boys pleaded their Inability, which the Master +taking rather as a mark of their Modesty than their Idleness, only +seem'd to punish by setting me at the Head of the Form: A Preferment +dearly bought! Much happier had I been to have sunk my Performance in +the general Modesty of declining it. A most uncomfortable Life I led +among them for many a Day after! I was so jeer'd, laugh'd at, and hated +as a pragmatical Bastard (School-boys Language) who had betray'd the +whole Form, that scarce any of 'em wou'd keep me company; and tho' it +so far advanc'd me into the Master's Favour that he wou'd often take me +from the School to give me an Airing with him on Horseback, while they +were left to their Lessons; you may be sure such envy'd Happiness did +not encrease their Good-will to me: Notwithstanding which my Stupidity +cou'd take no warning from their Treatment. An Accident of the same +nature happen'd soon after, that might have frighten'd a Boy of a meek +Spirit from attempting any thing above the lowest Capacity. On the 23d +of _April_ following, being the Coronation-Day of the new King, the +School petition'd the Master for leave to play; to which he agreed, +provided any of the Boys would produce an _English_ Ode upon that +Occasion.----The very Word, _Ode_, I know makes you smile already; and +so it does me; not only because it still makes so many poor Devils turn +Wits upon it, but from a more agreeable Motive; from a Reflection of how +little I then thought that, half a Century afterwards, I shou'd be +call'd upon twice a year, by my Post,[30] to make the same kind of +Oblations to an _unexceptionable_ Prince, the serene Happiness of whose +Reign my halting Rhimes are still so unequal to----This, I own, is +Vanity without Disguise; but _Hæc olim meminisse juvat_:[31] The +remembrance of the miserable prospect we had then before us, and have +since escaped by a Revolution, is now a Pleasure which, without that +Remembrance, I could not so heartily have enjoy'd.[32] The Ode I was +speaking of fell to my Lot, which in about half an Hour I produc'd. I +cannot say it was much above the merry Style of _Sing! Sing the Day, and +sing the Song_, in the Farce: Yet bad as it was, it serv'd to get the +School a Play-day, and to make me not a little vain upon it; which last +Effect so disgusted my Play-fellows that they left me out of the Party I +had most a mind to be of in that Day's Recreation. But their Ingratitude +serv'd only to increase my Vanity; for I consider'd them as so many +beaten Tits that had just had the Mortification of seeing my Hack of a +_Pegasus_ come in before them. This low Passion is so rooted in our +Nature that sometimes riper Heads cannot govern it. I have met with much +the same silly sort of Coldness, even from my Contemporaries of the +Theatre, from having the superfluous Capacity of writing myself the +Characters I have acted. + +Here, perhaps, I may again seem to be vain; but if all these Facts are +true (as true they are) how can I help it? Why am I oblig'd to conceal +them? The Merit of the best of them is not so extraordinary as to have +warn'd me to be nice upon it; and the Praise due to them is so small a +Fish, it was scarce worth while to throw my Line into the Water for it. +If I confess my Vanity while a Boy, can it be Vanity, when a Man, to +remember it? And if I have a tolerable Feature, will not that as much +belong to my Picture as an Imperfection? In a word, from what I have +mentioned, I wou'd observe only this; That when we are conscious of the +least comparative Merit in ourselves, we shou'd take as much care to +conceal the Value we set upon it, as if it were a real Defect: To be +elated or vain upon it is shewing your Money before People in want; ten +to one but some who may think you to have too much may borrow, or pick +your Pocket before you get home. He who assumes Praise to himself, the +World will think overpays himself. Even the Suspicion of being vain +ought as much to be dreaded as the Guilt itself. _Cæsar_ was of the same +Opinion in regard to his Wife's Chastity. Praise, tho' it may be our +due, is not like a _Bank-Bill_, to be paid upon Demand; to be valuable +it must be voluntary. When we are dun'd for it, we have a Right and +Privilege to refuse it. If Compulsion insists upon it, it can only be +paid as Persecution in Points of Faith is, in a counterfeit Coin: And +who ever believ'd Occasional Conformity to be sincere? _Nero_, the most +vain Coxcomb of a Tyrant that ever breath'd, cou'd not raise an +unfeigned Applause of his Harp by military Execution; even where Praise +is deserv'd, Ill-nature and Self-conceit (Passions that poll a majority +of Mankind) will with less reluctance part with their Mony than their +Approbation. Men of the greatest Merit are forced to stay 'till they +die before the World will fairly make up their Account: Then indeed you +have a Chance for your full Due, because it is less grudg'd when you are +incapable of enjoying it: Then perhaps even Malice shall heap Praises +upon your Memory; tho' not for your sake, but that your surviving +Competitors may suffer by a Comparison.[33] 'Tis from the same Principle +that _Satyr_ shall have a thousand Readers where _Panegyric_ has one. +When I therefore find my Name at length in the Satyrical Works of our +most celebrated living Author, I never look upon those Lines as Malice +meant to me, (for he knows I never provok'd it) but Profit to himself: +One of his Points must be, to have many Readers: He considers that my +Face and Name are more known than those of many thousands of more +consequence in the Kingdom: That therefore, right or wrong, a Lick at +the _Laureat_[34] will always be a sure Bait, _ad captandum vulgus_, to +catch him little Readers: And that to gratify the Unlearned, by now and +then interspersing those merry Sacrifices of an old Acquaintance to +their Taste, is a piece of quite right Poetical Craft.[35] + +But as a little bad Poetry is the greatest Crime he lays to my charge, I +am willing to subscribe to his opinion of _it_.[36] That this sort of +Wit is one of the easiest ways too of pleasing the generality of +Readers, is evident from the comfortable subsistence which our weekly +Retailers of Politicks have been known to pick up, merely by making bold +with a Government that had unfortunately neglected to find their Genius +a better Employment. + +Hence too arises all that flat Poverty of Censure and Invective that so +often has a Run in our publick Papers upon the Success of a new Author; +when, God knows, there is seldom above one Writer among hundreds in +Being at the same time whose Satyr a Man of common Sense ought to be +mov'd at. When a Master in the Art is angry, then indeed we ought to be +alarm'd! How terrible a Weapon is Satyr in the Hand of a great Genius? +Yet even there, how liable is Prejudice to misuse it? How far, when +general, it may reform our Morals, or what Cruelties it may inflict by +being angrily particular,[37] is perhaps above my reach to determine. I +shall therefore only beg leave to interpose what I feel for others whom +it may personally have fallen upon. When I read those mortifying Lines +of our most eminent Author, in his Character of _Atticus_[38] +(_Atticus_, whose Genius in Verse and whose Morality in Prose has been +so justly admir'd) though I am charm'd with the Poetry, my Imagination +is hurt at the Severity of it; and tho' I allow the Satyrist to have had +personal Provocation, yet, methinks, for that very Reason he ought not +to have troubled the Publick with it: For, as it is observed in the 242d +_Tatler_, "In all Terms of Reproof, when the Sentence appears to arise +from Personal Hatred or Passion, it is not then made the Cause of +Mankind, but a Misunderstanding between two Persons." But if such kind +of Satyr has its incontestable Greatness; if its exemplary Brightness +may not mislead inferior Wits into a barbarous Imitation of its +Severity, then I have only admir'd the Verses, and expos'd myself by +bringing them under so scrupulous a Reflexion: But the Pain which the +Acrimony of those Verses gave me is, in some measure, allay'd in +finding that this inimitable Writer, as he advances in Years, has since +had Candour enough to celebrate the same Person for his visible Merit. +Happy Genius! whose Verse, like the Eye of Beauty, can heal the deepest +Wounds with the least Glance of Favour. + +Since I am got so far into this Subject, you must give me leave to go +thro' all I have a mind to say upon it; because I am not sure that in a +more proper Place my Memory may be so full of it. I cannot find, +therefore, from what Reason Satyr is allow'd more Licence than Comedy, +or why either of them (to be admir'd) ought not to be limited by Decency +and Justice. Let _Juvenal_ and _Aristophanes_ have taken what Liberties +they please, if the Learned have nothing more than their Antiquity to +justify their laying about them at that enormous rate, I shall wish they +had a better excuse for them! The Personal Ridicule and Scurrility +thrown upon _Socrates_, which _Plutarch_ too condemns; and the Boldness +of _Juvenal_, in writing real Names over guilty Characters, I cannot +think are to be pleaded in right of our modern Liberties of the same +kind. _Facit indignatio versum_[39] may be a very spirited Expression, +and seems to give a Reader hopes of a lively Entertainment: But I am +afraid Reproof is in unequal Hands when Anger is its Executioner; and +tho' an outrageous Invective may carry some Truth in it, yet it will +never have that natural, easy Credit with us which we give to the +laughing Ironies of a cool Head. The Satyr that can smile _circum +præcordia ludit_, and seldom fails to bring the Reader quite over to his +Side whenever Ridicule and folly are at variance. But when a Person +satyriz'd is us'd with the extreamest Rigour, he may sometimes meet with +Compassion instead of Contempt, and throw back the Odium that was +designed for him, upon the Author. When I would therefore disarm the +Satyrist of this Indignation, I mean little more than that I would take +from him all private or personal Prejudice, and wou'd still leave him as +much general Vice to scourge as he pleases, and that with as much Fire +and Spirit as Art and Nature demand to enliven his Work and keep his +Reader awake. + +Against all this it may be objected, That these are Laws which none but +phlegmatick Writers will observe, and only Men of Eminence should give. +I grant it, and therefore only submit them to Writers of better +Judgment. I pretend not to restrain others from chusing what I don't +like; they are welcome (if they please too) to think I offer these Rules +more from an Incapacity to break them than from a moral Humanity. Let it +be so! still, That will not weaken the strength of what I have asserted, +if my Assertion be true. And though I allow that Provocation is not apt +to weigh out its Resentments by Drachms and Scruples, I shall still +think that no publick Revenge can be honourable where it is not limited +by justice; and if Honour is insatiable in its Revenge it loses what it +contends for and sinks itself, if not into Cruelty, at least into +Vain-glory. + +This so singular Concern which I have shewn for others may naturally +lead you to ask me what I feel for myself when I am unfavourably treated +by the elaborate Authors of our daily Papers.[40] Shall I be sincere? +and own my frailty? Its usual Effect is to make me vain! For I consider +if I were quite good for nothing these Pidlers in Wit would not be +concern'd to take me to pieces, or (not to be quite so vain) when they +moderately charge me with only Ignorance or Dulness, I see nothing in +That which an honest Man need be asham'd of:[41] There is many a good +Soul who from those sweet Slumbers of the Brain are never awaken'd by +the least harmful Thought; and I am sometimes tempted to think those +Retailers of Wit may be of the same Class; that what they write proceeds +not from Malice, but Industry; and that I ought no more to reproach them +than I would a Lawyer that pleads against me for his Fee; that their +Detraction, like Dung thrown upon a Meadow, tho' it may seem at first to +deform the Prospect, in a little time it will disappear of itself and +leave an involuntary Crop of Praise behind it. + +When they confine themselves to a sober Criticism upon what I write; if +their Censure is just, what answer can I make to it? If it is unjust, +why should I suppose that a sensible Reader will not see it, as well as +myself? Or, admit I were able to expose them by a laughing Reply, will +not that Reply beget a Rejoinder? And though they might be Gainers by +having the worst on't in a Paper War, that is no Temptation for me to +come into it. Or (to make both sides less considerable) would not my +bearing Ill-language from a Chimney-sweeper do me less harm than it +would be to box with him, tho' I were sure to beat him? Nor indeed is +the little Reputation I have as an Author worth the trouble of a +Defence. Then, as no Criticism can possibly make me worse than I really +am; so nothing I can say of myself can possibly make me better: When +therefore a determin'd Critick comes arm'd with Wit and Outrage to take +from me that small Pittance I have, I wou'd no more dispute with him +than I wou'd resist a Gentleman of the Road to save a little +Pocket-Money.[42] Men that are in want themselves seldom make a +Conscience of taking it from others. Whoever thinks I have too much is +welcome to what share of it he pleases: Nay, to make him more merciful +(as I partly guess the worst he can say of what I now write) I will +prevent even the Imputation of his doing me Injustice, and honestly say +it myself, viz. That of all the Assurances I was ever guilty of, this of +writing my own Life is the most hardy. I beg his Pardon!----Impudent is +what I should have said! That through every Page there runs a Vein of +Vanity and Impertinence which no _French Ensigns memoires_ ever came up +to; but, as this is a common Error, I presume the Terms of _Doating +Trifler_, _Old Fool_, or _Conceited Coxcomb_ will carry Contempt enough +for an impartial Censor to bestow on me; that my style is unequal, pert, +and frothy, patch'd and party-colour'd like the Coat of an _Harlequin_; +low and pompous, cramm'd with Epithets, strew'd with Scraps of +second-hand _Latin_ from common Quotations; frequently aiming at Wit, +without ever hitting the Mark; a mere Ragoust toss'd up from the offals +of other authors: My Subject below all Pens but my own, which, whenever +I keep to, is flatly daub'd by one eternal Egotism: That I want nothing +but Wit to be as accomplish'd a Coxcomb here as ever I attempted to +expose on the Theatre: Nay, that this very Confession is no more a Sign +of my Modesty than it is a Proof of my Judgment, that, in short, you may +roundly tell me, that----_Cinna_ (or _Cibber_) _vult videri Pauper, et +est Pauper_. + + _When humble_ Cinna _cries_, I'm poor and low, + _You may believe him----he is really so_. + +Well, Sir Critick! and what of all this? Now I have laid myself at your +Feet, what will you do with me? Expose me? Why, dear Sir, does not every +Man that writes expose himself? Can you make me more ridiculous than +Nature has made me? You cou'd not sure suppose that I would lose the +Pleasure of Writing because you might possibly judge me a Blockhead, or +perhaps might pleasantly tell other People they ought to think me so +too. Will not they judge as well from what _I_ say as what _You_ say? If +then you attack me merely to divert yourself, your Excuse for writing +will be no better than mine. But perhaps you may want Bread: If that be +the Case, even go to Dinner, i' God's name![43] + +If our best Authors, when teiz'd by these Triflers, have not been +Masters of this Indifference, I should not wonder if it were disbeliev'd +in me; but when it is consider'd that I have allow'd my never having +been disturb'd into a Reply has proceeded as much from Vanity as from +Philosophy,[44] the Matter then may not seem so incredible: And tho' I +confess the complete Revenge of making them Immortal Dunces in Immortal +Verse might be glorious; yet, if you will call it Insensibility in me +never to have winc'd at them, even that Insensibility has its happiness, +and what could Glory give me more?[45] For my part, I have always had +the comfort to think, whenever they design'd me a Disfavour, it +generally flew back into their own Faces, as it happens to Children when +they squirt at their Play-fellows against the Wind. If a Scribbler +cannot be easy because he fancies I have too good an Opinion of my own +Productions, let him write on and mortify; I owe him not the Charity to +be out of temper myself merely to keep him quiet or give him Joy: Nor, +in reality, can I see why any thing misrepresented, tho' believ'd of me +by Persons to whom I am unknown, ought to give me any more Concern than +what may be thought of me in _Lapland:_ 'Tis with those with whom I am +to _live_ only, where my Character can affect me; and I will venture to +say, he must find out a new way of Writing that will make me pass my +Time _there_ less agreeably. + +You see, Sir, how hard it is for a Man that is talking of himself to +know when to give over; but if you are tired, lay me aside till you have +a fresh Appetite; if not, I'll tell you a Story. + +In the Year 1730 there were many Authors whose Merit wanted nothing but +Interest to recommend them to the vacant _Laurel_, and who took it ill +to see it at last conferred upon a Comedian; insomuch, that they were +resolved at least to shew specimens of their superior Pretensions, and +accordingly enliven'd the publick Papers with ingenious Epigrams and +satyrical Flirts at the unworthy Successor;[46] These Papers my Friends +with a wicked Smile would often put into my Hands and desire me to read +them fairly in Company: This was a Challenge which I never declin'd, +and, to do my doughty Antagonists Justice, I always read them with +as much impartial Spirit as if I had writ them myself. While I was +thus beset on all sides, there happen'd to step forth a poetical +Knight-Errant to my Assistance, who was hardy enough to publish some +compassionate Stanzas in my Favour. These, you may be sure, the Raillery +of my Friends could do no less than say I had written to myself. To deny +it I knew would but have confirmed their pretended Suspicion: I +therefore told them, since it gave them such Joy to believe them my own, +I would do my best to make the whole Town think so too. As the Oddness +of this Reply was I knew what would not be easily comprehended, I +desired them to have a Days patience, and I would print an Explanation +to it: To conclude, in two Days after I sent this Letter, with some +doggerel Rhimes at the Bottom, + + _To the Author of the_ Whitehall Evening-Post. + + SIR, + + _The Verses to the Laureat in yours of_ Saturday _last have + occasion'd the following Reply, which I hope you'll give a + Place in your next, to shew that we can be quick as well as + smart upon a proper Occasion: And, as I think it the lowest + Mark of a Scoundrel to make bold with any Man's Character in + Print without subscribing the true Name of the Author; I + therefore desire, if the Laureat is concern'd enough to ask + the Question, that you will tell him my Name and where I live; + till then, I beg leave to be known by no other than that of,_ + + Your Servant, + FRANCIS FAIRPLAY. + + Monday, Jan. 11, 1730. + +These were the Verses.[47] + + I. + + _Ah, hah! Sir_ Coll, _is that thy Way, + Thy own dull Praise to write? + And wou'd'st thou stand so sure a Lay? + No, that's too stale a Bite._ + + II. + + _Nature and Art in thee combine, + Thy Talents here excel: + All shining Brass thou dost outshine, + To play the Cheat so well._ + + III. + + _Who sees thee in_ Iago's _Part, + But thinks thee such a Rogue? + And is not glad, with all his Heart, + To hang so sad a Dog?_ + + IV. + + _When_ Bays _thou play'st, Thyself thou art; + For that by Nature fit, + No Blockhead better suits the Part, + Than such a Coxcomb Wit._ + + V. + + _In_ Wronghead _too, thy Brains we see, + Who might do well at Plough; + As fit for Parliament was he, + As for the Laurel, Thou._ + + VI. + + _Bring thy protected Verse from Court, + And try it on the Stage; + There it will make much better Sport, + And set the Town in Rage._ + + VII. + + _There Beaux and Wits and Cits and Smarts, + Where Hissing's not uncivil, + Will shew their Parts to thy Deserts, + And send it to the Devil._ + + VIII. + + _But, ah! in vain 'gainst Thee we write, + In vain thy Verse we maul! + Our sharpest Satyr's thy Delight, + [48]For_----Blood! thou'lt stand it all. + + IX. + + _Thunder, 'tis said, the Laurel spares; + Nought but thy Brows could blast it: + And yet----O curst, provoking Stars! + Thy Comfort is, thou_ hast _it._ + +This, Sir, I offer as a Proof that I was seven Years ago[49] the same +cold Candidate for Fame which I would still be thought; you will not +easily suppose I could have much Concern about it, while, to gratify the +merry Pique of my Friends, I was capable of seeming to head the Poetical +Cry then against me, and at the same Time of never letting the Publick +know 'till this Hour that these Verses were written by myself: Nor do I +give them you as an Entertainment, but merely to shew you this +particular Cast of my Temper. + +When I have said this, I would not have it thought Affectation in me +when I grant that no Man worthy the Name of an Author is a more faulty +Writer than myself; that I am not Master of my own Language[50] I too +often feel when I am at a loss for Expression: I know too that I have +too bold a Disregard for that Correctness which others set so just a +Value upon: This I ought to be ashamed of, when I find that Persons, +perhaps of colder Imaginations, are allowed to write better than myself. +Whenever I speak of any thing that highly delights me, I find it very +difficult to keep my Words within the Bounds of Common Sense: Even when +I write too, the same Failing will sometimes get the better of me; of +which I cannot give you a stronger Instance than in that wild Expression +I made use of in the first Edition of my Preface to the _Provok'd +Husband_; where, speaking of Mrs. _Oldfield's_ excellent Performance in +the Part of Lady _Townly_, my Words ran thus, _viz. It is not enough to +say, that here she outdid_ her usual _Outdoing_.[51]--A most vile +Jingle, I grant it! You may well ask me, How could I possibly commit +such a Wantonness to Paper? And I owe myself the Shame of confessing I +have no Excuse for it but that, like a Lover in the Fulness of his +Content, by endeavouring to be floridly grateful I talk'd Nonsense. Not +but it makes me smile to remember how many flat Writers have made +themselves brisk upon this single Expression; wherever the Verb, +_Outdo_, could come in, the pleasant Accusative, _Outdoing_, was sure to +follow it. The provident Wags knew that _Decies repetita placeret_:[52] +so delicious a Morsel could not be serv'd up too often! After it had +held them nine times told for a Jest, the Publick has been pester'd with +a tenth Skull thick enough to repeat it. Nay, the very learned in the +Law have at last facetiously laid hold of it! Ten Years after it first +came from me it served to enliven the eloquence of an eloquent Pleader +before a House of Parliament! What Author would not envy me so +frolicksome a Fault that had such publick Honours paid to it? + +After this Consciousness of my real Defects, you will easily judge, Sir, +how little I presume that my Poetical Labours may outlive those of my +mortal _Cotemporaries_.[53] + +At the same time that I am so humble in my Pretensions to Fame, I would +not be thought to undervalue it; Nature will not suffer us to despise +it, but she may sometimes make us too fond of it. I have known more than +one good Writer very near ridiculous from being in too much Heat about +it. Whoever intrinsically deserves it will always have a proportionable +Right to it. It can neither be resign'd nor taken from you by Violence. +Truth, which is unalterable, must (however his Fame may be contested) +give every Man his Due: What a Poem weighs it will be worth; nor is it +in the Power of Human Eloquence, with Favour or Prejudice, to increase +or diminish its Value. Prejudice, 'tis true, may a while discolour it; +but it will always have its Appeal to the Equity of good Sense, which +will never fail in the End to reverse all false Judgment against it. +Therefore when I see an eminent Author hurt, and impatient at an +impotent Attack upon his Labours, he disturbs my Inclination to admire +him; I grow doubtful of the favourable Judgment I have made of him, and +am quite uneasy to see him so tender in a Point he cannot but know he +ought not himself to be judge of; his Concern indeed at another's +Prejudice or Disapprobation may be natural; but to own it seems to me a +natural Weakness. When a Work is apparently great it will go without +Crutches; all your Art and Anxiety to heighten the Fame of it then +becomes low and little.[54] He that will bear no Censure must be often +robb'd of his due Praise. Fools have as good a Right to be Readers as +Men of Sense have, and why not to give their Judgments too? Methinks it +would be a sort of Tyranny in Wit for an Author to be publickly putting +every Argument to death that appear'd against him; so absolute a Demand +for Approbation puts us upon our Right to dispute it; Praise is as much +the Reader's Property as Wit is the Author's; Applause is not a Tax paid +to him as a Prince, but rather a Benevolence given to him as a Beggar; +and we have naturally more Charity for the dumb Beggar than the sturdy +one. The Merit of a Writer and a fine Woman's Face are never mended by +their talking of them: How amiable is she that seems not to know she is +handsome! + +To conclude; all I have said upon this Subject is much better contained +in six Lines of a Reverend Author, which will be an Answer to all +critical Censure for ever. + + _Time is the Judge; Time has nor Friend nor Foe; + False Fame must wither, and the True will grow. + Arm'd with this Truth all Criticks I defy; + For, if I fall, by my own Pen I die; + While Snarlers strive with proud but fruitless Pain, + To wound Immortals, or to slay the Slain._[55] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _The Author's several Chances for the Church, the Court, and + the Army. Going to the University. Met the Revolution at + Nottingham. Took Arms on that Side. What he saw of it. A few + Political Thoughts. Fortune willing to do for him. His Neglect + of her. The Stage preferr'd to all her Favours. The Profession + of an Actor consider'd. The Misfortunes and Advantages of it._ + +I am now come to that Crisis of my Life when Fortune seem'd to be at a +Loss what she should do with me. Had she favour'd my Father's first +Designation of me, he might then, perhaps, have had as sanguine Hopes of +my being a Bishop as I afterwards conceived of my being a General when I +first took Arms at the Revolution. Nay, after that I had a third Chance +too, equally as good, of becoming an Under-propper of the State. How at +last I came to be none of all these the Sequel will inform you. + +About the Year 1687 I was taken from School to stand at the Election of +Children into _Winchester_ College; my being by my Mother's Side a +Descendant[56] of _William_ of _Wickam_, the Founder, my Father (who +knew little how the World was to be dealt with) imagined my having that +Advantage would be Security enough for my Success, and so sent me simply +down thither, without the least favourable Recommendation or Interest, +but that of my naked Merit and a pompous Pedigree in my Pocket. Had he +tack'd a Direction to my Back, and sent me by the Carrier to the Mayor +of the Town, to be chosen Member of Parliament there, I might have had +just as much Chance to have succeeded in the one as the other. But I +must not omit in this Place to let you know that the Experience which my +Father then bought, at my Cost, taught him some Years after to take a +more judicious Care of my younger Brother, _Lewis Cibber_, whom, with +the Present of a Statue of the Founder, of his own making, he +recommended to the same College. This Statue now stands (I think) over +the School Door there,[57] and was so well executed that it seem'd to +speak----for its Kinsman. It was no sooner set up than the Door of +Preferment was open to him. + +Here one would think my Brother had the Advantage of me in the Favour of +Fortune, by this his first laudable Step into the World. I own I was so +proud of his Success that I even valued myself upon it; and yet it is +but a melancholy Reflection to observe how unequally his Profession and +mine were provided for; when I, who had been the Outcast of Fortune, +could find means, from my Income of the Theatre, before I was my +own Master there, to supply in his highest Preferment his common +Necessities. I cannot part with his Memory without telling you I had as +sincere a Concern for this Brother's Well-being as my own. He had lively +Parts and more than ordinary Learning, with a good deal of natural Wit +and Humour; but from too great a disregard to his Health he died a +Fellow of _New College_ in _Oxford_ soon after he had been ordained by +Dr. _Compton_, then Bishop of _London_. I now return to the State of my +own Affair at _Winchester_. + +After the Election, the Moment I was inform'd that I was one of the +unsuccessful Candidates, I blest myself to think what a happy Reprieve I +had got from the confin'd Life of a School-boy! and the same Day took +Post back to _London_, that I might arrive time enough to see a Play +(then my darling Delight) before my Mother might demand an Account of my +travelling Charges. When I look back to that Time, it almost makes me +tremble to think what Miseries, in fifty Years farther in Life, such an +unthinking Head was liable to! To ask why Providence afterwards took +more Care of me than I did of myself, might be making too bold an +Enquiry into its secret Will and Pleasure: All I can say to that Point +is, that I am thankful and amazed at it![58] + +'Twas about this time I first imbib'd an Inclination, which I durst +not reveal, for the Stage; for besides that I knew it would disoblige +my Father, I had no Conception of any means practicable to make my +way to it. I therefore suppress'd the bewitching Ideas of so sublime +a Station, and compounded with my Ambition by laying a lower Scheme, +of only getting the nearest way into the immediate Life of a +Gentleman-Collegiate. My Father being at this time employ'd at +_Chattsworth_ in _Derbyshire_ by the (then) Earl of _Devonshire_, who +was raising that Seat from a _Gothick_ to a _Grecian_ Magnificence, I +made use of the Leisure I then had in _London_ to open to him by Letter +my Disinclination to wait another Year for an uncertain Preferment at +_Winchester_, and to entreat him that he would send me, _per saltum_, by +a shorter Cut, to the University. My Father, who was naturally indulgent +to me, seem'd to comply with my Request, and wrote word that as soon as +his Affairs would permit, he would carry me with him and settle me in +some College, but rather at _Cambridge_, where (during his late +Residence at that Place, in making some Statues that now stand upon +_Trinity_ College New Library) he had contracted some Acquaintance with +the Heads of Houses, who might assist his Intentions for me.[59] This I +lik'd better than to go discountenanc'd to _Oxford_, to which it would +have been a sort of Reproach to me not to have come elected. After some +Months were elaps'd, my Father, not being willing to let me lie too long +idling in _London_, sent for me down to _Chattsworth_, to be under his +Eye, till he cou'd be at leisure to carry me to _Cambridge_. Before I +could set out on my Journey thither, the Nation fell in labour of the +Revolution, the News being then just brought to _London_ That the Prince +of _Orange_ at the Head of an Army was landed in the _West_.[60] When I +came to _Nottingham_, I found my Father in Arms there, among those +Forces which the Earl of _Devonshire_ had rais'd for the Redress of our +violated Laws and Liberties. My Father judg'd this a proper Season for a +young Strippling to turn himself loose into the Bustle of the World; and +being himself too advanc'd in Years to endure the Winter Fatigue which +might possibly follow, entreated that noble Lord that he would be +pleas'd to accept of his Son in his room, and that he would give him (my +Father) leave to return and finish his Works at _Chattsworth_. This was +so well receiv'd by his Lordship that he not only admitted of my +Service, but promis'd my Father in return that when Affairs were +settled he would provide for me. Upon this my Father return'd to +_Derbyshire_, while I, not a little transported, jump'd into his Saddle. +Thus in one Day all my Thoughts of the University were smother'd in +Ambition! A slight Commission for a Horse-Officer was the least View I +had before me. At this Crisis you cannot but observe that the Fate of +King _James_ and of the Prince of _Orange_, and that of so minute a +Being as my self, were all at once upon the Anvil: In what shape they +wou'd severally come out, tho' a good _Guess_ might be made, was not +then _demonstrable_ to the deepest Foresight; but as my Fortune seem'd +to be of small Importance to the Publick, Providence thought fit to +postpone it 'till that of those great Rulers of Nations was justly +perfected. Yet, had my Father's Business permitted him to have carried +me one Month sooner (as he intended) to the University, who knows but by +this time that purer Fountain might have wash'd my Imperfections into a +Capacity of writing (instead of Plays and Annual Odes) Sermons and +Pastoral Letters. But whatever Care of the Church might so have fallen +to my share, as I dare say it may be now in better Hands, I ought not to +repine at my being otherwise disposed of.[61] + +You must now consider me as one among those desperate Thousands, who, +after a Patience sorely try'd, took Arms under the Banner of Necessity, +the natural Parent of all Human Laws and Government. I question if in +all the Histories of Empire there is one Instance of so bloodless a +Revolution as that in _England_ in 1688, wherein Whigs, Tories, Princes, +Prelates, Nobles, Clergy, common People, and a Standing Army, were +unanimous. To have seen all _England_ of one Mind is to have liv'd at a +very particular Juncture. Happy Nation! who are never divided among +themselves but when they have least to complain of! Our greatest +Grievance since that Time seems to have been that we cannot all govern; +and 'till the Number of good Places are equal to those who think +themselves qualified for them there must ever be a Cause of Contention +among us. While Great Men want great Posts, the Nation will never want +real or seeming Patriots; and while great Posts are fill'd with Persons +whose Capacities are but Human, such Persons will never be allow'd to be +without Errors; not even the Revolution, with all its Advantages, it +seems, has been able to furnish us with unexceptionable Statesmen! for +from that time I don't remember any one Set of Ministers that have not +been heartily rail'd at; a Period long enough one would think (if all of +them have been as bad as they have been call'd) to make a People despair +of ever seeing a good one: But as it is possible that Envy, Prejudice, +or Party may sometimes have a share in what is generally thrown upon +'em, it is not easy for a private Man to know who is absolutely in the +right from what is said against them, or from what their Friends or +Dependants may say in their Favour: Tho' I can hardly forbear thinking +that they who have been _longest_ rail'd at, must from that Circumstance +shew in some sort a Proof of Capacity.----But to my History. + +It were almost incredible to tell you, at the latter end of King +_James's_ Time (though the Rod of Arbitrary Power was always shaking +over us) with what Freedom and Contempt the common People in the open +Streets talk'd of his wild Measures to make a whole Protestant Nation +Papists; and yet, in the height of our secure and wanton Defiance of +him, we of the Vulgar had no farther Notion of any Remedy for this Evil +than a satisfy'd Presumption that our Numbers were too great to be +master'd by his mere Will and Pleasure; that though he might be too hard +for our Laws, he would never be able to get the better of our Nature; +and that to drive all _England_ into Popery and Slavery he would find +would be teaching an old Lion to dance.[62] + +But happy was it for the Nation that it had then wiser Heads in it, who +knew how to lead a People so dispos'd into Measures for the Publick +Preservation. + +Here I cannot help reflecting on the very different Deliverances +_England_ met with at this Time and in the very same Year of the Century +before: Then (in 1588) under a glorious Princess, who had at heart the +Good and Happiness of her People, we scatter'd and destroy'd the most +formidable Navy of Invaders that ever cover'd the Seas: And now (in +1688) under a Prince who had alienated the Hearts of his People by his +absolute Measures to oppress them, a foreign Power is receiv'd with open +Arms in defence of our Laws, Liberties, and Religion, which our native +Prince had invaded! How widely different were these two Monarchs in +their Sentiments of Glory! But, _Tantum religio potuit suadere +malorum_.[63] + +When we consider in what height of the Nation's Prosperity the Successor +of Queen _Elizabeth_ came to this Throne, it seems amazing that such a +Pile of _English_ Fame and Glory, which her skilful Administration had +erected, should in every following Reign down to the Revolution so +unhappily moulder away in one continual Gradation of Political Errors: +All which must have been avoided, if the plain Rule which that wise +Princess left behind her had been observed, _viz. That the Love of her +People was the surest Support of her Throne_. This was the Principle by +which she so happily govern'd herself and those she had the Care of. In +this she found Strength to combat and struggle thro' more Difficulties +and dangerous Conspiracies than ever _English_ Monarch had to cope with. +At the same time that she profess'd to _desire_ the People's Love, she +took care that her Actions shou'd _deserve_ it, without the least +Abatement of her Prerogative; the Terror of which she so artfully +covered that she sometimes seem'd to flatter those she was determin'd +should obey. If the four following Princes had exercis'd their Regal +Authority with so visible a Regard to the Publick Welfare, it were hard +to know whether the People of _England_ might have ever complain'd of +them, or even felt the want of that Liberty they now so happily enjoy. +'Tis true that before her Time our Ancestors had many successful +Contests with their Sovereigns for their _ancient Right_ and _Claim_ to +it; yet what did those Successes amount to? little more than a +Declaration that there was such a Right in being; but who ever saw it +enjoy'd? Did not the Actions of almost every succeeding Reign shew there +were still so many Doors of Oppression left open to the Prerogative +that (whatever Value our most eloquent Legislators may have set upon +those ancient Liberties) I doubt it will be difficult to fix the Period +of their having a real Being before the Revolution: Or if there ever was +an elder Period of our unmolested enjoying them, I own my poor Judgment +is at a loss where to place it. I will boldly say then, it is to the +Revolution only we owe the full Possession of what, 'till then, we never +had more than a perpetually contested Right to: And, from thence, from +the Revolution it is that the Protestant Successors of King _William_ +have found their Paternal Care and Maintenance of that Right has been +the surest Basis of their Glory.[64] + +These, Sir, are a few of my Political Notions, which I have ventur'd to +expose that you may see what sort of an _English_ Subject I am; how wise +or weak they may have shewn me is not my Concern; let the weight of +these Matters have drawn me never so far out of my Depth, I still +flatter myself that I have kept a simple, honest Head above Water. And +it is a solid Comfort to me to consider that how insignificant soever my +Life was at the Revolution, it had still the good Fortune to make one +among the many who brought it about; and that I now, with my Coævals, +as well as with the Millions since born, enjoy the happy Effects of it. + +But I must now let you see how my particular Fortune went forward with +this Change in the Government; of which I shall not pretend to give you +any farther Account than what my simple Eyes saw of it. + +We had not been many Days at _Nottingham_ before we heard that the +Prince of _Denmark_, with some other great Persons, were gone off from +the King to the Prince of _Orange_, and that the Princess _Anne_, +fearing the King her Father's Resentment might fall upon her for her +Consort's Revolt, had withdrawn her self in the Night from _London_, and +was then within half a Days Journey of _Nottingham_; on which very +Morning we were suddenly alarm'd with the News that two thousand of the +King's Dragoons were in close pursuit to bring her back Prisoner to +_London_: But this Alarm it seems was all Stratagem, and was but a part +of that general Terror which was thrown into many other Places about the +Kingdom at the same time, with design to animate and unite the People in +their common defence; it being then given out that the _Irish_ were +every where at our Heels to cut off all the Protestants within the Reach +of their Fury. In this Alarm our Troops scrambled to Arms in as much +Order as their Consternation would admit of, when, having advanc'd some +few Miles on the _London_ Road, they met the Princess in a Coach, +attended only by the Lady _Churchill_ (now Dutchess Dowager of +_Marlborough_) and the Lady _Fitzharding_, whom they conducted into +_Nottingham_ through the Acclamations of the People: The same Night all +the Noblemen and the other Persons of Distinction then in Arms had the +Honour to sup at her Royal Highness's Table; which was then furnish'd +(as all her necessary Accommodations were) by the Care and at the Charge +of the Lord _Devonshire_. At this Entertainment, of which I was a +Spectator, something very particular surpriz'd me: The noble Guests at +the Table happening to be more in number than Attendants out of Liveries +could be found for, I being well known in the Lord _Devonshire_'s +Family, was desired by his Lordship's _Maitre d'Hotel_ to assist at it: +The Post assign'd me was to observe what the Lady _Churchill_ might call +for. Being so near the Table, you may naturally ask me what I might have +heard to have pass'd in Conversation at it? which I should certainly +tell you had I attended to above two Words that were utter'd there, and +those were, _Some Wine and Water_. These I remember came distinguish'd +and observ'd to my Ear, because they came from the fair Guest whom I +took such Pleasure to wait on: Except at that single Sound, all my +Senses were collected into my Eyes, which during the whole Entertainment +wanted no better Amusement, than of stealing now and then the Delight of +gazing on the fair Object so near me: If so clear an Emanation of +Beauty, such a commanding Grace of Aspect struck me into a Regard that +had something softer than the most profound Respect in it, I cannot see +why I may not without Offence remember it; since Beauty, like the Sun, +must sometimes lose its Power to chuse, and shine into equal Warmth the +Peasant and the Courtier.[65] Now to give you, Sir, a farther Proof of +how good a Taste my first hopeful Entrance into Manhood set out with, I +remember above twenty Years after, when the same Lady had given the +World four of the loveliest Daughters that ever were gaz'd on, even +after they were all nobly married, and were become the reigning Toasts +of every Party of Pleasure, their still lovely Mother had at the same +time her Votaries, and her Health very often took the Lead in those +involuntary Triumphs of Beauty. However presumptuous or impertinent +these Thoughts might have appear'd at my first entertaining them, why +may I not hope that my having kept them decently secret for full fifty +Years may be now a good round Plea for their Pardon? Were I now +qualify'd to say more of this celebrated Lady, I should conclude it +thus: That she has liv'd (to all Appearance) a peculiar Favourite of +Providence; that few Examples can parallel the Profusion of Blessings +which have attended so long a Life of Felicity. A Person so attractive! +a Husband so memorably great! an Offspring so beautiful! a Fortune so +immense! and a Title which (when Royal Favour had no higher to bestow) +she only could receive from the Author of Nature; a great Grandmother +without grey Hairs! These are such consummate Indulgencies that we might +think Heaven has center'd them all in one Person, to let us see how far, +with a lively Understanding, the full Possession of them could +contribute to human Happiness.--I now return to our Military Affairs. + +From _Nottingham_ our Troops march'd to _Oxford_; through every Town we +pass'd the People came out, in some sort of Order, with such rural and +rusty Weapons as they had, to meet us, in Acclamations of Welcome and +good Wishes. This I thought promis'd a favourable End of our Civil War, +when the Nation seem'd so willing to be all of a Side! At _Oxford_ the +Prince and Princess of _Denmark_ met for the first time after their late +Separation, and had all possible Honours paid them by the University. +Here we rested in quiet Quarters for several Weeks, till the Flight of +King _James_ into _France_; when the Nation being left to take care of +it self, the only Security that could be found for it was to advance the +Prince and Princess of _Orange_ to the vacant Throne. The publick +Tranquillity being now settled, our Forces were remanded back to +_Nottingham_. Here all our Officers who had commanded them from their +first Rising receiv'd Commissions to confirm them in their several +Posts; and at the same time such private Men as chose to return to their +proper Business or Habitations were offer'd their Discharges. Among the +small number of those who receiv'd them, I was one; for not hearing that +my Name was in any of these new Commissions, I thought it time for me to +take my leave of Ambition, as Ambition had before seduc'd me from the +imaginary Honours of the Gown, and therefore resolv'd to hunt my Fortune +in some other Field.[66] + +From _Nottingham_ I again return'd to my Father at _Chattsworth_, where +I staid till my Lord came down, with the new Honours[67] of Lord Steward +of his Majesty's Houshold and Knight of the Garter! a noble turn of +Fortune! and a deep Stake he had play'd for! which calls to my Memory a +Story we had then in the Family, which though too light for our graver +Historians notice, may be of weight enough for my humble Memoirs. This +noble Lord being in the Presence-Chamber in King _James_'s time, and +known to be no Friend to the Measures of his Administration, a certain +Person in favour there, and desirous to be more so, took occasion to +tread rudely upon his Lordship's Foot, which was return'd with a sudden +Blow upon the Spot: For this Misdemeanour his Lordship was fin'd thirty +thousand Pounds; but I think had some time allow'd him for the +Payment.[68] In the Summer preceding the Revolution, when his Lordship +was retir'd to _Chattsworth_, and had been there deeply engag'd with +other Noblemen in the Measures which soon after brought it to bear, King +_James_ sent a Person down to him with Offers to mitigate his Fine upon +Conditions of ready Payment, to which his Lordship reply'd, That if his +Majesty pleas'd to allow him a little longer time, he would rather +chuse to play _double_ or _quit_ with him: The time of the intended +Rising being then so near at hand, the Demand, it seems, came too late +for a more serious Answer. + +However low my Pretensions to Preferment were at this time, my Father +thought that a little Court-Favour added to them might give him a Chance +for saving the Expence of maintaining me, as he had intended, at the +University: He therefore order'd me to draw up a Petition to the Duke, +and, to give it some Air of Merit, to put it into _Latin_, the Prayer of +which was, That his Grace would be pleas'd to do something (I really +forget what) for me.----However the Duke, upon receiving it, was so good +as to desire my Father would send me to _London_ in the Winter, where he +would consider of some Provision for me. It might, indeed, well require +time to consider it; for I believe it was then harder to know what I was +really fit for, than to have got me any thing I was not fit for: +However, to _London_ I came, where I enter'd into my first State of +Attendance and Dependance for about five Months, till the _February_ +following. But alas! in my Intervals of Leisure, by frequently seeing +Plays, my wise Head was turn'd to higher Views, I saw no Joy in any +other Life than that of an Actor, so that (as before, when a Candidate +at _Winchester_) I was even afraid of succeeding to the Preferment I +sought for: 'Twas on the Stage alone I had form'd a Happiness preferable +to all that Camps or Courts could offer me! and there was I determin'd, +let Father and Mother take it as they pleas'd, to fix my _non +ultra_.[69] Here I think my self oblig'd, in respect to the Honour of +that noble Lord, to acknowledge that I believe his real Intentions to do +well for me were prevented by my own inconsiderate Folly; so that if my +Life did not then take a more laudable Turn, I have no one but my self +to reproach for it; for I was credibly inform'd by the Gentlemen of his +Houshold, that his Grace had, in their hearing, talk'd of recommending +me to the Lord _Shrewsbury_, then Secretary of State, for the first +proper Vacancy in that Office. But the distant Hope of a Reversion was +too cold a Temptation for a Spirit impatient as mine, that wanted +immediate Possession of what my Heart was so differently set upon. The +Allurements of a Theatre are still so strong in my Memory, that perhaps +few, except those who have felt them, can conceive: And I am yet so far +willing to excuse my Folly, that I am convinc'd, were it possible to +take off that Disgrace and Prejudice which Custom has thrown upon the +Profession of an Actor, many a well-born younger Brother and Beauty of +low Fortune would gladly have adorn'd the Theatre, who by their not +being able to brook such Dishonour to their Birth, have pass'd away +their Lives decently unheeded and forgotten. + +Many Years ago, when I was first in the Menagement of the Theatre, I +remember a strong Instance, which will shew you what degree of Ignominy +the Profession of an Actor was then held at.--A Lady, with a real Title, +whose female Indiscretions had occasion'd her Family to abandon her, +being willing, in her Distress, to make an honest Penny of what Beauty +she had left, desired to be admitted as an Actress; when before she +could receive our Answer, a Gentleman (probably by her Relation's +Permission) advis'd us not to entertain her, for Reasons easy to be +guess'd. You may imagine we cou'd not be so blind to our Interest as to +make an honourable Family our unnecessary Enemies by not taking his +Advice; which the Lady, too, being sensible of, saw the Affair had its +Difficulties, and therefore pursu'd it no farther. Now, is it not hard +that it should be a doubt whether this Lady's Condition or ours were the +more melancholy? For here you find her honest Endeavour to get Bread +from the Stage was look'd upon as an Addition of new Scandal to her +former Dishonour! so that I am afraid, according to this way of +thinking, had the same Lady stoop'd to have sold Patches and Pomatum in +a Band-box from Door to Door, she might in that Occupation have starv'd +with less Infamy than had she reliev'd her Necessities by being famous +on the Theatre. Whether this Prejudice may have arisen from the Abuses +that so often have crept in upon the Stage, I am not clear in; tho' when +that is grossly the Case, I will allow there ought to be no Limits set +to the Contempt of it; yet in its lowest Condition in my time, methinks +there could have been no Pretence of preferring the Band-box to the +Buskin. But this severe Opinion, whether merited or not, is not the +greatest Distress that this Profession is liable to. + +I shall now give you another Anecdote, quite the reverse of what I have +instanc'd, wherein you will see an Actress as hardly us'd for an Act of +Modesty (which without being a Prude, a Woman, even upon the Stage, may +sometimes think it necessary not to throw off.) This too I am forc'd to +premise, that the Truth of what I am going to tell you may not be +sneer'd at before it be known. About the Year 1717, a young Actress of a +desirable Person, sitting in an upper Box at the Opera, a military +Gentleman thought this a proper Opportunity to secure a little +Conversation with her, the Particulars of which were probably no more +worth repeating than it seems the _Damoiselle_ then thought them worth +listening to; for, notwithstanding the fine Things he said to her, she +rather chose to give the Musick the Preference of her Attention: This +Indifference was so offensive to his high Heart, that he began to change +the Tender into the Terrible, and, in short, proceeded at last to treat +her in a Style too grosly insulting for the meanest Female Ear to endure +unresented: Upon which, being beaten too far out of her Discretion, she +turn'd hastily upon him with an angry Look, and a Reply which seem'd to +set his Merit in so low a Regard, that he thought himself oblig'd in +Honour to take his time to resent it: This was the full Extent of her +Crime, which his Glory delay'd no longer to punish than 'till the next +time she was to appear upon the Stage: There, in one of her best Parts, +wherein she drew a favourable Regard and Approbation from the Audience, +he, dispensing with the Respect which some People think due to a polite +Assembly, began to interrupt her Performance with such loud and various +Notes of Mockery, as other young Men of Honour in the same Place have +sometimes made themselves undauntedly merry with: Thus, deaf to all +Murmurs or Entreaties of those about him, he pursued his Point, even to +throwing near her such Trash as no Person can be suppos'd to carry about +him unless to use on so particular an Occasion. + +A Gentleman then behind the Scenes, being shock'd at his unmanly +Behaviour, was warm enough to say, That no Man but a Fool or a Bully +cou'd be capable of insulting an Audience or a Woman in so monstrous a +manner. The former valiant Gentleman, to whose Ear the Words were soon +brought by his Spies, whom he had plac'd behind the Scenes to observe +how the Action was taken there, came immediately from the Pit in a Heat, +and demanded to know of the Author of those Words if he was the Person +that spoke them? to which he calmly reply'd, That though he had never +seen him before, yet, since he seem'd so earnest to be satisfy'd, he +would do him the favour to own, That indeed the Words were his, and that +they would be the last Words he should chuse to deny, whoever they might +fall upon. To conclude, their Dispute was ended the next Morning in +_Hyde-Park_, where the determin'd Combatant who first ask'd for +Satisfaction was oblig'd afterwards to ask his Life too; whether he +mended it or not, I have not yet heard; but his Antagonist in a few +Years after died in one of the principal Posts of the Government.[70] + +Now, though I have sometimes known these gallant Insulters of Audiences +draw themselves into Scrapes which they have less honourably got out of, +yet, alas! what has that avail'd? This generous publick-spirited Method +of silencing a few was but repelling the Disease in one Part to make it +break out in another: All Endeavours at Protection are new Provocations +to those who pride themselves in pushing their Courage to a Defiance of +Humanity. Even when a Royal Resentment has shewn itself in the behalf of +an injur'd Actor, it has been unable to defend him from farther Insults! +an Instance of which happen'd in the late King _James_'s time. Mr. +_Smith_[71] (whose Character as a Gentleman could have been no way +impeach'd had he not degraded it by being a celebrated Actor) had the +Misfortune, in a Dispute with a Gentleman behind the Scenes, to receive +a Blow from him: The same Night an Account of this Action was carry'd to +the King, to whom the Gentleman was represented so grosly in the wrong, +that the next Day his Majesty sent to forbid him the Court upon it. This +Indignity cast upon a Gentleman only for having maltreated a Player, was +look'd upon as the Concern of every Gentleman; and a Party was soon +form'd to assert and vindicate their Honour, by humbling this favour'd +Actor, whose slight Injury had been judg'd equal to so severe a Notice. +Accordingly, the next time _Smith_ acted he was receiv'd with a Chorus +of Cat-calls, that soon convinc'd him he should not be suffer'd to +proceed in his Part; upon which, without the least Discomposure, he +order'd the Curtain to be dropp'd; and, having a competent Fortune of +his own, thought the Conditions of adding to it by his remaining upon +the Stage were too dear, and from that Day entirely quitted it.[72] I +shall make no Observation upon the King's Resentment, or on that of his +good Subjects; how far either was or was not right, is not the Point I +dispute for: Be that as it may, the unhappy Condition of the Actor was +so far from being reliev'd by this Royal Interposition in his favour, +that it was the worse for it. + +While these sort of real Distresses on the Stage are so unavoidable, it +is no wonder that young People of Sense (though of low Fortune) should +be so rarely found to supply a Succession of good Actors. Why then may +we not, in some measure, impute the Scarcity of them to the wanton +Inhumanity of those Spectators, who have made it so terribly mean to +appear there? Were there no ground for this Question, where could be the +Disgrace of entring into a Society whose Institution, when not abus'd, +is a delightful School of Morality; and where to excel requires as ample +Endowments of Nature as any one Profession (that of holy Institution +excepted) whatsoever? But, alas! as _Shakespear_ says, + + _Where's that Palace, whereinto, sometimes + Foul things intrude not?_[73] + +Look into St. _Peter_'s at _Rome_, and see what a profitable Farce is +made of Religion there! Why then is an Actor more blemish'd than a +Cardinal? While the Excellence of the one arises from his innocently +seeming what he is not, and the Eminence of the other from the most +impious Fallacies that can be impos'd upon human Understanding? If the +best things, therefore, are most liable to Corruption, the Corruption of +the Theatre is no Disproof of its innate and primitive Utility. + +In this Light, therefore, all the Abuses of the Stage, all the low, +loose, or immoral Supplements to wit, whether in making Virtue +ridiculous or Vice agreeable, or in the decorated Nonsense and +Absurdities of Pantomimical Trumpery, I give up to the Contempt of every +sensible Spectator, as so much rank Theatrical Popery. But cannot still +allow these Enormities to impeach the Profession, while they are so +palpably owing to the deprav'd Taste of the Multitude. While Vice and +Farcical Folly are the most profitable Commodities, why should we wonder +that, time out of mind, the poor Comedian, when real Wit would bear no +Price, should deal in what would bring him most ready Money? But this, +you will say, is making the Stage a Nursery of Vice and Folly, or at +least keeping an open Shop for it.----I grant it: But who do you expect +should reform it? The Actors? Why so? If People are permitted to buy it +without blushing, the Theatrical Merchant seems to have an equal Right +to the Liberty of selling it without Reproach. That this Evil wants a +Remedy is not to be contested; nor can it be denied that the Theatre is +as capable of being preserv'd by a Reformation as Matters of more +Importance; which, for the Honour of our National Taste, I could wish +were attempted; and then, if it could not subsist under decent +Regulations, by not being permitted to present any thing there but what +were _worthy_ to be there, it would be time enough to consider, whether +it were necessary to let it totally fall, or effectually support it. + +Notwithstanding all my best Endeavours to recommend the Profession of +an Actor to a more general Favour, I doubt, while it is liable to such +Corruptions, and the Actor himself to such unlimited Insults as I have +already mention'd, I doubt, I say, we must still leave him a-drift, with +his intrinsick Merit, to ride out the Storm as well as he is able. + +However, let us now turn to the other side of this Account, and see what +Advantages stand there to balance the Misfortunes I have laid before +you. There we shall still find some valuable Articles of Credit, that +sometimes overpay his incidental Disgraces. + +First, if he has Sense, he will consider that as these Indignities are +seldom or never offer'd him by People that are remarkable for any one +good Quality, he ought not to lay them too close to his Heart: He will +know too, that when Malice, Envy, or a brutal Nature, can securely hide +or fence themselves in a Multitude, Virtue, Merit, Innocence, and even +sovereign Superiority, have been, and must be equally liable to their +Insults; that therefore, when they fall upon him in the same manner, his +intrinsick Value cannot be diminish'd by them: On the contrary, if, with +a decent and unruffled Temper, he lets them pass, the Disgrace will +return upon his Aggressor, and perhaps warm the generous Spectator into +a Partiality in his Favour. + +That while he is conscious, That, as an Actor, he must be always in the +Hands of Injustice, it does him at least this involuntary Good, that it +keeps him in a settled Resolution to avoid all Occasions of provoking +it, or of even offending the lowest Enemy, who, at the Expence of a +Shilling, may publickly revenge it. + +That, if he excells on the Stage, and is irreproachable in his Personal +Morals and Behaviour, his Profession is so far from being an Impediment, +that it will be oftner a just Reason for his being receiv'd among People +of condition with Favour; and sometimes with a more social Distinction, +than the best, though more profitable Trade he might have follow'd, +could have recommended him to. + +That this is a Happiness to which several Actors within my Memory, as +_Betterton_, _Smith_, _Montfort_, Captain _Griffin_,[74] and Mrs. +_Bracegirdle_ (yet living) have arriv'd at; to which I may add the late +celebrated Mrs. _Oldfield_. Now let us suppose these Persons, the Men, +for example, to have been all eminent Mercers, and the Women as famous +Milliners, can we imagine that merely as such, though endow'd with the +same natural Understanding, they could have been call'd into the same +honourable Parties of Conversation? People of Sense and Condition could +not but know it was impossible they could have had such various +Excellencies on the Stage, without having something naturally valuable +in them: And I will take upon me to affirm, who knew them all living, +that there was not one of the Number who were not capable of supporting +a variety of Spirited Conversation, tho' the Stage were never to have +been the Subject of it. + +That to have trod the Stage has not always been thought a +Disqualification from more honourable Employments; several have had +military Commissions; _Carlile_,[75] and _Wiltshire_[76] were both +kill'd Captains; one in King _William_'s Reduction of _Ireland;_ and +the other in his first War in _Flanders_; and the famous _Ben. Johnson_, +tho' an unsuccessful Actor, was afterwards made Poet-Laureat.[77] + +To these laudable Distinctions let me add one more; that of Publick +Applause, which, when truly merited, is perhaps one of the most +agreeable Gratifications that venial Vanity can feel. A Happiness almost +peculiar to the Actor, insomuch that the best Tragick Writer, however +numerous his separate Admirers may be, yet, to unite them into one +general Act of Praise, to receive at once those thundring Peals of +Approbation which a crouded Theatre throws out, he must still call in +the Assistance of the skilful Actor to raise and partake of them. + +In a Word, 'twas in this flattering Light only, though not perhaps so +thoroughly consider'd, I look'd upon the Life of an Actor when but +eighteen Years of Age; nor can you wonder if the Temptations were too +strong for so warm a Vanity as mine to resist; but whether excusable or +not, to the Stage at length I came, and it is from thence, chiefly, your +Curiosity, if you have any left, is to expect a farther Account of me. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _A short View of the Stage, from the Year 1660 to the + Revolution. The King's and Duke's Company united, composed the + best Set of_ English _Actors yet known. Their several + Theatrical Characters._ + +Tho' I have only promis'd you an Account of all the material Occurrences +of the Theatre during my own Time, yet there was one which happen'd not +above seven Years before my Admission to it, which may be as well worth +notice as the first great Revolution of it, in which, among numbers, I +was involv'd. And as the one will lead you into a clearer View of the +other, it may therefore be previously necessary to let you know that. + +King _Charles_ II. at his Restoration granted two Patents, one to Sir +_William Davenant_,[78] and the other to _Thomas Killigrew_, Esq.,[79] +and their several Heirs and Assigns, for ever, for the forming of two +distinct Companies of Comedians: The first were call'd the _King's +Servants,_ and acted at the Theatre-Royal in _Drury-Lane_;[80] and the +other the _Duke's Company_, who acted at the Duke's Theatre in +_Dorset-Garden_.[81] About ten of the King's Company were on the Royal +Houshold-Establishment, having each ten Yards of Scarlet Cloth, with a +proper quantity of Lace allow'd them for Liveries; and in their Warrants +from the Lord Chamberlain were stiled _Gentlemen of the Great +Chamber_.[82] Whether the like Appointments were extended to the Duke's +Company, I am not certain; but they were both in high Estimation with +the Publick, and so much the Delight and Concern of the Court, that +they were not only supported by its being frequently present at their +publick _Presentations_, but by its taking cognizance even of their +private Government, insomuch that their particular Differences, +Pretentions, or Complaints were generally ended by the _King_ or +_Duke_'s Personal Command or Decision. Besides their being thorough +Masters of their Art, these Actors set forwards with two critical +Advantages, which perhaps may never happen again in many Ages. The one +was, their immediate opening after the so long Interdiction of Plays +during the Civil War and the Anarchy that followed it. What eager +Appetites from so long a Fast must the Guests of those Times have had to +that high and fresh variety of Entertainments which _Shakespear_ had +left prepared for them? Never was a Stage so provided! A hundred Years +are wasted, and another silent Century well advanced, and yet what +unborn Age shall say _Shakespear_ has his equal! How many shining Actors +have the warm Scenes of his Genius given to Posterity? without being +himself in his Action equal to his Writing! A strong Proof that Actors, +like Poets, must be born such. Eloquence and Elocution are quite +different Talents: _Shakespear_ could write _Hamlet,_ but Tradition +tells us That the _Ghost_, in the same Play, was one of his best +Performances as an Actor: Nor is it within the reach of Rule or Precept +to complete either of them. Instruction, 'tis true, may guard them +equally against Faults or Absurdities, but there it stops; Nature must +do the rest: To excel in either Art is a self-born Happiness which +something more than good Sense must be the Mother of. + +[Illustration: THOMAS BETTERTON.] + +The other Advantage I was speaking of is, that before the Restoration no +Actresses had ever been seen upon the _English_ Stage.[83] The +Characters of Women on former Theatres were perform'd by Boys, or young +Men of the most effeminate Aspect. And what Grace or Master-strokes of +Action can we conceive such ungain Hoydens to have been capable of? This +Defect was so well considered by _Shakespear_, that in few of his Plays +he has any greater Dependance upon the Ladies than in the Innocence and +Simplicity of a _Desdemona_, an _Ophelia_, or in the short Specimen of a +fond and virtuous _Portia_. The additional Objects then of real, +beautiful Women could not but draw a Proportion of new Admirers to the +Theatre. We may imagine, too, that these Actresses were not ill chosen, +when it is well known that more than one of them had Charms sufficient +at their leisure Hours to calm and mollify the Cares of Empire.[84] +Besides these peculiar Advantages, they had a private Rule or Agreement, +which both Houses were happily ty'd down to, which was, that no Play +acted at one House should ever be attempted at the other. All the +capital Plays therefore of _Shakespear_, _Fletcher_, and _Ben. Johnson_ +were divided between them by the Approbation of the Court and their own +alternate Choice.[85] So that when _Hart_[86] was famous for _Othello, +Betterton_ had no less a Reputation for _Hamlet_. By this Order the +Stage was supply'd with a greater Variety of Plays than could possibly +have been shewn had both Companies been employ'd at the same time upon +the same Play; which Liberty, too, must have occasion'd such frequent +Repetitions of 'em, by their opposite Endeavours to forestall and +anticipate one another, that the best Actors in the World must have +grown tedious and tasteless to the Spectator: For what Pleasure is not +languid to Satiety?[87] It was therefore one of our greatest +Happinesses (during my time of being in the Menagement of the Stage) +that we had a certain Number of select Plays which no other Company had +the good Fortune to make a tolerable Figure in, and consequently could +find little or no Account by acting them against us. These Plays +therefore for many Years, by not being too often seen, never fail'd to +bring us crowded Audiences; and it was to this Conduct we ow'd no little +Share of our Prosperity. But when four Houses[88] are at once (as very +lately they were) all permitted to act the same Pieces, let three of +them perform never so ill, when Plays come to be so harrass'd and +hackney'd out to the common People (half of which too, perhaps, would as +lieve see them at one House as another) the best Actors will soon feel +that the Town has enough of them. + +I know it is the common Opinion, That the more Play-houses the more +Emulation; I grant it; but what has this Emulation ended in? Why, a +daily Contention which shall soonest surfeit you with the best Plays; +so that when what _ought_ to please can no _longer_ please, your +Appetite is again to be raised by such monstrous Presentations as +dishonour the Taste of a civiliz'd People.[89] If, indeed, to our +several Theatres we could raise a proportionable Number of good Authors +to give them all different Employment, then perhaps the Publick might +profit from their Emulation: But while good Writers are so scarce, and +undaunted Criticks so plenty, I am afraid a good Play and a blazing Star +will be equal Rarities. This voluptuous Expedient, therefore, of +indulging the Taste with several Theatres, will amount to much the same +variety as that of a certain Oeconomist, who, to enlarge his +Hospitality, would have two Puddings and two Legs of Mutton for the same +Dinner.[90]--But to resume the Thread of my History. + +These two excellent Companies were both prosperous for some few Years, +'till their Variety of Plays began to be exhausted: Then of course the +better Actors (which the King's seem to have been allowed) could not +fail of drawing the greater Audiences. Sir _William Davenant_, +therefore, Master of the Duke's Company, to make Head against their +Success, was forced to add Spectacle and Musick to Action; and to +introduce a new Species of Plays, since call'd Dramatick Opera's, of +which kind were the _Tempest_, _Psyche_, _Circe_, and others, all set +off with the most expensive Decorations of Scenes and Habits, with the +best Voices and Dancers.[91] + +This sensual Supply of Sight and Sound coming in to the Assistance of +the weaker Party, it was no Wonder they should grow too hard for Sense +and simple Nature, when it is consider'd how many more People there are, +that can see and hear, than think and judge. So wanton a Change of the +publick Taste, therefore, began to fall as heavy upon the King's Company +as their greater Excellence in Action had before fallen upon their +Competitors: Of which Encroachment upon Wit several good Prologues in +those Days frequently complain'd.[92] + +But alas! what can Truth avail, when its Dependance is much more upon +the Ignorant than the sensible Auditor? a poor Satisfaction, that the +due Praise given to it must at last sink into the cold Comfort +of--_Laudatur & Alget_.[93] Unprofitable Praise can hardly give it a +_Soup maigre_. Taste and Fashion with us have always had Wings, and fly +from one publick Spectacle to another so wantonly, that I have been +inform'd by those who remember it, that a famous Puppet-shew[94] in +_Salisbury_ Change (then standing where _Cecil-Street_ now is) so far +distrest these two celebrated Companies, that they were reduced to +petition the King for Relief against it: Nor ought we perhaps to think +this strange, when, if I mistake not, _Terence_ himself reproaches the +_Roman_ Auditors of his Time with the like Fondness for the _Funambuli_, +the Rope-dancers.