diff options
Diffstat (limited to '44065-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 44065-8.txt | 13685 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 13685 deletions
diff --git a/44065-8.txt b/44065-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6e8b9dd..0000000 --- a/44065-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13685 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber, -Volume II (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 II (of 2) - Written by Himself. A New Edition with Notes and Supplement - - -Author: Colley Cibber - - - -Release Date: October 29, 2013 [eBook #44065] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. -COLLEY CIBBER, VOLUME II (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 (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 44065-h.htm or 44065-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44065/44065-h/44065-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44065/44065-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/anapologyforlife02cibbuoft - - - Project Gutenberg has the other volume of this work. - Volume I: see http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44064 - - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - A carat character is used to denote superscription. A - single character following the carat is superscripted - (example: y^m). Multiple superscripted characters are - enclosed by curly brackets (example: 30^{th}). - - The scribal abbreviation found in Footnote 56 is - represented by the notation {c~o}. - - - - - - AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF - - MR. COLLEY CIBBER. - - _VOLUME THE SECOND._ - - - - - _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 AS LORD FOPPINGTON.] - - - - - 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 SECOND - - - 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. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER X. - - PAGE - THE RECRUITED ACTORS IN THE HAY-MARKET ENCOURAG'D BY A - SUBSCRIPTION, ETC. 1 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - SOME CHIMÆRICAL THOUGHTS OF MAKING THE STAGE USEFUL, ETC. 24 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - A SHORT VIEW OF THE OPERA WHEN FIRST DIVIDED FROM THE - COMEDY, ETC. 50 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE PATENTEE, HAVING NOW NO ACTORS, REBUILDS THE NEW THEATRE - IN LINCOLNS-INN-FIELDS, ETC. 97 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE STAGE IN ITS HIGHEST PROSPERITY, ETC. 117 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - SIR RICHARD STEELE SUCCEEDS COLLIER IN THE THEATRE-ROYAL, - ETC. 161 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE AUTHOR STEPS OUT OF HIS WAY. PLEADS HIS THEATRICAL CAUSE - IN CHANCERY, ETC. 192 - - - SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 257 - - BIBLIOGRAPHY OF COLLEY CIBBER 289 - - A BRIEF SUPPLEMENT TO COLLEY CIBBER, ESQ; HIS LIVES OF THE - LATE FAMOUS ACTORS AND ACTRESSES 299 - - MEMOIRS OF ACTORS AND ACTRESSES 319 - - - - - LIST OF MEZZOTINT PORTRAITS. - - NEWLY ENGRAVED BY R. B. PARKES. - - VOLUME THE SECOND. - - - PAGE - I. COLLEY CIBBER, in the character of "Sir Novelty - Fashion, newley created Lord Foppington," in - Vanbrugh's play of "The Relapse; or, Virtue in - Danger." From the painting by J. Grisoni. The - property of the Garrick Club. _Frontispiece_ - - II. OWEN SWINEY. After the painting by John Baptist - Vanloo. 54 - - III. ANNE OLDFIELD. From the picture by Jonathan - Richardson. 70 - - IV. THEOPHILUS CIBBER, in the character of "Antient - Pistol." 86 - - V. HESTER SANTLOW (Mrs. Barton Booth). After an - original picture from the life. 104 - - VI. ROBERT WILKS. After the painting by John Ellys, - 1732. 122 - - VII. RICHARD STEELE. From the painting by Jonathan - Richardson, 1712. 172 - - VIII. BARTON BOOTH. From the picture by George White. 206 - - IX. SUSANNA MARIA CIBBER. After a painting by Thomas - Hudson. 222 - - X. CHARLES FLEETWOOD. "Sir Fopling Flutter Arrested." - "Drawn from a real Scene." John Dixon _ad vivum del - et fect_. 254 - - XI. ALEXANDER POPE, at the age of 28. After the - picture by Sir Godfrey Kneller, painted in 1716. 272 - - XII. SUSANNA MARIA CIBBER, in the character of - Cordelia, "King Lear," act iii. After the - picture by Peter Van Bleeck. 288 - - XIII. CAVE UNDERHILL, in the character of Obadiah, - "The Fanatic Elder." After the picture by Robert - Bing, 1712. 306 - - - - - LIST OF CHAPTER HEADINGS. - - NEWLY ETCHED FROM CONTEMPORARY DRAWINGS BY - ADOLPHE LALAUZE. - - VOLUME THE SECOND. - - - X. SCENE ILLUSTRATING CIBBER'S "CARELESS HUSBAND." - After the picture by Philip Mercier. - - XI. COFFEE-HOUSE SCENE OF CIBBER'S DAY, "drawn from - the life" by G. Vander Gucht. - - XII. SCENE ILLUSTRATING "THE ITALIAN OPERA," WITH - SENESINO, CUZZONI, &C. From a contemporary design. - - XIII. SCENE ILLUSTRATING FARQUHAR'S "RECRUITING OFFICER." - After the picture by Philip Mercier. - - XIV. SCENE ILLUSTRATING ADDISON'S "CATO." After the - contemporary design by Lud. du Guernier. - - XV. SCENE ILLUSTRATING VANBRUGH AND CIBBER'S "PROVOKED - HUSBAND." After the contemporary design by - J. Vanderbank. - - XVI. SCENE ILLUSTRATING VANBRUGH'S "PROVOKED WIFE." - After the contemporary design by Arnold Vanhaecken. - - XVII. "THE STAGE MUTINY," with portraits of Theophilus - Cibber as "Antient Pistol," Mrs. Wilks, and others, - in character; Colley Cibber as Poet Laureate, with - his lap filled with bags of money. From a pictorial - satire of the time. - - XVIII. ANTHONY ASTON'S "THE FOOL'S OPERA." - - - - -AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. COLLEY CIBBER, &c. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _The recruited Actors in the_ Hay-Market _encourag'd by a - Subscription_. Drury-Lane _under a particular Management_. - _The Power of a Lord-Chamberlain over the Theatres consider'd. - How it had been formerly exercis'd. A Digression to Tragick - Authors._ - -Having shewn the particular Conduct of the Patentee in refusing so fair -an Opportunity of securing to himself both Companies under his sole -Power and Interest, I shall now lead the Reader, after a short View of -what pass'd in this new Establishment of the _Hay-Market_ Theatre, to -the Accidents that the Year following compell'd the same Patentee to -receive both Companies, united, into the _Drury-Lane_ Theatre, -notwithstanding his Disinclination to it. - -It may now be imagin'd that such a Detachment of Actors from -_Drury-Lane_ could not but give a new Spirit to those in the -_Hay-Market_; not only by enabling them to act each others Plays to -better Advantage, but by an emulous Industry which had lain too long -inactive among them, and without which they plainly saw they could not -be sure of Subsistence. Plays by this means began to recover a good -Share of their former Esteem and Favour; and the Profits of them in -about a Month enabled our new Menager to discharge his Debt (of -something more than Two hundred Pounds) to his old Friend the Patentee, -who had now left him and his Troop in trust to fight their own Battles. -The greatest Inconvenience they still laboured under was the immoderate -Wideness of their House, in which, as I have observ'd, the Difficulty of -Hearing may be said to have bury'd half the Auditors Entertainment. This -Defect seem'd evident from the much better Reception several new Plays -(first acted there) met with when they afterwards came to be play'd by -the same Actors in _Drury-Lane_: Of this Number were the _Stratagem_[1] -and the _Wife's Resentment_;[2] to which I may add the _Double -Gallant_.[3] This last was a Play made up of what little was tolerable -in two or three others that had no Success, and were laid aside as so -much Poetical Lumber; but by collecting and adapting the best Parts of -them all into one Play, the _Double Gallant_ has had a Place every -Winter amongst the Publick Entertainments these Thirty Years. As I was -only the Compiler of this Piece I did not publish it in my own Name; -but as my having but a Hand in it could not be long a Secret, I have -been often treated as a Plagiary on that Account: Not that I think I -have any right to complain of whatever would detract from the Merit of -that sort of Labour, yet a Cobler may be allow'd to be useful though he -is not famous:[4] And I hope a Man is not blameable for doing a little -Good, tho' he cannot do as much as another? But so it is--Twopenny -Criticks must live as well as Eighteenpenny Authors![5] - -While the Stage was thus recovering its former Strength, a more -honourable Mark of Favour was shewn to it than it was ever known before -or since to have receiv'd. The then Lord _Hallifax_ was not only the -Patron of the Men of Genius of this Time, but had likewise a generous -Concern for the Reputation and Prosperity of the Theatre, from whence -the most elegant Dramatick Labours of the Learned, he knew, had often -shone in their brightest Lustre. A Proposal therefore was drawn up and -addressed to that Noble Lord for his Approbation and Assistance to raise -a publick Subscription for Reviving Three Plays of the best Authors, -with the full Strength of the Company; every Subscriber to have Three -Tickets for the first Day of each Play for his single Payment of Three -Guineas. This Subscription his Lordship so zealously encouraged, that -from his Recommendation chiefly, in a very little time it was -compleated. The Plays were _Julius Cæsar_ of _Shakespear_; the _King and -no King_ of _Fletcher_, and the Comic Scenes of _Drydens Marriage à la -mode_ and of his _Maiden Queen_ put together;[6] for it was judg'd that, -as these comic Episodes were utterly independent of the serious Scenes -they were originally written to, they might on this occasion be as well -Episodes either to the other, and so make up five livelier Acts between -them: At least the Project so well succeeded, that those comic Parts -have never since been replaced, but were continued to be jointly acted -as one Play several Years after. - -By the Aid of this Subscription, which happen'd in 1707, and by the -additional Strength and Industry of this Company, not only the Actors -(several of which were handsomely advanc'd in their Sallaries) were duly -paid, but the Menager himself, too, at the Foot of his Account, stood a -considerable Gainer. - -At the same time the Patentee of _Drury-Lane_ went on in his usual Method -of paying extraordinary Prices to Singers, Dancers, and other exotick -Performers, which were as constantly deducted out of the sinking Sallaries -of his Actors: 'Tis true his Actors perhaps might not deserve much more -than he gave them; yet, by what I have related, it is plain he chose not -to be troubled with such as visibly had deserv'd more: For it seems he had -not purchas'd his Share of the Patent to mend the Stage, but to make Money -of it: And to say Truth, his Sense of every thing to be shewn there was -much upon a Level with the Taste of the Multitude, whose Opinion and whose -Money weigh'd with him full as much as that of the best Judges. His Point -was to please the Majority, who could more easily comprehend any thing -they _saw_ than the daintiest things that could be said to them. But in -this Notion he kept no medium; for in my Memory he carry'd it so far that -he was (some few Years before this time) actually dealing for an -extraordinary large Elephant at a certain Sum for every Day he might think -fit to shew the tractable Genius of that vast quiet Creature in any Play -or Farce in the Theatre (then standing) in _Dorset-Garden_. But from the -Jealousy which so formidable a Rival had rais'd in his Dancers, and by his -Bricklayer's assuring him that if the Walls were to be open'd wide enough -for its Entrance it might endanger the fall of the House, he gave up his -Project, and with it so hopeful a Prospect of making the Receipts of the -Stage run higher than all the Wit and Force of the best Writers had ever -yet rais'd them to.[7] - -About the same time of his being under this Disappointment he put in -Practice another Project of as new, though not of so bold a Nature; -which was his introducing a Set of Rope-dancers into the same Theatre; -for the first Day of whose Performance he had given out some Play in -which I had a material Part: But I was hardy enough to go into the Pit -and acquaint the Spectators near me, that I hop'd they would not think -it a Mark of my Disrespect to them, if I declin'd acting upon any Stage -that was brought to so low a Disgrace as ours was like to be by that -Day's Entertainment. My Excuse was so well taken that I never after -found any ill Consequences, or heard of the least Disapprobation of it: -And the whole Body of Actors, too, protesting against such an Abuse of -their Profession, our cautious Master was too much alarm'd and -intimidated to repeat it. - -After what I have said, it will be no wonder that all due Regards to the -original Use and Institution of the Stage should be utterly lost or -neglected: Nor was the Conduct of this Menager easily to be alter'd -while he had found the Secret of making Money out of Disorder and -Confusion: For however strange it may seem, I have often observ'd him -inclin'd to be cheerful in the Distresses of his Theatrical Affairs, and -equally reserv'd and pensive when they went smoothly forward with a -visible Profit. Upon a Run of good Audiences he was more frighted to be -thought a Gainer, which might make him accountable to others, than he -was dejected with bad Houses, which at worst he knew would make others -accountable to him: And as, upon a moderate Computation, it cannot be -supposed that the contested Accounts of a twenty Year's Wear and Tear in -a Play-house could be fairly adjusted by a Master in Chancery under -four-score Years more, it will be no Surprize that by the Neglect, or -rather the Discretion, of other Proprietors in not throwing away good -Money after bad, this Hero of a Menager, who alone supported the War, -should in time so fortify himself by Delay, and so tire his Enemies, -that he became sole Monarch of his Theatrical Empire, and left the quiet -Possession of it to his Successors. - -If these Facts seem too trivial for the Attention of a sensible Reader, -let it be consider'd that they are not chosen Fictions to _entertain_, -but Truths necessary to _inform_ him under what low Shifts and -Disgraces, what Disorders and Revolutions, the Stage labour'd before it -could recover that Strength and Reputation wherewith it began to -flourish towards the latter End of Queen _Anne_'s Reign; and which it -continued to enjoy for a Course of twenty Years following. But let us -resume our Account of the new Settlement in the _Hay-Market_. - -It may be a natural Question why the Actors whom _Swiney_ brought over -to his Undertaking in the _Hay-Market_ would tie themselves down to -limited Sallaries? for though he as their Menager was obliged to make -them certain Payments, it was not certain that the Receipts would enable -him to do it; and since their own Industry was the only visible Fund -they had to depend upon, why would they not for that Reason insist upon -their being Sharers as well of possible Profits as Losses? How far in -this Point they acted right or wrong will appear from the following -State of their Case. - -It must first be consider'd that this Scheme of their Desertion was all -concerted and put in Execution in a Week's Time, which short Warning -might make them overlook that Circumstance, and the sudden Prospect of -being deliver'd from having seldom more than half their Pay was a -Contentment that had bounded all their farther Views. Besides, as there -could be no room to doubt of their receiving their full Pay previous to -any Profits that might be reap'd by their Labour, and as they had no -great Reason to apprehend those Profits could exceed their respective -Sallaries so far as to make them repine at them, they might think it but -reasonable to let the Chance of any extraordinary Gain be on the Side of -their Leader and Director. But farther, as this Scheme had the -Approbation of the Court, these Actors in reality had it not in their -Power to alter any Part of it: And what induced the Court to encourage -it was, that by having the Theatre and its Menager more immediately -dependent on the Power of the Lord Chamberlain, it was not doubted but -the Stage would be recover'd into such a Reputation as might now do -Honour to that absolute Command which the Court or its Officers seem'd -always fond of having over it. - -Here, to set the Constitution of the Stage in a clearer Light, it may -not be amiss to look back a little on the Power of a Lord Chamberlain, -which, as may have been observ'd in all Changes of the Theatrical -Government, has been the main Spring without which no Scheme of what -kind soever could be set in Motion. My Intent is not to enquire how far -by Law this Power has been limited or extended; but merely as an -Historian to relate Facts to gratify the Curious, and then leave them to -their own Reflections: This, too, I am the more inclin'd to, because -there is no one Circumstance which has affected the Stage wherein so -many Spectators, from those of the highest Rank to the Vulgar, have -seem'd more positively knowing or less inform'd in. - -Though in all the Letters Patent for acting Plays, _&c._ since King -_Charles_ the _First_'s Time there has been no mention of the Lord -Chamberlain, or of any Subordination to his Command or Authority, yet it -was still taken for granted that no Letters Patent, by the bare Omission -of such a great Officer's Name, could have superseded or taken out of -his Hands that Power which Time out of Mind he always had exercised over -the Theatre.[8] The common Opinions then abroad were, that if the -Profession of Actors was unlawful, it was not in the Power of the Crown -to license it; and if it were not unlawful, it ought to be free and -independent as other Professions; and that a Patent to exercise it was -only an honorary Favour from the Crown to give it a better Grace of -Recommendation to the Publick. But as the Truth of this Question seem'd -to be wrapt in a great deal of Obscurity, in the old Laws made in former -Reigns relating to Players, _&c._ it may be no Wonder that the best -Companies of Actors should be desirous of taking Shelter under the -visible Power of a Lord Chamberlain who they knew had at his Pleasure -favoured and protected or born hard upon them: But be all this as it -may, a Lord Chamberlain (from whencesoever his Power might be derived) -had till of later Years had always an implicit Obedience paid to it: I -shall now give some few Instances in what manner it was exercised. - -What appear'd to be most reasonably under his Cognizance was the -licensing or refusing new Plays, or striking out what might be thought -offensive in them: Which Province had been for many Years assign'd to -his inferior Officer, the Master of the Revels; yet was not this License -irrevocable; for several Plays, though acted by that Permission, had -been silenced afterwards. The first Instance of this kind that common -Fame has deliver'd down to us, is that of the _Maid's Tragedy_ of -_Beaumont_ and _Fletcher_, which was forbid in King _Charles_ the -_Second_'s time, by an Order from the Lord Chamberlain. For what Reason -this Interdiction was laid upon it the Politicks of those Days have only -left us to guess. Some said that the killing of the King in that Play, -while the tragical Death of King _Charles_ the _First_ was then so fresh -in People's Memory, was an Object too horribly impious for a publick -Entertainment. What makes this Conjecture seem to have some Foundation, -is that the celebrated _Waller_, in Compliment to that Court, alter'd -the last Act of this Play (which is printed at the End of his Works) and -gave it a new Catastrophe, wherein the Life of the King is loyally -saved, and the Lady's Matter made up with a less terrible Reparation. -Others have given out, that a repenting Mistress, in a romantick Revenge -of her Dishonour, killing the King in the very Bed he expected her to -come into, was shewing a too dangerous Example to other _Evadnes_ then -shining at Court in the same Rank of royal Distinction; who, if ever -their Consciences should have run equally mad, might have had frequent -Opportunities of putting the Expiation of their Frailty into the like -Execution. But this I doubt is too deep a Speculation, or too ludicrous -a Reason, to be relied on; it being well known that the Ladies then in -favour were not so nice in their Notions as to think their Preferment -their Dishonour, or their Lover a Tyrant: Besides, that easy Monarch -loved his Roses without Thorns; nor do we hear that he much chose to be -himself the first Gatherer of them.[9] - -The _Lucius Junius Brutus_ of _Nat. Lee_[10] was in the same Reign -silenced after the third Day of Acting it; it being objected that the -Plan and Sentiments of it had too boldly vindicated, and might enflame -republican Principles. - -A Prologue (by _Dryden_) to the _Prophetess_ was forbid by the Lord -_Dorset_ after the first Day of its being spoken.[11] This happen'd when -King _William_ was prosecuting the War in _Ireland_. It must be -confess'd that this Prologue had some familiar, metaphorical Sneers at -the Revolution itself; and as the Poetry of it was good, the Offence of -it was less pardonable. - -The Tragedy of _Mary_ Queen of _Scotland_[12] had been offer'd to the -Stage twenty Years before it was acted: But from the profound -Penetration of the Master of the Revels, who saw political Spectres in -it that never appear'd in the Presentation, it had lain so long upon the -Hands of the Author; who had at last the good Fortune to prevail with a -Nobleman to favour his Petition to Queen _Anne_ for Permission to have -it acted: The Queen had the Goodness to refer the Merit of his Play to -the Opinion of that noble Person, although he was not her Majesty's Lord -Chamberlain; upon whose Report of its being every way an innocent Piece, -it was soon after acted with Success. - -Reader, by your Leave----I will but just speak a Word or two to any -Author that has not yet writ one Line of his next Play, and then I will -come to my Point again----What I would say to him is this--Sir, before -you set Pen to Paper, think well and principally of your Design or chief -Action, towards which every Line you write ought to be drawn, as to its -Centre: If we can say of your finest Sentiments, This or That might be -left out without maiming the Story, you would tell us, depend upon it, -that fine thing is said in a wrong Place; and though you may urge that a -bright Thought is not to be resisted, you will not be able to deny that -those very fine Lines would be much finer if you could find a proper -Occasion for them: Otherwise you will be thought to take less Advice -from _Aristotle_ or _Horace_ than from Poet _Bays_ in the _Rehearsal_, -who very smartly says--_What the Devil is the Plot good for but to bring -in fine things?_ Compliment the Taste of your Hearers as much as you -please with them, provided they belong to your Subject, but don't, like -a dainty Preacher who has his Eye more upon this World than the next, -leave your Text for them. When your Fable is good, every Part of it will -cost you much less Labour to keep your Narration alive, than you will be -forced to bestow upon those elegant Discourses that are not absolutely -conducive to your Catastrophe or main Purpose: Scenes of that kind shew -but at best the unprofitable or injudicious Spirit of a Genius. It is -but a melancholy Commendation of a fine Thought to say, when we have -heard it, _Well! but what's all this to the Purpose?_ Take, therefore, -in some part, Example by the Author last mention'd! There are three -Plays of his, The _Earl_ of _Essex_,[13] _Anna Bullen_,[14] and _Mary -Queen of Scots_, which, tho' they are all written in the most barren, -barbarous Stile that was ever able to keep Possession of the Stage, have -all interested the Hearts of his Auditors. To what then could this -Success be owing, but to the intrinsick and naked Value of the -well-conducted Tales he has simply told us? There is something so happy -in the Disposition of all his Fables; all his chief Characters are -thrown into such natural Circumstances of Distress, that their Misery or -Affliction wants very little Assistance from the Ornaments of Stile or -Words to speak them. When a skilful Actor is so situated, his bare -plaintive Tone of Voice, the Cast of Sorrow from his Eye, his slowly -graceful Gesture, his humble Sighs of Resignation under his Calamities: -All these, I say, are sometimes without a Tongue equal to the strongest -Eloquence. At such a time the attentive Auditor supplies from his own -Heart whatever the Poet's Language may fall short of in Expression, and -melts himself into every Pang of Humanity which the like Misfortunes in -real Life could have inspir'd. - -After what I have observ'd, whenever I see a Tragedy defective in its -Fable, let there be never so many fine Lines in it; I hope I shall be -forgiven if I impute that Defect to the Idleness, the weak Judgment, or -barren Invention of the Author. - -If I should be ask'd why I have not always my self follow'd the Rules I -would impose upon others; I can only answer, that whenever I have not, -I lie equally open to the same critical Censure. But having often -observ'd a better than ordinary Stile thrown away upon the loose and -wandering Scenes of an ill-chosen Story, I imagin'd these Observations -might convince some future Author of how great Advantage a Fable well -plann'd must be to a Man of any tolerable Genius. - -All this I own is leading my Reader out of the way; but if he has as -much Time upon his Hands as I have, (provided we are neither of us -tir'd) it may be equally to the Purpose what he reads or what I write -of. But as I have no Objection to Method when it is not troublesome, I -return to my Subject. - -Hitherto we have seen no very unreasonable Instance of this absolute -Power of a Lord Chamberlain, though we were to admit that no one knew of -any real Law, or Construction of Law, by which this Power was given him. -I shall now offer some Facts relating to it of a more extraordinary -Nature, which I leave my Reader to give a Name to. - -About the middle of King _William_'s Reign an Order of the Lord -Chamberlain was then subsisting that no Actor of either Company should -presume to go from one to the other without a Discharge from their -respective Menagers[15] and the Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. -Notwithstanding such Order, _Powel_, being uneasy at the Favour _Wilks_ -was then rising into, had without such Discharge left the _Drury-Lane_ -Theatre and engag'd himself to that of _Lincolns-Inn-Fields_: But by -what follows it will appear that this Order was not so much intended to -do both of them _good_, as to do that which the Court chiefly favour'd -(_Lincolns-Inn-Fields_) no harm.[16] For when _Powel_ grew dissatisfy'd -at his Station there too, he return'd to _Drury-Lane_ (as he had before -gone from it) without a Discharge: But halt a little! here, on this Side -of the Question, the Order was to stand in force, and the same Offence -against it now was not to be equally pass'd over. He was the next Day -taken up by a Messenger and confin'd to the Porter's-Lodge, where, to -the best of my Remembrance, he remain'd about two Days; when the -Menagers of _Lincolns-Inn-Fields_, not thinking an Actor of his loose -Character worth their farther Trouble, gave him up; though perhaps he -was releas'd for some better Reason.[17] Upon this occasion, the next -Day, behind the Scenes at _Drury-Lane_, a Person of great Quality in my -hearing enquiring of _Powel_ into the Nature of his Offence, after he -had heard it, told him, That if he had had Patience or Spirit enough to -have staid in his Confinement till he had given him Notice of it, he -would have found him a handsomer way of coming out of it. - -Another time the same Actor, _Powel_, was provok'd at _Will_'s -Coffee-house, in a Dispute about the Playhouse Affairs, to strike a -Gentleman whose Family had been sometimes Masters of it; a Complaint of -this Insolence was, in the Absence of the Lord-Chamberlain, immediately -made to the Vice-Chamberlain, who so highly resented it that he thought -himself bound in Honour to carry his Power of redressing it as far as it -could possibly go: For _Powel_ having a Part in the Play that was acted -the Day after, the Vice-Chamberlain sent an Order to silence the whole -Company for having suffer'd _Powel_ to appear upon the Stage before he -had made that Gentleman Satisfaction, although the Masters of the -Theatre had had no Notice of _Powel_'s Misbehaviour: However, this Order -was obey'd, and remain'd in force for two or three Days, 'till the same -Authority was pleas'd or advis'd to revoke it.[18] From the Measures -this injur'd Gentleman took for his Redress, it may be judg'd how far it -was taken for granted that a Lord-Chamberlain had an absolute Power over -the Theatre. - -I shall now give an Instance of an Actor who had the Resolution to stand -upon the Defence of his Liberty against the same Authority, and was -reliev'd by it. - -In the same King's Reign, _Dogget_, who tho', from a severe Exactness in -his Nature, he could be seldom long easy in any Theatre, where -Irregularity, not to say Injustice, too often prevail'd, yet in the -private Conduct of his Affairs he was a prudent, honest Man. He -therefore took an unusual Care, when he return'd to act under the Patent -in _Drury-Lane_, to have his Articles drawn firm and binding: But having -some Reason to think the Patentee had not dealt fairly with him, he -quitted the Stage and would act no more, rather chusing to lose his -whatever unsatisfy'd Demands than go through the chargeable and tedious -Course of the Law to recover it. But the Patentee, who (from other -People's Judgment) knew the Value of him, and who wanted, too, to have -him sooner back than the Law could possibly bring him, thought the surer -way would be to desire a shorter Redress from the Authority of the -Lord-Chamberlain.[19] Accordingly, upon his Complaint a Messenger was -immediately dispatch'd to _Norwich_, where _Dogget_ then was, to bring -him up in Custody: But doughty _Dogget_, who had Money in his Pocket and -the Cause of Liberty at his Heart, was not in the least intimidated by -this formidable Summons. He was observ'd to obey it with a particular -Chearfulness, entertaining his Fellow-traveller, the Messenger, all the -way in the Coach (for he had protested against Riding) with as much -Humour as a Man of his Business might be capable of tasting. And as he -found his Charges were to be defray'd, he, at every Inn, call'd for the -best Dainties the Country could afford or a pretended weak Appetite -could digest. At this rate they jollily roll'd on, more with the Air of -a Jaunt than a Journey, or a Party of Pleasure than of a poor Devil in -Durance. Upon his Arrival in Town he immediately apply'd to the Lord -Chief Justice _Holt_ for his _Habeas Corpus_. As his Case was something -particular, that eminent and learned Minister of the Law took a -particular Notice of it: For _Dogget_ was not only discharg'd, but the -Process of his Confinement (according to common Fame) had a Censure -pass'd upon it in Court, which I doubt I am not Lawyer enough to repeat! -To conclude, the officious Agents in this Affair, finding that in -_Dogget_ they had mistaken their Man, were mollify'd into milder -Proceedings, and (as he afterwards told me) whisper'd something in his -Ear that took away _Dogget_'s farther Uneasiness about it. - -By these Instances we see how naturally Power only founded on Custom is -apt, where the Law is silent, to run into Excesses, and while it -laudably pretends to govern others, how hard it is to govern itself. But -since the Law has lately open'd its Mouth, and has said plainly that -some Part of this Power to govern the Theatre shall be, and is plac'd in -a proper Person; and as it is evident that the Power of that white -Staff, ever since it has been in the noble Hand that now holds it, has -been us'd with the utmost Lenity, I would beg leave of the murmuring -Multitude who frequent the Theatre to offer them a simple Question or -two, _viz._ Pray, Gentlemen, how came you, or rather your Fore-fathers, -never to be mutinous upon any of the occasional Facts I have related? -And why have you been so often tumultuous upon a Law's being made that -only confirms a less Power than was formerly exercis'd without any Law -to support it? You cannot, sure, say such Discontent is either just or -natural, unless you allow it a Maxim in your Politicks that Power -exercis'd _without_ Law is a less Grievance than the same Power -exercis'd _according_ to Law! - -Having thus given the clearest View I was able of the usual Regard paid -to the Power of a Lord-Chamberlain, the Reader will more easily conceive -what Influence and Operation that Power must naturally have in all -Theatrical Revolutions, and particularly in the complete Re-union of -both Companies, which happen'd in the Year following. