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diff --git a/44064-8.txt b/44064-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b254e7f..0000000 --- a/44064-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14229 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber, -Volume I (of 2), by Colley Cibber, Illustrated by R. B. Parkes and Adolphe -Lalauze - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber, Volume I (of 2) - Written by Himself. A New Edition with Notes and Supplement - - -Author: Colley Cibber - - - -Release Date: October 29, 2013 [eBook #44064] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. -COLLEY CIBBER, VOLUME I (OF 2)*** - - -E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, RSPIII, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(https://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -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 AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. -COLLEY CIBBER, VOLUME I (OF 2)*** - - -******* This file should be named 44064-8.txt or 44064-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/0/6/44064 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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