[95] Not to dwell too long therefore upon that Part of +my History which I have only collected from oral Tradition, I shall +content myself with telling you that _Mohun_[96] and _Hart_ now growing +old (for, above thirty Years before this Time, they had severally born +the King's Commission of Major and Captain in the Civil Wars), and the +younger Actors, as _Goodman_,[97] _Clark_,[98] and others, being +impatient to get into their Parts, and growing intractable,[99] the +Audiences too of both Houses then falling off, the Patentees of each, by +the King's Advice, which perhaps amounted to a Command, united their +Interests and both Companies into one, exclusive of all others, in the +Year 1682.[100] This Union was, however, so much in favour of the Duke's +Company, that _Hart_ left the Stage upon it, and _Mohun_ survived not +long after. + +One only Theatre being now in Possession of the whole Town, the united +Patentees imposed their own Terms upon the Actors; for the Profits of +acting were then divided into twenty Shares, ten of which went to the +Proprietors, and the other Moiety to the principal Actors, in such +Sub-divisions as their different Merit might pretend to. These Shares of +the Patentees were promiscuously sold out to Money-making Persons, +call'd Adventurers,[101] who, tho' utterly ignorant of Theatrical +Affairs, were still admitted to a proportionate Vote in the Menagement +of them; all particular Encouragements to Actors were by them, of +Consequence, look'd upon as so many Sums deducted from their private +Dividends. While therefore the Theatrical Hive had so many Drones in it, +the labouring Actors, sure, were under the highest Discouragement, if +not a direct State of Oppression. Their Hardship will at least appear in +a much stronger Light when compar'd to our later Situation, who with +scarce half their Merit succeeded to be Sharers under a Patent upon five +times easier Conditions: For as they had but half the Profits divided +among ten or more of them; we had three fourths of the whole Profits +divided only among three of us: And as they might be said to have ten +Task-masters over them, we never had but one Assistant Menager (not an +Actor) join'd with us;[102] who, by the Crown's Indulgence, was +sometimes too of our own chusing. Under this heavy Establishment then +groan'd this United Company when I was first admitted into the lowest +Rank of it. How they came to be relieved by King _William_'s Licence in +1695, how they were again dispersed early in Queen _Anne_'s Reign, and +from what Accidents Fortune took better care of Us, their unequal +Successors, will be told in its Place: But to prepare you for the +opening so large a Scene of their History, methinks I ought (in Justice +to their Memory too) to give you such particular Characters of their +Theatrical Merit as in my plain Judgment they seem'd to deserve. +Presuming then that this Attempt may not be disagreeable to the Curious +or the true Lovers of the Theatre, take it without farther Preface. + +In the Year 1690, when I first came into this Company, the principal +Actors then at the Head of it were, + + Of Men. Of Women. + Mr. _Betterton_, Mrs. _Betterton_, + Mr. _Monfort_, Mrs. _Barry_, + Mr. _Kynaston_, Mrs. _Leigh_, + Mr. _Sandford_, Mrs. _Butler_, + Mr. _Nokes_, Mrs. _Monfort_, and + Mr. _Underhil_, and Mrs. _Bracegirdle_. + Mr. _Leigh_. + +These Actors whom I have selected from their Cotemporaries were all +original Masters in their different Stile, not meer auricular Imitators +of one another, which commonly is the highest Merit of the middle Rank, +but Self-judges of Nature, from whose various Lights they only took +their true Instruction. If in the following Account of them I may be +obliged to hint at the Faults of others, I never mean such Observations +should extend to those who are now in Possession of the Stage; for as I +design not my Memoirs shall come down to their Time, I would not lie +under the Imputation of speaking in their Disfavour to the Publick, +whose Approbation they must depend upon for Support.[103] But to my +Purpose. + +_Betterton_ was an Actor, as _Shakespear_ was an Author, both without +Competitors! form'd for the mutual Assistance and Illustration of each +others Genius! How _Shakespear_ wrote, all Men who have a Taste for +Nature may read and know--but with what higher Rapture would he still be +_read_ could they conceive how _Betterton play'd_ him! Then might they +know the one was born alone to speak what the other only knew to write! +Pity it is that the momentary Beauties flowing from an harmonious +Elocution cannot, like those of Poetry, be their own Record! That the +animated Graces of the Player can live no longer than the instant Breath +and Motion that presents them, or at best can but faintly glimmer +through the Memory or imperfect Attestation of a few surviving +Spectators. Could _how Betterton_ spoke be as easily known as _what_ he +spoke, then might you see the Muse of _Shakespear_ in her Triumph, with +all her Beauties in their best Array rising into real Life and charming +her Beholders. But alas! since all this is so far out of the reach of +Description, how shall I shew you _Betterton_? Should I therefore tell +you that all the _Othellos_, _Hamlets_, _Hotspurs_, _Mackbeths_, and +_Brutus_'s whom you may have seen since his Time, have fallen far short +of him; this still would give you no Idea of his particular Excellence. +Let us see then what a particular Comparison may do! whether that may +yet draw him nearer to you? + +You have seen a _Hamlet_ perhaps, who, on the first Appearance of his +Father's Spirit, has thrown himself into all the straining Vociferation +requisite to express Rage and Fury, and the House has thunder'd with +Applause; tho' the mis-guided Actor was all the while (as _Shakespear_ +terms it) tearing a Passion into Rags[104]----I am the more bold to +offer you this particular Instance, because the late Mr. _Addison_, +while I sate by him to see this Scene acted, made the same Observation, +asking me, with some Surprize, if I thought _Hamlet_ should be in so +violent a Passion with the Ghost, which, tho' it might have astonish'd, +it had not provok'd him? for you may observe that in this beautiful +Speech the Passion never rises beyond an almost breathless Astonishment, +or an Impatience, limited by filial Reverence, to enquire into the +suspected Wrongs that may have rais'd him from his peaceful Tomb! and a +Desire to know what a Spirit so seemingly distrest might wish or enjoin +a sorrowful Son to execute towards his future Quiet in the Grave? This +was the Light into which _Betterton_ threw this Scene; which he open'd +with a Pause of mute Amazement! then rising slowly to a solemn, +trembling Voice, he made the Ghost equally terrible to the Spectator as +to himself![105] and in the descriptive Part of the natural Emotions +which the ghastly Vision gave him, the boldness of his Expostulation was +still govern'd by Decency, manly, but not braving; his Voice never +rising into that seeming Outrage or wild Defiance of what he naturally +rever'd.[106] But alas! to preserve this medium, between mouthing and +meaning too little, to keep the Attention more pleasingly awake by a +temper'd Spirit than by meer Vehemence of Voice, is of all the +Master-strokes of an Actor the most difficult to reach. In this none yet +have equall'd _Betterton_. But I am unwilling to shew his Superiority +only by recounting the Errors of those who now cannot answer to them, +let their farther Failings therefore be forgotten! or rather, shall I in +some measure excuse them? For I am not yet sure that they might not be +as much owing to the false Judgment of the Spectator as the Actor. While +the Million are so apt to be transported when the Drum of their Ear is +so roundly rattled; while they take the Life of Elocution to lie in the +Strength of the Lungs, it is no wonder the Actor, whose end is Applause, +should be also tempted at this easy rate to excite it. Shall I go a +little farther? and allow that this Extreme is more pardonable than its +opposite Error? I mean that dangerous Affectation of the Monotone, or +solemn Sameness of Pronounciation, which, to my Ear, is insupportable; +for of all Faults that so frequently pass upon the Vulgar, that of +Flatness will have the fewest Admirers. That this is an Error of ancient +standing seems evident by what _Hamlet_ says, in his Instructions to the +Players, _viz._ + + _Be not too tame, neither,_ &c. + +The Actor, doubtless, is as strongly ty'd down to the Rules of _Horace_ +as the Writer. + + _Si vis me flere, dolendum est + Primum ipsi tibi_----[107] + +He that feels not himself the Passion he would raise, will talk to a +sleeping Audience: But this never was the Fault of _Betterton_; and it +has often amaz'd me to see those who soon came after him throw out, in +some Parts of a Character, a just and graceful Spirit which _Betterton_ +himself could not but have applauded. And yet in the equally shining +Passages of the same Character have heavily dragg'd the Sentiment along +like a dead Weight, with a long-ton'd Voice and absent Eye, as if they +had fairly forgot what they were about: If you have never made this +Observation, I am contented you should not know where to apply it.[108] + +A farther Excellence in _Betterton_ was, that he could vary his Spirit +to the different Characters he acted. Those wild impatient Starts, that +fierce and flashing Fire, which he threw into _Hotspur_, never came from +the unruffled Temper of his _Brutus_ (for I have more than once seen a +_Brutus_ as warm as _Hotspur_): when the _Betterton Brutus_ was provok'd +in his Dispute with _Cassius,_ his Spirit flew only to his Eye; his +steady Look alone supply'd that Terror which he disdain'd an +Intemperance in his Voice should rise to. Thus, with a settled Dignity +of Contempt, like an unheeding Rock he repelled upon himself the Foam of +_Cassius_. Perhaps the very Words of _Shakespear_ will better let you +into my Meaning: + + _Must I give way and room to your rash Choler? + Shall I be frighted when a Madman stares?_ + +And a little after, + + _There is no Terror,_ Cassius, _in your Looks_! &c. + +Not but in some part of this Scene, where he reproaches _Cassius,_ his +Temper is not under this Suppression, but opens into that Warmth which +becomes a Man of Virtue; yet this is that _Hasty Spark_ of Anger which +_Brutus_ himself endeavours to excuse. + +But with whatever strength of Nature we see the Poet shew at once the +Philosopher and the Heroe, yet the Image of the Actor's Excellence will +be still imperfect to you unless Language could put Colours in our Words +to paint the Voice with. + +_Et, si vis similem pingere, pinge sonum_,[109] is enjoyning an +impossibility. The most that a _Vandyke_ can arrive at, is to make his +Portraits of great Persons seem to _think;_ a _Shakespear_ goes farther +yet, and tells you _what_ his Pictures thought; a _Betterton_ steps +beyond 'em both, and calls them from the Grave to breathe and be +themselves again in Feature, Speech, and Motion. When the skilful +Actor shews you all these Powers at once united, and gratifies at once +your Eye, your Ear, your Understanding: To conceive the Pleasure rising +from such Harmony, you must have been present at it! 'tis not to be told +you! + +[Illustration: BENJAMIN JOHNSON.] + +There cannot be a stronger Proof of the Charms of harmonious Elocution +than the many even unnatural Scenes and Flights of the false Sublime it +has lifted into Applause. In what Raptures have I seen an Audience at +the furious Fustian and turgid Rants in _Nat. Lee's Alexander the +Great_! For though I can allow this Play a few great Beauties, yet it is +not without its extravagant Blemishes. Every Play of the same Author has +more or less of them. Let me give you a Sample from this. _Alexander_, +in a full Crowd of Courtiers, without being occasionally call'd or +provok'd to it, falls into this Rhapsody of Vain-glory. + + _Can none remember? Yes, I know all must!_ + +And therefore they shall know it agen. + + _When Glory, like the dazzling Eagle, stood + Perch'd on my Beaver, in the Granic Flood, + When Fortune's Self my Standard trembling bore, + And the pale Fates stood frighted on the Shore, + When the Immortals on the Billows rode, + And I myself appear'd the leading God._[110] + +When these flowing Numbers came from the Mouth of a _Betterton_ the +Multitude no more desired Sense to them than our musical _Connoisseurs_ +think it essential in the celebrate Airs of an _Italian_ Opera. Does not +this prove that there is very near as much Enchantment in the +well-govern'd Voice of an Actor as in the sweet Pipe of an Eunuch? If I +tell you there was no one Tragedy, for many Years, more in favour with +the Town than _Alexander_, to what must we impute this its command of +publick Admiration? Not to its intrinsick Merit, surely, if it swarms +with passages like this I have shewn you! If this Passage has Merit, let +us see what Figure it would make upon Canvas, what sort of Picture would +rise from it. If _Le Brun_, who was famous for painting the Battles of +this Heroe, had seen this lofty Description, what one Image could he +have possibly taken from it? In what Colours would he have shewn us +_Glory perch'd upon a Beaver_? How would he have drawn _Fortune +trembling_? Or, indeed, what use could he have made of _pale Fates_ or +_Immortals_ riding upon _Billows_, with this blustering _God_ of his own +making at the _head_ of them?[111] Where, then, must have lain the Charm +that once made the Publick so partial to this Tragedy? Why plainly, in +the Grace and Harmony of the Actor's Utterance. For the Actor himself is +not accountable for the false Poetry of his Author; That the Hearer is +to judge of; if it passes upon him, the Actor can have no Quarrel to it; +who, if the Periods given him are round, smooth, spirited, and +high-sounding, even in a false Passion, must throw out the same Fire and +Grace as may be required in one justly rising from Nature; where those +his Excellencies will then be only more pleasing in proportion to the +Taste of his Hearer. And I am of opinion that to the extraordinary +Success of this very Play we may impute the Corruption of so many Actors +and Tragick Writers, as were immediately misled by it. The unskilful +Actor who imagin'd all the Merit of delivering those blazing Rants lay +only in the Strength and strain'd Exertion of the Voice, began to tear +his Lungs upon every false or slight Occasion to arrive at the same +Applause. And it is from hence I date our having seen the same Reason +prevalent for above fifty Years. Thus equally mis-guided, too, many a +barren-brain'd Author has stream'd into a frothy flowing Style, +pompously rolling into sounding Periods signifying----roundly nothing; +of which Number, in some of my former Labours, I am something more than +suspicious that I may myself have made one. But to keep a little closer +to _Betterton_. + +When this favourite Play I am speaking of, from its being too frequently +acted, was worn out, and came to be deserted by the Town, upon the +sudden Death of _Monfort_, who had play'd _Alexander_ with Success for +several Years, the Part was given to _Betterton_, which, under this +great Disadvantage of the Satiety it had given, he immediately reviv'd +with so new a Lustre that for three Days together it fill'd the +House;[112] and had his then declining Strength been equal to the +Fatigue the Action gave him, it probably might have doubled its Success; +an uncommon Instance of the Power and intrinsick Merit of an Actor. This +I mention not only to prove what irresistable Pleasure may arise from a +judicious Elocution, with scarce Sense to assist it; but to shew you +too, that tho' _Betterton_ never wanted Fire and Force when his +Character demanded it; yet, where it was not demanded, he never +prostituted his Power to the low Ambition of a false Applause. And +further, that when, from a too advanced Age, he resigned that toilsome +Part of _Alexander_, the Play for many Years after never was able to +impose upon the Publick;[113] and I look upon his so particularly +supporting the false Fire and Extravagancies of that Character to be a +more surprizing Proof of his Skill than his being eminent in those of +_Shakespear_; because there, Truth and Nature coming to his Assistance, +he had not the same Difficulties to combat, and consequently we must be +less amaz'd at his Success where we are more able to account for it. + +Notwithstanding the extraordinary Power he shew'd in blowing _Alexander_ +once more into a blaze of Admiration, _Betterton_ had so just a sense of +what was true or false Applause, that I have heard him say, he never +thought any kind of it equal to an attentive Silence; that there were +many ways of deceiving an Audience into a loud one; but to keep them +husht and quiet was an Applause which only Truth and Merit could arrive +at: Of which Art there never was an equal Master to himself. From these +various Excellencies, he had so full a Possession of the Esteem and +Regard of his Auditors, that upon his Entrance into every Scene he +seem'd to seize upon the Eyes and Ears of the Giddy and Inadvertent! To +have talk'd or look'd another way would then have been thought +Insensibility or Ignorance.[114] In all his Soliloquies of moment, the +strong Intelligence of his Attitude and Aspect drew you into such an +impatient Gaze and eager Expectation, that you almost imbib'd the +Sentiment with your Eye before the Ear could reach it. + +As _Betterton_ is the Centre to which all my Observations upon Action +tend, you will give me leave, under his Character, to enlarge upon that +Head. In the just Delivery of Poetical Numbers, particularly where the +Sentiments are pathetick, it is scarce credible upon how minute an +Article of Sound depends their greatest Beauty or Inaffection. The Voice +of a Singer is not more strictly ty'd to Time and Tune, than that of an +Actor in Theatrical Elocution:[115] The least Syllable too long or too +slightly dwelt upon in a Period depreciates it to nothing; which very +Syllable if rightly touch'd shall, like the heightening Stroke of Light +from a Master's Pencil, give Life and Spirit to the whole. I never +heard a Line in Tragedy come from _Betterton_ wherein my Judgment, my +Ear, and my Imagination were not fully satisfy'd; which, since his Time, +I cannot equally say of any one Actor whatsoever: Not but it is possible +to be much his Inferior, with great Excellencies; which I shall observe +in another Place. Had it been practicable to have ty'd down the +clattering Hands of all the ill judges who were commonly the Majority of +an Audience, to what amazing Perfection might the _English_ Theatre have +arrived with so just an Actor as _Betterton_ at the Head of it! If what +was Truth only could have been applauded, how many noisy Actors had +shook their Plumes with shame, who, from the injudicious Approbation of +the Multitude, have bawl'd and strutted in the place of Merit? If +therefore the bare speaking Voice has such Allurements in it, how much +less ought we to wonder, however we may lament, that the sweeter Notes +of Vocal Musick should so have captivated even the politer World into +an Apostacy from Sense to an Idolatry of Sound. Let us enquire from +whence this Enchantment rises. I am afraid it may be too naturally +accounted for: For when we complain that the finest Musick, purchas'd at +such vast Expence, is so often thrown away upon the most miserable +Poetry, we seem not to consider, that when the Movement of the Air and +Tone of the Voice are exquisitely harmonious, tho' we regard not one +_Word_ of what we hear, yet the Power of the Melody is so busy in the +Heart, that we naturally annex Ideas to it of our own Creation, and, in +some sort, become our selves the Poet to the Composer; and what Poet is +so dull as not to be charm'd with the Child of his own Fancy? So that +there is even a kind of Language in agreeable Sounds, which, like the +Aspect of Beauty, without Words speaks and plays with the Imagination. +While this Taste therefore is so naturally prevalent, I doubt to propose +Remedies for it were but giving Laws to the Winds or Advice to +Inamorato's: And however gravely we may assert that Profit ought always +to be inseparable from the Delight of the Theatre; nay, admitting that +the Pleasure would be heighten'd by the uniting them; yet, while +Instruction is so little the Concern of the Auditor, how can we hope +that so choice a Commodity will come to a Market where there is so +seldom a Demand for it? + +It is not to the Actor, therefore, but to the vitiated and low Taste of +the Spectator, that the Corruptions of the Stage (of what kind soever) +have been owing. If the Publick, by whom they must live, had Spirit +enough to discountenance and declare against all the Trash and Fopperies +they have been so frequently fond of, both the Actors and the Authors, +to the best of their Power, must naturally have serv'd their daily Table +with sound and wholesome Diet.[116]----But I have not yet done with my +Article of Elocution. + +As we have sometimes great Composers of Musick who cannot sing, we have +as frequently great Writers that cannot read; and though without the +nicest Ear no Man can be Master of Poetical Numbers, yet the best Ear in +the World will not always enable him to pronounce them. Of this Truth +_Dryden_, our first great Master of Verse and Harmony, was a strong +Instance: When he brought his Play of _Amphytrion_ to the Stage,[117] I +heard him give it his first Reading to the Actors, in which, though it +is true he deliver'd the plain Sense of every Period, yet the whole was +in so cold, so flat, and unaffecting a manner, that I am afraid of not +being believ'd when I affirm it. + +On the contrary, _Lee_, far his inferior in Poetry, was so pathetick a +Reader of his own Scenes, that I have been inform'd by an Actor who was +present, that while _Lee_ was reading to Major _Mohun_ at a Rehearsal, +_Mohun_, in the Warmth of his Admiration, threw down his Part and said, +Unless I were able to _play_ it as well as you _read_ it, to what +purpose should I undertake it? And yet this very Author, whose Elocution +rais'd such Admiration in so capital an Actor, when he attempted to be +an Actor himself, soon quitted the Stage in an honest Despair of ever +making any profitable Figure there.[118] From all this I would infer, +That let our Conception of what we are to speak be ever so just, and the +Ear ever so true, yet, when we are to deliver it to an Audience (I will +leave Fear out of the question) there must go along with the whole a +natural Freedom and becoming Grace, which is easier to conceive than to +describe: For without this inexpressible Somewhat the Performance will +come out oddly disguis'd, or somewhere defectively unsurprizing to the +Hearer. Of this Defect, too, I will give you yet a stranger Instance, +which you will allow Fear could not be the Occasion of: If you remember +_Estcourt_,[119] you must have known that he was long enough upon the +Stage not to be under the least Restraint from Fear in his Performance: +This Man was so amazing and extraordinary a Mimick, that no Man or +Woman, from the Coquette to the Privy-Counsellor, ever mov'd or spoke +before him, but he could carry their Voice, Look, Mien, and Motion, +instantly into another Company: I have heard him make long Harangues and +form various Arguments, even in the manner of thinking of an eminent +Pleader at the Bar,[120] with every the least Article and Singularity of +his Utterance so perfectly imitated, that he was the very _alter ipse_, +scarce to be distinguish'd from his Original. Yet more; I have seen upon +the Margin of the written Part of _Falstaff_ which he acted, his own +Notes and Observations upon almost every Speech of it, describing the +true Spirit of the Humour, and with what Tone of Voice, Look, and +Gesture, each of them ought to be delivered. Yet in his Execution upon +the Stage he seem'd to have lost all those just Ideas he had form'd of +it, and almost thro' the Character labour'd under a heavy Load of +Flatness: In a word, with all his Skill in Mimickry and Knowledge of +what ought to be done, he never upon the Stage could bring it truly into +Practice, but was upon the whole a languid, unaffecting Actor.[121] +After I have shewn you so many necessary Qualifications, not one of +which can be spar'd in true Theatrical Elocution, and have at the same +time prov'd that with the Assistance of them all united, the whole may +still come forth defective; what Talents shall we say will infallibly +form an Actor? This I confess is one of Nature's Secrets, too deep for +me to dive into; let us content our selves therefore with affirming, +That _Genius_, which Nature only gives, only can complete him. This +_Genius_ then was so strong in _Betterton_, that it shone out in every +Speech and Motion of him. Yet Voice and Person are such necessary +Supports to it, that by the Multitude they have been preferr'd to +_Genius_ itself, or at least often mistaken for it. _Betterton_ had a +Voice of that kind which gave more Spirit to Terror than to the softer +Passions; of more Strength than Melody.[122] The Rage and Jealousy of +_Othello_ became him better than the Sighs and Tenderness of +_Castalio_:[123] For though in _Castalio_ he only excell'd others, in +_Othello_ he excell'd himself; which you will easily believe when you +consider that, in spite of his Complexion, _Othello_ has more natural +Beauties than the best Actor can find in all the Magazine of Poetry to +animate his Power and delight his Judgment with. + +The Person of this excellent Actor was suitable to his Voice, more manly +than sweet, not exceeding the middle Stature, inclining to the +corpulent; of a serious and penetrating Aspect; his Limbs nearer the +athletick than the delicate Proportion; yet however form'd, there arose +from the Harmony of the whole a commanding Mien of Majesty, which the +fairer-fac'd or (as _Shakespear_ calls 'em) the _curled_ Darlings of his +Time ever wanted something to be equal Masters of. There was some Years +ago to be had, almost in every Print-shop, a _Metzotinto_ from +_Kneller_, extremely like him.[124] + +In all I have said of _Betterton_, I confine myself to the Time of his +Strength and highest Power in Action, that you may make Allowances from +what he was able to execute at Fifty, to what you might have seen of him +at past Seventy; for tho' to the last he was without his Equal, he might +not then be equal to his former Self; yet so far was he from being ever +overtaken, that for many Years after his Decease I seldom saw any of his +Parts in _Shakespear_ supply'd by others, but it drew from me the +Lamentation of _Ophelia_ upon _Hamlet_'s being unlike what she had seen +him. + + ----_Ah! woe is me! + T'have seen what I have seen, see what I see!_ + +The last Part this great Master of his Profession acted was _Melantius_ +in the _Maid's Tragedy_, for his own Benefit;[125] when being suddenly +seiz'd by the Gout, he submitted, by extraordinary Applications, to +have his Foot so far reliev'd that he might be able to walk on the Stage +in a Slipper, rather than wholly disappoint his Auditors. He was +observ'd that Day to have exerted a more than ordinary Spirit, and met +with suitable Applause; but the unhappy Consequence of tampering with +his Distemper was, that it flew into his Head, and kill'd him in three +Days, (I think) in the seventy-fourth Year of his Age.[126] + +I once thought to have fill'd up my Work with a select Dissertation upon +Theatrical Action,[127] but I find, by the Digressions I have been +tempted to make in this Account of _Betterton_, that all I can say upon +that Head will naturally fall in, and possibly be less tedious if +dispers'd among the various Characters of the particular Actors I have +promis'd to treat of; I shall therefore make use of those several +Vehicles, which you will find waiting in the next Chapter, to carry you +thro' the rest of the Journey at your Leisure. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc apres Peter Van Bleeck] + + _The Theatrical Characters of the Principal Actors in the Year + 1690, continu'd._ + + _A few Words to Critical Auditors._ + +Tho', as I have before observ'd, Women were not admitted to the Stage +'till the Return of King _Charles_, yet it could not be so suddenly +supply'd with them but that there was still a Necessity, for some time, +to put the handsomest young Men into Petticoats;[128] which _Kynaston_ +was then said to have worn with Success; particularly in the Part of +_Evadne_ in the _Maid's Tragedy_, which I have heard him speak of, and +which calls to my Mind a ridiculous Distress that arose from these sort +of Shifts which the Stage was then put to.----The King coming a little +before his usual time to a Tragedy, found the Actors not ready to begin, +when his Majesty, not chusing to have as much Patience as his good +Subjects, sent to them to know the Meaning of it; upon which the Master +of the Company came to the Box, and rightly judging that the best Excuse +for their Default would be the true one, fairly told his Majesty that +the Queen was not _shav'd_ yet: The King, whose good Humour lov'd to +laugh at a Jest as well as to make one, accepted the Excuse, which +serv'd to divert him till the male Queen cou'd be effeminated. In a +word, _Kynaston_ at that time was so beautiful a Youth that the Ladies +of Quality prided themselves in taking him with them in their Coaches +to _Hyde-Park_ in his Theatrical Habit, after the Play; which in those +Days they might have sufficient time to do, because Plays then were us'd +to begin at four a-Clock: The Hour that People of the same Rank are now +going to Dinner.----Of this Truth I had the Curiosity to enquire, and +had it confirm'd from his own Mouth in his advanc'd Age: And indeed, to +the last of him, his Handsomeness was very little abated; even at past +Sixty his Teeth were all sound, white, and even, as one would wish to +see in a reigning Toast of Twenty. He had something of a formal Gravity +in his Mien, which was attributed to the stately Step he had been so +early confin'd to, in a female Decency. But even that in Characters of +Superiority had its proper Graces; it misbecame him not in the Part of +_Leon_, in _Fletcher's Rule a Wife, &c._ which he executed with a +determin'd Manliness and honest Authority well worth the best Actor's +Imitation. He had a piercing Eye, and in Characters of heroick Life a +quick imperious Vivacity in his Tone of Voice that painted the Tyrant +truly terrible. There were two Plays of _Dryden_ in which he shone with +uncommon Lustre; in _Aurenge-Zebe_ he play'd _Morat_, and in _Don +Sebastian, Muley Moloch_; in both these Parts he had a fierce, Lion-like +Majesty in his Port and Utterance that gave the Spectator a kind of +trembling Admiration! + +Here I cannot help observing upon a modest Mistake which I thought the +late Mr. _Booth_ committed in his acting the Part of _Morat_. There are +in this fierce Character so many Sentiments of avow'd Barbarity, +Insolence, and Vain-glory, that they blaze even to a ludicrous Lustre, +and doubtless the Poet intended those to make his Spectators laugh while +they admir'd them; but _Booth_ thought it depreciated the Dignity of +Tragedy to raise a Smile in any part of it, and therefore cover'd these +kind of Sentiments with a scrupulous Coldness and unmov'd Delivery, as +if he had fear'd the Audience might take too familiar a notice of +them.[129] In Mr. _Addison's Cato, Syphax_[130] has some Sentiments of +near the same nature, which I ventur'd to speak as I imagin'd +_Kynaston_ would have done had he been then living to have stood in the +same Character. Mr. _Addison_, who had something of Mr. _Booth_'s +Diffidence at the Rehearsal of his Play, after it was acted came into my +Opinion, and own'd that even Tragedy on such particular Occasions might +admit of a _Laugh_ of _Approbation_.[131] In _Shakespear_ Instances of +them are frequent, as in _Mackbeth_, _Hotspur_, _Richard the Third_, and +_Harry the Eighth_,[132] all which Characters, tho' of a tragical Cast, +have sometimes familiar Strokes in them so highly natural to each +particular Disposition, that it is impossible not to be transported into +an honest Laughter at them: And these are those happy Liberties which, +tho' few Authors are qualify'd to take, yet, when justly taken, may +challenge a Place among their greatest Beauties. Now, whether _Dryden_, +in his _Morat, feliciter Audet_,[133]----or may be allow'd the Happiness +of having hit this Mark, seems not necessary to be determin'd by the +Actor, whose Business, sure, is to make the best of his Author's +Intention, as in this Part _Kynaston_ did, doubtless not without +_Dryden_'s Approbation. For these Reasons then, I thought my good +Friend, Mr. _Booth_ (who certainly had many Excellencies) carry'd his +Reverence for the Buskin too far, in not following the bold Flights of +the Author with that Wantonness of Spirit which the Nature of those +Sentiments demanded: For Example! _Morat_ having a criminal Passion for +_Indamora_, promises, at her Request, for one Day to spare the Life of +her Lover _Aurenge-Zebe_: But not chusing to make known the real Motive +of his Mercy, when _Nourmahal_ says to him, + + _'Twill not be safe to let him live an Hour!_ + +_Morat_ silences her with this heroical _Rhodomontade_, + + _I'll do't, to shew my Arbitrary Power_.[134] + +_Risum teneatis?_ It was impossible not to laugh and reasonably too, +when this Line came out of the Mouth of _Kynaston_,[135] with the stern +and haughty Look that attended it. But above this tyrannical, tumid +Superiority of Character there is a grave and rational Majesty in +_Shakespear's Harry the Fourth_, which, tho' not so glaring to the +vulgar Eye, requires thrice the Skill and Grace to become and support. +Of this real Majesty _Kynaston_ was entirely Master; here every +Sentiment came from him as if it had been his own, as if he had himself +that instant conceiv'd it, as if he had lost the Player and were the +real King he personated! a Perfection so rarely found, that very often, +in Actors of good Repute, a certain Vacancy of Look, Inanity of Voice, +or superfluous Gesture, shall unmask the Man to the judicious Spectator, +who, from the least of those Errors, plainly sees the whole but a Lesson +given him to be got by Heart from some great Author whose Sense is +deeper than the Repeater's Understanding. This true Majesty _Kynaston_ +had so entire a Command of, that when he whisper'd the following plain +Line to _Hotspur_, + + _Send us your Prisoners, or you'll hear of it_![136] + + +He convey'd a more terrible Menace in it than the loudest Intemperance +of Voice could swell to. But let the bold Imitator beware, for without +the Look and just Elocution that waited on it an Attempt of the same +nature may fall to nothing. + +[Illustration: KYNASTON.] + +But the Dignity of this Character appear'd in _Kynaston_ still more +shining in the private Scene between the King and Prince his Son: There +you saw Majesty in that sort of Grief which only Majesty could feel! +there the paternal Concern for the Errors of the Son made the Monarch +more rever'd and dreaded: His Reproaches so just, yet so unmix'd with +Anger (and therefore the more piercing) opening as it were the Arms of +Nature with a secret Wish, that filial Duty and Penitence awak'd, might +fall into them with Grace and Honour. In this affecting Scene I thought +_Kynaston_ shew'd his most masterly Strokes of Nature; expressing all +the various Motions of the Heart with the same Force, Dignity and +Feeling, they are written; adding to the whole that peculiar and +becoming Grace which the best Writer cannot inspire into any Actor that +is not born with it. What made the Merit of this Actor and that of +_Betterton_ more surprizing, was that though they both observ'd the +Rules of Truth and Nature, they were each as different in their manner +of acting as in their personal Form and Features. But _Kynaston_ staid +too long upon the Stage, till his Memory and Spirit began to fail him. I +shall not therefore say any thing of his Imperfections, which, at that +time, were visibly not his own, but the Effects of decaying Nature.[137] + +_Monfort_,[138] a younger Man by twenty Years, and at this time in his +highest Reputation, was an Actor of a very different Style: Of Person he +was tall, well made, fair, and of an agreeable Aspect: His Voice clear, +full, and melodious: In Tragedy he was the most affecting Lover within +my Memory. His Addresses had a resistless Recommendation from the very +Tone of his Voice, which gave his Words such Softness that, as _Dryden_ +says, + + ----_Like Flakes of feather'd Snow, + They melted as they fell_![139] + +All this he particularly verify'd in that Scene of _Alexander_, where +the Heroe throws himself at the Feet of _Statira_ for Pardon of his past +Infidelities. There we saw the Great, the Tender, the Penitent, the +Despairing, the Transported, and the Amiable, in the highest Perfection. +In Comedy he gave the truest Life to what we call the _Fine Gentleman_; +his Spirit shone the brighter for being polish'd with Decency: In Scenes +of Gaiety he never broke into the Regard that was due to the Presence of +equal or superior Characters, tho' inferior Actors play'd them; he +fill'd the Stage, not by elbowing and crossing it before others, or +disconcerting their Action, but by surpassing them in true masterly +Touches of Nature. He never laugh'd at his own Jest, unless the Point +of his Raillery upon another requir'd it.--He had a particular Talent in +giving Life to _bons Mots_ and _Repartees_: The Wit of the Poet seem'd +always to come from him _extempore_, and sharpen'd into more Wit from +his brilliant manner of delivering it; he had himself a good Share of +it, or what is equal to it, so lively a Pleasantness of Humour, that +when either of these fell into his Hands upon the Stage, he wantoned +with them to the highest Delight of his Auditors. The _agreeable_ was so +natural to him, that even in that dissolute Character of the +_Rover_[140] he seem'd to wash off the Guilt from Vice, and gave it +Charms and Merit. For tho' it may be a Reproach to the Poet to draw such +Characters not only unpunish'd but rewarded, the Actor may still be +allow'd his due Praise in his excellent Performance. And this is a +Distinction which, when this Comedy was acted at _Whitehall_, King +_William_'s Queen _Mary_ was pleas'd to make in favour of _Monfort_, +notwithstanding her Disapprobation of the Play. + +He had, besides all this, a Variety in his Genius which few capital +Actors have shewn, or perhaps have thought it any Addition to their +Merit to arrive at; he could entirely change himself; could at once +throw off the Man of Sense for the brisk, vain, rude, and lively +Coxcomb, the false, flashy Pretender to Wit, and the Dupe of his own +Sufficiency: Of this he gave a delightful Instance in the Character of +_Sparkish_ in _Wycherly's Country Wife_. In that of Sir _Courtly +Nice_[141] his Excellence was still greater: There his whole Man, Voice, +Mien, and Gesture was no longer _Monfort_, but another Person. There, +the insipid, soft Civility, the elegant and formal Mien, the drawling +Delicacy of Voice, the stately Flatness of his Address, and the empty +Eminence of his Attitudes were so nicely observ'd and guarded by him, +that he had not been an entire Master of Nature had he not kept his +Judgment, as it were, a Centinel upon himself, not to admit the least +Likeness of what he us'd to be to enter into any Part of his +Performance, he could not possibly have so completely finish'd it. If, +some Years after the Death of _Monfort_, I my self had any Success in +either of these Characters, I must pay the Debt I owe to his Memory, in +confessing the Advantages I receiv'd from the just Idea and strong +Impression he had given me from his acting them. Had he been remember'd +when I first attempted them my Defects would have been more easily +discover'd, and consequently my favourable Reception in them must have +been very much and justly abated. If it could be remembred how much he +had the Advantage of me in Voice and Person, I could not here be +suspected of an affected Modesty or of over-valuing his Excellence: For +he sung a clear Counter-tenour, and had a melodious, warbling Throat, +which could not but set off the last Scene of Sir _Courtly_ with an +uncommon Happiness; which I, alas! could only struggle thro' with the +faint Excuses and real Confidence of a fine Singer under the +Imperfection of a feign'd and screaming Trebble, which at best could +only shew you what I would have done had Nature been more favourable to +me. + +This excellent Actor was cut off by a tragical Death in the 33d Year of +his Age, generally lamented by his Friends and all Lovers of the +Theatre. The particular Accidents that attended his Fall are to be found +at large in the Trial of the Lord _Mohun_, printed among those of the +State, in _Folio_.[142] + +_Sandford_ might properly be term'd the _Spagnolet_ of the Theatre, an +excellent Actor in disagreeable Characters: For as the chief Pieces of +that famous Painter were of Human Nature in Pain and Agony, so +_Sandford_ upon the Stage was generally as flagitious as a _Creon_, a +_Maligni_, an _Iago_, or a _Machiavil_[143] could make him. The Painter, +'tis true, from the Fire of his Genius might think the quiet Objects of +Nature too tame for his Pencil, and therefore chose to indulge it in its +full Power upon those of Violence and Horror: But poor _Sandford_ was +not the Stage-Villain by Choice, but from Necessity; for having a low +and crooked Person, such bodily Defects were too strong to be admitted +into great or amiable Characters; so that whenever in any new or revived +Play there was a hateful or mischievous Person, _Sandford_ was sure to +have no Competitor for it: Nor indeed (as we are not to suppose a +Villain or Traitor can be shewn for our Imitation, or not for our +Abhorrence) can it be doubted but the less comely the Actor's Person the +fitter he may be to perform them. The Spectator too, by not being misled +by a tempting Form, may be less inclin'd to excuse the wicked or immoral +Views or Sentiments of them. And though the hard Fate of an _Oedipus_ +might naturally give the Humanity of an Audience thrice the Pleasure +that could arise from the wilful Wickedness of the best acted _Creon,_ +yet who could say that _Sandford_ in such a Part was not Master of as +true and just Action as the best Tragedian could be whose happier +Person had recommended him to the virtuous Heroe, or any other more +pleasing Favourite of the Imagination? In this disadvantageous Light, +then, stood _Sandford_ as an Actor; admir'd by the Judicious, while the +Crowd only prais'd him by their Prejudice.[144] And so unusual had it +been to see _Sandford_ an innocent Man in a Play, that whenever he was +so, the Spectators would hardly give him credit in so gross an +Improbability. Let me give you an odd Instance of it, which I heard +_Monfort_ say was a real Fact. A new Play (the Name of it I have forgot) +was brought upon the Stage, wherein _Sandford_ happen'd to perform the +Part of an honest Statesman: The Pit, after they had sate three or four +Acts in a quiet Expectation that the well-dissembled Honesty of +_Sandford_ (for such of course they concluded it) would soon be +discover'd, or at least, from its Security, involve the Actors in the +Play in some surprizing Distress or Confusion, which might raise and +animate the Scenes to come; when, at last, finding no such matter, but +that the Catastrophe had taken quite another Turn, and that _Sandford_ +was really an honest Man to the end of the Play, they fairly damn'd it, +as if the Author had impos'd upon them the most frontless or incredible +Absurdity.[145] + +It is not improbable but that from _Sandford_'s so masterly personating +Characters of Guilt, the inferior Actors might think his Success chiefly +owing to the Defects of his Person; and from thence might take occasion, +whenever they appear'd as Bravo's or Murtherers, to make themselves as +frightful and as inhuman Figures as possible. In King _Charles_'s time, +this low Skill was carry'd to such an Extravagance, that the King +himself, who was black-brow'd and of a swarthy Complexion, pass'd a +pleasant Remark upon his observing the grim Looks of the Murtherers in +_Mackbeth_; when, turning to his People in the Box about him, _Pray, +what is the Meaning_, said he, _that we never see a Rogue in a Play, +but, Godsfish! they always clap him on a black Perriwig? when it is well +known one of the greatest Rogues in_ England _always wears a fair one_? +Now, whether or no Dr. _Oates_ at that time wore his own Hair I cannot +be positive: Or, if his Majesty pointed at some greater Man then out of +Power, I leave those to guess at him who may yet remember the changing +Complexion of his Ministers.[146] This Story I had from _Betterton_, who +was a Man of Veracity: And I confess I should have thought the King's +Observation a very just one, though he himself had been fair as +_Adonis_. Nor can I in this Question help voting with the Court; for +were it not too gross a Weakness to employ in wicked Purposes Men whose +very suspected Looks might be enough to betray them? Or are we to +suppose it unnatural that a Murther should be thoroughly committed out +of an old red Coat and a black Perriwig? + +For my own part, I profess myself to have been an Admirer of _Sandford_, +and have often lamented that his masterly Performance could not be +rewarded with that Applause which I saw much inferior Actors met with, +merely because they stood in more laudable Characters. For, tho' it may +be a Merit in an Audience to applaud Sentiments of Virtue and Honour; +yet there seems to be an equal Justice that no Distinction should be +made as to the Excellence of an Actor, whether in a good or evil +Character; since neither the Vice nor the Virtue of it is his own, but +given him by the Poet: Therefore, why is not the Actor who shines in +either equally commendable?--No, Sir; this may be Reason, but that is +not always a Rule with us; the Spectator will tell you, that when +Virtue is applauded he gives part of it to himself; because his Applause +at the same time lets others about him see that he himself admires it. +But when a wicked Action is going forward; when an _Iago_ is meditating +Revenge and Mischief; tho' Art and Nature may be equally strong in the +Actor, the Spectator is shy of his Applause, lest he should in some sort +be look'd upon as an Aider or an Abettor of the Wickedness in view; and +therefore rather chuses to rob the Actor of the Praise he may merit, +than give it him in a Character which he would have you see his Silence +modestly discourages. From the same fond Principle many Actors have made +it a Point to be seen in Parts sometimes even flatly written, only +because they stood in the favourable Light of Honour and Virtue.[147] + +I have formerly known an Actress carry this Theatrical Prudery to such a +height, that she was very near keeping herself chaste by it: Her +Fondness for Virtue on the Stage she began to think might perswade the +World that it had made an Impression on her private Life; and the +Appearances of it actually went so far that, in an Epilogue to an +obscure Play, the Profits of which were given to her, and wherein she +acted a Part of impregnable Chastity, she bespoke the Favour of the +Ladies by a Protestation that in Honour of their Goodness and Virtue she +would dedicate her unblemish'd Life to their Example. Part of this +Vestal Vow, I remember, was contain'd in the following Verse: + + _Study to live the Character I play_.[148] + +But alas! how weak are the strongest Works of Art when Nature besieges it? +for though this good Creature so far held out her Distaste to Mankind that +they could never reduce her to marry any one of 'em; yet we must own she +grew, like _Cæsar_, greater by her Fall! Her first heroick Motive to a +Surrender was to save the Life of a Lover who in his Despair had vow'd to +destroy himself, with which Act of Mercy (in a jealous Dispute once in my +Hearing) she was provoked to reproach him in these very Words: _Villain! +did not I save your Life?_ The generous Lover, in return to that first +tender Obligation, gave Life to her First-born,[149] and that pious +Offspring has since raised to her Memory several innocent Grandchildren. + +So that, as we see, it is not the Hood that makes the Monk, nor the Veil +the Vestal; I am apt to think that if the personal Morals of an Actor +were to be weighed by his Appearance on the Stage, the Advantage and +Favour (if any were due to either side) might rather incline to the +Traitor than the Heroe, to the _Sempronius_ than the _Cato_, or to the +_Syphax_ than the _Juba_: Because no Man can naturally desire to cover +his Honesty with a wicked Appearance; but an ill Man might possibly +incline to cover his Guilt with the Appearance of Virtue, which was the +Case of the frail Fair One now mentioned. But be this Question decided +as it may, _Sandford_ always appear'd to me the honester Man in +proportion to the Spirit wherewith he exposed the wicked and immoral +Characters he acted: For had his Heart been unsound, or tainted with the +least Guilt of them, his Conscience must, in spite of him, in any too +near a Resemblance of himself, have been a Check upon the Vivacity of +his Action. _Sandford_ therefore might be said to have contributed his +equal Share with the foremost Actors to the true and laudable Use of the +Stage: And in this Light too, of being so frequently the Object of +common Distaste, we may honestly stile him a Theatrical Martyr to +Poetical Justice: For in making Vice odious or Virtue amiable, where +does the Merit differ? To hate the one or love the other are but leading +Steps to the same Temple of Fame, tho' at different Portals.[150] + +This Actor, in his manner of Speaking, varied very much from those I +have already mentioned. His Voice had an acute and piercing Tone, which +struck every Syllable of his Words distinctly upon the Ear. He had +likewise a peculiar Skill in his Look of marking out to an Audience +whatever he judg'd worth their more than ordinary Notice. When he +deliver'd a Command, he would sometimes give it more Force by seeming to +slight the Ornament of Harmony. In _Dryden_'s Plays of Rhime, he as +little as possible glutted the Ear with the Jingle of it, rather +chusing, when the Sense would permit him, to lose it, than to value it. + +Had _Sandford_ liv'd in _Shakespear_'s Time, I am confident his Judgment +must have chose him above all other Actors to have play'd his _Richard +the Third_: I leave his Person out of the Question, which, tho' +naturally made for it, yet that would have been the least Part of his +Recommendation; _Sandford_ had stronger Claims to it; he had sometimes +an uncouth Stateliness in his Motion, a harsh and sullen Pride of +Speech, a meditating Brow, a stern Aspect, occasionally changing into an +almost ludicrous Triumph over all Goodness and Virtue: From thence +falling into the most asswasive Gentleness and soothing Candour of a +designing Heart. These, I say, must have preferr'd him to it; these +would have been Colours so essentially shining in that Character, that +it will be no Dispraise to that great Author to say, _Sandford_ must +have shewn as many masterly Strokes in it (had he ever acted it) as are +visible in the Writing it.[151] + +When I first brought _Richard the Third_[152] (with such Alterations +as I thought not improper) to the Stage, _Sandford_ was engaged +in the Company then acting under King _William_'s Licence in +_Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_; otherwise you cannot but suppose my Interest +must have offer'd him that Part. What encouraged me, therefore, to +attempt it myself at the _Theatre-Royal_, was that I imagined I knew how +_Sandford_ would have spoken every Line of it: If, therefore, in any +Part of it I succeeded, let the Merit be given to him: And how far I +succeeded in that Light, those only can be Judges who remember him. In +order, therefore, to give you a nearer Idea of _Sandford_, you must give +me leave (compell'd as I am to be vain) to tell you that the late Sir +_John Vanbrugh_, who was an Admirer of _Sandford_, after he had seen me +act it, assur'd me That he never knew any one Actor so particularly +profit by another as I had done by _Sandford_ in _Richard the Third_: +_You have_, said he, _his very Look, Gesture, Gait, Speech, and every +Motion of him, and have borrow'd them all only to serve you in that +Character_. If, therefore, Sir _John Vanbrugh_'s Observation was just, +they who remember me in _Richard the Third_ may have a nearer Conception +of _Sandford_ than from all the critical Account I can give of him.[153] + +I come now to those other Men Actors, who at this time were equally +famous in the lower Life of Comedy. But I find myself more at a loss to +give you them in their true and proper Light, than those I have already +set before you. Why the Tragedian warms us into Joy or Admiration, or +sets our Eyes on flow with Pity, we can easily explain to another's +Apprehension: But it may sometimes puzzle the gravest Spectator to +account for that familiar Violence of Laughter that shall seize him at +some particular Strokes of a true Comedian. How then shall I describe +what a better Judge might not be able to express? The Rules to please +the Fancy cannot so easily be laid down as those that ought to govern +the Judgment. The Decency, too, that must be observed in Tragedy, +reduces, by the manner of speaking it, one Actor to be much more like +another than they can or need be supposed to be in Comedy: There the +Laws of Action give them such free and almost unlimited Liberties to +play and wanton with Nature, that the Voice, Look, and Gesture of a +Comedian may be as various as the Manners and Faces of the whole Mankind +are different from one another. These are the Difficulties I lie under. +Where I want Words, therefore, to describe what I may commend, I can +only hope you will give credit to my Opinion: And this Credit I shall +most stand in need of, when I tell you, that: + +_Nokes_[154] was an Actor of a quite different Genius from any I have +ever read, heard of, or seen, since or before his Time; and yet his +general Excellence may be comprehended in one Article, _viz._ a plain +and palpable Simplicity of Nature, which was so utterly his own, that he +was often as unaccountably diverting in his common Speech as on the +Stage. I saw him once giving an Account of some Table-talk to another +Actor behind the Scenes, which a Man of Quality accidentally listening +to, was so deceived by his Manner, that he ask'd him if that was a new +Play he was rehearsing? It seems almost amazing that this Simplicity, so +easy to _Nokes_, should never be caught by any one of his Successors. +_Leigh_ and _Underhil_ have been well copied, tho' not equall'd by +others. But not all the mimical Skill of _Estcourt_ (fam'd as he was for +it) tho' he had often seen _Nokes_, could scarce give us an Idea of him. +After this perhaps it will be saying less of him, when I own, that +though I have still the Sound of every Line he spoke in my Ear, (which +us'd not to be thought a bad one) yet I have often try'd by myself, but +in vain, to reach the least distant Likeness of the _Vis Comica_ of +_Nokes_. Though this may seem little to his Praise, it may be negatively +saying a good deal to it, because I have never seen any one Actor, +except himself, whom I could not at least so far imitate as to give you +a more than tolerable Notion of his manner. But _Nokes_ was so singular +a Species, and was so form'd by Nature for the Stage, that I question if +(beyond the trouble of getting Words by Heart) it ever cost him an +Hour's Labour to arrive at that high Reputation he had, and deserved. + +The Characters he particularly shone in, were Sir _Martin Marr-all_, +_Gomez_ in the _Spanish Friar_, Sir _Nicolas Cully_ in _Love in a +Tub_,[155] _Barnaby Brittle_ in the _Wanton Wife_, Sir _Davy Dunce_ in +the _Soldier's Fortune_, _Sosia_ in _Amphytrion_,[156] &c. &c. &c. To +tell you how he acted them is beyond the reach of Criticism: But to tell +you what Effect his Action had upon the Spectator is not impossible: +This then is all you will expect from me, and from hence I must leave +you to guess at him. + +He scarce ever made his first Entrance in a Play but he was received +with an involuntary Applause, not of Hands only, for those may be, and +have often been partially prostituted and bespoken, but by a General +Laughter which the very Sight of him provoked and Nature cou'd not +resist; yet the louder the Laugh the graver was his Look upon it; and +sure, the ridiculous Solemnity of his Features were enough to have set a +whole Bench of Bishops into a Titter, cou'd he have been honour'd (may +it be no Offence to suppose it) with such grave and right reverend +Auditors. In the ludicrous Distresses which, by the Laws of Comedy, +Folly is often involv'd in, he sunk into such a mixture of piteous +Pusillanimity and a Consternation so ruefully ridiculous and +inconsolable, that when he had shook you to a Fatigue of Laughter it +became a moot point whether you ought not to have pity'd him. When he +debated any matter by himself, he would shut up his Mouth with a dumb +studious Powt, and roll his full Eye into such a vacant Amazement, such +a palpable Ignorance of what to think of it, that his silent Perplexity +(which would sometimes hold him several Minutes) gave your Imagination +as full Content as the most absurd thing he could say upon it. In the +Character of Sir _Martin Marr-all_, who is always committing Blunders to +the Prejudice of his own Interest, when he had brought himself to a +Dilemma in his Affairs by vainly proceeding upon his own Head, and was +afterwards afraid to look his governing Servant and Counsellor in the +Face, what a copious and distressful Harangue have I seen him make with +his Looks (while the House has been in one continued Roar for several +Minutes) before he could prevail with his Courage to speak a Word to +him! Then might you have at once read in his Face _Vexation_--that his +own Measures, which he had piqued himself upon, had fail'd. _Envy_--of +his Servant's superior Wit--_Distress_--to retrieve the Occasion he had +lost. _Shame_--to confess his Folly; and yet a sullen Desire to be +reconciled and better advised for the future! What Tragedy ever shew'd +us such a Tumult of Passions rising at once in one Bosom! or what +buskin'd Heroe standing under the Load of them could have more +effectually mov'd his Spectators by the most pathetick Speech, than poor +miserable _Nokes_ did by this silent Eloquence and piteous Plight of his +Features? + +His Person was of the middle size, his Voice clear and audible; his +natural Countenance grave and sober; but the Moment he spoke the settled +Seriousness of his Features was utterly discharg'd, and a dry, drolling, +or laughing Levity took such full Possession of him that I can only +refer the Idea of him to your Imagination. In some of his low +Characters, that became it, he had a shuffling Shamble in his Gait, with +so contented an Ignorance in his Aspect and an aukward Absurdity in his +Gesture, that had you not known him, you could not have believ'd that +naturally he could have had a Grain of common Sense. In a Word, I am +tempted to sum up the Character of _Nokes_, as a Comedian, in a Parodie +of what _Shakespear_'s _Mark Antony_ says of _Brutus_ as a Hero. + + _His Life was Laughter, and the_ Ludicrous + _So mixt in him, that Nature might stand up + And say to all the World--This was an_ Actor.[157] + +_Leigh_ was of the mercurial kind, and though not so strict an Observer of +Nature, yet never so wanton in his Performance as to be wholly out of her +Sight. In Humour he lov'd to take a full Career, but was careful enough to +stop short when just upon the Precipice: He had great Variety in his +manner, and was famous in very different Characters: In the canting, grave +Hypocrisy of the _Spanish_ Friar he stretcht the Veil of Piety so thinly +over him, that in every Look, Word, and Motion you saw a palpable, wicked +Slyness shine through it--Here he kept his Vivacity demurely confin'd till +the pretended Duty of his Function demanded it, and then he exerted it +with a cholerick sacerdotal Insolence. But the Friar is a Character of +such glaring Vice and so strongly drawn, that a very indifferent Actor +cannot but hit upon the broad Jests that are remarkable in every Scene of +it. Though I have never yet seen any one that has fill'd them with half +the Truth and Spirit of _Leigh_----_Leigh_ rais'd the Character as much +above the Poet's Imagination as the Character has sometimes rais'd other +Actors above themselves! and I do not doubt but the Poet's Knowledge of +_Leigh_'s Genius help'd him to many a pleasant Stroke of Nature, which +without that Knowledge never might have enter'd into his Conception. +_Leigh_ was so eminent in this Character that the late Earl of _Dorset_ +(who was equally an Admirer and a Judge of Theatrical Merit) had a whole +Length of him, in the Friar's Habit, drawn by _Kneller_: The whole +Portrait is highly painted, and extremely like him. But no wonder _Leigh_ +arriv'd to such Fame in what was so compleatly written for him, when +Characters that would make the Reader yawn in the Closet, have, by the +Strength of his Action, been lifted into the lowdest Laughter on the +Stage. Of this kind was the Scrivener's great boobily Son in the +_Villain_;[158] _Ralph_, a stupid, staring Under-servant, in Sir +_Solomon Single_.[159] Quite opposite to those were Sir _Jolly Jumble_ in +the _Soldier's Fortune_,[160] and his old _Belfond_ in the _Squire of +Alsatia_.[161] In Sir _Jolly_ he was all Life and laughing Humour, and +when _Nokes_ acted with him in the same Play, they returned the Ball so +dexterously upon one another, that every Scene between them seem'd but one +continued Rest[162] of Excellence----But alas! when those Actors were +gone, that Comedy and many others, for the same Reason, were rarely known +to stand upon their own Legs; by seeing no more of _Leigh_ or _Nokes_ in +them, the Characters were quite sunk and alter'd. In his Sir _William +Belfond_, _Leigh_ shew'd a more spirited Variety than ever I saw any +Actor, in any one Character, come up to: The Poet, 'tis true, had here +exactly chalked for him the Out-lines of Nature; but the high Colouring, +the strong Lights and Shades of Humour that enliven'd the whole and struck +our Admiration with Surprize and Delight, were wholly owing to the Actor. +The easy Reader might, perhaps, have been pleased with the Author without +discomposing a Feature, but the Spectator must have heartily held his +Sides, or the Actor would have heartily made them ach for it. + +[Illustration: ANTHONY LEIGH.] + +Now, though I observ'd before that _Nokes_ never was tolerably touch'd +by any of his Successors, yet in this Character I must own I have +seen _Leigh_ extremely well imitated by my late facetious Friend +_Penkethman_, who, tho' far short of what was inimitable in the +Original, yet, as to the general Resemblance, was a very valuable Copy +of him: And, as I know _Penkethman_ cannot yet be out of your Memory, I +have chosen to mention him here, to give you the nearest Idea I can of +the Excellence of _Leigh_ in that particular Light: For _Leigh_ had many +masterly Variations which the other cou'd not, nor ever pretended to +reach, particularly in the Dotage and Follies of extreme old Age, in the +Characters of _Fumble_ in the _Fond Husband_,[163] and the Toothless +Lawyer[164] in the _City Politicks_, both which Plays liv'd only by the +extraordinary Performance of _Nokes_ and _Leigh_. + +There were two other Characters of the farcical kind, _Geta_ in the +_Prophetess_, and _Crack_ in Sir _Courtly Nice_, which, as they are less +confin'd to Nature, the Imitation of them was less difficult to +_Penkethman_,[165] who, to say the Truth, delighted more in the +whimsical than the natural; therefore, when I say he sometimes resembled +_Leigh_, I reserve this Distinction on his Master's side, that the +pleasant Extravagancies of _Leigh_ were all the Flowers of his own +Fancy, while the less fertile Brain of my Friend was contented to make +use of the Stock his Predecessor had left him. What I have said, +therefore, is not to detract from honest _Pinky_'s Merit, but to do +Justice to his Predecessor----And though, 'tis true, we as seldom see a +good Actor as a great Poet arise from the bare _Imitation_ of another's +Genius, yet if this be a general Rule, _Penkethman_ was the nearest to +an Exception from it; for with those who never knew _Leigh_ he might +very well have pass'd for a more than common Original. Yet again, as +my Partiality for _Penkethman_ ought not to lead me from Truth, I must +beg leave (though out of its Place) to tell you fairly what was the +best of him, that the superiority of _Leigh_ may stand in its due +Light----_Penkethman_ had certainly from Nature a great deal of comic +Power about him, but his Judgment was by no means equal to it; for he +would make frequent Deviations into the Whimsies of an _Harlequin_. By +the way, (let me digress a little farther) whatever Allowances are made +for the Licence of that Character, I mean of an _Harlequin_, whatever +Pretences may be urged, from the Practice of the ancient Comedy, for its +being play'd in a Mask, resembling no part of the human Species, I am +apt to think the best Excuse a modern Actor can plead for his continuing +it, is that the low, senseless, and monstrous things he says and does in +it no theatrical Assurance could get through with a bare Face: Let me +give you an Instance of even _Penkethman_'s being out of Countenance for +want of it: When he first play'd _Harlequin_ in the _Emperor_ of the +_Moon_,[166] several Gentlemen (who inadvertently judg'd by the Rules of +Nature) fancied that a great deal of the Drollery and Spirit of his +Grimace was lost by his wearing that useless, unmeaning Masque of a +black Cat, and therefore insisted that the next time of his acting that +Part he should play without it: Their Desire was accordingly comply'd +with----but, alas! in vain--_Penkethman_ could not take to himself the +Shame of the Character without being concealed--he was no more +_Harlequin_--his Humour was quite disconcerted! his Conscience could not +with the same _Effronterie_ declare against Nature without the cover of +that unchanging Face, which he was sure would never blush for it! no! +it was quite another Case! without that Armour his Courage could not +come up to the bold Strokes that were necessary to get the better of +common Sense. Now if this Circumstance will justify the Modesty of +_Penkethman_, it cannot but throw a wholesome Contempt on the low Merit +of an _Harlequin_. But how farther necessary the Masque is to that +Fool's Coat, we have lately had a stronger Proof in the Favour that the +_Harlequin Sauvage_ met with at _Paris_, and the ill Fate that followed +the same _Sauvage_ when he pull'd off his Masque in _London_.[167] So +that it seems what was Wit from an _Harlequin_ was something too +extravagant from a human Creature. If, therefore, _Penkethman_ in +Characters drawn from Nature might sometimes launch out into a few +gamesome Liberties which would not have been excused from a more correct +Comedian, yet, in his manner of taking them, he always seem'd to me in a +kind of Consciousness of the Hazard he was running, as if he fairly +confess'd that what he did was only as well as he _could_ do----That he +was willing to take his Chance for Success, but if he did not meet with +it a Rebuke should break no Squares; he would mend it another time, and +would take whatever pleas'd his Judges to think of him in good part; and +I have often thought that a good deal of the Favour he met with was +owing to this seeming humble way of waving all Pretences to Merit but +what the Town would please to allow him. What confirms me in this +Opinion is, that when it has been his ill Fortune to meet with a +_Disgraccia_, I have known him say apart to himself, yet loud enough to +be heard----_Odso!_ I believe I _am a little wrong here_! which once was +so well receiv'd by the Audience that they turn'd their Reproof into +Applause.[168] + +Now, the Judgment of _Leigh_ always guarded the happier Sallies of his +Fancy from the least Hazard of Disapprobation: he seem'd not to court, +but to attack your Applause, and always came off victorious; nor did +his highest Assurance amount to any more than that just Confidence +without which the commendable Spirit of every good Actor must be abated; +and of this Spirit _Leigh_ was a most perfect Master. He was much +admir'd by King _Charles_, who us'd to distinguish him when spoke of by +the Title of _his Actor_: Which however makes me imagine that in his +Exile that Prince might have receiv'd his first Impression of good +Actors from the _French_ Stage; for _Leigh_ had more of that farcical +Vivacity than _Nokes_; but _Nokes_ was never languid by his more strict +Adherence to Nature, and as far as my Judgment is worth taking, if their +intrinsick Merit could be justly weigh'd, _Nokes_ must have had the +better in the Balance. Upon the unfortunate Death of _Monfort_, _Leigh_ +fell ill of a Fever, and dy'd in a Week after him, in _December +1692_.[169] + +_Underhil_ was a correct and natural Comedian, his particular Excellence +was in Characters that may be called Still-life, I mean the Stiff, the +Heavy, and the Stupid; to these he gave the exactest and most expressive +Colours, and in some of them look'd as if it were not in the Power of +human Passions to alter a Feature of him. In the solemn Formality of +_Obadiah_ in the _Committee_, and in the boobily Heaviness of _Lolpoop_ +in the _Squire of Alsatia_, he seem'd the immoveable Log he stood for! a +Countenance of Wood could not be more fixt than his, when the Blockhead +of a Character required it: His Face was full and long; from his Crown +to the end of his Nose was the shorter half of it, so that the +Disproportion of his lower Features, when soberly compos'd, with an +unwandering Eye hanging over them, threw him into the most lumpish, +moping Mortal that ever made Beholders merry! not but at other times he +could be wakened into Spirit equally ridiculous----In the course, +rustick Humour of Justice _Clodpate_, in _Epsome Wells_,[170] he was a +delightful Brute! and in the blunt Vivacity of Sir _Sampson_, in _Love +for Love_, he shew'd all that true perverse Spirit that is commonly seen +in much Wit and Ill-nature. This Character is one of those few so well +written, with so much Wit and Humour, that an Actor must be the grossest +Dunce that does not appear with an unusual Life in it: But it will still +shew as great a Proportion of Skill to come near _Underhil_ in the +acting it, which (not to undervalue those who soon came after him) I +have not yet seen. He was particularly admir'd too for the Gravedigger +in _Hamlet_. The Author of the _Tatler_ recommends him to the Favour of +the Town upon that Play's being acted for his Benefit, wherein, after +his Age had some Years oblig'd him to leave the Stage, he came on again, +for that Day, to perform his old Part;[171] but, alas! so worn and +disabled, as if himself was to have lain in the Grave he was digging; +when he could no more excite Laughter, his Infirmities were dismiss'd +with Pity: He dy'd soon after, a superannuated Pensioner in the List of +those who were supported by the joint Sharers under the first Patent +granted to Sir _Richard Steele_. + +The deep Impressions of these excellent Actors which I receiv'd in my +Youth, I am afraid may have drawn me into the common Foible of us old +Fellows; which is a Fondness, and perhaps a tedious Partiality, for the +Pleasures we have formerly tasted, and think are now fallen off because +we can no longer enjoy them. If therefore I lie under that Suspicion, +tho' I have related nothing incredible or out of the reach of a good +Judge's Conception, I must appeal to those Few who are about my own Age +for the Truth and Likeness of these Theatrical Portraits. + +There were at this time several others in some degree of Favour with the +Publick, _Powel_,[172] _Verbruggen_,[173] _Williams_,[174] &c. But as I +cannot think their best Improvements made them in any wise equal to +those I have spoke of, I ought not to range them in the same Class. +Neither were _Wilks_ or _Dogget_ yet come to the Stage; nor was _Booth_ +initiated till about six Years after them; or Mrs. _Oldfield_ known till +the Year 1700. I must therefore reserve the four last for their proper +Period, and proceed to the Actresses that were famous with _Betterton_ +at the latter end of the last Century. + +Mrs. _Barry_ was then in possession of almost all the chief Parts in +Tragedy: With what Skill she gave Life to them you will judge from the +Words of _Dryden_ in his Preface to _Cleomenes_,[175] where he says, + + _Mrs._ Barry, _always excellent, has in this Tragedy excell'd + herself, and gain'd a Reputation beyond any Woman I have ever + seen on the Theatre_. + +I very perfectly remember her acting that Part; and however unnecessary +it may seem to give my Judgment after _Dryden_'s, I cannot help saying I +do not only close with his Opinion, but will venture to add that (tho' +_Dryden_ has been dead these Thirty Eight Years) the same Compliment to +this Hour may be due to her Excellence. And tho' she was then not a +little past her Youth, she was not till that time fully arriv'd to her +maturity of Power and Judgment: From whence I would observe, That the +short Life of Beauty is not long enough to form a complete Actress. In +Men the Delicacy of Person is not so absolutely necessary, nor the +Decline of it so soon taken notice of. The Fame Mrs. _Barry_ arriv'd to +is a particular Proof of the Difficulty there is in judging with +Certainty, from their first Trials, whether young People will ever make +any great Figure on a Theatre. There was, it seems, so little Hope of +Mrs. _Barry_ at her first setting out, that she was at the end of the +first Year discharg'd the Company, among others that were thought to be +a useless Expence to it. I take it for granted that the Objection to +Mrs. _Barry_ at that time must have been a defective Ear, or some +unskilful Dissonance in her manner of pronouncing: But where there is a +proper Voice and Person, with the Addition of a good Understanding, +Experience tells us that such Defect is not always invincible; of which +not only Mrs. _Barry_, but the late Mrs. _Oldfield_ are eminent +Instances. Mrs. _Oldfield_ had been a Year in the Theatre-Royal before +she was observ'd to give any tolerable Hope of her being an Actress; so +unlike to all manner of Propriety was her Speaking![176] How +unaccountably, then, does a Genius for the Stage make its way towards +Perfection? For, notwithstanding these equal Disadvantages, both these +Actresses, tho' of different Excellence, made themselves complete +Mistresses of their Art by the Prevalence of their Understanding. If +this Observation may be of any use to the Masters of future Theatres, I +shall not then have made it to no purpose.