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _Some Chimærical Thoughts of making the Stage useful: Some, to - its Reputation. The Patent unprofitable to all the Proprietors - but one. A fourth Part of it given away to Colonel_ Brett. _A - Digression to his Memory. The two Companies of Actors reunited - by his Interest and Menagement. The first Direction of Operas - only given to Mr._ Swiney. - -From the Time that the Company of Actors in the _Hay-Market_ was -recruited with those from _Drury-Lane_, and came into the Hands of their -new Director, _Swiney_, the Theatre for three or four Years following -suffer'd so many Convulsions, and was thrown every other Winter under -such different Interests and Menagement before it came to a firm and -lasting Settlement, that I am doubtful if the most candid Reader will -have Patience to go through a full and fair Account of it: And yet I -would fain flatter my self that those who are not too wise to frequent -the Theatre (or have Wit enough to distinguish what sort of Sights there -either do Honour or Disgrace to it) may think their national Diversion -no contemptible Subject for a more able Historian than I pretend to be: -If I have any particular Qualification for the Task more than another it -is that I have been an ocular Witness of the several Facts that are to -fill up the rest of my Volume, and am perhaps the only Person living -(however unworthy) from whom the same Materials can be collected; but -let them come from whom they may, whether at best they will be worth -reading, perhaps a Judgment may be better form'd after a patient Perusal -of the following Digression. - -In whatever cold Esteem the Stage may be among the Wise and Powerful, it -is not so much a Reproach to those who contentedly enjoy it in its -lowest Condition, as that Condition of it is to those who (though they -cannot but know to how valuable a publick Use a Theatre, well -establish'd, might be rais'd) yet in so many civiliz'd Nations have -neglected it. This perhaps will be call'd thinking my own wiser than all -the wise Heads in _Europe_. But I hope a more humble Sense will be given -to it; at least I only mean, that if so many Governments have their -Reasons for their Disregard of their Theatres, those Reasons may be -deeper than my Capacity has yet been able to dive into: If therefore my -simple Opinion is a wrong one, let the Singularity of it expose me: And -tho' I am only building a Theatre in the Air, it is there, however, at -so little Expence and in so much better a Taste than any I have yet -seen, that I cannot help saying of it, as a wiser Man did (it may be) -upon a wiser Occasion: - - --_Si quid novisti rectius istis, - Candidus imperti; si non_-- Hor.[20] - -Give me leave to play with my Project in Fancy. - -I say, then, that as I allow nothing is more liable to debase and -corrupt the Minds of a People than a licentious Theatre, so under a just -and proper Establishment it were possible to make it as apparently the -School of Manners and of Virtue. Were I to collect all the Arguments -that might be given for my Opinion, or to inforce it by exemplary -Proofs, it might swell this short Digression to a Volume; I shall -therefore trust the Validity of what I have laid down to a single Fact -that may be still fresh in the Memory of many living Spectators. When -the Tragedy of _Cato_ was first acted,[21] let us call to mind the noble -Spirit of Patriotism which that Play then infus'd into the Breasts of a -free People that crowded to it; with what affecting Force was that most -elevated of Human Virtues recommended? Even the false Pretenders to it -felt an unwilling Conviction, and made it a Point of Honour to be -foremost in their Approbation; and this, too, at a time when the -fermented Nation had their different Views of Government. Yet the -sublime Sentiments of Liberty in that venerable Character rais'd in -every sensible Hearer such conscious Admiration, such compell'd Assent -to the Conduct of a suffering Virtue, as even _demanded_ two almost -irreconcileable Parties to embrace and join in their equal Applauses of -it.[22] Now, not to take from the Merit of the Writer, had that Play -never come to the Stage, how much of this valuable Effect of it must -have been lost? It then could have had no more immediate weight with the -Publick than our poring upon the many ancient Authors thro' whose Works -the same Sentiments have been perhaps less profitably dispers'd, tho' -amongst Millions of Readers; but by bringing such Sentiments to the -Theatre and into Action, what a superior Lustre did they shine with? -There _Cato_ breath'd again in Life; and though he perish'd in the Cause -of Liberty, his Virtue was victorious, and left the Triumph of it in the -Heart of every melting Spectator. If Effects like these are laudable, if -the Representation of such Plays can carry Conviction with so much -Pleasure to the Understanding, have they not vastly the Advantage of -any other Human Helps to Eloquence? What equal Method can be found to -lead or stimulate the Mind to a quicker Sense of Truth and Virtue, or -warm a People into the Love and Practice of such Principles as might be -at once a Defence and Honour to their Country? In what Shape could we -listen to Virtue with equal Delight or Appetite of Instruction? The Mind -of Man is naturally free, and when he is compell'd or menac'd into any -Opinion that he does not readily conceive, he is more apt to doubt the -Truth of it than when his Capacity is led by Delight into Evidence and -Reason. To preserve a Theatre in this Strength and Purity of Morals is, -I grant, what the wisest Nations have not been able to perpetuate or to -transmit long to their Posterity: But this Difficulty will rather -heighten than take from the Honour of the Theatre: The greatest Empires -have decay'd for want of proper Heads to guide them, and the Ruins of -them sometimes have been the Subject of Theatres that could not be -themselves exempt from as various Revolutions: Yet may not the most -natural Inference from all this be, That the Talents requisite to form -good Actors, great Writers, and true Judges were, like those of wise and -memorable Ministers, as well the Gifts of Fortune as of Nature, and not -always to be found in all Climes or Ages. Or can there be a stronger -modern Evidence of the Value of Dramatick Performances than that in many -Countries where the Papal Religion prevails the Holy Policy (though it -allows not to an Actor Christian Burial) is so conscious of the -Usefulness of his Art that it will frequently take in the Assistance of -the Theatre to give even Sacred History, in a Tragedy, a Recommendation -to the more pathetick Regard of their People. How can such Principles, -in the Face of the World, refuse the Bones of a Wretch the lowest -Benefit of Christian Charity after having admitted his Profession (for -which they deprive him of that Charity) to serve the solemn Purposes of -Religion? How far then is this Religious Inhumanity short of that famous -Painter's, who, to make his _Crucifix_ a Master-piece of Nature, stabb'd -the Innocent Hireling from whose Body he drew it; and having heighten'd -the holy Portrait with his last Agonies of Life, then sent it to be the -consecrated Ornament of an Altar? Though we have only the Authority of -common Fame for this Story, yet be it true or false the Comparison will -still be just. Or let me ask another Question more humanly political. - -How came the _Athenians_ to lay out an Hundred Thousand Pounds upon the -Decorations of one single Tragedy of _Sophocles_?[23] Not, sure, as it -was merely a Spectacle for Idleness or Vacancy of Thought to gape at, -but because it was the most rational, most instructive and delightful -Composition that Human Wit had yet arrived at, and consequently the most -worthy to be the Entertainment of a wise and warlike Nation: And it may -be still a Question whether the _Sophocles_ inspir'd this Publick -Spirit, or this Publick Spirit inspir'd the _Sophocles_?[24] - -But alas! as the Power of giving or receiving such Inspirations from -either of these Causes seems pretty well at an End, now I have shot my -Bolt I shall descend to talk more like a Man of the Age I live in: For, -indeed, what is all this to a common _English_ Reader? Why truly, as -_Shakespear_ terms it--_Caviare to the Multitude!_[25] Honest _John -Trott_ will tell you, that if he were to believe what I have said of the -_Athenians_, he is at most but astonish'd at it; but that if the -twentieth Part of the Sum I have mentioned were to be apply'd out of the -Publick money to the Setting off the best Tragedy the nicest Noddle in -the Nation could produce, it would probably raise the Passions higher in -those that did Not like it than in those that did; it might as likely -meet with an Insurrection as the Applause of the People, and so, mayhap, -be fitter for the Subject of a Tragedy than for a publick Fund to -support it.----Truly, Mr. _Trott_, I cannot but own that I am very much -of your Opinion: I am only concerned that the Theatre has not a better -Pretence to the Care and further Consideration of those Governments -where it is tolerated; but as what I have said will not probably do it -any great Harm, I hope I have not put you out of Patience by throwing a -few good Wishes after an old Acquaintance. - -To conclude this Digression. If for the Support of the Stage what is -generally shewn there must be lower'd to the Taste of common Spectators; -or if it is inconsistent with Liberty to mend that Vulgar Taste by making -the Multitude less merry there; or by abolishing every low and senseless -Jollity in which the Understanding can have no Share; whenever, I say, -such is the State of the Stage, it will be as often liable to unanswerable -Censure and manifest Disgraces. Yet there _was_ a Time, not yet out of -many People's Memory, when it subsisted upon its own rational Labours; -when even Success attended an Attempt to reduce it to Decency; and when -Actors themselves were hardy enough to hazard their Interest in pursuit of -so dangerous a Reformation. And this Crisis I am my self as impatient as -any tir'd Reader can be to arrive at. I shall therefore endeavour to lead -him the shortest way to it. But as I am a little jealous of the badness of -the Road, I must reserve to myself the Liberty of calling upon any Matter -in my way, for a little Refreshment to whatever Company may have the -Curiosity or Goodness to go along with me. - -When the sole Menaging Patentee at _Drury-Lane_ for several Years could -never be persuaded or driven to any Account with the Adventurers, Sir -_Thomas Skipwith_ (who, if I am rightly inform'd, had an equal Share -with him[26]) grew so weary of the Affair that he actually made a -Present of his entire Interest in it upon the following Occasion. - -Sir _Thomas_ happen'd in the Summer preceding the Re-union of the -Companies to make a Visit to an intimate Friend of his, Colonel _Brett_, -of _Sandywell_, in _Gloucestershire_; where the Pleasantness of the -Place, and the agreeable manner of passing his Time there, had raised -him to such a Gallantry of Heart, that in return to the Civilities of -his Friend the Colonel he made him an Offer of his whole Right in the -Patent; but not to overrate the Value of his Present, told him he -himself had made nothing of it these ten Years: But the Colonel (he -said) being a greater Favourite of the People in Power, and (as he -believ'd) among the Actors too, than himself was, might think of some -Scheme to turn it to Advantage, and in that Light, if he lik'd it, it -was at his Service. After a great deal of Raillery on both sides of -what Sir _Thomas_ had _not_ made of it, and the particular Advantages -the Colonel was likely to make of it, they came to a laughing Resolution -That an Instrument should be drawn the next Morning of an Absolute -Conveyance of the Premises. A Gentleman of the Law well known to them -both happening to be a Guest there at the same time, the next Day -produced the Deed according to his Instructions, in the Presence of whom -and of others it was sign'd, seal'd, and deliver'd to the Purposes -therein contain'd.[27] - -This Transaction may be another Instance (as I have elsewhere observed) -at how low a Value the Interests in a Theatrical License were then held, -tho' it was visible from the Success of _Swiney_ in that very Year that -with tolerable Menagement they could at no time have fail'd of being a -profitable Purchase. - -The next Thing to be consider'd was what the Colonel should do with his -new Theatrical Commission, which in another's Possession had been of so -little Importance. Here it may be necessary to premise that this -Gentleman was the first of any Consideration since my coming to the -Stage with whom I had contracted a Personal Intimacy; which might be the -Reason why in this Debate my Opinion had some Weight with him: Of this -Intimacy, too, I am the more tempted to talk from the natural Pleasure -of calling back in Age the Pursuits and happy Ardours of Youth long -past, which, like the Ideas of a delightful Spring in a Winter's -Rumination, are sometimes equal to the former Enjoyment of them. I -shall, therefore, rather chuse in this Place to gratify my self than my -Reader, by setting the fairest Side of this Gentleman in view, and by -indulging a little conscious Vanity in shewing how early in Life I fell -into the Possession of so agreeable a Companion: Whatever Failings he -might have to others, he had none to me; nor was he, where he had them, -without his valuable Qualities to balance or soften them. Let, then, -what was not to be commended in him rest with his Ashes, never to be -rak'd into: But the friendly Favours I received from him while living -give me still a Pleasure in paying this only Mite of my Acknowledgment -in my Power to his Memory. And if my taking this Liberty may find Pardon -from several of his fair Relations still living, for whom I profess the -utmost Respect, it will give me but little Concern tho' my critical -Readers should think it all Impertinence. - -This Gentleman, then, _Henry_, was the eldest Son of _Henry Brett_, Esq; -of _Cowley_, in _Gloucestershire_, who coming early to his Estate of about -Two Thousand a Year, by the usual Negligences of young Heirs had, before -this his eldest Son came of age, sunk it to about half that Value, and -that not wholly free from Incumbrances. Mr. _Brett_, whom I am speaking -of, had his Education, and I might say, ended it, at the University of -_Oxford_; for tho' he was settled some time after at the _Temple_, he so -little followed the Law there that his Neglect of it made the Law (like -some of his fair and frail Admirers) very often follow _him_. As he had an -uncommon Share of Social Wit and a handsom Person, with a sanguine Bloom -in his Complexion, no wonder they persuaded him that he might have a -better Chance of Fortune by throwing such Accomplishments into the gayer -World than by shutting them up in a Study. The first View that fires the -Head of a young Gentleman of this modish Ambition just broke loose from -Business, is to cut a Figure (as they call it) in a Side-box at the Play, -from whence their next Step is to the _Green Room_ behind the Scenes, -sometimes their _Non ultra_. Hither at last, then, in this hopeful Quest -of his Fortune, came this Gentleman-Errant, not doubting but the fickle -Dame, while he was thus qualified to receive her, might be tempted to fall -into his Lap. And though possibly the Charms of our Theatrical Nymphs -might have their Share in drawing him thither, yet in my Observation the -most visible Cause of his first coming was a more sincere Passion he had -conceived for a fair full-bottom'd Perriwig which I then wore in my first -Play of the _Fool in Fashion_ in the Year 1695.[28] For it is to be noted -that the _Beaux_ of those Days were of a quite different Cast from the -modern Stamp, and had more of the Stateliness of the Peacock in their -Mien than (which now seems to be their highest Emulation) the pert Air of -a Lapwing. Now, whatever Contempt Philosophers may have for a fine -Perriwig, my Friend, who was not to despise the World, but to live in it, -knew very well that so material an Article of Dress upon the Head of a Man -of Sense, if it became him, could never fail of drawing to him a more -partial Regard and Benevolence than could possibly be hoped for in an -ill-made one.[29] This perhaps may soften the grave Censure which so -youthful a Purchase might otherwise have laid upon him: In a Word, he made -his Attack upon this Perriwig, as your young Fellows generally do upon a -Lady of Pleasure, first by a few familiar Praises of her Person, and then -a civil Enquiry into the Price of it. But upon his observing me a little -surprized at the Levity of his Question about a Fop's Perriwig, he began -to railly himself with so much Wit and Humour upon the Folly of his -Fondness for it, that he struck me with an equal Desire of granting any -thing in my Power to oblige so facetious a Customer. This singular -Beginning of our Conversation, and the mutual Laughs that ensued upon it, -ended in an Agreement to finish our Bargain that Night over a Bottle. - -If it were possible the Relation of the happy Indiscretions which passed -between us that Night could give the tenth Part of the Pleasure I then -received from them, I could still repeat them with Delight: But as it -may be doubtful whether the Patience of a Reader may be quite so strong -as the Vanity of an Author, I shall cut it short by only saying that -single Bottle was the Sire of many a jolly Dozen that for some Years -following, like orderly Children, whenever they were call'd for, came -into the same Company. Nor, indeed, did I think from that time, whenever -he was to be had, any Evening could be agreeably enjoy'd without -him.[30] But the long continuance of our Intimacy perhaps may be thus -accounted for. - -He who can taste Wit in another may in some sort be said to have it -himself: Now, as I always had, and (I bless my self for the Folly) -still have a quick Relish of whatever did or can give me Delight: This -Gentleman could not but see the youthful Joy I was generally raised to -whenever I had the Happiness of a _Tête à tête_ with him; and it may be -a moot Point whether Wit is not as often inspired by a proper Attention -as by the brightest Reply to it. Therefore, as he had Wit enough for any -two People, and I had Attention enough for any four, there could not -well be wanting a sociable Delight on either side. And tho' it may be -true that a Man of a handsome Person is apt to draw a partial Ear to -every thing he says; yet this Gentleman seldom said any thing that might -not have made a Man of the plainest Person agreeable. Such a continual -Desire to please, it may be imagined, could not but sometimes lead him -into a little venial Flattery rather than not succeed in it. And I, -perhaps, might be one of those Flies that was caught in this Honey. As I -was then a young successful Author and an Actor in some unexpected -Favour, whether deservedly or not imports not; yet such Appearances at -least were plausible Pretences enough for an amicable Adulation to -enlarge upon, and the Sallies of it a less Vanity than mine might not -have been able to resist. Whatever this Weakness on my side might be, I -was not alone in it; for I have heard a Gentleman of Condition say, who -knew the World as well as most Men that live in it, that let his -Discretion be ever so much upon its Guard, he never fell into Mr. -_Brett_'s Company without being loth to leave it or carrying away a -better Opinion of himself from it. If his Conversation had this Effect -among the Men; what must we suppose to have been the Consequence when he -gave it a yet softer turn among the Fair Sex? Here, now, a _French_ -Novellist would tell you fifty pretty Lies of him; but as I chuse to be -tender of Secrets of that sort, I shall only borrow the good Breeding of -that Language, and tell you in a Word, that I knew several Instances of -his being _un Homme à bonne Fortune_. But though his frequent Successes -might generally keep him from the usual Disquiets of a Lover, he knew -this was a Life too liquorish to last; and therefore had Reflexion -enough to be govern'd by the Advice of his Friends to turn these his -Advantages of Nature to a better use. - -Among the many Men of Condition with whom his Conversation had -recommended him to an Intimacy, Sir _Thomas Skipwith_ had taken a -particular Inclination to him; and as he had the Advancement of his -Fortune at Heart, introduced him where there was a Lady[31] who had -enough in her Power to disencumber him of the World and make him every -way easy for Life. - -While he was in pursuit of this Affair, which no time was to be lost in -(for the Lady was to be in Town but for three Weeks) I one Day found -him idling behind the Scenes before the Play was begun. Upon sight of -him I took the usual Freedom he allow'd me, to rate him roundly for the -Madness of not improving every Moment in his Power in what was of such -consequence to him. Why are you not (said I) where you know you only -should be? If your Design should once get Wind in the Town, the Ill-will -of your Enemies or the Sincerity of the Lady's Friends may soon blow up -your Hopes, which in your Circumstances of Life cannot be long supported -by the bare Appearance of a Gentleman.----But it is impossible to -proceed without some Apology for the very familiar Circumstance that is -to follow----Yet, as it might not be so trivial in its Effect as I fear -it may be in the Narration, and is a Mark of that Intimacy which is -necessary should be known had been between us, I will honestly make bold -with my Scruples and let the plain Truth of my Story take its Chance for -Contempt or Approbation. - -After twenty Excuses to clear himself of the Neglect I had so warmly -charged him with, he concluded them with telling me he had been out all -the Morning upon Business, and that his Linnen was too much soil'd to be -seen in Company. Oh, ho! said I, is that all? Come along with me, we -will soon get over that dainty Difficulty: Upon which I haul'd him by -the Sleeve into my Shifting-Room, he either staring, laughing, or -hanging back all the way. There, when I had lock'd him in, I began to -strip off my upper Cloaths, and bad him do the same; still he either -did not, or would not seem to understand me, and continuing his Laugh, -cry'd, What! is the Puppy mad? No, no, only positive, said I; for look -you, in short, the Play is ready to begin, and the Parts that you and I -are to act to Day are not of equal consequence; mine of young _Reveller_ -(in _Greenwich-Park_[32]) is but a Rake; but whatever you may be, you -are not to appear so; therefore take my Shirt and give me yours; for -depend upon't, stay here you shall not, and so go about your Business. -To conclude, we fairly chang'd Linnen, nor could his Mother's have -wrap'd him up more fortunately; for in about ten Days he marry'd the -Lady.[33] In a Year or two after his Marriage he was chosen a Member of -that Parliament which was sitting when King _William_ dy'd. And, upon -raising of some new Regiments, was made Lieutenant-Colonel to that of -Sir _Charles Hotham_. But as his Ambition extended not beyond the Bounds -of a Park Wall and a pleasant Retreat in the Corner of it, which with -too much Expence he had just finish'd, he, within another Year, had -leave to resign his Company to a younger Brother. - -This was the Figure in Life he made when Sir _Thomas Skipwith_ thought -him the most proper Person to oblige (if it could be an Obligation) with -the Present of his Interest in the Patent. And from these Anecdotes of -my Intimacy with him, it may be less a Surprise, when he came to Town -invested with this new Theatrical Power, that I should be the first -Person to whom he took any Notice of it. And notwithstanding he knew I -was then engag'd, in another Interest, at the _Hay-Market_, he desired -we might consider together of the best Use he could make of it, assuring -me at the same time he should think it of none to himself unless -it could in some Shape be turn'd to my Advantage. This friendly -Declaration, though it might be generous in him to make, was not needful -to incline me in whatever might be honestly in my Power, whether by -Interest or Negotiation, to serve him. My first Advice, therefore, was, -That he should produce his Deed to the other Menaging Patentee of -_Drury-Lane_, and demand immediate Entrance to a joint Possession of all -Effects and Powers to which that Deed had given him an equal Title. -After which, if he met with no Opposition to this Demand (as upon sight -of it he did not) that he should be watchful against any Contradiction -from his Collegue in whatever he might propose in carrying on the -Affair, but to let him see that he was determin'd in all his Measures. -Yet to heighten that Resolution with an Ease and Temper in his manner, -as if he took it for granted there could be no Opposition made to -whatever he had a mind to. For that this Method, added to his natural -Talent of Persuading, would imperceptibly lead his Collegue into a -Reliance on his superior Understanding, That however little he car'd for -Business he should give himself the Air at least of Enquiry into what -_had_ been done, that what he intended to do might be thought more -considerable and be the readier comply'd with: For if he once suffer'd -his Collegue to seem wiser than himself, there would be no end of his -perplexing him with absurd and dilatory Measures; direct and plain -Dealing being a Quality his natural Diffidence would never suffer him to -be Master of; of which his not complying with his Verbal Agreement with -_Swiney_, when the _Hay-Market_ House was taken for both their Uses, was -an Evidence. And though some People thought it Depth and Policy in him -to keep things often in Confusion, it was ever my Opinion they -over-rated his Skill, and that, in reality, his Parts were too weak for -his Post, in which he had always acted to the best of his Knowledge. -That his late Collegue, Sir _Thomas Skipwith_, had trusted too much to -his Capacity for this sort of Business, and was treated by him -accordingly, without ever receiving any Profits from it for several -Years: Insomuch that when he found his Interest in such desperate Hands -he thought the best thing he could do with it was (as he saw) to give it -away. Therefore if he (Mr. _Brett_) could once fix himself, as I had -advis'd, upon a different Foot with this hitherto untractable Menager, -the Business would soon run through whatever Channel he might have a -mind to lead it. And though I allow'd the greatest Difficulty he would -meet with would be in getting his Consent to a Union of the two -Companies, which was the only Scheme that could raise the Patent to its -former Value, and which I knew this close Menager would secretly lay all -possible Rubs in the way to; yet it was visible there was a way of -reducing him to Compliance: For though it was true his Caution would -never part with a Straw by way of Concession, yet to a high Hand he -would give up any thing, provided he were suffer'd to keep his Title to -it: If his Hat were taken from his Head in the Street, he would make no -farther Resistance than to say, I _am not willing to part with it_. Much -less would he have the Resolution openly to oppose any just Measures, -when he should find one, who with an equal Right to his and with a known -Interest to bring them about, was resolv'd to go thro' with them. - -Now though I knew my Friend was as thoroughly acquainted with this -Patentee's Temper as myself, yet I thought it not amiss to quicken and -support his Resolution, by confirming to him the little Trouble he would -meet with, in pursuit of the Union I had advis'd him to; for it must be -known that on our side Trouble was a sort of Physick we did not much -care to take: But as the Fatigue of this Affair was likely to be lower'd -by a good deal of Entertainment and Humour, which would naturally engage -him in his dealing with so exotick a Partner, I knew that this softening -the Business into a Diversion would lessen every Difficulty that lay in -our way to it. - -However copiously I may have indulg'd my self in this Commemoration of a -Gentleman with whom I had pass'd so many of my younger Days with Pleasure, -yet the Reader may by this Insight into his Character, and by that of the -other Patentee, be better able to judge of the secret Springs that gave -Motion to or obstructed so considerable an Event as that of the Re-union -of the two Companies of Actors in 1708.[34] In Histories of more weight, -for want of such Particulars we are often deceiv'd in the true Causes of -Facts that most concern us to be let into; which sometimes makes us -ascribe to Policy, or false Appearances of Wisdom, what perhaps in -reality was the mere Effect of Chance or Humour. - -Immediately after Mr. _Brett_ was admitted as a joint Patentee, he made -use of the Intimacy he had with the Vice-Chamberlain to assist his -Scheme of this intended Union, in which he so far prevail'd that it was -soon after left to the particular Care of the same Vice-Chamberlain to -give him all the Aid and Power necessary to the bringing what he desired -to Perfection. The Scheme was, to have but one Theatre for Plays and -another for Operas, under separate Interests. And this the generality of -Spectators, as well as the most approv'd Actors, had been some time -calling for as the only Expedient to recover the Credit of the Stage and -the valuable Interests of its Menagers. - -As the Condition of the Comedians at this time is taken notice of in my -_Dedication_ of the _Wife's Resentment_ to the Marquis (now Duke) of -_Kent_, and then Lord-Chamberlain, which was publish'd above thirty Years -ago,[35] when I had no thought of ever troubling the World with this -Theatrical History, I see no Reason why it may not pass as a Voucher of -the Facts I am now speaking of; I shall therefore give them in the very -Light I then saw them. After some Acknowledgment for his Lordship's -Protection of our (_Hay-Market_) Theatre, it is further said---- - - "The Stage has, for many Years, 'till of late, groan'd under - the greatest Discouragements, which have been very much, if - not wholly, owing to the Mismenagement of those that have - aukwardly govern'd it. Great Sums have been ventur'd upon - empty Projects and Hopes of immoderate Gains, and when those - Hopes have fail'd, the Loss has been tyrannically deducted out - of the Actors Sallary. And if your Lordship had not redeem'd - them--_This is meant of our being suffer'd to come over_ to - Swiney----they were very near being wholly laid aside, or, at - least, the Use of their Labour was to be swallow'd up in the - pretended Merit of Singing and Dancing." - -What follows relates to the Difficulties in dealing with the then -impracticable Menager, _viz._ - - "--And though your Lordship's Tenderness of oppressing is so - very just that you have rather staid to convince a Man of your - good Intentions to him than to do him even a Service against - his Will; yet since your Lordship has so happily begun the - Establishment of the separate Diversions, we live in hope that - the same Justice and Resolution will still persuade you to go - as successfully through with it. But while any Man is suffer'd - to confound the Industry and Use of them by acting publickly - in opposition to your Lordship's equal Intentions, under a - false and intricate Pretence of not being able to comply with - them, the Town is likely to be more entertain'd with the - private Dissensions than the publick Performance of either, - and the Actors in a perpetual Fear and Necessity of - petitioning your Lordship every Season for new Relief." - -Such was the State of the Stage immediately preceding the time of Mr. -_Brett_'s being admitted a joint Patentee, who, as he saw with clearer -Eyes what was its evident Interest, left no proper Measures unattempted -to make this so long despair'd-of Union practicable. The most apparent -Difficulty to be got over in this Affair was, what could be done for -_Swiney_ in consideration of his being oblig'd to give up those Actors -whom the Power and Choice of the Lord-Chamberlain had the Year before -set him at the Head of, and by whose Menagement those Actors had found -themselves in a prosperous Condition. But an Accident at this time -happily contributed to make that Matter easy. The Inclination of our -People of Quality for foreign Operas had now reach'd the Ears of -_Italy_, and the Credit of their Taste had drawn over from thence, -without any more particular Invitation, one of their capital Singers, -the famous Signior _Cavaliero Nicolini_: From whose Arrival, and -the Impatience of the Town to hear him, it was concluded that Operas -being now so completely provided could not fail of Success, and that -by making _Swiney_ sole Director of them the Profits must be an ample -Compensation for his Resignation of the Actors. This Matter being thus -adjusted by _Swiney_'s Acceptance of the Opera only to be perform'd at -the _Hay-Market_ House, the Actors were all order'd to return to -_Drury-Lane_, there to remain (under the Patentees) her Majesty's only -Company of Comedians.[36] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _A short View of the Opera when first divided from the Comedy. - Plays recover their Credit. The old Patentee uneasy at their - Success. Why. The Occasion of Colonel_ Brett'_s throwing up - his Share in the Patent. The Consequences of it. Anecdotes - of_ Goodman _the Actor. The Rate of favourite Actors in his - Time. The Patentees, by endeavouring to reduce their Price, - lose them all a second time. The principal Comedians return to - the_ Hay-Market _in Shares with_ Swiney. _They alter that - Theatre. The original and present Form of the Theatre in_ - Drury-Lane _compar'd. Operas fall off. The Occasion of it. - Farther Observations upon them. The Patentee dispossess'd of_ - Drury-Lane _Theatre. Mr._ Collier, _with a new License, - heads the Remains of that Company_. - -Plays and Operas being thus established upon separate Interests,[37] -they were now left to make the best of their way into Favour by their -different Merit. Although the Opera is not a Plant of our Native Growth, -nor what our plainer Appetites are fond of, and is of so delicate a -Nature that without excessive Charge it cannot live long among us; -especially while the nicest _Connoisseurs_ in Musick fall into such -various Heresies in Taste, every Sect pretending to be the true one: -Yet, as it is call'd a Theatrical Entertainment, and by its Alliance or -Neutrality has more or less affected our Domestick Theatre, a short View -of its Progress may be allow'd a Place in our History. - -After this new Regulation the first Opera that appear'd was _Pyrrhus_. -Subscriptions at that time were not extended, as of late, to the whole -Season, but were limited to the first Six Days only of a new Opera. The -chief Performers in this were _Nicolini_, _Valentini_, and Mrs. -_Tofts_;[38] and for the inferior Parts the best that were then to be -found. Whatever Praises may have been given to the most famous Voices that -have been heard since _Nicolini_, upon the whole I cannot but come into -the Opinion that still prevails among several Persons of Condition who are -able to give a Reason for their liking, that no Singer since his Time has -so justly and gracefully acquitted himself in whatever Character he -appear'd as _Nicolini_. At most the Difference between him and the -greatest Favourite of the Ladies, _Farinelli_, amounted but to this, that -he might sometimes more exquisitely surprize us, but _Nicolini_ (by -pleasing the Eye as well as the Ear) fill'd us with a more various and -_rational_ Delight. Whether in this Excellence he has since had any -Competitor, perhaps will be better judg'd by what the Critical Censor of -_Great Britain_ says of him in his 115th _Tatler_, _viz._ - -"_Nicolini_ sets off the Character he bears in an Opera by his Action, -as much as he does the Words of it by his Voice; every Limb and Finger -contributes to the Part he acts, insomuch that a deaf Man might go along -with him in the Sense of it. There is scarce a beautiful Posture in an -old Statue which he does not plant himself in, as the different -Circumstances of the Story give occasion for it--He performs the most -ordinary Action in a manner suitable to the Greatness of his Character, -and shews the Prince even in the giving of a Letter or dispatching of a -Message, _&c._"[39] - -His Voice at this first time of being among us (for he made us a second -Visit when it was impair'd) had all that strong, clear Sweetness of -Tone so lately admir'd in _Senesino_. A blind Man could scarce have -distinguish'd them; but in Volubility of Throat the former had much the -Superiority. This so excellent Performer's Agreement was Eight Hundred -Guineas for the Year, which is but an eighth Part more than half the Sum -that has since been given to several that could never totally surpass -him: The Consequence of which is, that the Losses by Operas, for several -Seasons, to the End of the Year 1738, have been so great, that those -Gentlemen of Quality who last undertook the Direction of them, found it -ridiculous any longer to entertain the Publick at so extravagant an -Expence, while no one particular Person thought himself oblig'd by it. - -Mrs. _Tofts_,[40] who took her first Grounds of Musick here in her own -Country, before the _Italian_ Taste had so highly prevail'd, was then -not an Adept in it:[41] Yet whatever Defect the fashionably Skilful -might find in her manner, she had, in the general Sense of her -Spectators, Charms that few of the most learned Singers ever arrive at. -The Beauty of her fine proportion'd Figure, and exquisitely sweet, -silver Tone of her Voice, with that peculiar, rapid Swiftness of her -Throat, were Perfections not to be imitated by Art or Labour. -_Valentini_ I have already mention'd, therefore need only say farther of -him, that though he was every way inferior to _Nicolini_,[42] yet, as he -had the Advantage of giving us our first Impression of a good Opera -Singer, he had still his Admirers, and was of great Service in being so -skilful a Second to his Superior. - -[Illustration: OWEN SWINEY.] - -Three such excellent Performers in the same kind of Entertainment at -once, _England_ till this Time had never seen: Without any farther -Comparison, then, with the much dearer bought who have succeeded them, -their Novelty at least was a Charm that drew vast Audiences of the fine -World after them. _Swiney_, their sole Director, was prosperous, and in -one Winter a Gainer by them of a moderate younger Brother's Fortune. But -as Musick, by so profuse a Dispensation of her Beauties, could not -always supply our dainty Appetites with equal Variety, nor for ever -please us with the same Objects, the Opera, after one luxurious Season, -like the fine Wife of a roving Husband, began to loose its Charms, and -every Day discover'd to our Satiety Imperfections which our former -Fondness had been blind to: But of this I shall observe more in its -Place: in the mean time, let us enquire into the Productions of our -native Theatre. - -It may easily be conceiv'd, that by this entire Re-union of the two -Companies Plays must generally have been perform'd to a more than usual -Advantage and Exactness: For now every chief Actor, according to his -particular Capacity, piqued himself upon rectifying those Errors which -during their divided State were almost unavoidable. Such a Choice of -Actors added a Richness to every good Play as it was then serv'd up to the -publick Entertainment: The common People crowded to them with a more -joyous Expectation, and those of the higher Taste return'd to them as to -old Acquaintances, with new Desires after a long Absence. In a Word, all -Parties seem'd better pleas'd but he who one might imagine had most Reason -to be so, the (lately) sole menaging Patentee. He, indeed, saw his Power -daily mould'ring from his own Hands into those of Mr. _Brett_,[43] whose -Gentlemanly manner of making every one's Business easy to him, threw their -old Master under a Disregard which he had not been us'd to, nor could with -all his happy Change of Affairs support. Although this grave Theatrical -Minister of whom I have been oblig'd to make such frequent mention, had -acquired the Reputation of a most profound Politician by being often -incomprehensible, yet I am not sure that his Conduct at this Juncture gave -us not an evident Proof that he was, like other frail Mortals, more a -Slave to his Passions than his Interest; for no Creature ever seem'd more -fond of Power that so little knew how to use it to his Profit and -Reputation; otherwise he could not possibly have been so discontented, in -his secure and prosperous State of the Theatre, as to resolve at all -Hazards to destroy it. We shall now see what infallible Measures he took -to bring this laudable Scheme to Perfection. - -He plainly saw that, as this disagreeable Prosperity was chiefly owing -to the Conduct of Mr. _Brett_, there could be no hope of recovering the -Stage to its former Confusion but by finding some effectual Means to -make Mr. _Brett_ weary of his Charge: The most probable he could for the -Present think of, in this Distress, was to call in the Adventurers (whom -for many Years, by his Defence in Law, he had kept out) now to take care -of their visibly improving Interests.[44] This fair Appearance of Equity -being known to be his own Proposal, he rightly guess'd would incline -these Adventurers to form a Majority of Votes on his Side in all -Theatrical Questions, and consequently become a Check upon the Power of -Mr. _Brett_, who had so visibly alienated the Hearts of his Theatrical -Subjects, and now began to govern without him. When the Adventurers, -therefore, were re-admitted to their old Government, after having -recommended himself to them by proposing to make some small Dividend of -the Profits (though he did not design that Jest should be repeated) -he took care that the Creditors of the Patent, who were then no -inconsiderable Body, should carry off the every Weeks clear Profits in -proportion to their several Dues and Demands. This Conduct, so -speciously just, he had Hopes would let Mr. _Brett_ see that his Share -in the Patent was not so valuable an Acquisition as perhaps he might -think it; and probably make a Man of his Turn to Pleasure soon weary of -the little Profit and great Plague it gave him. Now, though these might -be all notable Expedients, yet I cannot say they would have wholly -contributed to Mr. _Brett_'s quitting his Post, had not a Matter of much -stronger Moment, an unexpected Dispute between him and Sir _Thomas -Skipwith_, prevailed with him to lay it down: For in the midst of this -flourishing State of the Patent, Mr. _Brett_ was surpriz'd with a -Subpoe into Chancery from Sir _Thomas Skipwith_, who alledg'd in his -Bill that the Conveyance he had made of his Interest in the Patent to -Mr. _Brett_ was only intended in Trust. (Whatever the Intent might be, -the Deed it self, which I then read, made no mention of any Trust -whatever.) But whether Mr. _Brett_, as Sir _Thomas_ farther asserted, -had previously, or after the Deed was sign'd, given his Word of Honour -that if he should ever make the Stage turn to any Account or Profit, he -would certainly restore it: That, indeed, I can say nothing to; but be -the Deed valid or void, the Facts that apparently follow'd were, that -tho' Mr. _Brett_ in his Answer to this Bill absolutely deny'd his -receiving this Assignment either in Trust or upon any limited Condition -of what kind soever, yet he made no farther Defence in the Cause. But -since he found Sir _Thomas_ had thought fit on any Account to sue for -the Restitution of it, and Mr. _Brett_ being himself conscious that, as -the World knew he had paid no Consideration for it, his keeping it might -be misconstrued, or not favourably spoken of; or perhaps finding, tho' -the Profits were great, they were constantly swallowed up (as has been -observ'd) by the previous Satisfaction of old Debts, he grew so tir'd of -the Plague and Trouble the whole Affair had given him, and was likely -still to engage him in, that in a few Weeks after he withdrew himself -from all Concern with the Theatre, and quietly left Sir _Thomas_ to -find his better Account in it. And thus stood this undecided Right till, -upon the Demise of Sir _Thomas_, Mr. _Brett_ being allow'd the Charges -he had been at in this Attendance and Prosecution of the Union, -reconvey'd this Share of the Patent to Sir _George Skipwith_, the Son -and Heir of Sir _Thomas_.[45] - -Our Politician, the old Patentee, having thus fortunately got rid of Mr. -_Brett_, who had so rashly brought the Patent once more to be a -profitable Tenure, was now again at Liberty to chuse rather to lose all -than not to have it all to himself. - -I have elsewhere observ'd that nothing can so effectually secure the -Strength, or contribute to the Prosperity of a good Company, as the -Directors of it having always, as near as possible, an amicable -Understanding with three or four of their best Actors, whose good or -ill-will must naturally make a wide Difference in their profitable or -useless manner of serving them: While the Principal are kept reasonably -easy the lower Class can never be troublesome without hurting -themselves: But when a valuable Actor is hardly treated, the Master must -be a very cunning Man that finds his Account in it. We shall now see how -far Experience will verify this Observation. - -The Patentees thinking themselves secure in being restor'd to their -former absolute Power over this now only Company, chose rather to govern -it by the Reverse of the Method I have recommended: For tho' the daily -Charge of their united Company amounted not, by a good deal, to what -either of the two Companies now in _Drury-Lane_ or _Covent-Garden_ -singly arises, they notwithstanding fell into their former Politicks of -thinking every Shilling taken from a hired Actor so much clear Gain to -the Proprietor: Many of their People, therefore, were actually, if not -injudiciously, reduced in their Pay, and others given to understand the -same Fate was design'd them; of which last Number I my self was one; -which occurs to my Memory by the Answer I made to one of the -Adventurers, who, in Justification of their intended Proceeding,[46] -told me that my Sallary, tho' it should be less than it was by ten -Shillings a Week, would still be more than ever _Goodman_ had, who was a -better Actor than I could pretend to be: To which I reply'd, This may be -true, but then you know, Sir, it is as true that _Goodman_ was forced to -go upon the High-way for a Livelihood. As this was a known Fact of -_Goodman_, my mentioning it on that Occasion I believe was of Service to -me; at least my Sallary was not reduced after it. To say a Word or two -more of _Goodman_, so celebrated an Actor in his Time, perhaps may set -the Conduct of the Patentees in a clearer Light. Tho' _Goodman_ had left -the Stage before I came to it, I had some slight Acquaintance with him. -About the Time of his being expected to be an Evidence against Sir _John -Fenwick_ in the Assassination-Plot,[47] in 1696, I happen'd to meet him -at Dinner at Sir _Thomas Skipwith_'s, who, as he was an agreeable -Companion himself, liked _Goodman_ for the same Quality. Here it was -that _Goodman_, without Disguise or sparing himself, fell into a -laughing Account of several loose Passages of _his_ younger Life; as his -being expell'd the University of _Cambridge_ for being one of the -hot-headed Sparks who were concern'd in the cutting and defacing the -Duke of _Monmouth_'s Picture, then Chancellor of that Place. But this -Disgrace, it seems, had not disqualified him for the Stage, which, like -the Sea-Service, refuses no Man for his Morals that is able-bodied: -There, as an Actor, he soon grew into a different Reputation; but -whatever his Merit might be, the Pay of a hired Hero in those Days was -so very low that he was forced, it seems, to take the Air (as he call'd -it) and borrow what Money the first Man he met had about him. But this -being his first Exploit of that kind which the Scantiness of his -Theatrical Fortune had reduced him to, King _James_ was prevail'd upon -to pardon him: Which _Goodman_ said was doing him so particular an -Honour that no Man could wonder if his Acknowledgment had carried him a -little farther than ordinary into the Interest of that Prince: But as he -had lately been out of Luck in backing his old Master, he had now no way -to get home the Life he was out upon his Account but by being under the -same Obligations to King _William_. - -Another Anecdote of him, though not quite so dishonourably enterprizing, -which I had from his own Mouth at a different Time, will equally shew to -what low Shifts in Life the poor Provision for good Actors, under the -early Government of the Patent, reduced them. In the younger Days of -their Heroism, Captain _Griffin_ and _Goodman_ were confined by their -moderate Sallaries to the Oeconomy of lying together in the same Bed -and having but one whole Shirt between them: One of them being under the -Obligation of a Rendezvous with a fair Lady, insisted upon his wearing -it out of his Turn, which occasion'd so high a Dispute that the Combat -was immediately demanded, and accordingly their Pretensions to it were -decided by a fair Tilt upon the Spot, in the Room where they lay: But -whether _Clytus_ or _Alexander_ was obliged to see no Company till a -worse could be wash'd for him, seems not to be a material Point in their -History, or to my Purpose.[48] - -By this Rate of _Goodman_, who, 'till the Time of his quitting the Stage -never had more than what is call'd forty Shillings a Week, it may be -judg'd how cheap the Labour of Actors had been formerly; and the -Patentees thought it a Folly to continue the higher Price, (which their -Divisions had since raised them to) now there was but one Market for -them; but alas! they had forgot their former fatal Mistake of squabbling -with their Actors in 1695;[49] nor did they make any Allowance for the -Changes and Operations of Time, or enough consider the Interest the -Actors had in the Lord Chamberlain, on whose Protection they might -always rely, and whose Decrees had been less restrain'd by Precedent -than those of a Lord Chancellor. - -In this mistaken View of their Interest, the Patentees, by treating their -Actors as Enemies, really made them so: And when once the Masters of a -hired Company think not their Actors Hearts as necessary as their Hands, -they cannot be said to have agreed for above half the Work they are able -to do in a Day: Or, if an unexpected Success should, notwithstanding, -make the Profits in any gross Disproportion greater than the Wages, the -Wages will always have something worse than a Murmur at the Head of them, -that will not only measure the Merit of the Actor by the Gains of the -Proprietor, but will never naturally be quiet till every Scheme of getting -into Property has been tried to make the Servant his own Master: And this, -as far as Experience can make me judge, will always be in either of these -Cases the State of our _English_ Theatre. What Truth there may be in this -Observation we are now coming to a Proof of. - -To enumerate all the particular Acts of Power in which the Patentees -daily bore hard upon _this_ now only Company of Actors, might be as -tedious as unnecessary; I shall therefore come at once to their most -material Grievance, upon which they grounded their Complaint to the Lord -Chamberlain, who, in the Year following, 1709, took effectual Measures -for their Relief. - -The Patentees observing that the Benefit-Plays of the Actors towards the -latter End of the Season brought the most crowded Audiences in the Year, -began to think their own Interests too much neglected by these partial -Favours of the Town to their Actors; and therefore judg'd it would not -be impolitick in such wholesome annual Profits to have a Fellow-feeling -with them. Accordingly an _Indulto_[50] was laid of one Third out of the -Profits of every Benefit for the proper Use and Behoof of the -Patent.[51] But that a clear Judgment may be form'd of the Equity or -Hardship of this Imposition, it will be necessary to shew from whence -and from what Causes the Actors Claim to Benefits originally proceeded. - -During the Reign of King _Charles_ an Actor's Benefit had never been -heard of. The first Indulgence of this kind was given to Mrs. _Barry_ -(as has been formerly observed[52]) in King _James_'s Time, in -Consideration of the extraordinary Applause that had followed her -Performance: But there this Favour rested to her alone, 'till after the -Division of the only Company in 1695, at which time the Patentees were -soon reduced to pay their Actors half in good Words and half in ready -Money. In this precarious Condition some particular Actors (however -binding their Agreements might be) were too poor or too wise to go to -Law with a Lawyer, and therefore rather chose to compound their Arrears -for their being admitted to the Chance of having them made up by the -Profits of a Benefit-Play. This Expedient had this Consequence; that the -Patentees, tho' their daily Audiences might, and did sometimes mend, -still kept the short Subsistance of their Actors at a stand, and grew -more steady in their Resolution so to keep them, as they found them less -apt to mutiny while their Hopes of being clear'd off by a Benefit were -depending. In a Year or two these Benefits grew so advantageous that -they became at last the chief Article in every Actor's Agreement. - -Now though the Agreements of these united Actors I am speaking of in -1708 were as yet only Verbal, yet that made no difference in the honest -Obligation to keep them: But as Honour at that time happen'd to have but -a loose hold of their Consciences, the Patentees rather chose to give it -the slip, and went on with their Work without it. No Actor, therefore, -could have his Benefit fix'd 'till he had first sign'd a Paper -signifying his voluntary Acceptance of it upon the above Conditions, any -Claims from Custom to the contrary notwithstanding. Several at first -refus'd to sign this Paper; upon which the next in Rank were offer'd on -the same Conditions to come before the Refusers; this smart Expedient -got some few of the Fearful the Preference to their Seniors; who, at -last, seeing the Time was too short for a present Remedy, and that they -must either come into the Boat or lose their Tide, were forc'd to comply -with what they as yet silently resented as the severest Injury. In this -Situation, therefore, they chose to let the principal Benefits be over, -that their Grievances might swell into some bulk before they made any -Application for Redress to the Lord-Chamberlain; who, upon hearing their -general Complaint, order'd the Patentees to shew cause why their -Benefits had been diminish'd one Third, contrary to the common Usage? -The Patentees pleaded the sign'd Agreement, and the Actors Receipts of -the other two Thirds, in Full Satisfaction. But these were prov'd to -have been exacted from them by the Methods already mentioned. They -notwithstanding insist upon them as lawful. But as Law and Equity do not -always agree, they were look'd upon as unjust and arbitrary. Whereupon -the Patentees were warn'd at their Peril to refuse the Actors full -Satisfaction.[53] But here it was thought necessary that Judgment should -be for some time respited, 'till the Actors, who had leave so to do, -could form a Body strong enough to make the Inclination of the -Lord-Chamberlain to relieve them practicable. - -Accordingly _Swiney_ (who was then sole Director of the Opera only) had -Permission to enter into a private Treaty with such of the united Actors -in _Drury-Lane_ as might be thought fit to head a Company under their -own Menagement, and to be Sharers with him in the _Hay-Market_. The -Actors chosen for this Charge were _Wilks_, _Dogget_, Mrs. _Oldfield_, -and Myself. But before I proceed, lest it should seem surprizing that -neither _Betterton_, Mrs. _Barry_, Mrs. _Bracegirdle_, or _Booth_ were -Parties in this Treaty, it must be observ'd that _Betterton_ was now -Seventy-three, and rather chose, with the Infirmities of Age upon him, -to rely on such Sallary as might be appointed him, than to involve -himself in the Cares and Hurry that must unavoidably attend the -Regulation of a new Company. As to the two celebrated Actresses I have -named, this has been my first proper Occasion of making it known that -they had both quitted the Stage the Year before this Transaction was -thought of.[54] And _Booth_ as yet was scarce out of his Minority as an -Actor, or only in the Promise of that Reputation which, in about four -or five Years after, he happily arriv'd at. However, at this Juncture -he was not so far overlook'd as not to be offer'd a valuable Addition -to his Sallary: But this he declin'd, being, while the Patentees were -under this Distress, as much, if not more, in favour with their chief -Menager as a Schematist than as an Actor: And indeed he appear'd, to -my Judgment, more inclin'd to risque his Fortune in _Drury-Lane_, -where he should have no Rival in Parts or Power, than on any Terms to -embark in the _Hay-Market_, where he was sure to meet with Opponents -in both.[55] However, this his Separation from our Interest when our -All was at stake, afterwards kept his Advancement to a Share with us -in our more successful Days longer postpon'd than otherwise it probably -might have been. - -When Mrs. _Oldfield_ was nominated as a joint Sharer in our new -Agreement to be made with _Swiney_, _Dogget_, who had no Objection to -her Merit, insisted that our Affairs could never be upon a secure -Foundation if there was more than one Sex admitted to the Menagement of -them. He therefore hop'd that if we offer'd Mrs. _Oldfield_ a _Carte -Blanche_ instead of a Share, she would not think herself slighted. This -was instantly agreed to, and Mrs. _Oldfield_ receiv'd it rather as a -Favour than a Disobligation: Her Demands therefore were Two Hundred -Pounds a Year certain, and a Benefit clear of all Charges, which were -readily sign'd to. Her Easiness on this Occasion, some Years after, when -our Establishment was in Prosperity, made us with less Reluctancy -advance her Two Hundred Pounds to Three Hundred Guineas _per Annum_, -with her usual Benefit, which, upon an Average, for several Years at -least doubled that Sum. - -[Illustration: ANNE OLDFIELD.] - -When a sufficient number of Actors were engag'd under our Confederacy with -_Swiney_, it was then judg'd a proper time for the Lord-Chamberlain's -Power to operate, which, by lying above a Month dormant, had so far -recover'd the Patentees from any Apprehensions of what might fall upon -them from their late Usurpations on the Benefits of the Actors, that they -began to set their Marks upon those who had distinguish'd themselves in -the Application for Redress. Several little Disgraces were put upon them, -particularly in the Disposal of Parts in Plays to be reviv'd, and as -visible a Partiality was shewn in the Promotion of those in their -Interest, though their Endeavours to serve them could be of no -extraordinary use. How often does History shew us, in the same State of -Courts, the same Politicks have been practis'd? All this while the other -Party were passively silent, 'till one Day the Actor who particularly -solicited their Cause at the Lord-Chamberlain's Office, being shewn there -the Order sign'd for absolutely silencing the Patentees, and ready to be -serv'd, flew back with the News to his Companions, then at a Rehearsal in -which he had been wanted; when being call'd to his Part, and something -hastily question'd by the Patentee for his Neglect of Business: This -Actor, I say, with an erected Look and a Theatrical Spirit, at once threw -off the Mask and roundly told him----_Sir, I have now no more Business -Here than you have; in half an Hour you will neither have Actors to -command nor Authority to employ them._----The Patentee, who though he -could not readily comprehend his mysterious manner of Speaking, had just a -Glimpse of Terror enough from the Words to soften his Reproof into a cold -formal Declaration, That _if he would not do his Work he should not be -paid_.--But now, to complete the Catastrophe of these Theatrical -Commotions, enters the Messenger with the Order of Silence in his Hand, -whom the same Actor officiously introduc'd, telling the Patentee that the -Gentleman wanted to speak with him from the Lord-Chamberlain. When the -Messenger had delivered the Order, the Actor, throwing his Head over his -Shoulder towards the Patentee, in the manner of _Shakespear_'s _Harry the -Eighth_ to Cardinal _Wolsey_, cry'd--_Read o'er that! and now--to -Breakfast, with what Appetite you may_. Tho' these Words might be spoken -in too vindictive and insulting a manner to be commended, yet, from the -Fulness of a Heart injuriously treated and now reliev'd by that instant -Occasion, why might they not be pardon'd?