[177] + +Mrs. _Barry_, in Characters of Greatness, had a Presence of elevated +Dignity, her Mien and Motion superb and gracefully majestick; her Voice +full, clear, and strong, so that no Violence of Passion could be too +much for her: And when Distress or Tenderness possess'd her, she +subsided into the most affecting Melody and Softness. In the Art of +exciting Pity she had a Power beyond all the Actresses I have yet seen, +or what your Imagination can conceive. Of the former of these two great +Excellencies she gave the most delightful Proofs in almost all the +Heroic Plays of _Dryden_ and _Lee_; and of the latter, in the softer +Passions of _Otway's Monimia_ and _Belvidera_.[178] In Scenes of Anger, +Defiance, or Resentment, while she was impetuous and terrible, she +pour'd out the Sentiment with an enchanting Harmony; and it was this +particular Excellence for which _Dryden_ made her the above-recited +Compliment upon her acting _Cassandra_ in his _Cleomenes_. But here I am +apt to think his Partiality for that Character may have tempted his +Judgment to let it pass for her Master-piece, when he could not but know +there were several other Characters in which her Action might have given +her a fairer Pretence to the Praise he has bestow'd on her for +_Cassandra_; for in no Part of that is there the least ground for +Compassion, as in _Monimia_, nor equal cause for Admiration, as in +the nobler Love of _Cleopatra_, or the tempestuous Jealousy of +_Roxana_.[179] 'Twas in these Lights I thought Mrs. _Barry_ shone with a +much brighter Excellence than in _Cassandra_. She was the first Person +whose Merit was distinguish'd by the Indulgence of having an annual +Benefit-Play, which was granted to her alone, if I mistake not, first in +King _James_'s time,[180] and which became not common to others 'till +the Division of this Company after the Death of King _William_'s Queen +_Mary_. This great Actress dy'd of a Fever towards the latter end of +Queen _Anne_; the Year I have forgot; but perhaps you will recollect it +by an Expression that fell from her in blank Verse, in her last Hours, +when she was delirious, _viz_. + + _Ha, ha! and so they make us Lords, by Dozens!_[181] + +Mrs. _Betterton_, tho' far advanc'd in Years, was so great a Mistress +of Nature that even Mrs. _Barry_, who acted the Lady _Macbeth_ after +her, could not in that Part, with all her superior Strength and Melody +of Voice, throw out those quick and careless Strokes of Terror from the +Disorder of a guilty Mind, which the other gave us with a Facility in +her Manner that render'd them at once tremendous and delightful. Time +could not impair her Skill, tho' he had brought her Person to decay. She +was, to the last, the Admiration of all true Judges of Nature and Lovers +of _Shakespear_, in whose Plays she chiefly excell'd, and without a +Rival. When she quitted the Stage several good Actresses were the better +for her Instruction. She was a Woman of an unblemish'd and sober life, +and had the Honour to teach Queen _Anne_, when Princess, the Part of +_Semandra_ in _Mithridates_, which she acted at Court in King +_Charles_'s time. After the Death of Mr. _Betterton_, her Husband, that +Princess, when Queen, order'd her a Pension for Life, but she liv'd not +to receive more than the first half Year of it.[182] + +[Illustration: ELIZABETH BARRY.] + +Mrs. _Leigh_, the Wife of _Leigh_ already mention'd, had a very droll +way of dressing the pretty Foibles of superannuated Beauties. She had in +her self a good deal of Humour, and knew how to infuse it into the +affected Mothers, Aunts, and modest stale Maids that had miss'd their +Market; of this sort were the Modish Mother in the _Chances_, affecting +to be politely commode for her own Daughter; the Coquette Prude of an +Aunt in Sir _Courtly Nice_, who prides herself in being chaste and cruel +at Fifty; and the languishing Lady _Wishfort_ in _The Way of the World_: +In all these, with many others, she was extremely entertaining, and +painted in a lively manner the blind Side of Nature.[183] + +Mrs. _Butler_, who had her Christian Name of _Charlotte_ given her by +King _Charles_, was the Daughter of a decay'd Knight, and had the Honour +of that Prince's Recommendation to the Theatre; a provident Restitution, +giving to the Stage in kind what he had sometimes taken from it: The +Publick at least was oblig'd by it; for she prov'd not only a good +Actress, but was allow'd in those Days to sing and dance to great +Perfection. In the Dramatick Operas of _Dioclesian_ and that of _King +Arthur_, she was a capital and admired Performer. In speaking, too, she +had a sweet-ton'd Voice, which, with her naturally genteel Air and +sensible Pronunciation, render'd her wholly Mistress of the Amiable in +many serious Characters. In Parts of Humour, too, she had a manner of +blending her assuasive Softness even with the Gay, the Lively, and the +Alluring. Of this she gave an agreeable Instance in her Action of the +(_Villiers_) Duke of _Buckingham_'s second _Constantia_ in the +_Chances_. In which, if I should say I have never seen her exceeded, I +might still do no wrong to the late Mrs. _Oldfield_'s lively Performance +of the same Character. Mrs. _Oldfield_'s Fame may spare Mrs. _Butler_'s +Action this Compliment, without the least Diminution or Dispute of her +Superiority in Characters of more moment.[184] + +Here I cannot help observing, when there was but one Theatre in +_London_, at what unequal Sallaries, compar'd to those of later Days, +the hired Actors were then held by the absolute Authority of their +frugal Masters the Patentees; for Mrs. _Butler_ had then but Forty +Shillings a Week, and could she have obtain'd an Addition of Ten +Shillings more (which was refus'd her) would never have left their +Service; but being offer'd her own Conditions to go with Mr. +_Ashbury_[185] to _Dublin_ (who was then raising a Company of Actors for +that Theatre, where there had been none since the Revolution) her +Discontent here prevail'd with her to accept of his Offer, and he found +his Account in her Value. Were not those Patentees most sagacious +Oeconomists that could lay hold on so notable an Expedient to lessen +their Charge? How gladly, in my time of being a Sharer, would we have +given four times her Income to an Actress of equal Merit? + +Mrs. _Monfort_, whose second Marriage gave her the Name of _Verbruggen_, +was Mistress of more variety of Humour than I ever knew in any one Woman +Actress. This variety, too, was attended with an equal Vivacity, which +made her excellent in Characters extremely different. As she was +naturally a pleasant Mimick, she had the Skill to make that Talent +useful on the Stage, a Talent which may be surprising in a Conversation +and yet be lost when brought to the Theatre, which was the Case of +_Estcourt_ already mention'd: But where the Elocution is round, +distinct, voluble, and various, as Mrs. _Monfort_'s was, the Mimick +there is a great Assistant to the Actor. Nothing, tho' ever so barren, +if within the Bounds of Nature, could be flat in her Hands. She gave +many heightening Touches to Characters but coldly written, and often +made an Author vain of his Work that in it self had but little Merit. +She was so fond of Humour, in what low Part soever to be found, that she +would make no scruple of defacing her fair Form to come heartily into +it;[186] for when she was eminent in several desirable Characters of Wit +and Humour in higher Life, she would be in as much Fancy when descending +into the antiquated _Abigail_[187] of _Fletcher_, as when triumphing in +all the Airs and vain Graces of a fine Lady; a Merit that few Actresses +care for. In a Play of _D'urfey's_, now forgotten, call'd _The Western +Lass_,[188] which Part she acted, she transform'd her whole Being, Body, +Shape, Voice, Language, Look, and Features, into almost another Animal, +with a strong _Devonshire_ Dialect, a broad laughing Voice, a poking +Head, round Shoulders, an unconceiving Eye, and the most bediz'ning, +dowdy Dress that ever cover'd the untrain'd Limbs of a _Joan Trot_. To +have seen her here you would have thought it impossible the same +Creature could ever have been recover'd to what was as easy to her, the +Gay, the Lively, and the Desirable. Nor was her Humour limited to her +Sex; for, while her Shape permitted, she was a more adroit pretty Fellow +than is usually seen upon the Stage: Her easy Air, Action, Mien, and +Gesture quite chang'd from the Quoif to the cock'd Hat and Cavalier in +fashion.[189] People were so fond of seeing her a Man, that when the +Part of _Bays_ in the _Rehearsal_ had for some time lain dormant, she +was desired to take it up, which I have seen her act with all the true +coxcombly Spirit and Humour that the Sufficiency of the Character +required. + +But what found most Employment for her whole various Excellence at once, +was the Part of _Melantha_ in _Marriage-Alamode_.[190] _Melantha_ is as +finish'd an Impertinent as ever flutter'd in a Drawing-Room, and seems +to contain the most compleat System of Female Foppery that could +possibly be crowded into the tortured Form of a Fine Lady. Her +Language, Dress, Motion, Manners, Soul, and Body, are in a continual +Hurry to be something more than is necessary or commendable. And though +I doubt it will be a vain Labour to offer you a just Likeness of Mrs. +_Monfort_'s Action, yet the fantastick Impression is still so strong in +my Memory that I cannot help saying something, tho' fantastically, about +it. The first ridiculous Airs that break from her are upon a Gallant +never seen before, who delivers her a Letter from her Father +recommending him to her good Graces as an honourable Lover.[191] Here +now, one would think, she might naturally shew a little of the Sexe's +decent Reserve, tho' never so slightly cover'd! No, Sir; not a Tittle of +it; Modesty is the Virtue of a poor-soul'd Country Gentlewoman; she is +too much a Court Lady to be under so vulgar a Confusion; she reads the +Letter, therefore, with a careless, dropping Lip and an erected Brow, +humming it hastily over as if she were impatient to outgo her Father's +Commands by making a compleat Conquest of him at once; and that the +Letter might not embarrass her Attack, crack! she crumbles it at once +into her Palm and pours upon him her whole Artillery of Airs, Eyes, and +Motion; down goes her dainty, diving Body to the Ground, as if she were +sinking under the conscious Load of her own Attractions; then launches +into a Flood of fine Language and Compliment, still playing her Chest +forward in fifty Falls and Risings, like a Swan upon waving Water; and, +to complete her Impertinence, she is so rapidly fond of her own Wit that +she will not give her Lover Leave to praise it: Silent assenting Bows +and vain Endeavours to speak are all the share of the Conversation he is +admitted to, which at last he is relieved from by her Engagement to half +a Score Visits, which she _swims_ from him to make, with a Promise to +return in a Twinkling. + +If this Sketch has Colour enough to give you any near Conception of her, +I then need only tell you that throughout the whole Character her +variety of Humour was every way proportionable; as, indeed, in most +Parts that she thought worth her care or that had the least Matter for +her Fancy to work upon, I may justly say, That no Actress, from her own +Conception, could have heighten'd them with more lively Strokes of +Nature.[192] + +I come now to the last, and only living Person, of all those whose +Theatrical Characters I have promised you, Mrs. _Bracegirdle_; who, I +know, would rather pass her remaining Days forgotten as an Actress, than +to have her Youth recollected in the most favourable Light I am able to +place it; yet, as she is essentially necessary to my Theatrical History, +and as I only bring her back to the Company of those with whom she +pass'd the Spring and Summer of her Life, I hope it will excuse the +Liberty I take in commemorating the Delight which the Publick received +from her Appearance while she was an Ornament to the Theatre. + +Mrs. _Bracegirdle_ was now but just blooming to her Maturity; her +Reputation as an Actress gradually rising with that of her Person; never +any Woman was in such general Favour of her Spectators, which, to the +last Scene of her Dramatick Life, she maintain'd by not being unguarded +in her private Character.[193] This Discretion contributed not a little +to make her the _Cara_, the Darling of the Theatre: For it will be no +extravagant thing to say, Scarce an Audience saw her that were less than +half of them Lovers, without a suspected Favourite among them: And tho' +she might be said to have been the Universal Passion, and under the +highest Temptations, her Constancy in resisting them served but to +increase the number of her Admirers: And this perhaps you will more +easily believe when I extend not my Encomiums on her Person beyond a +Sincerity that can be suspected; for she had no greater Claim to Beauty +than what the most desirable _Brunette_ might pretend to. But her Youth +and lively Aspect threw out such a Glow of Health and Chearfulness, that +on the Stage few Spectators that were not past it could behold her +without Desire. It was even a Fashion among the Gay and Young to have a +Taste or _Tendre_ for Mrs. _Bracegirdle_. She inspired the best Authors +to write for her, and two of them,[194] when they gave her a Lover in a +Play, seem'd palpably to plead their own Passions, and make their +private Court to her in fictitious Characters. In all the chief Parts +she acted, the Desirable was so predominant, that no Judge could be cold +enough to consider from what other particular Excellence she became +delightful. To speak critically of an Actress that was extremely good +were as hazardous as to be positive in one's Opinion of the best Opera +Singer. People often judge by Comparison where there is no Similitude in +the Performance. So that, in this case, we have only Taste to appeal to, +and of Taste there can be no disputing. I shall therefore only say of +Mrs. _Bracegirdle_, That the most eminent Authors always chose her for +their favourite Character, and shall leave that uncontestable Proof of +her Merit to its own Value. Yet let me say, there were two very +different Characters in which she acquitted herself with uncommon +Applause: If any thing could excuse that desperate Extravagance of Love, +that almost frantick Passion of _Lee's Alexander the Great_, it must +have been when Mrs. _Bracegirdle_ was his _Statira_: As when she acted +_Millamant_[195] all the Faults, Follies, and Affectations of that +agreeable Tyrant were venially melted down into so many Charms and +Attractions of a conscious Beauty. In other Characters, where Singing +was a necessary Part of them, her Voice and Action gave a Pleasure which +good Sense, in those Days, was not asham'd to give Praise to. + +She retir'd from the Stage in the Height of her Favour from the +Publick, when most of her Cotemporaries whom she had been bred up with +were declining, in the Year 1710,[196] nor could she be persuaded to +return to it under new Masters upon the most advantageous Terms that +were offered her; excepting one Day, about a Year after, to assist her +good Friend Mr. _Betterton_, when she play'd _Angelica_ in _Love for +Love_ for his Benefit. She has still the Happiness to retain her usual +Chearfulness, and to be, without the transitory Charm of Youth, +agreeable.[197] + +If, in my Account of these memorable Actors, I have not deviated from +Truth, which, in the least Article, I am not conscious of, may we not +venture to say, They had not their Equals, at any one Time, upon any +Theatre in _Europe_? Or, if we confine the Comparison to that of +_France_ alone, I believe no other Stage can be much disparag'd by being +left out of the question; which cannot properly be decided by the single +Merit of any one Actor; whether their _Baron_ or our _Betterton_ might +be the Superior, (take which Side you please) that Point reaches, either +way, but to a thirteenth part of what I contend for, _viz._ That no +Stage, at any one Period, could shew thirteen Actors, standing all in +equal Lights of Excellence in their Profession: And I am the bolder, in +this Challenge to any other Nation, because no Theatre having so +extended a Variety of natural Characters as the _English_, can have a +Demand for Actors of such various Capacities; why then, where they could +not be equally wanted, should we suppose them, at any one time, to have +existed? + +How imperfect soever this copious Account of them may be, I am not +without Hope, at least, it may in some degree shew what Talents are +requisite to make Actors valuable: And if that may any ways inform or +assist the Judgment of future Spectators, it may as often be of service +to their publick Entertainments; for as their Hearers are, so will +Actors be; worse, or better, as the false or true Taste applauds or +discommends them. Hence only can our Theatres improve or must +degenerate. + +There is another Point, relating to the hard Condition of those who +write for the Stage, which I would recommend to the Consideration of +their Hearers; which is, that the extreme Severity with which they damn +a bad Play seems too terrible a Warning to those whose untried Genius +might hereafter give them a good one: Whereas it might be a Temptation +to a latent Author to make the Experiment, could he be sure that, though +not approved, his Muse might at least be dismiss'd with Decency: But the +Vivacity of our modern Criticks is of late grown so riotous, that an +unsuccessful Author has no more Mercy shewn him than a notorious Cheat +in a Pillory; every Fool, the lowest Member of the Mob, becomes a Wit, +and will have a fling at him. They come now to a new Play like Hounds +to a Carcase, and are all in a full Cry, sometimes for an Hour together, +before the Curtain rises to throw it amongst them. Sure those Gentlemen +cannot but allow that a Play condemned after a fair Hearing falls with +thrice the Ignominy as when it is refused that common Justice. + +But when their critical Interruptions grow so loud, and of so long a +Continuance, that the Attention of quiet People (though not so complete +Criticks) is terrify'd, and the Skill of the Actors quite disconcerted +by the Tumult, the Play then seems rather to fall by Assassins than by a +Lawful Sentence.[198] Is it possible that such Auditors can receive +Delight, or think it any Praise to them, to prosecute so injurious, so +unmanly a Treatment? And tho' perhaps the Compassionate, on the other +side (who know they have as good a Right to clap and support, as others +have to catcall, damn, and destroy,) may oppose this Oppression; their +Good-nature, alas! contributes little to the Redress; for in this sort +of Civil War the unhappy Author, like a good Prince, while his Subjects +are at mortal Variance, is sure to be a Loser by a Victory on either +Side; for still the Common-wealth, his Play, is, during the Conflict, +torn to pieces. While this is the Case, while the Theatre is so +turbulent a Sea and so infested with Pirates, what Poetical Merchant of +any Substance will venture to trade in it? If these valiant Gentlemen +pretend to be Lovers of Plays, why will they deter Gentlemen from giving +them such as are fit for Gentlemen to see? In a word, this new Race of +Criticks seem to me like the Lion-Whelps in the _Tower_, who are so +boisterously gamesome at their Meals that they dash down the Bowls of +Milk brought for their own Breakfast.[199] + +As a good Play is certainly the most rational and the highest +Entertainment that Human Invention can produce, let that be my Apology +(if I need any) for having thus freely deliver'd my Mind in behalf of +those Gentlemen who, under such calamitous Hazards, may hereafter be +reduced to write for the Stage, whose Case I shall compassionate from +the same Motive that prevail'd on _Dido_ to assist the _Trojans_ in +Distress. + + _Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco._ Virg.[200] + +Or, as _Dryden_ has it, + + _I learn to pity Woes so like my own_. + +If those particular Gentlemen have sometimes made me the humbled Object +of their Wit and Humour, their Triumph at least has done me this +involuntary Service, that it has driven me a Year or two sooner into a +quiet Life than otherwise my own want of Judgment might have led me +to:[201] I left the Stage before my Strength left me, and tho' I came to +it again for some few Days a Year or two after, my Reception there not +only turn'd to my Account, but seem'd a fair Invitation that I would +make my Visits more frequent: But to give over a Winner can be no very +imprudent Resolution.[202] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _The Author's first Step upon the Stage. His Discouragements. + The best Actors in_ Europe _ill us'd. A Revolution in their + Favour. King_ William _grants them a Licence to act in_ + Lincoln's-Inn Fields. _The Author's Distress in being thought + a worse Actor than a Poet. Reduc'd to write a Part for + himself. His Success. More Remarks upon Theatrical Action. + Some upon himself._ + +Having given you the State of the Theatre at my first Admission to it, I +am now drawing towards the several Revolutions it suffer'd in my own +Time. But (as you find by the setting out of my History) that I always +intended myself the Heroe of it, it may be necessary to let you know me +in my Obscurity, as well as in my higher Light, when I became one of the +Theatrical Triumvirat. The Patentees,[203] who were now Masters of this +united and only Company of Comedians, seem'd to make it a Rule that no +young Persons desirous to be Actors should be admitted into Pay under at +least half a Year's Probation, wisely knowing that how early soever they +might be approv'd of, there could be no great fear of losing them while +they had then no other Market to go to. But, alas! Pay was the least of +my Concern; the Joy and Privilege of every Day seeing Plays for nothing +I thought was a sufficient Consideration for the best of my Services. So +that it was no Pain to my Patience that I waited full three Quarters of +a Year before I was taken into a Salary of Ten Shillings _per_ +Week;[204] which, with the Assistance of Food and Raiment at my +Father's House, I then thought a most plentiful Accession, and myself +the happiest of Mortals. + +The first Thing that enters into the Head of a young Actor is that of +being a Heroe: In this Ambition I was soon snubb'd by the Insufficiency +of my Voice; to which might be added an uninform'd meagre Person, (tho' +then not ill made) with a dismal pale Complexion.[205] Under these +Disadvantages,[206] I had but a melancholy Prospect of ever playing a +Lover with Mrs. _Bracegirdle_, which I had flatter'd my Hopes that my +Youth might one Day have recommended me to. What was most promising in +me, then, was the Aptness of my Ear; for I was soon allow'd to speak +justly, tho' what was grave and serious did not equally become me. The +first Part, therefore, in which I appear'd with any glimpse of Success, +was the Chaplain[207] in the _Orphan_ of _Otway._ There is in this +Character (of one Scene only) a decent Pleasantry, and Sense enough to +shew an Audience whether the Actor has any himself. Here was the first +Applause I ever receiv'd, which, you may be sure, made my Heart leap +with a higher Joy than may be necessary to describe; and yet my +Transport was not then half so high as at what _Goodman_ (who had now +left the Stage) said of me the next Day in my hearing. _Goodman_ often +came to a Rehearsal for Amusement, and having sate out the _Orphan_ the +Day before, in a Conversation with some of the principal Actors enquir'd +what new young Fellow that was whom he had seen in the Chaplain? Upon +which _Monfort_ reply'd, _That's he, behind you. Goodman_ then turning +about, look'd earnestly at me, and, after some Pause, clapping me on the +Shoulder, rejoin'd, _If he does not make a good Actor, I'll be d----'d_! +The Surprize of being commended by one who had been himself so eminent +on the Stage, and in so positive a manner, was more than I could +support; in a Word, it almost took away my Breath, and (laugh, if you +please) fairly drew Tears from my Eyes! And, tho' it may be as +ridiculous as incredible to tell you what a full Vanity and Content at +that time possess'd me, I will still make it a Question whether +_Alexander_ himself, or _Charles the Twelfth_ of _Sweden,_ when at the +Head of their first victorious Armies, could feel a greater Transport in +their Bosoms than I did then in mine, when but in the Rear of this Troop +of Comedians. You see to what low Particulars I am forc'd to descend to +give you a true Resemblance of the early and lively Follies of my Mind. +Let me give you another Instance of my Discretion, more desperate than +that of preferring the Stage to any other Views of Life. One might think +that the Madness of breaking from the Advice and Care of Parents to turn +Player could not easily be exceeded: But what think you, Sir, +of----Matrimony? which, before I was Two-and-twenty, I actually +committed,[208] when I had but Twenty Pounds a Year, which my Father had +assur'd to me, and Twenty Shillings a Week from my Theatrical Labours, +to maintain, as I then thought, the happiest young Couple that ever +took a Leap in the Dark! If after this, to complete my Fortune, I +turn'd Poet too, this last Folly indeed had something a better +Excuse--Necessity: Had it never been my Lot to have come on the Stage, +'tis probable I might never have been inclin'd or reduc'd to have wrote +for it: But having once expos'd my Person there, I thought it could be +no additional Dishonour to let my Parts, whatever they were, take their +Fortune along with it.--But to return to the Progress I made as an +Actor. + +Queen _Mary_ having commanded the _Double Dealer_ to be acted, +_Kynaston_ happen'd to be so ill that he could not hope to be able next +Day to perform his Part of the Lord _Touchwood_. In this Exigence, the +Author, Mr. _Congreve_, advis'd that it might be given to me, if at so +short a Warning I would undertake it.[209] The Flattery of being thus +distinguish'd by so celebrated an Author, and the Honour to act before a +Queen, you may be sure made me blind to whatever Difficulties might +attend it. I accepted the Part, and was ready in it before I slept; next +Day the Queen was present at the Play, and was receiv'd with a new +Prologue from the Author, spoken by Mrs. _Barry_, humbly acknowledging +the great Honour done to the Stage, and to his Play in particular: Two +Lines of it, which tho' I have not since read, I still remember. + + _But never were in_ Rome _nor_ Athens _seen, + So fair a Circle, or so bright a Queen_. + +After the Play, Mr. _Congreve_ made me the Compliment of saying, That I +had not only answer'd, but had exceeded his Expectations, and that he +would shew me he was sincere by his saying more of me to the +Masters.----He was as good as his Word, and the next Pay-day I found my +Sallary of fifteen was then advanc'd to twenty Shillings a Week. But +alas! this favourable Opinion of Mr. _Congreve_ made no farther +Impression upon the Judgment of my good Masters; it only serv'd to +heighten my own Vanity, but could not recommend me to any new Trials of +my Capacity; not a Step farther could I get 'till the Company was again +divided, when the Desertion of the best Actors left a clear Stage for +younger Champions to mount and shew their best Pretensions to Favour. +But it is now time to enter upon those Facts that immediately preceded +this remarkable Revolution of the Theatre. + +You have seen how complete a Set of Actors were under the Government of +the united Patents in 1690; if their Gains were not extraordinary, what +shall we impute it to but some extraordinary ill Menagement? I was then +too young to be in their Secrets, and therefore can only observe upon +what I saw and have since thought visibly wrong. + +Though the Success of the _Prophetess_[210] and _King Arthur_[211] (two +dramatic Operas, in which the Patentees had embark'd all their Hopes) +was in Appearance very great, yet their whole Receipts did not so far +balance their Expence as to keep them out of a large Debt, which it was +publickly known was about this time contracted, and which found Work for +the Court of Chancery for about twenty Years following, till one side of +the Cause grew weary. But this was not all that was wrong; every Branch +of the Theatrical Trade had been sacrific'd to the necessary fitting out +those tall Ships of Burthen that were to bring home the _Indies_. Plays +of course were neglected, Actors held cheap, and slightly dress'd, while +Singers and Dancers were better paid, and embroider'd. These Measures, +of course, created Murmurings on one side, and Ill-humour and Contempt +on the other. When it became necessary therefore to lessen the Charge, a +Resolution was taken to begin with the Sallaries of the Actors; and +what seem'd to make this Resolution more necessary at this time was the +Loss of _Nokes_, _Monfort_, and _Leigh_, who all dy'd about the same +Year:[212] No wonder then, if when these great Pillars were at once +remov'd, the Building grew weaker and the Audiences very much abated. +Now in this Distress, what more natural Remedy could be found than to +incite and encourage (tho' with some Hazard) the Industry of the +surviving Actors? But the Patentees, it seems, thought the surer way was +to bring down their Pay in proportion to the Fall of their Audiences. To +make this Project more feasible they propos'd to begin at the Head of +'em, rightly judging that if the Principals acquiesc'd, their Inferiors +would murmur in vain. To bring this about with a better Grace, they, +under Pretence of bringing younger Actors forward, order'd several of +_Betterton_'s and Mrs. _Barry_'s chief Parts to be given to young +_Powel_ and Mrs. _Bracegirdle_. In this they committed two palpable +Errors; for while the best Actors are in Health, and still on the Stage, +the Publick is always apt to be out of Humour when those of a lower +Class pretend to stand in their Places; or admitting at this time they +might have been accepted, this Project might very probably have +lessen'd, but could not possibly mend an Audience, and was a sure Loss +of that Time, in studying, which might have been better employ'd in +giving the Auditor Variety, the only Temptation to a pall'd Appetite; +and Variety is only to be given by Industry: But Industry will always be +lame when the Actor has Reason to be discontented. This the Patentees +did not consider, or pretended not to value, while they thought their +Power secure and uncontroulable: But farther their first Project did not +succeed; for tho' the giddy Head of _Powel_ accepted the Parts of +_Betterton_, Mrs. _Bracegirdle_ had a different way of thinking, and +desir'd to be excus'd from those of Mrs. _Barry_; her good Sense was not +to be misled by the insidious Favour of the Patentees; she knew the +Stage was wide enough for her Success, without entring into any such +rash and invidious Competition with Mrs. _Barry_, and therefore wholly +refus'd acting any Part that properly belong'd to her. But this +Proceeding, however, was Warning enough to make _Betterton_ be upon his +Guard, and to alarm others with Apprehensions of their own Safety, from +the Design that was laid against him: _Betterton_ upon this drew into +his Party most of the valuable Actors, who, to secure their Unity, +enter'd with him into a sort of Association to stand or fall +together.[213] All this the Patentees for some time slighted; but when +Matters drew towards a Crisis, they found it adviseable to take the +same Measures, and accordingly open'd an Association on their part; both +which were severally sign'd, as the Interest or Inclination of either +Side led them. + +[Illustration: Mrs BRACEGIRDLE AS "THE INDIAN QUEEN."] + +During these Contentions which the impolitick Patentees had rais'd +against themselves (not only by this I have mentioned, but by many other +Grievances which my Memory retains not) the Actors offer'd a Treaty of +Peace; but their Masters imagining no Consequence could shake the Right +of their Authority, refus'd all Terms of Accommodation. In the mean time +this Dissention was so prejudicial to their daily Affairs, that I +remember it was allow'd by both Parties that before _Christmas_ the +Patent had lost the getting of at least a thousand Pounds by it. + +My having been a Witness of this unnecessary Rupture was of great use to +me when, many Years after, I came to be a Menager my self. I laid it +down as a settled Maxim, that no Company could flourish while the chief +Actors and the Undertakers were at variance. I therefore made it a +Point, while it was possible upon tolerable Terms, to keep the valuable +Actors in humour with their Station; and tho' I was as jealous of their +Encroachments as any of my Co-partners could be, I always guarded +against the least Warmth in my Expostulations with them; not but at the +same time they might see I was perhaps more determin'd in the Question +than those that gave a loose to their Resentment, and when they were +cool were as apt to recede.[214] I do not remember that ever I made a +Promise to any that I did not keep, and therefore was cautious how I +made them. This Coldness, tho' it might not please, at least left them +nothing to reproach me with; and if Temper and fair Words could prevent +a Disobligation, I was sure never to give Offence or receive it.[215] +But as I was but one of three, I could not oblige others to observe the +same Conduct. However, by this means I kept many an unreasonable +Discontent from breaking out, and both Sides found their Account in it. + +How a contemptuous and overbearing manner of treating Actors had like to +have ruin'd us in our early Prosperity shall be shewn in its Place.[216] +If future Menagers should chance to think my way right, I suppose they +will follow it; if not, when they find what happen'd to the Patentees +(who chose to disagree with their People) perhaps they may think better +of it. + +The Patentees then, who by their united Powers had made a Monopoly of +the Stage, and consequently presum'd they might impose what Conditions +they pleased upon their People, did not consider that they were all this +while endeavouring to enslave a Set of Actors whom the Publick (more +arbitrary than themselves) were inclined to support; nor did they +reflect that the Spectator naturally wish'd that the Actor who gave him +Delight might enjoy the Profits arising from his Labour, without regard +of what pretended Damage or Injustice might fall upon his Owners, whose +personal Merit the Publick was not so well acquainted with. From this +Consideration, then, several Persons of the highest Distinction espous'd +their Cause, and sometimes in the Circle entertain'd the King with the +State of the Theatre. At length their Grievances were laid before the +Earl of _Dorset_, then Lord Chamberlain, who took the most effectual +Method for their Relief.[217] The Learned of the Law were advised with, +and they gave their Opinion that no Patent for acting Plays, _&c._ could +tie up the Hands of a succeeding Prince from granting the like Authority +where it might be thought proper to trust it. But while this Affair was +in Agitation, Queen _Mary_ dy'd,[218] which of course occasion'd a +Cessation of all publick Diversions. In this melancholy Interim, +_Betterton_ and his Adherents had more Leisure to sollicit their +Redress; and the Patentees now finding that the Party against them was +gathering Strength, were reduced to make sure of as good a Company as +the Leavings of _Betterton_'s Interest could form; and these, you may be +sure, would not lose this Occasion of setting a Price upon their Merit +equal to their own Opinion of it, which was but just double to what they +had before. _Powel_ and _Verbruggen_, who had then but forty Shillings a +Week, were now raised each of them to four Pounds, and others in +Proportion: As for my self, I was then too insignificant to be taken +into their Councils, and consequently stood among those of little +Importance, like Cattle in a Market, to be sold to the first Bidder. But +the Patentees seeming in the greater Distress for Actors, condescended +to purchase me. Thus, without any farther Merit than that of being a +scarce Commodity, I was advanc'd to thirty Shillings a Week: Yet our +Company was so far from being full,[219] that our Commanders were forced +to beat up for Volunteers in several distant Counties; it was this +Occasion that first brought _Johnson_[220] and _Bullock_[221] to the +Service of the Theatre-Royal. + +Forces being thus raised, and the War declared on both Sides, +_Betterton_ and his Chiefs had the Honour of an Audience of the _King_, +who consider'd them as the only Subjects whom he had not yet deliver'd +from arbitrary Power, and graciously dismiss'd them with an Assurance of +Relief and Support--Accordingly a select number of them were impower'd +by his Royal Licence[222] to act in a separate Theatre for themselves. +This great Point being obtain'd, many People of Quality came into a +voluntary Subscription of twenty, and some of forty Guineas a-piece, +for erecting a Theatre within the Walls of the Tennis-Court in +_Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_.[223] But as it required Time to fit it up, +it gave the Patentees more Leisure to muster their Forces, who +notwithstanding were not able to take the Field till the _Easter-Monday_ +in _April_ following. Their first Attempt was a reviv'd Play call'd +_Abdelazar_, or the _Moor's Revenge_, poorly written, by Mrs. _Behn_. +The House was very full, but whether it was the Play or the Actors that +were not approved, the next Day's Audience sunk to nothing. However, we +were assured that let the Audiences be never so low, our Masters would +make good all Deficiencies, and so indeed they did, 'till towards the +End of the Season, when Dues to Ballance came too thick upon 'em. But +that I may go gradually on with my own Fortune, I must take this +Occasion to let you know, by the following Circumstance, how very low my +Capacity as an Actor was then rated: It was thought necessary at our +Opening that the Town should be address'd in a new Prologue; but to our +great Distress, among several that were offer'd, not one was judg'd fit +to be spoken. This I thought a favourable Occasion to do my self some +remarkable Service, if I should have the good Fortune to produce one +that might be accepted. The next (memorable) Day my Muse brought forth +her first Fruit that was ever made publick; how good or bad imports not; +my Prologue was accepted, and resolv'd on to be spoken. This Point being +gain'd, I began to stand upon Terms, you will say, not unreasonable; +which were, that if I might speak it my self I would expect no farther +Reward for my Labour: This was judg'd as bad as having no Prologue at +all! You may imagine how hard I thought it, that they durst not trust my +poor poetical Brat to my own Care. But since I found it was to be given +into other Hands, I insisted that two Guineas should be the Price of my +parting with it; which with a Sigh I received, and _Powel_ spoke the +Prologue: But every Line that was applauded went sorely to my Heart when +I reflected that the same Praise might have been given to my own +speaking; nor could the Success of the Author compensate the Distress of +the Actor. However, in the End, it serv'd in some sort to mend our +People's Opinion of me; and whatever the Criticks might think of it, one +of the Patentees[224] (who, it is true, knew no Difference between +_Dryden_ and _D'urfey_) said, upon the Success of it, that insooth! I +was an ingenious young Man. This sober Compliment (tho' I could have no +Reason to be vain upon it) I thought was a fair Promise to my being in +favour. But to Matters of more Moment: Now let us reconnoitre the Enemy. + +After we had stolen some few Days March upon them, the Forces of +_Betterton_ came up with us in terrible Order: In about three Weeks +following, the new Theatre was open'd against us with a veteran Company +and a new Train of Artillery; or in plainer _English_, the old Actors +in _Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_ began with a new Comedy of Mr. _Congreve's_, +call'd _Love_ for _Love_;[225] which ran on with such extraordinary +Success that they had seldom occasion to act any other Play 'till the +End of the Season. This valuable Play had a narrow Escape from falling +into the Hands of the Patentees; for before the Division of the Company +it had been read and accepted of at the Theatre-Royal: But while the +Articles of Agreement for it were preparing, the Rupture in the +Theatrical State was so far advanced that the Author took time to pause +before he sign'd them; when finding that all Hopes of Accommodation were +impracticable, he thought it advisable to let it take its Fortune with +those Actors for whom he had first intended the Parts. + +Mr. _Congreve_ was then in such high Reputation as an Author, that +besides his Profits from this Play, they offered him a whole Share with +them, which he accepted;[226] in Consideration of which he oblig'd +himself, if his Health permitted, to give them one new Play every +Year.[227] _Dryden_, in King _Charles's_ Time, had the same Share with +the King's Company, but he bound himself to give them two Plays every +Season. This you may imagine he could not hold long, and I am apt to +think he might have serv'd them better with one in a Year, not so +hastily written. Mr. _Congreve_, whatever Impediment he met with, was +three Years before, in pursuance to his Agreement, he produced the +_Mourning Bride_;[228] and if I mistake not, the Interval had been much +the same when he gave them the _Way of the World_.[229] But it came out +the stronger for the Time it cost him, and to their better support when +they sorely wanted it: For though they went on with Success for a Year +or two, and even when their Affairs were declining stood in much higher +Estimation of the Publick than their Opponents; yet in the End both +Sides were great Sufferers by their Separation; the natural Consequence +of two Houses, which I have already mention'd in a former Chapter. + +The first Error this new Colony of Actors fell into was their +inconsiderately parting with _Williams_ and Mrs. _Monfort_[230] upon a +too nice (not to say severe) Punctilio; in not allowing them to be equal +Sharers with the rest; which before they had acted one Play occasioned +their Return to the Service of the Patentees. As I have call'd this an +Error, I ought to give my Reasons for it. Though the Industry of +_Williams_ was not equal to his Capacity; for he lov'd his Bottle better +than his Business; and though Mrs. _Monfort_ was only excellent in +Comedy, yet their Merit was too great almost on any Scruples to be added +to the Enemy; and at worst, they were certainly much more above those +they would have ranked them with than they could possibly be under +those they were not admitted to be equal to. Of this Fact there is a +poetical Record in the Prologue to _Love for Love_, where the Author, +speaking of the then happy State of the Stage, observes that if, in +Paradise, when two only were there, they both fell; the Surprize was +less, if from so numerous a Body as theirs, there had been any +Deserters. + + _Abate the Wonder, and the Fault forgive, + If, in our larger Family, we grieve + One falling_ Adam, _and one tempted_ Eve.[231] + +These Lines alluded to the Revolt of the Persons above mention'd. + +Notwithstanding the Acquisition of these two Actors, who were of more +Importance than any of those to whose Assistance they came, the Affairs +of the Patentees were still in a very creeping Condition;[232] they were +now, too late, convinced of their Error in having provok'd their People +to this Civil War of the Theatre! quite changed and dismal now was the +Prospect before them! their Houses thin, and the Town crowding into a +new one! Actors at double Sallaries, and not half the usual Audiences to +pay them! And all this brought upon them by those whom their full +Security had contemn'd, and who were now in a fair way of making their +Fortunes upon the ruined Interest of their Oppressors. + +Here, tho' at this time my Fortune depended on the Success of the +Patentees, I cannot help in regard to Truth remembring the rude and +riotous Havock we made of all the late dramatic Honours of the Theatre! +all became at once the Spoil of Ignorance and Self-conceit! _Shakespear_ +was defac'd and tortured in every signal Character--_Hamlet_ and +_Othello_ lost in one Hour all their good Sense, their Dignity and Fame. +_Brutus_ and _Cassius_ became noisy Blusterers, with bold unmeaning +Eyes, mistaken Sentiments, and turgid Elocution! Nothing, sure, could +more painfully regret[233] a judicious Spectator than to see, at our +first setting out, with what rude Confidence those Habits which actors +of real Merit had left behind them were worn by giddy Pretenders that so +vulgarly disgraced them! Not young Lawyers in hir'd Robes and Plumes at +a Masquerade could be less what they would seem, or more aukwardly +personate the Characters they belong'd to. If, in all these Acts of +wanton Waste, these Insults upon injur'd Nature, you observe I have not +yet charged one of them upon myself, it is not from an imaginary Vanity +that I could have avoided them; but that I was rather safe, by being too +low at that time to be admitted even to my Chance of falling into the +same eminent Errors: So that as none of those great Parts ever fell to +my Share, I could not be accountable for the Execution of them: Nor +indeed could I get one good Part of any kind 'till many Months after; +unless it were of that sort which no body else car'd for, or would +venture to expose themselves in.[234] The first unintended Favour, +therefore, of a Part of any Value, Necessity threw upon me on the +following Occasion. + +As it has been always judg'd their natural Interest, where there are two +Theatres, to do one another as much Mischief as they can, you may +imagine it could not be long before this hostile Policy shew'd itself in +Action. It happen'd, upon our having Information on a _Saturday_ Morning +that the _Tuesday_ after _Hamlet_ was intended to be acted at the other +House, where it had not yet been seen, our merry menaging Actors, (for +they were now in a manner left to govern themselves) resolv'd at any +rate to steal a March upon the Enemy, and take Possession of the same +Play the Day before them: Accordingly, _Hamlet_ was given out that Night +to be Acted with us on _Monday._ The Notice of this sudden Enterprize +soon reach'd the other House, who in my Opinion too much regarded it; +for they shorten'd their first Orders, and resolv'd that _Hamlet_ should +to _Hamlet_ be opposed on the same Day; whereas, had they given notice +in their Bills that the same Play would have been acted by them the Day +after, the Town would have been in no Doubt which House they should have +reserved themselves for; ours must certainly have been empty, and +theirs, with more Honour, have been crowded: Experience, many Years +after, in like Cases, has convinced me that this would have been the +more laudable Conduct. But be that as it may; when in their _Monday_'s +Bills it was seen that _Hamlet_ was up against us, our Consternation was +terrible, to find that so hopeful a Project was frustrated. In this +Distress, _Powel_, who was our commanding Officer, and whose +enterprising Head wanted nothing but Skill to carry him through the +most desperate Attempts; for, like others of his Cast, he had murder'd +many a Hero only to get into his Cloaths. This _Powel_, I say, +immediately called a Council of War, where the Question was, Whether he +should fairly face the Enemy, or make a Retreat to some other Play of +more probable Safety? It was soon resolved that to act _Hamlet_ against +_Hamlet_ would be certainly throwing away the Play, and disgracing +themselves to little or no Audience; to conclude, _Powel_, who was vain +enough to envy _Betterton_ as his Rival, proposed to change Plays with +them, and that as they had given out the _Old Batchelor_, and had +chang'd it for _Hamlet_ against us, we should give up our _Hamlet_ and +turn the _Old Batchelor_ upon them. This Motion was agreed to, _Nemine +contradicente_; but upon Enquiry, it was found that there were not two +Persons among them who had ever acted in that Play: But that Objection, +it seems, (though all the Parts were to be study'd in six Hours) was +soon got over; _Powel_ had an Equivalent, _in petto_, that would +ballance any Deficiency on that Score, which was, that he would play the +_Old Batchelor_ himself, and mimick _Betterton_ throughout the whole +Part. This happy Thought was approv'd with Delight and Applause, as +whatever can be suppos'd to ridicule Merit generally gives joy to those +that want it: Accordingly the Bills were chang'd, and at the Bottom +inserted, + + + _The Part of the_ Old Batchelor _to be perform'd + in Imitation of the Original._ + +Printed Books of the Play were sent for in haste, and every Actor had +one to pick out of it the Part he had chosen: Thus, while they were each +of them chewing the Morsel they had most mind to, some one happening to +cast his Eye over the _Dramatis Personæ_, found that the main Matter was +still forgot, that no body had yet been thought of for the Part of +Alderman _Fondlewife_. Here we were all aground agen! nor was it to be +conceiv'd who could make the least tolerable Shift with it. This +Character had been so admirably acted by _Dogget_, that though it is +only seen in the Fourth Act, it may be no Dispraise to the Play to say +it probably ow'd the greatest Part of its Success to his Performance. +But, as the Case was now desperate, any Resource was better than none. +Somebody must swallow the bitter Pill, or the Play must die. At last it +was recollected that I had been heard to say in my wild way of talking, +what a vast mind I had to play _Nykin_, by which Name the Character was +more frequently call'd.[235] Notwithstanding they were thus distress'd +about the Disposal of this Part, most of them shook their Heads at my +being mention'd for it; yet _Powel_, who was resolv'd at all Hazards to +fall upon _Betterton_, and having no concern for what might become of +any one that serv'd his Ends or Purpose, order'd me to be sent for; and, +as he naturally lov'd to set other People wrong, honestly said before I +came, _If the Fool has a mind to blow himself up at once, let us ev'n +give him a clear Stage for it_. Accordingly the Part was put into my +Hands between Eleven and Twelve that Morning, which I durst not refuse, +because others were as much straitned in time for Study as myself. But I +had this casual Advantage of most of them; that having so constantly +observ'd _Dogget_'s Performance, I wanted but little Trouble to make me +perfect in the Words; so that when it came to my turn to rehearse, while +others read their Parts from their Books, I had put mine in my Pocket, +and went thro' the first Scene without it; and though I was more abash'd +to rehearse so remarkable a Part before the Actors (which is natural to +most young People) than to act before an Audience, yet some of the +better-natur'd encouraged me so far as to say they did not think I +should make an ill Figure in it: To conclude, the Curiosity to see +_Betterton_ mimick'd drew us a pretty good Audience, and _Powel_ (as far +as Applause is a Proof of it) was allow'd to have burlesqu'd him very +well.[236] As I have question'd the certain Value of Applause, I hope I +may venture with less Vanity to say how particular a Share I had of it +in the same Play. At my first Appearance one might have imagin'd by the +various Murmurs of the Audience, that they were in doubt whether +_Dogget_ himself were not return'd, or that they could not conceive what +strange Face it could be that so nearly resembled him; for I had laid +the Tint of forty Years more than my real Age upon my Features, and, to +the most minute placing of an Hair, was dressed exactly like him: When I +spoke, the Surprize was still greater, as if I had not only borrow'd his +Cloaths, but his Voice too. But tho' that was the least difficult Part +of him to be imitated, they seem'd to allow I had so much of him in +every other Requisite, that my Applause was, perhaps, more than +proportionable: For, whether I had done so much where so little was +expected, or that the Generosity of my Hearers were more than usually +zealous upon so unexpected an Occasion, or from what other Motive such +Favour might be pour'd upon me, I cannot say; but in plain and honest +Truth, upon my going off from the first Scene, a much better Actor might +have been proud of the Applause that followed me; after one loud +_Plaudit_ was ended and sunk into a general Whisper that seem'd still to +continue their private Approbation, it reviv'd to a second, and again to +a third, still louder than the former. If to all this I add, that +_Dogget_ himself was in the Pit at the same time, it would be too rank +Affectation if I should not confess that to see him there a Witness of +my Reception, was to me as consummate a Triumph as the Heart of Vanity +could be indulg'd with. But whatever Vanity I might set upon my self +from this unexpected Success, I found that was no Rule to other People's +Judgment of me. There were few or no Parts of the same kind to be had; +nor could they conceive, from what I had done in this, what other sort +of Characters I could be fit for. If I sollicited for any thing of a +different Nature, I was answered, _That was not in my Way_. And what +_was_ in my Way it seems was not as yet resolv'd upon. And though I +reply'd, _That I thought any thing naturally written ought to be in +every one's Way that pretended to be an Actor_; this was looked upon as +a vain, impracticable Conceit of my own. Yet it is a Conceit that, in +forty Years farther Experience, I have not yet given up; I still think +that a Painter who can draw but one sort of Object, or an Actor that +shines but in one Light, can neither of them boast of that ample Genius +which is necessary to form a thorough Master of his Art: For tho' Genius +may have a particular Inclination, yet a good History-Painter, or a good +Actor, will, without being at a loss, give you upon Demand a proper +Likeness of whatever nature produces. If he cannot do this, he is only +an Actor as the Shoemaker was allow'd a limited Judge of _Apelles_'s +Painting, but _not beyond his Last_. Now, tho' to do any one thing well +may have more Merit than we often meet with, and may be enough to +procure a Man the Name of a good Actor from the Publick; yet, in my +Opinion, it is but still the Name without the Substance. If his Talent +is in such narrow Bounds that he dares not step out of them to look upon +the Singularities of Mankind, and cannot catch them in whatever Form +they present themselves; if he is not Master of the _Quicquid agunt +homines_,[237] &c. in any Shape Human Nature is fit to be seen in; if he +cannot change himself into several distinct Persons, so as to vary his +whole Tone of Voice, his Motion, his Look and Gesture, whether in high +or lower Life, and, at the same time, keep close to those Variations +without leaving the Character they singly belong to; if his best Skill +falls short of this Capacity, what Pretence have we to call him a +complete Master of his Art? And tho' I do not insist that he ought +always to shew himself in these various Lights, yet, before we +compliment him with that Title, he ought at least, by some few Proofs, +to let us see that he has them all in his Power. If I am ask'd, who, +ever, arriv'd at this imaginary Excellence, I confess the Instances are +very few; but I will venture to name _Monfort_ as one of them, whose +Theatrical Character I have given in my last Chapter: For in his Youth +he had acted Low Humour with great Success, even down to _Tallboy_ in +the _Jovial Crew_; and when he was in great Esteem as a Tragedian, he +was, in Comedy, the most complete Gentleman that I ever saw upon the +Stage. Let me add, too, that _Betterton_, in his declining Age, was as +eminent in Sir _John Falstaff_, as in the Vigour of it, in his +_Othello_. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM BULLOCK.] + +While I thus measure the Value of an Actor by the Variety of Shapes he +is able to throw himself into, you may naturally suspect that I am all +this while leading my own Theatrical Character into your Favour: Why +really, to speak as an honest Man, I cannot wholly deny it: But in this +I shall endeavour to be no farther partial to myself than known Facts +will make me; from the good or bad Evidence of which your better +Judgment will condemn or acquit me. And to shew you that I will conceal +no Truth that is against me, I frankly own that had I been always left +to my own choice of Characters, I am doubtful whether I might ever have +deserv'd an equal Share of that Estimation which the Publick seem'd to +have held me in: Nor am I sure that it was not Vanity in me often to +have suspected that I was kept out of the Parts I had most mind to by +the Jealousy or Prejudice of my Cotemporaries; some Instances of which I +could give you, were they not too slight to be remember'd: In the mean +time, be pleas'd to observe how slowly, in my younger Days, my +Good-fortune came forward. + +My early Success in the _Old Batchelor_, of which I have given so full +an Account, having open'd no farther way to my Advancement, was enough, +perhaps, to have made a young Fellow of more Modesty despair; but being +of a Temper not easily dishearten'd, I resolv'd to leave nothing +unattempted that might shew me in some new Rank of Distinction. Having +then no other Resource, I was at last reduc'd to write a Character for +myself; but as that was not finish'd till about a Year after, I could +not, in the Interim, procure any one Part that gave me the least +Inclination to act it; and consequently such as I got I perform'd with a +proportionable Negligence. But this Misfortune, if it were one, you are +not to wonder at; for the same Fate attended me, more or less, to the +last Days of my remaining on the Stage. What Defect in me this may have +been owing to, I have not yet had Sense enough to find out; but I soon +found out as good a thing, which was, never to be mortify'd at it: +Though I am afraid this seeming Philosophy was rather owing to my +Inclination to Pleasure than Business. But to my Point. The next Year I +produc'd the Comedy of _Love's last Shift_; yet the Difficulty of +getting it to the Stage was not easily surmounted; for, at that time, as +little was expected from me, as an Author, as had been from my +Pretensions to be an Actor. However, Mr. _Southern_, the Author of +_Oroonoko_, having had the Patience to hear me read it to him, happened +to like it so well that he immediately recommended it to the Patentees, +and it was accordingly acted in _January 1695_.[238] In this Play I gave +myself the Part of Sir _Novelty_, which was thought a good Portrait of +the Foppery then in fashion. Here, too, Mr. _Southern_, though he had +approv'd my Play, came into the common Diffidence of me as an Actor: +For, when on the first Day of it I was standing, myself, to prompt the +_Prologue_, he took me by the Hand and said, _Young Man! I pronounce thy +Play a good one; I will answer for its Success,[239] if thou dost not +spoil it by thy own Action_. Though this might be a fair _Salvo_ for his +favourable Judgment of the Play, yet, if it were his real Opinion of me +as an Actor, I had the good Fortune to deceive him: I succeeded so well +in both, that People seem'd at a loss which they should give the +Preference to.[240] But (now let me shew a little more Vanity, and my +Apology for it shall come after) the Compliment which my Lord _Dorset_ +(then Lord-Chamberlain) made me upon it is, I own, what I had rather not +suppress, _viz. That it was the best First Play that any Author in his +Memory had produc'd; and that for a young Fellow to shew himself such an +Actor and such a Writer in one Day, was something extraordinary._ But as +this noble Lord has been celebrated for his Good-nature, I am contented +that as much of this Compliment should be suppos'd to exceed my Deserts +as may be imagin'd to have been heighten'd by his generous Inclination +to encourage a young Beginner. If this Excuse cannot soften the Vanity +of telling a Truth so much in my own Favour, I must lie at the Mercy of +my Reader. But there was a still higher Compliment pass'd upon me which +I may publish without Vanity, because it was not a design'd one, and +apparently came from my Enemies, _viz._ That, to their certain +Knowledge, _it was not my own_: This Report is taken notice of in my +Dedication to the Play.[241] If they spoke Truth, if they knew what +other Person it really belong'd to, I will at least allow them true to +their Trust; for above forty Years have since past, and they have not +yet reveal'd the Secret.[242] + +The new Light in which the Character of Sir _Novelty_ had shewn me, one +might have thought were enough to have dissipated the Doubts of what I +might now be possibly good for. But to whatever Chance my Ill-fortune +was due; whether I had still but little Merit, or that the Menagers, if +I had any, were not competent Judges of it; or whether I was not +generally elbow'd by other Actors (which I am most inclin'd to think the +true Cause) when any fresh Parts were to be dispos'd of, not one Part of +any consequence was I preferr'd to 'till the Year following: Then, +indeed, from _Sir John Vanbrugh_'s favourable Opinion of me, I began, +with others, to have a better of myself: For he not only did me Honour +as an Author by writing his _Relapse_ as a Sequel or Second Part to +_Love's last Shift_, but as an Actor too, by preferring me to the chief +Character in his own Play, (which from Sir _Novelty_) he had ennobled by +the Style of Baron of _Foppington_. This Play (the _Relapse_) from its +new and easy Turn of Wit, had great Success, and gave me, as a Comedian, +a second Flight of Reputation along with it.[243] + +As the Matter I write must be very flat or impertinent to those who have +no Taste or Concern for the Stage, and may to those who delight in it, +too, be equally tedious when I talk of no body but myself, I shall +endeavour to relieve your Patience by a Word or two more of this +Gentleman, so far as he lent his Pen to the Support of the Theatre. + +Though the _Relapse_ was the first Play this agreeable Author produc'd, +yet it was not, it seems, the first he had written; for he had at that +time by him (more than) all the Scenes that were acted of the _Provok'd +Wife_; but being then doubtful whether he should ever trust them to the +Stage, he thought no more of it: But after the Success of the _Relapse_ +he was more strongly importun'd than able to refuse it to the Publick. +Why the last-written Play was first acted, and for what Reason they were +given to different Stages, what follows will explain. + +In his first Step into publick Life, when he was but an Ensign and had a +Heart above his Income, he happen'd somewhere at his Winter-Quarters, +upon a very slender Acquaintance with Sir _Thomas Skipwith_, to receive +a particular Obligation from him which he had not forgot at the Time I +am speaking of: When Sir _Thomas's_ Interest in the Theatrical Patent +(for he had a large Share in it, though he little concern'd himself in +the Conduct of it) was rising but very slowly, he thought that to give +it a Lift by a new Comedy, if it succeeded, might be the handsomest +Return he could make to those his former Favours; and having observ'd +that in _Love's last Shift_ most of the Actors had acquitted themselves +beyond what was expected of them, he took a sudden Hint from what he +lik'd in that Play, and in less than three Months, in the beginning of +_April_ following, brought us the _Relapse_ finish'd; but the Season +being then too far advanc'd, it was not acted 'till the succeeding +Winter. Upon the Success of the _Relapse_ the late Lord _Hallifax_, who +was a great Favourer of _Betterton_'s Company, having formerly, by way +of Family-Amusement, heard the _Provok'd Wife_ read to him in its looser +Sheets, engag'd Sir _John Vanbrugh_ to revise it and gave it to the +Theatre in _Lincolns-Inn Fields_. This was a Request not to be refus'd +to so eminent a Patron of the Muses as the Lord _Hallifax_, who was +equally a Friend and Admirer of Sir _John_ himself.[244] Nor was Sir +_Thomas Skipwith_ in the least disobliged by so reasonable a Compliance: +After which, Sir _John_ was agen at liberty to repeat his Civilities to +his Friend Sir _Thomas_, and about the same time, or not long after, +gave us the Comedy of _Æsop_, for his Inclination always led him to +serve Sir _Thomas_. Besides, our Company about this time began to be +look'd upon in another Light; the late Contempt we had lain under was +now wearing off, and from the Success of two or three new Plays, our +Actors, by being Originals in a few good Parts where they had not the +Disadvantage of Comparison against them, sometimes found new Favour in +those old Plays where others had exceeded them.[245] + +Of this Good-fortune perhaps I had more than my Share from the two very +different chief Characters I had succeeded in; for I was equally +approv'd in _Æsop_ as the _Lord Foppington_, allowing the Difference to +be no less than as Wisdom in a Person deform'd may be less entertaining +to the general Taste than Folly and Foppery finely drest: For the +Character that delivers Precepts of Wisdom is, in some sort, severe upon +the Auditor by shewing him one wiser than himself. But when Folly is his +Object he applauds himself for being wiser than the Coxcomb he laughs +at: And who is not more pleas'd with an Occasion to commend than accuse +himself? + +Though to write much in a little time is no Excuse for writing ill; yet +Sir _John Vanbrugh_'s Pen is not to be a little admir'd for its Spirit, +Ease, and Readiness in producing Plays so fast upon the Neck of one +another; for, notwithstanding this quick Dispatch, there is a clear and +lively Simplicity in his Wit that neither wants the Ornament of Learning +nor has the least Smell of the Lamp in it. As the Face of a fine Woman, +with only her Locks loose about her, may be then in its greatest Beauty; +such were his Productions, only adorn'd by Nature. There is something so +catching to the Ear, so easy to the Memory, in all he writ, that it has +been observ'd by all the Actors of my Time, that the Style of no Author +whatsoever gave their Memory less trouble than that of Sir _John +Vanbrugh_; which I myself, who have been charg'd with several of his +strongest Characters, can confirm by a pleasing Experience. And indeed +his Wit and Humour was so little laboured, that his most entertaining +Scenes seem'd to be no more than his common Conversation committed to +Paper. Here I confess my Judgment at a Loss, whether in this I give him +more or less than his due Praise? For may it not be more laudable to +raise an Estate (whether in Wealth or Fame) by Pains and honest Industry +than to be born to it? Yet if his Scenes really were, as to me they +always seem'd, delightful, are they not, thus expeditiously written, the +more surprising? let the Wit and Merit of them then be weigh'd by wiser +Criticks than I pretend to be: But no wonder, while his Conceptions were +so full of Life and Humour, his Muse should be sometimes too warm to +wait the slow Pace of Judgment, or to endure the Drudgery of forming a +regular Fable to them: Yet we see the _Relapse_, however imperfect in +the Conduct, by the mere Force of its agreeable Wit, ran away with the +Hearts of its Hearers; while _Love's last Shift_, which (as Mr. +_Congreve_ justly said of it) had only in it a great many things that +were _like_ Wit, that in reality were _not_ Wit: And what is still less +pardonable (as I say of it myself) has a great deal of Puerility and +frothy Stage-Language in it, yet by the mere moral Delight receiv'd from +its Fable, it has been, with the other, in a continued and equal +Possession of the Stage for more than forty Years.[246] + +As I have already promis'd you to refer your Judgment of me as an Actor +rather to known Facts than my own Opinion (which I could not be sure +would keep clear of Self-Partiality) I must a little farther risque my +being tedious to be as good as my Word. I have elsewhere allow'd that +my want of a strong and full Voice soon cut short my Hopes of making any +valuable Figure in Tragedy; and I have been many Years since convinced, +that whatever Opinion I might have of my own Judgment or Capacity to +amend the palpable Errors that I saw our Tragedians most in favour +commit; yet the Auditors who would have been sensible of any such +Amendments (could I have made them) were so very few, that my best +Endeavour would have been but an unavailing Labour, or, what is yet +worse, might have appeared both to our Actors and to many Auditors the +vain Mistake of my own Self-Conceit: For so strong, so very near +indispensible, is that one Article of Voice in the forming a good +Tragedian, that an Actor may want any other Qualification whatsoever, +and yet have a better chance for Applause than he will ever have, with +all the Skill in the World, if his Voice is not equal to it. Mistake me +not; I say, for _Applause_ only--but Applause does not always stay for, +nor always follow intrinsick Merit; Applause will frequently open, like +a young Hound, upon a wrong Scent; and the Majority of Auditors, you +know, are generally compos'd of Babblers that are profuse of their +Voices before there is any thing on foot that calls for them. Not but, I +grant, to lead or mislead the Many will always stand in some Rank of a +necessary Merit; yet when I say a good Tragedian, I mean one in Opinion +of whose _real_ Merit the best Judges would agree. + +Having so far given up my Pretensions to the Buskin, I ought now to +account for my having been, notwithstanding, so often seen in some +particular Characters in Tragedy, as _Iago_,[247] _Wolsey_, _Syphax_, +_Richard the Third_, &c. If in any of this kind I have succeeded, +perhaps it has been a Merit dearly purchas'd; for, from the Delight I +seem'd to take in my performing them, half my Auditors have been +persuaded that a great Share of the Wickedness of them must have been in +my own Nature: If this is true, as true I fear (I had almost said hope) +it is, I look upon it rather as a Praise than Censure of my Performance. +Aversion there is an involuntary Commendation, where we are only hated +for being like the thing we _ought_ to be like; a sort of Praise, +however, which few Actors besides my self could endure: Had it been +equal to the usual Praise given to Virtue, my Cotemporaries would have +thought themselves injur'd if I had pretended to any Share of it: So +that you see it has been as much the Dislike others had to them, as +Choice that has thrown me sometimes into these Characters. But it may be +farther observ'd, that in the Characters I have nam'd, where there is so +much close meditated Mischief, Deceit, Pride, Insolence, or Cruelty, +they cannot have the least Cast or Profer of the Amiable in them; +consequently, there can be no great Demand for that harmonious Sound, or +pleasing round Melody of Voice, which in the softer Sentiments of Love, +the Wailings of distressful Virtue, or in the Throws and Swellings of +Honour and Ambition, may be needful to recommend them to our Pity or +Admiration: So that, again, my want of that requisite Voice might less +disqualify me for the vicious than the virtuous Character. This too may +have been a more favourable Reason for my having been chosen for them--a +yet farther Consideration that inclin'd me to them was that they are +generally better written, thicker sown with sensible Reflections, and +come by so much nearer to common Life and Nature than Characters of +Admiration, as Vice is more the Practice of Mankind than Virtue: Nor +could I sometimes help smiling at those dainty Actors that were too +squeamish to swallow them! as if they were one Jot the better Men for +acting a good Man well, or another Man the worse for doing equal Justice +to a bad one! 'Tis not, sure, _what_ we act, but _how_ we act what is +allotted us, that speaks our intrinsick Value! as in real Life, the wise +Man or the Fool, be he Prince or Peasant, will in either State be +equally the Fool or the wise Man--but alas! in personated Life this is +no Rule to the Vulgar! they are apt to think all before them real, and +rate the Actor according to his borrow'd Vice or Virtue. + +If then I had always too careless a Concern for false or vulgar +Applause, I ought not to complain if I have had less of it than others +of my time, or not less of it than I desired: Yet I will venture to say, +that from the common weak Appetite of false Applause, many Actors have +run into more Errors and Absurdities, than their greatest Ignorance +could otherwise have committed:[248] If this Charge is true, it will lie +chiefly upon the better Judgment of the Spectator to reform it. + +But not to make too great a Merit of my avoiding this common Road to +Applause, perhaps I was vain enough to think I had more ways than one to +come at it. That, in the Variety of Characters I acted, the Chances to +win it were the stronger on my Side--That, if the Multitude were not in +a Roar to see me in _Cardinal Wolsey_, I could be sure of them in +Alderman _Fondlewife_. If they hated me in _Iago_, in Sir _Fopling_ they +took me for a fine Gentleman; if they were silent at _Syphax_, no +_Italian_ Eunuch was more applauded than when I sung in Sir _Courtly_. +If the Morals of _Æsop_ were too grave for them, Justice _Shallow_ was +as simple and as merry an old Rake as the wisest of our young ones could +wish me.[249] And though the Terror and Detestation raised by King +_Richard_ might be too severe a Delight for them, yet the more gentle +and modern Vanities of a Poet Bays, or the well-bred Vices of a Lord +_Foppington_, were not at all more than their merry Hearts or nicer +Morals could bear. + +These few Instances out of fifty more I could give you, may serve to +explain what sort of Merit I at most pretended to; which was, that I +supplied with Variety whatever I might want of that particular Skill +wherein others went before me. How this Variety was executed (for by +that only is its value to be rated) you who have so often been my +Spectator are the proper Judge: If you pronounce my Performance to have +been defective, I am condemn'd by my own Evidence; if you acquit me, +these Out-lines may serve for a Sketch of my Theatrical Character. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _The State of the Stage continued. The Occasion of Wilks's + commencing Actor. His Success. Facts relating to his + Theatrical Talent. Actors more or less esteem'd from their + private Characters._ + +The _Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_ Company were now, in 1693,[250] a +Common-wealth, like that of _Holland_, divided from the Tyranny of +_Spain_: But the Similitude goes very little farther; short was the +Duration of the Theatrical Power! for tho' Success pour'd in so fast upon +them at their first Opening that every thing seem'd to support it self, +yet Experience in a Year or two shew'd them that they had never been worse +govern'd than when they govern'd themselves! Many of them began to make +their particular Interest more their Point than that of the general: and +tho' some Deference might be had to the Measures and Advice of +_Betterton_, several of them wanted to govern in their Turn, and were +often out of Humour that their Opinion was not equally regarded--But have +we not seen the same Infirmity in Senates? The Tragedians seem'd to think +their Rank as much above the Comedians as in the Characters they severally +acted; when the first were in their Finery, the latter were impatient at +the Expence, and look'd upon it as rather laid out upon the real than the +fictitious Person of the Actor; nay, I have known in our own Company this +ridiculous sort of Regret carried so far, that the Tragedian has thought +himself injured when the _Comedian_ pretended to wear a fine Coat! I +remember _Powel_, upon surveying my first Dress in the _Relapse_, was out +of all temper, and reproach'd our Master in very rude Terms that he had +not so good a Suit to play _Cæsar Borgia_[251] in! tho' he knew, at the +same time, my Lord _Foppington_ fill'd the House, when his bouncing +_Borgia_ would do little more than pay Fiddles and Candles to it: And +though a Character of Vanity might be supposed more expensive in Dress +than possibly one of Ambition, yet the high Heart of this heroical Actor +could not bear that a Comedian should ever pretend to be as well dress'd +as himself. Thus again, on the contrary, when _Betterton_ proposed to set +off a Tragedy, the Comedians were sure to murmur at the Charge of it: And +the late Reputation which _Dogget_ had acquired from acting his _Ben_ in +_Love_ for _Love_, made him a more declared Male-content on such +Occasions; he over-valued Comedy for its being nearer to Nature than +Tragedy, which is allow'd to say many fine things that Nature never spoke +in the same Words; and supposing his Opinion were just, yet he should have +consider'd that the Publick had a Taste as well as himself, which in +Policy he ought to have complied with. _Dogget_, however, could not with +Patience look upon the costly Trains and Plumes of Tragedy, in which +knowing himself to be useless, he thought were all a vain Extravagance: +And when he found his Singularity could no longer oppose that Expence, he +so obstinately adhered to his own Opinion, that he left the Society of his +old Friends, and came over to us at the _Theatre-Royal_: And yet this +Actor always set up for a Theatrical Patriot. This happened in the Winter +following the first Division of the (only) Company.[252] He came time +enough to the _Theatre-Royal_ to act the Part of _Lory_ in the _Relapse_, +an arch Valet, quite after the _French_ cast, pert and familiar. But it +suited so ill with _Dogget_'s dry and closely-natural Manner of acting, +that upon the second Day he desired it might be disposed of to another; +which the Author complying with, gave it to _Penkethman_, who, tho' in +other Lights much his Inferior, yet this Part he seem'd better to become. +_Dogget_ was so immovable in his Opinion of whatever he thought was right +or wrong, that he could never be easy under any kind of Theatrical +Government, and was generally so warm in pursuit of his Interest that he +often out-ran it; I remember him three times, for some Years, unemploy'd +in any Theatre, from his not being able to bear, in common with others, +the disagreeable Accidents that in such Societies are unavoidable.[253] +But whatever Pretences he had form'd for this first deserting from +_Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_, I always thought his best Reason for it was, that +he look'd upon it as a sinking Ship; not only from the melancholy +Abatement of their Profits, but likewise from the Neglect and Disorder in +their Government: He plainly saw that their extraordinary Success at first +had made them too confident of its Duration, and from thence had slacken'd +their Industry--by which he observ'd, at the same time, the old House, +where there was scarce any other Merit than Industry, began to flourish. +And indeed they seem'd not enough to consider that the Appetite of the +Publick, like that of a fine Gentleman, could only be kept warm by +Variety; that let their Merit be never so high, yet the Taste of a Town +was not always constant, nor infallible: That it was dangerous to hold +their Rivals in too much Contempt;[254] for they found that a young +industrious Company were soon a Match for the best Actors when too +securely negligent: And negligent they certainly were, and fondly fancied +that had each of their different Schemes been follow'd, their Audiences +would not so suddenly have fallen off.[255] + +But alas! the Vanity of applauded Actors, when they are not crowded to +as they may have been, makes them naturally impute the Change to any +Cause rather than the true one, Satiety: They are mighty loath to think +a Town, once so fond of them, could ever be tired; and yet, at one time +or other, more or less thin Houses have been the certain Fate of the +most prosperous Actors ever since I remember the Stage! But against this +Evil the provident Patentees had found out a Relief which the new House +were not yet Masters of, _viz._ Never to pay their People when the Money +did not come in; nor then neither, but in such Proportions as suited +their Conveniency. I my self was one of the many who for six acting +Weeks together never received one Day's Pay; and for some Years after +seldom had above half our nominal Sallaries: But to the best of my +Memory, the Finances of the other House held it not above one Season +more, before they were reduced to the same Expedient of making the like +scanty Payments.[256] + +Such was the Distress and Fortune of both these Companies since their +Division from the _Theatre-Royal_; either working at half Wages, or by +alternate Successes intercepting the Bread from one another's +Mouths;[257] irreconcilable Enemies, yet without Hope of Relief from a +Victory on either Side; sometimes both Parties reduced, and yet each +supporting their Spirits by seeing the other under the same Calamity. + +During this State of the Stage it was that the lowest Expedient was made +use of to ingratiate our Company in the Publick Favour: Our Master, who +had sometime practised the Law,[258] and therefore loved a Storm better +than fair Weather (for it was his own Conduct chiefly that had brought +the Patent into these Dangers) took nothing so much to Heart as that +Partiality wherewith he imagined the People of Quality had preferr'd the +Actors of the other House to those of his own: To ballance this +Misfortune, he was resolv'd, at least, to be well with their Domesticks, +and therefore cunningly open'd the upper Gallery to them _gratis_: For +before this time no Footman was ever admitted, or had presum'd to come +into it, till after the fourth Act was ended: This additional Privilege +(the greatest Plague that ever Play-house had to complain of) he +conceived would not only incline them to give us a good Word in the +respective Families they belong'd to, but would naturally incite them to +come all Hands aloft in the Crack of our Applauses: And indeed it so +far succeeded, that it often thunder'd from the full Gallery above, +while our thin Pit and Boxes below were in the utmost Serenity. This +riotous Privilege, so craftily given, and which from Custom was at last +ripen'd into Right, became the most disgraceful Nusance that ever +depreciated the Theatre.[259] How often have the most polite Audiences, +in the most affecting Scenes of the best Plays, been disturb'd and +insulted by the Noise and Clamour of these savage Spectators? From the +same narrow way of thinking, too, were so many ordinary People and +unlick'd Cubs of Condition admitted behind our Scenes for Money, and +sometimes without it: The Plagues and Inconveniences of which Custom we +found so intolerable, when we afterwards had the Stage in our Hands, +that at the Hazard of our Lives we were forced to get rid of them; and +our only Expedient was by refusing Money from all Persons without +Distinction at the Stage-Door; by this means we preserved to ourselves +the Right and Liberty of chusing our own Company there: And by a strict +Observance of this Order we brought what had been before debas'd into +all the Licenses of a Lobby into the Decencies of a Drawing-Room.[260] + +About the distressful Time I was speaking of, in the Year 1696,[261] +_Wilks_, who now had been five Years in great Esteem on the _Dublin_ +Theatre, return'd to that of _Drury-Lane_; in which last he had first +set out, and had continued to act some small Parts for one Winter only. +The considerable Figure which he so lately made upon the Stage in +_London_, makes me imagine that a particular Account of his first +commencing Actor may not be unacceptable to the Curious; I shall, +therefore, give it them as I had it from his own Mouth. + +In King _James_'s Reign he had been some time employ'd in the +Secretary's Office in _Ireland_ (his native Country) and remain'd in it +till after the Battle of the _Boyn_, which completed the Revolution. +Upon that happy and unexpected Deliverance, the People of _Dublin_, +among the various Expressions of their Joy, had a mind to have a Play; +but the Actors being dispersed during the War, some private Persons +agreed in the best Manner they were able to give one to the Publick +_gratis_ at the _Theatre_. The Play was _Othello_, in which _Wilks_ +acted the _Moor_; and the Applause he received in it warm'd him to so +strong an Inclination for the Stage, that he immediately prefer'd it to +all his other Views in Life: for he quitted his Post, and with the first +fair Occasion came over to try his Fortune in the (then only) Company of +Actors in _London_. The Person who supply'd his Post in _Dublin_, he +told me, raised to himself from thence a Fortune of fifty thousand +Pounds. Here you have a much stronger Instance of an extravagant Passion +for the Stage than that which I have elsewhere shewn in my self; I only +quitted my _Hopes_ of being preferr'd to the like Post for it; but +_Wilks_ quitted his actual _Possession_ for the imaginary Happiness +which the Life of an Actor presented to him. And, though possibly we +might both have better'd our Fortunes in a more honourable Station, yet +whether better Fortunes might have equally gratify'd our Vanity (the +universal Passion of Mankind) may admit of a Question. + +Upon his being formerly received into the _Theatre-Royal_ (which was in +the Winter after I had been initiated) his Station there was much upon +the same Class with my own; our Parts were generally of an equal +Insignificancy, not of consequence enough to give either a Preference: +But _Wilks_ being more impatient of his low Condition than I was, (and, +indeed, the Company was then so well stock'd with good Actors that there +was very little hope of getting forward) laid hold of a more expeditious +way for his Advancement, and returned agen to _Dublin_ with Mr. +_Ashbury_, the Patentee of that Theatre, to act in his new Company +there: There went with him at the same time Mrs. _Butler_, whose +Character I have already given, and _Estcourt_, who had not appeared on +any Stage, and was yet only known as an excellent Mimick: _Wilks_ having +no Competitor in _Dublin_, was immediately preferr'd to whatever parts +his Inclination led him, and his early Reputation on that Stage as soon +raised in him an Ambition to shew himself on a better. And I have heard +him say (in Raillery of the Vanity which young Actors are liable to) +that when the News of _Monfort_'s Death came to _Ireland_, he from that +time thought his Fortune was made, and took a Resolution to return a +second time to _England_ with the first Opportunity; but as his +Engagements to the Stage where he was were too strong to be suddenly +broke from, he return'd not to the _Theatre-Royal_ 'till the Year +1696.[262] + +Upon his first Arrival, _Powel_, who was now in Possession of all the +chief Parts of _Monfort_, and the only Actor that stood in _Wilks_'s +way, in seeming Civility offer'd him his choice of whatever he thought +fit to make his first Appearance in; though, in reality, the Favour was +intended to hurt him. But _Wilks_ rightly judg'd it more modest to +accept only of a Part of _Powel_'s, and which _Monfort_ had never acted, +that of _Palamede_ in _Dryden's Marriage Alamode_. Here, too, he had the +Advantage of having the Ball play'd into his Hand by the inimitable Mrs. +_Monfort_, who was then his _Melantha_ in the same Play: Whatever Fame +_Wilks_ had brought with him from _Ireland_, he as yet appear'd but a +very raw Actor to what he was afterwards allow'd to be: His Faults, +however, I shall rather leave to the Judgments of those who then may +remember him, than to take upon me the disagreeable Office of being +particular upon them, farther than by saying, that in this Part of +_Palamede_ he was short of _Powel_, and miss'd a good deal of the loose +Humour of the Character, which the other more happily hit.[263] But +however he was young, erect, of a pleasing Aspect, and, in the whole, +gave the Town and the Stage sufficient Hopes of him. I ought to make +some Allowances, too, for the Restraint he must naturally have been +under from his first Appearance upon a new Stage. But from that he soon +recovered, and grew daily more in Favour, not only of the Town, but +likewise of the Patentee, whom _Powel_, before _Wilks_'s Arrival, had +treated in almost what manner he pleas'd. + +Upon this visible Success of _Wilks_, the pretended Contempt which +_Powel_ had held him in began to sour into an open Jealousy; he now +plainly saw he was a formidable Rival, and (which more hurt him) saw, +too, that other People saw it; and therefore found it high time to +oppose and be troublesome to him. But _Wilks_ happening to be as jealous +of his Fame as the other, you may imagine such clashing Candidates +could not be long without a Rupture: In short, a Challenge, I very well +remember, came from _Powel_, when he was hot-headed; but the next +Morning he was cool enough to let it end in favour of _Wilks_. Yet +however the Magnanimity on either Part might subside, the Animosity was +as deep in the Heart as ever, tho' it was not afterwards so openly +avow'd: For when _Powel_ found that intimidating would not carry his +Point; but that _Wilks_, when provok'd, would really give Battle,[264] +he (_Powel_) grew so out of Humour that he cock'd his Hat, and in his +Passion walk'd off to the Service of the Company in _Lincoln's-Inn +Fields_. But there finding more Competitors, and that he made a worse +Figure among them than in the Company he came from, he stay'd but one +Winter with them[265] before he return'd to his old Quarters in +_Drury-Lane_; where, after these unsuccessful Pushes of his Ambition, he +at last became a Martyr to Negligence, and quietly submitted to the +Advantages and Superiority which (during his late Desertion) _Wilks_ had +more easily got over him. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM PENKETHMAN.] + +However trifling these Theatrical Anecdotes may seem to a sensible +Reader, yet, as the different Conduct of these rival Actors may be of +use to others of the same Profession, and from thence may contribute to +the Pleasure of the Publick, let that be my Excuse for pursuing them. I +must therefore let it be known that, though in Voice and Ear Nature had +been more kind to _Powel_, yet he so often lost the Value of them by an +unheedful Confidence, that the constant wakeful Care and Decency of +_Wilks_ left the other far behind in the publick Esteem and Approbation. +Nor was his Memory less tenacious than that of _Wilks_; but _Powel_ put +too much Trust in it, and idly deferr'd the Studying of his Parts, as +School-boys do their Exercise, to the last Day, which commonly brings +them out proportionably defective. But _Wilks_ never lost an Hour of +precious Time, and was, in all his Parts, perfect to such an Exactitude, +that I question if in forty Years he ever five times chang'd or +misplac'd an Article in any one of them. To be Master of this uncommon +Diligence is adding to the Gift of Nature all that is in an Actor's +Power; and this Duty of Studying perfect whatever Actor is remiss in, he +will proportionably find that Nature may have been kind to him in vain, +for though _Powel_ had an Assurance that cover'd this Neglect much +better than a Man of more Modesty might have done, yet, with all his +Intrepidity, very often the Diffidence and Concern for what he was to +_say_ made him lose the Look of what he was to _be_: While, therefore, +_Powel_ presided, his idle Example made this Fault so common to others, +that I cannot but confess, in the general Infection, I had my Share of +it; nor was my too critical Excuse for it a good one, _viz._ That scarce +one Part in five that fell to my Lot was worth the Labour. But to shew +Respect to an Audience is worth the best Actor's Labour, and, his +Business consider'd, he must be a very impudent one that comes before +them with a conscious Negligence of what he is about.[266] But _Wilks_ +was never known to make any of these venial Distinctions, nor, however +barren his Part might be, could bear even the Self-Reproach of favouring +his Memory: And I have been astonished to see him swallow a Volume +of Froth and Insipidity in a new Play that we were sure could not +live above three Days, tho' favour'd and recommended to the Stage by +some good person of Quality. Upon such Occasions, in Compassion to +his fruitless Toil and Labour, I have sometimes cry'd out with +_Cato----Painful Præeminence!_ So insupportable, in my Sense, was +the Task, when the bare Praise of not having been negligent was sure +to be the only Reward of it. But so indefatigable was the Diligence +of _Wilks_, that he seem'd to love it, as a good Man does Virtue, for +its own sake; of which the following Instance will give you an +extraordinary Proof. + +In some new Comedy he happen'd to complain of a crabbed Speech in his +Part, which, he said, gave him more trouble to study than all the rest +of it had done; upon which he apply'd to the Author either to soften or +shorten it. The Author, that he might make the Matter quite easy to him, +fairly cut it all out. But when he got home from the Rehearsal, _Wilks_ +thought it such an Indignity to his Memory that any thing should be +thought too hard for it, that he actually made himself perfect in that +Speech, though he knew it was never to be made use of. From this +singular Act of Supererogation you may judge how indefatigable the +Labour of his Memory must have been when his Profit and Honour were more +concern'd to make use of it.[267] + +But besides this indispensable Quality of Diligence, _Wilks_ had the +Advantage of a sober Character in private Life, which _Powel_, not +having the least Regard to, labour'd under the unhappy Disfavour, not to +say Contempt, of the Publick, to whom his licentious Courses were no +Secret: Even when he did well that natural Prejudice pursu'd him; +neither the Heroe nor the Gentleman, the young _Ammon_[268] nor the +_Dorimant_,[269] could conceal from the conscious Spectator the True +_George Powel_. And this sort of Disesteem or Favour every Actor will +feel, and, more or less, have his Share of, as he _has_, or has _not_, a +due Regard to his private Life and Reputation. Nay, even false Reports +shall affect him, and become the Cause, or Pretence at least, of +undervaluing or treating him injuriously. Let me give a known Instance +of it, and at the same time a Justification of myself from an Imputation +that was laid upon me not many Years before I quitted the Theatre, of +which you will see the Consequence. + +After the vast Success of that new Species of Dramatick Poetry, the +_Beggars Opera_,[270] The Year following I was so stupid as to attempt +something of the same Kind, upon a quite different Foundation, that of +recommending Virtue and Innocence; which I ignorantly thought might not +have a less Pretence to Favour than setting Greatness and Authority in a +contemptible, and the most vulgar Vice and Wickedness, in an amiable +Light. But behold how fondly I was mistaken! _Love in a Riddle_[271] +(for so my new-fangled Performance was called) was as vilely damn'd and +hooted at as so vain a Presumption in the idle Cause of Virtue could +deserve. Yet this is not what I complain of; I will allow my Poetry to +be as much below the other as Taste or Criticism can sink it: I will +grant likewise that the applauded Author of the _Beggars Opera_ (whom I +knew to be an honest good-natur'd Man, and who, when he had descended to +write more like one, in the Cause of Virtue, had been as unfortunate as +others of that Class;) I will grant, I say, that in his _Beggars Opera_ +he had more skilfully gratify'd the Publick Taste than all the brightest +Authors that ever writ before him; and I have sometimes thought, from +the Modesty of his Motto, _Nos hæc novimus esse nihil_,[272] that +he gave them that Performance as a Satyr upon the Depravity of +their Judgment (as _Ben. Johnson_ of old was said to give his +_Bartholomew-Fair_ in Ridicule of the vulgar Taste which had disliked +his _Sejanus_[273]) and that, by artfully seducing them to be the +Champions of the Immoralities he himself detested, he should be amply +reveng'd on their former Severity and Ignorance. This were indeed a +Triumph! which even the Author of _Cato_ might have envy'd, _Cato!_ 'tis +true, succeeded, but reach'd not, by full forty Days, the Progress and +Applauses of the _Beggars Opera_. Will it, however, admit of a Question, +which of the two Compositions a good Writer would rather wish to have +been the Author of? Yet, on the other side, must we not allow that to +have taken a whole Nation, High and Low, into a general Applause, has +shown a Power in Poetry which, though often attempted in the same kind, +none but this one Author could ever yet arrive at? By what Rule, then, +are we to judge of our true National Taste? But to keep a little closer +to my Point, + +The same Author the next Year had, according to the Laws of the Land, +transported his Heroe to the _West-Indies_ in a Second Part to the +_Beggars Opera_;[274] but so it happen'd, to the Surprize of the +Publick, this Second Part was forbid to come upon the Stage! Various +were the Speculations upon this act of Power: Some thought that the +Author, others that the Town, was hardly dealt with; a third sort, who +perhaps had envy'd him the Success of his first Part, affirm'd, when it +was printed, that whatever the Intention might be, the Fact was in his +Favour, that he had been a greater Gainer by Subscriptions to his Copy +than he could have been by a bare Theatrical Presentation. Whether any +Part of these Opinions were true I am not concerned to determine or +consider. But how they affected me I am going to tell you. Soon after +this Prohibition,[275] my Performance was to come upon the Stage, at a +time when many People were out of Humour at the late Disappointment, +and seem'd willing to lay hold of any Pretence of making a Reprizal. +Great Umbrage was taken that I was permitted to have the whole Town to +my self, by this absolute Forbiddance of what they had more mind to have +been entertain'd with. And, some few Days before my Bawble was acted, I +was inform'd that a strong Party would be made against it: This Report I +slighted, as not conceiving why it should be true; and when I was +afterwards told what was the pretended Provocation of this Party, I +slighted it still more, as having less Reason to suppose any Persons +could believe me capable (had I had the Power) of giving such a +Provocation. The Report, it seems, that had run against me was this: +That, to make way for the Success of my own Play, I had privately found +means, or made Interest, that the Second Part of the _Beggars Opera_ +might be suppressed. What an involuntary Compliment did the Reporters of +this falshood make me? to suppose me of Consideration enough to +Influence a great Officer of State to gratify the Spleen or Envy of a +Comedian so far as to rob the Publick of an innocent Diversion (if it +were such) that none but that cunning Comedian might be suffered to give +it them.[276] This is so very gross a Supposition that it needs only +its own senseless Face to confound it; let that alone, then, be my +Defence against it. But against blind Malice and staring inhumanity +whatever is upon the Stage has no Defence! There they knew I stood +helpless and expos'd to whatever they might please to load or asperse me +with. I had not considered, poor Devil! that from the Security of a full +Pit Dunces might be Criticks, Cowards valiant, and 'Prentices Gentlemen! +Whether any such were concern'd in the Murder of my Play I am not +certain, for I never endeavour'd to discover any one of its Assassins; I +cannot afford them a milder Name, from their unmanly manner of +destroying it. Had it been heard, they might have left me nothing to say +to them: 'Tis true it faintly held up its wounded Head a second Day, and +would have spoke for Mercy, but was not suffer'd. Not even the Presence +of a Royal Heir apparent could protect it. But then I was reduced to be +serious with them; their Clamour then became an Insolence, which I +thought it my Duty by the Sacrifice of any Interest of my own to put an +end to. I therefore quitted the Actor for the Author, and, stepping +forward to the Pit, told them, _That since I found they were not +inclin'd that this Play should go forward, I gave them my Word that +after this Night it should never be acted agen: But that, in the mean +time, I hop'd they would consider in whose Presence they were, and for +that Reason at least would suspend what farther Marks of their +Displeasure they might imagine I had deserved._ At this there was a dead +Silence; and after some little Pause, a few civiliz'd Hands signify'd +their Approbation. When the Play went on, I observ'd about a Dozen +Persons of no extraordinary Appearance sullenly walk'd out of the Pit. +After which, every Scene of it, while uninterrupted, met with more +Applause than my best Hopes had expected. But it came too late: Peace to +its _Manes_! I had given my Word it should fall, and I kept it by giving +out another Play for the next Day, though I knew the Boxes were all lett +for the same again. Such, then, was the Treatment I met with: How much +of it the Errors of the Play might deserve I refer to the Judgment of +those who may have Curiosity and idle time enough to read it.[277] But +if I had no occasion to complain of the Reception it met with from its +_quieted_ Audience, sure it can be no great Vanity to impute its +Disgraces chiefly to that severe Resentment which a groundless Report of +me had inflam'd: Yet those Disgraces have left me something to boast of, +an Honour preferable even to the Applause of my Enemies: A noble Lord +came behind the Scenes, and told me, from the Box, where he was in +waiting, _That what I said to quiet the Audience was extremely well +taken there; and that I had been commended for it in a very obliging +manner_. Now, though this was the only Tumult that I have known to have +been so effectually appeas'd these fifty Years by any thing that could +be said to an Audience in the same Humour, I will not take any great +Merit to myself upon it; because when, like me, you will but humbly +submit to their doing you all the Mischief they can, they will at any +time be satisfy'd. + +I have mention'd this particular Fact to inforce what I before observ'd, +That the private Character of an Actor will always more or less affect +his Publick Performance. And if I suffer'd so much from the bare +_Suspicion_ of my having been guilty of a base Action, what should not +an Actor expect that is hardy enough to think his whole private +Character of no consequence? I could offer many more, tho' less severe +Instances of the same Nature. I have seen the most tender Sentiment of +Love in Tragedy create Laughter, instead of Compassion, when it has been +applicable to the real Engagements of the Person that utter'd it. I have +known good Parts thrown up, from an humble Consciousness that something +in them might put an Audience in mind of--what was rather wish'd might +be forgotten: Those remarkable Words of _Evadne_, in the _Maid's +Tragedy--A Maidenhead_, Amintor, _at my Years_?--have sometimes been a +much stronger Jest for being a true one. But these are Reproaches which +in all Nations the Theatre must have been us'd to, unless we could +suppose Actors something more than Human Creatures, void of Faults or +Frailties. 'Tis a Misfortune at least not limited to the _English_ +Stage. I have seen the better-bred Audience in _Paris_ made merry even +with a modest Expression, when it has come from the Mouth of an Actress +whose private Character it seem'd not to belong to. The Apprehension of +these kind of Fleers from the Witlings of a Pit has been carry'd so far +in our own Country, that a late valuable Actress[278] (who was conscious +her Beauty was not her greatest Merit) desired the Warmth of some Lines +might be abated when they have made her too remarkably handsome: But in +this Discretion she was alone, few others were afraid of undeserving the +finest things that could be said to them. But to consider this Matter +seriously, I cannot but think, at a Play, a sensible Auditor would +contribute all he could to his being well deceiv'd, and not suffer his +Imagination so far to wander from the well-acted Character before him, +as to gratify a frivolous Spleen by Mocks or personal Sneers on the +Performer, at the Expence of his better Entertainment. But I must now +take up _Wilks_ and _Powel_ again where I left them. + +Though the Contention for Superiority between them seem'd about this +time to end in favour of the former, yet the Distress of the Patentee +(in having his Servant his Master, as _Powel_ had lately been), was not +much reliev'd by the Victory; he had only chang'd the Man, but not the +Malady: For _Wilks_, by being in Possession of so many good Parts, fell +into the common Error of most Actors, that of over-rating their Merit, +or never thinking it is so thoroughly consider'd as it ought to be, +which generally makes them proportionably troublesome to the Master, who +they might consider only pays them to profit by them. The Patentee +therefore found it as difficult to satisfy the continual Demands of +_Wilks_ as it was dangerous to refuse them; very few were made that were +not granted, and as few were granted as were not grudg'd him: Not but +our good Master was as sly a Tyrant as ever was at the Head of a +Theatre; for he gave the Actors more Liberty, and fewer Days Pay, than +any of his Predecessors: He would laugh with them over a Bottle, and +bite[279] them in their Bargains: He kept them poor, that they might not +be able to rebel; and sometimes merry, that they might not think of it: +All their Articles of Agreement had a Clause in them that he was sure to +creep out at, _viz._ Their respective Sallaries were to be paid in such +manner and proportion as others of the same Company were paid; which in +effect made them all, when he pleas'd, but limited Sharers of Loss, and +himself sole Proprietor of Profits; and this Loss or Profit they only +had such verbal Accounts of as he thought proper to give them. 'Tis +true, he would sometimes advance them Money (but not more than he knew +at most could be due to them) upon their Bonds; upon which, whenever +they were mutinous, he would threaten to sue them. This was the Net we +danc'd in for several Years: But no wonder we were Dupes, while our +Master was a Lawyer. This Grievance, however, _Wilks_ was resolv'd, for +himself at least, to remedy at any rate; and grew daily more +intractable, for every Day his Redress was delay'd. Here our Master +found himself under a Difficulty he knew not well how to get out of: For +as he was a close subtle Man, he seldom made use of a Confident in his +Schemes of Government:[280] But here the old Expedient of Delay would +stand him in no longer stead; _Wilks_ must instantly be comply'd with, +or _Powel_ come again into Power! In a word, he was push'd so home, that +he was reduc'd even to take my Opinion into his Assistance: For he knew +I was a Rival to neither of them; perhaps, too, he had fancy'd that, +from the Success of my first Play, I might know as much of the Stage, +and what made an Actor valuable, as either of them: He saw, too, that +tho' they had each of them five good Parts to my one, yet the Applause +which in my few I had met with, was given me by better Judges than as +yet had approv'd of the best they had done. They generally measured the +goodness of a Part by the Quantity or Length of it: I thought none bad +for being short that were closely-natural; nor any the better for being +long, without that valuable Quality. But in this, I doubt, as to their +Interest, they judg'd better than myself; for I have generally observ'd +that those who do a great deal not ill, have been preferr'd to those who +do but little, though never so masterly. And therefore I allow that, +while there were so few good Parts, and as few good Judges of them, it +ought to have been no Wonder to me, that as an Actor I was less valued +by the Master or the common People than either of them: All the +Advantage I had of them was, that by not being troublesome I had more of +our Master's personal Inclination than any Actor of the male Sex;[281] +and so much of it, that I was almost the only one whom at that time he +us'd to take into his Parties of Pleasure; very often _tete à tete_, and +sometimes in a _Partie quarrèe_. These then were the Qualifications, +however good or bad, to which may be imputed our Master's having made +choice of me to assist him in the Difficulty under which he now +labour'd. He was himself sometimes inclin'd to set up _Powel_ again as +a Check upon the overbearing Temper of _Wilks_: Tho' to say truth, he +lik'd neither of them, but was still under a Necessity that one of them +should preside, tho' he scarce knew which of the two Evils to chuse. +This Question, when I happen'd to be alone with him, was often debated +in our Evening Conversation; nor, indeed, did I find it an easy matter +to know which Party I ought to recommend to his Election. I knew they +were neither of them Well-wishers to me, as in common they were Enemies +to most Actors in proportion to the Merit that seem'd to be rising in +them. But as I had the Prosperity of the Stage more at Heart than any +other Consideration, I could not be long undetermined in my Opinion, and +therefore gave it to our Master at once in Favour of _Wilks_. I, with +all the Force I could muster, insisted, "That if _Powel_ were preferr'd, +the ill Example of his Negligence and abandon'd Character (whatever his +Merit on the Stage might be) would reduce our Company to Contempt and +Beggary; observing, at the same time, in how much better Order our +Affairs went forward since _Wilks_ came among us, of which I recounted +several Instances that are not so necessary to tire my Reader with. All +this, though he allow'd to be true, yet _Powel_, he said, was a better +Actor than _Wilks_ when he minded his Business (that is to say, when he +was, what he seldom was, sober). But _Powel_, it seems, had a still +greater Merit to him, which was, (as he observ'd) that when Affairs +were in his Hands, he had kept the Actors quiet, without one Day's Pay, +for six Weeks together, and it was not every body could do that; for you +see, said he, _Wilks_ will never be easy unless I give him his whole +Pay, when others have it not, and what an Injustice would that be to the +rest if I were to comply with him? How do I know but then they may be +all in a Mutiny, and _mayhap_ (that was his Expression) with _Powel_ at +the Head of 'em?" By this Specimen of our Debate, it may be judg'd under +how particular and merry a Government the Theatre then labour'd. To +conclude, this Matter ended in a Resolution to sign a new Agreement with +_Wilks_, which entitled him to his full Pay of four Pounds a Week +without any conditional Deductions. How far soever my Advice might have +contributed to our Master's settling his Affairs upon this Foot, I never +durst make the least Merit of it to _Wilks_, well knowing that his great +Heart would have taken it as a mortal Affront had I (tho' never so +distantly) hinted that his Demands had needed any Assistance but the +Justice of them. From this time, then, _Wilks_ became first Minister, or +Bustle-master-general of the Company.[282] He now seem'd to take new +Delight in keeping the Actors close to their Business, and got every +Play reviv'd with Care in which he had acted the chief Part in _Dublin_: +'Tis true, this might be done with a particular View of setting off +himself to Advantage; but if at the same time it served the Company, he +ought not to want our Commendation: Now, tho' my own Conduct neither had +the Appearance of his Merit, nor the Reward that follow'd his Industry, +I cannot help observing that it shew'd me, to the best of my Power, a +more cordial Commonwealth's Man: His first Views in serving himself made +his Service to the whole but an incidental Merit; whereas, by my +prosecuting the Means to make him easy in his Pay, unknown to him, or +without asking any Favour for my self at the same time, I gave a more +unquestionable Proof of my preferring the Publick to my Private +Interest: From the same Principle I never murmur'd at whatever little +Parts fell to my Share, and though I knew it would not recommend me to +the Favour of the common People, I often submitted to play wicked +Characters rather than they should be worse done by weaker Actors than +my self: But perhaps, in all this Patience under my Situation, I +supported my Spirits by a conscious Vanity: For I fancied I had more +Reason to value myself upon being sometimes the Confident and Companion +of our Master, than _Wilks_ had in all the more publick Favours he had +extorted from him. I imagined, too, there was sometimes as much Skill to +be shewn in a short Part, as in the most voluminous, which he generally +made choice of; that even the coxcombly Follies of a Sir _John Daw_ +might as well distinguish the Capacity of an Actor, as all the dry +Enterprizes and busy Conduct of a _Truewit_.[283] Nor could I have any +Reason to repine at the Superiority he enjoy'd, when I consider'd at how +dear a Rate it was purchased, at the continual Expence of a restless +Jealousy and fretful Impatience----These were the Passions that, in +the height of his Successes, kept him lean to his last Hour, while +what I wanted in Rank or Glory was amply made up to me in Ease and +Chearfulness. But let not this Observation either lessen his Merit or +lift up my own; since our different Tempers were not in our Choice, but +equally natural to both of us. To be employ'd on the Stage was the +Delight of his Life; to be justly excused from it was the Joy of mine: I +lov'd Ease, and he Pre-eminence: In that, he might be more commendable. +Tho' he often disturb'd me, he seldom could do it without more +disordering himself:[284] In our Disputes, his Warmth could less bear +Truth than I could support manifest Injuries: He would hazard our +Undoing to gratify his Passions, tho' otherwise an honest Man; and I +rather chose to give up my Reason, or not see my Wrong, than ruin our +Community by an equal Rashness. By this opposite Conduct our Accounts at +the End of our Labours stood thus: While he lived he was the elder Man, +when he died he was not so old as I am: He never left the Stage till he +left the World: I never so well enjoy'd the World as when I left the +Stage: He died in Possession of his Wishes; and I, by having had a less +cholerick Ambition, am still tasting mine in Health and Liberty. But as +he in a great measure wore out the Organs of Life in his incessant +Labours to gratify the Publick, the Many whom he gave Pleasure to will +always owe his Memory a favourable Report--Some Facts that will vouch +for the Truth of this Account will be found in the Sequel of these +Memoirs. If I have spoke with more Freedom of his quondam Competitor +_Powel_, let my good Intentions to future Actors, in shewing what will +so much concern them to avoid, be my Excuse for it: For though _Powel_ +had from Nature much more than _Wilks_; in Voice and Ear, in Elocution +in Tragedy, and Humour in Comedy, greatly the Advantage of him; yet, as +I have observ'd, from the Neglect and Abuse of those valuable Gifts, he +suffer'd _Wilks_ to be of thrice the Service to our Society. Let me give +another Instance of the Reward and Favour which, in a Theatre, Diligence +and Sobriety seldom fail of: _Mills_ the elder[285] grew into the +Friendship of _Wilks_ with not a great deal more than those useful +Qualities to recommend him: He was an honest, quiet, careful Man, of as +few Faults as Excellencies, and _Wilks_ rather chose him for his second +in many Plays, than an Actor of perhaps greater Skill that was not so +laboriously diligent. And from this constant Assiduity, _Mills_, with +making to himself a Friend in _Wilks_, was advanced to a larger Sallary +than any Man-Actor had enjoy'd during my time on the Stage.[286] I +have yet to offer a more happy Recommendation of Temperance, which a +late celebrated Actor was warn'd into by the mis-conduct of _Powel_. +About the Year that _Wilks_ return'd from _Dublin_, _Booth_, who had +commenced Actor upon that Theatre, came over to the Company in +_Lincolns-Inn-Fields_:[287] He was then but an Under-graduate of the +Buskin, and, as he told me himself, had been for some time too frank a +Lover of the Bottle; but having had the Happiness to observe into what +Contempt and Distresses _Powel_ had plung'd himself by the same Vice, he +was so struck with the Terror of his Example, that he fix'd a Resolution +(which from that time to the End of his Days he strictly observ'd) of +utterly reforming it; an uncommon Act of Philosophy in a young Man! of +which in his Fame and Fortune he afterwards enjoy'd the Reward and +Benefit. These Observations I have not merely thrown together as a +Moralist, but to prove that the briskest loose Liver or intemperate Man +(though Morality were out of the Question) can never arrive at the +necessary Excellencies of a good or useful Actor. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _The Patentee of_ Drury-Lane _wiser than his Actors_. _His + particular Menagement. The Author continues to write Plays. + Why. The best dramatick Poets censured by_ J. Collier, _in + his_ Short View of the Stage. _It has a good Effect. The + Master of the Revels, from that time, cautious in his + licensing new Plays. A Complaint against him. His Authority + founded upon Custom only. The late Law for fixing that + Authority in a proper Person, considered._ + +Though the Master of our Theatre had no Conception himself of Theatrical +Merit either in Authors or Actors, yet his Judgment was govern'd by a +saving Rule in both: He look'd into his Receipts for the Value of a +Play, and from common Fame he judg'd of his Actors. But by whatever Rule +he was govern'd, while he had prudently reserv'd to himself a Power of +not paying them more than their Merit could get, he could not be much +deceived by their being over or under-valued. In a Word, he had with +great Skill inverted the Constitution of the Stage, and quite changed +the Channel of Profits arising from it; formerly, (when there was but +one Company) the Proprietors punctually paid the Actors their appointed +Sallaries, and took to themselves only the clear Profits: But our wiser +Proprietor took first out of every Day's Receipts two Shillings in the +Pound to himself; and left their Sallaries to be paid only as the less +or greater Deficiencies of acting (according to his own Accounts) would +permit. What seem'd most extraordinary in these Measures was, that at +the same time he had persuaded us to be contented with our Condition, +upon his assuring us that as fast as Money would come in we should all +be paid our Arrears: And that we might not have it always in our Power +to say he had never intended to keep his Word, I remember in a few Years +after this time he once paid us nine Days in one Week: This happen'd +when the _Funeral_, or _Grief à la Mode_,[288] was first acted, with +more than expected Success. Whether this well-tim'd Bounty was only +allow'd us to save Appearances I will not say: But if that was his real +Motive for it, it was too costly a frolick to be repeated, and was at +least the only Grimace of its kind he vouchsafed us; we never having +received one Day more of those Arrears in above fifteen Years Service. + +While the Actors were in this Condition, I think I may very well be +excused in my presuming to write Plays: which I was forced to do for the +Support of my encreasing Family, my precarious Income as an Actor being +then too scanty to supply it with even the Necessaries of Life. + +It may be observable, too, that my Muse and my Spouse were equally +prolifick; that the one was seldom the Mother of a Child, but in the +same Year the other made me the Father of a Play: I think we had a Dozen +of each Sort between us; of both which kinds, some died in their +Infancy, and near an equal Number of each were alive when I quitted the +Theatre--But it is no Wonder, when a Muse is only call'd upon by Family +Duty, she should not always rejoice in the Fruit of her Labour. To this +Necessity of writing, then, I attribute the Defects of my second Play, +which, coming out too hastily the Year after my first, turn'd to very +little Account. But having got as much by my first as I ought to have +expected from the Success of them both, I had no great Reason to +complain: Not but, I confess, so bad was my second, that I do not chuse +to tell you the Name of it; and that it might be peaceably forgotten, I +have not given it a Place in the two Volumes of those I publish'd in +Quarto in the Year 1721.[289] And whenever I took upon me to make some +dormant Play of an old Author to the best of my Judgment fitter for the +Stage, it was honestly not to be idle that set me to work; as a good +Housewife will mend old Linnen when she has not better Employment: But +when I was more warmly engag'd by a Subject entirely new, I only thought +it a good Subject when it seem'd worthy of an abler Pen than my own, and +might prove as useful to the Hearer as profitable to my self: Therefore, +whatever any of my Productions might want of Skill, Learning, Wit, or +Humour, or however unqualify'd I might be to instruct others who so ill +govern'd my self: Yet such Plays (entirely my own) were not wanting, at +least, in what our most admired Writers seem'd to neglect, and without +which I cannot allow the most taking Play to be intrinsically good, or +to be a Work upon which a Man of Sense and Probity should value himself: +I mean when they do not, as well _prodesse_ as _delectare_,[290] give +Profit with Delight! The _Utile Dulci_[291] was, of old, equally the +Point; and has always been my Aim, however wide of the Mark I may have +shot my Arrow. It has often given me Amazement that our best Authors of +that time could think the Wit and Spirit of their Scenes could be an +Excuse for making the Looseness of them publick. The many Instances of +their Talents so abused are too glaring to need a closer Comment, and +are sometimes too gross to be recited. If then to have avoided this +Imputation, or rather to have had the Interest and Honour of Virtue +always in view, can give Merit to a Play, I am contented that my Readers +should think such Merit the All that mine have to boast of--Libertines +of meer Wit and Pleasure may laugh at these grave Laws that would limit +a lively Genius: But every sensible honest Man, conscious of their Truth +and Use, will give these Ralliers Smile for Smile, and shew a due +Contempt for their Merriment. + +But while our Authors took these extraordinary Liberties with their Wit, +I remember the Ladies were then observ'd to be decently afraid of +venturing bare-fac'd to a new Comedy 'till they had been assur'd they +might do it without the Risque of an Insult to their Modesty--Or, if +their Curiosity were too strong for their Patience, they took Care, at +least, to save Appearances, and rarely came upon the first Days of +Acting but in Masks, (then daily worn and admitted in the Pit, the side +Boxes, and Gallery[292]) which Custom, however, had so many ill +Consequences attending it, that it has been abolish'd these many Years. + +These Immoralities of the Stage had by an avow'd Indulgence been +creeping into it ever since King _Charles_ his Time; nothing that was +loose could then be too low for it: The _London Cuckolds_, the most rank +Play that ever succeeded,[293] was then in the highest Court-Favour: In +this almost general Corruption, _Dryden_, whose Plays were more fam'd +for their Wit than their Chastity, led the way, which he fairly +confesses, and endeavours to excuse in his Epilogue to the _Pilgrim_, +revived in 1700 for his Benefit,[294] in his declining Age and +Fortune--The following Lines of it will make good my Observation. + + _Perhaps the Parson[295] stretch'd a Point too far, + When with our Theatres he wag'd a War. + He tells you that this very moral Age + Receiv'd the first Infection from the Stage. + But sure, a banish'd Court, with Lewdness fraught, + The Seeds of open Vice returning brought. + Thus lodg'd (as vice by great Example thrives) + It first debauch'd the Daughters, and the Wives._ + London, _a fruitful Soil, yet never bore + So plentiful a Crop of Horns before. + The Poets, who must live by Courts or starve, + Were proud so good a Government to serve. + And mixing with Buffoons and Pimps profane, + Tainted the Stage for some small snip of Gain. + For they, like Harlots under Bawds profest, + Took all th' ungodly Pains, and got the least. + Thus did the thriving Malady prevail, + The Court it's Head, the Poets but the Tail. + The Sin was of our native Growth, 'tis true, + The Scandal of the Sin was wholly new. + Misses there were, but modestly conceal'd;_ + Whitehall _the naked_ Venus _first reveal'd. + Who standing, as at_ Cyprus, _in her Shrine, + The Strumpet was ador'd with Rites divine_, &c. + +This Epilogue, and the Prologue to the same Play, written by _Dryden_, I +spoke myself, which not being usually done by the same Person, I have a +mind, while I think of it, to let you know on what Occasion they both +fell to my Share, and how other Actors were affected by it. + +Sir _John Vanbrugh_, who had given some light touches of his Pen to the +_Pilgrim_ to assist the Benefit Day of _Dryden_, had the Disposal of the +Parts, and I being then as an Actor in some Favour with him, he read the +Play first with me alone, and was pleased to offer me my Choice of what +I might like best for myself in it. But as the chief Characters were not +(according to my Taste) the most shining, it was no great Self-denial in +me that I desir'd he would first take care of those who were more +difficult to be pleased; I therefore only chose for myself two short +incidental Parts, that of _the stuttering Cook_[296] and _the mad +Englishman_. In which homely Characters I saw more Matter for Delight +than those that might have a better Pretence to the Amiable: And when +the Play came to be acted I was not deceiv'd in my Choice. Sir _John_, +upon my being contented with so little a Share in the Entertainment, +gave me the Epilogue to make up my Mess; which being written so much +above the Strain of common Authors, I confess I was not a little +pleased with. And _Dryden_, upon his hearing me repeat it to him, +made me a farther Compliment of trusting me with the Prologue. This so +particular Distinction was looked upon by the Actors as something too +extraordinary. But no one was so impatiently ruffled at it as _Wilks_, +who seldom chose soft Words when he spoke of any thing he did not like. +The most gentle thing he said of it was, that he did not understand such +Treatment; that for his Part he look'd upon it as an Affront to all the +rest of the Company, that there shou'd be but one out of the Whole +judg'd fit to speak either a Prologue or an Epilogue! to quiet him I +offer'd to decline either in his Favour, or both, if it were equally +easy to the Author: But he was too much concern'd to accept of an Offer +that had been made to another in preference to himself, and which he +seem'd to think his best way of resenting was to contemn. But from that +time, however, he was resolv'd, to the best of his Power, never to let +the first Offer of a Prologue escape him: Which little Ambition +sometimes made him pay too dear for his Success: The Flatness of the +many miserable Prologues that by this means fell to his Lot, seem'd +wofully unequal to the few good ones he might have Reason to triumph in. + +I have given you this Fact only as a Sample of those frequent Rubs and +Impediments I met with when any Step was made to my being distinguish'd +as an Actor; and from this Incident, too, you may partly see what +occasion'd so many Prologues, after the Death of _Betterton_, to fall +into the Hands of one Speaker: But it is not every Successor to a vacant +Post that brings into it the Talents equal to those of a Predecessor. To +speak a good Prologue well is, in my Opinion, one of the hardest Parts +and strongest Proofs of sound Elocution, of which, I confess, I never +thought that any of the several who attempted it shew'd themselves, by +far, equal Masters to _Betterton_. _Betterton_, in the Delivery of a +good Prologue, had a natural Gravity that gave Strength to good Sense, a +temper'd Spirit that gave Life to Wit, and a dry Reserve in his Smile +that threw Ridicule into its brightest Colours. Of these Qualities, in +the speaking of a Prologue, _Booth_ only had the first, but attain'd not +to the other two: _Wilks_ had Spirit, but gave too loose a Rein to it, +and it was seldom he could speak a grave and weighty Verse harmoniously: +His Accents were frequently too sharp and violent, which sometimes +occasion'd his eagerly cutting off half the Sound of Syllables that +ought to have been gently melted into the Melody of Metre: In Verses of +Humour, too, he would sometimes carry the Mimickry farther than the hint +would bear, even to a trifling Light, as if himself were pleased to see +it so glittering. In the Truth of this Criticism I have been confirm'd +by those whose Judgment I dare more confidently rely on than my own: +_Wilks_ had many Excellencies, but if we leave Prologue-Speaking out of +the Number he will still have enough to have made him a valuable Actor. +And I only make this Exception from them to caution others from +imitating what, in his time, they might have too implicitly admired---- +But I have a Word or two more to say concerning the Immoralities of the +Stage. Our Theatrical Writers were not only accus'd of Immorality, but +Prophaneness; many flagrant Instances of which were collected and +published by a Nonjuring Clergyman, _Jeremy Collier_, in his _View of +the Stage_, &c. about the Year 1697.[297] However just his Charge +against the Authors that then wrote for it might be, I cannot but think +his Sentence against the Stage itself is unequal; Reformation he thinks +too mild a Treatment for it, and is therefore for laying his Ax to the +Root of it: If this were to be a Rule of Judgment for Offences of the +same Nature, what might become of the Pulpit, where many a seditious +and corrupted Teacher has been known to cover the most pernicious +Doctrine with the Masque of Religion? This puts me in mind of what the +noted _Jo. Hains_,[298] the Comedian, a Fellow of a wicked Wit, said +upon this Occasion; who being ask'd what could transport Mr. _Collier_ +into so blind a Zeal for a general Suppression of the Stage, when only +some particular Authors had abus'd it? Whereas the Stage, he could not +but know, was generally allow'd, when rightly conducted, to be a +delightful Method of mending our Morals? "For that Reason," reply'd +_Hains_: "_Collier_ is by Profession a Moral-mender himself, and two of +Trade, you know, can never agree.[299]" + +[Illustration: WILLIAM CONGREVE.] + +The Authors of _the old Batchelor_ and of the _Relapse_ were those whom +_Collier_ most labour'd to convict of Immorality; to which they +severally publish'd their Reply; the first seem'd too much hurt to be +able to defend himself, and the other felt him so little that his Wit +only laugh'd at his Lashes.[300] + +My first Play of the _Fool in Fashion_, too, being then in a Course of +Success; perhaps for that Reason only, this severe Author thought +himself oblig'd to attack it; in which I hope he has shewn more Zeal +than Justice, his greatest Charge against it is, that it sometimes uses +the Word _Faith!_ as an Oath, in the Dialogue: But if _Faith_ may as +well signify our given Word or Credit as our religious Belief, why might +not his Charity have taken it in the less criminal Sense? Nevertheless, +Mr. _Collier_'s Book was upon the whole thought so laudable a Work, that +King _William_, soon after it was publish'd, granted him a _Nolo +Prosequi_ when he stood answerable to the Law for his having absolved +two Criminals just before they were executed for High Treason. And it +must be farther granted that his calling our Dramatick Writers to this +strict Account had a very wholesome Effect upon those who writ after +this time. They were now a great deal more upon their guard; Indecencies +were no longer Wit; and by Degrees the fair Sex came again to fill the +Boxes on the first Day of a new Comedy, without Fear or Censure. But the +Master of the Revels,[301] who then licens'd all Plays for the Stage, +assisted this Reformation with a more zealous Severity than ever. He +would strike out whole Scenes of a vicious or immoral Character, tho' it +were visibly shewn to be reform'd or punish'd; a severe Instance of this +kind falling upon my self may be an Excuse for my relating it: When +_Richard the Third_ (as I alter'd it from _Shakespear_)[302] came from +his Hands to the Stage, he expung'd the whole first Act without sparing +a Line of it. This extraordinary Stroke of a _Sic volo_ occasion'd my +applying to him for the small Indulgence of a Speech or two, that the +other four Acts might limp on with a little less Absurdity! no! he had +not leisure to consider what might be separately inoffensive. He had an +Objection to the whole Act, and the Reason he gave for it was, that the +Distresses of King _Henry the Sixth_, who is kill'd by _Richard_ in the +first Act, would put weak People too much in mind of King _James_ then +living in _France_; a notable Proof of his Zeal for the Government![303] +Those who have read either the Play or the History, I dare say will +think he strain'd hard for the Parallel. In a Word, we were forc'd, for +some few Years, to let the Play take its Fate with only four Acts +divided into five; by the Loss of so considerable a Limb, may one not +modestly suppose it was robbed of at least a fifth Part of that Favour +it afterwards met with? For tho' this first Act was at last recovered, +and made the Play whole again, yet the Relief came too late to repay me +for the Pains I had taken in it. Nor did I ever hear that this zealous +Severity of the Master of the Revels was afterwards thought justifiable. +But my good Fortune, in Process of time, gave me an Opportunity to talk +with my Oppressor in my Turn. + +The Patent granted by his Majesty King _George_ the First to Sir +_Richard Steele_ and his Assigns,[304] of which I was one, made us sole +Judges of what Plays might be proper for the Stage, without submitting +them to the Approbation or License of any other particular Person. +Notwithstanding which, the Master of the Revels demanded his Fee of +Forty Shillings upon our acting a new One, tho' we had spared him the +Trouble of perusing it. This occasion'd my being deputed to him to +enquire into the Right of his Demand, and to make an amicable End of our +Dispute.[305] I confess I did not dislike the Office; and told him, +according to my Instructions, That I came not to defend even our own +Right in prejudice to his; that if our Patent had inadvertently +superseded the Grant of any former Power or Warrant whereon he might +ground his Pretensions, we would not insist upon our Broad Seal, but +would readily answer his Demands upon sight of such his Warrant, any +thing in our Patent to the contrary notwithstanding. This I had reason +to think he could not do; and when I found he made no direct Reply to my +Question, I repeated it with greater Civilities and Offers of +Compliance, 'till I was forc'd in the end to conclude with telling him, +That as his Pretensions were not back'd with any visible Instrument of +Right, and as his strongest Plea was Custom, we could not so far extend +our Complaisance as to continue his Fees upon so slender a Claim to +them: And from that Time neither our Plays or his Fees gave either of us +any farther trouble. In this Negotiation I am the bolder to think +Justice was on our Side, because the Law lately pass'd,[306] by which +the Power of Licensing Plays, _&c._ is given to a proper Person, is a +strong Presumption that no Law had ever given that Power to any such +Person before. + +My having mentioned this Law, which so immediately affected the Stage, +inclines me to throw out a few Observations upon it: But I must first +lead you gradually thro' the Facts and natural Causes that made such a +Law necessary. + +Although it had been taken for granted, from Time immemorial, that no +Company of Comedians could act Plays, _&c._ without the Royal License or +Protection of some legal Authority, a Theatre was, notwithstanding, +erected in _Goodman's-Fields_ about seven Years ago,[307] where Plays, +without any such License, were acted for some time unmolested and with +Impunity. After a Year or two, this Playhouse was thought a Nusance too +near the City: Upon which the Lord-Mayor and Aldermen petition'd the +Crown to suppress it: What Steps were taken in favour of that Petition I +know not, but common Fame seem'd to allow, from what had or had not been +done in it, that acting Plays in the said Theatre was not evidently +unlawful.[308] However, this Question of Acting without a License a +little time after came to a nearer Decision in _Westminster-Hall_; the +Occasion of bringing it thither was this: It happened that the +Purchasers of the Patent, to whom Mr. _Booth_ and Myself had sold our +Shares,[309] were at variance with the Comedians that were then left to +their Government, and the Variance ended in the chief of those Comedians +deserting and setting up for themselves in the little House in the +_Hay-Market_, in 1733, by which Desertion the Patentees were very much +distressed and considerable Losers. Their Affairs being in this +desperate Condition, they were advis'd to put the Act of the Twelfth of +Queen _Anne_ against Vagabonds in force against these Deserters, then +acting in the _Hay-Market_ without License. Accordingly, one of their +chief Performers[310] was taken from the Stage by a Justice of Peace his +Warrant, and committed to _Bridewell_ as one within the Penalty of the +said Act. When the Legality of this Commitment was disputed in +_Westminster-Hall_, by all I could observe from the learned Pleadings on +both Sides (for I had the Curiosity to hear them) it did not appear to +me that the Comedian so committed was within the Description of the said +Act, he being a Housekeeper and having a Vote for the _Westminster_ +Members of Parliament. He was discharged accordingly, and conducted +through the Hall with the Congratulations of the Crowds that attended +and wish'd well to his Cause. + +The Issue of this Trial threw me at that time into a very odd Reflexion, +_viz._ That if acting Plays without License did not make the Performers +Vagabonds unless they wandered from their Habitations so to do, how +particular was the Case of Us three late Menaging Actors at the +_Theatre-Royal_, who in twenty Years before had paid upon an Averidge at +least Twenty Thousand Pounds to be protected (as Actors) from a Law that +has not since appeared to be against us. Now, whether we might certainly +have acted without any License at all I shall not pretend to determine; +but this I have of my own Knowledge to say, That in Queen _Anne_'s Reign +the Stage was in such Confusion, and its Affairs in such Distress, that +Sir _John Vanbrugh_ and Mr. _Congreve_, after they had held it about one +Year, threw up the Menagement of it as an unprofitable Post, after which +a License for Acting was not thought worth any Gentleman's asking for, +and almost seem'd to go a begging, 'till some time after, by the Care, +Application, and Industry of three Actors, it became so prosperous, and +the Profits so considerable, that it created a new Place, and a +_Sine-cure_ of a Thousand Pounds a Year,[311] which the Labour of those +Actors constantly paid to such Persons as had from time to time Merit or +Interest enough to get their Names inserted as Fourth Menagers in a +License with them for acting Plays, _&c._ a Preferment that many a Sir +_Francis Wronghead_ would have jump'd at.[312] But to go on with my +Story. This Endeavour of the Patentees to suppress the Comedians acting +in the _Hay-Market_ proving ineffectual, and no Hopes of a Reunion then +appearing, the Remains of the Company left in _Drury-Lane_ were reduced +to a very low Condition. At this time a third Purchaser, _Charles +Fleetwood_, Esq., stept in; who judging the best Time to buy was when +the Stock was at the lowest Price, struck up a Bargain at once for Five +Parts in Six of the Patent;[313] and, at the same time, gave the +revolted Comedians their own Terms to return and come under his +Government in _Drury-Lane_, where they now continue to act at very ample +Sallaries, as I am informed, in 1738.[314] But (as I have observ'd) the +late Cause of the prosecuted Comedian having gone so strongly in his +Favour, and the House in _Goodman's-Fields_, too, continuing to act with +as little Authority unmolested; these so tolerated Companies gave +Encouragement to a broken Wit to collect a fourth Company, who for some +time acted Plays in the _Hay-Market_, which House the united +_Drury-Lane_ Comedians had lately quitted: This enterprising Person, I +say (whom I do not chuse to name,[315] unless it could be to his +Advantage, or that it were of Importance) had Sense enough to know that +the best Plays with bad Actors would turn but to a very poor Account; +and therefore found it necessary to give the Publick some Pieces of an +extraordinary Kind, the Poetry of which he conceiv'd ought to be so +strong that the greatest Dunce of an Actor could not spoil it: He knew, +too, that as he was in haste to get Money, it would take up less time +to be intrepidly abusive than decently entertaining; that to draw the +Mob after him he must rake the Channel[316] and pelt their Superiors; +that, to shew himself somebody, he must come up to _Juvenal_'s Advice +and stand the Consequence: + + _Aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris, & carcere dignum + Si vis esse aliquis_---- Juv. Sat. I.[317] + +Such, then, was the mettlesome Modesty he set out with; upon this +Principle he produc'd several frank and free Farces that seem'd to knock +all Distinctions of Mankind on the Head: Religion, Laws, Government, +Priests, Judges, and Ministers, were all laid flat at the Feet of this +_Herculean_ Satyrist! This _Drawcansir_ in Wit,[318] that spared neither +Friend nor Foe! who to make his Poetical Fame immortal, like another +_Erostratus_, set Fire to his Stage by writing up to an Act of +Parliament to demolish it.[319] I shall not give the particular Strokes +of his Ingenuity a Chance to be remembred by reciting them; it may be +enough to say, in general Terms, they were so openly flagrant, that the +Wisdom of the Legislature thought it high time to take a proper Notice +of them.[320] + +Having now shewn by what means there came to be four Theatres, besides +a fifth for Operas, in _London_, all open at the same time, and that +while they were so numerous it was evident some of them must have +starv'd unless they fed upon the Trash and Filth of Buffoonry and +Licentiousness; I now come, as I promis'd, to speak of that necessary +Law which has reduced their Number and prevents the Repetition of such +Abuses in those that remain open for the Publick Recreation. + +[Illustration: CHARLOTTE CHARKE.] + +While this Law was in Debate a lively Spirit and uncommon Eloquence was +employ'd against it.[321] It was urg'd That _one_ of the greatest Goods +we can enjoy is _Liberty_. (This we may grant to be an incontestable +Truth, without its being the least Objection to this Law.) It was said, +too, That to bring the Stage under the Restraint of a Licenser was +leading the way to an Attack upon the Liberty of the Press. This amounts +but to a Jealousy at best, which I hope and believe all honest +_Englishmen_ have as much Reason to think a groundless, as to fear it is +a just Jealousy: For the Stage and the Press, I shall endeavour to shew, +are very different Weapons to wound with. If a great Man could be no +more injured by being personally ridicul'd or made contemptible in a +Play, than by the same Matter only printed and read against him in a +Pamphlet or the strongest Verse; then, indeed, the Stage and the Press +might pretend to be upon an equal Foot of Liberty: But when the wide +Difference between these two Liberties comes to be explain'd and +consider'd, I dare say we shall find the Injuries from one capable of +being ten times more severe and formidable than from the other: Let us +see, at least, if the Case will not be vastly alter'd. Read what Mr. +_Collier_ in his _Defence_ of his _Short View of the Stage_, &c. Page +25, says to this Point; he sets this Difference in a clear Light. These +are his Words: + +"The Satyr of a _Comedian_ and another _Poet_, have a different effect +upon Reputation. A Character of Disadvantage upon the _Stage_, makes a +stronger Impression than elsewhere. Reading is but Hearing at the second +Hand; Now Hearing at the best, is a more languid Conveyance than Sight. +For as _Horace_ observes, + + _Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem, + Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus._[322] + +The Eye is much more affecting, and strikes deeper into the Memory than +the Ear. Besides, Upon the _Stage_ both the Senses are in Conjunction. +The Life of the Action fortifies the Object, and awakens the Mind to +take hold of it. Thus a dramatick Abuse is rivetted in the Audience, a +Jest is improv'd into an Argument, and Rallying grows up into Reason: +Thus a Character of Scandal becomes almost indelible, a Man goes for a +Blockhead upon _Content_; and he that's made a Fool in a _Play_, is +often made one for his Life-time. 