[56] - -The Authority of the Patent now no longer subsisting, all the confederated -Actors immediately walk'd out of the House, to which they never return'd -'till they became themselves the Tenants and Masters of it. - -Here agen we see an higher Instance of the Authority of a -Lord-Chamberlain than any of those I have elsewhere mentioned: From -whence that Power might be deriv'd, as I have already said, I am not -Lawyer enough to know; however, it is evident that a Lawyer obey'd it, -though to his Cost; which might incline one to think that the Law was -not clearly against it: Be that as it may, since the Law has lately made -it no longer a Question, let us drop the Enquiry and proceed to the -Facts which follow'd this Order that silenc'd the Patent. - -From this last injudicious Disagreement of the Patentees with their -principal Actors, and from what they had suffered on the same Occasion -in the Division of their only Company in 1695, might we not imagine -there was something of Infatuation in their Menagement? For though I -allow Actors in general, when they are too much indulg'd, or govern'd by -an unsteady Head, to be as unruly a Multitude as Power can be plagued -with; yet there is a Medium which, if cautiously observed by a candid -use of Power, making them always know, without feeling, their Superior, -neither suffering their Encroachments nor invading their Rights, with an -immoveable Adherence to the accepted Laws they are to walk by; such a -Regulation, I say, has never fail'd, in my Observation, to have made -them a tractable and profitable Society. If the Government of a -well-establish'd Theatre were to be compar'd to that of a Nation, there -is no one Act of Policy or Misconduct in the one or the other in which -the Menager might not, in some parallel Case, (laugh, if you please) be -equally applauded or condemned with the Statesman. Perhaps this will not -be found so wild a Conceit if you look into the 193d _Tatler_, Vol. 4. -where the Affairs of the State and those of the very Stage which I am -now treating of, are, in a Letter from _Downs_ the Promptor,[57] -compar'd, and with a great deal of Wit and Humour, set upon an equal -Foot of Policy. The Letter is suppos'd to have been written in the last -Change of the Ministry in Queen _Anne_'s Time. I will therefore venture, -upon the Authority of that Author's Imagination, to carry the -Comparison as high as it can possibly go, and say, That as I remember -one of our Princes in the last Century to have lost his Crown by too -arbitrary a Use of his Power, though he knew how fatal the same Measures -had been to his unhappy Father before him, why should we wonder that the -same Passions taking Possession of Men in lower Life, by an equally -impolitick Usage of their Theatrical Subjects, should have involved the -Patentees in proportionable Calamities. - -During the Vacation, which immediately follow'd the Silence of the -Patent, both Parties were at leisure to form their Schemes for the -Winter: For the Patentee would still hold out, notwithstanding his -being so miserably maim'd or over-match'd: He had no more Regard to -Blows than a blind Cock of the Game; he might be beaten, but would never -yield; the Patent was still in his Possession, and the Broad-Seal to it -visibly as fresh as ever: Besides, he had yet some Actors in his -Service,[58] at a much cheaper Rate than those who had left him, the -Sallaries of which last, now they would not work for him, he was not -oblig'd to pay.[59] In this way of thinking, he still kept together such -as had not been invited over to the _Hay-Market_, or had been -influenc'd by _Booth_ to follow his Fortune in _Drury-Lane_. - -By the Patentee's keeping these Remains of his broken Forces together, -it is plain that he imagin'd this Order of Silence, like others of the -same Kind, would be recall'd, of course, after a reasonable time of -Obedience had been paid to it: But, it seems, he had rely'd too much -upon former Precedents; nor had his Politicks yet div'd into the Secret -that the Court Power, with which the Patent had been so long and often -at variance, had now a mind to take the publick Diversions more -absolutely into their own Hands: Not that I have any stronger Reasons -for this Conjecture than that the Patent never after this Order of -Silence got leave to play during the Queen's Reign. But upon the -Accession of his late Majesty, Power having then a different Aspect, the -Patent found no Difficulty in being permitted to exercise its former -Authority for acting Plays, _&c._ which, however, from this time of -their lying still, in 1709, did not happen 'till 1714, which the old -Patentee never liv'd to see: For he dy'd about six weeks before the -new-built Theatre in _Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_ was open'd,[60] where the -first Play acted was the _Recruiting Officer_, under the Menagement of -his Heirs and Successors. But of that Theatre it is not yet time to give -any further Account. - -The first Point resolv'd on by the Comedians now re-established in the -_Hay-Market_,[61] was to alter the Auditory Part of their Theatre, the -Inconveniencies of which have been fully enlarged upon in a former -Chapter. What embarrass'd them most in this Design, was their want of -Time to do it in a more complete manner than it now remains in, -otherwise they had brought it to the original Model of that in -_Drury-Lane_, only in a larger Proportion, as the wider Walls of it -would require; as there are not many Spectators who may remember what -Form the _Drury-Lane_ Theatre stood in about forty Years ago, before -the old Patentee, to make it hold more Money, took it in his Head to -alter it, it were but Justice to lay the original Figure which Sir -_Christopher Wren_ first gave it, and the Alterations of it now -standing, in a fair Light; that equal Spectators may see, if they were -at their choice, which of the Structures would incline them to a -Preference. But in this Appeal I only speak to such Spectators as allow -a good Play well acted to be the most valuable Entertainment of the -Stage. Whether such Plays (leaving the Skill of the dead or living -Actors equally out of the Question) have been more or less recommended -in their Presentation by either of these different Forms of that -Theatre, is our present Matter of Enquiry. - -It must be observ'd, then,[62] that the Area or Platform of the old Stage -projected about four Foot forwarder, in a Semi-oval Figure, parallel to -the Benches of the Pit; and that the former lower Doors of Entrance for -the Actors were brought down between the two foremost (and then only) -Pilasters; in the Place of which Doors now the two Stage-Boxes are fixt. -That where the Doors of Entrance now are, there formerly stood two -additional Side-Wings, in front to a full Set of Scenes, which had then -almost a double Effect in their Loftiness and Magnificence. - -By this Original Form, the usual Station of the Actors, in almost every -Scene, was advanc'd at least ten Foot nearer to the Audience than they -now can be; because, not only from the Stage's being shorten'd in front, -but likewise from the additional Interposition of those Stage-Boxes, the -Actors (in respect to the Spectators that fill them) are kept so much -more backward from the main Audience than they us'd to be: But when the -Actors were in Possession of that forwarder Space to advance upon, the -Voice was then more in the Centre of the House, so that the most distant -Ear had scarce the least Doubt or Difficulty in hearing what fell from -the weakest Utterance: All Objects were thus drawn nearer to the Sense; -every painted Scene was stronger; every grand Scene and Dance more -extended; every rich or fine-coloured Habit had a more lively Lustre: -Nor was the minutest Motion of a Feature (properly changing with the -Passion or Humour it suited) ever lost, as they frequently must be in -the Obscurity of too great a Distance: And how valuable an Advantage the -Facility of hearing distinctly is to every well-acted Scene, every -common Spectator is a Judge. A Voice scarce raised above the Tone of a -Whisper, either in Tenderness, Resignation, innocent Distress, or -Jealousy suppress'd, often have as much concern with the Heart as the -most clamorous Passions; and when on any of these Occasions such -affecting Speeches are plainly heard, or lost, how wide is the -Difference from the great or little Satisfaction received from them? To -all this a Master of a Company may say, I now receive Ten Pounds more -than could have been taken formerly in every full House! Not unlikely. -But might not his House be oftener full if the Auditors were oftener -pleas'd? Might not every bad House too, by a Possibility of being made -every Day better, add as much to one Side of his Account as it could -take from the other? If what I have said carries any Truth in it, why -might not the original Form of this Theatre be restor'd? but let this -Digression avail what it may, the Actors now return'd to the -_Hay-Market_, as I have observ'd, wanting nothing but length of Time to -have govern'd their Alteration of that Theatre by this original Model of -_Drury-Lane_ which I have recommended. As their time therefore was -short, they made their best use of it; they did something to it: They -contracted its Wideness by three Ranges of Boxes on each side, and -brought down its enormous high Ceiling within so proportionable a -Compass that it effectually cur'd those hollow Undulations of the Voice -formerly complain'd of. The Remedy had its Effect; their Audiences -exceeded their Expectation. There was now no other Theatre open -against them;[63] they had the Town to themselves; they were their own -Masters, and the Profits of their Industry came into their own Pockets. - -[Illustration: THEOPHILUS CIBBER AS ANTIENT PISTOL.] - -Yet with all this fair Weather, the Season of their uninterrupted -Prosperity was not yet arriv'd; for the great Expence and thinner -Audiences of the Opera (of which they then were equally Directors) was a -constant Drawback upon their Gains, yet not so far but that their Income -this Year was better than in their late Station at _Drury-Lane_. But by -the short Experience we had then had of Operas; by the high Reputation -they seem'd to have been arriv'd at the Year before; by their Power of -drawing the whole Body of Nobility as by Enchantment to their -Solemnities; by that Prodigality of Expence at which they were so -willing to support them; and from the late extraordinary Profits -_Swiney_ had made of them, what Mountains did we not hope from this -Molehill? But alas! the fairy Vision was vanish'd; this bridal Beauty -was grown familiar to the general Taste, and Satiety began to make -Excuses for its want of Appetite: Or, what is still stranger, its late -Admirers now as much valued their Judgment in being able to find out the -Faults of the Performers, as they had before in discovering their -Excellencies. The Truth is, that this kind of Entertainment being so -entirely sensual, it had no Possibility of getting the better of our -Reason but by its Novelty; and that Novelty could never be supported but -by an annual Change of the best Voices, which, like the finest Flowers, -bloom but for a Season, and when that is over are only dead Nose-gays. -From this Natural Cause we have seen within these two Years even -_Farinelli_ singing to an Audience of five and thirty Pounds, and yet, -if common Fame may be credited, the same Voice, so neglected in one -Country, has in another had Charms sufficient to make that Crown sit -easy on the Head of a Monarch, which the Jealousy of Politicians -(who had their Views in his keeping it) fear'd, without some such -extraordinary Amusement, his Satiety of Empire might tempt him a second -time to resign.[64] - -There is, too, in the very Species of an _Italian_ Singer such an -innate, fantastical Pride and Caprice, that the Government of them (here -at least) is almost impracticable. This Distemper, as we were not -sufficiently warn'd or apprized of, threw our musical Affairs into -Perplexities we knew not easily how to get out of. There is scarce a -sensible Auditor in the Kingdom that has not since that Time had -Occasion to laugh at the several Instances of it: But what is still more -ridiculous, these costly Canary-Birds have sometimes infested the whole -Body of our dignified Lovers of Musick with the same childish -Animosities: Ladies have been known to decline their Visits upon account -of their being of a different musical Party. _Cæsar_ and _Pompey_ made -not a warmer Division in the _Roman_ Republick than those Heroines, -their Country Women, the _Faustina_ and _Cuzzoni_, blew up in our -Common-wealth of Academical Musick by their implacable Pretensions to -Superiority.[65] And while this Greatness of Soul is their unalterable -Virtue, it will never be practicable to make two capital Singers of the -same Sex do as they should do in one Opera at the same time! no, not -tho' _England_ were to double the Sums it has already thrown after them: -For even in their own Country, where an extraordinary Occasion has -called a greater Number of their best to sing together, the Mischief -they have made has been proportionable; an Instance of which, if I am -rightly inform'd, happen'd at _Parma_, where, upon the Celebration of -the Marriage of that Duke, a Collection was made of the most eminent -Voices that Expence or Interest could purchase, to give as complete an -Opera as the whole vocal Power of _Italy_ could form. But when it came -to the Proof of this musical Project, behold! what woful Work they made -of it! every Performer would be a _Cæsar_ or Nothing; their several -Pretensions to Preference were not to be limited within the Laws of -Harmony; they would all choose their own Songs, but not more to set off -themselves than to oppose or deprive another of an Occasion to shine: -Yet any one would sing a bad Song, provided no body else had a good one, -till at last they were thrown together, like so many feather'd Warriors, -for a Battle-royal in a Cock-pit, where every one was oblig'd to kill -another to save himself! What Pity it was these froward Misses and -Masters of Musick had not been engag'd to entertain the Court of some -King of _Morocco_, that could have known a good Opera from a bad one! -with how much Ease would such a Director have brought them to better -Order? But alas! as it has been said of greater Things, - - _Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit._ - Hor.[66] - -Imperial _Rome_ fell by the too great Strength of its own Citizens! So -fell this mighty Opera, ruin'd by the too great Excellency of its -Singers! For, upon the whole, it proved to be as barbarously bad as if -Malice it self had composed it. - -Now though something of this kind, equally provoking, has generally -embarrass'd the State of Operas these thirty Years, yet it was the -Misfortune of the menaging Actors at the _Hay-Market_ to have felt the -first Effects of it: The Honour of the Singer and the Interest of the -Undertaker were so often at Variance, that the latter began to have but -a bad Bargain of it. But not to impute more to the Caprice of those -Performers than was really true, there were two different Accidents that -drew Numbers from our Audiences before the Season was ended; which were -another Company permitted to act in _Drury-Lane_,[67] and the long Trial -of Doctor _Sacheverel_ in _Westminster-Hall_:[68] By the way, it must be -observed that this Company was not under the Direction of the Patent -(which continued still silenced) but was set up by a third Interest, -with a License from Court. The Person to whom this new License was -granted was _William Collier_, Esq., a Lawyer of an enterprizing Head -and a jovial Heart; what sort of Favour he was in with the People then -in Power may be judg'd from his being often admitted to partake with -them those detach'd Hours of Life when Business was to give way to -Pleasure: But this was not all his Merit, he was at the same time a -Member of Parliament for _Truro_ in _Cornwall_, and we cannot suppose a -Person so qualified could be refused such a Trifle as a License to head -a broken Company of Actors. This sagacious Lawyer, then, who had a -Lawyer to deal with, observing that his Antagonist kept Possession of a -Theatre without making use of it, and for which he was not obliged to -pay Rent unless he actually _did_ use it, wisely conceived it might be -the Interest of the joint Landlords, since their Tenement was in so -precarious a Condition, to grant a Lease to one who had an undisputed -Authority to be liable, by acting Plays in it, to pay the Rent of it; -especially when he tempted them with an Offer of raising it from three -to four Pounds _per Diem_. His Project succeeded, the Lease was sign'd; -but the Means of getting into Possession were to be left to his own Cost -and Discretion. This took him up but little Time; he immediately laid -Siege to it with a sufficient Number of Forces, whether lawless or -lawful I forget, but they were such as obliged the old Governor to give -it up; who, notwithstanding, had got Intelligence of his Approaches and -Design time enough to carry off every thing that was worth moving, -except a great Number of old Scenes and new Actors that could not easily -follow him.[69] - -A ludicrous Account of this Transaction, under fictitious Names, may be -found in the 99th _Tatler_, Vol. 2. which this Explanation may now -render more intelligible to the Readers of that agreeable Author.[70] - -This other new License being now in Possession of the _Drury-Lane_ -Theatre, those Actors whom the Patentee ever since the Order of Silence -had retain'd in a State of Inaction, all to a Man came over to the -Service of _Collier_. Of these _Booth_ was then the chief.[71] The Merit -of the rest had as yet made no considerable Appearance, and as the -Patentee had not left a Rag of their Cloathing behind him, they were but -poorly equip'd for a publick Review; consequently at their first Opening -they were very little able to annoy us. But during the Trial of -_Sacheverel_ our Audiences were extremely weaken'd by the better Rank of -People's daily attending it: While, at the same time, the lower Sort, -who were not equally admitted to that grand Spectacle, as eagerly -crowded into _Drury-Lane_ to a new Comedy call'd _The fair Quaker of -Deal_. This Play having some low Strokes of natural Humour in it, was -rightly calculated for the Capacity of the Actors who play'd it, and to -the Taste of the Multitude who were now more disposed and at leisure to -see it:[72] But the most happy Incident in its Fortune was the Charm of -the fair Quaker which was acted by Miss _Santlow_, (afterwards Mrs. -_Booth_) whose Person was then in the full Bloom of what Beauty she -might pretend to: Before this she had only been admired as the most -excellent Dancer, which perhaps might not a little contribute to the -favourable Reception she now met with as an Actress, in this Character -which so happily suited her Figure and Capacity: The gentle Softness of -her Voice, the composed Innocence of her Aspect, the Modesty of her -Dress, the reserv'd Decency of her Gesture, and the Simplicity of the -Sentiments that naturally fell from her, made her seem the amiable Maid -she represented: In a Word, not the enthusiastick Maid of _Orleans_ was -more serviceable of old to the _French_ Army when the _English_ had -distressed them, than this fair Quaker was at the Head of that dramatick -Attempt upon which the Support of their weak Society depended.[73] - -But when the Trial I have mention'd and the Run of this Play was over, -the Tide of the Town beginning to turn again in our Favour, _Collier_ -was reduced to give his Theatrical Affairs a different Scheme; which -advanced the Stage another Step towards that Settlement which, in my -Time, was of the longest Duration. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _The Patentee, having now no Actors, rebuilds the new Theatre - in _Lincolns-Inn-Fields_. A Guess at his Reasons for it. More - Changes in the State of the Stage. The Beginning of its better - Days under the _Triumvirate_ of Actors. A Sketch of their - governing Characters._ - -As coarse Mothers may have comely Children, so Anarchy has been the -Parent of many a good Government; and by a Parity of possible -Consequences, we shall find that from the frequent Convulsions of the -Stage arose at last its longest Settlement and Prosperity; which many of -my Readers (or if I should happen to have but few of them, many of my -Spectators at least) who I hope have not yet liv'd half their Time, will -be able to remember. - -Though the Patent had been often under Distresses, it had never felt -any Blow equal to this unrevoked Order of Silence; which it is not easy -to conceive could have fallen upon any other Person's Conduct than that -of the old Patentee: For if he was conscious of his being under the -Subjection of that Power which had silenc'd him, why would he incur -the Danger of a Suspension by his so obstinate and impolitick Treatment -of his Actors? If he thought such Power over him illegal, how came he -to obey it now more than before, when he slighted a former Order -that injoin'd him to give his Actors their Benefits on their usual -Conditions?[74] But to do him Justice, the same Obstinacy that involv'd -him in these Difficulties, at last preserv'd to his Heirs the Property -of the Patent in its full Force and Value;[75] yet to suppose that he -foresaw a milder use of Power in some future Prince's Reign might be -more favourable to him, is begging at best but a cold Question. But -whether he knew that this broken Condition of the Patent would not make -his troublesome Friends the Adventurers fly from it as from a falling -House, seems not so difficult a Question. However, let the Reader form -his own Judgment of them from the Facts that follow'd: It must -therefore be observ'd, that the Adventurers seldom came near the House -but when there was some visible Appearance of a Dividend: But I could -never hear that upon an ill Run of Audiences they had ever returned or -brought in a single Shilling, to make good the Deficiencies of their -daily Receipts. Therefore, as the Patentee in Possession had alone, for -several Years, supported and stood against this Uncertainty of Fortune, -it may be imagin'd that his Accounts were under so voluminous a -Perplexity that few of those Adventurers would have Leisure or Capacity -enough to unravel them: And as they had formerly thrown away their -Time and Money at law in a fruitless Enquiry into them, they now seem'd -to have intirely given up their Right and Interest: And, according -to my best Information, notwithstanding the subsequent Gains of the -Patent have been sometimes extraordinary, the farther Demands or Claims -of Right of the Adventurers have lain dormant above these five and -twenty Years.[76] - -Having shewn by what means _Collier_ had dispossess'd this Patentee, not -only of the _Drury-Lane_ House, but likewise of those few Actors which -he had kept for some time unemploy'd in it, we are now led to consider -another Project of the same Patentee, which, if we are to judge of it by -the Event, has shewn him more a Wise than a Weak Man; which I confess at -the time he put it in Execution seem'd not so clear a Point: For -notwithstanding he now saw the Authority and Power of his Patent was -superseded, or was at best but precarious, and that he had not one Actor -left in his Service, yet, under all these Dilemma's and Distresses, he -resolv'd upon rebuilding the New Theatre in _Lincolns-Inn-Fields_, of -which he had taken a Lease, at a low Rent, ever since _Betterton_'s -Company had first left it.[77] This Conduct seem'd too deep for my -Comprehension! What are we to think of his taking this Lease in the -height of his Prosperity, when he could have no Occasion for it? Was he -a Prophet? Could he then foresee he should, one time or other, be turn'd -out of _Drury-Lane_? Or did his mere Appetite of Architecture urge him -to build a House, while he could not be sure he should ever have leave -to make use of it? But of all this we may think as we please; whatever -was his Motive, he, at his own Expence, in this Interval of his having -nothing else to do, rebuilt that Theatre from the Ground, as it is now -standing.[78] As for the Order of Silence, he seem'd little concern'd at -it while it gave him so much uninterrupted Leisure to supervise a Work -which he naturally took Delight in. - -After this Defeat of the Patentee, the Theatrical Forces of _Collier_ in -_Drury-Lane_, notwithstanding their having drawn the Multitude after -them for about three Weeks during the Trial of _Sacheverel_, had made -but an indifferent Campaign at the end of the Season. _Collier_ at least -found so little Account in it, that it obliged him to push his -Court-Interest (which, wherever the Stage was concern'd, was not -inconsiderable) to support him in another Scheme; which was, that in -consideration of his giving up the _Drury-Lane_, Cloaths, Scenes, and -Actors, to _Swiney_ and his joint Sharers in the _Hay-Market_, he -(_Collier_) might be put into an equal Possession of the _Hay-Market_ -Theatre, with all the Singers, _&c._ and be made sole Director of the -Opera. Accordingly, by Permission of the Lord Chamberlain, a Treaty was -enter'd into, and in a few Days ratified by all Parties, conformable to -the said Preliminaries.[79] This was that happy Crisis of Theatrical -Liberty which the labouring Comedians had long sigh'd for, and which, -for above twenty Years following, was so memorably fortunate to them. - -However, there were two hard Articles in this Treaty, which, though it -might be Policy in the Actors to comply with, yet the Imposition of them -seem'd little less despotick than a Tax upon the Poor when a Government -did not want it. - -The first of these Articles was, That whereas the sole License for -acting Plays was presum'd to be a more profitable Authority than that -for acting Operas only, that therefore Two Hundred Pounds a Year should -be paid to _Collier_, while Master of the Opera, by the Comedians; to -whom a verbal Assurance was given by the _Plenipo'_s on the Court-side, -that while such Payment subsisted no other Company should be permitted -to act Plays against them within the Liberties, _&c._ The other Article -was, That on every _Wednesday_ whereon an Opera could be perform'd, the -Plays should, _toties quoties_, be silent at _Drury-Lane_, to give the -Opera a fairer Chance for a full House. - -This last Article, however partial in the Intention, was in its Effect -of great Advantage to the sharing Actors: For in all publick -Entertainments a Day's Abstinence naturally increases the Appetite to -them: Our every _Thursday_'s Audience, therefore, was visibly the better -by thus making the Day before it a Fast. But as this was not a Favour -design'd us, this Prohibition of a Day, methinks, deserves a little -farther Notice, because it evidently took a sixth Part of their Income -from all the hired Actors, who were only paid in proportion to the -Number of acting Days. This extraordinary Regard to Operas was, in -effect, making the Day-labouring Actors the principal Subscribers to -them, and the shutting out People from the Play every _Wednesday_ many -murmur'd at as an Abridgment of their usual Liberty. And tho' I was one -of those who profited by that Order, it ought not to bribe me into a -Concealment of what was then said and thought of it. I remember a -Nobleman of the first Rank, then in a high Post, and not out of -Court-Favour, said openly behind the Scenes----_It was shameful to take -part of the Actors Bread from them to support the silly Diversion of -People of Quality_. But alas! what was all this Grievance when weighed -against the Qualifications of so grave and staunch a Senator as -_Collier_? Such visible Merit, it seems, was to be made easy, tho' at -the Expence of the--I had almost said, _Honour_ of the Court, whose -gracious Intention for the Theatrical Common-wealth might have shone -with thrice the Lustre if such a paltry Price had not been paid for it. -But as the Government of the Stage is but that of the World in -Miniature, we ought not to have wonder'd that _Collier_ had Interest -enough to quarter the Weakness of the Opera upon the Strength of the -Comedy. General good Intentions are not always practicable to a -Perfection. The most necessary Law can hardly pass, but a Tenderness to -some private Interest shall often hang such Exceptions upon particular -Clauses, 'till at last it comes out lame and lifeless, with the Loss of -half its Force, Purpose, and Dignity. As, for Instance, how many -fruitless Motions have been made in Parliaments to moderate the enormous -Exactions in the Practice of the Law? And what sort of Justice must that -be call'd, which, when a Man has not a mind to pay you a Debt of Ten -Pounds, it shall cost you Fifty before you can get it? How long, too, -has the Publick been labouring for a Bridge at _Westminster_? But the -Wonder that it was not built a Hundred Years ago ceases when we are -told, That the Fear of making one End of _London_ as rich as the other -has been so long an Obstruction to it:[80] And though it might seem a -still greater Wonder, when a new Law for building one had at last got -over that Apprehension, that it should meet with any farther Delay; yet -Experience has shewn us that the Structure of this useful Ornament to -our Metropolis has been so clogg'd by private Jobs that were to be -pick'd out of the Undertaking, and the Progress of the Work so -disconcerted by a tedious Contention of private Interests and Endeavours -to impose upon the Publick abominable Bargains, that a whole Year was -lost before a single Stone could be laid to its Foundation. But -Posterity will owe its Praises to the Zeal and Resolution of a truly -Noble Commissioner, whose distinguish'd Impatience has broke thro' those -narrow Artifices, those false and frivolous Objections that delay'd it, -and has already began to raise above the Tide that future Monument of -his Publick Spirit.[81] - -[Illustration: HESTER SANTLOW.] - -How far all this may be allow'd applicable to the State of the Stage is -not of so great Importance, nor so much my Concern, as that what is -observ'd upon it should always remain a memorable Truth, to the Honour -of that Nobleman. But now I go on: _Collier_ being thus possess'd of his -Musical Government, thought his best way would be to farm it out to a -Gentleman, _Aaron Hill_, Esq.[82] (who he had reason to suppose knew -something more of Theatrical Matters than himself) at a Rent, if I -mistake not, of Six Hundred Pounds _per Annum_: But before the Season -was ended (upon what occasion, if I could remember, it might not be -material to say) took it into his Hands again: But all his Skill and -Interest could not raise the Direction of the Opera to so good a Post as -he thought due to a Person of his Consideration: He therefore, the Year -following, enter'd upon another high-handed Scheme, which, 'till the -Demise of the Queen, turn'd to his better Account. - -After the Comedians were in Possession of _Drury-Lane_, from whence -during my time upon the Stage they never departed, their Swarm of -Audiences exceeded all that had been seen in thirty Years before; which, -however, I do not impute so much to the Excellence of their Acting as to -their indefatigable Industry and good Menagement; for, as I have often -said, I never thought in the general that we stood in any Place of -Comparison with the eminent Actors before us; perhaps, too, by there -being now an End of the frequent Divisions and Disorders that had from -time to time broke in upon and frustrated their Labours, not a little -might be contributed to their Success. - -_Collier_, then, like a true liquorish Courtier, observing the -Prosperity of a Theatre, which he the Year before had parted with for a -worse, began to meditate an Exchange of Theatrical Posts with _Swiney_, -who had visibly very fair Pretensions to that he was in, by his being -first chosen by the Court to regulate and rescue the Stage from the -Disorders it had suffer'd under its former Menagers:[83] Yet _Collier_ -knew that sort of Merit could stand in no Competition with his being a -Member of Parliament: He therefore had recourse to his Court-Interest -(where meer Will and Pleasure at that time was the only Law that -dispos'd of all Theatrical Rights) to oblige Swiney to let him be off -from his bad Bargain for a better. To this it may be imagin'd _Swiney_ -demurred, and as he had Reason, strongly remonstrated against it: But as -_Collier_ had listed his Conscience under the Command of Interest, he -kept it to strict Duty, and was immoveable; insomuch that Sir _John -Vanbrugh_, who was a Friend to _Swiney_, and who, by his Intimacy with -the People in Power, better knew the Motive of their Actions, advis'd -_Swiney_ rather to accept of the Change, than by a Non-compliance to -hazard his being excluded from any Post or Concern in either of the -Theatres: To conclude, it was not long before _Collier_ had procured a -new License for acting Plays, _&c._ for himself, _Wilks_, _Dogget_, and -_Cibber_, exclusive of _Swiney_, who by this new Regulation was reduc'd -to his _Hobson_'s Choice of the Opera.