'Tis true he passes for such only +among the prejudiced and unthinking; but these are no inconsiderable +Division of Mankind. For these Reasons, I humbly conceive the _Stage_ +stands in need of a great deal of Discipline and Restraint: To give them +an unlimited Range, is in effect to make them Masters of all Moral +Distinctions, and to lay Honour and Religion at their Mercy. To shew +Greatness ridiculous, is the way to lose the use, and abate the value +of the Quality. Things made little in jest, will soon be so in earnest: +for Laughing and Esteem, are seldom bestow'd on the same Object." + +If this was Truth and Reason (as sure it was) forty Years ago, will it +not carry the same Conviction with it to these Days, when there came to +be a much stronger Call for a Reformation of the Stage, than when this +Author wrote against it, or perhaps than was ever known since the +_English_ Stage had a Being? And now let us ask another Question! Does +not the general Opinion of Mankind suppose that the Honour and +Reputation of a Minister is, or ought to be, as dear to him as his Life? +Yet when the Law, in Queen _Anne_'s Time, had made even an unsuccessful +Attempt upon the Life of a Minister capital, could any Reason be found +that the Fame and Honour of his Character should not be under equal +Protection? Was the Wound that _Guiscard_ gave to the late Lord +_Oxford_, when a Minister,[323] a greater Injury than the Theatrical +Insult which was offer'd to a later Minister, in a more valuable Part, +his Character? Was it not as high time, then, to take this dangerous +Weapon of mimical Insolence and Defamation out of the Hands of a mad +Poet, as to wrest the Knife from the lifted Hand of a Murderer? And is +not that Law of a milder Nature which _prevents_ a Crime, than that +which _punishes_ it after it is committed? May not one think it amazing +that the Liberty of defaming lawful Power and Dignity should have been +so eloquently contended for? or especially that this Liberty ought to +triumph in a Theatre, where the most able, the most innocent, and most +upright Person must himself be, while the Wound is given, defenceless? +How long must a Man so injur'd lie bleeding before the Pain and Anguish +of his Fame (if it suffers wrongfully) can be dispell'd? or say he had +deserv'd Reproof and publick Accusation, yet the Weight and Greatness of +his Office never can deserve it from a publick Stage, where the lowest +Malice by sawcy Parallels and abusive Inuendoes may do every thing but +name him: But alas! Liberty is so tender, so chaste a Virgin, that it +seems not to suffer her to do irreparable Injuries with Impunity is a +Violation of her! It cannot sure be a Principle of Liberty that would +turn the Stage into a Court of Enquiry, that would let the partial +Applauses of a vulgar Audience give Sentence upon the Conduct of +Authority, and put Impeachments into the Mouth of a _Harlequin_? Will +not every impartial Man think that Malice, Envy, Faction, and Mis-rule, +might have too much Advantage over lawful Power, if the Range of such a +Stage-Liberty were unlimited and insisted on to be enroll'd among the +glorious Rights of an _English_ Subject? + +I remember much such another ancient Liberty, which many of the good +People of _England_ were once extremely fond of; I mean that of +throwing Squibs and Crackers at all Spectators without Distinction upon +a Lord-Mayor's Day; but about forty Years ago a certain Nobleman +happening to have one of his Eyes burnt out by this mischievous +Merriment, it occasion'd a penal Law to prevent those Sorts of Jests +from being laugh'd at for the future: Yet I have never heard that the +most zealous Patriot ever thought such a Law was the least Restraint +upon our Liberty. + +If I am ask'd why I am so voluntary a Champion for the Honour of this +Law that has limited the Number of Play-Houses, and which now can no +longer concern me as a Professor of the Stage? I reply, that it being a +Law so nearly relating to the Theatre, it seems not at all foreign to my +History to have taken notice of it; and as I have farther promised to +give the Publick a true Portrait of my Mind, I ought fairly to let them +see how far I am, or am not, a Blockhead, when I pretend to talk of +serious Matters that may be judg'd so far above my Capacity: Nor will it +in the least discompose me whether my Observations are contemn'd or +applauded. A Blockhead is not always an unhappy Fellow, and if the World +will not flatter us, we can flatter ourselves; perhaps, too, it will be +as difficult to convince us we are in the wrong, as that you wiser +Gentlemen are one Tittle the better for your Knowledge. It is yet a +Question with me whether we weak Heads have not as much Pleasure, too, +in giving our shallow Reason a little Exercise, as those clearer Brains +have that are allow'd to dive into the deepest Doubts and Mysteries; to +reflect or form a Judgment upon remarkable things _past_ is as +delightful to me as it is to the gravest Politician to penetrate into +what is _present_, or to enter into Speculations upon what is, or is not +likely to come. Why are Histories written, if all Men are not to judge +of them? Therefore, if my Reader has no more to do than I have, I have a +Chance for his being as willing to have a little more upon the same +Subject as I am to give it him. + +When direct Arguments against this Bill were found too weak, Recourse +was had to dissuasive ones: It was said that _this Restraint upon the +Stage would not remedy the Evil complain'd of_: _That a Play refus'd to +be licensed would still be printed, with double Advantage, when it +should be insinuated that it was refused for some Strokes of Wit,_ &c. +_and would be more likely then to have its Effect among the People._ +However natural this Consequence may seem, I doubt it will be very +difficult to give a _printed_ Satyr or Libel half the Force or Credit of +an _acted_ one. The most artful or notorious Lye or strain'd Allusion +that ever slander'd a great Man, may be read by some People with a Smile +of Contempt, or, at worst, it can impose but on one Person at once: but +when the Words of the same plausible Stuff shall be repeated on a +Theatre, the Wit of it among a Crowd of Hearers is liable to be +over-valued, and may unite and warm a whole Body of the Malicious or +Ignorant into a Plaudit; nay, the partial Claps of only _twenty_ +ill-minded Persons among several hundreds of silent Hearers shall, and +often have been, mistaken for a general Approbation, and frequently draw +into their Party the Indifferent or Inapprehensive, who rather than be +thought not to understand the Conceit, will laugh with the Laughers and +join in the Triumph! But alas! the _quiet_ Reader of the same ingenious +Matter can only like for _himself_; and the Poison has a much slower +Operation upon the Body of a People when it is so retail'd out, than +when sold to a full Audience by wholesale. The _single_ Reader, too, may +happen to be a sensible or unprejudiced Person; and then the merry Dose, +meeting with the Antidote of a sound Judgment, perhaps may have no +Operation at all: With such a one the Wit of the most ingenious Satyr +will only by its intrinsick Truth or Value gain upon his Approbation; or +if it be worth an Answer, a printed Falshood may possibly be confounded +by printed Proofs against it. But against Contempt and Scandal, +heighten'd and colour'd by the Skill of an _Actor_ ludicrously infusing +it into a Multitude, there is no immediate Defence to be made or equal +Reparation to be had for it; for it would be but a poor Satisfaction at +last, after lying long patient under the Injury, that Time only is to +shew (which would probably be the Case) that the Author of it was a +desperate Indigent that did it for Bread. How much less dangerous or +offensive, then, is the _written_ than the _acted_ Scandal? The +Impression the Comedian gives to it is a kind of double Stamp upon the +Poet's Paper, that raises it to ten times the intrinsick Value. Might we +not strengthen this Argument, too, even by the Eloquence that seem'd to +have opposed this Law? I will say for my self, at least, that when I +came to read the printed Arguments against it, I could scarce believe +they were the same that had amaz'd and raised such Admiration in me when +they had the Advantage of a lively Elocution, and of that Grace and +Spirit which gave Strength and Lustre to them in the Delivery! + +Upon the whole; if the Stage ought ever to have been reform'd; if to +place a Power _somewhere_ of restraining its Immoralities was not +inconsistent with the Liberties of a civiliz'd People (neither of which, +sure, any moral Man of Sense can dispute) might it not have shewn a +Spirit too poorly prejudiced, to have rejected so rational a Law only +because the Honour and Office of a Minister might happen, in some small +Measure, to be protected by it.[324] + +But however little Weight there may be in the Observations I have made +upon it, I shall, for my own Part, always think them just; unless I +should live to see (which I do not expect) some future Set of upright +Ministers use their utmost Endeavours to repeal it. + +And now we have seen the Consequence of what many People are apt to +contend for, Variety of Playhouses! How was it possible so many could +honestly subsist on what was fit to be seen? Their extraordinary Number, +of Course, reduc'd them to live upon the Gratification of such Hearers +as they knew would be best pleased with publick Offence; and publick +Offence, of what kind soever, will always be a good Reason for making +Laws to restrain it. + +To conclude, let us now consider this Law in a quite different Light; +let us leave the political Part of it quite out of the Question; what +Advantage could either the Spectators of Plays or the Masters of +Play-houses have gain'd by its having never been made? How could the +same Stock of Plays supply four Theatres, which (without such additional +Entertainments as a Nation of common Sense ought to be ashamed of) could +not well support two? Satiety must have been the natural Consequence of +the same Plays being twice as often repeated as now they need be; and +Satiety puts an End to all Tastes that the Mind of Man can delight in. +Had therefore this Law been made seven Years ago, I should not have +parted with my Share in the Patent under a thousand Pounds more than I +received for it[325]----So that, as far as I am able to judge, both the +Publick as Spectators, and the Patentees as Undertakers, are, or might +be, in a way of being better entertain'd and more considerable Gainers +by it. + +I now return to the State of the Stage, where I left it, about the Year +1697, from whence this Pursuit of its Immoralities has led me farther +than I first design'd to have follow'd it. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] + + _A small Apology for writing on. The different State of the + two Companies. _Wilks_ invited over from _Dublin_. _Estcourt_, + from the same Stage, the Winter following. Mrs. _Oldfield_'s + first Admission to the _Theatre-Royal_. Her Character. The + great Theatre in the _Hay-Market_ built for _Betterton_'s + Company. It Answers not their Expectation. Some Observations + upon it. A Theatrical State Secret._ + +I now begin to doubt that the _Gayeté du Coeur_ in which I first +undertook this Work may have drawn me into a more laborious Amusement +than I shall know how to away with: For though I cannot say I have yet +jaded my Vanity, it is not impossible but by this time the most candid +of my Readers may want a little Breath; especially when they consider +that all this Load I have heap'd upon their Patience contains but seven +Years of the forty three I pass'd upon the Stage, the History of which +Period I have enjoyn'd my self to transmit to the Judgment (or Oblivion) +of Posterity.[326] However, even my Dulness will find somebody to do it +right; if my Reader is an ill-natur'd one, he will be as much pleased to +find me a Dunce in my old Age as possibly he may have been to prove me a +brisk Blockhead in my Youth: But if he has no Gall to gratify, and would +(for his simple Amusement) as well know how the Playhouses went on forty +Years ago as how they do now, I will honestly tell him the rest of my +Story as well as I can. Lest therefore the frequent Digressions that +have broke in upon it may have entangled his Memory, I must beg leave +just to throw together the Heads of what I have already given him, that +he may again recover the Clue of my Discourse. + +Let him then remember, from the Year 1660 to 1682,[327] the various +Fortune of the (then) King's and Duke's two famous Companies; their +being reduced to one united; the Distinct Characters I have given of +thirteen Actors, which in the Year 1690 were the most famous then +remaining of them; the Cause of their being again divided in 1695, and +the Consequences of that Division 'till 1697; from whence I shall lead +them to our Second Union in----Hold! let me see----ay, it was in that +memorable Year when the two Kingdoms of _England_ and _Scotland_ were +made one. And I remember a Particular that confirms me I am right in my +Chronology; for the Play of _Hamlet_ being acted soon after, _Estcourt_, +who then took upon him to say any thing, added a fourth Line to +_Shakespear_'s Prologue to the Play, in that Play which originally +consisted but of three, but _Estcourt_ made it run thus: + + _For Us, and for our Tragedy, + Here stooping to your Clemency,_ + [This being a Year of Unity,] + _We beg your Hearing patiently._[328] + +This new Chronological Line coming unexpectedly upon the Audience, was +received with Applause, tho' several grave Faces look'd a little out of +Humour at it. However, by this Fact, it is plain our Theatrical Union +happen'd in 1707.[329] But to speak of it in its Place I must go a +little back again. + +From 1697 to this Union both Companies went on without any memorable +Change in their Affairs, unless it were that _Betterton_'s People +(however good in their Kind) were most of them too far advanc'd in Years +to mend; and tho' we in _Drury-Lane_ were too young to be excellent, we +were not too old to be better. But what will not Satiety depreciate? For +though I must own and avow that in our highest Prosperity I always +thought we were greatly their Inferiors; yet, by our good Fortune of +being seen in quite new Lights, which several new-written Plays had +shewn us in, we now began to make a considerable Stand against them. One +good new Play to a rising Company is of inconceivable Value. In +_Oroonoko_[330] (and why may I not name another, tho' it be my own?) in +_Love's last Shift_, and in the Sequel of it, the _Relapse_, several of +our People shew'd themselves in a new Style of Acting, in which Nature +had not as yet been seen. I cannot here forget a Misfortune that befel +our Society about this time, by the loss of a young Actor, _Hildebrand +Horden_,[331] who was kill'd at the Bar of the _Rose-Tavern_,[332] in a +frivolous, rash, accidental Quarrel; for which a late Resident at +_Venice_, Colonel _Burgess_, and several other Persons of Distinction, +took their Tryals, and were acquitted. This young Man had almost every +natural Gift that could promise an excellent Actor; he had besides a +good deal of Table-wit and Humour, with a handsome Person, and was every +Day rising into publick Favour. Before he was bury'd, it was observable +that two or three Days together several of the Fair Sex, well dress'd, +came in Masks (then frequently worn) and some in their own Coaches, to +visit this Theatrical Heroe in his Shrowd. He was the elder Son of Dr. +_Horden_, Minister of _Twickenham_, in _Middlesex_. But this Misfortune +was soon repair'd by the Return of _Wilks_ from _Dublin_ (who upon this +young Man's Death was sent for over) and liv'd long enough among us to +enjoy that Approbation from which the other was so unhappily cut off. +The Winter following,[333] _Estcourt_, the famous Mimick, of whom I have +already spoken, had the same Invitation from _Ireland_, where he had +commenc'd Actor: His first Part here, at the _Theatre-Royal_, was the +_Spanish Friar_, in which, tho' he had remembred every Look and Motion +of the late _Tony Leigh_ so far as to put the Spectator very much in +mind of him, yet it was visible through the whole, notwithstanding his +Exactness in the Out-lines, the true Spirit that was to fill up the +Figure was not the same, but unskilfully dawb'd on, like a Child's +Painting upon the Face of a _Metzotinto_: It was too plain to the +judicious that the Conception was not his own, but imprinted in his +Memory by another, of whom he only presented a dead Likeness.[334] But +these were Defects not so obvious to common Spectators; no wonder, +therefore, if by his being much sought after in private Companies, he +met with a sort of Indulgence, not to say Partiality, for what he +sometimes did upon the Stage. + +In the Year 1699, Mrs. _Oldfield_ was first taken into the House, where +she remain'd about a Twelvemonth almost a Mute[335] and unheeded, 'till +Sir _John Vanbrugh_, who first recommended her, gave her the Part of +_Alinda_ in the _Pilgrim_ revis'd. This gentle Character happily became +that want of Confidence which is inseparable from young Beginners, who, +without it, seldom arrive to any Excellence: Notwithstanding, I own I +was then so far deceiv'd in my Opinion of her, that I thought she had +little more than her Person that appear'd necessary to the forming a +good Actress; for she set out with so extraordinary a Diffidence, that +it kept her too despondingly down to a formal, plain (not to say) flat +manner of speaking. Nor could the silver Tone of her Voice 'till after +some time incline my Ear to any Hope in her favour. But Publick +Approbation is the warm Weather of a Theatrical Plant, which will soon +bring it forward to whatever Perfection Nature has design'd it. However, +Mrs. _Oldfield_ (perhaps for want of fresh Parts) seem'd to come but +slowly forward 'till the Year 1703.[336] Our Company that Summer acted +at the _Bath_ during the Residence of Queen _Anne_ at that Place. At +that time it happen'd that Mrs. _Verbruggen_, by reason of her last +Sickness (of which she some few Months after dy'd) was left in _London_; +and though most of her Parts were, of course, to be dispos'd of, yet so +earnest was the Female Scramble for them, that only one of them fell to +the Share of Mrs. _Oldfield_, that of _Leonora_ in Sir _Courtly Nice_; a +Character of good plain Sense, but not over elegantly written. It was in +this Part Mrs. _Oldfield_ surpris'd me into an Opinion of her having all +the innate Powers of a good Actress, though they were yet but in the +Bloom of what they promis'd. Before she had acted this Part I had so +cold an Expectation from her Abilities, that she could scarce prevail +with me to rehearse with her the Scenes she was chiefly concern'd in +with Sir _Courtly_, which I then acted. However, we ran them over with a +mutual Inadvertency of one another. I seem'd careless, as concluding +that any Assistance I could give her would be to little or no purpose; +and she mutter'd out her Words in a sort of mifty[337] manner at my low +Opinion of her. But when the Play came to be acted, she had a just +Occasion to triumph over the Error of my Judgment, by the (almost) +Amazement that her unexpected Performance awak'd me to; so forward and +sudden a Step into Nature I had never seen; and what made her +Performance more valuable was, that I knew it all proceeded from her own +Understanding, untaught and unassisted by any one more experienc'd +Actor.[338] Perhaps it may not be unacceptable, if I enlarge a little +more upon the Theatrical Character of so memorable an Actress.[339] + +[Illustration: SIR JOHN VANBRUGH.] + +Though this Part of _Leonora_ in itself was of so little value, that +when she got more into Esteem it was one of the several she gave away +to inferior Actresses; yet it was the first (as I have observ'd) that +corrected my Judgment of her, and confirm'd me in a strong Belief that +she could not fail in very little time of being what she was afterwards +allow'd to be, the foremost Ornament of our Theatre. Upon this +unexpected Sally, then, of the Power and Disposition of so unforeseen an +Actress, it was that I again took up the two first Acts of the _Careless +Husband_, which I had written the Summer before, and had thrown aside in +despair of having Justice done to the Character of Lady _Betty Modish_ +by any one Woman then among us; Mrs. _Verbruggen_ being now in a very +declining state of Health, and Mrs. _Bracegirdle_ out of my Reach and +engag'd in another Company: But, as I have said, Mrs. _Oldfield_ having +thrown out such new Proffers of a Genius, I was no longer at a loss for +Support; my Doubts were dispell'd, and I had now a new Call to finish +it: Accordingly, the _Careless Husband_[340] took its Fate upon the +Stage the Winter following, in 1704. Whatever favourable Reception this +Comedy has met with from the Publick, it would be unjust in me not to +place a large Share of it to the Account of Mrs. _Oldfield_; not only +from the uncommon Excellence of her Action, but even from her personal +manner of Conversing. There are many Sentiments in the Character of Lady +_Betty Modish_ that I may almost say were originally her own, or only +dress'd with a little more care than when they negligently fell from her +lively Humour: Had her Birth plac'd her in a higher Rank of Life, she +had certainly appear'd in reality what in this Play she only excellently +acted, an agreeably gay Woman of Quality a little too conscious of her +natural Attractions. I have often seen her in private Societies, where +Women of the best Rank might have borrow'd some part of her Behaviour +without the least Diminution of their Sense or Dignity. And this very +Morning, where I am now writing at the _Bath_, _November_ 11, 1738, the +same Words were said of her by a Lady of Condition, whose better +Judgment of her Personal Merit in that Light has embolden'd me to repeat +them. After her Success in this Character of higher Life, all that +Nature had given her of the Actress seem'd to have risen to its full +Perfection: But the Variety of her Power could not be known 'till she +was seen in variety of Characters; which, as fast as they fell to her, +she equally excell'd in. Authors had much more from her Performance than +they had reason to hope for from what they had written for her; and +none had less than another, but as their Genius in the Parts they +allotted her was more or less elevated. + +In the Wearing of her Person she was particularly fortunate; her Figure +was always improving to her Thirty-sixth Year; but her Excellence in +acting was never at a stand: And the last new Character she shone in +(_Lady Townly_) was a Proof that she was still able to do more, if more +could have been done for _her_.[341] She had one Mark of good Sense, +rarely known in any Actor of either Sex but herself. I have observ'd +several, with promising Dispositions, very desirous of Instruction at +their first setting out; but no sooner had they found their least +Account in it, than they were as desirous of being left to their own +Capacity, which they then thought would be disgrac'd by their seeming to +want any farther Assistance. But this was not Mrs. _Oldfield_'s way of +thinking; for, to the last Year of her Life, she never undertook any +Part she lik'd without being importunately desirous of having all the +Helps in it that another could possibly give her. By knowing so much +herself, she found how much more there was of Nature yet needful to be +known. Yet it was a hard matter to give her any Hint that she was not +able to take or improve. With all this Merit she was tractable and less +presuming in her Station than several that had not half her Pretensions +to be troublesome: But she lost nothing by her easy Conduct; she had +every thing she ask'd, which she took care should be always reasonable, +because she hated as much to be _grudg'd_ as _deny'd_ a Civility. Upon +her extraordinary Action in the _Provok'd Husband_,[342] the Menagers +made her a Present of Fifty Guineas more than her Agreement, which never +was more than a Verbal one; for they knew she was above deserting them +to engage upon any other Stage, and she was conscious they would never +think it their Interest to give her cause of Complaint. In the last two +Months of her Illness, when she was no longer able to assist them, she +declin'd receiving her Sallary, tho' by her Agreement she was entitled +to it. Upon the whole she was, to the last Scene she acted, the Delight +of her Spectators: Why then may we not close her Character with the same +Indulgence with which _Horace_ speaks of a commendable Poem: + + _Ubi plura nitent_--_non ego paucis + Offendar maculis_----[343] + + _Where in the whole such various Beauties shine, + 'Twere idle upon Errors to refine._[344] + +What more might be said of her as an Actress may be found in the Preface +to the _Provok'd Husband_, to which I refer the Reader.[345] + +With the Acquisition, then, of so advanc'd a Comedian as Mrs. +_Oldfield_, and the Addition of one so much in Favour as _Wilks_, and by +the visible Improvement of our other Actors, as _Penkethman_, _Johnson_, +_Bullock_, and I think I may venture to name myself in the Number (but +in what Rank I leave to the Judgment of those who have been my +Spectators) the Reputation of our Company began to get ground; Mrs. +_Oldfield_ and Mr. _Wilks_, by their frequently playing against one +another in our best Comedies, very happily supported that Humour and +Vivacity which is so peculiar to our _English_ Stage. The _French_, our +only modern Competitors, seldom give us their Lovers in such various +Lights: In their Comedies (however lively a People they are by nature) +their Lovers are generally constant, simple Sighers, both of a Mind, and +equally distress'd about the Difficulties of their coming together; +which naturally makes their Conversation so serious that they are seldom +good Company to their Auditors: And tho' I allow them many other +Beauties of which we are too negligent, yet our Variety of Humour has +Excellencies that all their valuable Observance of Rules have never yet +attain'd to. By these Advantages, then, we began to have an equal Share +of the politer sort of Spectators, who, for several Years, could not +allow our Company to stand in any comparison with the other. But +Theatrical Favour, like Publick Commerce, will sometimes deceive the +best Judgments by an unaccountable change of its Channel; the best +Commodities are not always known to meet with the best Markets. To this +Decline of the Old Company many Accidents might contribute; as the too +distant Situation of their Theatre, or their want of a better, for it +was not then in the condition it now is, but small, and poorly fitted up +within the Walls of a Tennis _Quaree_ Court, which is of the lesser +sort.[346] _Booth_, who was then a young Actor among them, has often +told me of the Difficulties _Betterton_ then labour'd under and +complain'd of: How impracticable he found it to keep their Body to that +common Order which was necessary for their Support;[347] of their +relying too much upon their intrinsick Merit; and though but few of them +were young even when they first became their own Masters, yet they were +all now ten Years older, and consequently more liable to fall into an +inactive Negligence, or were only separately diligent for themselves in +the sole Regard of their Benefit-Plays; which several of their +Principals knew, at worst, would raise them Contributions that would +more than tolerably subsist them for the current Year. But as these were +too precarious Expedients to be always depended upon, and brought in +nothing to the general Support of the Numbers who were at Sallaries +under them, they were reduc'd to have recourse to foreign Novelties; +_L'Abbeè_, _Balon_, and Mademoiselle _Subligny_,[348] three of the then +most famous Dancers of the _French_ Opera, were, at several times, +brought over at extraordinary Rates, to revive that sickly Appetite +which plain Sense and Nature had satiated.[349] But alas! there was no +recovering to a sound Constitution by those mere costly Cordials; the +Novelty of a Dance was but of a short Duration, and perhaps hurtful in +its consequence; for it made a Play without a Dance less endur'd than it +had been before, when such Dancing was not to be had. But perhaps their +exhibiting these Novelties might be owing to the Success we had met +with in our more barbarous introducing of _French_ Mimicks and Tumblers +the Year before; of which Mr. _Rowe_ thus complains in his Prologue to +one of his first Plays: + + _Must_ Shakespear, Fletcher, _and laborious_ Ben, + _Be left for_ Scaramouch _and_ Harlequin?[350] + +While the Crowd, therefore, so fluctuated from one House to another as +their Eyes were more or less regaled than their Ears, it could not be a +Question much in Debate which had the better Actors; the Merit of either +seem'd to be of little moment; and the Complaint in the foregoing Lines, +tho' it might be just for a time, could not be a just one for ever, +because the best Play that ever was writ may tire by being too often +repeated, a Misfortune naturally attending the Obligation to play every +Day; not that whenever such Satiety commences it will be any Proof of +the Play's being a bad one, or of its being ill acted. In a word, +Satiety is seldom enough consider'd by either Criticks, Spectators, or +Actors, as the true, not to say just Cause of declining Audiences to the +most rational Entertainments: And tho' I cannot say I ever saw a good +new Play not attended with due Encouragement, yet to keep a Theatre +daily open without sometimes giving the Publick a bad old one, is more +than I doubt the Wit of human Writers or Excellence of Actors will ever +be able to accomplish. And as both Authors and Comedians may have often +succeeded where a sound Judgment would have condemn'd them, it might +puzzle the nicest Critick living to prove in what sort of Excellence the +true Value of either consisted: For if their Merit were to be measur'd +by the full Houses they may have brought; if the Judgment of the Crowd +were infallible; I am afraid we shall be reduc'd to allow that the +_Beggars Opera_ was the best-written Play, and Sir _Harry Wildair_[351] +(as _Wilks_ play'd it) was the best acted Part, that ever our _English_ +Theatre had to boast of. That Critick, indeed, must be rigid to a Folly +that would deny either of them their due Praise, when they severally +drew such Numbers after them; all their Hearers could not be mistaken; +and yet, if they were all in the right, what sort of Fame will remain to +those celebrated Authors and Actors that had so long and deservedly +been admired before these were in Being. The only Distinction I shall +make between them is, That to write or act like the Authors or Actors of +the latter end of the last Century, I am of Opinion will be found a far +better Pretence to Success than to imitate these who have been so +crowded to in the beginning of this. All I would infer from this +Explanation is, that tho' we had then the better Audiences, and might +have more of the young World on our Side, yet this was no sure Proof +that the other Company were not, in the Truth of Action, greatly our +Superiors. These elder Actors, then, besides the Disadvantages I have +mention'd, having only the fewer true Judges to admire them, naturally +wanted the Support of the Crowd whose Taste was to be pleased at a +cheaper Rate and with coarser Fare. To recover them, therefore, to their +due Estimation, a new Project was form'd of building them a stately +Theatre in the _Hay-Market_,[352] by Sir _John Vanbrugh_, for which he +raised a Subscription of thirty Persons of Quality, at one hundred +Pounds each, in Consideration whereof every Subscriber, for his own +Life, was to be admitted to whatever Entertainments should be publickly +perform'd there, without farther Payment for his Entrance. Of this +Theatre I saw the first Stone laid, on which was inscrib'd _The little +Whig_, in Honour to a Lady of extraordinary Beauty, then the celebrated +Toast and Pride of that Party.[353] + +In the Year 1706,[354] when this House was finish'd, _Betterton_ and his +Co-partners dissolved their own Agreement, and threw themselves under +the Direction of Sir _John Vanbrugh_ and Mr. _Congreve_, imagining, +perhaps, that the Conduct of two such eminent Authors might give a more +prosperous Turn to their Condition; that the Plays it would now be their +Interest to write for them would soon recover the Town to a true Taste, +and be an Advantage that no other Company could hope for; that in the +Interim, till such Plays could be written, the Grandeur of their House, +as it was a new Spectacle, might allure the Crowd to support them: But +if these were their Views, we shall see that their Dependence upon them +was too sanguine. As to their Prospect of new Plays, I doubt it was not +enough consider'd that good ones were Plants of a slow Growth; and tho' +Sir _John Vanbrugh_ had a very quick Pen, yet Mr. _Congreve_ was too +judicious a Writer to let any thing come hastily out of his Hands: As to +their other Dependence, the House, they had not yet discover'd that +almost every proper Quality and Convenience of a good Theatre had been +sacrificed or neglected to shew the Spectator a vast triumphal Piece of +Architecture! And that the best Play, for the Reasons I am going to +offer, could not but be under great Disadvantages, and be less capable +of delighting the Auditor here than it could have been in the plain +Theatre they came from. For what could their vast Columns, their gilded +Cornices, their immoderate high Roofs avail, when scarce one Word in ten +could be distinctly heard in it? Nor had it then the Form it now stands +in, which Necessity, two or three Years after, reduced it to: At the +first opening it, the flat Ceiling that is now over the Orchestre was +then a Semi-oval Arch that sprung fifteen Feet higher from above the +Cornice: The Ceiling over the Pit, too, was still more raised, being one +level Line from the highest back part of the upper Gallery to the Front +of the Stage: The Front-boxes were a continued Semicircle to the bare +Walls of the House on each Side: This extraordinary and superfluous +Space occasion'd such an Undulation from the Voice of every Actor, that +generally what they said sounded like the Gabbling of so many People in +the lofty Isles in a Cathedral--The Tone of a Trumpet, or the Swell of +an Eunuch's holding Note, 'tis true, might be sweeten'd by it, but the +articulate Sounds of a speaking Voice were drown'd by the hollow +Reverberations of one Word upon another. To this Inconvenience, why may +we not add that of its Situation; for at that time it had not the +Advantage of almost a large City, which has since been built in its +Neighbourhood: Those costly Spaces of _Hanover_, _Grosvenor_, and +_Cavendish_ Squares, with the many and great adjacent Streets about +them, were then all but so many green Fields of Pasture, from whence +they could draw little or no Sustenance, unless it were that of a +Milk-Diet. The City, the Inns of Court, and the middle Part of the Town, +which were the most constant Support of a Theatre, and chiefly to be +relied on, were now too far out of the Reach of an easy Walk, and +Coach-hire is often too hard a Tax upon the Pit and Gallery.[355] But +from the vast Increase of the Buildings I have mention'd, the Situation +of that Theatre has since that Time received considerable Advantages; a +new World of People of Condition are nearer to it than formerly, and I +am of Opinion that if the auditory Part were a little more reduced to +the Model of that in _Drury-Lane_, an excellent Company of Actors would +now find a better Account in it than in any other House in this populous +City.[356] Let me not be mistaken, I say an excellent Company, and such +as might be able to do Justice to the best of Plays, and throw out those +latent Beauties in them which only excellent Actors can discover and +give Life to. If such a Company were now there, they would meet with a +quite different Set of Auditors than other Theatres have lately been +used to: Polite Hearers would be content with polite Entertainments; and +I remember the time when Plays, without the Aid of Farce or Pantomime, +were as decently attended as Opera's or private Assemblies, where a +noisy Sloven would have past his time as uneasily in a Front-box as in a +Drawing-room; when a Hat upon a Man's Head there would have been look'd +upon as a sure Mark of a Brute or a Booby: But of all this I have seen, +too, the Reverse, where in the Presence of Ladies at a Play common +Civility has been set at defiance, and the Privilege of being a rude +Clown, even to a Nusance, has in a manner been demanded as one of the +Rights of _English_ Liberty: Now, though I grant that Liberty is so +precious a Jewel that we ought not to suffer the least Ray of its Lustre +to be diminish'd, yet methinks the Liberty of seeing a Play in quiet has +as laudable a Claim to Protection as the Privilege of not suffering you +to do it has to Impunity. But since we are so happy as not to have a +certain Power among us, which in another Country is call'd the _Police_, +let us rather bear this Insult than buy its Remedy at too dear a Rate; +and let it be the Punishment of such wrong-headed Savages, that they +never will or can know the true Value of that Liberty which they so +stupidly abuse: Such vulgar Minds possess their Liberty as profligate +Husbands do fine Wives, only to disgrace them. In a Word, when Liberty +boils over, such is the Scum of it. But to our new erected Theatre. + +Not long before this Time the _Italian_ Opera began first to steal into +_England_,[357] but in as rude a disguise and unlike it self as +possible; in a lame, hobling Translation into our own Language, with +false Quantities, or Metre out of Measure to its original Notes, sung by +our own unskilful Voices, with Graces misapply'd to almost every +Sentiment, and with Action lifeless and unmeaning through every +Character: The first _Italian_ Performer that made any distinguish'd +Figure in it was _Valentini_, a true sensible Singer at that time, +but of a Throat too weak to sustain those melodious Warblings for which +the fairer Sex have since idoliz'd his Successors. However, this Defect +was so well supply'd by his Action, that his Hearers bore with the +Absurdity of his singing his first Part of _Turnus_ in _Camilla_ all +in _Italian_, while every other Character was sung and recited to +him in _English_.[358] This I have mention'd to shew not only our +Tramontane Taste, but that the crowded Audiences which follow'd it +to _Drury-Lane_ might be another Occasion of their growing thinner in +_Lincolns-Inn-Fields_. + +To strike in, therefore, with this prevailing Novelty, Sir _John +Vanbrugh_ and Mr. _Congreve_ open'd their new _Hay-Market Theatre_ with +a translated Opera to _Italian_ Musick, called the _Triumph of Love_, +but this not having in it the Charms of _Camilla_, either from the +Inequality of the Musick or Voices, had but a cold Reception, being +perform'd but three Days, and those not crowded. Immediately upon the +Failure of this _Opera_, Sir _John Vanbrugh_ produced his Comedy call'd +the _Confederacy_,[359] taken (but greatly improv'd) from the +_Bourgeois à la mode_ of _Dancour_: Though the Fate of this Play was +something better, yet I thought it was not equal to its Merit:[360] For +it is written with an uncommon Vein of Wit and Humour; which confirms me +in my former Observation, that the difficulty of hearing distinctly in +that then wide Theatre was no small Impediment to the Applause that +might have followed the same Actors in it upon every other Stage; and +indeed every Play acted there before the House was alter'd seemed to +suffer from the same Inconvenience: In a Word, the Prospect of Profits +from this Theatre was so very barren, that Mr. _Congreve_ in a few +Months gave up his Share and Interest in the Government of it wholly to +Sir _John Vanbrugh_.[361] But Sir _John_, being sole Proprietor of the +House, was at all Events oblig'd to do his utmost to support it. As he +had a happier Talent of throwing the _English_ Spirit into his +Translation of _French_ Plays than any former Author who had borrowed +from them, he in the same Season gave the Publick three more of that +kind, call'd the _Cuckold in Conceit_, from the _Cocu imaginaire_ of +_Moliere_;[362] _Squire Trelooby_, from his _Monsieur de Pourceaugnac_, +and the _Mistake_, from the _Dépit Amoureux_ of the same Author.[363] +Yet all these, however well executed, came to the Ear in the same +undistinguish'd Utterance by which almost all their Plays had equally +suffered: For what few could plainly hear, it was not likely a great +many could applaud. + +It must farther be consider'd, too, that this Company were not now what +they had been when they first revolted from the Patentees in +_Drury-Lane_, and became their own Masters in _Lincolns-Inn-Fields_. +Several of them, excellent in their different Talents, were now dead; as +_Smith_, _Kynaston_, _Sandford_, and _Leigh_: Mrs. _Betterton_ and +_Underhil_ being, at this time, also superannuated Pensioners whose +Places were generally but ill supply'd: Nor could it be expected that +_Betterton_ himself, at past seventy, could retain his former Force and +Spirit; though he was yet far distant from any Competitor. Thus, then, +were these Remains of the best Set of Actors that I believe were ever +known at once in _England_, by Time, Death, and the Satiety of their +Hearers, mould'ring to decay. + +It was now the Town-talk that nothing but a Union of the two Companies +could recover the Stage to its former Reputation,[364] which Opinion was +certainly true: One would have thought, too, that the Patentee of +_Drury-Lane_ could not have fail'd to close with it, he being then on +the Prosperous Side of the Question, having no Relief to ask for +himself, and little more to do in the matter than to consider what he +might safely grant: But it seems this was not his way of counting; he +had other Persons who had great Claims to Shares in the Profits of this +Stage, which Profits, by a Union, he foresaw would be too visible to be +doubted of, and might raise up a new Spirit in those Adventurers to +revive their Suits at Law with him; for he had led them a Chace in +Chancery several Years,[365] and when they had driven him into a +Contempt of that Court, he conjur'd up a Spirit, in the Shape of Six and +eight Pence a-day, that constantly struck the Tipstaff blind whenever he +came near him: He knew the intrinsick Value of Delay, and was resolv'd +to stick to it as the surest way to give the Plaintiffs enough on't. And +by this Expedient our good Master had long walk'd about at his Leisure, +cool and contented as a Fox when the Hounds were drawn off and gone home +from him. But whether I am right or not in my Conjectures, certain it +is that this close Master of _Drury-Lane_ had no Inclination to a Union, +as will appear by the Sequel.[366] + +Sir _John Vanbrugh_ knew, too, that to make a Union worth his while he +must not seem too hasty for it; he therefore found himself under a +Necessity, in the mean time, of letting his whole Theatrical Farm to +some industrious Tenant that might put it into better Condition. This is +that Crisis, as I observed in the Eighth Chapter, when the Royal Licence +for acting Plays, _&c._ was judg'd of so little Value as not to have one +Suitor for it. At this time, then, the Master of _Drury-Lane_ happen'd +to have a sort of primier Agent in his Stage-Affairs, that seem'd in +Appearance as much to govern the Master as the Master himself did to +govern his Actors: But this Person was under no Stipulation or Sallary +for the Service he render'd, but had gradually wrought himself into the +Master's extraordinary Confidence and Trust, from an habitual Intimacy, +a cheerful Humour, and an indefatigable Zeal for his Interest. If I +should farther say, that this Person has been well known in almost every +Metropolis in _Europe_; that few private Men have, with so little +Reproach, run through more various Turns of Fortune; that, on the wrong +side of Three-score, he has yet the open Spirit of a hale young Fellow +of five and twenty; that though he still chuses to speak what he thinks +to his best Friends with an undisguis'd Freedom, he is, notwithstanding, +acceptable to many Persons of the first Rank and Condition; that any one +of them (provided he likes them) may now send him, for their Service, to +_Constantinople_ at half a Day's Warning; that Time has not yet been +able to make a visible Change in any Part of him but the Colour of his +Hair, from a fierce coal-black to that of a milder milk-white: When I +have taken this Liberty with him, methinks it cannot be taking a much +greater if I at once should tell you that this Person was Mr. _Owen +Swiney_,[367] and that it was to him Sir _John Vanbrugh_, in this +Exigence of his Theatrical Affairs, made an Offer of his Actors, under +such Agreements of Sallary as might be made with them; and of his House, +Cloaths, and Scenes, with the Queen's License to employ them, upon +Payment of only the casual Rent of five Pounds upon every acting Day, +and not to exceed 700_l._ in the Year. Of this Proposal Mr. _Swiney_ +desir'd a Day or two to consider; for, however he might like it, he +would not meddle in any sort without the Consent and Approbation of his +Friend and Patron, the Master of _Drury Lane_. Having given the Reasons +why this Patentee was averse to a Union, it may now seem less a Wonder +why he immediately consented that _Swiney_ should take the _Hay-Market_ +House, _&c._ and continue that Company to act against him; but the real +Truth was, that he had a mind both Companies should be clandestinely +under one and the same Interest, and yet in so loose a manner that he +might declare his Verbal Agreement with _Swiney_ good, or null and void, +as he might best find his Account in either. What flatter'd him that he +had this wholesome Project, and _Swiney_ to execute it, both in his +Power, was that at this time _Swiney_ happen'd to stand in his Books +Debtor to Cash upwards of Two Hundred Pounds: But here, we shall find, +he over-rated his Security. However, _Swiney_ as yet follow'd his +Orders; he took the _Hay-Market_ Theatre, and had, farther, the private +Consent of the Patentee to take such of his Actors from _Drury-Lane_ +as either from Inclination or Discontent, might be willing to come over +to him in the _Hay-Market_. The only one he made an Exception of, +was myself: For tho' he chiefly depended upon his Singers and +Dancers,[368] he said it would be necessary to keep some one tolerable +Actor with him, that might enable him to set those Machines a going. +Under this Limitation of not entertaining me, _Swiney_ seem'd to +acquiesce 'till after he had open'd with the so recruited Company in +the _Hay-Market_: the Actors that came to him from _Drury-Lane_ were +_Wilks_, _Estcourt_,[369] _Mills_, _Keen_,[370] _Johnson_, _Bullock_, +Mrs. _Oldfield_, Mrs. _Rogers_, and some few others of less note: But +I must here let you know that this Project was form'd and put in +Execution all in very few Days, in the Summer-Season, when no Theatre +was open. To all which I was entirely a Stranger, being at this time +at a Gentleman's House in _Gloucestershire_, scribbling, if I mistake +not, the _Wife's Resentment_.[371] + +The first Word I heard of this Transaction was by a Letter from +_Swiney_, inviting me to make One in the _Hay-Market_ Company, whom +he hop'd I could not but now think the stronger Party. But I confess +I was not a little alarm'd at this Revolution: For I consider'd, that +I knew of no visible Fund to support these Actors but their own Industry; +that all his Recruits from _Drury-Lane_ would want new Cloathing; and +that the warmest Industry would be always labouring up Hill under +so necessary an Expence, so bad a Situation, and so inconvenient a +Theatre. I was always of opinion, too, that in changing Sides, in +most Conditions, there generally were discovered more unforeseen +Inconveniencies than visible Advantages; and that at worst there would +always some sort of Merit remain with Fidelity, tho' unsuccessful. Upon +these Considerations I was only thankful for the Offers made me from +the _Hay-Market_, without accepting them, and soon after came to Town +towards the usual time of their beginning to act, to offer my Service to +our old Master. But I found our Company so thinn'd that it was almost +impracticable to bring any one tolerable Play upon the Stage.[372] When +I ask'd him where were his Actors, and in what manner he intended to +proceed? he reply'd, _Don't you trouble yourself, come along, and I'll +shew you_. He then led me about all the By-places in the House, and +shew'd me fifty little Back-doors, dark Closets, and narrow Passages; in +Alterations and Contrivances of which kind he had busied his Head most +part of the Vacation; for he was scarce ever without some notable +Joyner, or a Bricklayer extraordinary, in pay, for twenty Years. And +there are so many odd obscure Places about a Theatre, that his Genius in +Nook-building was never out of Employment; nor could the most +vain-headed Author be more deaf to an Interruption in reciting his +Works, than our wise Master was while entertaining me with the +Improvements he had made in his invisible Architecture; all which, +without thinking any one Part of it necessary, tho' I seem'd to approve, +I could not help now and then breaking in upon his Delight with the +impertinent Question of----_But, Master, where are your Actors?_ But +it seems I had taken a wrong time for this sort of Enquiry; his Head was +full of Matters of more moment, and (as you find) I was to come another +time for an Answer: A very hopeful Condition I found myself in, under +the Conduct of so profound a Vertuoso and so considerate a Master! But +to speak of him seriously, and to account for this Disregard to his +Actors, his Notion was that Singing and Dancing, or any sort of Exotick +Entertainments, would make an ordinary Company of Actors too hard for +the best Set who had only plain Plays to subsist on. Now, though I am +afraid too much might be said in favour of this Opinion, yet I thought +he laid more Stress upon that sort of Merit than it would bear; as I +therefore found myself of so little Value with him, I could not help +setting a little more upon myself, and was resolv'd to come to a short +Explanation with him. I told him I came to serve him at a time when many +of his best Actors had deserted him; that he might now have the Refusal +of me; but I could not afford to carry the Compliment so far as to +lessen my Income by it; that I therefore expected either my casual Pay +to be advanced, or the Payment of my former Sallary made certain for as +many Days as we had acted the Year before.--No, he was not willing to +alter his former Method; but I might chuse whatever Parts I had a mind +to act of theirs who had left him. When I found him, as I thought, so +insensible or impregnable, I look'd gravely in his Face, and told +him--He knew upon what Terms I was willing to serve him, and took my +leave. By this time the _Hay-Market_ Company had begun acting to +Audiences something better than usual, and were all paid their full +Sallaries, a Blessing they had not felt in some Years in either House +before. Upon this Success _Swiney_ press'd the Patentee to execute the +Articles they had as yet only verbally agreed on, which were in +Substance, That _Swiney_ should take the _Hay-Market_ House in his own +Name, and have what Actors he thought necessary from _Drury-Lane_, and +after all Payments punctually made, the Profits should be equally +divided between these two Undertakers. But soft and fair! Rashness was a +Fault that had never yet been imputed to the Patentee; certain Payments +were Methods he had not of a long, long time been us'd to; that Point +still wanted time for Consideration. But _Swiney_ was as hasty as the +other was slow, and was resolv'd to know what he had to trust to before +they parted; and to keep him the closer to his Bargain, he stood upon +his Right of having _Me_ added to that Company if I was willing to come +into it. But this was a Point as absolutely refus'd on one side as +insisted on on the other. In this Contest high Words were exchang'd on +both sides, 'till, in the end, this their last private Meeting came to +an open Rupture: But before it was publickly known, _Swiney_, by fairly +letting me into the whole Transaction, took effectual means to secure me +in his Interest. When the Mystery of the Patentee's Indifference to me +was unfolded, and that his slighting me was owing to the Security he +rely'd on of _Swiney_'s not daring to engage me, I could have no further +Debate with my self which side of the Question I should adhere to. To +conclude, I agreed, in two Words, to act with _Swiney_,[373] and from +this time every Change that happen'd in the Theatrical Government was a +nearer Step to that twenty Years of Prosperity which Actors, under the +Menagement of Actors, not long afterwards enjoy'd. What was the +immediate Consequence of this last Desertion from _Drury-Lane_ shall be +the Subject of another Chapter. + + + + +INDEX. + + + Abbé, Monsieur L', a French dancer, i. xxvii., i. 316. + + Acting, excellence of, about, 1631, i. xlviii.; + Cibber's views on versatility in, i. 209. + + Actors, their names not given in old plays, i. xxv.; + join Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + the prejudice against, i. 74-84; + taken into society, i. 83; + their delight in applause, i. 85; + entitled Gentlemen of the Great Chamber, i. 88; + must be born, not made, i. 89; + their private characters influence audiences, i. 243-251; + their arrangement with Swiney in 1706, ii. 9; + refused Christian burial by the Romish Church, ii. 29; + badly paid, ii. 64; + dearth of young, ii. 221. + + ---- the old, played secretly during the Commonwealth, i. xxx.; + arrested for playing, i. xxx.; + bribed officers of guard to let them play, i. xxx. + + Actress (Miss Santlow), insulted, i. 76. + + Actresses, first English, i. 87, _note_ 1, i. 90, i. 119; + who were Charles II.'s mistresses, i. 91; + difficulty of getting good, ii. 222. + + Addison, Joseph, i. 245, ii. 36, _note_ 1, ii. 151, ii. 163, _note_ 1, + ii. 251; + Pope's attack on, i. 38; + his opinion of Wilks's Hamlet, i. 100; + his view regarding humour in tragedy, i. 123; + his play of "Cato," ii. 120; + its great success, ii. 127-133; + presents the profits of "Cato" to the managers, ii. 129; + its success at Oxford, ii. 137; + his "Cato" quoted, ii. 238, _note_ 2. + + Admission to theatres, cheap, before 1642, i. xxvii. + + Adventurers--subscribers to the building of Dorset Garden Theatre, + i. 97, _note_ 1; + their interest in the Drury Lane Patent, ii. 32, _note_ 1; + Rich uses them against Brett, ii. 57; + names of the principal, ii. 57, _note_ 1. + + Agreement preliminary to the Union of 1682, ii. 324, ii. 328. + + "Albion Queens, The," ii. 14, _note_ 1. + + "Alexander the Great," by Lee, i. 105. + + Allen, William, an eminent actor, i. xxvi.; + a major in Charles I.'s army, i. xxix. + + Alleyn, Edward, caused the Fortune Theatre to be built for his company, + i. xxviii.; + endowed Dulwich College, i. xxviii.; + Ben Jonson's eulogium of, i. xxviii. + + "Amphytrion," by Dryden, i. 113. + + Angel, a comedian, ii. 347. + + Anne, Queen (while Princess of Denmark), deserts her father, James II., + i. 67, i. 70; + pensions Mrs. Betterton, i. 162; + at the play, i. 185; + forbids audience on the stage, i. 234, _note_ 2; + her death, ii. 161. + + Applause, i. 221; + the pleasure of, i. 85. + + Archer, William, his investigations regarding the truth of Diderot's + "Paradoxe sur le Comédien," i. 103, _note_ 1; + his "About the Theatre," i. 278, _note_ 1. + + Aristophanes, referred to, i. 39. + + Arlington, Earl of, his death, i. 31, _note_ 1. + + Arthur, son of Henry VII., pageants at his marriage, i. xliii. + + Ashbury, Joseph, the Dublin Patentee, i. 236, ii. 364; + engages Mrs. Charlotte Butler, i. 165; + memoir of, i. 165, _note_ 1. + + Aston, Anthony, quoted, i. 109, _note_ 1, + i. 110, _note_ 1, i. 116, _note_ 1, i. 167, _note_ 1, i. 167, + _note_ 2, ii. 354; + on his own acting of Fondlewife, ii. 312; + his "Brief Supplement" to Cibber's Lives of his Contemporaries, + reprint of, ii. 297; + his description of Mrs. Barry, ii. 302; + Betterton, ii. 299; + Mrs. Bracegirdle, ii. 303; + Dogget, ii. 308; + Haines, ii. 314; + Mrs. Mountfort, ii. 313; + Sandford, ii. 306; + Underhill, ii. 307; + Verbruggen, ii. 311. + + Audience on the stage, i. 234, ii. 246. + + Audiences rule the stage for good or evil, i. 112; + authors discouraged by their severity, i. 176. + + Authors abusing managers and actors, ii. 249; + managers' troubles with, ii. 249; + Cibber censured for his treatment of, ii. 251, _note_ 1. + + + Bacon, Lord, quoted, i. xlv. + + Baddeley, Robert, the last actor who wore the uniform of their + Majesties' servants, i. 88, _note_ 3. + + Balon, Mons., a French dancer, i. 316. + + Banks, John, the excellence of his plots, ii. 15; + his "Unhappy Favourite," ii. 244. + + Baron, Michael (French actor), i. 175. + + Barry, Mrs. Elizabeth, i. 98, i. 110, _note_ 1, i. 185, i. 188, + i. 192, _note_ 1, i. 251, _note_ 1, ii. 300, ii. 302, ii. 306, + ii. 320, ii. 337, ii. 365; + Cibber's account of, i. 158-161; + her great genius, i. 158; + Dryden's compliment to, i. 158; + her unpromising commencement as an actress, i. 159; + her power of exciting pity, i. 160; + her dignity and fire, i. 160; + the first performer who had a benefit, i. 161; + her death, i. 161; + her retirement, ii. 69; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 302; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 357. + + Beaumont and Fletcher's "Wild-Goose Chase," published for Lowin and + Taylor's benefit, i. xxxi. + + Beeston, Christopher, ii. 326. + + "Beggar's Opera," i. 243, i. 318. + + Behn, Mrs. Aphra, i. 195. + + Bellchambers, Edmund, his edition of Cibber's "Apology" quoted, + i. 5, _note_ 1, i. 14, _note_ 1, i. 35, _note_ 2, i. 41, _note_ 2, + i. 58, _note_ 1, i. 71, _note_ 1, i. 106, _note_ 1, i. 123, + _note_ 2, i. 133, _note_ 1, i. 141, _note_ 1, i. 146, _note_ 1, + i. 152, _note_ 1, i. 161, _note_ 2, i. 163, _note_ 1, i. 170, + _note_ 1, i. 179, _note_ 2, i. 183, _note_ 1, i. 197, _note_ 3, + i. 202, _note_ 1, i. 251, _note_ 1, i. 278, _note_ 1, ii. 17, + _note_ 1, ii. 51, _note_ 1, ii. 88, _note_ 1, ii. 185, _note_ 1, + ii. 252, _note_ 1, ii. 254, _note_ 1; + his memoir of Mrs. Barry, ii. 357; + Betterton, ii. 333; + Mrs. Betterton, ii. 359; + W. Bullock, ii. 361; + Estcourt, ii. 331; + Goodman, ii. 329; + Hart, ii. 322; + B. Johnson, ii. 360; + Keen, ii. 364; + Kynaston, ii. 339; + Anthony Leigh, ii. 349; + John Mills, ii. 362; + Mohun, ii. 326; + Mountfort, ii. 341; + James Nokes, ii. 346; + Mrs. Oldfield, ii. 367; + Pinkethman, ii. 348; + Mrs. Porter, ii. 365; + Powell, ii. 352; + Sandford, ii. 346: Smith, ii. 319; + Underhill, ii. 350; + Verbruggen, ii. 354; + Joseph Williams, ii. 356. + + Benefits, their origin, i. 161; + Mrs. Elizabeth Barry the first performer to whom granted, i. 161, + ii. 67; + part confiscated by Rich, ii. 66; + Rich ordered to refund the part confiscated, ii. 68; + amounts realized by principal actors, ii. 78, _note_ 1. + + Betterton, Mrs. Mary, i. 98, i. 327, ii. 336; + said to be the first English actress, i. 90, _note_ 1; + Cibber's account of, i. 161-162; + without a rival in Shakespeare's plays, i. 162; + her unblemished character, i. 162; + pensioned by Queen Anne, i. 162; + her death, i. 162; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 359. + + ---- Thomas, i. 98, i. 162, i. 175, i. 181, _note_ 2, i. 187, + _note_ 1, i. 188, ii. 64, _note_ 2, ii. 128, ii. 211, _note_ 1, + ii. 215, ii. 237, ii. 244, _note_ 1, ii. 306, ii. 308, ii. 311, + ii. 320, ii. 324, ii. 346, ii. 352, ii. 358. ii. 359, ii. 363, + ii. 365; + improves scenery, i. xxii.; + taken into good society, i. 83; + famous for Hamlet, i. 91; + Cibber's eulogium of, i. 99-118; + his supreme excellence, i. 100; + description of his Hamlet, i. 100; + Booth's veneration for, i. 101, _note_ 1; + his Hotspur, i. 103; + his Brutus, i. 103; + the grace and harmony of his elocution, i. 106; + his success in "Alexander the Great," i. 106, i. 108; + his just estimate of applause, i. 109; + his perfect elocution, i. 111; + description of his voice and person, i. 116; + Kneller's portrait of, i. 117; + his last appearance, i. 117; + his death, i. 118; + the "Tatler's" eulogium of, i. 118, _note_ 1; + Gildon's Life of, i. 118, _note_ 2, ii. 324, ii. 337, _note_ 1, + ii. 358; + Mrs. Bracegirdle returns to play for his benefit, i. 174; + ill-treated by the Patentees, i. 188; + makes a party against them, i. 189; + obtains a licence in 1695, i. 192, _note_ 1, i. 194; + mimicked by Powell, i. 205, i. 207, _note_ 1; + his versatility, i. 211; + his difficulty in managing at Lincoln's Inn Fields, i. 228; + as a prologue-speaker, i. 271; + inability to keep order in his Company, i. 315; + said to be specially favoured by the Lord Chamberlain, ii. 18; + declines management in, 1709, ii. 69; + advertisement regarding his salary (1709), ii. 78, _note_ 1; + his superiority to Wilks and Booth, ii. 245; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 299; + and the puppet-show keeper, ii. 301; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 333. + + Betterton's Company (1695 to, 1704), their decline, i. 314; + disorders in, i. 315. + + Biblical narratives dramatized in the "Ludus Coventriæ," i. xxxvii. + _et seq._ + + Bibliography of Colley Cibber, ii. 289-296. + + Bickerstaffe, Isaac (author), ii. 288. + + Bickerstaffe, John (actor), ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1; + threatens Cibber for reducing his salary, i. 71, _note_ 1. + + Bignell, Mrs., ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 129, _note_ 2. + + "Biographia Britannica," ii. 360. + + "Biographia Dramatica," i. 184, _note_ 1, i. 278, _note_ 1, i. 330, + _note_ 1, ii. 14, _note_ 1, ii. 332, ii. 336, ii. 337, _note_ 1, + ii. 359, _note_ 1. + + Bird, Theophilus, an eminent actor, i. xxvi. + + Blackfriar's Company, "men of grave and sober behaviour," i. xxvii. + + ---- Theatre, i. xxv., i. xxvi., i. xxviii., i. xlix.; + its excellent company, i. xxiv., i. xxvi. + + Blanc, Abbé Le, his account of a theatre riot, i. 278, _note_ 1. + + "Blast upon Bays, A," ii. 266. + + "Bloody Brother, The," actors arrested while playing, i. xxx. + + Booth, Barton, i. 157, ii. 36, _note_ 1, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, + _note_ 1, ii. 95, _note_ 1, ii. 110, ii. 128, ii. 129, _note_ 2, + ii. 167, ii. 230, ii. 232, ii. 320, ii. 361, ii. 363; + Memoirs of, published immediately after his death, i. 5; + story told by him of Cibber, i. 63, _note_ 1; + his veneration for Betterton, i. 101, _note_ 1; + his indolence alluded to by Cibber, i. 103; + his reverence for tragedy, i. 121; + his Morat, i. 122; + his Life, by Theo. Cibber, quoted, i. 122, _note_ 1, i. 123, _note_ 2, + ii. 130, _note_ 2, ii. 140, _note_ 1; + his Henry VIII., i. 123, _note_ 2; + is warned by Powell's excesses to avoid drinking, i. 260; + as a prologue-speaker, i. 271; + elects to continue at Drury Lane in 1709, ii. 70; + his marriage, ii. 96, _note_ 1; + the reason of the delay in making him a manager, ii. 114; + his success as Cato, ii. 130-133; + his claim to be made a manager on account of his success, ii. 130; + supported by Lord Bolingbroke, ii. 130, _note_ 2; + his name added to the Licence, ii. 140; + the terms of his admission as sharer, ii. 144; + his suffering from Wilks's temper, ii. 155; + his connection with Steele during the dispute about Steele's patent, + ii. 193, _note_ 1; + Wilks's jealousy of, ii. 223; + a scene with Wilks, ii. 234-237; + and Wilks, their opinion of each other, ii. 240; + his deficiency in humour, ii. 240; + formed his style on Betterton, ii. 241; + Cibber's comparison of Wilks and Booth, ii. 239-245; + his Othello and Cato, ii. 243; + memoir of, ii. 254, _note_ 1; + Patent granted to him, Wilks, and Cibber, after Steele's death, + ii. 257; + sells half of his share of the Patent to Highmore, ii. 258. + + Booth, Mrs. Barton (see also Santlow, Hester), insulted by Capt. + Montague, i. 76-78; + sells the remainder of Booth's share to Giffard, ii. 259. + + Boswell, James, his "Life of Dr. Johnson," quoted, i. 36, _note_ 2, + i. 46, _note_ 1, i. 215, _note_ 1, ii. 41, _note_ 2, ii. 163, + _note_ 1. + + Bourgogne, Hotel de, a theatre originally used for religious plays, + i. xxxv. + + Boutell, Mrs., mentioned, i. 161, _note_ 1, i. 167, _note_ 2. + + Bowen, James (singer), ii. 312. + + Bowman (actor), memoir of, ii. 211, _note_ 1; + sings before Charles II., ii. 211. + + ---- Mrs., ii. 211, _note_ 1. + + Bowyer, Michael, an eminent actor, i. xxvi. + + Boy-actresses, i. 90; + still played after the appearance of women, i. 119. + + Bracegirdle, Mrs. Anne, i. 98, i. 182, i. 188, i. 192, _note_ 1, + ii. 300, ii. 302, ii. 312, ii. 337; + admitted into good society, i. 83; + Cibber's account of, i. 170-174; + her good character, i. 170-172; + her character attacked by Bellchambers, i. 170, _note_ 1; + Tom Brown's scandal about her, i. 170, _note_ 1; + attacked in "Poems on Affairs of State," i. 170, _note_ 1; + her best parts, i. 173; + her retirement, i. 174; + memoir of her, i. 174, _note_ 2; + her rivalry with Mrs. Oldfield, i. 174, _note_ 2; + declines to play some of Mrs. Barry's parts, i. 188-9; + her retirement, ii. 69; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 303; + her attempted abduction by Capt. Hill, ii. 342. + + Bradshaw, Mrs., ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1, ii. 303. + + Brett, Colonel Henry, a share in the Drury Lane Patent presented + to him by Skipwith, ii. 32; + his acquaintance with Cibber, ii. 33; + Cibber's account of, ii. 34-42; + admires Cibber's perriwig, ii. 35; + and the Countess of Macclesfield, ii. 39-41; + his dealings with Rich, ii. 42-49, ii. 56-60; + makes Wilks, Estcourt, and Cibber his deputies in management, + ii. 56, _note_ 1; + gives up his share to Skipwith, ii. 59. + + ---- Mrs. (see also Miss Mason, and Countess of Macclesfield), + Cibber's high opinion of her taste, ii. 41, _note_ 2; + his "Careless Husband" submitted to her, ii. 41, _note_ 2; + her judicious treatment of her husband, ii. 41, _note_ 2. + + Bridgwater (actor), ii. 260. + + Brown, Tom, ii. 348, ii. 350; + his scandal on Mrs. Bracegirdle, i. 170, _note_ 1. + + Buck, Sir George, his "Third University of England," quoted, i. xlviii. + + Buckingham, Duke of, ii. 210. + + "Buffoon, The," an epigram on Cibber's admission into society, i. + 29, _note_ 1. + + Bullen, A. H., his "Lyrics from Elizabethan Song-books," i. 21, + _note_ 1. + + Bullock, Christopher, ii. 169, _note_ 2. + + ---- Mrs. Christopher, i. 136, _note_ 2. + + ---- William, i. 194, i. 313, i. 332, ii. 169, _note_ 2, ii. 252, + _note_ 1; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 361. + + Burbage, Richard, i. xxvi. + + Burgess, Colonel, killed Horden, an actor, i. 303; + his punishment, i. 302, _note_ 2. + + Burlington, Earl of, ii. 209. + + Burnet, Bishop, his observations on Nell Gwynne, ii. 212; + on Mrs. Roberts, ii. 212. + + Burney, Dr., his "History of Music," ii. 55, _note_ 1, ii. 89, + _note_ 1; + his MSS. in the British Museum, i. 174, _note_ 2, ii. 198, + _note_ 1, ii. 224, _note_ 1. + + Burt (actor), superior to his successors, i. xxiv.; + apprenticed to Shank, i. xxv.; + and to Beeston, i. xxv.; + a "boy-actress," i. xxv.; + a cornet in Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + arrested for acting, i. xxx. + + Butler, Mrs. Charlotte, i. 98, i. 237, ii. 262; + Cibber's account of, i. 163-165; + patronized by Charles II., i. 163; + a good singer and dancer, i. 163; + a pleasant and clever actress, i. 164; + compared with Mrs. Oldfield, i. 164; + goes to the Dublin theatre, i. 164; + note regarding her, i. 164, _note_ 1. + + Byrd, William, his "Psalmes, Sonets, etc.," i. 21, _note_ 1. + + Byron, Lord, a practical joke erroneously attributed to him while at + Cambridge, i. 59, _note_ 1. + + + Cambridge. See Trinity College, Cambridge. + + "Careless Husband," cast of, i. 308, _note_ 1. + + Carey, Henry, deprived of the freedom of the theatre for bantering + Cibber, ii. 226, _note_ 2. + + Carlile, James, memoir of, i. 84, _note_ 1; + is killed at Aughrim, i. 84, _note_ 1, i. 85. + + Cartwright (actor), belonged to the Salisbury Court Theatre, i. xxiv. + + Castil-Blaze, Mons., his "La Danse et les Ballets" quoted, i. 316, + _note_ 1. + + Catherine of Arragon, pageants at her marriage with Prince Arthur, + i. xliii. + + "Cato," by Addison, cast of, ii. 120, _note_ 1; + its success, ii. 127-133; + at Oxford, ii. 137; + its influence, ii. 26; + Cibber's Syphax in, i. 122. + + Chalmers, George, his "Apology for the Shakspeare-Believers," i. 276, + _note_ 1, i. 277, _note_ 1. + + "Champion" (by Henry Fielding), quoted, i. 1, _note_ 1, i. 38, + _note_ 1, i. 50, _note_ 2, i. 63, _note_ 1, i. 69, _note_ 1, + i. 93, _note_ 2, i. 288, _note_ 1, ii. 54, _note_ 2. + + Charke, Charlotte, ii. 285. + + ---- (musician), husband of Cibber's daughter, ii. 285. + + Charles II. mentioned, i. 120, i. 133; + his escape from Presbyterian tyranny, i. 22; + Cibber sees him at Whitehall, i. 30; + writes a funeral oration on his death while still at school, i. 31; + Patents granted by him to Davenant and Killigrew, i. 87; + wittily reproved by Killigrew, i. 87, _note_ 2; + called Anthony Leigh "his actor," i. 154; + his Court theatricals, ii. 209; + and Bowman the actor, ii. 211; + his opinion of Sandford's acting, ii. 306. + + Chesterfield, Lord, his powers of raillery, i. 13, i. 14; + refers ironically to Cibber in "Common Sense," i. 71, _note_ 1; + opposes the Licensing Act of 1737, i. 289. + + Chetwood, William Rufus, Cibber acts for his benefit, ii. 265; + his "History of the Stage," i. 165, _note_ 1, i. 207, _note_ 1, + i. 244, _note_ 1, ii. 140, _note_ 1, ii. 169, _note_ 3, ii. + 319-320, ii. 331, ii. 356, ii. 364. + + "Children of her Majesty's Chapel," i. xxxvi. + + "Children of Paul's," i. xxxvi. + + Churchill, General, ii. 369, _note_ 2. + + ---- Lady (Duchess of Marlborough), i. 67; + Cibber attends her at table, i. 68; + his admiration of her, i. 68; + her beauty and good fortune, i. 69. + + Cibber, Caius Gabriel, father of Colley Cibber, i. 7, _note_ 2; + his statues and other works, i. 8; + his marriage, i. 8, _note_ 1; + his death, i. 8, _note_ 1; + presents a statue to Winchester College, i. 56; + employed at Chatsworth, i. 58; + statues carved by him for Trinity College Library, Cambridge, i. 59. + + Cibber, Colley, Account of his Life:-- + His Apology written at Bath, i. 1, _note_ 1; + his reasons for writing his own Life, i. 5, i. 6; + his birth, i. 7; + his baptism recorded, i. 7, _note_ 2; + sent to school at Grantham, i. 9; + his character at school, i. 9; + writes an ode at school on Charles II.'s death, i. 31; + and on James II.'s coronation, i. 33; + his prospects in life, i. 55; + his first taste for the stage, i. 58; + stifles his love for the stage and desires to go to the University, + i. 58; + serves against James II. in 1688, i. 61; + attends Lady Churchill at table, i. 68; + his admiration of her, i. 68; + disappointed in his expectation of receiving a commission in the + army, i. 71; + petitions the Duke of Devonshire for preferment, i. 73; + determines to be an actor, i. 73; + hangs about Downes the prompter, i. 74, _note_ 1; + his account of his own first appearances, i. 180; + his first salary, i. 181; + description of his personal appearance, i. 182; + his first success, i. 183; + his marriage, i. 184; + plays Kynaston's part in "The Double Dealer," i. 185; + remains with Patentees in, 1695, i. 193; + writes his first Prologue, i. 195; + not allowed to speak it, i. 196; + forced to play Fondlewife, i. 206; + plays it in imitation of Dogget, i. 208; + his slow advancement as an actor, i. 209, i. 215; + writes his first play, "Love's Last Shift," i. 212; + as Sir Novelty Fashion, i. 213; + encouraged and helped by Vanbrugh, i. 215; + begins to advance as an actor, i. 218; + better in comedy than tragedy, i. 221; + tragic parts played by him, i. 222; + his Iago abused, i. 222, _note_ 1; + description of his Justice Shallow, i. 224, _note_ 2; + leaves Drury Lane for Lincoln's Inn Fields, i. 232, _note_ 1; + returns to Drury Lane, i. 232, _note_ 1; + his "Love in a Riddle" condemned, i. 244-250; + accused of having Gay's "Polly" vetoed, i. 247; + his Damon and Phillida, i. 249, _note_ 1; + consulted by Rich on matters of management, i. 253; + his disputes with Wilks, i. 258; + his "Woman's Wit" a failure, i. 264; + distinguished by Dryden, i. 269; + attacked by Jeremy Collier, i. 274; + his adaptation of "Richard III.," i. 139; + his "Richard III." mutilated by the Master of the Revels, i. 275; + attacked by George Chalmers, i. 276, _note_ 1, i. 277, _note_ 1; + declines to pay fees to Killigrew, Master of Revels, i. 277; + his surprise at Mrs. Oldfield's excellence, i. 307; + writes "The Careless Husband" chiefly for Mrs. Oldfield, i. 308; + finishes "The Provoked Husband," begun by Vanbrugh, i. 311, _note_ 1; + invited to join Swiney at the Haymarket, i. 333; + leaves Rich and goes to Swiney, i. 337; + his "Lady's Last Stake," ii. 2; + his "Double Gallant," ii. 3; + his "Marriage à la Mode," ii. 5; + declines to act on the same stage as rope-dancers, ii. 7; + advises Col. Brett regarding the Patent, ii. 33, ii. 42; + his first introduction to him, ii. 33; + his account of Brett, 34-42; + as Young Reveller in "Greenwich Park," ii. 41; + made Deputy-manager by Brett, ii. 56, _note_ 1; + advertisement regarding his salary, 1709, ii. 78, _note_ 1; + made joint manager with Swiney and others in 1709, ii. 69; + and his fellow-managers, Wilks and Dogget, ii. 110, ii. 117, ii. + 121, ii. 127; + mediates between Wilks and Dogget, ii. 122; + his troubles with Wilks, ii. 124; + his views and conduct on Booth's claiming to become a manager, ii. + 131-133, ii. 140-143; + his meetings with Dogget after their law-suit, ii. 150; + his "Nonjuror," i. 177, _note_ 1, ii. 185-190; + accused of stealing his "Nonjuror," ii. 186, _note_ 1; + makes the Jacobites his enemies, ii. 185-187; + reported dead by "Mist's Weekly Journal," ii. 188; + his "Provoked Husband" hissed by his Jacobite enemies, ii. 189; + his appointment as Poet Laureate in 1730, i. 32, _note_ 1; + the reason of his being made Laureate, ii. 190; + his "Ximena," ii. 163, _note_ 1; + his suspension by the Duke of Newcastle, ii. 193, _note_ 1; + his connection with Steele during the dispute about Steele's Patent, + ii. 193, _note_ 1; + his account of a suit brought by Steele against his partners, ii. + 196-208; + his pleading in person in the suit brought by Steele, ii. 199-207; + his success in pleading, ii. 198, _note_ 1, ii. 207; + assisted Steele in his "Conscious Lovers," ii. 206; + his playing of Wolsey before George I., ii. 216; + admitted into good society, i. 29; + elected a member of White's, i. 29, _note_ 1; + an epigram on his admission into good society, i. 29, _note_ 1; + Patent granted to Cibber, Wilks, and Booth after Steele's death, + ii. 257; + sells his share of the Patent to Highmore, ii. 258; + his sale of his share in the Patent, i. 297; + his shameful treatment of Highmore, ii. 259; + his retirement, ii. 255; + gives a reason for retiring from the stage, i. 178, i. 179, + _note_ 1; + his appearances after his retirement, ii. 261, ii. 263, ii. + 264, ii. 268; + his remarks on his successful reappearances, i. 179; + his last appearances, i. 6, _note_ 1; + his