[84] - -_Swiney_ being thus transferr'd to the Opera[85] in the sinking -Condition _Collier_ had left it, found the Receipts of it in the Winter -following, 1711, so far short of the Expences, that he was driven to -attend his Fortune in some more favourable Climate, where he remain'd -twenty Years an Exile from his Friends and Country, tho' there has been -scarce an _English_ Gentleman who in his _Tour_ of _France_ or _Italy_ -has not renew'd or created an Acquaintance with him. As this is a -Circumstance that many People may have forgot, I cannot remember it -without that Regard and Concern it deserves from all that know him: Yet -it is some Mitigation of his Misfortune that since his Return to -_England_, his grey Hairs and cheerful Disposition have still found a -general Welcome among his foreign and former domestick Acquaintance. - -_Collier_ being now first-commission'd Menager with the Comedians, drove -them, too, to the last Inch of a hard Bargain (the natural Consequence -of all Treaties between Power and Necessity.) He not only demanded six -hundred a Year neat Money, the Price at which he had farm'd out his -Opera, and to make the Business a _Sine-cure_ to him, but likewise -insisted upon a Moiety of the Two hundred that had been levied upon us -the Year before in Aid of the Operas; in all 700_l._ These large and -ample Conditions, considering in what Hands we were, we resolv'd to -swallow without wry Faces; rather chusing to run any Hazard than contend -with a formidable Power against which we had no Remedy: But so it -happen'd that Fortune took better care of our Interest than we ourselves -had like to have done: For had _Collier_ accepted of our first Offer, of -an equal Share with us, he had got three hundred Pounds a Year more by -complying with it than by the Sum he imposed upon us, our Shares being -never less than a thousand annually to each of us, 'till the End of the -Queen's Reign in 1714. After which _Collier_'s Commission was -superseded, his Theatrical Post, upon the Accession of his late Majesty, -being given to Sir _Richard Steele_.[86] - -From these various Revolutions in the Government of the Theatre, all -owing to the Patentees mistaken Principle of increasing their Profits by -too far enslaving their People, and keeping down the Price of good -Actors (and I could almost insist that giving large Sallaries to bad -Ones could not have had a worse Consequence) I say, when it is -consider'd that the Authority for acting Plays, _&c._ was thought of so -little worth that (as has been observ'd) Sir _Thomas Skipwith_ gave away -his Share of it, and the Adventurers had fled from it; that Mr. -_Congreve_, at another time, had voluntarily resign'd it; and Sir _John -Vanbrugh_ (meerly to get the Rent of his new House paid) had, by Leave -of the Court, farm'd out his License to _Swiney_, who not without some -Hesitation had ventur'd upon it; let me say again, out of this low -Condition of the Theatre, was it not owing to the Industry of three or -four Comedians that a new Place was now created for the Crown to give -away, without any Expence attending it, well worth the Acceptance of any -Gentleman whose Merit or Services had no higher Claim to Preferment, and -which _Collier_ and Sir _Richard Steele_, in the two last Reigns, -successively enjoy'd? Tho' I believe I may have said something like this -in a former Chapter,[87] I am not unwilling it should be twice taken -notice of. - -We are now come to that firm Establishment of the Theatre, which, except -the Admittance of _Booth_ into a Share and _Dogget_'s retiring from it, -met with no Change or Alteration for above twenty Years after. - -_Collier_, as has been said, having accepted of a certain Appointment of -seven hundred _per Annum_, _Wilks_, _Dogget_, and Myself were now the -only acting Menagers under the Queen's License; which being a Grant but -during Pleasure oblig'd us to a Conduct that might not undeserve that -Favour. At this Time we were All in the Vigour of our Capacities as -Actors, and our Prosperity enabled us to pay at least double the -Sallaries to what the same Actors had usually receiv'd, or could have -hoped for under the Government of the Patentees. _Dogget_, who was -naturally an Oeconomist, kept our Expences and Accounts to the best of -his Power within regulated Bounds and Moderation. _Wilks_, who had a -stronger Passion for Glory than Lucre, was a little apt to be lavish in -what was not always as necessary for the Profit as the Honour of the -Theatre: For example, at the Beginning of almost every Season, he would -order two or three Suits to be made or refresh'd for Actors of moderate -Consequence, that his having constantly a new one for himself might seem -less particular, tho' he had as yet no new Part for it. This expeditious -Care of doing us good without waiting for our Consent to it, _Dogget_ -always look'd upon with the Eye of a Man in Pain: But I, who hated Pain, -(tho' I as little liked the Favour as _Dogget_ himself) rather chose to -laugh at the Circumstance, than complain of what I knew was not to be -cured but by a Remedy worse than the Evil. Upon these Occasions, -therefore, whenever I saw him and his Followers so prettily dress'd out -for an old Play, I only commended his Fancy; or at most but whisper'd -him not to give himself so much trouble about others, upon whose -Performance it would but be thrown away: To which, with a smiling Air of -Triumph over my want of Penetration, he has reply'd--Why, now, that was -what I really did it for! to shew others that I love to take care of -them as well as of myself. Thus, whenever he made himself easy, he had -not the least Conception, let the Expence be what it would, that we -could possibly dislike it. And from the same Principle, provided a -thinner Audience were liberal of their Applause, he gave himself little -Concern about the Receipt of it. As in these different Tempers of my -Brother-Menagers there might be equally something right and wrong, it -was equally my Business to keep well with them both: And tho' of the two -I was rather inclin'd to _Dogget_'s way of thinking, yet I was always -under the disagreeable Restraint of not letting _Wilks_ see it: -Therefore, when in any material Point of Menagement they were ready to -come to a Rupture, I found it adviseable to think neither of them -absolutely in the wrong; but by giving to one as much of the Right in -his Opinion this way as I took from the other in that, their Differences -were sometimes soft'ned into Concessions, that I have reason to think -prevented many ill Consequences in our Affairs that otherwise might have -attended them. But this was always to be done with a very gentle Hand; -for as _Wilks_ was apt to be easily hurt by Opposition, so when he felt -it he was as apt to be insupportable. However, there were some Points in -which we were always unanimous. In the twenty Years while we were our -own Directors, we never had a Creditor that had occasion to come twice -for his Bill; every _Monday_ Morning discharged us of all Demands before -we took a Shilling for our own Use. And from this time we neither ask'd -any Actor, nor were desired by them, to sign any written Agreement (to -the best of my Memory) whatsoever: The Rate of their respective -Sallaries were only enter'd in our daily Pay-Roll; which plain Record -every one look'd upon as good as City-Security: For where an honest -Meaning is mutual, the mutual Confidence will be Bond enough in -Conscience on both sides: But that I may not ascribe more to our Conduct -than was really its Due, I ought to give Fortune her Share of the -Commendation; for had not our Success exceeded our Expectation, it might -not have been in our Power so thoroughly to have observ'd those laudable -Rules of Oeconomy, Justice, and Lenity, which so happily supported us: -But the Severities and Oppression we had suffer'd under our former -Masters made us incapable of imposing them on others; which gave -our whole Society the cheerful Looks of a rescued People. But -notwithstanding this general Cause of Content, it was not above a Year -or two before the Imperfection of human Nature began to shew itself in -contrary Symptoms. The Merit of the Hazards which the Menagers had run, -and the Difficulties they had combated in bringing to Perfection that -Revolution by which they had all so amply profited in the Amendment of -their general Income, began now to be forgotten; their Acknowledgments -and thankful Promises of Fidelity were no more repeated, or scarce -thought obligatory: Ease and Plenty by an habitual Enjoyment had lost -their Novelty, and the Largeness of their Sallaries seem'd rather -lessen'd than advanc'd by the extraordinary Gains of the Undertakers; -for that is the Scale in which the hired Actor will always weigh his -Performance; but whatever Reason there may seem to be in his Case, yet, -as he is frequently apt to throw a little Self-partiality into the -Balance, that Consideration may a good deal alter the Justness of it. -While the Actors, therefore, had this way of thinking, happy was it for -the Menagers that their united Interest was so inseparably the same, and -that their Skill and Power in Acting stood in a Rank so far above the -rest, that if the whole Body of private Men had deserted them, it would -yet have been an easier matter for the Menagers to have pick'd up -Recruits, than for the Deserters to have found proper Officers to head -them. Here, then, in this Distinction lay our Security: Our being Actors -ourselves was an Advantage to our Government which all former Menagers, -who were only idle Gentlemen, wanted: Nor was our Establishment easily -to be broken, while our Health and Limbs enabled us to be -Joint-labourers in the Work we were Masters of. - -The only Actor who, in the Opinion of the Publick, seem'd to have had a -Pretence of being advanc'd to a Share with us was certainly _Booth_: But -when it is consider'd how strongly he had oppos'd the Measures that had -made us Menagers, by setting himself (as has been observ'd) at the Head -of an opposite Interest,[88] he could not as yet have much to complain -of: Beside, if the Court had thought him, now, an equal Object of -Favour, it could not have been in our Power to have oppos'd his -Preferment: This I mention, not to take from his Merit, but to shew from -what Cause it was not as yet better provided for. Therefore it may be no -Vanity to say, our having at that time no visible Competitors on the -Stage was the only Interest that rais'd us to be the Menagers of it. - -But here let me rest a while, and since at my time of Day our best -Possessions are but Ease and Quiet, I must be content, if I will have -Sallies of Pleasure, to take up with those only that are to be found in -Imagination. When I look back, therefore, on the Storms of the Stage we -had been toss'd in; when I consider that various Vicissitude of Hopes -and Fears we had for twenty Years struggled with, and found ourselves at -last thus safely set on Shore to enjoy the Produce of our own Labours, -and to have rais'd those Labours by our Skill and Industry to a much -fairer Profit, than our Task-masters by all their severe and griping -Government had ever reap'd from them, a good-natur'd Reader, that is not -offended at the Comparison of great things with small, will allow was a -Triumph in proportion equal to those that have attended the most heroick -Enterprizes for Liberty! What Transport could the first _Brutus_ feel -upon his Expulsion of the _Tarquins_ greater than that which now danc'd -in the Heart of a poor Actor, who, from an injur'd Labourer, unpaid his -Hire, had made himself, without Guilt, a legal Menager of his own -Fortune? Let the Grave and Great contemn or yawn at these low Conceits, -but let me be happy in the Enjoyment of them! To this Hour my Memory -runs o'er that pleasing Prospect of Life past with little less Delight -than when I was first in the real Possession of it. This is the natural -Temper of my Mind, which my Acquaintance are frequently Witnesses of: -And as this was all the Ambition Providence had made my obscure -Condition capable of, I am thankful that Means were given me to enjoy -the Fruits of it. - - ----_Hoc est - Vivere bìs, vitâ; posse priore frui._[89] - -Something like the Meaning of this the less learned Reader may find in -my Title Page. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _The Stage in its highest Prosperity. The Menagers not without - Errors. Of what Kind._ Cato _first acted. What brought it to - the Stage. The Company go to _Oxford_. Their Success and - different Auditors there. _Booth_ made a Sharer. _Dogget_ - objects to him. Quits the Stage upon his Admittance. That not - his true Reason. What was. _Dogget_'s Theatrical Character._ - -Notwithstanding the Menaging Actors were now in a happier Situation -than their utmost Pretensions could have expected, yet it is not to -be suppos'd but wiser Men might have mended it. As we could not all -govern our selves, there were Seasons when we were not all fit to -govern others. Our Passions and our Interest drew not always the same -way. _Self_ had a great Sway in our Debates: We had our Partialities; -our Prejudices; our Favourites of less Merit; and our Jealousies of -those who came too near us; Frailties which Societies of higher -Consideration, while they are compos'd of Men, will not always be free -from. To have been constantly capable of Unanimity had been a Blessing -too great for our Station: One Mind among three People were to have had -three Masters to one Servant; but when that one Servant is called three -different ways at the same time, whose Business is to be done first? For -my own Part, I was forced almost all my Life to give up my Share of him. -And if I could, by Art or Persuasion, hinder others from making what I -thought a wrong use of their Power, it was the All and utmost I desired. -Yet, whatever might be our Personal Errors, I shall think I have no -Right to speak of them farther than where the Publick Entertainment was -affected by them. If therefore, among so many, some particular Actors -were remarkable in any part of their private Lives, that might sometimes -make the World merry without Doors, I hope my laughing Friends will -excuse me if I do not so far comply with their Desires or Curiosity as -to give them a Place in my History. I can only recommend such Anecdotes -to the Amusement of a Noble Person, who (in case I conceal them) does me -the flattering Honour to threaten my Work with a Supplement. 'Tis enough -for me that such Actors had their Merits to the Publick: Let those -recite their Imperfections who are themselves without them: It is my -Misfortune not to have that Qualification. Let us see then (whatever was -amiss in it) how our Administration went forward. - -When we were first invested with this Power, the Joy of our so -unexpectedly coming into it kept us for some time in Amity and -Good-Humour with one another: And the Pleasure of reforming the many -false Measures, Absurdities, and Abuses, that, like Weeds, had suck'd up -the due Nourishment from the Fruits of the Theatre, gave us as yet no -leisure for private Dissentions. Our daily Receipts exceeded our -Imagination: And we seldom met as a Board to settle our weekly Accounts -without the Satisfaction of Joint-Heirs just in Possession of an -unexpected Estate that had been distantly intail'd upon them. Such a -sudden Change of our Condition it may be imagin'd could not but throw -out of us a new Spirit in almost every Play we appear'd in: Nor did -we ever sink into that common Negligence which is apt to follow -Good-fortune: Industry we knew was the Life of our Business; that -it not only conceal'd Faults, but was of equal Value to greater Talents -without it; which the Decadence once of _Betterton_'s Company in -_Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_ had lately shewn us a Proof of. - -This then was that happy Period, when both Actors and Menagers were -in their highest Enjoyment of general Content and Prosperity. Now it -was that the politer World, too, by their decent Attention, their -sensible Taste, and their generous Encouragements to Authors and -Actors, once more saw that the Stage, under a due Regulation, was -capable of being what the wisest Ages thought it _might_ be, The -most rational Scheme that Human Wit could form to dissipate with -Innocence the Cares of Life, to allure even the Turbulent or -Ill-disposed from worse Meditations, and to give the leisure Hours -of Business and Virtue an instructive Recreation. - -If this grave Assertion is less recommended by falling from the Pen of a -Comedian, I must appeal for the Truth of it to the Tragedy of _Cato_, -which was first acted in 1712.[90] I submit to the Judgment of those who -were then the sensible Spectators of it, if the Success and Merit of -that Play was not an Evidence of every Article of that Value which I -have given to a decent Theatre? But (as I was observing) it could not be -expected the Summer Days I am speaking of could be the constant Weather -of the Year; we had our clouded Hours as well as our sun-shine, and were -not always in the same Good-Humour with one another: Fire, Air, and -Water could not be more vexatiously opposite than the different Tempers -of the Three Menagers, though they might equally have their useful as -well as their destructive Qualities. How variously these Elements in our -several Dispositions operated may be judged from the following single -Instance, as well as a thousand others, which, if they were all to be -told, might possibly make my Reader wish I had forgot them. - -Much about this time, then, there came over from _Dublin_ Theatre two -uncelebrated Actors to pick up a few Pence among us in the Winter, as -_Wilks_ had a Year or two before done on their side the Water in the -Summer.[91] But it was not so clear to _Dogget_ and myself that it was -in their Power to do us the same Service in _Drury-Lane_ as _Wilks_ -might have done them in _Dublin_. However, _Wilks_ was so much a Man of -Honour that he scorned to be outdone in the least Point of it, let the -Cost be what it would to his Fellow-Menagers, who had no particular -Accounts of Honour open with them. To acquit himself therefore with a -better Grace, _Wilks_ so order'd it, that his _Hibernian_ Friends were -got upon our Stage before any other Menager had well heard of their -Arrival. This so generous Dispatch of their Affair gave _Wilks_ a very -good Chance of convincing his Friends that Himself was sole Master of -the Masters of the Company. Here, now, the different Elements in our -Tempers began to work with us. While _Wilks_ was only animated by a -grateful Hospitality to his Friends, _Dogget_ was ruffled into a Storm, -and look'd upon this Generosity as so much Insult and Injustice upon -himself and the Fraternity. During this Disorder I stood by, a seeming -quiet Passenger, and, since talking to the Winds I knew could be to no -great Purpose (whatever Weakness it might be call'd) could not help -smiling to observe with what officious Ease and Delight _Wilks_ was -treating his Friends at our Expence, who were scarce acquainted with -them: For it seems all this was to end in their having a Benefit-Play in -the Height of the Season, for the unprofitable Service they had done us -without our Consent or Desire to employ them. Upon this _Dogget_ bounc'd -and grew almost as untractable as _Wilks_ himself. Here, again, I was -forc'd to clap my Patience to the Helm to weather this difficult Point -between them: Applying myself therefore to the Person I imagin'd was -most likely to hear me, I desired _Dogget_ "to consider that I must -naturally be as much hurt by this vain and over-bearing Behaviour in -_Wilks_ as he could be; and that tho' it was true these Actors had no -Pretence to the Favour design'd them, yet we could not say they had -done us any farther Harm, than letting the Town see the Parts they had -been shewn in, had been better done by those to whom they properly -belong'd: Yet as we had greatly profited by the extraordinary Labour of -_Wilks_, who acted long Parts almost every Day, and at least twice to -_Dogget_'s once;[92] and that I granted it might not be so much his -Consideration of our common Interest, as his Fondness for Applause, that -set him to Work, yet even that Vanity, if he supposed it such, had its -Merit to us; and as we had found our Account in it, it would be Folly -upon a Punctilio to tempt the Rashness of a Man, who was capable to undo -all he had done, by any Act of Extravagance that might fly into his -Head: That admitting this Benefit might be some little Loss to us, yet -to break with him upon it could not but be ten times of worse -Consequence, than our overlooking his disagreeable manner of making the -Demand upon us." - -[Illustration: ROBERT WILKS] - -Though I found this had made _Dogget_ drop the Severity of his Features, -yet he endeavoured still to seem uneasy, by his starting a new -Objection, which was, That we could not be sure even of the Charge they -were to pay for it: For _Wilks_, said he, you know, will go any Lengths -to make it a good Day to them, and may whisper the Door-keepers to give -them the Ready-money taken, and return the Account in such Tickets only -as these Actors have not themselves disposed of. To make this easy too, -I gave him my Word to be answerable for the Charge my self. Upon this he -acceded, and accordingly they had the Benefit-Play. But so it happen'd -(whether as _Dogget_ had suspected or not, I cannot say) the Ready-money -receiv'd fell Ten Pounds short of the Sum they had agreed to pay for it. -Upon the _Saturday_ following, (the Day on which we constantly made up -our Accounts) I went early to the Office, and inquired if the Ten Pounds -had yet been paid in; but not hearing that one Shilling of it had found -its way thither, I immediately supply'd the Sum out of my own Pocket, -and directed the Treasurer to charge it received from me in the -deficient Receipt of the Benefit-Day. Here, now, it might be imagined, -all this silly Matter was accommodated, and that no one could so -properly say he was aggrieved as myself: But let us observe what the -Consequence says--why, the Effect of my insolent interposing honesty -prov'd to be this: That the Party most oblig'd was the most offended; -and the Offence was imputed to me who had been Ten Pounds out of Pocket -to be able to commit it: For when _Wilks_ found in the Account how -spitefully the Ten Pounds had been paid in, he took me aside into the -adjacent Stone-Passage, and with some Warmth ask'd me, What I meant by -pretending to pay in this Ten Pounds? And that, for his part, he did not -understand such Treatment. To which I reply'd, That tho' I was amaz'd -at his thinking himself ill-treated, I would give him a plain, -justifiable Answer.----That I had given my Word to _Dogget_ the Charge -of the Benefit should be fully paid, and since his Friends had neglected -it, I found myself bound to make it good. Upon which he told me I was -mistaken if I thought he did not see into the bottom of all this--That -_Dogget_ and I were always endeavouring to thwart and make him uneasy; -but he was able to stand upon his own Legs, and we should find he would -not be used so: That he took this Payment of the Ten Pounds as an Insult -upon him and a Slight to his Friends; but rather than suffer it he would -tear the whole Business to pieces: That I knew it was in his Power to do -it; and if he could not do a civil thing to a Friend without all this -senseless Rout about it, he could be received in _Ireland_ upon his own -Terms, and could as easily mend a Company there as he had done here: -That if he were gone, _Dogget_ and I would not be able to keep the Doors -open a Week; and, by G--, he would not be a Drudge for nothing. As I -knew all this was but the Foam of the high Value he had set upon -himself, I thought it not amiss to seem a little silently concerned, for -the helpless Condition to which his Resentment of the Injury I have -related was going to reduce us: For I knew I had a Friend in his Heart -that, if I gave him a little time to cool, would soon bring him to -Reason: The sweet Morsel of a Thousand Pounds a Year was not to be met -with at every Table, and might tempt a nicer Palate than his own to -swallow it, when he was not out of Humour. This I knew would always be -of weight with him, when the best Arguments I could use would be of -none. I therefore gave him no farther Provocation than by gravely -telling him, We all had it in our Power to do one another a Mischief; -but I believed none of us much cared to hurt ourselves; that if he was -not of my Opinion, it would not be in my Power to hinder whatever new -Scheme he might resolve upon; that _London_ would always have a -Play-house, and I should have some Chance in it, tho' it might not be so -good as it had been; that he might be sure, if I had thought my paying -in the Ten Pounds could have been so ill received, I should have been -glad to have saved it. Upon this he seem'd to mutter something to -himself, and walk'd off as if he had a mind to be alone. I took the -Occasion, and return'd to _Dogget_ to finish our Accounts. In about six -Minutes _Wilks_ came in to us, not in the best Humour, it may be -imagined; yet not in so ill a one but that he took his Share of the Ten -Pounds without shewing the least Contempt of it; which, had he been -proud enough to have refused, or to have paid in himself, I might have -thought he intended to make good his Menaces, and that the Injury I had -done him would never have been forgiven; but it seems we had different -ways of thinking. - -Of this kind, more or less delightful, was the Life I led with this -impatient Man for full twenty Years. _Dogget_, as we shall find, could -not hold it so long; but as he had more Money than I, he had not -Occasion for so much Philosophy. And thus were our Theatrical Affairs -frequently disconcerted by this irascible Commander, this _Achilles_ of -our Confederacy, who, I may be bold to say, came very little short of -the Spirit _Horace_ gives to that Hero in his-- - - _Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer._[93] - -This, then, is one of those Personal Anecdotes of our Variances, which, -as our publick Performances were affected by it, could not, with regard -to Truth and Justice, be omitted. - -From this time to the Year 1712 my Memory (from which Repository alone -every Article of what I write is collected) has nothing worth -mentioning, 'till the first acting of the Tragedy of _Cato_.[94] As to -the Play itself, it might be enough to say, That the Author and the -Actors had their different Hopes of Fame and Profit amply answer'd by -the Performance; but as its Success was attended with remarkable -Consequences, it may not be amiss to trace it from its several Years -Concealment in the Closet, to the Stage. - -In 1703, nine Years before it was acted, I had the Pleasure of reading -the first four Acts (which was all of it then written) privately with -Sir _Richard Steele_: It may be needless to say it was impossible to lay -them out of my Hand 'till I had gone thro' them, or to dwell upon the -Delight his Friendship to the Author receiv'd upon my being so warmly -pleas'd with them: But my Satisfaction was as highly disappointed when -he told me, Whatever Spirit Mr. _Addison_ had shewn in his writing it, -he doubted he would never have Courage enough to let his _Cato_ stand -the Censure of an _English_ Audience; that it had only been the -Amusement of his leisure Hours in _Italy_, and was never intended for -the Stage. This Poetical Diffidence[95] Sir _Richard_ himself spoke of -with some Concern, and in the Transport of his Imagination could not -help saying, _Good God!_ what a Part would _Betterton_ make of _Cato!_ -But this was seven Years before _Betterton_ died, and when _Booth_ (who -afterwards made his Fortune by acting it) was in his Theatrical -Minority. In the latter end of Queen _Anne_'s Reign, when our National -Politicks had changed Hands, the Friends of Mr. _Addison_ then thought -it a proper time to animate the Publick with the Sentiments of _Cato_; -in a word, their Importunities were too warm to be resisted; and it was -no sooner finish'd than hurried to the Stage, in _April_, 1712,[96] at a -time when three Days a Week were usually appointed for the Benefit Plays -of particular Actors: But a Work of that critical Importance was to make -its way through all private Considerations; nor could it possibly give -place to a Custom, which the Breach of could very little prejudice the -Benefits, that on so unavoidable an Occasion were (in part, tho' not -wholly) postpon'd; it was therefore (_Mondays_ excepted) acted every Day -for a Month to constantly crowded Houses.[97] As the Author had made us -a Present of whatever Profits he might have claim'd from it, we thought -our selves oblig'd to spare no Cost in the proper Decorations of it. Its -coming so late in the Season to the Stage prov'd of particular Advantage -to the sharing Actors, because the Harvest of our annual Gains was -generally over before the middle of _March_, many select Audiences being -then usually reserv'd in favour to the Benefits of private Actors; which -fixt Engagements naturally abated the Receipts of the Days before and -after them: But this unexpected Aftercrop of _Cato_ largely supplied to -us those Deficiencies, and was almost equal to two fruitful Seasons in -the same Year; at the Close of which the three menaging Actors found -themselves each a Gainer of thirteen hundred and fifty Pounds: But to -return to the first Reception of this Play from the Publick. - -Although _Cato_ seems plainly written upon what are called _Whig_ -Principles, yet the _Torys_ of that time had Sense enough not to take it -as the least Reflection upon their Administration; but, on the contrary, -they seem'd to brandish and vaunt their Approbation of every Sentiment -in favour of Liberty, which, by a publick Act of their Generosity, was -carried so high, that one Day, while the Play was acting, they collected -fifty Guineas in the Boxes, and made a Present of them to _Booth_, with -this Compliment----_For his honest Opposition to a perpetual Dictator, -and his dying so bravely in the Cause of Liberty_: What was insinuated -by any Part of these Words is not my Affair;[98] but so publick a Reward -had the Appearance of a laudable Spirit, which only such a Play as -_Cato_ could have inspired; nor could _Booth_ be blam'd if, upon so -particular a Distinction of his Merit, he began himself to set more -Value upon it: How far he might carry it, in making use of the Favour he -stood in with a certain Nobleman[99] then in Power at Court, was not -difficult to penetrate, and indeed ought always to have been expected by -the menaging Actors: For which of them (making the Case every way his -own) could with such Advantages have contented himself in the humble -Station of an hired Actor? But let us see how the Menagers stood -severally affected upon this Occasion. - -_Dogget_, who expected, though he fear'd not, the Attempt of what after -happen'd, imagin'd he had thought of an Expedient to prevent it: And to -cover his Design with all the Art of a Statesman, he insinuated to us -(for he was a staunch _Whig_) that this Present of fifty Guineas was a -sort of a _Tory_ Triumph which they had no Pretence to; and that for his -Part he could not bear that so redoubted a Champion for Liberty as -_Cato_ should be bought off to the Cause of a Contrary Party: He -therefore, in the seeming Zeal of his Heart, proposed that the Menagers -themselves should make the same Present to _Booth_ which had been made -him from the Boxes the Day before. This, he said, would recommend the -Equality and liberal Spirit of our Menagement to the Town, and might be -a Means to secure _Booth_ more firmly in our Interest, it never having -been known that the Skill of the best Actor had receiv'd so round a -Reward or Gratuity in one Day before. _Wilks_, who wanted nothing but -Abilities to be as cunning as _Dogget_, was so charm'd with the Proposal -that he long'd that Moment to make _Booth_ the Present with his own -Hands; and though he knew he had no Right to do it without my Consent, -had no Patience to ask it; upon which I turned to _Dogget_ with a cold -Smile, and told him, that if _Booth_ could be purchas'd at so cheap a -Rate, it would be one of the best Proofs of his Oeconomy we had ever -been beholden to: I therefore desired we might have a little Patience; -that our doing it too hastily might be only making sure of an Occasion -to throw the fifty Guineas away; for if we should be obliged to do -better for him, we could never expect that _Booth_ would think himself -bound in Honour to refund them. This seem'd so absurd an Argument to -_Wilks_ that he began, with his usual Freedom of Speech, to treat it as -a pitiful Evasion of their intended Generosity: But _Dogget_, who was -not so wide of my Meaning, clapping his Hand upon mine, said, with an -Air of Security, O! don't trouble yourself! there must be two Words to -that Bargain; let me alone to menage that Matter. _Wilks_, upon this -dark Discourse, grew uneasy, as if there were some Secret between us -that he was to be left out of. Therefore, to avoid the Shock of his -Intemperance, I was reduc'd to tell him that it was my Opinion, that -_Booth_ would never be made easy by any thing we could do for him, 'till -he had a Share in the Profits and Menagement; and that, as he did not -want Friends to assist him, whatever his Merit might be before, every -one would think, since his acting of _Cato_, he had now enough to back -his Pretensions to it. To which _Dogget_ reply'd, that nobody could -think his Merit was slighted by so handsome a Present as fifty Guineas; -and that, for his farther Pretensions, whatever the License might avail, -our Property of House, Scenes, and Cloaths were our own, and not in the -Power of the Crown to dispose of. To conclude, my Objections that the -Money would be only thrown away, _&c._ were over-rul'd, and the same -Night _Booth_ had the fifty Guineas, which he receiv'd with a -Thankfulness that made _Wilks_ and _Dogget_ perfectly easy, insomuch -that they seem'd for some time to triumph in their Conduct, and often -endeavour'd to laugh my Jealousy out of Countenance: But in the -following Winter the Game happen'd to take a different Turn; and then, -if it had been a laughing Matter, I had as strong an Occasion to smile -at their former Security. But before I make an End of this Matter, I -cannot pass over the good Fortune of the Company that followed us to the -Act at _Oxford_, which was held in the intervening Summer: Perhaps, too, -a short View of the Stage in that different Situation may not be -unacceptable to the Curious. - -After the Restoration of King _Charles_, before the _Cavalier_ and -_Round-head_ Parties, under their new Denomination of _Whig_ and _Tory_, -began again to be politically troublesome, publick Acts at _Oxford_ (as -I find by the Date of several Prologues written by _Dryden_[100] for -_Hart_ on those Occasions) had been more frequently held than in later -Reigns. Whether the same Party-Dissentions may have occasion'd the -Discontinuance of them, is a Speculation not necessary to be enter'd -into. But these Academical Jubilees have usually been look'd upon as a -kind of congratulatory Compliment to the Accession of every new Prince -to the Throne, and generally, as such, have attended them. King -_James_,[101] notwithstanding his Religion, had the Honour of it; at -which the Players, as usual, assisted. This I have only mention'd to -give the Reader a Theatrical Anecdote of a Liberty which _Tony Leigh_ -the Comedian took with the Character of the well known _Obadiah -Walker_,[102] then Head of _University College_, who in that Prince's -Reign had turn'd _Roman Catholick_: The Circumstance is this. - -In the latter End of the Comedy call'd the _Committee_, _Leigh_, who -acted the Part of _Teague_, hauling in _Obadiah_ with an Halter about -his Neck, whom, according to his written Part, he was to threaten to -hang for no better Reason than his refusing to drink the King's Health, -(but here _Leigh_) to justify his Purpose with a stronger Provocation, -put himself into a more than ordinary Heat with his Captive _Obadiah_, -which having heightened his Master's Curiosity to know what _Obadiah_ -had done to deserve such Usage, _Leigh_, folding his Arms, with a -ridiculous Stare of Astonishment, reply'd--_Upon my Shoule, he has -shange his Religion_. As the Merit of this Jest lay chiefly in the -Auditors' sudden Application of it to the _Obadiah_ of _Oxford_, it was -received with all the Triumph of Applause which the Zeal of a different -Religion could inspire. But _Leigh_ was given to understand that the -King was highly displeased at it, inasmuch as it had shewn him that the -University was in a Temper to make a Jest of his Proselyte. But to -return to the Conduct of our own Affairs there in 1712.[103] - -It had been a Custom for the Comedians while at _Oxford_ to act twice a -Day; the first Play ending every Morning before the College Hours of -dining, and the other never to break into the time of shutting their -Gates in the Evening. This extraordinary Labour gave all the hired -Actors a Title to double Pay, which, at the Act in King _William_'s -Time, I had myself accordingly received there. But the present Menagers -considering that, by acting only once a Day, their Spirits might be -fresher for every single Performance, and that by this Means they might -be able to fill up the Term of their Residence, without the Repetition -of their best and strongest Plays; and as their Theatre was contrived to -hold a full third more than the usual Form of it had done, one House -well fill'd might answer the Profits of two but moderately taken up: -Being enabled, too, by their late Success at _London_, to make the -Journey pleasant and profitable to the rest of their Society, they -resolved to continue to them their double Pay, notwithstanding this new -Abatement of half their Labour. This Conduct of the Menagers more than -answered their Intention, which was rather to get nothing themselves -than not let their Fraternity be the better for the Expedition. Thus -they laid an Obligation upon their Company, and were themselves -considerably, though unexpected, Gainers by it. But my chief Reason for -bringing the Reader to _Oxford_ was to shew the different Taste of Plays -there from that which prevail'd at _London_. A great deal of that false, -flashy Wit and forc'd Humour, which had been the Delight of our -Metropolitan Multitude, was only rated there at its bare intrinsick -Value;[104] Applause was not to be purchased there but by the true -Sterling, the _Sal Atticum_ of a Genius, unless where the Skill of the -Actor pass'd it upon them with some extraordinary Strokes of Nature. -_Shakespear_ and _Johnson_ had there a sort of classical Authority; for -whose masterly Scenes they seem'd to have as implicit a Reverence as -formerly for the Ethicks of _Aristotle_; and were as incapable of -allowing Moderns to be their Competitors, as of changing their -Academical Habits for gaudy Colours or Embroidery. Whatever Merit, -therefore, some few of our more politely-written Comedies might pretend -to, they had not the same Effect upon the Imagination there, nor were -received with that extraordinary Applause they had met with from the -People of Mode and Pleasure in _London_, whose vain Accomplishments did -not dislike themselves in the Glass that was held to them: The elegant -Follies of higher Life were not at _Oxford_ among their Acquaintance, -and consequently might not be so good Company to a learned Audience as -Nature, in her plain Dress and unornamented, in her Pursuits and -Inclinations seem'd to be. - -The only distinguish'd Merit allow'd to any modern Writer[105] was to -the Author of _Cato_, which Play being the Flower of a Plant raised in -that learned Garden, (for there Mr. _Addison_ had his Education) what -favour may we not suppose was due to him from an Audience of Brethren, -who from that local Relation to him might naturally have a warmer -Pleasure in their Benevolence to his Fame? But not to give more Weight -to this imaginary Circumstance than it may bear, the Fact was, that on -our first Day of acting it our House was in a manner invested, and -Entrance demanded by twelve a Clock at Noon, and before one it was not -wide enough for many who came too late for Places. The same Crowds -continued for three Days together, (an uncommon Curiosity in that Place) -and the Death of _Cato_ triumph'd over the Injuries of _Cæsar_ every -where. To conclude, our Reception at _Oxford_, whatever our Merit might -be, exceeded our Expectation. At our taking Leave we had the Thanks of -the Vice-Chancellor for the Decency and Order observ'd by our whole -Society, an Honour which had not always been paid upon the same -Occasions; for at the Act in King _William_'s Time I remember some -Pranks of a different Nature had been complain'd of. Our Receipts had -not only enabled us (as I have observ'd) to double the Pay of every -Actor, but to afford out of them towards the Repair of St _Mary_'s -Church the Contribution of fifty Pounds: Besides which, each of the -three Menagers had to his respective Share, clear of all Charges, one -hundred and fifty more for his one and twenty Day's Labour, which being -added to his thirteen hundred and fifty shared in the Winter preceding, -amounted in the whole to fifteen hundred, the greatest Sum ever known to -have been shared in one Year to that Time: And to the Honour of our -Auditors here and elsewhere be it spoken, all this was rais'd without -the Aid of those barbarous Entertainments with which, some few Years -after (upon the Re-establishment of two contending Companies) we were -forc'd to disgrace the Stage to support it. - -This, therefore, is that remarkable Period when the Stage, during my -Time upon it, was the least reproachable: And it may be worth the -publick Observation (if any thing I have said of it can be so) that -_One_ Stage may, as I have prov'd it has done, very laudably support it -self by such Spectacles only as are fit to delight a sensible People; -but the equal Prosperity of _Two_ Stages has always been of a very short -Duration. If therefore the Publick should ever recover into the true -Taste of that Time, and stick to it, the Stage must come into it, or -_starve_; as, whenever the general Taste is vulgar, the Stage must come -down to it to _live_.----But I ask Pardon of the Multitude, who, in all -Regulations of the Stage, may expect to be a little indulg'd in what -they like: If therefore they _will_ have a May-pole, why, the Players -must _give_ them a May-pole; but I only speak in case they should keep -an old Custom of changing their Minds, and by their Privilege of being -in the _wrong_, should take a Fancy, by way of Variety, of being in the -_right_----Then, in such a Case, what I have said may appear to have -been no intended Design against their Liberty of judging for themselves. - -After our Return from _Oxford_, _Booth_ was at full Leisure to solicit -his Admission to a Share in the Menagement,[106] in which he succeeded -about the Beginning of the following Winter: Accordingly a new License -(recalling all former Licenses) was issued, wherein _Booth_'s Name was -added to those of the other Menagers.[107] But still there was a -Difficulty in his Qualification to be adjusted; what Consideration he -should allow for an equal Title to our Stock of Cloaths, Scenes, _&c._ -without which the License was of no more use than the Stock was without -the License; or, at least, if there were any Difference, the former -Menagers seem'd to have the Advantage in it; the Stock being intirely -theirs, and three Parts in four of the License; for _Collier_, though -now but a fifth Menager, still insisted on his former Appointment of -700_l._ a Year, which in Equity ought certainly to have been -proportionably abated: But Court-Favour was not always measur'd by -_that_ Yard; _Collier's_ Matter was soon out of the Question; his -Pretensions were too visible to be contested; but the Affair of _Booth_ -was not so clear a Point: The Lord Chamberlain, therefore, only -recommended it to be adjusted among our selves; which, to say the Truth, -at that Time was a greater Indulgence than I expected. Let us see, then, -how this critical Case was handled. - -_Wilks_ was of Opinion, that to set a good round Value upon our Stock, -was the only way to come near an Equivalent for the Diminution of our -Shares, which the Admission of _Booth_ must occasion: But _Dogget_ -insisted that he had no mind to dispose of any Part of his Property, and -therefore would set no Price upon it at all. Though I allow'd that Both -these Opinions might be grounded on a good deal of Equity, yet I was not -sure that either of them was practicable; and therefore told them, that -when they could Both agree which of them could be made so, they might -rely on my Consent in any Shape. In the mean time I desired they would -consider, that as our License subsisted only during Pleasure, we could -not pretend that the Queen might not recall or alter it: But that to -speak out, without mincing the matter on either Side, the Truth was -plainly this: That _Booth_ had a manifest Merit as an Actor; and as he -was not supposed to be a _Whig_, it was as evident that a good deal for -that Reason a Secretary of State had taken him into his Protection, -which I was afraid the weak Pretence of our invaded Property would not -be able to contend with: That his having signaliz'd himself in the -Character of _Cato_ (whose Principles the _Tories_ had affected to have -taken into their own Possession) was a very popular Pretence of making -him free of the Stage, by advancing him to the Profits of it. And, as we -had seen that the Stage was frequently treated as if it was not suppos'd -to have any Property at all, this Favour intended to _Booth_ was thought -a right Occasion to avow that Opinion by disposing of its Property at -Pleasure: But be that as it might, I own'd it was not so much my -Apprehensions of what the _Court_ might do, that sway'd me into an -Accommodation with _Booth_, as what the _Town_, (in whose Favour he now -apparently stood) might think _ought_ to be done: That there might be -more danger in contesting their arbitrary Will and Pleasure than in -disputing this less terrible Strain of the Prerogative. That if _Booth_ -were only impos'd upon us from his Merit to the Court, we were then in -the Condition of other Subjects: Then, indeed, Law, Right, and -Possession might have a tolerable Tug for our Property: But as the Town -would always look upon his Merit to _them_ in a stronger Light, and be -Judges of it themselves, it would be a weak and idle Endeavour in us not -to sail with the Stream, when we might possibly make a Merit of our -cheerfully admitting him: That though his former Opposition to our -Interest might, between Man and Man, a good deal justify our not making -an earlier Friend of him; yet that was a Disobligation out of the Town's -Regard, and consequently would be of no weight against so approv'd an -Actor's being preferr'd. But all this notwithstanding, if they could -both agree in a different Opinion, I would, at the Hazard of any -Consequence, be guided by it. - -Here, now, will be shewn another Instance of our different Tempers: -_Dogget_ (who, in all Matters that concern'd our common Weal and -Interest, little regarded our Opinion, and even to an Obstinacy walk'd -by his own) look'd only out of Humour at what I had said, and, without -thinking himself oblig'd to give any Reason for it, declar'd he would -maintain his Property. _Wilks_ (who, upon the same Occasions, was as -remarkably ductile, as when his Superiority on the Stage was in question -he was assuming and intractable) said, for his Part, provided our -Business of acting was not interrupted, he did not care what we did: -But, in short, he was for playing on, come what would of it. This last -Part of his Declaration I did not dislike, and therefore I desir'd we -might all enter into an immediate Treaty with _Booth_, upon the Terms of -his Admission. _Dogget_ still sullenly reply'd, that he had no Occasion -to enter into any Treaty. _Wilks_ then, to soften him, propos'd that, -if I liked it, _Dogget_ might undertake it himself. I agreed. No! he -would not be concern'd in it. I then offer'd the same Trust to _Wilks_, -if _Dogget_ approv'd of it. _Wilks_ said he was not good at making of -Bargains, but if I was willing, he would rather leave it to me. _Dogget_ -at this rose up and said, we might both do as we pleas'd, but that -nothing but the Law should make him part with his Property--and so went -out of the Room. After which he never came among us more, either as an -Actor or Menager.[108] - -By his having in this abrupt manner abdicated his Post in our -Government, what he left of it naturally devolv'd upon _Wilks_ and -myself. However, this did not so much distress our Affair as I have -Reason to believe _Dogget_ thought it would: For though by our -Indentures tripartite we could not dispose of his Property without his -Consent; Yet those Indentures could not oblige us to fast because he had -no Appetite; and if the Mill did not grind, we could have no Bread: We -therefore determin'd, at any Hazard, to keep our Business still going, -and that our safest way would be to make the best Bargain we could with -_Booth_; one Article of which was to be, That _Booth_ should stand -equally answerable with us to _Dogget_ for the Consequence: To which -_Booth_ made no Objection, and the rest of his Agreement was to allow us -Six Hundred Pounds for his Share in our Property, which was to be paid -by such Sums as should arise from half his Profits of Acting, 'till the -whole was discharg'd: Yet so cautious were we in this Affair, that this -Agreement was only Verbal on our Part, tho' written and sign'd by -_Booth_ as what intirely contented him: However, Bond and Judgment could -not have made it more secure to him; for he had his Share, and was able -to discharge the Incumbrance upon it by his Income of that Year only. -Let us see what _Dogget_ did in this Affair after he had left us. - -Might it not be imagin'd that _Wilks_ and Myself, by having made this -Matter easy to _Booth_, should have deserv'd the Approbation at least, -if not the Favour of the Court that had exerted so much Power to prefer -him? But shall I be believed when I affirm that _Dogget_, who had so -strongly oppos'd the Court in his Admission to a Share, was very near -getting the better of us both upon that Account, and for some time -appeared to have more Favour there than either of us? Let me tell out my -Story, and then think what you please of it. - -_Dogget_, who was equally oblig'd with us to act upon the Stage, as to -assist in the Menagement of it, tho' he had refus'd to do either, still -demanded of us his whole Share of the Profits, without considering what -Part of them _Booth_ might pretend to from our late Concessions. After -many fruitless Endeavours to bring him back to us, _Booth_ join'd with -us in making him an Offer of half a Share if he had a mind totally to -quit the Stage, and make it a _Sine-cure_. No! he wanted the whole, and -to sit still himself, while we (if we pleased) might work for him or let -it alone, and none of us all, neither he nor we, be the better for it. -What we imagin'd encourag'd him to hold us at this short Defiance was, -that he had laid up enough to live upon without the Stage (for he was -one of those close Oeconomists whom Prodigals call a Miser) and -therefore, partly from an Inclination as an invincible _Whig_ to -signalize himself in defence of his Property, and as much presuming that -our Necessities would oblige us to come to his own Terms, he was -determin'd (even against the Opinion of his Friends) to make no other -Peace with us. But not being able by this inflexible Perseverance to -have his wicked Will of us, he was resolv'd to go to the Fountain-head -of his own Distress, and try if from thence he could turn the Current -against us. He appeal'd to the Vice-Chamberlain,[109] to whose Direction -the adjusting of all these Theatrical Difficulties was then committed: -But there, I dare say, the Reader does not expect he should meet with -much Favour: However, be that as it may; for whether any regard was had -to his having some Thousands in his Pocket; or that he was consider'd as -a Man who would or could make more Noise in the Matter than Courtiers -might care for: Or what Charms, Spells, or Conjurations he might make -use of, is all Darkness to me; yet so it was, he one way or other play'd -his part so well, that in a few Days after we received an Order from -the Vice-Chamberlain, positively commanding us to pay _Dogget_ his whole -Share, notwithstanding we had complain'd before of his having withdrawn -himself from acting on the Stage, and from the Menagement of it. This I -thought was a dainty Distinction, indeed! that _Dogget_'s Defiance of -the Commands in favour of _Booth_ should be rewarded with so ample a -_Sine-cure_, and that we for our Obedience should be condemn'd to dig in -the Mine to pay it him! This bitter Pill, I confess, was more than I -could down with, and therefore soon determin'd at all Events never to -take it. But as I had a Man in Power to deal with, it was not my -business to speak _out_ to him, or to set forth our Treatment in its -proper Colours. My only Doubt was, Whether I could bring _Wilks_ into -the same Sentiments (for he never car'd to litigate any thing that did -not affect his Figure upon the Stage.) But I had the good Fortune to lay -our Condition in so precarious and disagreeable a Light to him, if we -submitted to this Order, that he fir'd before I could get thro' half the -Consequences of it; and I began now to find it more difficult to keep -him within Bounds than I had before to alarm him. I then propos'd to him -this Expedient: That we should draw up a Remonstrance, neither seeming -to refuse or comply with this Order; but to start such Objections and -perplexing Difficulties that should make the whole impracticable: That -under such Distractions as this would raise in our Affairs we could not -be answerable to keep open our Doors, which consequently would destroy -the Fruit of the Favour lately granted to _Booth_, as well as of This -intended to _Dogget_ himself. To this Remonstrance we received an Answer -in Writing, which varied something in the Measures to accommodate -Matters with _Dogget_. This was all I desir'd; when I found the Style of -_Sic jubeo_ was alter'd, when this formidable Power began to _parley_ -with us, we knew there could not be much to be fear'd from it: For I -would have remonstrated 'till I had died, rather than have yielded to -the roughest or smoothest Persuasion, that could intimidate or deceive -us. By this Conduct we made the Affair at last too troublesome for the -Ease of a Courtier to go thro' with. For when it was consider'd that the -principal Point, the Admission of _Booth_, was got over, _Dogget_ was -fairly left to the Law for Relief.[110] - -Upon this Disappointment _Dogget_ accordingly preferred a Bill in -_Chancery_ against us. _Wilks_, who hated all Business but that of -entertaining the Publick, left the Conduct of our Cause to me; in which -we had, at our first setting out, this Advantage of _Dogget_, that we -had three Pockets to support our Expence, where he had but One. My first -Direction to our Solicitor was, to use all possible Delay that the Law -would admit of, a Direction that Lawyers seldom neglect; by this means -we hung up our Plaintiff about two Years in _Chancery_, 'till we were at -full Leisure to come to a Hearing before the Lord-Chancellor _Cooper_, -which did not happen 'till after the Accession of his late Majesty. The -Issue of it was this. _Dogget_ had about fourteen Days allow'd him to -make his Election whether he would return to act as usual: But he -declaring, by his Counsel, That he rather chose to quit the Stage, he -was decreed Six Hundred Pounds for his Share in our Property, with 15 -_per Cent._ Interest from the Date of the last License: Upon the -Receipt of which both Parties were to sign General-Releases, and -severally to pay their own Costs. By this Decree, _Dogget_, when his -Lawyer's Bill was paid, scarce got one Year's Purchase of what we had -offer'd him without Law, which (as he surviv'd but seven Years after it) -would have been an Annuity of Five Hundred Pounds and a _Sine Cure_ for -Life.[111] - -Tho' there are many Persons living who know every Article of these Facts -to be true: Yet it will be found that the strongest of them was not the -strongest Occasion of _Dogget_'s quitting the Stage. If therefore the -Reader should not have Curiosity enough to know how the Publick came to -be depriv'd of so valuable an Actor, let him consider that he is not -obliged to go through the rest of this Chapter, which I fairly tell him -before-hand will only be fill'd up with a few idle Anecdotes leading to -that Discovery. - -After our Law-suit was ended, _Dogget_ for some few Years could scarce -bear the Sight of _Wilks_ or myself; tho' (as shall be shewn) for -different Reasons: Yet it was his Misfortune to meet with us almost -every Day. _Button_'s Coffee-house, so celebrated in the _Tatlers_ for -the Good-Company that came there, was at this time in its highest -Request. _Addison_, _Steele_, _Pope_, and several other Gentlemen of -different Merit, then made it their constant _Rendezvous_. Nor could -_Dogget_ decline the agreeable Conversation there, tho' he was daily -sure to find _Wilks_ or myself in the same Place to sour his Share of -it: For as _Wilks_ and He were differently Proud, the one rejoicing in a -captious, over-bearing, valiant Pride, and the other in a stiff, sullen, -Purse-Pride, it may be easily conceiv'd, when two such Tempers met, how -agreeable the Sight of one was to the other. And as _Dogget_ knew I -had been the Conductor of our Defence against his Law-suit, which -had hurt him more for the Loss he had sustain'd in his Reputation -of understanding Business, which he valued himself upon, than his -Disappointment had of getting so little by it; it was no wonder if I was -intirely out of his good Graces, which I confess I was inclin'd upon any -reasonable Terms to have recover'd; he being of all my Theatrical -Brethren the Man I most delighted in: For when he was not in a Fit of -Wisdom, or not over-concerned about his Interest, he had a great deal of -entertaining Humour: I therefore, notwithstanding his Reserve, always -left the Door open to our former Intimacy, if he were inclined to come -into it. I never failed to give him my Hat and _Your Servant_ wherever I -met him; neither of which he would ever return for above a Year after; -but I still persisted in my usual Salutation, without observing whether -it was civilly received or not. This ridiculous Silence between two -Comedians, that had so lately liv'd in a constant Course of Raillery -with one another, was often smil'd at by our Acquaintance who -frequented the same Coffee-house: And one of them carried his Jest upon -it so far, that when I was at some Distance from Town he wrote me a -formal Account that _Dogget_ was actually dead. After the first Surprize -his Letter gave me was over, I began to consider, that this coming from -a droll Friend to both of us, might possibly be written to extract some -Merriment out of my real belief of it: In this I was not unwilling to -gratify him, and returned an Answer as if I had taken the Truth of his -News for granted; and was not a little pleas'd that I had so fair an -Opportunity of speaking my Mind freely of _Dogget_, which I did, in some -Favour of his Character; I excused his Faults, and was just to his -Merit. His Law-suit with us I only imputed to his having naturally -deceived himself in the Justice of his Cause. What I most complain'd of -was, his irreconcilable Disaffection to me upon it, whom he could not -reasonably blame for standing in my own Defence; that not to endure me -after it was a Reflection upon his Sense, when all our Acquaintance had -been Witnesses of our former Intimacy, which my Behaviour in his -Life-time had plainly shewn him I had a mind to renew. But since he was -now gone (however great a Churl he was to me) I was sorry my -Correspondent had lost him. - -This Part of my Letter I was sure, if _Dogget_'s Eyes were still open, -would be shewn to him; if not, I had only writ it to no Purpose. But -about a Month after, when I came to Town, I had some little Reason to -imagine it had the Effect I wish'd from it: For one Day, sitting -over-against him at the same Coffee-house where we often mixt at the -same Table, tho' we never exchanged a single Syllable, he graciously -extended his Hand for a Pinch of my Snuff: As this seem'd from him a -sort of breaking the Ice of his Temper, I took Courage upon it to break -Silence on my Side, and ask'd him how he lik'd it? To which, with a slow -Hesitation naturally assisted by the Action of his taking the Snuff, he -reply'd--_Umh! the best--Umh!--I have tasted a great while!_--If the -Reader, who may possibly think all this extremely trifling, will -consider that Trifles sometimes shew Characters in as strong a Light as -Facts of more serious Importance, I am in hopes he may allow that my -Matter less needs an Excuse than the Excuse itself does; if not, I must -stand condemn'd at the end of my Story.----But let me go on. - -After a few Days of these coy, Lady-like Compliances on his Side, we -grew into a more conversable Temper: At last I took a proper Occasion, -and desired he would be so frank with me as to let me know what was his -real Dislike, or Motive, that made him throw up so good an Income as his -Share with us annually brought him in? For though by our Admission of -_Booth_, it might not probably amount to so much by a Hundred or two a -Year as formerly, yet the Remainder was too considerable to be quarrel'd -with, and was likely to continue more than the best Actors before us had -ever got by the Stage. And farther, to encourage him to be open, I told -him, If I had done any thing that had particularly disobliged him, I was -ready, if he could put me in the way, to make him any Amends in my -Power; if not, I desired he would be so just to himself as to let me -know the real Truth without Reserve: But Reserve he could not, from his -natural Temper, easily shake off. All he said came from him by half -Sentences and _Inuendos_, as--No, he had not taken any thing -particularly ill--for his Part, he was very easy as he was; but where -others were to dispose of his Property as they pleas'd--if you had stood -it out as I did, _Booth_ might have paid a better Price for it.--You -were too much afraid of the Court--but that's all over.--There were -other things in the Play-house.