adaptation of "King John," i. 6, _note_ 1; + his "Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John" withdrawn from + rehearsal, ii. 263; + his "Papal Tyranny" produced, ii. 268; + its success, ii. 270; + his quarrel with Pope, ii. 270-283; + and Horace Walpole, ii. 284; + his death and burial, ii. 284; + list of his plays, ii. 286-287; + bibliography of, ii. 289-296; + Anthony Aston's "Supplement" to, ii. 297. + + Cibber, Colley, Attacks on him:-- + Commonly accused of cowardice, i. 71, _note_ 1; + threatened by John Bickerstaffe, for reducing his salary, i. 71, + _note_ 1; + accused of "venom" towards Booth, i. 123, _note_ 2; + abused by Dennis, i. 66, _note_ 1, ii. 168, _note_ 1; + his offer of a reward for discovery of Dennis, i. 41, _note_ 1, ii. + 168, _note_ 1; + charged with envy of Estcourt, i. 115, _note_ 2; + Fielding's attacks upon, quoted (see under Fielding, Hy.); + his galling retaliation on Fielding, i. 286; + said to have been thrashed by Gay, i. 71, _note_ 1; + "The Laureat's" attacks upon (see "Laureat"); + satirized on his appointment as Laureate, i. 46; + epigrams on his appointment quoted, i. 46, _note_ 1; + writes verses in his own dispraise, i. 47; + his Odes attacked by Fielding, i. 36, _note_ 2; + and by Johnson, i. 36, _note_ 2; + charges against him of levity and impiety, i. 58, _note_ 1; + accused of negligence in acting, i. 241, _note_ 1; + attacked by the daily papers, i. 41; + his disregard of them, i. 41, i. 44, _note_ 1; + on newspaper attacks, ii. 167; + on principle never answered newspaper attacks, ii. 168; + his famous quarrel with Pope, ii. 270; + "The Nonjuror" a cause of Pope's enmity to Cibber, ii. 189, _note_ 1; + attacked by Pope for countenancing pantomimes, ii. 182, _note_ 1; + his reply, ii. 182, _note_ 1; + his first allusion to Pope's enmity, i. 21; + his opinion of Pope's attacks, i. 35; + his Odes, i. 36, _note_ 2; + supposed to be referred to in Preface to Shadwell's "Fair Quaker of + Deal," ii. 95, _note_ 1; + attacked for mutilating Shakespeare, ii. 263; + accused of stealing "Love's Last Shift," i. 214, and "The Careless + Husband," i. 215, _note_ 1; + satirized by Swift, i. 52, _note_ 2; + his defence of his follies, i. 2, i. 19. + + Cibber, Colley, Criticisms of Contemporaries:-- + On the production of Addison's "Cato," ii. 120, ii. 127-133; + his description of Mrs. Barry, i. 158-161; + on the excellence of Betterton and his contemporaries, i. 175; + his eulogium of Betterton, i. 99-118; + his description of Mrs. Betterton, i. 161-162; + his account of Booth and Wilks as actors, ii. 239-245; + his description of Mrs. Bracegirdle, i. 170-174; + his description of Mrs. Butler, i. 163-165; + his high opinion of Mrs. Brett's taste, ii. 41, _note_ 2; + submits every scene of his "Careless Husband" to Mrs. Brett, ii. + 41, _note_ 2; + on his own acting, i. 220-226; + his "Epilogue upon Himself," ii. 265; + on Dogget's acting, ii. 158; + his low opinion of Garrick, ii. 268; + his description of Kynaston, i. 120-127; + his description of Leigh, i. 145-154; + his description of Mrs. Leigh, i. 162-3; + his description of Mountfort, i. 127-130; + his description of Mrs. Mountfort, i. 165-169; + his praise of Nicolini, ii. 51; + his description of Nokes, i. 141-145; + his hyperbolical praise of Mrs. Oldfield's Lady Townly, i. 51, i. + 312, _note_ 3; + on Rich's misconduct, ii. 46; + his description of Sandford, i. 130; + his description of Cave Underhill, i. 154-156; + his unfairness to Verbruggen, i. 157, _note_ 2; + his account of Wilks and Booth as actors, ii. 239-245; + on Wilks's Hamlet, i. 100; + praises Wilks's diligence, ii. 160, ii. 239; + on Wilks's love of acting, ii. 225; + on Wilks's temper, ii. 155, ii. 171; + a scene with Wilks, 234-237. + + Cibber, Colley, Reflections and Opinions:-- + On acting, i. 209, i. 221; + on acting villains, i. 131-135, i. 222; + on the prejudice against actors, i. 74-84; + his advice to dramatists, ii. 14; + on applause, i. 221, ii. 214; + on the severity of audiences, i. 175; + on politeness in audiences, ii. 247; + on troubles with authors, ii. 249; + on the effect of comedy-acting, i. 140; + on Court influence, ii. 103; + on criticism, i. 52; + on his critics, ii. 220; + on humour in tragedy, i. 121; + on the Italian Opera, ii. 50-55; + on the difficulty of managing Italian singers, ii. 88; + on laughter, i. 23; + on the liberty of the stage, i. 289; + on the validity of the Licence, i. 284; + on the power of the Lord Chamberlain, ii. 10-23; + his principles as manager, i. 190; + on management, ii. 60; + on judicious management, ii. 74; + on the duties and responsibilities of management, ii. 199-207; + on the success of his management, ii. 245; + on morality in plays, i. 265, i. 272; + on the power of music, i. 112; + on Oxford theatricals, ii. 133-139; + on pantomimes, i. 93, ii. 180; + on prologue-speaking, i. 270; + on the difficulties of promotion in the theatre, ii. 223; + on the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, i. 322; + on raillery, i. 11; + on the Revolution of 1688, i. 60-63; + on satire, i. 37; + on the reformation of the + on making the stage useful, ii. 24-31; + on the benefit of only one theatre, i. 92, ii. 139, ii. 178-185; + on the shape of the theatre, ii. 84; + on his own vanity, ii. 182. + + ---- Miscellaneous:-- + Profit arising from his works, i. 3, _note_ 2; + frequently the object of envy, i. 33; + his obtrusive loyalty, i. 33, _note_ 1, i. 66; + banters his critics by allowing his "Apology" to be impudent and + ill-written, i. 43; + his easy temper under criticism and abuse, i. 50; + confesses the faults of his writing, i. 50; + his "quavering tragedy tones," i. 110, _note_ 1; + his playing of Richard III. an imitation of Sandford, i. 139; + his "Careless Husband" quoted, i. 148, _note_ 1; + his wigs, ii. 36, _note_ 1; + his treatment of authors, ii. 37, _note_ 1; + reproved by Col. Brett for his treatment of authors, ii. 37, + _note_ 1; + his dedication of the "Wife's Resentment" to the Duke of Kent, + ii. 46; + censured for his treatment of authors, ii. 251, _note_ 1; + his satisfaction in looking back on his career, ii. 115; + his acknowledgment of Steele's services to the theatre, ii. 162; + his dedication of "Ximena" to Steele, ii. 163, _note_ 1; + his omission of many material circumstances in the history of the + stage, ii. 193, _note_ 1; + Wilks his constant supporter and admirer, ii. 226, _note_ 1; + his "Odes," ii. 283; + hissed as Phorbas, ii. 309; + Aston on Cibber's acting, ii. 312. + + Cibber, Mrs. Colley, her marriage, i. 184; + her character, i. 184, _note_ 1; + her father's objection to her marriage, i. 184, _note_ 1. + + ---- Lewis (brother of Colley), admitted to Winchester College, i. 56; + Cibber's affection for, i. 57; + his great abilities, i. 57; + his death, i. 57. + + ---- Susanna Maria (wife of Theophilus), ii. 267, _note_ 1, ii. 270, + ii. 285; + her speaking described, i. 110, _note_ 1. + + ---- Theophilus, ii. 187, _note_ 1, ii. 262; + mentioned ironically by Lord Chesterfield, i. 71, _note_ 1; + in "Art and Nature," i. 152, _note_ 1; + acts as his father's deputy in heads a mutiny against Highmore, + ii. 259; + account of him, ii. 285; + his "Life of Booth" quoted, i. 122, _note_ 1, i. 123, _note_ 2, + ii. 130, _note_ 2, ii. 140, _note_ 1. + + "Circe," an opera, i. 94. + + Civil War, the, closing of theatres during, i. 89. + + Clark, actor, memoir of, i. 96, _note_ 3. + + Cleveland, Duchess of, and Goodman, ii. 330. + + Clive, Mrs. Catherine, ii. 260, ii. 268, _note_ 1, ii. 269; + her acting in "Love in a Riddle," i. 244, _note_ 1. + + Clun, a "boy-actress," i. xxiv. + + Cock-fighting prohibited in, 1654, i. lii. + + Cockpit, The (or Phoenix), i. xxv.; + its company, i. xxvi., i. xxviii., i. xlix.; + Rhodes's Company at, i. xxviii.; + secret performances at, during the Commonwealth, i. xxx. + + Coke, Rt. Hon. Thomas, Vice-Chamberlain, his interference in Dogget's + dispute with his partners, ii. 146. + + Coleman, Mrs., the first English actress, i. 90, _note_ 1. + + Colley, the family of, i. 8, i. 9. + + ---- Jane, mother of Colley Cibber, i. 8, _note_ 1. + + Collier, Jeremy, i. 170, _note_ 1, i. 268, _note_ 2, i. 273, i. 274, + ii. 233, _note_ 2; + his "Short View of the Profaneness, &c., of the English Stage," i. + xxi., i. xxxiii., i. 272, i. 289; + his arguments confuted, i. xxxiii. + + Collier, William, M.P., i. 97, _note_ 2, ii. 172, ii. 175; + procures a licence for Drury Lane, ii. 91; + evicts Rich, ii. 92; + appoints Aaron Hill his manager, ii. 94, _note_ 1; + his unjust treatment of Swiney, ii. 101, ii. 107; + takes the control of the opera from Swiney, ii. 102; + farms the opera to Aaron Hill, ii. 105; + forces Swiney to resume the opera, ii. 107; + made partner with Cibber, Wilks, and Dogget at Drury Lane, ii. 107; + his shabby treatment of his partners, ii. 108, ii. 141; + his downfall, ii. 109; + replaced by Steele in the Licence, ii. 164. + + Comedy-acting, the effect of, i. 140. + + "Common Sense," a paper by Lord Chesterfield, quoted, i. 71, _note_ 1. + + "Comparison between the two Stages," by Gildon, i. 189, _note_ 1, + i. 194, _note_ 1, i. 194, _note_ 5, i. 214, _note_ 1, i. 216, + _note_ 1, i. 218, _note_ 2, i. 231, _note_ 2, i. 232, _note_ 2, + i. 233, _note_ 1, i. 254, _note_ 1, i. 303, _note_ 1, i. 306, + _note_ 1, i. 316, _note_ 2, ii. 328, _note_ 2, ii. 348, ii. 356, + _note_ 1, ii. 362. + + Complexion, black, of evil characters on the stage, i. 133. + + Congreve, William, i. 185, i. 274, i. 284, ii. 36, _note_ 1, ii. 110, + ii. 159, ii. 251, ii. 302; + Memoir of, mentioned, i. 5, _note_ 1; + his "Love for Love," i. 155, i. 197; + scandal about him and Mrs. Bracegirdle, i. 170, _note_ 1; + a sharer with Betterton in his Licence in 1695, i. 192, _note_ 1, + i. 197; + his "Mourning Bride," i. 199; + his "Way of the World," i. 200; + his opinion of "Love's Last Shift," i. 220; + and Vanbrugh manage the Queen's Theatre, i. 320, i. 325; + gives up his share in the Queen's Theatre, i. 326; + and Mrs. Bracegirdle, ii. 304. + + Cooper, Lord Chancellor, ii. 149, ii. 174. + + Coquelin, Constant, his controversy with Henry Irving regarding + Diderot's "Paradoxe sur le Comédien," i. 103, _note_ 1. + + Corelli, Arcangelo, ii. 247. + + Cory (actor), ii. 169, _note_ 2. + + Court, theatrical performances at, see Royal Theatricals; + interference of the, in the management of the stage, i. 89. + + Covent Garden, Drury Lane theatre sometimes described as the theatre + in, i. 88, _note_ 1. + + Covent Garden Theatre, i. 92, _note_ 1. + + Coventry, the old Leet Book of, i. xl. + + Craggs, Mr. Secretary, ii. 96, _note_ 1, ii. 165, ii. 333; + chastises Captain Montague for insulting Miss Santlow, i. 77. + + Craufurd, David, his account of the disorders in Betterton's company, + i. 315, _note_ 2. + + Crawley, keeper of a puppet-show, ii. 301. + + Creation, the, dramatized in the "Ludus Coventriæ," i. xxxviii. + + Cromwell, Lady Mary, i. 267, _note_ 1. + + Cross, Mrs., i. 334, _note_ 1. + + ---- Richard, prompter of Drury Lane, i. 181, _note_ 2. + + Crowne, John, his masque of "Calisto," ii. 209. + + Cumberland, Richard, his description of Mrs. Cibber's speaking, i. + 110, _note_ 1. + + Cunningham, Lieut.-Col. F., doubts if Ben Jonson was an unsuccessful + actor, i. 85, _note_ 1. + + Curll, Edmund, his "History of the Stage," i. 96, _note_ 4, i. 174, + _note_ 2, ii. 357; + his "Life of Mrs. Oldfield," i. 305, _note_ 2; + his memoirs of Wilks, i. 5, _note_ 1. + + Curtain Theatre, the, mentioned by Stow as recently erected, i. xlviii. + + Cuzzoni, Francesca, her rivalry with Faustina, ii. 89. + + "Cynthia's Revels," played by the Children of her Majesty's Chapel, + i. xxxvi. + + + "Daily Courant," quoted, ii. 175, _note_ 1. + + Daly, Augustin, his Company of Comedians, ii. 289. + + Dancers and singers introduced by Davenant, i. 94. + + Davenant, Alexander, ii. 32, _note_ 1; + his share in the Patent, i. 181, _note_ 1. + + ---- Dr. Charles, ii. 324. + + ---- Sir William, i. 181, _note_ 1, i. 197, _note_ 3, ii. 179, + _note_ 1, ii. 334; + first introduces scenery, i. xxxii.; + copy of his patent, i. liii.; + Memoir of, i. 87, _note_ 1; + Poet Laureate, i. 87, _note_ 1; + receives a patent from Charles I., i. 87, _note_ 1; + from Charles II., i. 87; + his company worse than Killigrew's, i. 93; + he introduces spectacle and opera to attract audiences, i. 94; + unites with Killigrew's, i. 96; + his "Macbeth," ii. 229, _note_ 1. + + Davies, Thomas, his "Dramatic Miscellanies," i. 3, _note_ 2, i. 41, + _note_ 1, i. 58, _note_ 1, i. 71, _note_ 1, i. 74, _note_ 1, i. + 90, _note_ 1, i. 101, _note_ 1, i. 153, _note_ 1, i. 166, _note_ 1, + i. 179, _note_ 1, i. 181, _note_ 2, i. 192, _note_ 1, i. 214, + _note_ 2, i. 222, _note_ 1, i. 224, _note_ 2, i. 241, _note_ 1, i. + 273, _note_ 1, i. 274, _note_ 1, i. 302, _note_ 2, i. 330, _note_ + 1, ii. 36, _note_ 1, ii. 211, _note_ 1, ii. 216, _note_ 1, ii. 226, + _note_ 1, ii. 230, _note_ 1, ii. 233, _note_ 3, ii. 240, _note_ 1, + ii. 263, _note_ 1, ii. 268, _note_ 1, ii. 325, _note_ 1, ii. 335. + _note_ 1, ii. 351, ii. 352, ii. 354, ii. 355, _note_ 1. ii. 358, + ii. 361, ii. 363, ii. 369; + his "Life of Garrick," i. lv., _note_ 1, i. 283, _note_ 2, ii. 259. + + Davis, Mary (Moll), i. 91, _note_ 1. + + Denmark, Prince of, his support of William of Orange, i. 67, i. 70. + + Dennis, John, i. 41, _note_ 2, ii. 361; + abuses Cibber for his loyalty, i. 66, _note_ 1; + accuses Cibber of stealing his "Love's Last Shift," i. 215; + his attacks on Steele and Cibber, ii. 168, _note_ 1, ii. 176, + _note_ 1; + attacks Wilks, ii. 226, _note_ 2; + abuses one of the actors of his "Comic Gallant," ii. 252, _note_ 1. + + "Deserving Favourite, The," i. xxv. + + Devonshire, Duke of, ii. 305; + his quarrel with James II., i. 72; + Cibber presents a petition to, i. 73. + + Diderot, Denis, his "Paradoxe sur le Comédien," i. 103, _note_ 1. + + Dillworth, W. H., his "Life of Pope," ii. 278, _note_ 1. + + Dixon, a member of Rhodes's company, i. 163, _note_ 1. + + Dobson, Austin, his "Fielding" quoted, i. 286, _note_ 1, i. 287, + _note_ 3, i. 288, _note_ 1. + + Dodington, Bubb, mentioned by Bellchambers, i. 14, _note_ 1. + + Dodsley, Robert, purchased the copyright of Cibber's "Apology," i. 3, + _note_ 2. + + Dogget, Thomas, i. 157, ii. 110, ii. 227, ii. 314, ii. 361; + his excellence in Fondlewife, i. 206; + Cibber plays Fondlewife in imitation of, i. 208; + his intractability in Betterton's Company, i. 229; + deserts Betterton at Lincoln's Inn Fields, and comes to Drury Lane, + i. 229; + arrested for deserting Drury Lane, ii. 21; + defies the Lord Chamberlain, ii. 21; + wins his case, ii. 22; + made joint manager with Swiney and others in 1709, ii. 69; + his characteristics as a manager, ii. 111, ii. 117; + his behaviour on Booth's claiming to become a manager, ii. 131, + ii. 141; + retires because of Booth's being made a manager, ii. 143; + his refusal to come to any terms after Booth's admission, ii. 145; + goes to law for his rights, ii. 149; + the result, ii. 150; + Wilks's temper, the real reason of his retirement, ii. 150-155; + shows a desire to return to the stage, ii. 157; + his final appearances, ii. 158; + Cibber's account of his excellence, ii. 158; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 308. + + Doran, Dr. John, his "Annals of the Stage," i. 88, _note_ 3, i. 130, + _note_ 1, i. 161, _note_ 3, ii. 62, _note_ 1, ii. 284. + + Dorset, Earl of, ii. 305; + has Leigh's portrait painted in "The Spanish Friar," i. 146; + when Lord Chamberlain, supports Betterton in 1694-1695, i. 192; + compliments Cibber on his first play, i. 214. + + Dorset Garden, Duke's Theatre, i. xxxii. + + ---- Theatre, built for Davenant's Company, i. 88, _note_ 2; + the subscribers to, called Adventurers, i. 97, _note_ 1. + + "Double Dealer, The," i. 185, _note_ 1. + + "Double Gallant," cast of, ii. 3, _note_ 2. + + Downes, John, his "Roscius Anglicanus," i. 83, _note_ 1, i. 84, + _note_ 1, i. 96, _note_ 3, i. 114, _note_ 1, i. 127, _note_ 2, + i. 130, _note_ 1, i. 141, _note_ 1, i. 146, _note_ 1, i. 163, + _note_ 1, i. 181, _note_ 2, i. 187, _note_ 2, i. 192, _note_ 1, + i. 197, _note_ 1, i. 197, _note_ 2, i. 316, _note_ 2, i. 320, + _note_ 2, i. 333, _note_ 1, ii. 158, _note_ 3, ii. 320, ii. 323, + ii. 328, ii. 330, ii. 332, ii. 334, ii. 340, ii. 341, ii. 342, + ii. 346, ii. 347, ii. 348, ii. 349, ii. 350, ii. 356, ii. 359, + ii. 360, ii. 361, ii. 362; + attended constantly by Cibber and Verbruggen in hope of employment + on the stage, i. 74, _note_ 1; + the "Tatler" publishes a supposed letter from, ii. 75. + + "Dramatic Censor," 1811, ii. 57, _note_ 1, ii. 79, _note_ 2. + + Dramatists, Cibber's advice to, ii. 14. + + Drury Lane Theatre, i. 92, _note_ 1; + opened by King's Company, i. xxxii.; + built for Killigrew's Company, i. 88; + sometimes called "the theatre in Covent Garden," i. 88, _note_ 1; + desertion from in 1733, i. 283; + Company (1695), their improvement, i. 314; + its Patent, ii. 31; + its original construction, ii. 81; + why altered, ii. 81; + under W. Collier's management, 1709, ii. 91; + report on its stability, ii. 176-177. + + Dryden, John, ii. 163, _note_ 1, ii. 210, ii. 251; + his prologue on opening Drury Lane, 1674, i. 94, _note_ 2, i. + 322, _note_ 1; + a bad elocutionist, i. 113; + his Morat("Aurenge-Zebe"), i. 124; + his high praise of Mrs. Elizabeth Barry, i. 158; + his prologue to "The Prophetess," i. 187, _note_ 1; + his "King Arthur," i. 187, _note_ 2; + a sharer in the King's Company, i. 197; + his address to the author of "Heroic Love" quoted, i. 231, _note_ 1, + ii. 238, _note_ 3; + his indecent plays, i. 267; + his epilogue to "The Pilgrim," i. 268; + his "Secular Masque," i. 268, _note_ 1; + his prologue to "The Prophetess" vetoed, ii. 13; + his prologues at Oxford, ii. 134, ii. 136, _note_ 1, ii. 137, + _note_ 1; + expensive revival of his "All for Love," ii. 175. + + Dublin, Wilks's success in, i. 235. + + "Duchess of Malfy," i. xxv. + + Dugdale, Sir William, his "Antiquities of Warwickshire" quoted, + i. xxxvi.; + mentions the "Ludus Coventriæ," i. xxxviii. + + Duke's Servants, The, i. 87, _note_ 1, i. 88. + + Duke's Theatre, ii. 336; + first theatre to introduce scenery, i. xxxii. + + Dulwich College, built and endowed by Edward Alleyn, i. xxviii. + + "Dunciad, The," i. 36, _note_ 1, ii. 181, _note_ 1, ii. 182, _note_ 1, + ii. 270; + on Italian opera, i. 324, _note_ 1. + + Dyer, Mrs., actress, i. 136, _note_ 2. + + + Edicts to suppress plays, 1647-1648, ii. 322. + + Edward, son of Henry VI., pageant played before, i. xl. + + ---- son of Edward IV., pageant played before, i. xlii. + + Edwin, John, his "Eccentricities" quoted, ii. 78, _note_ 1. + + E----e, Mr. [probably Erskine], his powers of raillery, i. 13, i. 14, + _note_ 1, i. 16. + + Egerton, William, his memoirs of Mrs. Oldfield, i. 5, _note_ 1. + + "Egotist, The," i. lv., _note_ 1, i. 36, _note_ 2, i. 41, _note_ 2, + i. 43, _note_ 1, i. 45, _note_ 1, i. 46, _note_ 1, i. 53, _note_ 1, + ii. 265. + + Elephants on the stage, ii. 7, _note_ 1. + + Elizabeth, Queen, and the Spanish Armada, allusion to, i. 64; + her rule of government, i. 65. + + Elocution, importance of, i. 110. + + Elrington, Thomas, his visit to Drury Lane in 1714, ii. 121, _note_ 1; + Cibber said to have refused to let him play a certain character, ii. + 193, _note_ 1. + + Ely, Bishop of, and Joe Haines, ii. 315. + + Erskine, Mr., probably the person mentioned by Cibber, i. 13, i. 14, + _note_ 1, i. 16. + + Estcourt, Richard, i. 166, i. 237. i. 332. i. 334, _note_ 1; + a marvellous mimic, i. 114; + yet not a good actor, i. 115; + said to be unfairly treated by Cibber, i. 115, _note_ 2; + could not mimic Nokes, i. 142; + his "gag" on the Union of the Companies in, 1708, i. 301; + his first coming to London, i. 304; + made Deputy-manager by Brett, ii. 56, _note_ 1; + advertisement regarding his salary, 1709, ii. 78, _note_ 1; + his Falstaff, ii. 300; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 331. + + Eusden, Laurence, poet laureate, his death, i. 32, _note_ 1. + + Evans, John, his visit to Drury Lane in 1714, ii. 121, _note_ 1; + his Falstaff, ii. 300. + + + "Faction Display'd," ii. 233, _note_ 2. + + "Fair Maid of the West, The," i. xxv. + + Fairplay, Francis, a name assumed by Cibber on one occasion, i. 48. + + "Fairy Queen," preface to, quoted, i. 110, _note_ 1. + + Farinelli (singer), ii. 88. + + Farquhar, George, ii. 251, ii. 367, ii. 369. + + Fashionable nights, ii. 246. + + Faustina (Faustina Bordoni Hasse), her rivalry with Cuzzoni, ii. 89. + + Fees for performances at Court, ii. 218. + + Fenwick, Sir John, ii. 62. + + Fideli, Signor, i. xxvii. + + Field, Nathaniel, originally a "Chapel boy," i. xxxvii. + + Fielding, Henry, i. 202, _note_ 1, i. 287, _note_ 4, i. 288, _note_ 1, + ii. 269; attacks Cibber in "The Champion," i. 1, _note_ 1, i. 38, + _note_ 1, i. 50, _note_ 2, i. 63, _note_ 1, i. 69, _note_ 1, i. + 93, _note_ 2, i. 288, _note_ 1, ii. 54, _note_ 2; + in "Joseph Andrews," i. 10, _note_ 1, i. 50, _note_ 2, i. 61, + _note_ 1; + in "Pasquin," i. 36, _note_ 2; + attacks Cibber for mutilating Shakespeare, ii. 263; + manager of a company at the Haymarket, i. 92, _note_ 1; + Cibber's retaliation on, i. 286; + Austin Dobson's memoir of, quoted, i. 286, _note_ 1, i. 287, + _note_ 3, i. 288, _note_ 1; + said to have caused the Licensing Act of 1737, i. 286. + + Fitzgerald, Percy, his "New History of the English Stage," i. 90, + _note_ 1, i. 320, _note_ 1, ii. 11, _note_ 1, ii. 32, _note_ 1, + ii. 49, _note_ 1, ii. 56, _note_ 1, ii. 79, _note_ 2; + ii. 94, _note_ 1, ii. 148, _note_ 1. + + Fitzharding, Lady, i. 68. + + Fitzstephen, William, his "Description of the City of London," + i. xxxvii. + + Fleetwood, Charles, ii. 264; + purchases from Highmore and Mrs. Wilks their shares of the Patent, + i. 285, ii. 261; + the deserters return to him, ii. 261. + + Fletcher, John, his plays, i. xxv. + + Footmen, admitted gratis to Drury Lane, i. 233; + this privilege abolished, i. 234, _note_ 1. + + Fortune Theatre, i. xxvi., i. xxix. + + Fox, Bishop, had charge of pageants in which sacred persons were + introduced, i. xlv. + + French actors at Lincoln's Inn Fields, ii. 180, _note_ 1. + + ---- audience, conduct of, ii. 247. + + "Funeral, The," i. 263. + + + Gaedertz, Herr, his "Zur Kenntniss der altenglischen Bühne," ii. 84, + _note_ 1. + + "Gammer Gurton's Needle," one of the earliest regular comedies, i. + xlvii. + + Garrick, David, i. 110, _note_ 1, i. 278, _note_ 1, ii. 259, ii. 270; + his influence in reforming the stage, ii. 263; + Cibber plays against, ii. 268; + Cibber's low opinion of, ii. 268; + Davies's Life of, i. lv., _note_ 1, i. 283, _note_ 2, ii. 259. + + Gaussin, Jeanne Catherine, ii. 248. + + Gay, John, said to have thrashed Cibber, i. 71, _note_ 1; + his "Beggar's Opera," i. 243; + his "Polly" forbidden to be played, i. 246, i. 278, _note_ 1. + + Genest, Rev. John, his "Account of the English Stage," i. 83, _note_ 1, + i. 88, _note_ 3, i. 91, _note_ 2, i. 91, _note_ 4, i. 97, + _note_ 1, i. 110, _note_ 1, i. 149, _note_ 2, i. 156, _note_ 2, + i. 174, _note_ 2, i. 203, _note_ 1, i. 220, _note_ 1, i. 230, + _note_ 1, i. 267, _note_ 2, i. 268, _note_ 1, i. 269, _note_ 1, + i. 296, _note_ 1, i. 326, _note_ 3, ii. 5, _note_ 1, ii. 7, + _note_ 1, ii. 56, _note_ 1, ii. 79, _note_ 2, ii. 96, _note_ 1, + ii. 98, _note_ 1, ii. 123, _note_ 1, ii. 165, _note_ 1, ii. + 169, _note_ 3, ii. 171, _note_ 1, ii. 186, _note_ 1, ii. 186, + _note_ 2, ii. 187, _note_ 1, ii. 198, _note_ 1, ii. 210, + _note_ 1, ii. 251, _note_ 1, ii. 267, ii. 269, ii. 324; + his opinion of Cibber's Richard III., i. 139, _note_ 2. + + "Gentleman's Magazine," ii. 284. + + Gentlemen of the Great Chamber, actors entitled, i. 88. + + George I. has theatrical performances at Hampton Court, ii. 208; + his amusement at a scene of "Henry VIII.," ii. 216; + his present to the actors for playing at Court, ii. 218. + + ---- II., i. 32, ii. 219. + + Giffard, Henry, i. 92, _note_ 1, i. 283, _note_ 1; + his theatre in Goodman's Fields, i. 282, _note_ 2; + purchases half of Booth's share of the Patent, ii. 259. + + Gifford, William, doubts if Ben Jonson was an unsuccessful actor, i. + 85, _note_ 1. + + Gildon, Charles, his Life of Betterton, i. 118, _note_ 2, ii. 324, + ii. 337, _note_ 1, ii. 358. + + Globe Theatre, i. xxvi., i. xxix. + + Goffe, Alexander, a "boy-actress," i. xxx.; + employed to give notice of secret performances during the + Commonwealth, i. xxx. + + "Golden Rump, The," a scurrilous play, i. 278, _note_ 1. + + Goodman, Cardell, mentioned, i. 83, _note_ 1, i. 96; + prophesies Cibber's success as an actor, i. 183; + a highway robber, ii. 61, ii. 63; + his connection with the Fenwick and Charnock Plot, ii. 62; + he and Captain Griffin have one shirt between them, ii. 63; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 329. + + Goodman's Fields, unlicensed theatre in, i. 281; + attempt to suppress it, i. 282; + Odell's theatre, i. 282, _note_ 1; + Giffard's theatre, i. 282, _note_ 2. + + ---- Theatre, i. 92, _note_ 1; + closed by Licensing Act (1737), i. 92, _note_ 1. + + Grafton, Duke of, ii. 260; + blamed for making Cibber Laureate, i. 46, _note_ 1. + + Grantham, Cibber sent to school at, i. 9. + + Griffin, Captain (actor), i. 334, _note_ 1; + admitted into good society, i. 83; + memoir of, i. 83, _note_ 1; + and Goodman have one shirt between them, ii. 63. + + Griffith, Thomas, his visit to Drury Lane in 1714, ii. 121, _note_ 1. + + "Grub Street Journal," ii. 258, _note_ 1. + + Guiscard, his attack on Lord Oxford referred to, i. 291. + + Gwyn, Nell, i. 91, _note_ 1, i. 182, _note_ 1, ii. 323; + and Charles II., ii. 211; + Bishop Burnet's opinion of, ii. 212. + + + Haines, Joseph, ii. 252, _note_ 1; + his _bon mot_ on Jeremy Collier, i. 273; + account of his career, i. 273, _note_ 1; + Aston's description of, ii. 314; + his pranks, ii. 315, ii. 325; + Life of, ii. 325, _note_ 1. + + Halifax, Lord, i. 217, ii. 311; + a patron of the theatre, ii. 4; + his testimonial to Mrs. Bracegirdle, ii. 305. + + Hamlet, incomparably acted by Taylor, i. xxvi.; + Betterton as, i. 100; + Wilks's mistakes in, i. 100. + + Hammerton, Stephen, a famous "boy-actress," i. xxvi.; + played Amyntor, i. xxvi. + + Hampton Court, theatrical performances at, ii. 208, ii. 214, ii. 219. + + "Hannibal and Scipio," i. xxv. + + Harlequin, Cibber's low opinion of the character, i. 150-152; + played without a mask by Pinkethman, i. 151. + + "Harlequin Sorcerer," a noted pantomime, ii. 181, _note_ 1. + + Harper, John, arrested as a rogue and vagabond, i. 283; + trial, ii. 260; + the result of his trial, i. 284; + his Falstaff, ii. 300. + + Harris, ii. 334, ii. 346. + + Harrison, General, murders W. Robinson the actor, i. xxix. + + Hart, Charles, i. 125, _note_ 2, ii. 134, ii. 137, _note_ 1; + superior to his successors, i. xxiv.; + apprenticed to Robinson, i. xxiv.; + A "boy-actress," i. xxiv.; + a lieutenant in Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + arrested for acting, i. xxx.; + grows old and wishes to retire, i. xxxii.; + his acting of the Plain Dealer, i. 83, _note_ 1; + famous for Othello, i. 91; + his retirement, i. 96; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 322. + + Haymarket, Little Theatre in the, i. 92, _note_ 1; + opened by the mutineers from Highmore in 1733, ii. 259; + closed by Licensing Act (1737), i. 92, _note_ 1. + + ---- the Queen's Theatre in the (now Her Majesty's), i. 319; + its history, i. 319, _note_ 1; + opened for Betterton's Company, i. 320; + defects in its construction, i. 320, i. 326; + inconvenience of its situation, i. 322. + + Hemming, John, i. xxvi. + + "Henry VIII.," ii. 215. + + Heron, Mrs., ii. 262. + + Hewett, Sir Thomas, his report on the stability of Drury Lane, ii. 177. + + Highmore, John, at variance with his actors, i. 283; + his purchase of the Patent, i. 283, _note_ 1; + the price he paid for the Patent, i. 297, _note_ 1; + purchases half of Booth's share of the Patent, ii. 258; + purchases Cibber's share, ii. 258: his actors mutiny, ii. 259; + he summons Harper as a rogue and vagabond, ii. 260; + sells his share in the Patent, ii. 261. + + Hill, Aaron, on "tone" in speaking, i. 110, _note_ 1; + appointed by W. Collier to manage Drury Lane, ii. 94, _note_ 1; + defied and beaten by his actors, ii. 94, _note_ 1; + farms the opera from Collier, ii. 105; + on Booth's lack of humour, ii. 240, _note_ 2. + + ---- Captain Richard, his murder of Mountfort, i. 130, _note_ 1, + ii. 342. + + "Historia Histrionica," reprint of, i. xix.; + preface to, i. xxi. + + "Historical Register for 1736," ii. 263. + + Hitchcock, Robert, his "Historical View of the Irish Stage," i. 165, + _note_ 1. + + "Holland's Leaguer," i. xxv. + + Holt, Lord Chief Justice, ii. 22. + + Horden, Hildebrand, a promising actor, killed in a brawl, i. 302. + + Horton, Mrs., ii. 260. + + Howard, J. B., plays Iago in English to Salvini's Othello, i. 325, + _note_ 1. + + ---- Sir Robert, i. 192, _note_ 1. + + Hughes, Margaret, said to be the first English actress, i. 90, + _note_ 1. + + Hutton, Laurence, his "Literary Landmarks of London" quoted, i. 7, + _note_ 3, ii. 284, _note_ 1. + + + Irving, Henry, his controversy with Constant Coquelin regarding + Diderot's "Paradoxe sur le Comédien," i. 103, _note_ 1; + restores Shakespeare's "Richard III." to the stage, ii. 287. + + Italian Opera, introduced into England, i. 324; + "The Dunciad" on, i. 324, _note_ 1. + + + Jackson, John, his "History of the Scottish Stage" referred to, ii. + 181, _note_ 1. + + Jacobites attacked in Cibber's "Nonjuror," ii. 185; + repay Cibber for his attack by hissing his plays, ii. 187; + hiss his "Nonjuror," ii. 189. + + James II., ii. 134; + Cibber, at school, writes an Ode on his coronation, i. 33; + Cibber serves against, at the Revolution, i. 60; + his flight to France, i. 70; + his quarrel with the Duke of Devonshire, i. 72. + + Jekyll, Sir Joseph, ii. 198. + + Jevon, Thomas, i. 151, _note_ 1. + + Johnson, Benjamin (actor), i. 99, _note_ 1, i. 194, i. 313, i. 332, + ii. 129, _note_ 2, ii. 252, _note_ 1, ii. 262, ii. 308; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 360. + + Johnson, Dr. Samuel, i. 215, _note_ 1, ii. 163, _note_ 1; + his opinion of Cibber's Odes, i. 36, _note_ 2; + his epigram on Cibber's Laureateship quoted, i. 46, _note_ 1; + his "Life of Pope," ii. 275, ii. 276, ii. 280, _note_ 1, ii. 281, + _note_ 1; + his "Lives of the Poets," ii. 27, _note_ 1, ii. 128, _note_ 1, ii. + 370; + his famous Prologue (1747) quoted, i. 113, _note_ 1. + + Jones, Inigo, ii. 209. + + Jonson, Ben, i. 245; + out of fashion in 1699, i. xxiii.; + no actors in 1699 who could rightly play his characters, i. xxiv.; + his plays, i. xxv.; + his epigram on Alleyn, i. xxviii.; + on Sal Pavy, i. xxxvi.; + said by Cibber to have been an unsuccessful actor, i. 85; + this denied by Gifford and Cunningham, his editors, i. 85, _note_ 1; + his Masques, ii. 209. + + Jordan, Thomas, his "Prologue to introduce the first woman that came + to act on the stage," 1660, i. 90, _note_ 1, i. 119, _note_ 1. + + "Joseph Andrews" quoted, i. 10, _note_ 1, i. 50, _note_ 2, i. 61, + _note_ 1. + + "Julius Cæsar," special revival of, in 1707, ii. 5. + + + Keen, Theophilus, i. 332, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1, ii. + 129, _note_ 2, ii. 169, _note_ 2; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 364. + + Kemble, John P., mentioned, i. lv., _note_ 1. + + Kent, Duke of, ii. 46. + + ---- Mrs., ii. 169, _note_ 2. + + Killigrew, Charles, ii. 32, _note_ 1; + his share in the Patent, i. 181, _note_ 1. + + ---- Thomas, i. 181, _note_ 1, i. 197, _note_ 3; + granted a Patent similar to Davenant's, i. liii., i. 87; + memoir of, i. 87, _note_ 2; + his witty reproof of Charles II., i. 87, _note_ 2; + his Company better than Davenant's, i. 93; + unites with Davenant's, i. 96. + + "King and no King," special revival of, in 1707, ii. 5. + + "King Arthur," i. 187. + + "King John" mutilated by Colley Cibber, ii. 268. + + "King John and Matilda," i. xxv. + + King's Servants, The, i. 87, _note_ 2, i. 88; + before 1642, i. xxvi.; + after the Restoration, i. xxxi. + + Kirkman, Francis, his "Wits," ii. 84, _note_ 1. + + Knap, ii. 169, _note_ 2. + + Kneller, Sir Godfrey, his portrait of Betterton, i. 117; + his portrait of Anthony Leigh, i. 146, ii. 349; + imitated by Estcourt, ii. 333. + + Knight, Mrs. Frances, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1, ii. 169, + _note_ 2. + + ---- Joseph, his edition of the "Roscius Anglicanus" referred to, + i. 87, _note_ 1, i. 90, _note_ 1. + + Knip, Mrs., i. 182, _note_ 1. + + Kynaston, Edward, i. 98, i. 119, ii. 324, ii. 334, i. 185, i. 327; + petted by ladies of quality, i. 120; + the beauty of his person, i. 121; + his voice and appearance, i. 121; + his bold acting in inflated passages, i. 124; + his majesty and dignity, i. 125-6; + lingered too long on the stage, i. 126; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 339. + + + Lacy, John, superior to his successors, i. xxiv. + + Lady of title, prevented by relatives from becoming an actress, i. 75. + + "Lady's Last Stake," cast of, ii. 3, _note_ 1. + + Langbaine, Gerard, his "Account of the English Poets," ii. 13, _note_ 1. + + Laughter, reflections on, i. 23. + + "Laureat, The" (a furious attack on Cibber), i. 3, _note_ 2, i. 14, + _note_ 1, i. 35, _note_ 2, i. 48, _note_ 1, i. 78, _note_ + 1, i. 101, _note_ 2, i. 122, _note_ 1, i. 123, _note_ 1, i. 140, + _note_ 1, i. 157, _note_ 2, i. 174, _note_ 2, i. 182, _note_ 2, + i. 191, _note_ 2, i. 222, _note_ 1, i. 224, _note_ 1, i. 238, + _note_ 1, i. 239, _note_ 1, i. 242, _note_ 1, i. 256, _note_ 1, + i. 258, _note_ 2, i. 264, _note_ 1, i. 273, _note_ 2, i. 300, + _note_ 1, i. 312, _note_ 2, ii. 30, _note_ 1, ii. 37, _note_ 1, + ii. 121, _note_ 1, ii. 148, _note_ 1, ii. 160, _note_ 1, ii. + 163, _note_ 1, ii. 251, _note_ 1, ii. 256, _note_ 1, ii. 335, + _note_ 1, ii. 356. + + Lebrun, Charles, painter, alluded to, i. 106. + + Lee, Charles Henry, Master of the Revels, ii. 260. + + ---- Mrs. Mary, i. 163, _note_ 1. + + ---- Nathaniel, ii. 327; + his "Alexander the Great," i. 105; + a perfect reader of his own works, i. 113; + Mohun's compliment to him, i. 114; + failed as an actor, i. 114. + + Leigh, Anthony, i. 98, i. 142, i. 304, i. 327; + Cibber's account of, i. 145-154; + his exuberant humour, i. 145; + in "The Spanish Friar," i. 145; + painted in the character of the Spanish Friar, i. 146; + his best characters, i. 146, i. 149; + and Nokes, their combined excellence, i. 147, his superiority to + Pinkethman, i. 149; + the favourite actor of Charles II., i. 154; + compared with Nokes, i. 154; + his death, i. 154, i. 188; + his "gag" regarding Obadiah Walker's change of religion, ii. 134; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 349. + + Leigh, Mrs. Elizabeth, i. 98; + Cibber's account of, i. 162-163; + her peculiar comedy powers, i. 162; + note regarding her, i. 163, _note_ 1. + + ---- Francis, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1, ii. 169, _note_ 2, + ii. 170, _note_ 1. + + Leveridge, Richard, ii. 169, _note_ 3. + + Licence granted by King William in 1695, i. 98. + + Licensing Act of 1737, i. 278, _note_ 1, i. 286, i. 287, _note_ 4, + ii. 262. + + "Lick at the Laureat," said to be the title of a pamphlet, i. 35, + _note_ 2. + + Lincoln's Inn Fields, Duke's old Theatre in, i. xxxii., i. 88, + _note_ 2. + + ---- Betterton's theatre in, i. 194; + its opening, i. 196; + its success at first, i. 227; + its speedy disintegration, i. 228. + + ---- Rich's theatre in, ii. 79, ii. 100; + its exact situation, ii. 101, _note_ 1; + Rich's Patent revived at, ii. 165; + its opening, ii. 166, _note_ 1, ii. 171, _note_ 1; + actors desert Drury Lane to join, ii. 169. + + "London Cuckolds," i. 267. + + "London News-Letter," i. 302, _note_ 2. + + Lord Chamberlain, Cibber on the power of the, ii. 10-23, ii. 74; + his name not mentioned in the Patents, ii. 10; + Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane on the power of, ii. 11, _note_ 1; + his power of licensing plays, ii. 11; + plays vetoed by him, ii. 12-14; + actors arrested by his orders, ii. 17-22; + his edicts against desertions, ii. 17, _note_ 1, ii. 18, + _note_ 1; + said to favour Betterton at the expense of rival managers, ii. 18; + various edicts regarding Powell, ii. 19, _note_ 1, ii. 20, _note_ 1, + ii. 94, _note_ 1; + warrant to arrest Dogget, ii. 21, _note_ 1; + his edict separating plays and operas in 1707, ii. 49, _note_ 1; + interferes on behalf of actors in their dispute with the Patentees + in 1709, ii. 68; + silences Patentees for contumacy, ii. 72; + his order for silence, 1709, quoted, ii. 73, _note_ 1. + + Lord Chamberlain's Records, i. 229, _note_ 1, i. 315, _note_ 2, ii. + 17, _note_ 1, ii. 18, _note_ 1, ii. 19, _note_ 1, ii. 20, + _note_ 1, ii. 21, _note_ 1, ii. 49, _note_ 1, ii. 50, _note_ 1, + ii. 69, _note_ 1, ii. 73, _note_ 1, ii. 79, _note_ 2, ii. 94, + _note_ 1, ii. 102, _note_ 1, ii. 108, _note_ 2, ii. 171, + _note_ 1, ii. 193, _note_ 1, ii. 218, _note_ 1, ii. 219, _note_ 1, + ii. 257, _note_ 1. + + Lorraine, Duke of, ii. 219. + + Louis XIV., mentioned, i. 6. + + ---- Prince, of Baden, ii. 228. + + "Love in a Riddle," cast of, i. 244, _note_ 1. + + Lovel (actor), ii. 347. + + Lovelace, Lord, ii. 304. + + "Love's Last Shift," cast of, i. 213, _note_ 1. + + Lowin, John, ii. 335; + arrested for acting, i. xxx.; + superior to Hart, i. xxiv.; + his chief characters, i. xxvi.; + too old to go into Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + becomes an inn-keeper, and dies very poor, i. xxxi. + + "Lucius Junius Brutus," by Lee, vetoed, ii. 13. + + "Ludus Coventriæ," i. xxxviii.; + these plays acted at other towns besides Coventry, i. xxxviii.; + a description of them, i. xxxviii. _et seq._ + + "Lunatick, The," ii. 252, _note_ 1. + + Luttrell's Diary quoted, i. 302, _note_ 2. + + + Macaulay, Lord, his "History of England" referred to, ii. 134, + _note_ 3. + + "Macbeth" _in the nature of an opera_, i. 94, _note_ 1; + ii. 228, ii. 229, _note_ 1. + + Macclesfield, Countess of, ii. 39. See also Mrs. Brett. + + Macklin, Charles, ii. 270, ii. 362; + his first coming to London, ii. 261; + a great reformer, ii. 262. + + Macready, William C, mentioned, i. 135, _note_ 1. + + MacSwiney, Owen. See Swiney, Owen. + + "Maid's Tragedy" vetoed in Charles II.'s time, ii. 12; + played with altered catastrophe, ii. 12. + + Mainwaring, Arthur, ii. 369, _note_ 2. + + Malone, Edmond, i. 185, _note_ 1, i. 197, _note_ 3, ii. 32, _note_ 1, + ii. 138, _note_ 1. + + Management, Cibber on the duties and responsibilities of, ii. 199-207. + + Margaret, Queen of Henry VI., pageant played before her, i. xl. + + Marlborough, Duchess of. See Churchill, Lady. + + ---- Duke of, ii. 96, _note_ 1, ii. 130, ii. 164, ii. 228. + + "Marriage à la Mode," by Cibber, cast of, ii. 5, _note_ 1. + + Marshall, Anne, i. 161, _note_ 1; + said to be the first English actress, i. 90, _note_ 1. + + ---- Julian, his "Annals of Tennis" quoted, i. 315, _note_ 1. + + Mary, the Virgin, and Joseph, characters in the "Ludus Coventriæ," + i. xxxix. + + ---- Queen, her death, i. 193. + + "Mary, Queen of Scotland," by Banks, vetoed, ii. 14. + + Masculus, a comedian, who was a Christian martyr, i. xxii. + + Masks, Ladies wearing, at the theatre, i. 266; + ultimately the mark of a prostitute, i. 267, _note_ 1. + + Mason, Miss. See Countess of Macclesfield, and Mrs. Brett. + + Masques, enormous expense of, ii. 209. + + Master of the Revels. See Revels. + + Mathews, Charles (the elder), his powers of imitation referred to, + i. 115, _note_ 1. + + Mathias, St., the choosing of, as an apostle, dramatized in the + "Ludus Coventriæ," i. xxxviii. + + Matthews, Brander, ii. 289, _note_ 1. + + Maynard, Serjeant, a Whig lawyer, satirized, i. 149, _note_ 2. + + Medbourn, Matthew, ii. 346. + + Melcombe, Lord, mentioned, i. 14, _note_ 1. + + "Mery Play between the Pardoner and the Frere, the Curate and + Neybour Pratte, A," described, i. xlv. + + Miller, James, his "Art and Nature" failed, i. 152, _note_ 1. + + ---- Josias (actor), ii. 262. + + Mills, John, i. 332, ii. 70, _note_ 2, ii. 129, _note_ 2, ii. 259, + _note_ 1, ii. 262; + his friendship with Wilks, i. 259, ii. 223; + his honesty and diligence, i. 260; + his large salary, i. 260; + advertisement regarding his salary, 1709, ii. 78, _note_ 1; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 362; + and the country squire, ii. 363. + + Milward, William, i. 224, _note_ 2. + + Mist, Nathaniel. See "Mist's Weekly Journal." + + "Mist's Weekly Journal," ii. 163, _note_ 1, ii. 167, ii. 187. + + Mohun, Lord, ii. 314; + implicated in Mountfort's death, i. 130, _note_ 1, ii. 342. + + ---- Michael, superior to his successors, i. xxiv.; + apprentice to Beeston, i. xxv.; + acted Bellamente, i. xxv.; + a captain in Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + his death, i. 96; + his admiration of Nat. Lee's elocution, i. 114; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 326. + + Montague, Captain, insults Miss Santlow, i. 76; + chastised by Mr. Craggs, i. 77. + + Moore, Mrs., ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1. + + Morley, Professor Henry, his edition of the "Spectator," ii. 54, + _note_ 1. + + Mountfort, William, i. 98, i. 108, i. 170, _note_ 1, i. 237, ii. 314; + taken into good society, i. 83; + Cibber's account of, i. 127-130; + his voice and appearance, i. 127; + his Alexander the Great, i. 127; + his excellent acting of fine gentlemen, i. 127; + his delivery of witty passages, i. 128; + his Rover, i. 128; + his versatility, i. 128, i. 210; + his Sparkish ("Country Wife") and his Sir Courtly Nice, i. 129; + copied by Cibber in Sir Courtly Nice, i. 129; + his tragic death, i. 130, i. 188; + memoir of him, i. 130, _note_ 1; + Tom Brown on his connection with Mrs. Bracegirdle, i. 170, _note_ 1; + his comedy of "Greenwich Park," ii. 41; + copied by Wilks, ii. 241; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 341; + full account of his death by the hands of Capt. Hill, ii. 342-345. + + ---- Mrs., i. 98, i. 237, ii. 343, ii. 367; + Cibber's account of, i. 165-169; + her variety of humour, i. 165; + her artistic feeling, i. 166; + her acting of the Western Lass, i. 166; + in male parts, i. 167; + plays Bayes with success, i. 167; + the excellence of her Melantha, i. 167; + memoir of, i. 169, _note_ 1; + leaves Betterton's company in 1695, i. 200; + her death, ii. 306; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 313. + + Mountfort, Susanna, i. 334, _note_ 1. + + Music in the theatre, i. xxxii. + + + Newcastle, Duke of, ii. 219; + (Lord Chamberlain), his persecution of Steele, ii. 193, _note_ 1. + + Newington Butts, i. xlix. + + Newman, Thomas, actor, one of their Majesties' servants, i. 88, + _note_ 3. + + Nichols, John, his "Theatre, Anti-Theatre, &c.," ii. 66, _note_ 2, + ii. 168, _note_ 1, ii. 174, _note_ 2, ii. 176, _note_ 1, ii. 177, + _note_ 1, ii. 193, _note_ 1. + + Nicolini (Nicolo Grimaldi), singer, ii. 48, ii. 51; + Cibber's high praise of, ii. 51; + praised by the "Tatler," ii. 52. + + Noblemen's companies of players, i. xlvii. + + Nokes, James, i. 98; + Cibber's description of, i. 141-145; + his natural simplicity, i. 141; + could not be imitated, i. 142; + his best characters, i. 142; + his ludicrous distress, i. 143; + his voice and person, i. 145; + and Leigh, their combined excellence, i. 147; + compared with Leigh, i. 154; + his death, i. 188; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 346; + why called "Nurse Nokes," ii. 348. + + Nokes, Robert, i. 141, _note_ 1, i. 143, _note_ 2, ii. 346. + + "Nonjuror, The," a line in the epilogue quoted, i. 49; + cast of, ii. 185, _note_ 2. + + Norris, Henry, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1. + + ---- Mrs., said to be the first English actress, i. 90, _note_ 1. + + Northey, Sir Edward, his "opinion" on the Patent, ii. 32, _note_ 1. + + + Oates, Titus, i. 133. + + Odell, Thomas, his theatre in Goodman's Fields, i. 282, _note_ 1. + + "Old and New London," referred to, ii. 104, _note_ 1. + + Oldfield, Mrs. Anne, i. 157, i. 251, _note_ 1, i. 332, ii. 69, ii. + 129, _note_ 2, ii. 358; + memoirs of, published immediately after her death, i. 5; + her acting of Lady Townly praised in high-flown terms by Cibber, + i. 51, i. 312, _note_ 3; + admitted into good society, i. 83; + her unpromising commencement as an actress, i. 159, i. 305; + compared with Mrs. Butler, i. 164; + her rivalry with Mrs. Bracegirdle, i. 174, _note_ 2; + Cibber's account of, i. 305-312; + her good sense, i. 310; + her unexpected excellence, i. 306; + Cibber writes "The Careless Husband" chiefly for her, i. 308; + her perfect acting in it, i. 309; + and Wilks playing in same pieces, i. 314; + proposed to be made a manager, ii. 69; + gets increased salary instead, ii. 71; + advertisement regarding her salary, 1709, ii. 78, _note_ 1; + riot directed against, ii. 166; + settles a dispute between Wilks, Cibber, and Booth, ii. 236; + her death, ii. 254; + copied Mrs. Mountfort in comedy, ii. 313; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 367; + and Richard Savage, ii. 369. + + Opera, i. 111; + control of, given to Swiney, ii. 48. + + ---- Italian, account of its first separate establishment, ii. 50-55; + decline of Italian, ii. 87-91. + + Otway, Thomas, his failure as an actor, i. 114, _note_ 1; + his "Orphan," i. 116, _note_ 2. + + Oxford, visited by the actors in 1713, ii. 133, ii. 135; + Dryden's Prologues at, ii. 134, ii. 136, _note_ 1; + its critical discernment, ii. 136. + + ---- Lord, Guiscard's attack on, referred to, i. 291. + + + Pack, George, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1; + account of, ii. 169, _note_ 3. + + Pageants formed part in receptions of princes, &c., i. xl. _et seq._ + + Painting the face on the stage, i. 182, _note_ 1. + + Pantomimes, the origin of, ii. 180; + Cibber's opinion of, ii. 180; + "The Dunciad" on, ii. 181, _note_ 1. + + "Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John," cast of, ii. 269, _note_ 1. + + Parish-clerks, play acted by, in 1391, i. xxxv. + + Parliamentary reports on the theatres, i. 278, _note_ 1. + + "Parson's Wedding, The," played entirely by women, i. xxxii. + + "Pasquin" quoted, i. 36, _note_ 2. + + Patent, copy of, granted to Sir William Davenant in 1663, i. liii.; + Steele's, ii. 174. + + Patentees, the, their foolish parsimony, i. 164; + their ill-treatment of Betterton and other actors, i. 187; + the actors combine against them, i. 189; + their deserted condition, i. 194. (For transactions of the Patentees, + see also Rich, C.) + + Pavy, Sal, a famous child-actor, i. xxxvi.; + Ben Jonson's epigram on, i. xxxvi. + + Pelham, Hon. Henry, Cibber's "Apology" dedicated to, i. lv., _note_ 1. + + Pembroke, Earl of, ii. 105, _note_ 1. + + Pepys, Samuel, his "Diary," i. 119, _note_ 1, i. 161, _note_ 2, i. + 182, _note_ 1, i. 267, _note_ 1, i. 303, _note_ 1. + + Percival (actor), i. 183, _note_ 1. + + Perkins, an eminent actor, i. xxvi.; + his death, i. xxxi. + + Perrin, Mons. (of the Théâtre Français), ii. 221, _note_ 1, ii. 246, + _note_ 1. + + Perriwigs, enormous, worn by actors, ii. 36, _note_ 1. + + Phoenix, the, or Cockpit, i. xxvi. + + "Picture, The," i. xxv. + + Pinkethman, William, i. 313, i. 334, _note_ 1, ii. 129, _note_ 2, ii. + 252, _note_ 1; + his inferiority to Anthony Leigh, i. 149; + his liberties with the audience, i. 152; + hissed for them, i. 153, _note_ 1; + his lack of judgment, i. 150; + plays Harlequin without the mask, i. 151; + his success as Lory in "The Relapse," i. 230; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 348. + + ---- the younger, ii. 349. + + Plays, value of old, for information on manners, i. xxi.; + old, no actors' names given, i. xxv.; + originally used for religious purposes, i. xxxiv., i. xxxv.; + their early introduction, i. xxxvii.; + began to alter in form about the time of Henry VIII., i. xlv.; + origin of, in Greece and England, i. xlviii.; + the alteration in their subjects noticed by Stow in 1598, i. xlviii.; + temporarily suspended, i. xlix.; + arranged to be divided between Davenant's and Killigrew's companies, + i. 91; + expenses of, i. 197, _note_ 3. + + Players defended regarding character, i. xxii.; + not to be described as rogues and vagabonds, i. xlix.; + entirely suppressed by ordinances of the Long Parliament, i. li. + + Playhouses, large number of, in 1629, i. xlix. + + "Poems on Affairs of State," quoted, i. 170, _note_ 1. + + "Poetaster, The," played by the Children of her Majesty's Chapel, i. + xxxvi. + + Poet Laureate, Cibber appointed, 1730, i. 32, _note_ 1. + + Pollard, Thomas, a comedian, i. xxvi.; + superior to Hart, i. xxiv.; + too old to go into Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + arrested for acting, i. xxx.; + his retirement and death, i. xxxi. + + Pollixfen, Judge, ii. 315. + + Ponsonby-Fane, Sir Spencer, his memorandum on the power of the Lord + Chamberlain, ii. 11, _note_ 1. + + Pope, Alexander, ii. 151; + Cibber's "Letter" to, quoted, i. 3, _note_ 1; + Cibber's first allusion to Pope's enmity, i. 21; + an epigram comparing Pope and Cibber in society, i. 29, _note_ 1; + Cibber's opinion of Pope's attacks, i. 35; + some of Pope's attacks quoted, i. 36, _note_ 1; + his attack on Atticus (Addison), i. 38; + Cibber's "Letter" to, quoted, i. 44, _note_ 1, i. 45, _note_ 2; + epigram attributed to him, on Cibber's Laureateship, i. 46, _note_ 1; + his "Moral Essays," quoted, i. 307, _note_ 3; + attacks Cibber for countenancing pantomimes, ii. 182, _note_ 1; + "The Nonjuror" a cause of his enmity to Cibber, ii. 189, _note_ 1; + his "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," ii. 189, _note_ 1; + his quarrel with Cibber, ii. 270-283; + Cibber's "Letter" to him, ii. 271; + his famous adventure, ii. 278; + Cibber's second "Letter" to, ii. 281; + his portrait of Betterton, ii. 339; + his attacks on Mrs. Oldfield, ii. 370. (See also "Dunciad.") + + Porter, Mrs. Mary, ii. 129, _note_ 2, ii. 303, ii. 368; + Dogget plays for her benefit after his retirement, ii. 158; + accident to, ii. 254, ii. 365; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 365. + + Portuguese, the, and religious plays, i. xxxv. + + "Post-Boy Rob'd of his Mail," i. 328, _note_ 1, i. 329, _note_ 1. + + Powell, George, i. 157, i. 193, i. 203, _note_ 1, i. 228, i. 259, i. + 334. _note_ 1, ii. 77, _note_ 1, ii. 94, _note_ 1, ii. 129, + _note_ 2, ii. 238, ii. 301, ii. 311, ii. 363; + offered some of Betterton's parts, i. 188; + his indiscretion as a manager, i. 204; + mimics Betterton, i. 205, i. 207, _note_ 1; + the contest between him and Wilks for supremacy at Drury Lane, i. + 237-243, i. 251-256; + his carelessness, i. 240, i. 243; + deserts Drury Lane, i. 239; + returns to Drury Lane, i. 239; + arrested for deserting his manager, ii. 18; + arrested for striking young Davenant, ii. 19; + discharged for assaulting Aaron Hill in 1710, ii. 94, _note_ 1; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 352. + + Price, Joseph, account of him by Bellchambers, i. 146, _note_ 1. + + Prince's Servants, The, before, 1642, i. xxvi. + + Pritchard, Mrs., ii. 268, _note_ 1. + + Profits made by the old actors, i. xxxii.; + of the theatre, how divided in 1682, i. 97. + + Prologue-speaking, the art of, i. 271. + + "Prophetess, The," i. 187. + + "Provoked Husband," cast of, i. 311, _note_ 1. + + "Provoked Wife," altered, ii. 233. + + "Psyche," an opera, i. 94. + + Puppet-show in Salisbury Change, i. 95. + + Purcell, Henry, i. 187, _note_ 1, ii. 312. + + + Quantz, Mons., ii. 89, _note_ 1. + + Queen's Servants, The, before 1642, i. xxvi. + + ---- Theatre in the Haymarket, success of Swiney's company in, ii. 1; + set aside for operas only, ii. 48; + its interior altered, ii. 79; + opened by the seceders from Drury Lane in 1709, ii. 87. + + Quin, James, i. 224, _note_ 2, ii. 259, _note_ 1; + the chief actor at Garrick's appearance, ii. 262. + + + Raftor, Catherine. See Clive. + + ---- James, i. 330, _note_ 1. + + Raillery, reflections on, i. 11. + + Raymond, his "opinion" on the Patent, ii. 32, _note_ 1. + + Red Bull Theatre, i. xxvi., i. xxix.; + used by King's Company after the Restoration, i. xxxi.; + drawing of the stage of the, ii. 84, _note_ 1. + + Reformation of the stage, Cibber on, i. 81. + + Rehan, Ada, a great comedian, ii. 289. + + Religion and the stage, i. xxi., i. xxxiii. + + "Renegado, The," i. xxv. + + Revels, Master of the, his unreasonableness to Cibber, i. 275; + his fees refused to be paid, i. 277. + + Rhodes, the prompter, ii. 333, ii. 339; + his company, at the Cockpit, i. xxviii.; + his company of actors engaged by Davenant, i. 87, _note_ 1. + + Rich, Christopher, Patentee of Drury Lane, i. 181, _note_ 1, ii. + 336, ii. 361, ii. 367; + description of, i. 233, _note_ 1; + admits servants to theatre gratis, i. 233; + his treatment of his actors, i. 252; + consults Cibber on matters of management, i. 253; + his principles of management, i. 262, ii. 6-8; + his tactics to avoid settling with his partners, i. 328; + his objections to an union of the two companies, i. 329; + permits Swiney to rent the Queen's Theatre, i. 331; + his foolish neglect of his actors, i. 334; + declines to execute his agreement with Swiney, i. 336; + wishes to bring an elephant on the stage, ii. 6; + introduces rope-dancers at Drury Lane, ii. 7; + silenced for receiving Powell, ii. 19, _note_ 1; + his share in the Patent, ii. 32, _note_ 1, ii. 98; + his dealings with Col. Brett, ii. 42-49, ii. 56-60; + Cibber on his misconduct, ii. 46; + his foolish mismanagement, ii. 60, ii. 65; + confiscates part of his actors' benefits, ii. 66; + ordered to refund this, ii. 68; + silenced by the Lord Chamberlain (1709), ii. 72; + his proceedings after being silenced, ii. 77, ii. 79, _note_ 2; + an advertisement issued by him regarding actors' salaries in 1709, + ii. 78, _note_ 1; + evicted by Collier from Drury Lane (1709), ii. 92; + his Patent revived in 1714, ii. 79, ii. 165; + his extraordinary behaviour to the Lord Chamberlain, ii. 98; + Genest's character of him, ii. 98, _note_ 1; + rebuilds Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, ii. 100; + his death, ii. 166, _note_ 1. + + Rich, John, ii. 79, ii. 98, _note_ 2; + opens Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, ii. 166, _note_ 1; + an excellent Harlequin, ii. 181, _note_ 1; + manages the Lincoln's Inn Fields company, ii. 262; + opens Covent Garden, ii. 262. + + "Richard III.," Cibber's adaptation of, i. 139; + his playing in, i. 139, i. 275; + cast of, ii. 288, _note_ 1. + + Richardson, Jonathan, ii. 276. + + Roberts, Mrs., one of Charles II.'s mistresses, ii. 212. + + Robins, a comedian, i. xxvi. + + Robinson, William, ii. 322; + Hart apprenticed to, i. xxiv.; + a comedian, i. xxvi.; + murdered by Harrison, i. xxix. + + Rochester, Lord, ii. 138, _note_ 1, ii. 303. + + Rogers, Mrs., i. 332, ii. 129, _note_ 2, ii. 169, _note_ 2, ii. 353; + her affectation of prudery, i. 135; + becomes Wilks's mistress, i. 136; + her eldest daughter, i. 136; + riot caused by, ii. 166. + + Rogues and vagabonds, players not to be described as, i. xlix., i. 1. + + "Roman Actor, The," i. xxv. + + Roman Catholic religion, attacked by Cibber, i. 80. + + Rope-dancers on the stage, ii. 7. + + "Roscius Anglicanus." See Downes, John. + + Rose Tavern, the, i. 303, _note_ 1. + + Rowe, Nicholas, in love with Mrs. Bracegirdle, i. 172; + complains of French dancers, i. 317. + + Royal Theatricals during George I.'s reign, ii. 208; + during previous reigns, ii. 209; + effect of audience on actors, ii. 214; + fees for, ii. 218. + + Rymer, Thomas, ii. 324. + + + Sacheverel, Doctor, his trial hurtful to the theatres, ii. 91. + + St. Giles's-in-the-Fields, Colley Cibber christened at, i. 7, + _note_ 2. + + "St. James's Evening Post," ii. 198, _note_ 1. + + St. Paul's Singing School, i. xlix. + + Salisbury Court, the private theatre in, i. xxiv., i. xxvi., i. + xxviii. + + Salvini, Tommaso, the great Italian tragedian, plays in Italian, + while his company plays in English, i. 325, _note_ 1. + + Sandford, Samuel, i. 98, i. 327, ii. 244, _note_ 1; + the "Spagnolet" of the theatre, i. 130; + Cibber's account of him, i. 130-1; + his personal appearance, i. 131; + an actor of villains, i. 131, i. 137; + his Creon ("OEdipus"), i. 131; + the "Tatler" on his acting, i. 132, _note_ 1; + anecdote of his playing an honest character, i. 132; + "a theatrical martyr to poetical justice," i. 137; + his voice and manner of speaking, i. 138; + would have been a perfect Richard III., i. 138; + Cibber plays Richard III. in imitation of, i. 139; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 306; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 346. + + Santlow, Hester, her first appearance as an actress, ii. 95; + her manner and appearance, ii. 95; + her character, ii. 96, _note_ 1; + her marriage with Booth, ii. 96, _note_ 1. + (See also Booth, Mrs. Barton.) + + Satire, reflections on, i. 37; + Cibber's opinion regarding a printed and an acted, i. 289. + + Saunderson, Mrs. See Betterton, Mrs. + + Savage, Richard, ii. 39, _note_ 1; + and Mrs. Oldfield, ii. 369. + + Scenes, first introduced by Sir William Davenant, i. xxxii., i. 87, + _note_ 1. + + "Secular Masque, The," i. 268, _note_ 1. + + Sedley, Sir Charles, Kynaston's resemblance to, ii. 341. + + Senesino (singer), ii. 53. + + Sewell, Dr. George, his "Sir Walter Raleigh," ii. 186, _note_ 1. + + Shadwell, Charles, his "Fair Quaker of Deal," ii. 95. + + ---- Thomas, his comedy of "The Squire of Alsatia," i. 148. + + Shaftesbury, first Earl of, i. 134, _note_ 1. + + Shakespeare, William (see also names of his plays), a better author + than actor, i. xxv., i. 89; + his plays, i. xxv.; + his plays depend less on women than on men, i. 90; + expenses of plays in his time, i. 197. + + "Sham Lawyer, The," ii. 252, _note_ 1. + + Shank, John, a comedian, i. xxvi.; + played Sir Roger ("Scornful Lady"), i. xxvi. + + Shatterel, ii. 326; + superior to his successors, i. xxiv.; + apprentice to Beeston, i. xxv.; + a quartermaster in Charles I.'s army, i. xxix. + + Shelton, Lady, ii. 303. + + Shore, John, brother-in-law of Colley Cibber, i. 184, _note_ 1. + + ---- Miss. See Cibber, Mrs. Colley, i. 184, _note_ 1. + + "Shore's Folly," i. 184, _note_ 1. + + "Silent Woman," i. xxiv. + + Singers and dancers introduced by Davenant, i. 94; + difficulty in managing, ii. 88. + + Skipwith, Sir George, ii. 60. + + ---- Sir Thomas (one of the Patentees of Drury Lane), ii. 109; + does Vanbrugh a service, i. 217; + receives "The Relapse" in return, i. 217; + a sharer in the Drury Lane Patent, ii. 31; + assigns his share to Colonel Brett, ii. 32; + his friendship for Brett, ii. 39; + claims his share from Brett, ii. 59. + + Smith, William, i. 327, ii. 324, ii. 346; + insulted by one of the audience, i. 79; + defended by the King, i. 79; + driven from the stage because of the King's support of him, i. 79; + taken into good society, i. 83; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 319. + + Sophocles, his tragedies, ii. 29. + + Southampton House, Bloomsbury, i. 7, _note_ 3. + + Southerne, Thomas, ii. 311; + prophesies the success of Cibber's first play, i. 212; + his "Oroonoko," i. 216, _note_ 1. + + Spaniards, the, and religious plays, i. xxxv. + + "Spectator," ii. 353. + + Spiller, James, ii. 169, _note_ 2. + + Stage, and religion, i. xxi., i. xxxiii.; + the, Cibber on the reformation of, i. 81; + audience on, forbidden, i. 234; + Cibber on the influence of, ii. 24-31; + shape of the, described, ii. 84; + doors, ii. 84, _note_ 1. + + Statute regarding rogues and vagabonds, i. 1.; + against profanity on the stage, i. 1.; + against persons meeting out of their own parishes on Sundays for + sports, etc., i. 1.; + entirely suppressing players, i. li. + + Steele, Sir Richard, i. 97, _note_ 2, i. 276, ii. 36, _note_ 1, ii. + 109, ii. 128, ii. 151, ii. 217, ii. 251, ii. 257; + substituted for Collier in the Licence, ii. 162; + the benefits he had conferred on Cibber and his partners, ii. 162; + Dennis's attacks on, ii. 168, _note_ 1; + receives a Patent, ii. 173; + assigns equal shares in the Patent to his partners, ii. 174; + account of his transactions in connection with the theatre which + are ignored by Cibber, ii. 193, _note_ 1; + persecuted by the Duke of Newcastle, then Lord Chamberlain, ii. + 193, _note_ 1; + his Licence revoked, ii. 193, _note_ 1; + restored to his position, ii. 193, _note_ 1; + the expiry of his Patent, ii. 193, _note_ 1; + assigns his share of the Patent, ii. 196; + brings an action against his partners, ii. 196; + account of the pleadings, ii. 196-208; + his recommendation of Underhill's benefit, ii. 351. + + Stow, John, his "Survey of London" quoted, i. xxxv., i. xlviii. + + Strolling players, i. xl., i. xlvii., i. 1. + + Subligny, Madlle., a French dancer, i. 316. + + "Summer Miscellany, The," ii. 272, _note_ 1. + + Sumner, an eminent actor, i. xxvi.; + his death, i. xxxi. + + Sunderland, Lady (the Little Whig), i. 320. + + Swan Theatre, drawing of the stage of the, ii. 84, _note_ 1. + + Swanston, Eliard, acted Othello, i. xxvi.; + the only actor that took the Presbyterian side in the Civil War, + i. xxix. + + Swift, Jonathan, an attack on Cibber by him in his "Rhapsody on + Poetry" quoted, i. 52, _note_ 2. + + Swiney, Owen, i. 97, _note_ 2, ii. 43, ii. 223, ii. 267; + his "Quacks," i. 247, _note_ 1; + account of his character, i. 329; + memoir of, i. 330, _note_ 1; + rents the Queen's Theatre from Vanbrugh, i. 330. i. 333. _note_ 1; + his agreement with Rich about renting the Queen's Theatre, i. 331; + Rich declines to execute it, i. 336; + his success at the Queen's Theatre in 1706-7, ii. 1; + his arrangement with his actors in 1706, ii. 9; + control of the opera given to, ii. 48; + his gain by the opera in 1708, ii. 55; + has joint control of plays and operas (1709), ii. 69; + forced to hand over the opera to Collier, ii. 102; + forced to resume the opera, ii. 107; + goes abroad on account of debt, ii. 108; + his return to England, ii. 108; + Cibber plays for his benefit, ii. 262. + + + "Tatler," the, i. 38, i. 132, _note_ 1, ii. 75, ii. 93, ii. 229, + _note_ 1, ii. 244, _note_ 1, ii. 244, _note_ 2, ii. 328, ii. + 362, ii. 363; + its eulogium of Betterton, i. 118, _note_ 1; + recommends Cave Underhill's benefit, i. 155; + praises Nicolini, ii. 52; + its influence on audiences, ii. 162. + + Taylor, John, his "Records of my Life" quoted, i. lxv., _note_ 1. + + ---- Joseph, ii. 334; + superior to Hart, i. xxiv.; + his chief characters, i. xxvi.; + too old to go into Charles I.'s army, i. xxix.; + arrested for acting, i. xxx.; + his death, i. xxxi. + + "Tempest, The," as an opera, i. 94; + revival of, ii. 227. + + Theatre, the, mentioned by Stow as recently erected, i. xlviii. + + Théâtre Français, ii. 221, _note_ 1, ii. 246, _note_ 1. + + Theatres, number of, before 1642, i. xxvi.; + more reputable before 1642, i. xxvii.; + less reputable after the Restoration, i. xxvii.; + evil, artistically, of multiplying, i. 92. + + Theobald, Lewis, deposed from the Throne of Dulness, ii. 280. + + Thomson, James, his "Sophonisba," ii. 368. + + Tofts, Mrs. Katherine, i. 334, _note_ 1, ii. 51; + Cibber's account of, ii. 54. + + "Tone" in speaking, i. 110, _note_ 1. + + Trinity College, Cambridge, Caius Cibber's statues on the Library, + i. 59; + particulars regarding these, i. 59, _note_ 1. + + + Underhill, Cave, i. 98, i. 142, i. 327, ii. 307, ii. 346, ii. 347, + ii. 361; + his chief parts, i. 154-155; + Cibber's account of, i. 154-156; + his particular excellence in stupid characters, i. 154; + the peculiarity of his facial expression, i. 155; + his retirement and last appearances, i. 155, _note_ 2; + his death, i. 156; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 307; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 350. + + Underwood, John, originally a "chapel boy," i. xxxvii. + + Union of Companies in 1682, i. xxxii., i. 96; + in 1708, i. 301; + causes that led up to, ii. 45, ii. 48. + + + Valentini (Valentini Urbani), singer, i. 325, ii. 51, ii. 55. + + Vanbrugh, Sir John, i. 269, i. 274, i. 284, ii. 107, ii. 110, ii. + 190, ii. 337, ii. 353, ii. 367; + his opinion of Cibber's acting of Richard III., i. 139; + his "Relapse," i. 216, i. 218; + his high opinion of Cibber's acting, i. 216; + his "Provoked Wife," i. 216-217; + in gratitude to Sir Thomas Skipwith presents him with "The Relapse," + i. 217; + his "Æsop," i. 216, i. 218; + his great ability, i. 219; + alters his "Provoked Wife," ii. 233; + his share in the "Provoked Husband," i. 311, _note_ 1; + builds the Queen's Theatre, i. 319; + and Congreve manage the Queen's Theatre, i. 320, i. 325; + his "Confederacy," i. 325; + "The Cuckold in Conceit" (attributed to him), i. 326; + his "Squire Trelooby," i. 326; + his "Mistake," i. 327; + sole proprietor of the Queen's Theatre, i. 326; + lets it to Swiney, i. 330, i. 333, _note_ 1. + + Vaughan, Commissioner, ii. 278, _note_ 1. + + "Venice Preserved," ii. 224, _note_ 1. + + Verbruggen, John, i. 108, _note_ 2; + mentioned, i. 157, i. 193; + hangs about Downes, the prompter, i. 74, _note_ 1; + note regarding, i. 157, _note_ 2; + Anthony Aston's description of, ii. 311; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 354. + + ---- Mrs. See Mrs. Mountfort. + + Vere Street, Clare Market, theatre in, i. xxxii. + + Versatility, Cibber's views on, i. 209. + + Victor, Benjamin, ii. 259; + a story told by him of Cibber's cowardice, i. 71, _note_ 1; + his "History of the Theatres," i. 110, _note_ 1, i. 297, + _note_ 1, ii. 259, _note_ 2, ii. 260, _note_ 1, ii. 261, + _note_ 1, ii. 264, ii. 270; + his "Letters" quoted, i. 58, _note_ 1; + his "Life of Booth," i. 5, _note_ 1, ii. 240, _note_ 2. + + Villains, Cibber's views on, i. 131; + Macready's views on, referred to, i. 135, _note_ 1; + E. S. Willard mentioned as famous for representing, i. 135, + _note_ 1; + on the acting of, i. 222. + + Vizard-masks (women of the town), i. xxvii. See also Masks. + + Voltaire, his "Zaïre," ii. 248. + + + Walker, Obadiah, his change of religion, ii. 134. + + Waller, Edmund, altered the last act of the "Maid's Tragedy," ii. 12. + + Walpole, Horace, and Cibber, ii. 284. + + Warburton, Bishop, mentioned, i. 106, _note_ 1, ii. 281. + + Ward, Professor A. W., his "English Dramatic Literature," i. 187, + _note_ 1. + + Warwick, Earl of, his frolic with Pope and Cibber, ii. 278. + + Weaver, John, his "Loves of Mars and Venus," ii. 180, _note_ 2. + + Webster, Benjamin, i. 88, _note_ 3. + + "Wedding, The," i. xxv. + + "Weekly Packet" quoted, ii. 171, _note_ 1. + + Welsted, Leonard, satirically mentioned by Swift, i. 52, _note_ 2. + + Westminster Bridge, difficulties in getting permission to build, + ii. 104. + + Whig, the Little (Lady Sunderland), i. 320. + + White's Club, Cibber a member, i. 29, _note_ 1. + + Whitefriars, i. xlix. + + "Whitehall Evening Post," Cibber sends verses to, regarding himself, + i. 47. + + Whitelocke's "Memorials," ii. 209, _note_ 2. + + Wigs. See Perriwigs. + + Wildair, Sir Harry, i. 318. + + "Wild-Goose Chase, The," i. xxv. + + Wilks, Robert, i. 108, _note_ 2, i. 157, i. 270, i. 332, ii. 36, + _note_ 1, ii. 167, ii. 176, ii. 300, ii. 352, ii. 361, ii. 363, + ii. 368; + memoirs published immediately after his death, i. 5; + mistakes in his Hamlet, i. 100, _note_ 1; + lives with Mrs. Rogers, i. 136; + distressed by Pinkethman's "gagging," i. 153, _note_ 1; + his impetuous temper, i. 190, i. 191, _note_ 1, i. 191, _note_ 2, + ii. 127, ii. 150-155, ii. 171; + his return to Drury Lane from Dublin, i. 235; + his commencing as actor, i. 235; + the contest between him and Powell for supremacy at Drury Lane, + i. 237-243, i. 251-256; + his wonderful memory, i. 240, i. 242; + his diligence and care, i. 240, ii. 160; + his good character, i. 243; + made chief actor at Drury Lane, under Rich, i. 256; + his energy in managing, i. 257; + his disputes with Cibber, i. 258; + his friendship with Mills, i. 259; + as a prologue-speaker, i. 271; + the occasion of his coming to London, i. 304; + and Mrs. Oldfield playing in same pieces, i. 314; + made Deputy-manager by Brett, ii. 56, _note_ 1; + made joint-manager with Swiney and others in 1709, ii. 69; + advertisement regarding his salary, 1709, ii. 78, _note_ 1; + his characteristics as a manager, ii. 111, ii. 117; + his patronage of his friends, ii. 121; + his behaviour on Booth's claiming to become a manager, ii. 131, + ii. 141; + his favour for Mills, ii. 223; + his connection with Steele during the dispute about Steele's Patent, + ii. 193, _note_ 1; + his love of acting, ii. 225; + a genuine admirer of Cibber, ii. 226, _note_ 1; + attacked by Dennis, ii. 226, _note_ 2; + his excellence as Macduff, ii. 228; + gives the part to Williams, ii. 229; + but withdraws it, ii. 230; + complains of acting so much, ii. 232; + a scene between him and his partners, ii. 234-237; + benefits arising from his enthusiasm for acting, ii. 237; + and Booth, their opinion of each other, ii. 240; + formed his style on Mountfort's, ii. 241; + Cibber's comparison of Booth and Wilks, ii. 239-245; + his Othello, ii. 244; + death of, ii. 254; + memoir of, ii. 254, _note_ 4; + Patent granted to him, Cibber, and Booth, after Steele's death, + ii. 257. + + Wilks, Mrs., inherits Wilks's share in the Patent, ii. 258; + delegates her authority to John Ellys, ii. 258; + her share sold to Fleetwood, ii. 261. + + Willard, E. S., mentioned, i. 135, _note_ 1. + + William of Orange, Cibber a supporter of, at the Revolution, i. 60; + made king, i. 70; + gives a Licence to Betterton, i. 192, _note_ 1. + + Williams, Charles, Wilks gives him the part of Macduff, ii. 229; + but withdraws it, ii. 230; + hissed in mistake for Cibber, i. 179, _note_ 1. + + ---- Joseph, mentioned, i. 157, i. 200; + Bellchambers's memoir of, ii. 356. + + Wiltshire (actor), leaves the stage for the army, i. 84; + killed in Flanders, i. 85. + + Winchester College, Cibber stands for election to, and is + unsuccessful, i. 56; + his brother, Lewis Cibber, is afterwards successful, i. 56; + his father presents a statue to, i. 56; + communication from the Head Master of, i. 56, _note_ 2. + + Wintershal (actor), belonged to the Salisbury Court Theatre, i. xxiv. + + Woffington, Margaret, her artistic feeling, i. 166, _note_ 1; + an anecdote wrongly connected with her, ii. 266. + + "Woman's Wit," cast of, i. 264, _note_ 1. + + Women, their first introduction on the stage, i. xxxii., i. 89, + _note_ 1, i. 90. + + Wren, Sir Christopher, the designer of Drury Lane Theatre, ii. 82. + + Wright, James, his "History of Rutlandshire," i. 8; + quoted, i. 9, _note_ 1; + his "Historia Histrionica," i. xix. + + Wykeham, William of, Cibber connected with by descent, i. 56. + + + "Ximena," cast of, ii. 163, _note_ 1. + + + York, Duke of (James II.), at Whitehall, i. 30. + + Young, Dr. Edward, his "Epistle to Mr. Pope" quoted, i. 54, _note_ 1. + + Young actors, dearth of, ii. 221. + + + +END OF VOL. I. + + + + +[Illustration: CHISWICK PRESS:-C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, +CHANCERY LANE.] + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + +[Footnote 1: Colley Cibber's "brazen brainless brothers." According to +Horace Walpole, "one of the Statues was the portrait of Oliver Cromwell's +porter, then in Bedlam."] + + +[Footnote 2: Till the 25 Year of Queen _Elizabeth_, the Queen had not +any Players; but in that Year 12 of the best of all those who belonged +to several Lords, were chosen & sworn her Servants, as Grooms of the +Chamber. Stow's _Annals_, p. 698.] + + +[Footnote 3: The Right Honourable Henry Pelham. Davies ("Life of +Garrick," ii. 377) says that the "Apology" was dedicated to "that wise +and honest minister," Pelham. John Taylor ("Records of my Life," i. 263) +writes: "The name of the person to whom the Dedication to the 'Apology' +was addressed is not mentioned, but the late Mr. John Kemble assured me +that he had authority for saying it was Mr. Pelham, brother to the Duke +of Newcastle." From the internal evidence it seems quite clear that this +is so. In the Verses to Cibber quoted in "The Egotist," p. 69, the +authoress writes:-- + + "_Some praise a Patron and reveal him: + You paint so true, you can't conceal him._ + Their _gaudy Praise undue but shames him, + While_ your's _by Likeness only names him."_] + + +[Footnote 4: Cibber, in Chapter ix., mentions that he is writing his +Apology at Bath, and Fielding, in the mock trial of "_Col._ Apol." given +in "The Champion" of 17th May, 1740, indicts the Prisoner "for that you, +not having the Fear of Grammar before your Eyes, on the ---- of ---- at +a certain Place, called the _Bath_, in the County of _Somerset_, in +_Knights-Bridge_, in the County of _Middlesex_, in and upon the +_English_ Language an Assault did make, and then and there, with a +certain Weapon called a Goose-quill, value one Farthing, which you in +your left Hand then held, several very broad Wounds but of no Depth at +all, on the said _English_ Language did make, and so you the said Col. +_Apol._ the said _English_ Language did murder."] + + +[Footnote 5: This seems to be a favourite argument of Cibber. In his +"Letter" to Pope, 1742, he answers Pope's line, "And has not Colley +still his Lord and Whore?" at great length, one of his arguments being +that the latter accusation, "without some particular Circumstances to +aggravate the Vice, is the flattest Piece of Satyr that ever fell from +the formidable Pen of Mr. _Pope_: because (_defendit numerus_) take the +first ten thousand Men you meet, and I believe, you would be no Loser, +if you betted ten to one that every single Sinner of them, one with +another, had been guilty of the same Frailty."--p. 46.] + + +[Footnote 6: Cibber's "Apology" must have been a very profitable book. +It was published in one volume quarto in 1740, and in the same year the +second edition, one volume octavo, was issued. A third edition appeared +in 1750, also in one volume octavo. Davies ("Dramatic Miscellanies," +iii. 506) says: "Cibber must have raised considerable contributions on +the public by his works. To say nothing of the sums accumulated by +dedications, benefits, and the sale of his plays singly, his dramatic +works, in quarto, by subscription, published 1721, produced him a +considerable sum of money. It is computed that he gained, by the +excellent Apology for his Life, no less than the sum of £1,500." "The +Laureat" (1740) is perhaps Davies's authority for his computation. +"_Ingenious indeed_, who from such a Pile of indigested incoherent Ideas +huddled together by the _Misnomer_ of a History, could raise a +Contribution on the Town (if Fame says true) of Fifteen hundred +Pounds."