--No Man of Spirit.--In short, to be -always pester'd and provok'd by a trifling Wasp--a--vain--shallow!--A -Man would sooner beg his Bread than bear it--(Here it was easy to -understand him: I therefore ask'd him what he had to bear that I had not -my Share of?) No! it was not the same thing, he said.--You can play with -a Bear, or let him alone and do what he would, but I could not let him -lay his Paws upon me without being hurt; you did not feel him as I -did.--And for a Man to be cutting of Throats upon every Trifle at my -time of Day!--If I had been as covetous as he thought me, may be I might -have born it as well as you--but I would not be a Lord of the Treasury -if such a Temper as _Wilks_'s were to be at the Head of it.-- - -Here, then, the whole Secret was out. The rest of our Conversation was -but explaining upon it. In a Word, the painful Behaviour of _Wilks_ had -hurt him so sorely that the Affair of _Booth_ was look'd upon as much a -Relief as a Grievance, in giving him so plausible a Pretence to get rid -of us all with a better Grace. - -_Booth_ too, in a little time, had his Share of the same Uneasiness, and -often complain'd of it to me: Yet as we neither of us could then afford -to pay _Dogget_'s Price for our Remedy, all we could do was to avoid -every Occasion in our Power of inflaming the Distemper: So that we both -agreed, tho' _Wilks_'s Nature was not to be changed, it was a less Evil -to live with him than without him. - -Tho' I had often suspected, from what I had felt myself, that the Temper -of _Wilks_ was _Dogget_'s real Quarrel to the Stage, yet I could never -thoroughly believe it 'till I had it from his own Mouth. And I then -thought the Concern he had shewn at it was a good deal inconsistent with -that Understanding which was generally allow'd him. When I give my -Reasons for it, perhaps the Reader will not have a better Opinion of my -own: Be that as it may, I cannot help wondering that he who was so much -more capable of Reflexion than _Wilks_, could sacrifice so valuable an -Income to his Impatience of another's natural Frailty! And though my -Stoical way of thinking may be no Rule for a wiser Man's Opinion, yet, -if it should happen to be right, the Reader may make his Use of it. Why -then should we not always consider that the Rashness of Abuse is but the -false Reason of a weak Man? and that offensive Terms are only used to -supply the want of Strength in Argument? Which, as to the common -Practice of the sober World, we do not find every Man in Business is -oblig'd to resent with a military Sense of Honour: Or if he should, -would not the Conclusion amount to this? Because another wants Sense and -Manners I am obliged to be a Madman: For such every Man is, more or -less, while the Passion of Anger is in Possession of him. And what less -can we call that proud Man who would put another out of the World only -for putting him out of Humour? If Accounts of the Tongue were always to -be made up with the Sword, all the Wisemen in the World might be brought -in Debtors to Blockheads. And when Honour pretends to be Witness, Judge, -and Executioner in its own Cause, if Honour were a Man, would it be an -Untruth to say Honour is a very impudent Fellow? But in _Dogget_'s Case -it may be ask'd, How was he to behave himself? Were passionate Insults -to be born for Years together? To these Questions I can only answer with -two or three more, Was he to punish himself because another was in the -wrong? How many sensible Husbands endure the teizing Tongue of a froward -Wife only because she is the weaker Vessel? And why should not a weak -Man have the same Indulgence? Daily Experience will tell us that the -fretful Temper of a Friend, like the Personal Beauty of a fine Lady, by -Use and Cohabitation may be brought down to give us neither Pain nor -Pleasure. Such, at least, and no more, was the Distress I found myself -in upon the same Provocations, which I generally return'd with humming -an Air to myself; or if the Storm grew very high, it might perhaps -sometimes ruffle me enough to sing a little out of Tune. Thus too (if I -had any ill Nature to gratify) I often saw the unruly Passion of the -Aggressor's Mind punish itself by a restless Disorder of the Body. - -What inclines me, therefore, to think the Conduct of _Dogget_ was as rash -as the Provocations he complain'd of, is that in some time after he had -left us he plainly discover'd he had repented it. His Acquaintance -observ'd to us, that he sent many a long Look after his Share in the still -prosperous State of the Stage: But as his Heart was too high to declare -(what we saw too) his shy Inclination to return, he made us no direct -Overtures. Nor, indeed, did we care (though he was a golden Actor) to pay -too dear for him: For as most of his Parts had been pretty well supply'd, -he could not now be of his former Value to us. However, to shew the Town -at least that he had not forsworn the Stage, he one Day condescended to -play for the Benefit of Mrs. _Porter_,[112] in the _Wanton Wife_, at which -he knew his late Majesty was to be present.[113] Now (tho' I speak it not -of my own Knowledge) yet it was not likely Mrs. _Porter_ would have ask'd -that Favour of him without some previous Hint that it would be granted. -His coming among us for that Day only had a strong Appearance of his -laying it in our way to make him Proposals, or that he hoped the Court or -Town might intimate to us their Desire of seeing him oftener: But as he -acted only to do a particular Favour, the Menagers ow'd him no Compliment -for it beyond Common Civilities. And, as that might not be all he proposed -by it, his farther Views (if he had any) came to nothing. For after this -Attempt he never returned to the Stage. - -To speak of him as an Actor: He was the most an Original, and the -strictest Observer of Nature, of all his Contemporaries.[114] He -borrow'd from none of them: His Manner was his own: He was a Pattern to -others, whose greatest Merit was that they had sometimes tolerably -imitated him. In dressing a Character to the greatest Exactness he was -remarkably skilful; the least Article of whatever Habit he wore seem'd -in some degree to speak and mark the different Humour he presented; a -necessary Care in a Comedian, in which many have been too remiss or -ignorant. He could be extremely ridiculous without stepping into the -least Impropriety to make him so. His greatest Success was in Characters -of lower Life, which he improv'd from the Delight he took in his -Observations of that Kind in the real World. In Songs, and particular -Dances, too, of Humour, he had no Competitor. _Congreve_ was a great -Admirer of him, and found his Account in the Characters he expressly -wrote for him. In those of _Fondlewife_, in his _Old Batchelor_, and -_Ben_, in _Love for Love_, no Author and Actor could be more obliged to -their mutual masterly Performances. He was very acceptable to several -Persons of high Rank and Taste: Tho' he seldom car'd to be the Comedian -but among his more intimate Acquaintance. - -And now let me ask the World a Question. When Men have any valuable -Qualities, why are the generality of our modern Wits so fond of exposing -their Failings only, which the wisest of Mankind will never wholly be -free from? Is it of more use to the Publick to know their Errors than -their Perfections? Why is the Account of Life to be so unequally stated? -Though a Man may be sometimes Debtor to Sense or Morality, is it not -doing him Wrong not to let the World see, at the same time, how far he -may be Creditor to both? Are Defects and Disproportions to be the only -labour'd Features in a Portrait? But perhaps such Authors may know how -to please the World better than I do, and may naturally suppose that -what is delightful to themselves may not be disagreeable to others. For -my own part, I confess myself a little touch'd in Conscience at what I -have just now observ'd to the Disadvantage of my other Brother-Menager. - -If, therefore, in discovering the true Cause of the Publick's losing so -valuable an Actor as _Dogget_, I have been obliged to shew the Temper of -_Wilks_ in its natural Complexion, ought I not, in amends and Balance of -his Imperfections, to say at the same time of him, That if he was not -the most Correct or Judicious, yet (as _Hamlet_ says of the King his -Father) _Take him_ for _All in All_, &c. he was certainly the most -diligent, most laborious, and most useful Actor that I have seen upon -the Stage in Fifty Years.[115] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _Sir_ Richard Steele _succeeds_ Collier _in the - Theatre-Royal_. Lincoln's-Inn-Fields _House rebuilt_. _The - Patent restored. Eight Actors at once desert from the King's - Company. Why. A new Patent obtain'd by Sir_ Richard Steele, - _and assign'd in Shares to the menaging Actors of_ Drury-Lane. - _Of modern Pantomimes. The Rise of them. Vanity invincible and - asham'd. The_ Non-juror _acted_. _The Author not forgiven, and - rewarded for it._ - -Upon the Death of the Queen, Plays (as they always had been on the like -Occasions) were silenc'd for six Weeks. But this happening on the first -of _August_,[116] in the long Vacation of the Theatre, the Observance of -that Ceremony, which at another Juncture would have fallen like wet -Weather upon their Harvest, did them now no particular Damage. Their -License, however, being of course to be renewed, that Vacation gave the -Menagers Time to cast about for the better Alteration of it: And since -they knew the Pension of seven hundred a Year, which had been levied -upon them for _Collier_, must still be paid to somebody, they imagined -the Merit of a _Whig_ might now have as good a Chance for getting into -it, as that of a _Tory_ had for being continued in it: Having no -Obligations, therefore, to _Collier_, who had made the last Penny of -them, they apply'd themselves to Sir _Richard Steele_, who had -distinguished himself by his Zeal for the House of _Hanover_, and had -been expell'd the House of Commons for carrying it (as was judg'd at a -certain Crisis) into a Reproach of the Government. This we knew was his -Pretension to that Favour in which he now stood at Court: We knew, too, -the Obligations the Stage had to his Writings; there being scarce a -Comedian of Merit in our whole Company whom his _Tatlers_ had not made -better by his publick Recommendation of them. And many Days had our -House been particularly fill'd by the Influence and Credit of his Pen. -Obligations of this kind from a Gentleman with whom they all had the -Pleasure of a personal Intimacy, the Menagers thought could not be more -justly return'd than by shewing him some warm Instance of their Desire -to have him at the Head of them. We therefore beg'd him to use his -Interest for the Renewal of our License, and that he would do us the -Honour of getting our Names to stand with His in the same Commission. -This, we told him, would put it still farther into his Power of -supporting the Stage in that Reputation, to which his Lucubrations had -already so much contributed; and that therefore we thought no Man had -better Pretences to partake of its Success.[117] - -Though it may be no Addition to the favourable Part of this Gentleman's -Character to say with what Pleasure he receiv'd this Mark of our -Inclination to him, yet my Vanity longs to tell you that it surpriz'd -him into an Acknowledgment that People who are shy of Obligations are -cautious of confessing. His Spirits took such a lively turn upon it, -that had we been all his own Sons, no unexpected Act of filial Duty -could have more endear'd us to him. - -It must be observ'd, then, that as _Collier_ had no Share in any Part of -our Property, no Difficulties from that Quarter could obstruct this -Proposal. And the usual Time of our beginning to act for the Winter-Season -now drawing near, we press'd him not to lose any Time in his Solicitation -of this new License. Accordingly Sir _Richard_ apply'd himself to the Duke -of _Marlborough_, the Hero of his Heart, who, upon the first mention of -it, obtain'd it of his Majesty for Sir _Richard_ and the former Menagers -who were Actors. _Collier_ we heard no more of.[118] - -The Court and Town being crowded very early in the Winter-Season, upon -the critical Turn of Affairs so much expected from the _Hanover_ -Succession, the Theatre had its particular Share of that general -Blessing by a more than ordinary Concourse of Spectators. - -About this Time the Patentee, having very near finish'd his House in -_Lincoln's-Inn Fields_, began to think of forming a new Company; and in -the mean time found it necessary to apply for Leave to employ them. By the -weak Defence he had always made against the several Attacks upon his -Interest and former Government of the Theatre, it might be a Question, if -his House had been ready in the Queen's Time, whether he would then have -had the Spirit to ask, or Interest enough to obtain Leave to use it: But -in the following Reign, as it did not appear he had done any thing to -forfeit the Right of his Patent, he prevail'd with Mr. _Craggs_ the -Younger (afterwards Secretary of State) to lay his Case before the King, -which he did in so effectual a manner that (as Mr. _Craggs_ himself told -me) his Majesty was pleas'd to say upon it, "That he remember'd when he -had been in _England_ before, in King _Charles_ his Time, there had been -two Theatres in _London_; and as the Patent seem'd to be a lawful Grant, -he saw no Reason why Two Play-houses might not be continued."[119] - -The Suspension of the Patent being thus taken off, the younger Multitude -seem'd to call aloud for two Play-houses! Many desired another, from the -common Notion that _Two_ would always create Emulation in the Actors (an -Opinion which I have consider'd in a former Chapter). Others, too, were as -eager for them, from the natural Ill-will that follows the Fortunate or -Prosperous in any Undertaking. Of this low Malevolence we had, now and -then, had remarkable Instances; we had been forced to dismiss an Audience -of a hundred and fifty Pounds, from a Disturbance spirited up by obscure -People, who never gave any better Reason for it, than that it was their -Fancy to support the idle Complaint of one rival Actress against another, -in their several Pretensions to the chief Part in a new Tragedy. But as -this Tumult seem'd only to be the Wantonness of _English_ Liberty, I shall -not presume to lay any farther Censure upon it.[120] - -Now, notwithstanding this publick Desire of reestablishing two Houses; -and though I have allow'd the former Actors greatly our Superiors; and -the Menagers I am speaking of not to have been without their private -Errors: Yet under all these Disadvantages, it is certain the Stage, for -twenty Years before this time, had never been in so flourishing a -Condition: And it was as evident to all sensible Spectators that this -Prosperity could be only owing to that better Order and closer Industry -now daily observ'd, and which had formerly been neglected by our -Predecessors. But that I may not impose upon the Reader a Merit which -was not generally allow'd us, I ought honestly to let him know, that -about this time the publick Papers, particularly _Mist_'s Journal, took -upon them very often to censure our Menagement, with the same Freedom -and Severity as if we had been so many Ministers of State: But so it -happen'd, that these unfortunate Reformers of the World, these -self-appointed _Censors_, hardly ever hit upon what was really wrong in -us; but taking up Facts upon Trust, or Hear-say, piled up many a pompous -Paragraph that they had ingeniously conceiv'd was sufficient to demolish -our Administration, or at least to make us very uneasy in it; which, -indeed, had so far its Effect, that my equally-injur'd Brethren, _Wilks_ -and _Booth_, often complain'd to me of these disagreeable Aspersions, -and propos'd that some publick Answer might be made to them, which I -always oppos'd by, perhaps, too secure a Contempt of what such Writers -could do to hurt us; and my Reason for it was, that I knew but of one -way to silence Authors of that Stamp; which was, to grow insignificant -and good for nothing, and then we should hear no more of them: But while -we continued in the Prosperity of pleasing others, and were not -conscious of having deserv'd what they said of us, why should we gratify -the little Spleen of our Enemies by wincing at it,[121] or give them -fresh Opportunities to dine upon any Reply they might make to our -publickly taking Notice of them? And though Silence might in some Cases -be a sign of Guilt or Error confess'd, our Accusers were so low in their -Credit and Sense, that the Content we gave the Publick almost every Day -from the Stage ought to be our only Answer to them. - -However (as I have observ'd) we made many Blots, which these unskilful -Gamesters never hit: But the Fidelity of an Historian cannot be excus'd -the Omission of any Truth which might make for the other Side of the -Question. I shall therefore confess a Fact, which, if a happy Accident -had not intervened, had brought our Affairs into a very tottering -Condition. This, too, is that Fact which in a former Chapter I promis'd -to set forth as a Sea-Mark of Danger to future Menagers in their -Theatrical Course of Government.[122] - -When the new-built Theatre in _Lincoln's-Inn Fields_ was ready to be -open'd, seven or eight Actors in one Day deserted from us to the Service -of the Enemy,[123] which oblig'd us to postpone many of our best Plays -for want of some inferior Part in them which these Deserters had been -used to fill: But the Indulgence of the Royal Family, who then -frequently honour'd us by their Presence, was pleas'd to accept of -whatever could be hastily got ready for their Entertainment. And tho' -this critical good Fortune prevented, in some measure, our Audiences -falling so low as otherwise they might have done, yet it was not -sufficient to keep us in our former Prosperity: For that Year our -Profits amounted not to above a third Part of our usual Dividends; tho' -in the following Year we intirely recover'd them. The Chief of these -Deserters were _Keene_, _Bullock_, _Pack_,[124] _Leigh_, Son of the -famous _Tony Leigh_,[125] and others of less note. 'Tis true, they none -of them had more than a negative Merit, in being only able to do us more -Harm by their leaving us without Notice, than they could do us Good by -remaining with us: For though the best of them could not support a Play, -the worst of them by their Absence could maim it; as the Loss of the -least Pin in a Watch may obstruct its Motion. But to come to the true -Cause of their Desertion: After my having discover'd the (long unknown) -Occasion that drove _Dogget_ from the Stage before his settled -Inclination to leave it, it will be less incredible that these Actors, -upon the first Opportunity to relieve themselves, should all in one Day -have left us from the same Cause of Uneasiness. For, in a little time -after, upon not finding their Expectations answer'd in _Lincoln's-Inn -Fields_, some of them, who seem'd to answer for the rest, told me the -greatest Grievance they had in our Company was the shocking Temper of -_Wilks_, who, upon every, almost no Occasion, let loose the unlimited -Language of Passion upon them in such a manner as their Patience was -not longer able to support. This, indeed, was what we could not justify! -This was a Secret that might have made a wholesome Paragraph in a -critical News-Paper! But as it was our good Fortune that it came not to -the Ears of our Enemies, the Town was not entertain'd with their publick -Remarks upon it.[126] - -After this new Theatre had enjoy'd that short Run of Favour which is apt -to follow Novelty, their Audiences began to flag: But whatever good -Opinion we had of our own Merit, we had not so good a one of the -Multitude as to depend too much upon the Delicacy of their Taste: We -knew, too, that this Company, being so much nearer to the City than we -were, would intercept many an honest Customer that might not know a good -Market from a bad one; and that the thinnest of their Audiences must be -always taking something from the Measure of our Profits. All these -Disadvantages, with many others, we were forced to lay before Sir -_Richard Steele_, and farther to remonstrate to him, that as he now -stood in _Collier_'s Place, his Pension of 700_l._ was liable to the -same Conditions that _Collier_ had receiv'd it upon; which were, that it -should be only payable during our being the only Company permitted to -act, but in case another should be set up against us, that then this -Pension was to be liquidated into an equal Share with us; and which we -now hoped he would be contented with. While we were offering to proceed, -Sir _Richard_ stopt us short by assuring us, that as he came among us by -our own Invitation, he should always think himself oblig'd to come into -any Measures for our Ease and Service: That to be a Burthen to our -Industry would be more disagreeable to him than it could be to us; and -as he had always taken a Delight in his Endeavours for our Prosperity, -he should be still ready on our own Terms to continue them. Every one -who knew Sir _Richard Steele_ in his Prosperity (before the Effects of -his Good-nature had brought him to Distresses) knew that this was his -manner of dealing with his Friends in Business: Another Instance of the -same nature will immediately fall in my way. - -[Illustration: RICHARD STEELE.] - -When we proposed to put this Agreement into Writing, he desired us not to -hurry ourselves; for that he was advised, upon the late Desertion of our -Actors, to get our License (which only subsisted during Pleasure) enlarg'd -into a more ample and durable Authority, and which he said he had Reason -to think would be more easily obtain'd, if we were willing that a Patent -for the same Purpose might be granted to him only, for his Life and three -Years after, which he would then assign over to us. This was a Prospect -beyond our Hopes; and what we had long wish'd for; for though I cannot -say we had ever Reason to grieve at the Personal Severities or Behaviour -of any one Lord-Chamberlain in my Time, yet the several Officers under -them who had not the Hearts of Noblemen, often treated us (to use -_Shakespear_'s Expression) with all the _Insolence_ of _Office_ that -narrow Minds are apt to be elated with; but a Patent, we knew, would free -us from so abject a State of Dependency. Accordingly, we desired Sir -_Richard_ to lose no time; he was immediately promised it: In the Interim, -we sounded the Inclination of the Actors remaining with us; who had all -Sense enough to know, that the Credit and Reputation we stood in with the -Town, could not but be a better Security for their Sallaries, than the -Promise of any other Stage put into Bonds could make good to them. In a -few Days after, Sir _Richard_ told us, that his Majesty being apprised -that others had a joint Power with him in the License, it was expected we -should, under our Hands, signify that his Petition for a Patent was -preferr'd by the Consent of us all. Such an Acknowledgment was immediately -sign'd, and the Patent thereupon pass'd the Great Seal; for which I -remember the Lord Chancellor _Cooper_, in Compliment to Sir _Richard_, -would receive no Fee. - -We receiv'd the Patent _January 19, 1715_,[127] and (Sir _Richard_ being -obliged the next Morning to set out for _Burrowbridge_ in _Yorkshire_, -where he was soon after elected Member of Parliament) we were forced -that very Night to draw up in a hurry ('till our Counsel might more -adviseably perfect it) his Assignment to us of equal Shares in the -Patent, with farther Conditions of Partnership:[128] But here I ought to -take Shame to myself, and at the same time to give this second Instance -of the Equity and Honour of Sir _Richard_: For this Assignment (which I -had myself the hasty Penning of) was so worded, that it gave Sir -_Richard_ as equal a Title to our Property as it had given us to his -Authority in the Patent: But Sir _Richard_, notwithstanding, when he -return'd to Town, took no Advantage of the Mistake, and consented in our -second Agreement to pay us Twelve Hundred Pounds to be equally intitled -to our Property, which at his Death we were obliged to repay (as we -afterwards did) to his Executors; and which, in case any of us had died -before him, the Survivors were equally obliged to have paid to the -Executors of such deceased Person upon the same Account. But Sir -_Richard_'s Moderation with us was rewarded with the Reverse of -_Collier_'s Stiffness: _Collier_, by insisting on his Pension, lost -Three Hundred Pounds a Year; and Sir _Richard_, by his accepting a Share -in lieu of it, was, one Year with another, as much a Gainer. - -The Grant of this Patent having assured us of a competent Term to be -relied on, we were now emboldened to lay out larger Sums in the -Decorations of our Plays:[129] Upon the Revival of _Dryden_'s _All for -Love_, the Habits of that Tragedy amounted to an Expence of near Six -Hundred Pounds; a Sum unheard of, for many Years before, on the like -Occasions.[130] But we thought such extraordinary Marks of our -Acknowledgment were due to the Favours which the Publick were now again -pouring in upon us. About this time we were so much in fashion, and -follow'd, that our Enemies (who they were it would not be fair to guess, -for we never knew them) made their Push of a good round Lye upon us, to -terrify those Auditors from our Support whom they could not mislead by -their private Arts or publick Invectives. A current Report that the -Walls and Roof of our House were liable to fall, had got such Ground in -the Town, that on a sudden we found our Audiences unusually decreased by -it: _Wilks_ was immediately for denouncing War and Vengeance on the -Author of this Falshood, and for offering a Reward to whoever could -discover him. But it was thought more necessary first to disprove the -Falshood, and then to pay what Compliments might be thought adviseable -to the Author. Accordingly an Order from the King was obtained, to have -our Tenement surveyed by Sir _Thomas Hewet_, then the proper Officer; -whose Report of its being in a safe and sound Condition, and sign'd by -him, was publish'd in every News-Paper.[131] This had so immediate an -Effect, that our Spectators, whose Apprehensions had lately kept them -absent, now made up our Losses by returning to us with a fresh -Inclination and in greater Numbers. - -When it was first publickly known that the New Theatre would be open'd -against us; I cannot help going a little back to remember the Concern -that my Brother-Menagers express'd at what might be the Consequences of -it. They imagined that now all those who wish'd Ill to us, and -particularly a great Party who had been disobliged by our shutting them -out from behind our Scenes, even to the Refusal of their Money,[132] -would now exert themselves in any partial or extravagant Measures that -might either hurt us or support our Competitors: These, too, were some -of those farther Reasons which had discouraged them from running the -hazard of continuing to Sir _Richard Steele_ the same Pension which had -been paid to _Collier_. Upon all which I observed to them, that, for my -own Part, I had not the same Apprehensions; but that I foresaw as many -good as bad Consequences from two Houses: That tho' the Novelty might -possibly at first abate a little of our Profits; yet, if we slacken'd -not our Industry, that Loss would be amply balanced by an equal Increase -of our Ease and Quiet: That those turbulent Spirits which were always -molesting us, would now have other Employment: That the question'd Merit -of our Acting would now stand in a clearer Light when others were -faintly compared to us: That though Faults might be found with the best -Actors that ever were, yet the egregious Defects that would appear in -others would now be the effectual means to make our Superiority shine, -if we had any Pretence to it: And that what some People hoped might ruin -us, would in the end reduce them to give up the Dispute, and reconcile -them to those who could best entertain them. - -In every Article of this Opinion they afterwards found I had not been -deceived; and the Truth of it may be so well remember'd by many living -Spectators, that it would be too frivolous and needless a Boast to give -it any farther Observation. - -But in what I have said I would not be understood to be an Advocate for -two Play-houses: For we shall soon find that two Sets of Actors -tolerated in the same Place have constantly ended in the Corruption of -the Theatre; of which the auxiliary Entertainments that have so -barbarously supply'd the Defects of weak Action have, for some Years -past, been a flagrant Instance; it may not, therefore, be here improper -to shew how our childish Pantomimes first came to take so gross a -Possession of the Stage. - -I have upon several occasions already observ'd, that when one Company is -too hard for another, the lower in Reputation has always been forced to -exhibit some new-fangled Foppery to draw the Multitude after them: Of -these Expedients, Singing and Dancing had formerly been the most -effectual;[133] but, at the Time I am speaking of, our _English_ Musick -had been so discountenanced since the Taste of _Italian_ Operas -prevail'd, that it was to no purpose to pretend to it.[134] Dancing -therefore was now the only Weight in the opposite Scale, and as the New -Theatre sometimes found their Account in it, it could not be safe for -us wholly to neglect it. To give even Dancing therefore some -Improvement, and to make it something more than Motion without Meaning, -the Fable of _Mars_ and _Venus_[135] was form'd into a connected -Presentation of Dances in Character, wherein the Passions were so -happily expressed, and the whole Story so intelligibly told by a mute -Narration of Gesture only, that even thinking Spectators allow'd it both -a pleasing and a rational Entertainment; though, at the same time, from -our Distrust of its Reception, we durst not venture to decorate it with -any extraordinary Expence of Scenes or Habits; but upon the Success of -this Attempt it was rightly concluded, that if a visible Expence in both -were added to something of the same Nature, it could not fail of drawing -the Town proportionably after it. From this original Hint then (but -every way unequal to it) sprung forth that Succession of monstrous -Medlies that have so long infested the Stage, and which arose upon one -another alternately, at both Houses outvying in Expence, like contending -Bribes on both sides at an Election, to secure a Majority of the -Multitude. But so it is, Truth may complain and Merit murmur with what -Justice it may, the Few will never be a Match for the Many, unless -Authority should think fit to interpose and put down these Poetical -Drams, these Gin-shops of the Stage, that intoxicate its Auditors and -dishonour their Understanding with a Levity for which I want a -Name.[136] - -If I am ask'd (after my condemning these Fooleries myself) how I came to -assent or continue my Share of Expence to them? I have no better Excuse -for my Error than confessing it. I did it against my Conscience! and had -not Virtue enough to starve by opposing a Multitude that would have been -too hard for me.[137] Now let me ask an odd Question: Had _Harry the -Fourth_ of _France_ a better Excuse for changing his Religion?