--"Laureat," p. 96. + +Cibber no doubt kept the copyright of the first and second editions +in his own hands. In 1750 he sold his copyright to Robert Dodsley for +the sum of fifty guineas. The original assignment, which bears the +date "March ye 24th, 1749/50," is in the collection of Mr. Julian +Marshall.] + + +[Footnote 7: Of Mrs. Oldfield there was a volume of "Authentick Memoirs" +published in 1730, the year she died; and in 1731 appeared Egerton's +"Faithful Memoirs," and "The Lover's Miscellany," in which latter are +memoirs of Mrs. Oldfield's "Life and Amours." Three memoirs of Wilks +immediately followed his death, the third of which was written by Curll, +who denounces the other two as frauds. Benjamin Victor wrote a memoir of +Booth which was published in the year of his death, and there was one +unauthorized memoir issued in the same year. Bellchambers instances the +Life of Congreve as another imposition.] + + +[Footnote 8: From this expression it appears that Cibber did not +contemplate again returning to the stage. He did, however, make a few +final appearances, his last being to support his own adaptation of +Shakespeare's "King John," which he called "Papal Tyranny in the Reign +of King John," and which was produced at Covent Garden on 15th February, +1745.] + + +[Footnote 9: "The Rehearsal," act iii. sc. 4.] + + +[Footnote 10: The christening of Colley Cibber is recorded in the +Baptismal Register of the Church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields. The entry +reads:-- + + "November 1671 Christnings + 20. Colly sonne of Caius Gabriell Sibber and Jane ux"] + + +[Footnote 11: Mr. Laurence Hutton, in his "Literary Landmarks of +London," page 52, says: "Southampton House, afterwards Bedford House, +taken down in the beginning of the present century, occupied the north +side of Bloomsbury Square. Evelyn speaks of it in his Diary, October, +1664, as in course of construction. Another and an earlier Southampton +House in Holborn, 'a little above Holborn Bars,' was removed some twenty +years before Cibber's birth. He was, therefore, probably born at the +upper or north end of Southampton Street, facing Bloomsbury Square, +where now are comparatively modern buildings, and not in Southampton +Street, Strand, as is generally supposed."] + + +[Footnote 12: Caius Gabriel Cibber, born at Flensborg in Holstein in +1630; married, as his second wife, Jane Colley, on 24th November, 1670; +died in 1700. He was, as Colley Cibber states, a sculptor of some note.] + + +[Footnote 13: + + "Where o'er the gates, by his fam'd father's hand, + Great Cibber's brazen, brainless brothers stand." + (Final edition of "The Dunciad," i. verses 31-2.) + +Bellchambers notes that these figures were removed to the New Hospital +in St. George's Fields. They are now in South Kensington Museum.] + + +[Footnote 14: "It was found by office taken in the 13th year of H. 8. +that _John Colly_ deceased, held the Mannour and Advowson of Glaiston of +_Edward_ Duke of Buckingham, as of his Castle of Okeham by knights +service."--Wright's "History and Antiquities of the County of Rutland," +p. 64. + +"In the 26. _Car._ I. (1640) Sir _Anthony Colly_ Knight, then Lord of +this Mannor, joyned with his Son and Heir apparent, _William Colly_ +Esquire, in a Conveyance of divers parcels of Land in Glaiston, together +with the Advowson of the Church there, to _Edward Andrews_ of Bisbroke +in this County, Esquire: Which Advowson is since conveyed over to +_Peterhouse_ in Cambridge."--_Ibid._ p. 65.] + + +[Footnote 15: Fielding ("Joseph Andrews," chap. iii.), writing of Parson +Adams, says: "Simplicity was his characteristic: he did, no more than +Mr. Colley Cibber, apprehend any such passions as malice and envy to +exist in mankind; which was indeed less remarkable in a country parson, +than in a gentleman who has passed his life behind the scenes--a place +which has been seldom thought the school of innocence."] + + +[Footnote 16: Glout is an obsolete word signifying "to pout, to look +sullen."] + + +[Footnote 17: Bellchambers suggests that these two persons were the Earl +of Chesterfield and "Bubb Doddington." As to the former he is no doubt +correct, but I cannot see a single feature of resemblance between the +second portrait and Lord Melcombe. "The Laureat" says (p. 18) that the +portraits were "L----d C----d and Mr. E----e" [probably Erskine]. +Bellchambers seems to have supposed that "Bubb" was a nickname.] + + +[Footnote 18: "Set the table on a roar."--"Hamlet," act v. sc. 1.] + + +[Footnote 19: Ter. _Eun._ i. 1, 18.] + + +[Footnote 20: _Ars Poetica_, 126.] + + +[Footnote 21: In William Byrd's collection, entitled "Psalmes, Sonets, & +songs of sadnes and pietie," 1588, 4to., is the song to which Cibber +probably refers:-- + + "My Minde to me a Kingdome is." + +Mr. Bullen, in his "Lyrics from Elizabethan Song-books" (p. 78), quotes +it.] + + +[Footnote 22: + + "And so many a time, + When I have spoke of you dispraisingly, + Hath ta'en your part."--"Othello," act iii. sc. 3.] + + +[Footnote 23: This is Gibber's first allusion to Pope's enmity. It was +after the publication of the "Apology" that Pope's attacks became more +bitter.] + + +[Footnote 24: Horace, _Epis._ ii. 2, 126.] + + +[Footnote 25: Charles II.'s flight from his Scottish Presbyterian +subjects, at the end of 1650, to take refuge among his wild Highland +supporters, was caused by the insolent invectives of the rigid +Presbyterian clergymen, who preached long sermons at him, on his own +wickedness and that of his father and mother, and made his life +generally a burden.] + + +[Footnote 26: Hor. _Od._ iv. 12, 28.] + + +[Footnote 27: "Os homini sublime dedit."--Ovid, _Met._ i. 85.] + + +[Footnote 28: Cibber is pardonably vain throughout at the society he +moved in. His greatest social distinction was his election as a member +of White's. His admission to such society was of course the subject of +lampoons, such as the following:-- + + "_The_ BUFFOON, _An_ EPIGRAM. + + Don't boast, prithee _Cibber_, so much of thy State, + That like _Pope_ you are blest with the smiles of the Great; + With both they Converse, but for different Ends, + And 'tis easy to know their Buffoons from their Friends."] + + +[Footnote 29: Arlington did not, however, die till the 28th July, 1685, +surviving Charles II. by nearly six months.] + + +[Footnote 30: Cibber was appointed Poet-Laureate on the death of Eusden. +His appointment was dated 3rd December, 1730.] + +[Footnote 31: "Forsan et hæc olim meminisse juvabit."--Virg. _Æneid_, i. +207.] + + +[Footnote 32: As Laureate, and as author of "The Nonjuror," Cibber is +bound to be extremely loyal to the Protestant dynasty.] + + +[Footnote 33: Curiously enough, Cibber's praise of his deceased +companion-actors has been attributed to something of this motive.] + + +[Footnote 34: Bellchambers prints these words thus: "Lick at the +Laureat," as if Cibber had referred to the title of a book; and notes: +"This is the title of a pamphlet in which some of Mr. Cibber's +peculiarities have been severely handled." But I doubt this, for there +is nothing in Cibber's arrangement of the words to denote that they +represent the title of a book; and, besides, I know no work with such a +title published before 1740. Bellchambers, in a note on page 114, +represents that he quotes from "Lick at the Laureat, 1730;" but I find +the quotation he gives in "The Laureat," 1740 (p. 31), almost +_verbatim_. As it stands in the latter there is no hint that it is +quoted from a previous work, nor, indeed, do the terms of it permit of +such an interpretation. I can, therefore, only suppose that Bellchambers +is wrong in attributing the sentence to a work called "A Lick at the +Laureat."] + + +[Footnote 35: The principal allusions to Cibber which, up to the time of +the publication of the "Apology," Pope had made, were in the +"Dunciad":-- + + "How, with less reading than makes felons 'scape, + Less human genius than God gives an ape, + Small thanks to France and none to Rome or Greece, + A past, vamp'd, future, old, reviv'd, new piece, + 'Twixt Plautus, Fletcher, Congreve, and Corneille, + Can make a Cibber, Johnson, or Ozell." + Second edition, Book i. 235-240. + + "Beneath his reign, shall Eusden wear the bays, + Cibber preside, Lord-Chancellor of Plays." + Second edition, Book iii. 319, 320. + +In the "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot" there were one or two passing +allusions to Cibber, one of them being the line:-- + + "And has not Colley still his Lord and whore?" + +for which Cibber retaliated in his "Letter" of 1742. + +In the "First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace" (1737), Cibber is +scurvily treated. In it occur the lines:-- + + "And idle Cibber, how he breaks the laws, + To make poor Pinkey eat with vast applause!"] + + +[Footnote 36: Cibber's Odes were a fruitful subject of banter. Fielding +in "Pasquin," act ii. sc. 1, has the following passage:-- + +"_2nd Voter._ My Lord, I should like a Place at Court too; I don't much +care what it is, provided I wear fine Cloaths, and have something to do +in the Kitchen, or the Cellar; I own I should like the Cellar, for I am +a divilish Lover of Sack. + +_Lord Place._ Sack, say you? Odso, you shall be Poet-Laureat. + +_2nd Voter._ Poet! no, my Lord, I am no Poet, I can't make verses. + +_Lord Place._ No Matter for that--you'll be able to make Odes. + +_2nd Voter._ Odes, my Lord! what are those? + +_Lord Place._ Faith, Sir, I can't tell well what they are; but I know +you may be qualified for the Place without being a Poet." + +Boswell ("Life of Johnson," i. 402) reports that Johnson said, "His +[Cibber's] friends give out that he _intended_ his birth-day _Odes_ +should be bad: but that was not the case, Sir; for he kept them many +months by him, and a few years before he died he shewed me one of them, +with great solicitude to render it as perfect as might be." + +In "The Egotist" (p. 63) Cibber is made to say: "As bad Verses are the +Devil, and good ones I can't get up to----"] + + +[Footnote 37: "Champion," 29th April, 1740: "When he says (Fol. 23) +Satire is _angrily_ particular, every Dunce of a Reader knows that he +means angry with a particular Person."] + + +[Footnote 38: Cibber's allusion to Pope's treatment of Addison is a fair +hit.] + + +[Footnote 39: Juvenal, i. 79.] + + +[Footnote 40: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 511) says: "If we except the +remarks on plays and players by the authors of the Tatler and Spectator, +the theatrical observations in those days were coarse and illiberal, +when compared to what we read in our present daily and other periodical +papers."] + + +[Footnote 41: "_Frankly._ Is it not commendable in a Man of Parts, to be +warmly concerned for his Reputation? + +_Author [Cibber]._ In what regards his Honesty or Honour, I will make +you some Allowances: But for the Reputation of his Parts, not one +Tittle!"--"The Egotist: or, Colley upon Cibber," p. 13. + +Bellchambers notes here: "When Cibber was charged with moral offences of +a deeper dye, he thought himself at liberty, I presume, to relinquish +his indifference, and bring the libeller to account. On a future page +will be found the public advertisement in which he offered a reward of +ten pounds for the detection of Dennis."] + + +[Footnote 42: "_Frankly._ It will be always natural for Authors to +defend their Works. + +_Author [Cibber]._ And would it not be as well, if their Works defended +themselves?"--"The Egotist: or, Colley upon Cibber," p. 15.] + + +[Footnote 43: In his "Letter to Pope," 1742, p. 7, Cibber says: "After +near twenty years having been libell'd by our Daily-paper Scriblers, I +never was so hurt, as to give them one single Answer."] + + +[Footnote 44: "_Frankly._ I am afraid you will discover yourself; and +your Philosophical Air will come out at last meer Vanity in Masquerade. + +_Author [Cibber]._ O! if there be Vanity in keeping one's Temper; with +all my Heart."--"The Egotist: or, Colley upon Cibber," p. 13.] + + +[Footnote 45: In his "Letter to Pope," 1742, p. 9, Cibber says: "I +would not have even your merited Fame in Poetry, if it were to be +attended with half the fretful Solicitude you seem to have lain under +to maintain it."] + + +[Footnote 46: The best epigram is that which Cibber ("Letter," 1742, p. +39) attributes to Pope:-- + + "In merry Old England, it once was a Rule, + The King had his Poet, and also his Fool. + But now we're so frugal, I'd have you to know it, + That Cibber can serve both for Fool and for Poet." + +Dr. Johnson also wrote an epigram, of which he seems to have been +somewhat proud:-- + + "Augustus still survives in Maro's strain, + And Spenser's verse prolongs Eliza's reign; + Great George's acts let tuneful Cibber sing; + For Nature form'd the Poet for the King." + Boswell, i. 149. + +In "Certain Epigrams, in Laud and Praise of the Gentlemen of the +Dunciad," p. 8, is:-- + + EPIGRAM XVI. + _A Question by_ ANONYMUS. + + "Tell, if you can, which did the worse, + _Caligula_, or _Gr--n's_ [Grafton's] Gr--ce? + That made a Consul of a _Horse_, + And this a Laureate of an _Ass_." + +In "The Egotist: or, Colley upon Cibber," p. 49, Cibber is made to say: +"An _Ode_ is a Butt, that a whole Quiver of Wit is let fly at every +Year!"] + + +[Footnote 47: "The Laureat" says: "The Things he calls Verses, carry the +most evident Marks of their Parent _Colley_."--p. 24.] + + +[Footnote 48: _A Line in the Epilogue to the_ Nonjuror.] + + +[Footnote 49: This allusion to time shows that Cibber began his +"Apology" about 1737.] + + +[Footnote 50: Fielding has many extremely good attacks on Cibber's style +and language. For instance:-- + +"I shall here only obviate a flying Report ... that whatever Language it +was writ in, it certainly could not be _English_.... Now I shall prove +it to be _English_ in the following Manner. Whatever Book is writ in no +other Language, is writ in _English_. This Book is writ in no other +Language, _Ergo_, It is writ in _English_."--"Champion," 22nd April, +1740. + +Again ("Joseph Andrews," book iii. chap. vi.), addressing the Muse or +Genius that presides over Biography, he says: "Thou, who, without the +assistance of the least spice of literature, and even against his +inclination, hast, in some pages of his book, forced Colley Cibber to +write English."] + + +[Footnote 51: In later editions the expression was changed to "She here +outdid her usual excellence."] + + +[Footnote 52: "Decies repetita placebit."--Horace, _Ars Poetica_, 365.] + + +[Footnote 53: + + "For instance: when you rashly think, + No rhymer can like Welsted sink, + His merits balanc'd, you shall find, + The laureat leaves him far behind." + Swift, _On Poetry: a Rhapsody_, l. 393.] + + +[Footnote 54: "_Frankly._ Then for your Reputation, if you won't bustle +about it, and now and then give it these little Helps of Art, how can +you hope to raise it? + +_Author [Cibber]._ If it can't live upon simple Nature, let it die, and +be damn'd! I shall give myself no further Trouble about it."--"The +Egotist: or, Colley upon Cibber," p. 9.] + + +[Footnote 55: Young's second "Epistle to Mr. Pope."] + + +[Footnote 56: Indirectly surely, William of Wykeham being a priest.] + + +[Footnote 57: I am indebted to the courtesy of the Head Master of +Winchester College, the Rev. Dr. Fearon, for the information that this +statue, a finely designed and well-executed work, still stands over the +door of the big school. A Latin inscription states that it was presented +by Caius Gabriel Cibber in 1697.] + + +[Footnote 58: Bellchambers finds in this sentence "a levity, which +accords with the charges so often brought against Cibber of impiety and +irreligion;" and he quotes from Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 506) two +stories--one, that Cibber spat at a picture of our Saviour; and the +other, that he endeavoured to enter into discussion with "honest Mr. +William Whiston" with the intention of insulting him. Both anecdotes +seem to me rather foolish. I do not suppose Cibber was in any sense a +religious man, but his works are far from giving any offence to +religion; and, as a paid supporter of a Protestant succession, I think +he was too prudent to be an open scoffer. A sentence in one of Victor's +"Letters" (i. 72), written from Tunbridge, would seem to show that +Cibber at least preserved appearances. He says, "Every one complies with +what is called the _fashion_--_Cibber_ goes constantly to _prayers_--and +the Curate (to return the compliment) as constantly, when prayers are +over, to the _Gaming table_!"] + + +[Footnote 59: By the kindness of a friend at Cambridge I am enabled to +give the following interesting extracts from a letter written by Mr. +William White, of Trinity College Library, regarding the statues here +referred to: "They occupy the four piers, subdividing the balustrade on +the east side of the Library, overlooking Neville's Court. The four +Statues represent Divinity, Law, Physic, and Mathematics. That these +were executed by Mr. Gabriel Cibber our books will prove. I will give +you two or three extracts from Grumbold's Account Book, kept in the +Library. He was Foreman of the Works when the Library was built. I think +Cibber cut the Statues here. It is quite certain he and his men were +here some time: no doubt they superintended the placing of them in their +positions, at so great a height. + +'Payd for the Carridg of a Larg Block Stone Given by John Manning to ye +Coll. for one of ye Figures 01:00:00.' + +'May 7, 1681. Pd to Mr Gabriell Cibber for cutting four statues +80:00:00.' '27 June. Pd to ye Widdo Bats for Mr Gabriel Cibbers and +his mens diatt 05: 18: 11. Pd to Mr Martin [for the same] 12: 03: +03.'" + +In connection with these statues an amusing practical joke was played +while Byron was an undergraduate, which was attributed to him--unjustly, +however, I believe.] + + +[Footnote 60: 5th November, 1688.] + + +[Footnote 61: Fielding, in "Joseph Andrews," book i. chap. I: "How +artfully does the former [Cibber] by insinuating that he escaped being +promoted to the highest stations in the Church and State, teach us a +contempt of worldly grandeur! how strongly does he inculcate an absolute +submission to our Superiors!"] + + +[Footnote 62: Fielding ("Champion," 6th May, 1740): "Not to mention our +Author's Comparisons of himself to King _James_, the Prince of _Orange_, +_Alexander the Great_, _Charles_ the XIIth, and _Harry_ IV. of _France_, +his favourite Simile is a Lion, thus _page_ 39, we have a SATISFIED +PRESUMPTION, that _to drive_ England _into slavery is like teaching_ AN +OLD LION TO DANCE. 104. _Our new critics are like Lions Whelps that dash +down the Bowls of Milk &c._ besides a third Allusion to the same Animal: +and this brings into my Mind a Story which I once heard from _Booth_, +that our Biographer had, in one of his Plays in a Local Simile, +introduced this generous Beast in some Island or Country where Lions did +not grow; of which being informed by the learned _Booth_, the Biographer +replied, _Prithee tell me then, where there is a Lion, for God's Curse, +if there be a Lion in_ Europe, Asia, Africa, _or_ America, _I will not +lose my simile_."] + + +[Footnote 63: Lucretius, i. 102.] + + +[Footnote 64: John Dennis, in an advertisement to "The Invader of his +Country," 1720, says, "'tis as easy for Mr. _Cibber_ at this time of Day +to make a Bounce with his Loyalty, as 'tis for a Bully at Sea, who had +lain hid in the Hold all the time of the Fight, to come up and swagger +upon the Deck after the Danger is over."] + + +[Footnote 65: "Champion," 29th April, 1740: "When in _page_ 42, we read, +_Beauty_ SHINES _into equal Warmth the Peasant and the Courtier_, do we +not know what he means though he hath made a Verb active of SHINE, as in +_Page_ 117, he hath of REGRET, _nothing could more painfully regret a +judicious Spectator_."] + + +[Footnote 66: One of the commonest imputations made against Cibber was +that he was of a cowardly temper. In "Common Sense" for 11th June, 1737, +a paper attributed to Lord Chesterfield, there is a dissertation on +kicking as a humorous incident on the stage. The writer adds: "Of all +the Comedians who have appeared upon the Stage within my Memory, no one +has taking (_sic_) a Kicking with so much Humour as our present most +excellent Laureat, and I am inform'd his Son does not fall much short of +him in this Excellence; I am very glad of it, for as I have a Kindness +for the young Man, I hope to see him as well kick'd as his Father was +before him." + +I confess that I am not quite sure how far this sentence is ironically +meant, but Bellchambers refers to it as conveying a serious accusation +of cowardice. He also quotes from Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 487), who +relates, on the authority of Victor, that Cibber, having reduced +Bickerstaffe's salary by one-half, was waited upon by that actor, who +"flatly told him, that as he could not subsist on the small sum to which +he had reduced his salary, he must call the author of his distress to an +account, for that it would be easier for him to lose his life than to +starve. The affrighted Cibber told him, he should receive an answer from +him on Saturday next. Bickerstaffe found, on that day, his usual income +was continued." This story rests only on Victor's authority, but is, of +course, not improbable. There is also a vague report that Gay, in +revenge for Cibber's banter of "Three Hours after Marriage," personally +chastised him, but I know no good authority for the story.] + + +[Footnote 67: Cibber (1st ed.) wrote: "new Honours of Duke of +_Devonshire_, Lord Steward," &c. He corrected his blunder in 2nd ed.] + + +[Footnote 68: See Macaulay ("History," 1858, vol. ii. p. 251).] + + +[Footnote 69: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 444) says: "Cibber and +Verbruggen were two dissipated young fellows, who determined, in +opposition to the advice of friends, to become great actors. Much about +the same time, they were constant attendants upon Downes, the prompter +of Drury-Lane, in expectation of employment."] + + +[Footnote 70: "The Laureat" states that Miss Santlow (afterwards Mrs. +Barton Booth) was the actress referred to; that Captain Montague was her +assailant, and Mr. Secretary Craggs her defender.] + + +[Footnote 71: See memoir of William Smith at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 72: See memoir.] + + +[Footnote 73: + + "As where's that palace whereinto foul things + Sometimes intrude not?"--"Othello," act iii. sc. 3.] + +[Footnote 74: Captain Griffin was, no doubt, the Griffin who is +mentioned by Downes as entering the King's Company "after they had begun +at Drury Lane." This is of course very indefinite as regards time. Drury +Lane was opened in 1663, but the first character for which we can find +Griffin's name mentioned, is that of Varnish in "The Plain-Dealer," +which was produced in 1674. At the Union in 1682, Griffin took a good +position in the amalgamated company, and continued on the stage till +about 1688, when his name disappears from the bills. During this time he +is not called _Captain,_ but in 1701 the name of Captain Griffin appears +among the Drury Lane actors. Genest says it is more probable that this +should be Griffin returned to the stage after thirteen years spent in +the army, than that Captain Griffin should have gone on the stage +without having previously been connected with it. In this Genest is +quite correct, for the anecdote of Goodman and Griffin, which Cibber +tells in Chap. XII. shows conclusively that _Captain_ Griffin was an +actor during Goodman's stage-career, which ended certainly before 1690. +He appears to have finally retired about the beginning of 1708. Downes +says "_Mr._ Griffin _so Excell'd in_ Surly. Sir Edward Belfond, _The_ +Plain Dealer, _none succeeding in the 2 former have Equall'd him_, [nor +any] _except his Predecessor Mr._ Hart _in the latter_" (p. 40). I have +ventured to supply the two words "nor any" to make clear what Downes +must have meant.] + + +[Footnote 75: The "Biographia Dramatica" (i. 87) gives an account +of James Carlile. He was a native of Lancashire, and in his youth was +an actor; but he left the stage for the army, and was killed at the +battle of Aughrim, 11th July, 1691. Nothing practically is known of +his stage career. Downes (p. 39) notes that at the Union of the Patents +in 1682, "Mr. _Monfort_ and Mr. _Carlile_, were grown to the Maturity +of good _Actors_." I cannot trace Carlile's name in the bills any later +than 1685.] + + +[Footnote 76: Wiltshire seems to have been a very useful actor of the +second rank. In 1685 he also appears for the last time.] + + +[Footnote 77: That Ben Jonson was an unsuccessful actor is gravely +doubted by Gifford and by his latest editor, Lieut.-Col. Cunningham, who +give excellent reasons in support of their view. See memoir prefixed to +edition of Jonson, 1870, i. xi.] + + +[Footnote 78: Sir William Davenant was the son of a vintner and +innkeeper at Oxford. It was said that Shakespeare used frequently to +stay at the inn, and a story accordingly was manufactured that William +Davenant was in fact the son of the poet through an amour with Mrs. +Davenant. But of this there is no shadow of proof. Davenant went to +Oxford, but made no special figure as a scholar, winning fame, however, +as a poet and dramatist. On the death of Ben Jonson in 1637 he was +appointed Poet-Laureate, and in 1639 received a licence from Charles I. +to get together a company of players. In the Civil War he greatly +distinguished himself, and was knighted by the King for his bravery. +Before the Restoration Davenant was permitted by Cromwell to perform +some sort of theatrical pieces at Rutland House, in Charter-House Yard, +where "The Siege of Rhodes" was played about 1656. At the Restoration a +Patent was granted to him in August, 1660, and he engaged Rhodes's +company of Players, including Betterton, Kynaston, Underhill, and Nokes. +Another Patent was granted to him, dated 15th January, 1663, (see copy +of Patent given _ante,_) under which he managed the theatre in Lincoln's +Inn Fields till his death in 1668. Davenant's company were called the +Duke's Players. The changes which were made in the conduct of the stage +during Davenant's career, such as the introduction of elaborate scenery +and the first appearance of women in plays, make it one of the first +interest and importance. (See Mr. Joseph Knight's Preface to his recent +edition of the "Roscius Anglicanus.")] + + +[Footnote 79: Thomas Killigrew (not "Henry" Killigrew, as Cibber +erroneously writes) was a very noted and daring humorist. He was a +faithful adherent of King Charles I., and at the Restoration was made a +Groom of the Bedchamber. He also received a Patent, dated 25th April, +1662, to raise a company of actors to be called the King's Players. +These acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Killigrew survived the +Union of the two Companies in 1682, dying on the 19th of March, 1683. He +cannot be said to have made much mark in theatrical history. The best +anecdote of Killigrew is that related by Granger, how he waited on +Charles II. one day dressed like a Pilgrim bound on a long journey. When +the King asked him whither he was going, he replied, "To Hell, to fetch +back Oliver Cromwell to take care of England, for his successor takes +none at all."] + + +[Footnote 80: It is curious to note that this theatre, which occupied +the same site as the present Drury Lane, was sometimes described as +Drury Lane, sometimes as Covent Garden.] + + +[Footnote 81: Should be Lincoln's Inn Fields. Dorset Garden, which was +situated in Salisbury Court, Fleet Street, was not opened till 1671.] + + +[Footnote 82: Genest (ii. 302) remarks on this: "How long this lasted +does not appear--it appears however that it lasted to Queen Anne's time, +as the alteration of 'Wit without Money' is dedicated to Thomas Newman, +Servant to her Majesty, one of the Gentlemen of the Great Chamber, and +Book-keeper and Prompter to her Majesty's Company of Comedians in the +Haymarket." Dr. Doran in his "Their Majesties' Servants" (1888 edition, +iii. 419), says that he was informed by Benjamin Webster that Baddeley +was the last actor who wore the uniform of scarlet and gold prescribed +for the Gentlemen of the Household, who were patented actors.] + + +[Footnote 83: The question of the identity of the first English actress +is a very intricate one. Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, in his "New History of +the English Stage," seems to incline to favour Anne Marshall, while Mr. +Joseph Knight, in his edition of the "Roscius Anglicanus," pronounces +for Mrs. Coleman. Davies says positively that "the first woman actress +was the mother of Norris, commonly called Jubilee Dicky." Thomas Jordan +wrote a Prologue "to introduce the first woman that came to act on the +stage," but as the lady's name is not given, this does not help us. The +distinction is also claimed for Mrs. Saunderson (afterwards Mrs. +Betterton) and Margaret Hughes. But since Mr. Knight has shown that the +performances in 1656 at Rutland House, where Mrs. Coleman appeared, were +for money, I do not see that we can escape from the conclusion that this +lady was the first English professional actress. Who the first actress +after the Restoration was is as yet unsettled.] + + +[Footnote 84: Meaning, no doubt, Nell Gwyn and Moll Davis.] + + +[Footnote 85: Genest points out (i. 404) that Cibber is not quite +accurate here. Shakespeare's and Fletcher's plays _may_ have been +shared; Jonson's certainly were not.] + + +[Footnote 86: See memoir of Hart at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 87: Genest says that this regulation "might be very proper at +the first restoration of the stage; but as a perpetual rule it was +absurd. Cibber approves of it, not considering that Betterton could +never have acted Othello, Brutus, or Hotspur (the very parts for which +Cibber praises him so much) if there had not been a junction of the +companies." Bellchambers, in a long note, also contests Cibber's +opinion.] + + +[Footnote 88: In the season 1735-6, in addition to the two Patent +Theatres, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, Giffard was playing at Goodman's +Fields Theatre, and Fielding, with his Great Mogul's Company of +Comedians, occupied the Haymarket. In 1736-7 Giffard played at the +Lincoln's-Inn-Fields Theatre, and Goodman's Fields was unused. The +Licensing Act of 1737 closed the two irregular houses, leaving only +Drury Lane and Covent Garden open.] + + +[Footnote 89: Cibber here refers to the Pantomimes, which he deals with +at some length in Chapter XV.] + + +[Footnote 90: Fielding ("Champion," 6th May, 1740): "Another Observation +which I have made on our Author's Similies is, that they generally have +an Eye towards the Kitchen. Thus, _page 56, Two Play-Houses are like +two_ PUDDINGS _or two_ LEGS OF MUTTON. _224. To plant young Actors is +not so easy as to plant_ CABBAGES. To which let me add a Metaphor in +_page 57_, where _unprofitable Praise can hardly give Truth a_ SOUP +MAIGRE."] + + +[Footnote 91: "Dramatic Operas" seem to have been first produced about +1672. In 1673 "The Tempest," made into an opera by Shadwell, was played +at Dorset Garden; "Pysche" followed in the next year, and "Circe" in +1677. "Macbeth," as altered by Davenant, was produced in 1672, "in the +nature of an Opera," as Downes phrases it.] + + +[Footnote 92: Dryden, in his "Prologue on the Opening of the New House" +in 1674, writes:-- + + "'Twere folly now a stately pile to raise, + To build a playhouse while you throw down plays; + While scenes, machines, and empty operas reign----" + +and the Prologue concludes with the lines:-- + + "'Tis to be feared---- + That, as a fire the former house o'erthrew, + Machines and Tempests will destroy the new." + +The allusion in the last line is to the opera of "The Tempest," which I +have mentioned in the previous note.] + + +[Footnote 93: + + "Probitas laudatur et alget." Juvenal, i. 74.] + + +[Footnote 94: In the Prologue to "The Emperor of the Moon," 1687, the +line occurred: "There's nothing lasting but the Puppet-show."] + + +[Footnote 95: + + "Ita populus studio stupidus in funambulo + Animum occuparat." + Terence, _Prol. to "Hecyra,"_ line 4.] + + +[Footnote 96: See memoir of Michael Mohun at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 97: See memoir of Cardell Goodman at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 98: Of Clark very little is known. The earliest play in which +his name is given by Downes is "The Plain-Dealer," which was produced at +the Theatre Royal in 1674, Clark playing Novel, a part of secondary +importance. His name appears to Massina in "Sophonisba," Hephestion in +"Alexander the Great," Dolabella in "All for Love," Aquitius in +"Mythridates," and (his last recorded part) the Earl of Essex, the +principal character in "The Unhappy Favourite," Theatre Royal, 1682. +After the Union of the Companies in 1682 his name does not occur. +Bellchambers has several trifling errors in the memoir he gives of +this actor.] + + +[Footnote 99: Curll ("History of the English Stage," p. 9) says: "The +Feuds and Animosities of the KING'S _Company_ were so well improved, as +to produce an Union betwixt the two Patents."] + + +[Footnote 100: Cibber gives the year as 1684, but this is so obviously a +slip that I venture to correct the text.] + + +[Footnote 101: Genest (ii. 62) remarks: "The theatre in Dorset +Garden had been built by subscription--the subscribers were called +Adventurers--of this Cibber seems totally ignorant--that there were +any new Adventurers, added to the original number, rests solely on +his authority, and in all probability he is not correct."] + + +[Footnote 102: Cibber afterwards relates the connection of Owen Swiney, +William Collier, M.P., and Sir Richard Steele, with himself and his +actor-partners.] + + +[Footnote 103: The only one of Cibber's contemporaries of any note who +was alive when the "Apology" was published, was Benjamin Johnson. This +admirable comedian died in August, 1742, in his seventy-seventh year, +having played as late as the end of May of that year.] + + +[Footnote 104: The actor pointed at is, no doubt, Wilks. In the last +chapter of this work Cibber, in giving the theatrical character of +Wilks, says of his Hamlet: "I own the Half of what he spoke was as +painful to my Ear, as every Line that came from Betterton was +charming."] + + +[Footnote 105: Barton Booth, who was probably as great in the part of +the Ghost as Betterton was in Hamlet, said, "When I acted the Ghost with +Betterton, instead of my awing him, he terrified me. But divinity hung +round that man!"--"Dram. Misc.," iii. 32.] + + +[Footnote 106: "The Laureat" repeats the eulogium of a gentleman who had +seen Betterton play Hamlet, and adds: "And yet, the same Gentleman +assured me, he has seen Mr. _Betterton_, more than once, play this +Character to an Audience of twenty Pounds, or under" (p. 32).] + + +[Footnote 107: _Ars Poetica_, 102. This is the much discussed question +of Diderot's "Paradoxe sur le Comédien," which has recently been revived +by Mr. Henry Irving and M. Coquelin, and has formed the subject of some +interesting studies by Mr. William Archer.] + + +[Footnote 108: This is doubtless directed at Booth, who was naturally of +an indolent disposition, and seems to have been, on occasions, apt to +drag through a part.] + + +[Footnote 109: Ausonius, II, 8 (_Epigram_, xi.).] + + +[Footnote 110: "Alexander the Great; or, the Rival Queens," +act ii. sc. 1.] + + +[Footnote 111: Bellchambers notes on this passage: "The criticisms of +Cibber upon a literary subject are hardly worth the trouble of +confuting, and yet it may be mentioned that Bishop Warburton adduced +these lines as containing not only the most sublime, but the most +judicious imagery that poetry can conceive. If Le Brun, or any other +artist, could not succeed in pourtraying the terrors of fortune, it +conveys, perhaps, the highest possible compliment to the powers of Lee, +to admit that he has mastered a difficulty beyond the most daring +aspirations of an accomplished painter." With all respect to Warburton +and Bellchambers, I cannot help remarking that this last sentence seems +to me perilously like nonsense.] + + +[Footnote 112: I can find no record of this revival, nor am I aware that +any other authority than Cibber mentions it. I am unable therefore even +to guess at a date.] + + +[Footnote 113: In 1706, in Betterton's own company at the Haymarket, +Verbruggen played Alexander. At Drury Lane, in 1704, Wilks had played +the part.] + + +[Footnote 114: Anthony Aston says that his voice "enforced universal +attention even from the Fops and Orange girls."] + + +[Footnote 115: Anthony Aston says of Mrs. Barry: "Neither she, nor any +of the Actors of those Times, had any Tone in their Speaking, (too much, +lately, in Use.)" But the line of criticism which Cibber takes up here +would lead to the conclusion that Aston is not strictly accurate; and, +moreover, I can scarcely imagine how, if these older actors used no +"tone," the employment of it should have been so general as it certainly +was a few years after Betterton's death. Victor ("History," ii. 164) +writes of "the good old Manner of singing and quavering out their tragic +Notes," and on the same page mentions Cibber's "quavering Tragedy +Tones." My view, also, is confirmed by the facts that in the preface to +"The Fairy Queen," 1692, it is said: "he must be a very ignorant Player, +who knows not there is a Musical Cadence in speaking; and that a Man may +as well speak out of Tune, as sing out of Tune;" and that Aaron Hill, in +his dedication of "The Fatal Vision," 1716, reprobates the "affected, +vicious, and unnatural tone of voice, so common on the stage at that +time." See Genest, iv. 16-17. An admirable description of this method of +reciting is given by Cumberland ("Memoirs," 2nd edition, i. 80): "Mrs. +Cibber in a key, high-pitched but sweet withal, sung, or rather +recitatived Rowe's harmonious strain, something in the manner of the +Improvisatories: it was so extremely wanting in contrast, that, though +it did not wound the ear, it wearied it." Cumberland is writing of Mrs. +Cibber in the earlier part of her career (1746), when the teaching of +her husband's father, Colley Cibber, influenced her acting: no doubt +Garrick, who exploded the old way of speaking, made her ultimately +modify her style. Yet as she was, even in 1746, a very distinguished +pathetic actress, we are forced to the conclusion that the old style +must have been more effective than we are disposed to believe.] + + +[Footnote 116: As Dr. Johnson puts it in his famous Prologue (1747):-- + + "Ah! let no Censure term our Fate our Choice, + The Stage but echoes back the public Voice; + The Drama's Laws the Drama's Patrons give, + For we, that live to please, must please to live."] + + +[Footnote 117: "Amphytrion" was played in 1690. The Dedication is dated +24th October, 1690.] + + +[Footnote 118: Downes ("Roscius Anglicanus," p. 34) relates Lee's +misadventure, which he attributes to stage-fright. He says of Otway the +poet, that on his first appearance "_the full House put him to such a +Sweat and Tremendous Agony, being dash't, spoilt him for an Actor. Mr._ +Nat. Lee, _had the same Fate in Acting_ Duncan _in_ Macbeth, _ruin'd him +for an Actor too_."] + + +[Footnote 119: See memoir of Estcourt at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 120: It will be remembered that the Elder Mathews, the most +extraordinary mimic of modern times, had this same power in great +perfection. See his "Memoirs," iii. 153-156.] + + +[Footnote 121: Cibber has been charged with gross unfairness to +Estcourt, and his unfavourable estimate of him has been attributed to +envy; but Estcourt's ability seems to have been at least questionable. +This matter will be found treated at some length in the memoir of +Estcourt in the Appendix to this work.] + + +[Footnote 122: "His voice was low and grumbling."--Anthony Aston.] + + +[Footnote 123: In Otway's tragedy of "The Orphan," produced at Dorset +Garden in 1680, Betterton was the original Castalio.] + + +[Footnote 124: See memoir of Betterton at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 125: 13th April, 1710.] + + +[Footnote 126: In the "Tatler," No. 167, in which the famous criticism +of Betterton's excellencies is given, his funeral is stated to have +taken place on 2nd May, 1710.] + + +[Footnote 127: I do not know whether Cibber in making this remark had in +view Gildon's Life of Betterton, in which there are twenty pages of +memoir to one hundred and fifty of dissertation on acting.] + + +[Footnote 128: This seems to have been done to a very limited extent. +The first unquestionable date on which, after 1660, women appeared is +3rd January, 1661, when Pepys saw "The Beggar's Bush" at the Theatre, +that is, Killigrew's house, and notes, "and here the first time that +ever I saw women come upon the stage." At the same theatre he had seen +the same play on 20th November, 1660, the female parts being then played +by men. Thomas Jordan wrote "_A Prologue, to introduce the first woman +that came to act on the stage, in the tragedy called_ The Moor of +Venice" (quoted by Malone, "Shakespeare," 1821, iii. 128), and Malone +supposes justly as I think, that this was on 8th December, 1660; on +which date, in all probability, the first woman appeared on the stage +after the Restoration. Who she was we do not know. See _ante_, p. 90. On +7th January, 1661, Kynaston played Epicoene in "The Silent Woman," and +on 12th January, 1661, Pepys saw "The Scornful Lady," "now done by a +woman." On the 4th of the same month Pepys had seen the latter play with +a man in the chief part, so that it is almost certain that the +"boy-actresses" disappeared about the beginning of 1661.] + + +[Footnote 129: "The Laureat" (p. 33): "I am of Opinion, _Booth_ was not +wrong in this. There are many of the Sentiments in this Character, where +Nature and common Sense are outraged; and an Actor, who shou'd give the +full comic Utterance to them in his Delivery, would raise what they call +a _Horse-Laugh_, and turn it into Burlesque." + +On the other hand, Theophilus Cibber, in his Life of Booth, p. 72, +supports his father's opinion, saying:-- + +"The Remark is just--Mr. _Booth_ would sometimes slur over such +bold Sentiments, so flightily delivered by the Poet. As he was +good-natured--and would 'hear each Man's Censure, yet reserve his +Judgment,'--I once took the Liberty of observing, that he had neglected +(as I thought) giving that kind of spirited Turn in the afore-mentioned +Character--He told me I was mistaken; it was not Negligence, but Design +made him so slightly pass them over:--For though, added he, in these +places one might raise a Laugh of Approbation in a few,--yet there is +nothing more unsafe than exciting the Laugh of Simpletons, who never +know when or where to stop; and, as the Majority are not always the +wisest Part of an Audience,--I don't chuse to run the hazard."] + + +[Footnote 130: A long account of the production of "Cato" is given by +Cibber in Chap. XIV. From the cast quoted in a note, it will be seen +that Cibber himself was the original Syphax.] + + +[Footnote 131: "The Laureat" (p. 33): "I have seen the Original _Syphax_ +in _Cato_, use many ridiculous Distortions, crack in his Voice, and +wreathe his Muscles and his Limbs, which created not a Smile of +Approbation, but a loud Laugh of Contempt and Ridicule on the Actor." On +page 34: "In my Opinion, the Part of _Syphax_, as it was originally +play'd, was the only Part in _Cato_ not tolerably executed."] + + +[Footnote 132: Bellchambers on this passage has one of those aggravating +notes, in which he seems to try to blacken Cibber as much as possible. I +confess that I can see nothing of the "venom" he resents so vigorously. +He says:-- + +"Theophilus Cibber, in the tract already quoted, expressly states, that +Booth 'was not so scrupulously nice or timerous' in this character, as +in that to which our author has invidiously referred. I shall give the +passage, for its powerful antidote to Colley's venom:-- + +"Mr. _Booth_, in this part, though he gave full Scope to the Humour, +never dropped the Dignity of the Character--You laughed at _Henry_, +but lost not your Respect for him.--When he appeared most familiar, +he was by no means vulgar.--The People most about him felt the Ease +they enjoyed was owing to his Condescension.--He maintained the +Monarch.--_Hans Holbein_ never gave a higher Picture of him than did +the actor (_Booth_) in his Representation. When angry, his Eye spoke +majestic Terror; the noblest and the bravest of his Courtiers were +awe-struck--He gave you the full Idea of that arbitrary Prince, who +thought himself born to be obeyed;--the boldest dared not to dispute his +Commands:--He appeared to claim a Right Divine to exert the Power he +imperiously assumed.' (p. 75)." ] + + +[Footnote 133: + + "Spirat Tragicum satis et feliciter audet." + Hor. _Epis._ ii. I, 166.] + + +[Footnote 134: "Aurenge-Zebe; or, the Great Mogul," act iv.] + + +[Footnote 135: Kynaston was the original Morat at the Theatre Royal in +1675; Hart the Aurenge-Zebe.] + + +[Footnote 136: "King Henry IV.," First Part, act i. sc. 3.] + + +[Footnote 137: See memoir of Kynaston at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 138: Downes spells Mountfort's name Monfort and Mounfort.] + + +[Footnote 139: "Spanish Friar," act ii. sc. 1.] + + +[Footnote 140: Willmore, in Mrs. Behn's "Rover," of which Smith was the +original representative.] + + +[Footnote 141: In Crowne's "Sir Courtly Nice," produced at the Theatre +Royal in 1685.] + + +[Footnote 142: William Mountfort was born in 1659 or 1660. He became a +member of the Duke's Company as a boy, and Downes says that in 1682 he +had grown to the maturity of a good actor. In the "Counterfeits," +licensed 29th August, 1678, the Boy is played by Young _Mumford_, and in +"The Revenge," produced in 1680, the same name stands to the part of +Jack, the Barber's Boy. After the Union in 1682 he made rapid progress, +for he played his great character of Sir Courtly Nice as early as 1685. +In this Cibber gives him the highest praise; and Downes says, "Sir +Courtly was so nicely Perform'd, that not any succeeding, but Mr. +_Cyber_ has Equall'd him." Mountfort was killed by one Captain Hill, +aided, it is supposed, by the Lord Mohun who died in that terrible duel +with the Duke of Hamilton, in 1712, in which they hacked each other to +death. Whether Hill murdered Mountfort or killed him in fair fight is a +doubtful point. (See Doran's "Their Majesties' Servants," 1888 edition, +i. 169-172; see also memoir at end of second volume.)] + + +[Footnote 143: Creon (Dryden and Lee's "OEdipus"); Malignii (Porter's +"Villain"); Machiavil (Lee's "Cæsar Borgia").] + + +[Footnote 144: The "Tatler," No. 134: "I must own, there is something +very horrid in the publick Executions of an _English_ Tragedy. Stabbing +and Poisoning, which are performed behind the Scenes in other Nations, +must be done openly among us to gratify the Audience. + +When poor _Sandford_ was upon the Stage, I have seen him groaning upon a +Wheel, stuck with Daggers, impaled alive, calling his Executioners, with +a dying Voice, Cruel Dogs, and Villains! And all this to please his +judicious Spectators, who were wonderfully delighted with seeing a Man +in Torment so well acted."] + + +[Footnote 145: Bellchambers notes: "This anecdote has more vivacity +than truth, for the audience were too much accustomed to see Sandford +in parts of even a comic nature, to testify the impatience or +disappointment which Mr. Cibber has described." I may add that I have +been unable to discover any play to which the circumstances mentioned by +Cibber would apply. But it must not be forgotten that, if the play were +damned as completely as Cibber says, it would probably not be printed, +and we should thus in all probability have no record of it.] + + +[Footnote 146: Probably the Earl of Shaftesbury.] + + +[Footnote 147: Macready seems to have held something like this view +regarding "villains." At the present time we have no such prejudices, +for one of the most popular of English actors, Mr. E. S. Willard, owes +his reputation chiefly to his wonderfully vivid presentation of +villainy.] + + +[Footnote 148: The play in question is "The Triumphs of Virtue," +produced at Drury Lane in 1697, and the actress is Mrs. Rogers, who +afterwards lived with Wilks. The lines in the Epilogue are:-- + + "I'll pay this duteous gratitude; I'll do + That which the play has done--I'll copy you. + At your own virtue's shrine my vows I'll pay, + Study to live the character I play."] + + +[Footnote 149: Chetwood gives a short memoir of this "first-born," who +became the wife of Christopher Bullock, and died in 1739. Mrs. Dyer was +the only child of Mrs. Bullock's mentioned by Chetwood.] + + +[Footnote 150: See memoir of Sandford at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 151: It is a very common mistake to state that Cibber founded +his playing of Richard III. on that of Sandford. He merely says that he +tried to act the part as he knew Sandford _would_ have played it.] + + +[Footnote 152: Cibber's adaptation, which has held the stage ever since +its production, was first played at Drury Lane in 1700. Genest (ii. +195-219) gives an exhaustive account of Cibber's mutilation. His opinion +of it may be gathered from these sentences: "One has no wish to disturb +Cibber's own Tragedies in their tranquil graves, but while our +indignation continues to be excited by the frequent representation of +Richard the 3d in so disgraceful a state, there can be no peace between +the friends of unsophisticated Shakspeare and Cibber." "To the advocates +for Cibber's Richard I only wish to make one request--that they would +never say a syllable in favour of Shakspeare."] + + +[Footnote 153: "The Laureat" (p. 35): "This same Mender of Shakespear +chose the principal Part, _viz. the King_, for himself; and accordingly +being invested with the purple Robe, he screamed thro' four Acts without +Dignity or Decency. The Audience ill-pleas'd with the Farce, accompany'd +him with a smile of Contempt, but in the fifth Act, he degenerated all +at once into Sir _Novelty_; and when in the Heat of the Battle at +_Bosworth Field_, the King is dismounted, our Comic-Tragedian came on +the Stage, really breathless, and in a seeming Panick, screaming out +this Line thus--_A Harse, a Harse, my Kingdom for a Harse_. This highly +delighted some, and disgusted others of his Auditors; and when he was +kill'd by _Richmond_, one might plainly perceive that the good People +were not better pleas'd that so _execrable a Tyrant_ was destroy'd, than +that so _execrable an Actor_ was silent."] + + +[Footnote 154: James Noke, or Nokes--not _Robert_, as Bellchambers +states. Of Robert Nokes little is known. Downes mentions both actors +among Rhodes's original Company, Robert playing male characters, and +James being one of the "boy-actresses." Downes does not distinguish +between them at all, simply mentioning "Mr. Nokes" as playing particular +parts. Robert Nokes died about 1673, so that we are certain that the +famous brother was James.] + + +[Footnote 155: "The Comical Revenge; or, Love in a Tub."] + + +[Footnote 156: Of these plays, "The Spanish Friar," "The Soldier's +Fortune," and "Amphytrion" were produced after Robert Nokes's death.] + + +[Footnote 157: See memoir of James Nokes at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 158: "_Coligni_, the character alluded to, at the original +representation of this play, was sustained, says Downs, 'by that +inimitable sprightly actor, Mr. Price,--especially in this part.' Joseph +Price joined D'Avenant's company on Rhodes's resignation, being one +of 'the new actors,' according to the 'Roscius Anglicanus,' who were +'taken in to complete' it. He is first mentioned for _Guildenstern_, +in 'Hamlet;' and, in succession, for _Leonel_, in D'Avenant's 'Love +and Honour,' on which occasion the Earl of Oxford gave him his +coronation-suit; for _Paris_, in 'Romeo and Juliet;' the _Corregidor_, +in Tuke's 'Adventures of five hours;' and _Coligni_, as already +recorded. In the year 1663, by speaking a 'short comical prologue' to +the 'Rivals,' introducing some 'very diverting dances,' Mr. Price +'gained him an universal applause of the town.' The versatility of this +actor must have been great, or the necessities of the company imperious, +as we next find him set down for _Lord Sands_, in 'King Henry the +Eighth.' He then performed _Will_, in the 'Cutter of Coleman-street,' +and is mentioned by Downs as being dead, in the year 1673." + +The above is Bellchambers's note. He is wrong in stating that Price +played the Corregidor in Tuke's "Adventures of Five Hours;" his part was +Silvio. He omits, too, to mention one of Price's best parts, Dufoy, in +"Love in a Tub," in which Downes specially commends him in this queer +couplet:-- + + "Sir Nich'las, Sir Fred'rick; Widow and Dufoy, + Were not by any so well done, Mafoy." + +Price does not seem to have acted after May, 1665, when the theatres +closed for the Plague, for his name is never mentioned by Downes after +the theatres re-opened in November, 1666, after the Plague and Fire.] + + +[Footnote 159: "Sir Solomon; or, the Cautious Coxcomb," by John Caryll.] + + +[Footnote 160: By Otway.] + + +[Footnote 161: By Shadwell.] + + +[Footnote 162: "Rest" is a term used in tennis, and seems to have meant +a quick and continued returning of the ball from one player to the +other--what is in lawn tennis called a "rally." + +Cibber uses the word in his "Careless Husband," act iv. sc. 1. + +"_Lady Betty_ [to Lord Morelove]. Nay, my lord, there's no standing +against two of you. + +_Lord Foppington._ No, faith, that's odds at tennis, my lord: not but if +your ladyship pleases, I'll endeavour to keep your back-hand a little; +though upon my soul you may safely set me up at the line: for, knock me +down, if ever I saw a rest of wit better played, than that last, in my +life." + +In the only dictionary in which I have found this word "Rest," it is +given as "A match, a game;" but, as I think I have shown, this is a +defective explanation. I may add that, since writing the above, I have +been favoured with the opinion of Mr. Julian Marshall, the distinguished +authority on tennis, who confirms my view.] + + +[Footnote 163: By Durfey.] + + +[Footnote 164: Bartoline. Genest suggests that this character was +intended for the Whig lawyer, Serjeant Maynard. The play was written by +Crowne.] + + +[Footnote 165: See memoir of Pinkethman at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 166: In this farce, written by Mrs. Behn, and produced in +1687, Jevon was the original Harlequin. Pinkethman played the part in +1702, and played it without the mask on 18th September, 1702. The "Daily +Courant" of that date contains an advertisement in which it is stated +that "At the Desire of some Persons of Quality ... will be presented a +Comedy, call'd, _The Emperor of the Moon_, wherein Mr. _Penkethman_ acts +the part of _Harlequin_ without a Masque, for the Entertainment of an +_African_ Prince lately arrived here."] + + +[Footnote 167: This refers to "Art and Nature," a comedy by James +Miller, produced at Drury Lane 16th February, 1738. The principal +character in "Harlequin Sauvage" was introduced into it and played by +Theophilus Cibber. The piece was damned the first night, but it must not +be forgotten that the Templars damned everything of Miller's on account +of his supposed insult to them in his farce of "The Coffee House." +Bellchambers says the piece referred to by Cibber was "The Savage," 8vo, +1736; but this does not seem ever to have been acted.] + + +[Footnote 168: This probably refers to the incident related by Davies in +his "Dramatic Miscellanies":--"In the play of the 'Recruiting Officer,' +Wilks was the Captain _Plume_, and Pinkethman one of the recruits. The +captain, when he enlisted him, asked his name: instead of answering as +he ought, Pinkey replied, 'Why! don't you know my name, Bob? I thought +every fool had known that!' Wilks, in rage, whispered to him the name of +the recruit, _Thomas Appletree_. The other retorted aloud, '_Thomas +Appletree_? Thomas Devil! my name is Will Pinkethman:' and, immediately +addressing an inhabitant of the upper regions, he said 'Hark you, +friend; don't you know my name?'--'Yes, Master Pinkey,' said a +respondent, 'we know it very well.' The play-house was now in an uproar: +the audience, at first, enjoyed the petulant folly of Pinkethman, and +the distress of Wilks; but, in the progress of the joke, it grew +tiresome, and Pinkey met with his deserts, a very severe reprimand in a +hiss; and this mark of displeasure he changed into applause, by crying +out, with a countenance as melancholy as he could make it, in a loud and +nasal twang, 'Odso! I fear I am wrong'" (iii. 89).] + + +[Footnote 169: See memoir of Leigh at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 170: By Shadwell.] + + +[Footnote 171: Underhill seems to have partially retired about the +beginning of 1707. He played Sir Joslin Jolley on 5th December, 1706, +but Bullock played it on 9th January, 1707, and, two days after, Johnson +played Underhill's part of the First Gravedigger. Underhill, however, +played in "The Rover" on 20th January, 1707. The benefit Cibber refers +to took place on 3rd June, 1709. Underhill played the Gravedigger again +on 23rd February, 1710, and on 12th May, 1710, for his benefit, he +played Trincalo in "The Tempest." Genest says he acted at Greenwich on +26th August, 1710. The advertisement in the "Tatler" (26th May, 1709) +runs: "Mr. Cave Underhill, the famous Comedian in the Reigns of K. +Charles ii. K. James ii. K. William and Q. Mary, and her present Majesty +Q. Anne; but now not able to perform so often as heretofore in the +Play-house, and having had losses to the value of near £2,500, is to +have the Tragedy of Hamlet acted for his Benefit, on Friday the third of +June next, at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, in which he is to perform +his Original Part, the Grave-Maker. Tickets may be had at the +Mitre-Tavern in Fleet-Street." See also memoir of Underhill at end of +second volume.] + + +[Footnote 172: See memoir of Powel at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 173: John Verbruggen, whose name Downes spells "Vanbruggen," +"Vantbrugg," and "Verbruggen," is first recorded as having played +Termagant in "The Squire of Alsatia," at the Theatre Royal, in 1688. His +name last appears in August, 1707, and he must have died not long after. +On 26th April, 1708, a benefit was announced for "a young orphan child +of the late Mr. and Mrs. Verbruggen." He seems to have been an actor of +great natural power, but inartistic in method. See what Anthony Aston +says of him. Cibber unfairly, as we must think, seems carefully to avoid +mentioning him as of any importance. "The Laureat," p. 58, says: "I +wonder, considering our Author's Particularity of Memory, that he hardly +ever mentions Mr. _Verbruggen_, who was in many Characters an excellent +Actor.... I cannot conceive why _Verbruggen_ is left out of the Number +of his excellent Actors; whether some latent Grudge, _alta Mente +repostum_, has robb'd him of his Immortality in this Work." See also +memoir of Verbruggen at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 174: See memoir of Williams at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 175: Produced at the Theatre Royal in 1692.] + + +[Footnote 176: In Chapter IX. of this work Cibber gives an elaborate +account of Mrs. Oldfield. He remarks there that, after her joining the +company, "she remain'd about a Twelvemonth almost a Mute, and +unheeded."] + + +[Footnote 177: See memoir of Mrs. Barry at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 178: In "The Orphan," produced at Dorset Garden in 1680, and +in "Venice Preserved," produced at the same theatre in 1682.] + + +[Footnote 179: In "The Rival Queens." Mrs. Marshall was the original +Roxana, at the Theatre Royal in 1677. So far as we know, Mrs. Barry had +not played Cleopatra (Dryden's "All for Love") when Dryden wrote the +eulogy Cibber quotes. Mrs. Boutell originally acted the part, Theatre +Royal, 1678.] + + +[Footnote 180: Bellchambers contradicts Cibber, saying that the +Agreement of 14th October, 1681 [see Memoir of Hart], shows that +benefits existed then. The words referred to are, "the day the young men +or young women play for their own profit only." But this day set aside +for the young people playing was, I think, quite a different matter from +a benefit to a particular performer. Pepys (21st March, 1667) says, "The +young men and women of the house ... having liberty to act for their own +profit on Wednesdays and Fridays this Lent." These were evidently +"scratch" performances on "off" nights; and it is to these, I think, +that the agreement quoted refers.] + + +[Footnote 181: As Dr. Doran points out ("Their Majesties' Servants," +1888 edition, i. 160) this does not settle the question so easily as +Cibber supposes. Twelve Tory peers were created by Queen Anne in the +last few days of 1711, and Mrs. Barry did not die till the end of 1713.] + + +[Footnote 182: See memoir of Mrs. Betterton at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 183: Downes includes Mrs. Leigh among the recruits to the +Duke's Company about 1670. He does not give her maiden name, but Genest +supposes she may have been the daughter of Dixon, one of Rhodes's +Company. As there are two actresses of the name of Mrs. Leigh, and one +Mrs. Lee, and as no reliance can be placed on the spelling of names in +the casts of plays, it is practically impossible to decide accurately +the parts each played. This Mrs. Leigh seems to have been Elizabeth, and +her name does not appear after 1707, the Eli. Leigh who signed the +petition to Queen Anne in 1709 being probably a younger woman. +Bellchambers has a most inaccurate note regarding Mrs. Leigh, stating +that she "is probably not a distinct person from Mrs. Mary Lee."] + + +[Footnote 184: Mrs. Charlotte Butler is mentioned by Downes as entering +the Duke's Company about the year 1673. By 1691 she occupied an +important position as an actress, and in 1692 her name appears to the +part of La Pupsey in Durfey's "Marriage-Hater Matched." This piece must +have been produced early in the year, for Ashbury, by whom, as Cibber +relates, she was engaged for Dublin, opened his season on 23rd March, +1692. Hitchcock, in his "View of the Irish Stage," describes her as "an +actress of great repute, and a prodigious favourite with King Charles +the Second" (i. 21).] + + +[Footnote 185: Chetwood gives a long account of Joseph Ashbury. He was +born in 1638, and served for some years in the army. By the favour of +the Duke of Ormond, then Lord Lieutenant, Ashbury was appointed +successively Deputy-Master and Master of the Revels in Ireland. The +latter appointment he seems to have received in 1682, though Hitchcock +says "1672." Ashbury managed the Dublin Theatre with propriety and +success, and was considered not only the principal actor in his time +there, but the best teacher of acting in the three kingdoms. Chetwood, +who saw him in his extreme old age, pronounced him admirable both in +Tragedy and Comedy. He died in 1720, at the great age of eighty-two.] + + +[Footnote 186: This artistic sense was shown also by Margaret +Woffington. Davies ("Life of Garrick," 4th edition, i. 315) writes: "in +Mrs. Day, in the Committee, she made no scruple to disguise her +beautiful countenance, by drawing on it the lines of deformity and the +wrinkles of old age, and to put on the tawdry habiliments and vulgar +manners of an old hypocritical city vixen."] + + +[Footnote 187: In "The Scornful Lady."] + + +[Footnote 188: "The Bath; or, the Western Lass," produced at Drury Lane +in 1701.] + + +[Footnote 189: It is curious to compare with this Anthony Aston's +outspoken criticism on Mrs. Mountfort's personal appearance.] + + +[Footnote 190: Anthony Aston says "Melantha was her Master-piece." +Dryden's comedy was produced at the Theatre Royal in 1672, when Mrs. +Boutell played Melantha.] + + +[Footnote 191: Act ii. scene 1.] + + +[Footnote 192: Mrs. Mountfort, originally Mrs. (that is Miss) Percival, +and afterwards Mrs. Verbruggen, is first mentioned as the representative +of Winifrid, a young Welsh jilt, in "Sir Barnaby Whigg," a comedy +produced at the Theatre Royal in 1681. As Diana, in "The Lucky Chance" +(1687), Genest gives her name as Mrs. Mountfort, late Mrs. Percival; so +that her marriage with Mountfort must have taken place about the end of +1686 or beginning of 1687. Mountfort was killed in 1692, and in 1694 the +part of Mary the Buxom, in "Don Quixote," part first, is recorded by +Genest as played by Mrs. Verbruggen, late Mrs. Mountfort. In 1702, in +the "Comparison between the Two Stages," Gildon pronounces her "a +miracle." In 1703 she died. She was the original representative of, +among other characters, Nell, in "Devil of a Wife;" Belinda, in "The Old +Bachelor;" Lady Froth, in "The Double Dealer;" Charlott Welldon, in +"Oroonoko;" Berinthia, in "Relapse;" Lady Lurewell; Lady Brumpton, in +"The Funeral;" Hypolita, in "She Would and She Would Not;" and Hillaria, +in "Tunbridge Walks."] + + +[Footnote 193: Bellchambers has here a most uncharitable note, which I +quote as curious, though I must add that there is not a shadow of proof +of the truth of it. + +"Mrs. Bracegirdle was decidedly not 'unguarded' in her conduct, for +though the object of general suspicion, no proof of positive unchastity +was ever brought against her. Her intrigue with Mountfort, who lost his +life in consequence of it,{A} is hardly to be disputed, and there is +pretty ample evidence that Congreve was honoured with a gratification of +his amorous desires.{B} + + {Subnote A: "'We had not parted with him as many minutes as + a man may beget his likeness in, but who should we meet but + Mountfort the player, looking as pale as a ghost, sailing + forward as gently as a caterpillar 'cross a sycamore leaf, + gaping for a little air, like a sinner just come out of the + powdering-tub, crying out as he crept towards us, "O my back! + Confound 'em for a pack of brimstones: O my back!"--"How now, + _Sir Courtly_," said I, "what the devil makes thee in this + pickle?"--"O, gentlemen," says he, "I am glad to see you; but + I am troubled with such a weakness in my back, that it makes + me bend like a superannuated fornicator." "Some strain," said + I, "got in the other world, with overheaving yourself."--"What + matters it how 'twas got," says he; "can you tell me anything + that's good for it?" "Yes," said I; "get a warm girdle and tie + round you; 'tis an excellent corroborative to strengthen the + loins."--"Pox on you," says he, "for a bantering dog! how can + a single _girdle_ do me good, when a _Brace_ was my + destruction?"'--Brown's 'Letters from the Dead to the Living' + [1744, ii. 186].} + + {Subnote B: "In one of those infamous collections known by the + name of 'Poems on State Affairs' [iv. 49], there are several + obvious, though coarse and detestable, hints of this + connexion. Collier's severity against the stage is thus + sarcastically deprecated, in a short piece called the + 'Benefits of a Theatre.' + + Shall a place be put down, when we see it affords + _Fit wives for great poets_, and whores for great lords? + Since _Angelica_, bless'd with a singular grace, + Had, by her fine acting, preserv'd all his plays, + In an amorous rapture, young _Valentine_ said, + One so fit for his plays might be fit for his bed. + + "The allusion to Congreve and Mrs. Bracegirdle wants, of + course, no corroboration; but the hint at their marriage, + broached in the half line I have italicised, is a curious + though unauthorized fact. From the verses I shall continue to + quote, it will appear that this marriage between the parties, + though thought to be private, was currently believed; it is an + expedient that has often been used, in similar cases, to cover + the nakedness of outrageous lust. + + He warmly pursues her, she yielded her charms, + And bless'd the kind youngster in her kinder arms: + But at length the poor nymph did for justice implore, + And _he's married her now_, though he'd ---- her before. + + "On a subsequent page of the same precious miscellany, there + is a most offensive statement of the cause which detached our + great comic writer from the object of his passion. The thing + is too filthy to be even described."}] + + +[Footnote 194: Rowe and Congreve.] + + +[Footnote 195: In Congreve's "Way of the World."] + + +[Footnote 196: Cibber's chronology is a little shaky here. Mrs. +Bracegirdle's name appeared for the last time in the bill of 20th +February, 1707. Betterton's benefit, for which she returned to the stage +for one night, took place on 7th April, 1709.] + + +[Footnote 197: Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle made her first appearance on the +stage as a very young child. In the cast of Otway's "Orphan," 1680, the +part of Cordelio, Polydore's Page, is said to be played by "the little +girl," who, Curll ("History," p. 26) informs us, was Anne Bracegirdle, +then less than six years of age. In 1688 her name appears to the part of +Lucia in "The Squire of Alsatia;" but it is not till 1691 that she can +be said to have regularly entered upon her career as an actress. She was +the original representative of some of the most famous heroines in +comedy: Araminta, in "The Old Bachelor;" Cynthia, in "The Double +Dealer;" Angelica, in "Love for Love;" Belinda, in "The Provoked Wife;" +Millamant; Flippanta, in "The Confederacy," and many others. Mrs. +Bracegirdle appears to have been a good and excellent woman, as well as +a great actress. All the scandal about her seems to have had no further +foundation than, to quote Genest, "the extreme difficulty with which an +actress at this period of the stage must have preserved her chastity." +Genest goes on to remark, with delicious _naïveté_, "Mrs. Bracegirdle +was perhaps a woman of a cold constitution." Her retirement from the +stage when not much over thirty is accounted for by Curll, by a story of +a competition between her and Mrs. Oldfield in the part of Mrs. Brittle +in "The Amorous Widow," in which the latter was the more applauded. He +says that they played the part on two successive nights; but I have +carefully examined Dr. Burney's MSS. in the British Museum for the +season 1706-7, and "The Amorous Widow" was certainly not played twice +successively. I doubt the story altogether. That Mrs. Bracegirdle +retired because Mrs. Oldfield was excelling her in popular estimation is +most likely, but I can find no confirmation whatever for Curll's story. +"The Laureat," p. 36, attributes her retirement to Mrs. Oldfield's being +"preferr'd to some Parts before her, by our very _Apologist_"; but +though the reason thus given is probably accurate, the person blamed is +as probably guiltless; for I do not think Cibber could have sufficient +authority to distribute parts in 1706-7. Mrs. Bracegirdle died +September, 1748, but was dead to the stage from 1709. Cibber's remark on +p. 99 had therefore no reference to her.] + + +[Footnote 198: Cibber writes here with feeling; for, after his +"Nonjuror" abused the Jacobites and Nonjurors, that party took every +opportunity of revenging themselves on him by maltreating his plays.] + + +[Footnote 199: See _ante_, p. 63, for an allusion to this passage by +Fielding in "The Champion."] + + +[Footnote 200: Æneid, i. 630.] + + +[Footnote 201: This is a curious statement, and has never, so far as I +know, been commented on; the cause of Cibber's retirement having always +been considered mysterious. I suppose this reference to ill-treatment +must be held as confirming Davies's statement that the public lost +patience at Cibber's continually playing tragic parts, and fairly hissed +him off the stage. Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 471) relates the +following incident: "When Thomson's Sophonisba was read to the actors, +Cibber laid his hand upon Scipio, a character, which, though it appears +only in the last act, is of great dignity and importance. For two nights +successively, Cibber was as much exploded as any bad actor could be. +Williams, by desire of Wilks, made himself master of the part; but he, +marching slowly, in great military distinction, from the upper part of +the stage, and wearing the same dress as Cibber, was mistaken for him, +and met with repeated hisses, joined to the music of cat-cals; but, as +soon as the audience were undeceived, they converted their groans and +hisses to loud and long continued applause."] + + +[Footnote 202: Cibber retired in May, 1733. The reappearance he refers +to was not that he made in 1738, as Bellchambers states. He no doubt +alludes to his performances in 1734-35, when he played Bayes, Lord +Foppington, Sir John Brute, and other comedy parts. On the nights he +played, the compliment was paid him of putting no name in the bill but +his own.] + + +[Footnote 203: The original holders of the Patents, Sir William Davenant +and Thomas Killigrew, were dead in 1690; and their successors, Alexander +Davenant, to whom Charles Davenant had assigned his interest, and +Charles Killigrew, seem to have taken little active interest in the +management; for Christopher Rich, who acquired Davenant's share in 1691, +seems at once to have become managing proprietor.] + + +[Footnote 204: Davies ("Dramatic Miscellanies," iii. 444) gives the +following account of Cibber's first salary: "But Mr. Richard Cross, late +prompter of Drury-lane theatre, gave me the following history of Colley +Cibber's first establishment as a hired actor. He was known only, for +some years, by the name of Master Colley. After waiting impatiently a +long time for the prompter's notice, by good fortune he obtained the +honour of carrying a message on the stage, in some play, to Betterton. +Whatever was the cause, Master Colley was so terrified, that the scene +was disconcerted by him. Betterton asked, in some anger, who the young +fellow was that had committed the blunder. Downes replied, 'Master +Colley.'--'Master Colley! then forfeit him.'--'Why, sir,' said the +prompter, 'he has no salary.'--'No!' said the old man; 'why then put him +down ten shillings a week, and forfeit him 5_s._'"] + + +[Footnote 205: Complexion is a point of no importance now, and this +allusion suggests a theory to me which I give with all diffidence. We +know that actresses painted in Pepys's time ("1667, Oct. 5. But, Lord! +To see how they [Nell Gwynne and Mrs. Knipp] were both painted would +make a man mad, and did make me loathe them"), and we also know that +Dogget was famous for the painting of his face to represent old age. If, +then, complexion was a point of importance for a lover, as Cibber +states, it suggests that young actors playing juvenile parts did not use +any "make-up" or paint, but went on the stage in their natural +complexion. The lighting of the stage was of course much less brilliant +than it afterwards became, so that "make-up" was not so necessary.] + + +[Footnote 206: "The Laureat" (p. 103) describes Cibber's person thus:-- + +"He was in Stature of the middle Size, his Complexion fair, inclinable +to the Sandy, his Legs somewhat of the thickest, his Shape a little +clumsy, not irregular, and his Voice rather shrill than loud or +articulate, and crack'd extremely, when he endeavour'd to raise it. +He was in his younger Days so lean, as to be known by the Name of +_Hatchet Face_."] + + +[Footnote 207: Bellchambers notes that this part was originally played +by Percival, who came into the Duke's Company about 1673.] + + +[Footnote 208: Of Cibber's wife there is little record. In 1695 the name +of "Mrs. Cibbars" appears to the part of Galatea in "Philaster," and she +was the original Hillaria in Cibber's "Love's Last Shift" in 1696; but +she never made any great name or played any famous part. She was a Miss +Shore, sister of John Shore, "Sergeant-trumpet" of England. The +"Biographia Dramatica" (i. 117) says that Miss Shore's father was +extremely angry at her marriage, and spent that portion of his fortune +which he had intended for her in building a retreat on the Thames which +was called Shore's Folly.] + + +[Footnote 209: "The Double Dealer," 1693, was not very successful, and +when played at Lincoln's Inn Fields, 18th October, 1718, was announced +as not having been acted for fifteen years; so that this incident no +doubt occurred in the course of the first few nights of the play, which, +Malone says, was produced in November, 1693.] + + +[Footnote 210: "The Prophetess," now supposed to be mostly Fletcher's +work (see Ward's "English Dramatic Literature," ii. 218), was made into +an opera by Betterton, the music by Purcell. It was produced in 1690, +with a Prologue written by Dryden, which, for political reasons, was +forbidden by the Lord Chamberlain after the first night.] + + +[Footnote 211: "King Arthur; or, the British Worthy," a Dramatic Opera, +as Dryden entitles it, was produced in 1691. In his Dedication to the +Marquis of Halifax, Dryden says: "This Poem was the last Piece of +Service, which I had the Honour to do, for my Gracious Master, King +Charles the Second." Downes says "'twas very Gainful to the Company," +but Cibber declares it was not so successful as it appeared to be.] + + +[Footnote 212: End of 1692.] + + +[Footnote 213: Betterton seems to have been a very politic person. In +the "Comparison between the two Stages" (p. 41) he is called, though not +in reference to this particular matter, "a cunning old Fox."] + + +[Footnote 214: This is no doubt a hit at Wilks, whose temper was +extremely impetuous.] + + +[Footnote 215: "The Laureat," p. 39: "He (Cibber) was always against +raising, or rewarding, or by any means encouraging Merit of any kind." +He had "many Disputes with _Wilks_ on this Account, who was impatient, +when Justice required it, to reward the Meritorious."] + + +[Footnote 216: This is a reference to the secession of seven or eight +actors in 1714, caused, according to Cibber, by Wilks's overbearing +temper. See Chapter XV.] + + +[Footnote 217: Downes and Davies give the following accounts of the +transaction:-- + +"Some time after, a difference happening between the United Patentees, +and the chief _Actors_: As Mr. _Betterton_; Mrs. _Barry_ and Mrs. +_Bracegirdle_; the latter complaining of Oppression from the former; they +for Redress, Appeal'd to my Lord of _Dorset_, then Lord Chamberlain, for +Justice; who Espousing the Cause of the Actors, with the assistance of Sir +_Robert Howard_, finding their Complaints just, procur'd from King +_William_, a Seperate License for Mr. _Congreve_, Mr. _Betterton_, Mrs. +_Bracegirdle_ and Mrs. _Barry_, and others, to set up a new Company, +calling it the New Theatre in _Lincolns-Inn-Fields_."--"Roscius +Anglicanus," p. 43. + +"The nobility, and all persons of eminence, favoured the cause of the +comedians; the generous Dorset introduced Betterton, Mrs. Barry, Mrs. +Bracegirdle, and others, to the King, who granted them an audience.... +William, who had freed all the subjects of England from slavery, except +the inhabitants of the mimical world, rescued them also from the +insolence and tyranny of their oppressors."--"Dram. Miscellanies," +iii. 419.] + + +[Footnote 218: 28th December, 1694.] + + +[Footnote 219: The "Comparison between the two Stages" says (p. 7): +"'twas almost impossible in _Drury-Lane_, to muster up a sufficient +number to take in all the Parts of any Play."] + + +[Footnote 220: See memoir of Johnson at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 221: See memoir of Bullock at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 222: I do not think that the date of this Licence has ever +been stated. It was 25th March, 1695.] + + +[Footnote 223: "Comparison between the two Stages," p. 12: "We know what +importuning and dunning the Noblemen there was, what flattering, and +what promising there was, till at length, the incouragement they +received by liberal Contributions set 'em in a Condition to go on." This +theatre was the theatre in _Little_ Lincoln's Inn Fields. See further +details in Chap. XIII.] + + +[Footnote 224: No doubt, Rich.] + + +[Footnote 225: Downes says (p. 43), "the House being fitted up from a +Tennis-Court, they Open'd it the last Day of _April, 1695_."] + + +[Footnote 226: It will be noticed that Downes in the passage quoted by +me (p. 192, note 1) mentions Congreve as if he had been an original +sharer in the Licence; but the statement is probably loosely made.] + + +[Footnote 227: Bellchambers has here the following notes, the entire +substance of which will be found in Malone ("Shakespeare," 1821, iii. +170, _et seq._): "In Shakspeare's time the nightly expenses for lights, +supernumeraries, etc., was but forty-five shillings, and having deducted +this charge, the clear emoluments were divided into shares, (supposed to +be forty in number,) between the proprietors, and principal actors. In +the year 1666, the whole profit arising from acting plays, masques, +etc., at the King's theatre, was divided into twelve shares and three +quarters, of which Mr. Killegrew, the manager, had two shares and three +quarters, each share computed to produce about £250, net, per annum. In +Sir William D'Avenant's company, from the time their new theatre was +opened in Portugal-row, the total receipt, after deducting the nightly +expenses, was divided into fifteen shares, of which it was agreed that +ten should belong to D'Avenant, for various purposes, and the remainder +be divided among the male members of his troops according to their rank +and merit. I cannot relate the arrangement adopted by Betterton in +Lincoln's-inn-fields, but the share accepted by Congreve was, doubtless, +presumed to be of considerable value. + +"Dryden had a share and a quarter in the king's company, for which he +bound himself to furnish not two, but three plays every season. The +following paper, which, after remaining long in the Killegrew family, +came into the hands of the late Mr. Reed, and was published by Mr. +Malone in his 'Historical Account of the English Stage,' incontestably +proves the practice alluded to. The superscription is lost, but it was +probably addressed to the lord-chamberlain, or the king, about the year +1678, 'OEdipus,' the ground of complaint, being printed in 1679: + +"'Whereas upon Mr. Dryden's binding himself to write three playes a +yeere, hee the said Mr. Dryden was admitted and continued as a sharer +in the king's playhouse for diverse years, and received for his share +and a quarter three or four hundred pounds, communibus annis; but +though he received the moneys, we received not the playes, not one in +a yeare. After which, the house being burnt, the company in building +another, contracted great debts, so that shares fell much short of what +they were formerly. Thereupon Mr. Dryden complaining to the company +of his want of proffit, the company was so kind to him that they not +only did not presse him for the playes which he so engaged to write +for them, and for which he was paid beforehand, but they did also at +his earnest request give him a third day for his last new play called +_All for Love_; and at the receipt of the money of the said third +day, he acknowledged it as a guift, and a particular kindnesse of the +company. Yet notwithstanding this kind proceeding, Mr. Dryden has now, +jointly with Mr. Lee, (who was in pension with us to the last day of +our playing, and shall continue,) written a play called _Oedipus_, +and given it to the Duke's company, contrary to his said agreement, +his promise, and all gratitude, to the great prejudice and almost +undoing of the company, they being the only poets remaining to us. Mr. +Crowne, being under the like agreement with the duke's house, writt a +play called _The Destruction of Jerusalem_, and being forced by their +refusall of it, to bring it to us, the said company compelled us, after +the studying of it, and a vast expence in scenes and cloaths, to buy +off their clayme, by paying all the pension he had received from them, +amounting to one hundred and twelve pounds paid by the king's company, +besides near forty pounds he the said Mr. Crowne paid out of his owne +pocket. + +"'These things considered, if notwithstanding Mr. Dryden's said +agreement, promise, and moneys freely giving him for his said last new +play, and the many titles we have to his writings, this play be judged +away from us, we must submit. + + (Signed) "'Charles Killigrew. + "'Charles Hart. + "'Rich. Burt. + "'Cardell Goodman. + "'Mic. Mohun.'"] + + +[Footnote 228: The interval between the two plays cannot have been quite +three years. The first was produced in April, 1695, the second some time +in 1697.] + + +[Footnote 229: Produced early in 1700.] + + +[Footnote 230: Mrs. Mountfort was now Mrs. Verbruggen.] + + +[Footnote 231: The passage is:-- + + "The Freedom man was born to, you've restor'd, + And to our World such Plenty you afford, + It seems, like Eden, fruitful of its own accord. + But since, in Paradise, frail Flesh gave Way, + And when but two were made, both went astray; + Forbear your Wonder, and the Fault forgive, + If, in our larger Family, we grieve + One falling Adam, and one tempted Eve."] + + +[Footnote 232: In his Preface to "Woman's Wit," Cibber says, "But +however a Fort is in a very poor Condition, that (in a Time of General +War) has but a Handful of raw young Fellows to maintain it." He also +talks of himself and his companions as "an uncertain Company."] + + +[Footnote 233: Bellchambers has here this note: "Mr. Cibber's usage of +the verb _regret_ here, may be said to confirm the censure of Fielding, +who urged, in reviewing some other of his inadvertencies, that it was +'needless for a great writer to understand his grammar.'" See note 1 on +page 69.] + + +[Footnote 234: Genest (ii. 65) has the following criticism of Cibber's +statement: "There can be no doubt but that the acting at the Theatre +Royal was miserably inferiour to what it had been--but perhaps Cibber's +account is a little exaggerated--he had evidently a personal dislike +to Powell--everything therefore that he says, directly or indirectly, +against him must be received with some grains of allowance--Powell +seems to have been eager to exhibit himself in some of Betterton's +best parts, whereas a more diffident actor would have wished to avoid +comparisons--we know from the Spectator that Powell was too apt to +tear a passion to tatters, but still he must have been an actor of +considerable reputation at this time, or he would not have been cast +for several good parts before the division of the Company."] + + +[Footnote 235: "Old Bachelor," act iv. sc. 4:-- + +"_Fondlewife._ Come kiss _Nykin_ once more, and then get you in--So--Get +you in, get you in. By by. + + _Lætitia._ By, _Nykin_. + _Fondlewife._ By, Cocky. + _Lætitia._ By, _Nykin_. + _Fondlewife._ By, Cocky, by, by."] + + +[Footnote 236: Regarding Powell's playing in imitation of Betterton, +Chetwood ("History of the Stage," p. 155) says: "Mr. _George Powel_, a +reputable Actor, with many Excellencies, gave out, that he would perform +the part of Sir _John Falstaff_ in the manner of that very excellent +_English Roscius_, Mr. _Betterton_. He certainly hit his Manner, and +Tone of Voice, yet to make the Picture more like, he mimic'd the +Infirmities of Distemper, old Age, and the afflicting Pains of the Gout, +which that great Man was often seiz'd with."] + + +[Footnote 237: + + "Quicquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas, + Gaudia, discursus, nostri est farrago libelli." + Juvenal, i. 85.] + + +[Footnote 238: That is, January, 1696. The cast was:-- + + "Love's last Shift; or, the Fool in Fashion." + + SIR WILLIAM WISEWOUD .............. Mr. Johnson. + LOVELESS .......................... Mr. Verbruggen. + SIR NOVELTY FASHION ............... Mr. Cibber. + ELDER WORTHY ...................... Mr. Williams. + YOUNG WORTHY ...................... Mr. Horden. + SNAP .............................. Mr. Penkethman. + SLY ............................... Mr. Bullock. + LAWYER ............................ Mr. Mills. + AMANDA ............................ Mrs. Rogers. + NARCISSA .......................... Mrs. Verbruggen. + HILLARIA .......................... Mrs. Cibber. + MRS. FLAREIT ...................... Mrs. Kent. + AMANDA'S WOMAN .................... Mrs. Lucas.] + + +[Footnote 239: In the Dedication to this play Cibber says that "Mr. +_Southern_'s Good-nature (whose own Works best recommend his Judgment) +engaged his Reputation for the Success."] + + +[Footnote 240: Gildon praises this play highly in the "Comparison +between the two Stages," p. 25:-- + + "_Ramble._ Ay, marry, that Play was the Philosopher's Stone; I + think it did wonders. + + _Sullen._ It did so, and very deservedly; there being few + Comedies that came up to't for purity of Plot, Manners and + Moral: It's often acted now a daies, and by the help of the + Author's own good action, it pleases to this Day."] + + +[Footnote 241: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 437) says: "So little was +hoped from the genius of Cibber, that the critics reproached him with +stealing his play. To his censurers he makes a serious defence of +himself, in his dedication to Richard Norton, Esq., of Southwick, a +gentleman who was so fond of stage-plays and players, that he has been +accused of turning his chapel into a theatre. The furious John Dennis, +who hated Cibber for obstructing, as he imagined, the progress of his +tragedy called the Invader of his Country, in very passionate terms +denies his claim to this comedy: 'When the Fool in Fashion was first +acted (says the critic) Cibber was hardly twenty years of age--how could +he, at the age of twenty, write a comedy with a just design, +distinguished characters, and a proper dialogue, who now, at forty, +treats us with Hibernian sense and Hibernian English?'"] + + +[Footnote 242: This same accusation was made against Cibber on other +occasions. Dr. Johnson, referring to one of these, said: "There was no +reason to believe that the _Careless Husband_ was not written by +himself."--Boswell's Johnson, ii. 340.] + + +[Footnote 243: "The Relapse; or, Virtue in Danger," was produced at +Drury Lane in 1697. Cibber's part in it, Lord Foppington, became one of +his most famous characters. The "Comparison between the two Stages," p. +32, says: "_Oronoko_, _Æsop_, and _Relapse_ are Master-pieces, and +subsisted _Drury-lane_ House, the first two or three Years."] + + +[Footnote 244: "The Provoked Wife" was produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields +in 1697; and, as Cibber states, "Æsop" was played at Drury Lane in the +same year. It seems (see Prologue to "The Confederacy") that Vanbrugh +gave his first three plays as presents to the Companies.] + + +[Footnote 245: "Comparison between the two Stages," p. 12: "In the +meantime the Mushrooms in _Drury-Lane_ shoot up from such a desolate +Fortune into a considerable Name; and not only grappled with their +Rivals, but almost eclipst 'em."] + + +[Footnote 246: The last performance of this comedy which Genest indexes +was at Covent Garden, 14th February, 1763.] + + +[Footnote 247: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 469) says: "The truth is, +Cibber was endured, in this and other tragic parts, on account of his +general merit in comedy;" and the author of "The Laureat," p. 41, +remarks: "I have often heard him blamed as a Trifler in that Part; he +was rarely perfect, and, abating for the Badness of his Voice and the +Insignificancy and Meanness of his Action, he did not seem to understand +either what he said or what he was about."] + + +[Footnote 248: "The Laureat," p. 44: "Whatever the Actors appear'd upon +the Stage, they were most of them _Barbarians_ off on't, few of them +having had the Education, or whose Fortunes could admit them to the +Conversation of Gentlemen."] + + +[Footnote 249: Davies praises Cibber in Fondlewife, saying that he "was +much and justly admired and applauded" ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 391); and in +the same work (i. 306) he gives an admirable sketch of Cibber as Justice +Shallow:-- + +"Whether he was a copy or an original in Shallow, it is certain no +audience was ever more fixed in deep attention, at his first appearance, +or more shaken with laughter in the progress of the scene, than at +Colley Cibber's exhibition of this ridiculous justice of peace. Some +years after he had left the stage, he acted Shallow for his son's +benefit. I believe in 1737, when Quin was the Falstaff, and Milward the +King. Whether it was owing to the pleasure the spectators felt on seeing +their old friend return to them again, _though for that night only_, +after an absence of some years, I know not; but, surely, no actor or +audience were better pleased with each other. His manner was so +perfectly simple, his look so vacant, when he questioned his cousin +Silence about the price of ewes, and lamented, in the same breath, with +silly surprise, the death of Old Double, that it will be impossible for +any surviving spectator not to smile at the remembrance of it. The want +of ideas occasions Shallow to repeat almost every thing he says. +Cibber's transition, from asking the price of bullocks, to trite, but +grave reflections on mortality, was so natural, and attended with such +an unmeaning roll of his small pigs-eyes, accompanied with an important +utterance of tick! tick! tick! not much louder than the balance of a +watch, that I question if any actor was ever superior in the conception +or expression of such solemn insignificancy."] + + +[Footnote 250: I presume Cibber means 1695. The Company was +self-governed from its commencement in 1695, and the disintegration +seems to have begun in the next season. See what Cibber says of Dogget's +defection a few pages on.] + + +[Footnote 251: In Lee's tragedy of "Cæsar Borgia," originally played at +Dorset Garden in 1680. Borgia was Betterton's part, and was evidently +one of those which Powell laid violent hands on.] + + +[Footnote 252: Among the Lord Chamberlain's Papers is a curious +Decision, dated 26 Oct. 1696, regarding this desertion. By it, Dogget, +who is stated to have been seduced from Lincoln's Inn Fields, is +permitted to act where he likes.] + + +[Footnote 253: Genest's list of Dogget's characters shows that he was +apparently not engaged 1698 to 1700, both inclusive; for the seasons +1706-7 and 1707-8; and for the season 1708-9. This would make the three +occasions mentioned by Cibber.] + + +[Footnote 254: Dryden, in his Address to Granville on his tragedy of +"Heroic Love" in 1698, says of the Lincoln's Inn Fields Company:-- + + "Their setting sun still shoots a glimmering ray, + Like ancient Rome, majestic in decay; + And better gleanings their worn soil can boast, + Than the crab-vintage of the neighbouring coast."] + + +[Footnote 255: "Comparison between the two Stages," p. 13: "But this +[the success of 'Love for Love'] like other things of that kind, being +only nine Days wonder, and the Audiences, being in a little time sated +with the Novelty of the _New-house_, return in Shoals to the Old."] + + +[Footnote 256: Cibber says nothing of his having been a member of the +Lincoln's Inn Fields Company. But he was, for he writes in his Preface +to "Woman's Wit": "during the Time of my writing the two first Acts I +was entertain'd at the New Theatre.... In the Middle of my Writing the +Third Act, not liking my Station there, I return'd again to the Theatre +Royal." Cibber must have joined Betterton, I should think, about the end +of 1696. It is curious that he should in his "Apology" have entirely +suppressed this incident. It almost suggests that there was something in +it of which he was in later years somewhat ashamed.] + + +[Footnote 257: "Comparison between the two Stages," p. 14: "The Town ... +chang'd their Inclinations for the two Houses, as they found 'emselves +inclin'd to Comedy or Tragedy: If they desir'd a Tragedy, they went to +_Lincolns-Inn-Fields_; if to Comedy, they flockt to _Drury-lane_."] + + +[Footnote 258: Christopher Rich, of whom the "Comparison between the two +Stages" says (p. 15): "_Critick_. In the other House there's an old +snarling Lawyer Master and Sovereign; a waspish, ignorant, pettifogger +in Law and Poetry; one who understands Poetry no more than Algebra; he +wou'd sooner have the Grace of God than do everybody Justice."] + + +[Footnote 259: This privilege seems to have been granted about 1697 or +1698. It was not abolished till 1737. On 5th May, 1737, footmen having +been deprived of their privilege, 300 of them broke into Drury Lane and +did great damage. Many were, however, arrested, and no attempt was made +to renew hostilities.] + + +[Footnote 260: Queen Anne issued several Edicts forbidding persons to be +admitted behind the scenes, and in the advertisements of both theatres +there appeared the announcement, "By Her Majesty's Command no Persons +are to be admitted behind the Scenes." Cibber here, no doubt, refers to +the Sign Manual of 13 Nov. 1711, a copy of which is among the +Chamberlain's Papers.] + + +[Footnote 261: Cibber is probably incorrect here. It seems certain from +the bills that Wilks did not re-appear in London before 1698.] + + +[Footnote 262: See note on page 235.] + + +[Footnote 263: "The Laureat," p. 44: "_Wilks_, in this Part of +_Palamede_, behav'd with a modest Diffidence, and yet maintain'd the +Spirit of his Part." The author says, on the same page, that Powel never +could appear a Gentleman. "His Conversation, his Manners, his Dress, +neither on nor off the Stage, bore any Similitude to that Character."] + + +[Footnote 264: "The Laureat," p. 44: "I believe he (Wilks) was obliged +to fight the Heroic _George Powel_, as well as one or two others, who +were piqued at his being so highly encouraged by the Town, and their +Rival, before he cou'd be quiet."] + + +[Footnote 265: Powell seems to have been at Lincoln's Inn Fields for two +seasons, those of 1702 and 1703, and for part of a third, 1703-4. He +returned to Drury Lane about June, 1704. For the arbitrary conduct of +the Lord Chamberlain, in allowing him to desert to Lincoln's Inn Fields +(or the Haymarket), but arresting him when he deserted back again to +Drury Lane, see after, in Chap. X.] + + +[Footnote 266: Cibber is here somewhat in the position of Satan +reproving sin, if Davies's statements ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 480) are +accurate. He says:-- + +"This attention to the gaming-table would not, we may be assured, render +him [Cibber] fitter for his business of the stage. After many an unlucky +run at Tom's Coffee-house [in Russell Street], he has arrived at the +playhouse in great tranquillity; and then, humming over an opera-tune, +he has walked on the stage not well prepared in the part he was to act. +Cibber should not have reprehended Powell so severely for neglect and +imperfect representation: I have seen him at fault where it was least +expected; in parts which he had acted a hundred times, and particularly +in Sir Courtly Nice; but Colley dexterously supplied the deficiency of +his memory by prolonging his ceremonious bow to the lady, and drawling +out 'Your humble servant, madam,' to an extraordinary length; then +taking a pinch of snuff, and strutting deliberately across the stage, he +has gravely asked the prompter, what is next?"] + + +[Footnote 267: "The Laureat," p. 45: "I have known him (Wilks) lay a +Wager and win it, that he wou'd repeat the Part of _Truewitt_ in the +_Silent Woman_, which consists of thirty Lengths of Paper, as they call +'em, (that is, one Quarter of a Sheet on both Sides to a Length) without +misplacing a single Word, or missing an (_and_) or an (_or_)."] + + +[Footnote 268: Alexander in "The Rival Queens."] + + +[Footnote 269: In "The Man of the Mode; or, Sir Fopling Flutter."] + + +[Footnote 270: Produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields, 29th January, 1728.] + + +[Footnote 271: "Love in a Riddle." A Pastoral. Produced at Drury Lane, +7th January, 1729. + + ARCAS........................................ Mr. Mills. + ÆGON ........................................ Mr. Harper. + AMYNTAS ..................................... Mr. Williams. + IPHIS ....................................... Mrs. Thurmond. + PHILAUTUS, a conceited Corinthian courtier... Mr. Cibber. + CORYDON ..................................... Mr. Griffin. + CIMON ....................................... Mr. Miller. + MOPSUS ...................................... Mr. Oates. + DAMON ....................................... Mr. Ray. + IANTHE, daughter to Arcas ................... Mrs. Cibber. + PASTORA, daughter to Ægon ................... Mrs. Lindar. + PHILLIDA, daughter to Corydon ............... Mrs. Raftor. + +_Mrs._ Raftor (at this time _Miss_ was not generally used) was +afterwards the famous Mrs. Clive. Chetwood, in his "History of the +Stage," 1749 (p. 128), says: "I remember the first night of _Love in a +Riddle_ (which was murder'd in the same Year) a Pastoral Opera wrote by +the _Laureat_, which the Hydra-headed Multitude resolv'd to worry +without hearing, a Custom with Authors of Merit, when Miss _Raftor_ came +on in the part of _Phillida_, the monstrous Roar subsided. A Person in +the Stage-Box, next to my Post, called out to his Companion in the +following elegant Style--'Zounds! _Tom!_ take Care! or this charming +little Devil will save all.'" Chetwood's "Post" was that of Prompter.] + + +[Footnote 272: Martial, xiii. 2, 8.] + + +[Footnote 273: Cibber should have written _Catiline_.] + + +[Footnote 274: This second part was called "Polly." In his Preface Gay +gives an account of its being vetoed. The prohibition undoubtedly was in +revenge for the political satire in "The Beggar's Opera." "Polly" was +published by subscription, and probably brought the author more in that +way than its production would have done. It was played for the first +time at the Haymarket, 19th June, 1777. It is, as Genest says, miserably +inferior to the first part.] + + +[Footnote 275: "Polly" was officially prohibited on 12th December, 1728.] + + +[Footnote 276: I know only one case in which a new piece is said to have +been prohibited because the other house was going to play one on the +same subject. This is Swiney's "Quacks; or, Love's the Physician," +produced at Drury Lane on 18th March, 1705, after being twice vetoed. +Swiney in his Preface gives the above as the reason for the +prohibition.] + + +[Footnote 277: Cibber afterwards formed the best scenes of "Love in a +Riddle" into a Ballad Opera, called "Damon and Phillida."] + + +[Footnote 278: Bellchambers notes that this was probably Mrs. Oldfield. +But I think this more than doubtful, for this lady not only was fair, +but also, as Touchstone says, "had the gift to know it." It is, of +course, impossible to say decidedly to whom Cibber referred; but I fancy +that Mrs. Barry is the actress who best fulfils the conditions, though, +of course, I must admit that her having been dead for a quarter of a +century weakens my case.] + + +[Footnote 279: A "bite" is what we now term a "sell." In "The +Spectator," Nos. 47 and 504, some account of "Biters" is given: "a Race +of Men that are perpetually employed in laughing at those Mistakes which +are of their own Production."] + + +[Footnote 280: This is a capital sketch of Christopher Rich.] + + +[Footnote 281: Cibber's hint of Rich's weakness for the fair sex is +corroborated by the "Comparison between the two Stages," page 16: +"_Critick._ He is Monarch of the Stage, tho' he knows not how to govern +one Province in his Dominion, but that of Signing, Sealing, and +something else, that shall be nameless."] + + +[Footnote 282: "The Laureat," p. 48: "If _Minister Wilks_ was now alive +to hear thee prate thus, Mr. _Bayes,_ I would not give one Half-penny +for thy Ears; but if he were alive, thou durst not for thy Ears rattle +on in this affected _Matchiavilian_ stile."] + + +[Footnote 283: Characters in Ben Jonson's "Silent Woman."] + + +[Footnote 284: "The Laureat," p. 49: "Did you not, by your general +Misbehaviour towards Authors and Actors, bring an _Odium_ on your +Brother _Menagers_, as well as yourself; and were not these, with many +others, the Reasons, that sometimes gave Occasion to _Wilks_, to +chastise you, with his Tongue only."] + + +[Footnote 285: See memoir of John Mills at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 286: John Mills, in the advertisement issued by Rich, in 1709, +in the course of a dispute with his actors, is stated to have a salary +of "£4 a week for himself, and £1 a week for his wife, for little or +nothing." This advertisement is quoted by me in Chap. XII. Mills's +salary was the same as Betterton's. No doubt Cibber, Wilks, Dogget, and +Booth had ultimately larger salaries, but they, of course, were managers +as well as actors.] + + +[Footnote 287: Booth seems to have joined the Lincoln's Inn Fields +Company in 1700.] + + +[Footnote 288: Steele's comedy was produced at Drury Lane in 1702. +Cibber played Lord Hardy.] + + +[Footnote 289: The play was called "Woman's Wit; or, the Lady in +Fashion." It was produced at Drury Lane in 1697. It must have been in +the early months of that year, for in his Preface Cibber says, to excuse +its failure, that it was hurriedly written, and that "rather than lose a +Winter" he forced himself to invent a fable. "The Laureat," p. 50, +stupidly says that the name of the play was "_Perolla_ and _Isadora_." +The cast was:-- + + LORD LOVEMORE ................................... Mr. Harland. + LONGVILLE ....................................... Mr. Cibber. + MAJOR RAKISH .................................... Mr. Penkethman. + JACK RAKISH ..................................... Mr. Powel. + MASS JOHNNY, Lady Manlove's Son, a schoolboy .... Mr. Dogget. + FATHER BENEDIC .................................. Mr. Smeaton. + LADY MANLOVE..................................... Mrs. Powel. + LEONORA ......................................... Mrs. Knight. + EMILIA .......................................... Mrs. Rogers. + OLIVIA .......................................... Mrs. Cibber. + LETTICE ......................................... Mrs. Kent.] + + +[Footnote 290: + + "Aut prodesse volunt aut delectare poetae." Hor. _Ars + Poetica_, 333.] + + +[Footnote 291: + + "Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci." Hor. + _Ars Poetica_, 343.] + + +[Footnote 292: Pepys (12th June, 1663) records that the Lady Mary +Cromwell at the Theatre, "when the House began to fill, put on her +vizard, and so kept it on all the play; which of late is become a great +fashion among the ladies, which hides their whole face." Very soon, +however, ladies gave up the use of the mask, and "Vizard-mask" became a +synonym for "Prostitute." In this sense it is frequently used in +Dryden's Prologues and Epilogues.] + + +[Footnote 293: Compare with Cibber's condemnation Genest's opinion of +this play. He says (i. 365): "If it be the province of Comedy, not to +retail morality to a yawning pit, but to make the audience laugh, and to +keep them in good humour, this play must be allowed to be one of the +best comedies in the English language."] + + +[Footnote 294: To "The Pilgrim," revived in 1700, as Cibber states, +Dryden's "Secular Masque" was attached. Whether the revival took place +before or after Dryden's death (1st May, 1700) is a moot point. See +Genest, ii. 179, for an admirable account of the matter. He thinks it +probable that the date of production was 25th March, 1700. Cibber is +scarcely accurate in stating that "The Pilgrim" was revived for Dryden's +benefit. It seems, rather, that Vanbrugh, who revised the play, +stipulated that, in consideration of Dryden's writing "The Secular +Masque," and also the Prologue and Epilogue, he should have the usual +author's third night. The B. M. copy of "The Pilgrim" is dated, in an +old handwriting, "Monday, the 5 of May."] + + +[Footnote 295: Jeremy Collier.] + + +[Footnote 296: Genest notes (ii. 181) that in the original play the +Servant in the 2nd act did not stutter.] + + +[Footnote 297: Collier's famous work, which was entitled "A Short View +of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage: together with +the sense of Antiquity upon this Argument," was published in 1698. +Collier was a Nonjuring clergyman. He was born on 23rd September, 1650, +and died in 1726. The circumstance to which Cibber alludes in the second +paragraph from the present, was Collier's attending to the scaffold Sir +John Friend and Sir William Perkins, who were executed for complicity in +plots against King William in 1696.] + + +[Footnote 298: The facetious Joe Haines was an actor of great +popularity, and seems to have excelled in the delivery of Prologues and +Epilogues, especially of those written by himself. He was on the stage +from about 1672 to 1700 or 1701, in which latter year (on the 4th of +April) he died. He was the original Sparkish in Wycherley's "Country +Wife," Lord Plausible in the same author's "Plain Dealer," and Tom +Errand in Farquhar's "Constant Couple." Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 284) +tells, on Quin's authority, an anecdote of Haines's pretended conversion +to Romanism during James the Second's reign. He declared that the Virgin +Mary appeared to him in a vision. "Lord Sunderland sent for Joe, and +asked him about the truth of his conversion, and whether he had really +seen the Virgin?--Yes, my Lord, I assure you it is a fact.--How was it, +pray?--Why, as I was lying in my bed, the Virgin appeared to me, and +said, _Arise, Joe!_--You lie, you rogue, said the Earl; for, if it had +really been the Virgin herself, she would have said _Joseph_, if it had +been only out of respect to her husband." For an account of Haines, see +also Anthony Aston.] + + +[Footnote 299: "The Laureat" (p. 53) states that soon after the +publication of Collier's book, informers were placed in different parts +of the theatres, on whose information several players were charged with +uttering immoral words. Queen Anne, however, satisfied that the +informers were not actuated by zeal for morality, stopped the +inquisition. These informers were paid by the Society for the +Reformation of Manners.] + + +[Footnote 300: Congreve's answer to Collier was entitled "Amendments of +Mr. Collier's false and imperfect Citations, &c. from the Old +Batchelour, Double Dealer, Love for Love, Mourning Bride. By the Author +of those Plays." Vanbrugh called his reply, "A Short Vindication of the +Relapse and the Provok'd Wife, from Immorality and Prophaneness. By the +Author." Davies says, regarding Congreve ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 401): +"Congreve's pride was hurt by Collier's attack on plays which all the +world had admired and commended; and no hypocrite showed more rancour +and resentment, when unmasked, than this author, so greatly celebrated +for sweetness of temper and elegance of manners."] + + +[Footnote 301: Charles Killigrew, who died in 1725, having held the +office of Master of the Revels for over forty years.] + + +[Footnote 302: Produced at Drury Lane in 1700. For some account of +Cibber's playing of Richard, see _ante_, pp. 139, 140.] + + +[Footnote 303: Chalmers ("Apology for the Believers in the Shakspeare +Papers," page 535) comments unfavourably on Cibber's method of stating +this fact, saying, "Well might Pope cry out, _modest_ Cibber!" But +Chalmers is unjust to Colley, who is not expressing his own opinion of +his play's importance, but merely reporting the opinion of Killigrew.] + + +[Footnote 304: Steele's name first appears in a License granted 18th +October, 1714. His Patent was dated 19th January, 1715.] + + +[Footnote 305: Chalmers ("Apology for the Believers," page 536) says: +"The patentees sent Colley Cibber, as envoy-extraordinary, to negotiate +an amicable settlement with the Sovereign of the Revels. It is amusing +to hear, how this flippant negotiator explained his own pretensions, and +attempted to invalidate the right of his opponent; as if a subsequent +charter, under the great seal, could supersede a preceding grant under +the same authority. Charles Killigrew, who was now sixty-five years of +age, seems to have been oppressed by the insolent civility of Colley +Cibber." But this is an undeserved hit at Cibber, who had suffered the +grossest injustice at Killigrew's hands regarding the licensing of +"Richard III." See _ante_, p. 275. The dispute regarding fees must have +occurred about 1715.] + + +[Footnote 306: The Licensing Act of 1737. This Act was passed by Sir +Robert Walpole's government, and gave to the Lord Chamberlain the power +to prohibit a piece from being acted at all, by making it necessary to +have every play licensed. This power, however, had practically been +exercised by the Chamberlain before, as in the case of Gay's "Polly," +which Cibber has already mentioned. The immediate cause of this Act of +1737 was a piece called "The Golden Rump," which was so full of +scurrility against the powers that were, that Giffard, the manager to +whom it was submitted, carried it to Walpole. In spite of the opposition +of Lord Chesterfield, who delivered a famous speech against it, the Bill +was passed, 21st June, 1737. The "Biographia Dramatica" hints plainly +that "The Golden Rump" was written at Walpole's instigation to afford an +excuse for the Act. Bellchambers has the following note on this +passage:-- + +"The Abbé Le Blanc,{A} who was in England at the time this law passed, +has the following remarks upon it in his correspondence:-- + +"'This act occasioned an universal murmur in the nation, and was openly +complained of in the public papers: in all the coffee-houses of London +it was treated as an unjust law, and manifestly contrary to the +liberties of the people of England. When winter came, and the +play-houses were opened, that of Covent-garden began with three new +pieces, which had been approved of by the Lord Chamberlain. There was a +crowd of spectators present at the first, and among the number myself. +The best play in the world would not have succeeded the first night.{B} +There was a resolution to damn whatever might appear, the word _hiss_ +not being sufficiently expressive for the English. They always say, to +_damn_ a piece, to _damn_ an author, &c. and, in reality, the word is +not too strong to express the manner in which they receive a play which +does not please them. The farce in question was damned indeed, without +the least compassion: nor was that all, for the actors were driven off +the stage, and happy was it for the author that he did not fall into the +hands of this furious assembly. + +"'As you are unacquainted with the customs of this country, you cannot +easily devise who were the authors of all this disturbance. Perhaps you +may think they were schoolboys, apprentices, clerks, or mechanics. No, +sir, they were men of a very grave and genteel profession; they were +lawyers, and please you; a body of gentlemen, perhaps less honoured, but +certainly more feared here than they are in France. Most of them live in +colleges,{C} where, conversing always with one another, they mutually +preserve a spirit of independency through the body, and with great ease +form cabals. These gentlemen, in the stage entertainments of London, +behave much like our footboys, in those at a fair. With us, your +party-coloured gentry are the most noisy; but here, men of the law have +all the sway, if I may be permitted to call so those pretended +professors of it, who are rather the organs of chicanery, than the +interpreters of justice. At Paris the cabals of the pit are only among +young fellows, whose years may excuse their folly, or persons of the +meanest education and stamp; here they are the fruit of deliberations in +a very grave body of people, who are not less formidable to the minister +in place, than to the theatrical writers. + +"'The players were not dismayed, but soon after stuck up bills for +another new piece: there was the same crowding at Covent-garden, to +which I again contributed. I was sure, at least, that if the piece +advertised was not performed, I should have the pleasure of beholding +some very extraordinary scene acted in the pit. + +"'Half an hour before the play was to begin, the spectators gave notice +of their dispositions by frightful hisses and outcries, equal, perhaps, +to what were ever heard at a Roman amphitheatre. I could not have known, +but by my eyes only, that I was among an assembly of beings who thought +themselves to be reasonable. The author, who had foreseen this fury of +the pit, took care to be armed against it. He knew what people he had to +deal with, and, to make them easy, put in his prologue double the usual +dose of incense that is offered to their vanity; for there is an +established tax of this kind, from which no author is suffered to +dispense himself. This author's wise precaution succeeded, and the men +that were before so redoubtable grew calm; the charms of flattery, more +strong than those of music, deprived them of all their fierceness. + +"'You see, sir, that the pit is the same in all countries: it loves to +be flattered, under the more genteel name of being complimented. If a +man has tolerable address at panegyric, they swallow it greedily, and +are easily quelled and intoxicated by the draught. Every one in +particular thinks he merits the praise that is given to the whole in +general; the illusion operates, and the prologue is good, only because +it is artfully directed. Every one saves his own blush by the authority +of the multitude he makes a part of, which is, perhaps, the only +circumstance in which a man can think himself not obliged to be modest. + +"'The author having, by flattery, begun to tame this wild audience, +proceeded entirely to reconcile it by the first scene of his +performance. Two actors came in, one dressed in the English manner very +decently, and the other with black eyebrows, a ribbon of an ell long +under his chin, a bag-peruke immoderately powdered, and his nose all +bedaubed with snuff. What Englishman could not know a Frenchman by this +ridiculous picture! The common people of London think we are indeed such +sort of folks, and of their own accord, add to our real follies all that +their authors are pleased to give us. But when it was found, that the +man thus equipped, being also laced down every seam of his coat, was +nothing but a cook, the spectators were equally charmed and surprised. +The author had taken care to make him speak all the impertinencies he +could devise, and for that reason, all the impertinencies of his farce +were excused, and the merit of it immediately decided. There was a long +criticism upon our manners, our customs, and above all, upon our +cookery. The excellence and virtues of English beef were cried up, and +the author maintained, that it was owing to the qualities of its juice, +that the English were so courageous, and had such a solidity of +understanding, which raised them above all the nations in Europe: he +preferred the noble old English pudding beyond all the finest ragouts +that were ever invented by the greatest geniuses that France has +produced; and all these ingenious strokes were loudly clapped by the +audience. + +"'The pit, biassed by the abuse that was thrown on the French, forgot +that they came to damn the play, and maintain the ancient liberty of the +stage. They were friends with the players, and even with the court +itself, and contented themselves with the privilege left them, of +lashing our nation as much as they pleased, in the room of laughing at +the expense of the minister. The license of authors did not seem to be +too much restrained, since the court did not hinder them from saying all +the ill they could of the French. + +"'Intractable as the populace appear in this country, those who know how +to take hold of their foibles, may easily carry their point. Thus is the +liberty of the stage reduced to just bounds, and yet the English pit +makes no farther attempt to oppose the new regulation. The law is +executed without the least trouble, all the plays since having been +quietly heard, and either succeeded, or not, according to their merit.'" + +See article in Mr. Archer's "About the Theatre," p. 101, and +Parliamentary Reports, 1832 and 1866. + + {Subnote A: Mr. Garrick, when in Paris, refused to meet this + writer, on account of the irreverence with which he had + treated Shakspeare.} + + {Subnote B: The action was interrupted almost as soon as begun, + in presence of a numerous assembly, by a cabal who had + resolved to overthrow the first effect of this act of + parliament, though it had been thought necessary for the + regulation of the stage.} + + {Subnote C: Called here Inns of Court, as the two Temples, + Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, Doctor's Commons, &c.}] + + +[Footnote 307: The theatre in Goodman's Fields was opened in October, +1729, by Thomas Odell, who was afterwards Deputy Licenser under the 1737 +Act. Odell, having no theatrical experience, entrusted the management to +Henry Giffard. Odell's theatre seems to have been in Leman Street.] + + +[Footnote 308: I can find no hint that plays were ever stopped at +Odell's theatre. There is a pamphlet, published in 1730, with the +following title: "A Letter to the Right Honourable Sir Richard Brocas, +Lord Mayor of London. By a Citizen," which demands the closing of the +theatre, but I do not suppose any practical result followed. In 1733 an +attempt by the Patentees of Drury Lane and Covent Garden to silence +Giffard's Company, then playing at his new theatre in Goodman's Fields, +was unsuccessful. This theatre was in Ayliffe Street.] + + +[Footnote 309: Half of Booth's share of the Patent was purchased by +Highmore, who also bought the whole of Cibber's share. Giffard was the +purchaser of the remainder of Booth's share.] + + +[Footnote 310: This was John Harper. Davies ("Life of Garrick," i. 40) +says that "The reason of the Patentees fixing on Harper was in +consequence of his natural timidity." His trial was on the 20th +November, 1733. Harper was a low comedian of some ability, but of no +great note.] + + +[Footnote 311: Cibber again alludes to this in Chap. XIII.] + + +[Footnote 312: Sir Francis Wronghead is a character in "The Provoked +Husband," a country squire who comes to London to seek a place at Court. +In Act iv. Sir Francis relates his interview with a certain great man: +"Sir Francis, says my lord, pray what sort of a place may you ha' turned +your thoughts upon? My lord, says I, beggars must not be chusers; but +ony place, says I, about a thousand a-year, will be well enough to be +doing with, till something better falls in--for I thowght it would not +look well to stond haggling with him at first."] + + +[Footnote 313: Giffard seems to have retained his sixth part.] + + +[Footnote 314: Some account of the entire dispute between Highmore and +his actors will be found in my Supplement to this book.] + + +[Footnote 315: This "broken Wit" was Henry Fielding, between whom and +Cibber there was war to the knife, Fielding taking every opportunity of +mocking at Colley and attacking his works. + +Mr. Austin Dobson, in his "Fielding," page 66, writes: "When the +_Champion_ was rather more than a year old, Colley Cibber published his +famous _Apology_. To the attacks made upon him by Fielding at different +times he had hitherto printed no reply--perhaps he had no opportunity of +doing so. But in his eighth chapter, when speaking of the causes which +led to the Licensing Act, he takes occasion to refer to his assailant in +terms which Fielding must have found exceedingly galling. He carefully +abstained from mentioning his name, on the ground that it could do him +no good, and was of no importance; but he described him as 'a broken +Wit,'" &c. + +Mr. Dobson, on page 69, gives his approval to the theory that "Fielding +had openly expressed resentment at being described by Cibber as 'a +broken wit,' without being mentioned by name."] + + +[Footnote 316: The use of "channel," meaning "gutter," is obsolete in +England; but I am sure that I have heard it used in that sense in +Scotland. Shakespeare in "King Henry the Sixth," third part, act ii. sc. +2, has, + + "As if a channel should be called the sea." + +And in Marlowe's "Edward the Second," act i. sc. 1, occur the lines:-- + + "Throw off his golden mitre, rend his stole, + And in the channel christen him anew."] + + +[Footnote 317: Juvenal, i. 73.] + + +[Footnote 318: Mr. Dobson ("Fielding," page 67) says: "He [Cibber] +called him, either in allusion to his stature, or his pseudonym in the +_Champion_, a '_Herculean_ Satyrist,' a '_Drawcansir_ in Wit.'"] + + +[Footnote 319: Fielding's political satires, in such pieces as "Pasquin" +and "The Historical Register for 1736," contributed largely to the +passing of the Act of 1737, although "The Golden Rump" was the +ostensible cause.] + + +[Footnote 320: Fielding, in the "Champion" for Tuesday, April 22nd, +1740, says of Cibber's refusal to quote from "Pasquin"--"the good Parent +seems to imagine that he hath produced, as well as my Lord _Clarendon_, +a [Greek: Ktêma es aei]; for he refuses to quote anything out of +_Pasquin_, lest he should _give it a chance of being remembered_." + +Mr. Dobson ("Fielding," page 69) says Fielding "never seems to have +wholly forgotten his animosity to the actor, to whom there are frequent +references in _Joseph Andrews_; and, as late as 1749, he is still found +harping on 'the withered laurel' in a letter to Lyttelton. Even in his +last work, the _Voyage to Lisbon_, Cibber's name is mentioned. The +origin of this protracted feud is obscure; but, apart from want of +sympathy, it must probably be sought for in some early misunderstanding +between the two in their capacities of manager and author."] + + +[Footnote 321: By Lord Chesterfield.] + + +[Footnote 322: Horace, _Ars Poetica_, 180.] + + +[Footnote 323: Guiscard's attack on Harley occurred in 1711.] + + +[Footnote 324: Genest (iii. 521) remarks, "If the power of the Licenser +had been laid _under proper regulations_, all would have been right." +The whole objection to the Licenser is simply that he is under no +regulations whatever. He is a perfectly irresponsible authority, and one +from whose decisions there is no appeal.] + + +[Footnote 325: Cibber received three thousand guineas from Highmore for +his share in the Patent (See Victor's "History," i. 8).] + + +[Footnote 326: "The Laureat," page 72: "Indeed, _Laureat_, +notwithstanding what thou may'st dream of the Immortality of this Work +of thine, and bestowing the same on thy Favourites by recording them +here; thou mayst, old as thou art, live to see thy precious Labours +become the vile Wrappers of Pastry-Grocers and Chandlery Wares." The +issue of the present edition of Cibber's "Apology" is sufficient +commentary on "The Laureat's" ill-natured prophecy.] + + +[Footnote 327: Cibber prints 1684, repeating his former blunder. +(See p. 96.)] + + +[Footnote 328: The first play acted by the United Company was "Hamlet." +In this Estcourt is cast for the Gravedigger, so that if Cibber's +anecdote is accurate, as no doubt it is, Estcourt must have "doubled" +the Gravedigger and the speaker of the Prologue.] + + +[Footnote 329: The first edition reads "1708," and in the next chapter +Cibber says 1708. In point of fact, the first performance by the United +Company took place 15th January, 1708. This does not make Estcourt's +"gag" incorrect, for though we now should not consider May, 1707, and +the following January in the same year, yet up to 1752, when the style +was changed in England, they were so.] + + +[Footnote 330: Southerne's "Oroonoko" was produced at Drury Lane +in 1696.] + + +[Footnote 331: Of Horden we know little more than Cibber tells us. He +seems to have been on the stage only for a year or two; and during 1696 +only, at Drury Lane, does his name appear to important parts. Davies +("Dram. Misc.," iii. 443) says Horden "was bred a Scholar: he +complimented George Powell, in a Latin encomium on his Treacherous +Brothers." + + +"The London News-Letter," 20th May, 1696, says: "On _Monday_ Capt. +_Burges_ who kill'd Mr. _Fane_, and was found guilty of Manslaughter at +the _Old Baily_, kill'd Mr. _Harding_ a Comedian in a Quarrel at the +_Rose_ Tavern in _Hatton_ [should be _Covent_] _Garden_, and is taken +into custody." + + +In "Luttrell's Diary," on Tuesday, 19th May, 1696, is noted: "Captain +Burgesse, convicted last sessions of manslaughter for killing Mr. Fane, +is committed to the Gatehouse for killing Mr. Horden, of the Playhouse, +last night in Covent Garden." + +And on Tuesday, 30th November, 1697, "Captain Burgesse, who killed Mr. +Horden the player, has obtained his majesties pardon."] + + +[Footnote 332: This tavern seems to have been very near Drury Lane +Theatre, and to have been a favourite place of resort after the play. In +the Epilogue to the "Constant Couple" the Rose Tavern is mentioned:-- + + "Now all depart, each his respective way, + To spend an evening's chat upon the play; + Some to Hippolito's; one homeward goes, + And one with loving she, retires to th' Rose." + +In the "Comparison between the two Stages" one scene is laid in the Rose +Tavern, and from it we gather that the house was of a very bad +character:-- + +_"Ramb._ Defend us! what a hurry of Sin is in this House! + +_Sull._ Drunkenness, which is the proper Iniquity of a Tavern, is here +the most excusable Sin; so many other Sins over-run it, 'tis hardly seen +in the crowd.... + +_Sull._ This House is the very Camp of Sin; the Devil sets up his black +Standard in the Faces of these hungry Harlots, and to enter into their +Trenches is going down to the Bottomless Pit according to the +letter."--_Comp._, p. 140. + +Pepys mentions the Rose more than once. On 18th May, 1668, the first day +of Sedley's play, "The Mulberry Garden," the diarist, having secured his +place in the pit, and feeling hungry, "did slip out, getting a boy to +keep my place; and to the Rose Tavern, and there got half a breast of +mutton, off the spit, and dined all alone. And so to the play again."] + + +[Footnote 333: Cibber's chronology cannot be reconciled with what we +believe to be facts. Horden was killed in 1696; Wilks seems to have come +to England not earlier than the end of 1698, while it is, I should say, +certain that Estcourt did not appear before 1704. I can only suppose +that Cibber, who is very reckless in his dates, is here particularly +confused.] + + +[Footnote 334: For Leigh's playing of this character, see _ante_, +p. 145.] + + +[Footnote 335: Curll, in his "Life of Mrs. Oldfield," says that the only +part she played, previous to appearing as Alinda, was Candiope in +"Secret Love." She played Alinda in 1700.] + + +[Footnote 336: In 1702, Gildon, in the "Comparison between the two +Stages" (p. 200), includes Mrs. Oldfield among the "meer Rubbish that +ought to be swept off the Stage with the Filth and Dust."] + + +[Footnote 337: "Miff," a colloquial expression signifying "a slight +degree of resentment."] + + +[Footnote 338: Cibber is pleasantly candid in allowing that he had no +share in Mrs. Oldfield's success. The temptation to assume some credit +for teaching her something must have been great.] + + +[Footnote 339: Mrs. Anne Oldfield, born about 1683, was introduced to +Vanbrugh by Farquhar, who accidentally heard her reading aloud, and was +struck by her dramatic style. Cibber gives so full an account of her +that it is only necessary to add that she made her last appearance on +28th April, 1730, at Drury Lane, and that she died on the 23rd October +in the same year. It was of Mrs. Oldfield that Pope wrote the +often-quoted lines ("Moral Essays," Epistle I., Part iii.):-- + + "Odious! in woollen! 'twould a saint provoke + (Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke), + No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace + Wrap my cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face: + + One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead-- + And--Betty--give this cheek a little red." + +I may note that, though Cibber enlarges chiefly on her comedy acting, +she acted many parts in tragedy with the greatest success.] + + +[Footnote 340: Produced 7th December, 1704, at Drury Lane. + + "The Careless Husband." + LORD MORELOVE .............. Mr. Powel. + LORD FOPPINGTON ............ Mr. Cibber. + SIR CHARLES EASY ........... Mr. Wilks. + LADY BETTY MODISH .......... Mrs. Oldfield. + LADY EASY .................. Mrs. Knight. + LADY GRAVEAIRS ............. Mrs. Moore. + MRS. EDGING ................ Mrs. Lucas.] + + +[Footnote 341: Mrs. Oldfield played Lady Townly in the "Provoked +Husband," 10th January, 1728. I presume that Cibber means that this was +her last _important_ original part, for she was the original +representative of Sophonisba (by James Thomson) and other characters +after January, 1728.] + + +[Footnote 342: + + "The Provoked Husband." + LORD TOWNLY ............... Mr. Wilks. + LADY TOWNLY ............... Mrs. Oldfield. + LADY GRACE ................ Mrs. Porter. + MR. MANLEY ................ Mr. Mills, sen. + SIR FRANCIS WRONGHEAD ..... Mr. Cibber, Sen. + LADY WRONGHEAD ............ Mrs. Thurmond. + SQUIRE RICHARD ............ Young Wetherelt. + MISS JENNY ................ Mrs. Cibber. + JOHN MOODY ................ Mr. Miller. + COUNT BASSET .............. Mr. Bridgewater. + MRS. MOTHERLY ............. Mrs. Moore. + MYRTILLA .................. Mrs. Grace. MRS. + TRUSTY .................... Mrs. Mills. + +Vanbrugh left behind him nearly four acts of a play entitled "A Journey +to London," which Cibber completed, calling the finished work "The +Provoked Husband." It was produced at Drury Lane on 10th January, 1728.] + + +[Footnote 343: + "Verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis + Offendar maculis."--Horace, _Ars Poetica_, 351.] + + +[Footnote 344: "The Laureat," p. 57: "But I can see no Occasion you have +to mention any Errors. She had fewer as an Actress than any; and neither +you, nor I, have any Right to enquire into her Conduct any where else."] + + +[Footnote 345: The following is the passage referred to:-- + +"But there is no doing right to Mrs. Oldfield, without putting people in +mind of what others, of great merit, have wanted to come near her--'Tis +not enough to say, she here outdid her usual excellence. I might +therefore justly leave her to the constant admiration of those +spectators who have the pleasure of living while she is an actress. But +as this is not the only time she has been the life of what I have given +the public, so, perhaps, my saying a little more of so memorable an +actress, may give this play a chance to be read when the people of this +age shall be ancestors--May it therefore give emulation to our +successors of the stage, to know, that to the ending of the year 1727, a +cotemporary comedian relates, that Mrs. Oldfield was then in her +highest excellence of action, happy in all the rarely found requisites +that meet in one person to complete them for the stage. She was in +stature just rising to that height, where the graceful can only begin to +show itself; of a lively aspect, and a command in her mien, that like +the principal figure in the finest painting, first seizes, and longest +delights, the eye of the spectators. Her voice was sweet, strong, +piercing, and melodious; her pronunciation voluble, distinct, and +musical; and her emphasis always placed, where the spirit of the sense, +in her periods, only demanded it. If she delighted more in the higher +comic, than in the tragic strain, 'twas because the last is too often +written in a lofty disregard of nature. But in characters of modern +practised life, she found occasion to add the particular air and manner +which distinguished the different humours she presented; whereas, in +tragedy, the manner of speaking varies as little as the blank verse it +is written in.--She had one peculiar happiness from nature, she looked +and maintained the agreeable, at a time when other fine women only raise +admirers by their understanding--The spectator was always as much +informed by her eyes as her elocution; for the look is the only proof +that an actor rightly conceives what he utters, there being scarce an +instance, where the eyes do their part, that the elocution is known to +be faulty. The qualities she had acquired, were the genteel and the +elegant; the one in her air, and the other in her dress, never had her +equal on the stage; and the ornaments she herself provided (particularly +in this play) seemed in all respects the _paraphernalia_ of a woman of +quality. And of that sort were the characters she chiefly excelled in; +but her natural good sense, and lively turn of conversation, made her +way so easy to ladies of the highest rank, that it is a less wonder if, +on the stage, she sometimes was, what might have become the finest woman +in real life to have supported." [Bell's edition.]] + + +[Footnote 346: Mr. Julian Marshall, in his "Annals of Tennis," p. 34, +describes the two different sorts of tennis courts--"that which was +called _Le Quarré_, or the Square; and the other with the _dedans_, +which is almost the same as that of the present day." Cibber is thus +correct in mentioning that the court was one of the lesser sort.] + + +[Footnote 347: Interesting confirmation of Cibber's statement is +furnished by an edict of the Lord Chamberlain, dated 11th November, +1700, by which Betterton is ordered "to take upon him ye sole +management" of the Lincoln's Inn Fields company, there having been great +disorders, "for want of sufficient authority to keep them to their +duty." See David Craufurd's Preface to "Courtship à la Mode" (1700), for +an account of the disorganized state of the Lincoln's Inn Fields +Company. He says that though Betterton did his best, some of the actors +neither learned their parts nor attended rehearsals; and he therefore +withdrew his comedy and took it to Drury Lane, where it was promptly +produced.] + + +[Footnote 348: Mons. Castil-Blaze, in his "La Danse et les Ballets," +1832, p. 153, writes: "Ballon danse avec énergie et vivacité; +mademoiselle de Subligny se fait généralement admirer pour sa danse +noble et gracieuse." Madlle. Subligny was one of the first women who +were dancers by profession. "La demoiselle Subligny parut peu de temps +après la demoiselle Fontaine [1681], et fut aussi fort applaudie pour sa +danse; mais elle quitta le théâtre, en 1705, et mourut après l'année +1736."--"Histoire de l'Opéra." Of Mons. L'Abbé I have been unable to +discover any critical notice.] + + +[Footnote 349: Downes ("Roscius Anglicanus," p. 46) says: "In the space +of Ten Years past, Mr. _Betterton_ to gratify the desires and Fancies of +the Nobility and Gentry; procur'd from Abroad the best Dances and +Singers, as Monsieur _L'Abbe_, Madam _Sublini_, Monsieur _Balon_, +_Margarita Delpine_, _Maria Gallia_ and divers others; who being +Exhorbitantly Expensive, produc'd small Profit to him and his Company, +but vast Gain to themselves." + +Gildon, in the "Comparison between the two Stages," alludes to some of +these dancers:-- + +"_Sull._ The Town ran mad to see him [Balon], and the prizes were rais'd +to an extravagant degree to bear the extravagant rate they allow'd him" +(p. 49). + +"_Crit._ There's another Toy now [Madame Subligny]--Gad, there's not a +Year but some surprizing Monster lands: I wonder they don't first show +her at _Fleet-bridge_ with an old Drum and a crackt Trumpet" (p. 67). ] + + +[Footnote 350: In the Prologue to "The Ambitious Stepmother," produced +at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1701 (probably), Rowe writes:-- + + "The Stage would need no Farce, nor Song nor Dance, + Nor Capering Monsieur brought from Active France." + +And in the Epilogue (not Prologue, as Cibber says):-- + + "Show but a Mimick Ape, or French Buffoon, + You to the other House in Shoals are gone, + And leave us here to Tune our Crowds alone. + Must Shakespear, Fletcher, and laborious Ben, + Be left for Scaramouch and Harlaquin?"] + + +[Footnote 351: In "The Constant Couple," and its sequel, "Sir Harry +Wildair."] + + +[Footnote 352: This theatre, opened 9th April, 1705, was burnt down 17th +June, 1788; rebuilt 1791; again burnt in 1867. During its existence it +has borne the name of Queen's Theatre, Opera House, King's Theatre, and +its present title of Her Majesty's Theatre.] + + +[Footnote 353: The beautiful Lady Sunderland. Mr. Percy Fitzgerald ("New +History," i. 238) states that it was said that workmen, on 19th March, +1825, found a stone with the inscription: "April 18th, 1704. This +corner-stone of the Queen's Theatre was laid by his Grace Charles Duke +of Somerset."] + + +[Footnote 354: Should be 1705. Downes (p. 47) says: "About the end of +1704, Mr. _Betterton_ Assign'd his License, and his whole Company over +to Captain _Vantbrugg_ to _Act_ under HIS, at the Theatre in the _Hay +Market_." Vanbrugh opened his theatre on 9th April, 1705.] + + +[Footnote 355: In Dryden's Prologue at the opening of Drury Lane in +1674, in comparing the situation of Drury Lane with that of Dorset +Garden, which was at the east end of Fleet Street, he talks of + + "... a cold bleak road, + Where bears in furs dare scarcely look abroad." + +This is now the Strand and Fleet Street! No doubt the road westward to +the Haymarket was equally wild.] + + +[Footnote 356: This experiment was never tried. From the time Cibber +wrote, the house was used as an Opera House.] + + +[Footnote 357: + + "to Court, + Her seat imperial Dulness shall transport. + Already Opera prepares the way, + The sure fore-runner of her gentle sway." + "Dunciad," iii. verses 301-303. + + "When lo! a harlot form soft sliding by, + With mincing step, small voice, and languid eye; + Foreign her air, her robe's discordant pride + In patchwork fluttering, and her head aside; + By singing peers upheld on either hand, + She tripp'd and laugh'd, too pretty much to stand." + "Dunciad," iv. verses 45-50.] + + +[Footnote 358: Salvini, the great Italian actor, played in America with +an English company, he speaking in Italian, they answering in English: I +have myself seen a similar polyglot performance at the Edinburgh Lyceum +Theatre, where the manager, Mr. J. B. Howard, acted Iago (in English), +while Signor Salvini and his company played in Italian. I confess the +effect was not so startling as I expected.] + + +[Footnote 359: "The Confederacy" was not produced till the following +season--30th October, 1705.] + + +[Footnote 360: It was acted ten times.] + + +[Footnote 361: Genest (ii. 333) says that Congreve resigned his share at +the close of the season 1704-5.] + + +[Footnote 362: Cibber should have said "The Confederacy." "The Cuckold +in Conceit" has never been printed, and Genest doubts if it is by +Vanbrugh. Besides, it was not produced till 22nd March, 1707.] + + +[Footnote 363: "The Mistake" was produced 27th December, 1705. "Squire +Trelooby," which was first played in 1704, was revived 28th January, +1706, with a new second act.] + + +[Footnote 364: A junction of the companies seems to have been talked of +as early as 1701. In the Prologue to "The Unhappy Penitent" (1701), the +lines occur:-- + + "But now the peaceful tattle of the town, + Is how to join both houses into one."] + + +[Footnote 365: In "The Post-Boy Rob'd of his Mail," p. 342, some curious +particulars of the negotiations for a Union are given. One of Rich's +objections to it is that he has to consider the interests of his +Partners, with some of whom he has already been compelled to go to law +on monetary questions.] + + +[Footnote 366: In July, 1705, Rich was approached on behalf of Vanbrugh +regarding a Union, and the Lord Chamberlain supported the latter's +proposal. Rich, in declining, wrote: "I am concern'd with above forty +Persons in number, either as Adventurers under the two Patents granted +to Sir _William Davenant,_ and _Tho. Killigrew_, Esq.; or as Renters of +_Covent-Garden_ and _Dorset-Garden_ Theatres.... I am a purchaser under +the Patents, to above the value of two Thousand Pounds (a great part of +which was under the Marriage-Settlements of Dr. _Davenant_)."--"The +Post-Boy Rob'd of his Mail," p. 344.] + + +[Footnote 367: Owen Swiney, or Mac Swiney, was an Irishman. As is +related by Cibber in this and following chapters, he leased the +Haymarket from Vanbrugh from the beginning of the season 1706-7. At the +Union, 1707-8, the Haymarket was made over to him for the production of +operas; and when, at the end of 1708-9, Rich was ordered to silence his +company at Drury Lane, Swiney was allowed to engage the chief of Rich's +actors to play at the Haymarket, where they opened September, 1709. At +the beginning of season 1710-11, Swiney and his partners became managers +of Drury Lane, but Swiney was forced at the end of that season to resume +the management of the operas. After a year of the Opera-house (end of +1711-12), Swiney was ruined and had to go abroad. He remained abroad +some twenty years. On 26th February, 1735, he had a benefit at Drury +Lane, at which Cibber played for his old friend. The "Biographia +Dramatica" says that he received a place in the Custom House, and was +made Keeper of the King's Mews. He died 2nd October, 1754, leaving his +property to Mrs. Woffington. Davies, in his "Dramatic Miscellanies" (i. +232), tells an idle tale of a scuffle between Swiney and Mrs. Clive's +brother, which Bellchambers quotes at length, though it has no special +reference to anything.] + + +[Footnote 368: At Drury Lane this season (1706-7) very few plays were +acted, Rich relying chiefly on operas.] + + +[Footnote 369: Cibber seems to be wrong in including Estcourt in this +list. His name appears in the Drury Lane bills for 1706-7, and his great +part of Sergeant Kite ("Recruiting Officer") was played at the Haymarket +by Pack. On 30th November, 1706, it was advertised that "the true +Sergeant Kite is performed at Drury Lane."] + + +[Footnote 370: See memoir of Theophilus Keen at end of second volume.] + + +[Footnote 371: Downes (p. 50) gives the following account of the +transaction:-- + +"In this Interval Captain _Vantbrugg_ by Agreement with Mr. _Swinny_, +and by the Concurrence of my Lord Chamberlain, Transferr'd and Invested +his License and Government of the Theatre to Mr. _Swinny_; who brought +with him from Mr. _Rich_, Mr. _Wilks_, Mr. _Cyber_, Mr. _Mills_, Mr. +_Johnson_, Mr. _Keene_, Mr. _Norris_, Mr. _Fairbank_, Mrs. _Oldfield_ +and others; United them to the Old Company; Mr. _Betterton_ and Mr. +_Underhill_, being the only remains of the Duke of _York's_ Servants, +from 1662, till the Union in _October_ 1706."] + + +[Footnote 372: The chief actors left at Drury Lane were Estcourt, +Pinkethman, Powell, Capt. Griffin, Mrs. Tofts, Mrs. Mountfort (that is, +the great Mrs. Mountfort's daughter), and Mrs. Cross: a miserably weak +company.] + + +[Footnote 373: Swiney's company began to act at the Haymarket on 15th +October, 1706. Cibber's first appearance seems to have been on 7th +November, when he played Lord Foppington in "The Careless Husband."] + + + + + * * * * * * + + + + +Transcription note: + +The Index, originally printed in Volume II and covering both volumes, +has been copied to the end of this volume for the convenience of +the reader. + +The original spelling and grammar have been retained. Footnotes have been +moved to the end of this work. Minor adjustments to hyphenation and other +punctuation have been made without annotation. + +Typographical changes to this volume: + + pg lvi (Sidenote) in London or Westmister[Westminster] + pg liii Added heading [Letters Patent for Erecting a New Theatre] + pg 84 had military Commissions; Carlisle [Carlile] + pg 105 in a full rowd[Crowd] of Courtiers + pg 105 nd[And] therefore they shall know + pg 105 falls into this Rhapsody of Vain-lory[Vain-glory] + pg 138 that would have been the [extra the] least Part + pg 157 Likeness of these Theatrical Portraicts[Portraits] + pg 331 he had this wholsom[wholesome] + fn 91 played at Dorset Garden; "Pysche"["Psyche"] followed + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44064 *** |