[138] I -was still, in my Heart, as much as he could be, on the side of Truth and -Sense, but with this difference, that I had their leave to quit them -when they could not support me: For what Equivalent could I have found -for my falling a Martyr to them? How far the Heroe or the Comedian was -in the wrong, let the Clergy and the Criticks decide. Necessity will be -as good a Plea for the one as the other. But let the Question go which -way it will, _Harry_ IV. has always been allow'd a great Man: And what I -want of his Grandeur, you see by the Inference, Nature has amply -supply'd to me in Vanity; a Pleasure which neither the Pertness of Wit -or the Gravity of Wisdom will ever persuade me to part with. And why is -there not as much Honesty in owning as in concealing it? For though to -hide it may be Wisdom, to be without it is impossible; and where is the -Merit of keeping a Secret which every Body is let into? To say we have -no Vanity, then, is shewing a great deal of it; as to say we _have_ a -great deal cannot be shewing so much: And tho' there may be Art in a -Man's accusing himself, even then it will be more pardonable than -Self-commendation. Do not we find that even good Actions have their -Share of it? that it is as inseparable from our Being as our Nakedness? -And though it may be equally decent to cover it, yet the wisest Man can -no more be without it, than the weakest can believe he was born in his -Cloaths. If then what we say of ourselves be true, and not prejudicial -to others, to be called vain upon it is no more a Reproach than to be -called a brown or a fair Man. Vanity is of all Complexions; 'tis the -growth of every Clime and Capacity; Authors of all Ages have had a -Tincture of it; and yet you read _Horace_, _Montaign_, and Sir _William -Temple_, with Pleasure. Nor am I sure, if it were curable by Precept, -that Mankind would be mended by it! Could Vanity be eradicated from our -Nature, I am afraid that the Reward of most human Virtues would not be -found in this World! And happy is he who has no greater Sin to answer -for in the next! - -But what is all this to the Theatrical Follies I was talking of? Perhaps -not a great deal; but it is to my Purpose; for though I am an Historian, -I do not write to the Wise and Learned only; I hope to have Readers of no -more Judgment than some of my _quondam_ Auditors; and I am afraid they -will be as hardly contented with dry Matters of Fact, as with a plain -Play without Entertainments: This Rhapsody, therefore, has been thrown -in as a Dance between the Acts, to make up for the Dullness of what would -have been by itself only proper. But I now come to my Story again. - -Notwithstanding, then, this our Compliance with the vulgar Taste, we -generally made use of these Pantomimes but as Crutches to our weakest -Plays: Nor were we so lost to all Sense of what was valuable as to -dishonour our best Authors in such bad Company: We had still a due -Respect to several select Plays that were able to be their own Support; -and in which we found our constant Account, without painting and -patching them out, like Prostitutes, with these Follies in fashion: If -therefore we were not so strictly chaste in the other part of our -Conduct, let the Error of it stand among the silly Consequences of Two -Stages. Could the Interest of both Companies have been united in one -only Theatre, I had been one of the Few that would have us'd my utmost -Endeavour of never admitting to the Stage any Spectacle that ought not -to have been seen there; the Errors of my own Plays, which I could not -see, excepted. And though probably the Majority of Spectators would not -have been so well pleas'd with a Theatre so regulated; yet Sense and -Reason cannot lose their intrinsick Value because the Giddy and the -Ignorant are blind and deaf, or numerous; and I cannot help saying, it -is a Reproach to a sensible People to let Folly so publickly govern -their Pleasures. - -While I am making this grave Declaration of what I _would_ have done had -One only Stage been continued; to obtain an easier Belief of my -Sincerity I ought to put my Reader in mind of what I _did_ do, even -after Two Companies were again establish'd. - -About this Time _Jacobitism_ had lately exerted itself by the most -unprovoked Rebellion that our Histories have handed down to us since the -_Norman_ Conquest:[139] I therefore thought that to set the Authors and -Principles of that desperate Folly in a fair Light, by allowing the -mistaken Consciences of some their best Excuse, and by making the artful -Pretenders to Conscience as ridiculous as they were ungratefully wicked, -was a Subject fit for the honest Satire of Comedy, and what might, if it -succeeded, do Honour to the Stage by shewing the valuable Use of -it.[140] And considering what Numbers at that time might come to it as -prejudic'd Spectators, it may be allow'd that the Undertaking was not -less hazardous than laudable. - -To give Life, therefore, to this Design, I borrow'd the _Tartuffe_ of -_Moliere_, and turn'd him into a modern _Nonjuror_:[141] Upon the -Hypocrisy of the _French_ Character I ingrafted a stronger Wickedness, -that of an _English_ Popish Priest lurking under the Doctrine of our own -Church to raise his Fortune upon the Ruin of a worthy Gentleman, whom -his dissembled Sanctity had seduc'd into the treasonable Cause of a -_Roman Catholick_ Out-law. How this Design, in the Play, was executed, I -refer to the Readers of it; it cannot be mended by any critical Remarks -I can make in its favour: Let it speak for itself. All the Reason I had -to think it no bad Performance was, that it was acted eighteen Days -running,[142] and that the Party that were hurt by it (as I have been -told) have not been the smallest Number of my back Friends ever since. -But happy was it for this Play that the very Subject was its Protection; -a few Smiles of silent Contempt were the utmost Disgrace that on the -first Day of its Appearance it was thought safe to throw upon it; as the -Satire was chiefly employ'd on the Enemies of the Government, they were -not so hardy as to own themselves such by any higher Disapprobation or -Resentment. But as it was then probable I might write again, they knew -it would not be long before they might with more Security give a Loose -to their Spleen, and make up Accounts with me. And to do them Justice, -in every Play I afterwards produced they paid me the Balance to a -Tittle.[143] But to none was I more beholden than that celebrated Author -Mr. _Mist_, whose _Weekly Journal_,[144] for about fifteen Years -following, scarce ever fail'd of passing some of his Party Compliments -upon me: The State and the Stage were his frequent Parallels, and the -Minister and _Minheer Keiber_ the Menager were as constantly droll'd -upon: Now, for my own Part, though I could never persuade my Wit to have -an open Account with him (for as he had no Effects of his own, I did not -think myself oblig'd to answer his Bills;) notwithstanding, I will be so -charitable to his real _Manes_, and to the Ashes of his Paper, as to -mention one particular Civility he paid to my Memory, after he thought -he had ingeniously kill'd me. Soon after the _Nonjuror_ had receiv'd -the Favour of the Town, I read in one of his Journals the following -short Paragraph, _viz._ _Yesterday died Mr._ Colley Cibber, _late -Comedian of the Theatre-Royal, notorious for writing the_ Nonjuror. The -Compliment in the latter part I confess I did not dislike, because it -came from so impartial a Judge; and it really so happen'd that the -former part of it was very near being true; for I had that very Day just -crawled out, after having been some Weeks laid up by a Fever: However, I -saw no use in being thought to be thoroughly dead before my Time, and -therefore had a mind to see whether the Town cared to have me alive -again: So the Play of the _Orphan_ being to be acted that Day, I quietly -stole myself into the Part of the _Chaplain_, which I had not been seen -in for many Years before. The Surprize of the Audience at my unexpected -Appearance on the very Day I had been dead in the News, and the Paleness -of my Looks, seem'd to make it a Doubt whether I was not the Ghost of my -real Self departed: But when I spoke, their Wonder eas'd itself by an -Applause; which convinc'd me they were then satisfied that my Friend -_Mist_ had told a _Fib_ of me. Now, if simply to have shown myself in -broad Life, and about my Business, after he had _notoriously_ reported -me dead, can be called a Reply, it was the only one which his Paper -while alive ever drew from me. How far I may be vain, then, in supposing -that this Play brought me into the Disfavour of so many Wits[145] and -valiant Auditors as afterwards appear'd against me, let those who may -think it worth their Notice judge. In the mean time, 'till I can find a -better Excuse for their sometimes particular Treatment of me, I cannot -easily give up my Suspicion: And if I add a more remarkable Fact, that -afterwards confirm'd me in it, perhaps it may incline others to join -in my Opinion. - -On the first Day of the _Provok'd Husband_, ten Years after the _Nonjuror_ -had appear'd,[146] a powerful Party, not having the Fear of publick -Offence or private Injury before their Eyes, appear'd most impetuously -concern'd for the Demolition of it; in which they so far succeeded, that -for some Time I gave it up for lost; and to follow their Blows, in the -publick Papers of the next Day it was attack'd and triumph'd over as a -dead and damn'd Piece; a swinging Criticism was made upon it in general -invective Terms, for they disdain'd to trouble the World with Particulars; -their Sentence, it seems, was Proof enough of its deserving the Fate it -had met with. But this damn'd Play was, notwithstanding, acted -twenty-eight Nights together, and left off at a Receipt of upwards of a -hundred and forty Pounds; which happen'd to be more than in fifty Years -before could be then said of any one Play whatsoever. - -Now, if such notable Behaviour could break out upon so successful a Play -(which too, upon the Share Sir _John Vanbrugh_ had in it, I will venture -to call a good one) what shall we impute it to? Why may not I plainly -say, it was not the Play, but Me, who had a Hand in it, they did not -like? And for what Reason? if they were not asham'd of it, why did not -they publish it? No! the Reason had publish'd itself, I was the Author -of the _Nonjuror_! But, perhaps, of all Authors, I ought not to make -this sort of Complaint, because I have Reason to think that that -particular Offence has made me more honourable Friends than Enemies; the -latter of which I am not unwilling should know (however unequal the -Merit may be to the Reward) that Part of the Bread I now eat was given -me for having writ the _Nonjuror_.[147] - -And yet I cannot but lament, with many quiet Spectators, the helpless -Misfortune that has so many Years attended the Stage! That no Law has had -Force enough to give it absolute Protection! for 'till we can civilize its -Auditors, the Authors that write for it will seldom have a greater Call to -it than Necessity; and how unlikely is the Imagination of the Needy to -inform or delight the Many in Affluence? or how often does Necessity make -many unhappy Gentlemen turn Authors in spite of Nature? - -What a Blessing, therefore, is it! what an enjoy'd Deliverance! after a -Wretch has been driven by Fortune to stand so many wanton Buffets of -unmanly Fierceness, to find himself at last quietly lifted above the -Reach of them! - -But let not this Reflection fall upon my Auditors without Distinction; -for though Candour and Benevolence are silent Virtues, they are as -visible as the most vociferous Ill-nature; and I confess the Publick has -given me more frequently Reason to be thankful than to complain. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - - _The Author steps out of his Way. Pleads his Theatrical Cause - in Chancery. Carries it. Plays acted at_ Hampton-Court. - _Theatrical Anecdotes in former Reigns. Ministers and Menagers - always censur'd. The Difficulty of supplying the Stage with - good Actors consider'd. Courtiers and Comedians govern'd by - the same Passions. Examples of both. The Author quits the - Stage. Why._ - -Having brought the Government of the Stage through such various Changes -and Revolutions, to this settled State in which it continued to almost -the Time of my leaving it;[148] it cannot be suppos'd that a Period of -so much Quiet and so long a Train of Success (though happy for those who -enjoy'd it) can afford such Matter of Surprize or Amusement, as might -arise from Times of more Distress and Disorder. A quiet Time in History, -like a Calm in a Voyage, leaves us but in an indolent Station: To talk -of our Affairs when they were no longer ruffled by Misfortunes, would be -a Picture without Shade, a flat Performance at best. As I might, -therefore, throw all that tedious Time of our Tranquillity into one -Chasm in my History, and cut my Way short at once to my last Exit from -the Stage, I shall at least fill it up with such Matter only as I have a -mind should be known,[149] how few soever may have Patience to read it: -Yet, as I despair not of some Readers who may be most awake when they -think others have most occasion to sleep; who may be more pleas'd to -find me languid than lively, or in the wrong than in the right; why -should I scruple (when it is so easy a Matter too) to gratify their -particular Taste by venturing upon any Error that I like, or the -Weakness of my Judgment misleads me to commit? I think, too, I have a -very good Chance for my Success in this passive Ambition, by shewing -myself in a Light I have not been seen in. - -By your Leave then, Gentlemen! let the Scene open, and at once discover -your Comedian at the Bar! There you will find him a Defendant, and -pleading his own Theatrical Cause in a Court of _Chancery_: But, as I -chuse to have a Chance of pleasing others as well as of indulging you, -Gentlemen; I must first beg leave to open my Case to them; after which -my whole Speech upon that Occasion shall be at your Mercy. - -In all the Transactions of Life, there cannot be a more painful -Circumstance, than a Dispute at Law with a Man with whom we have long -liv'd in an agreeable Amity: But when Sir _Richard Steele_, to get -himself out of Difficulties, was oblig'd to throw his Affairs into the -Hands of Lawyers and Trustees, that Consideration, then, could be of no -weight: The Friend, or the Gentleman, had no more to do in the Matter! -Thus, while Sir _Richard_ no longer acted from himself, it may be no -Wonder if a Flaw was found in our Conduct for the Law to make Work with. -It must be observed, then, that about two or three Years before this -Suit was commenc'd, upon Sir _Richard_'s totally absenting himself from -all Care and Menagement of the Stage (which by our Articles of -Partnership he was equally and jointly oblig'd with us to attend) we -were reduc'd to let him know that we could not go on at that Rate; but -that if he expected to make the Business a _sine-Cure_, we had as much -Reason to expect a Consideration for our extraordinary Care of it; and -that during his Absence we therefore intended to charge our selves at a -Sallary of 1_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._ every acting Day (unless he could shew us -Cause to the contrary) for our Menagement: To which, in his compos'd -manner, he only answer'd; That to be sure we knew what was fitter to be -done than he did; that he had always taken a Delight in making us easy, -and had no Reason to doubt of our doing him Justice. Now whether, under -this easy Stile of Approbation, he conceal'd any Dislike of our -Resolution, I cannot say. But, if I may speak my private Opinion, I -really believe, from his natural Negligence of his Affairs, he was glad, -at any rate, to be excus'd an Attendance which he was now grown weary -of. But, whether I am deceiv'd or right in my Opinion, the Fact was -truly this, that he never once, directly nor indirectly, complain'd or -objected to our being paid the above-mention'd daily Sum in near three -Years together; and yet still continued to absent himself from us and -our Affairs. But notwithstanding he had seen and done all this with his -Eyes open; his Lawyer thought here was still a fair Field for a Battle -in Chancery, in which, though his Client might be beaten, he was sure -his Bill must be paid for it: Accordingly, to work with us he went. -But, not to be so long as the Lawyers were in bringing this Cause to an -Issue, I shall at once let you know, that it came to a Hearing before -the late Sir _Joseph Jekyll_, then Master of the Rolls, in the Year -1726.[150] Now, as the chief Point in dispute was, of what Kind or -Importance the Business of a Menager was, or in what it principally -consisted; it could not be suppos'd that the most learned Council could -be so well appriz'd of the Nature of it, as one who had himself gone -through the Care and Fatigue of it. I was therefore encourag'd by our -Council to speak to that particular Head myself; which I confess I was -glad he suffer'd me to undertake; but when I tell you that two of the -learned Council against us came afterwards to be successively -Lord-Chancellors, it sets my Presumption in a Light that I still tremble -to shew it in: But however, not to assume more Merit from its Success -than was really its Due, I ought fairly to let you know, that I was not -so hardy as to deliver my Pleading without Notes, in my Hand, of the -Heads I intended to enlarge upon; for though I thought I could conquer -my Fear, I could not be so sure of my Memory: But when it came to the -critical Moment, the Dread and Apprehension of what I had undertaken so -disconcerted my Courage, that though I had been us'd to talk to above -Fifty Thousand different People every Winter, for upwards of Thirty -Years together; an involuntary and unaffected Proof of my Confusion fell -from my Eyes; and, as I found myself quite out of my Element, I seem'd -rather gasping for Life than in a condition to cope with the eminent -Orators against me. But, however, I soon found, from the favourable -Attention of my Hearers, that my Diffidence had done me no Disservice: -And as the Truth I was to speak to needed no Ornament of Words, I -delivered it in the plain manner following, _viz._ - -In this Cause, Sir, I humbly conceive there are but two Points that -admit of any material Dispute. The first is, Whether Sir _Richard -Steele_ is as much obliged to do the Duty and Business of a Menager as -either _Wilks_, _Booth_, or _Cibber_: And the second is, Whether by Sir -_Richard_'s totally withdrawing himself from the Business of a Menager, -the Defendants are justifiable in charging to each of themselves the -1_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._ _per Diem_ for their particular Pains and Care in -carrying on the whole Affairs of the Stage without any Assistance from -Sir _Richard Steele_. - -As to the First, if I don't mistake the Words of the Assignment, there -is a Clause in it that says, All Matters relating to the Government or -Menagement of the Theatre shall be concluded by a Majority of Voices. -Now I presume, Sir, there is no room left to alledge that Sir _Richard_ -was ever refused his Voice, though in above three Years he never desir'd -to give it: And I believe there will be as little room to say, that he -could have a Voice if he were not a Menager. But, Sir, his being a -Menager is so self-evident, that it is amazing how he could conceive -that he was to take the Profits and Advantages of a Menager without -doing the Duty of it. And I will be bold to say, Sir, that his -Assignment of the Patent to _Wilks_, _Booth_, and _Cibber_, in no one -Part of it, by the severest Construction in the World, can be wrested to -throw the heavy Burthen of the Menagement only upon their Shoulders. Nor -does it appear, Sir, that either in his Bill, or in his Answer to our -Cross-Bill, he has offer'd any Hint, or Glimpse of a Reason, for his -withdrawing from the Menagement at all; or so much as pretend, from the -time complained of, that he ever took the least Part of his Share of it. -Now, Sir, however unaccountable this Conduct of Sir _Richard_ may seem, -we will still allow that he had some Cause for it; but whether or no -that Cause was a reasonable one your Honour will the better judge, if I -may be indulged in the Liberty of explaining it. - -Sir, the Case, in plain Truth and Reality, stands thus: Sir _Richard_, -though no Man alive can write better of Oeconomy than himself, yet, -perhaps, he is above the Drudgery of practising it: Sir _Richard_, then, -was often in want of Money; and while we were in Friendship with him, we -often assisted his Occasions: But those Compliances had so unfortunate -an Effect, that they only heightened his Importunity to borrow more, and -the more we lent, the less he minded us, or shew'd any Concern for our -Welfare. Upon this, Sir, we stopt our Hands at once, and peremptorily -refus'd to advance another Shilling 'till by the Balance of our Accounts -it became due to him. And this Treatment (though, we hope, not in the -least unjustifiable) we have Reason to believe so ruffled his Temper, -that he at once was as short with us as we had been with him; for, from -that Day, he never more came near us: Nay, Sir, he not only continued to -neglect what he _should_ have done, but actually did what he ought _not_ -to have done: He made an Assignment of his Share without our Consent, in -a manifest Breach of our Agreement: For, Sir, we did not lay that -Restriction upon ourselves for no Reason: We knew, before-hand, what -Trouble and Inconvenience it would be to unravel and expose our Accounts -to Strangers, who, if they were to do us no hurt by divulging our -Secrets, we were sure could do us no good by keeping them. If Sir -_Richard_ had had our common Interest at heart, he would have been as -warm in it as we were, and as tender of hurting it: But supposing his -assigning his Share to others may have done us no great Injury, it is, -at least, a shrewd Proof that he did not care whether it did us any or -no. And if the Clause was not strong enough to restrain him from it in -Law, there was enough in it to have restrain'd him in Honour from -breaking it. But take it in its best Light, it shews him as remiss a -Menager in our Affairs as he naturally was in his own. Suppose, Sir, we -had all been as careless as himself, which I can't find he has any more -Right to be than we have, must not our whole Affair have fallen to Ruin? -And may we not, by a parity of Reason, suppose, that by his Neglect a -fourth Part of it _does_ fall to Ruin? But, Sir, there is a particular -Reason to believe, that, from our want of Sir _Richard_, more than a -fourth Part _does_ suffer by it: His Rank and Figure in the World, while -he gave us the Assistance of them, were of extraordinary Service to us: -He had an easier Access, and a more regarded Audience at Court, than our -low Station of Life could pretend to, when our Interest wanted (as -it often did) a particular Solicitation there. But since we have been -deprived of him, the very End, the very Consideration of his Share -in our Profits is not perform'd on his Part. And will Sir _Richard_, -then, make us no Compensation for so valuable a Loss in our Interests, -and so palpable an Addition to our Labour? I am afraid, Sir, if we were -all to be as indolent in the Menaging-Part as Sir _Richard_ presumes he -has a Right to be; our Patent would soon run us as many Hundreds in -Debt, as he had (and still seems willing to have) his Share of, for -doing of nothing. - -Sir, our next Point in question is whether _Wilks_, _Booth_, and -_Cibber_ are justifiable in charging the 1_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._ _per diem_ -for their extraordinary Menagement in the Absence of Sir _Richard -Steele_. I doubt, Sir, it will be hard to come to the Solution of this -Point, unless we may be a little indulg'd in setting forth what is the -daily and necessary Business and Duty of a Menager. But, Sir, we will -endeavour to be as short as the Circumstances will admit of. - -Sir, by our Books it is apparent that the Menagers have under their Care -no less than One Hundred and Forty Persons in constant daily Pay: And -among such Numbers, it will be no wonder if a great many of them are -unskilful, idle, and sometimes untractable; all which Tempers are to be -led, or driven, watch'd, and restrain'd by the continual Skill, Care, -and Patience of the Menagers. Every Menager is oblig'd, in his turn, to -attend two or three Hours every Morning at the Rehearsal of Plays and -other Entertainments for the Stage, or else every Rehearsal would be but -a rude Meeting of Mirth and Jollity. The same Attendance is as necessary -at every Play during the time of its publick Action, in which one or -more of us have constantly been punctual, whether we have had any part -in the Play then acted or not. A Menager ought to be at the Reading of -every new Play when it is first offer'd to the Stage, though there are -seldom one of those Plays in twenty which, upon hearing, proves to be -fit for it; and upon such Occasions the Attendance must be allow'd to be -as painfully tedious as the getting rid of the Authors of such Plays -must be disagreeable and difficult. Besides this, Sir, a Menager is to -order all new Cloaths, to assist in the Fancy and Propriety of them, to -limit the Expence, and to withstand the unreasonable Importunities of -some that are apt to think themselves injur'd if they are not finer than -their Fellows. A Menager is to direct and oversee the Painters, -Machinists, Musicians, Singers, and Dancers; to have an Eye upon the -Door-keepers, Under-Servants, and Officers that, without such Care, are -too often apt to defraud us, or neglect their Duty. - -And all this, Sir, and more, much more, which we hope will be needless -to trouble you with, have we done every Day, without the least -Assistance from Sir _Richard_, even at times when the Concern and Labour -of our Parts upon the Stage have made it very difficult and irksome to -go through with it. - -In this Place, Sir, it may be worth observing that Sir _Richard_, in his -Answer to our Cross-Bill, seems to value himself upon _Cibber_'s -confessing, in the Dedication of a Play which he made to Sir _Richard_, -that he (Sir _Richard_) had done the Stage very considerable Service by -leading the Town to our Plays, and filling our Houses by the Force and -Influence of his _Tatlers_.[151] But Sir _Richard_ forgets that those -_Tatlers_ were written in the late Queen's Reign, long before he was -admitted to a Share in the Play-house: And in truth, Sir, it was our -real Sense of those Obligations, and Sir _Richard_'s assuring us they -should be continued, that first and chiefly inclin'd us to invite him to -share the Profits of our Labours, upon such farther Conditions as in his -Assignment of the Patent to us are specified. And, Sir, as _Cibber_'s -publick Acknowledgment of those Favours is at the same time an equal -Proof of Sir _Richard_'s _Power_ to continue them; so, Sir, we hope it -carries an equal Probability that, without his Promise to _use_ that -Power, he would never have been thought on, much less have been invited -by us into a Joint-Menagement of the Stage, and into a Share of the -Profits: And, indeed, what Pretence could he have form'd for asking a -Patent from the Crown, had he been possess'd of no eminent Qualities but -in common with other Men? But, Sir, all these Advantages, all these -Hopes, nay, Certainties of greater Profits from those great Qualities, -have we been utterly depriv'd of by the wilful and unexpected Neglect of -Sir _Richard_. But we find, Sir, it is a common thing in the Practice of -Mankind to justify one Error by committing another: For Sir _Richard_ -has not only refused us the extraordinary Assistance which he is able -and bound to give us; but, on the contrary, to our great Expence and -Loss of Time, now calls us to account, in this honourable Court, for the -Wrong we have done him, in not doing his Business of a Menager for -nothing. But, Sir, Sir _Richard_ has not met with such Treatment from -us: He has not writ Plays for us for _Nothing_, we paid him very well, -and in an extraordinary manner, for his late Comedy of the _Conscious -Lovers_: And though, in writing that Play, he had more Assistance from -one of the Menagers[152] than becomes me to enlarge upon, of which -Evidence has been given upon Oath by several of our Actors; yet, Sir, he -was allow'd the full and particular Profits of that Play as an Author, -which amounted to Three Hundred Pounds, besides about Three Hundred more -which he received as a Joint-Sharer of the general Profits that arose -from it. Now, Sir, though the Menagers are not all of them able to write -Plays, yet they have all of them been able to do (I won't say as good, -but at least) as profitable a thing. They have invented and adorn'd a -Spectacle that for Forty Days together has brought more Money to the -House than the best Play that ever was writ. The Spectacle I mean, Sir, -is that of the Coronation-Ceremony of _Anna Bullen_:[153] And though we -allow a good Play to be the more laudable Performance, yet, Sir, in the -profitable Part of it there is no Comparison. If, therefore, our -Spectacle brought in as much, or more Money than Sir _Richard_'s Comedy, -what is there on his Side but Usage that intitles him to be paid for -one, more than we are for t'other? But then, Sir, if he is so profitably -distinguish'd for his Play, if we yield him up the Preference, and pay -him for his extraordinary Composition, and take nothing for our own, -though it turn'd out more to our common Profit; sure, Sir, while we do -such extraordinary Duty as Menagers, and while he neglects his Share of -that Duty, he cannot grudge us the moderate Demand we make for our -separate Labour? - -[Illustration: BARTON BOOTH.] - -To conclude, Sir, if by our constant Attendance, our Care, our Anxiety -(not to mention the disagreeable Contests we sometimes meet with, both -within and without Doors, in the Menagement of our Theatre) we have not -only saved the whole from Ruin, which, if we had all follow'd Sir -_Richard_'s Example, could not have been avoided; I say, Sir, if we have -still made it so valuable an Income to him, without his giving us the -least Assistance for several Years past; we hope, Sir, that the poor -Labourers that have done all this for Sir _Richard_ will not be thought -unworthy of their Hire. - -How far our Affairs, being set in this particular Light, might assist -our Cause, may be of no great Importance to guess; but the Issue -of it was this: That Sir _Richard_ not having made any Objection to -what we had charged for Menagement for three Years together; and as -our Proceedings had been all transacted in open Day, without any -clandestine Intention of Fraud; we were allow'd the Sums in dispute -above-mention'd; and Sir _Richard_ not being advised to appeal to the -Lord-Chancellor, both Parties paid their own Costs, and thought it their -mutual Interest to let this be the last of their Law-suits. - -And now, gentle Reader, I ask Pardon for so long an Imposition on your -Patience: For tho' I may have no ill Opinion of this Matter myself; yet -to you I can very easily conceive it may have been tedious. You are, -therefore, at your own Liberty of charging the whole Impertinence of it, -either to the Weakness of my Judgment, or the Strength of my Vanity; and -I will so far join in your Censure, that I farther confess I have been -so impatient to give it you, that you have had it out of its Turn: For, -some Years before this Suit was commenced, there were other Facts that -ought to have had a Precedence in my History: But that, I dare say, is -an Oversight you will easily excuse, provided you afterwards find them -worth reading. However, as to that Point I must take my Chance, and -shall therefore proceed to speak of the Theatre which was order'd by his -late Majesty to be erected in the Great old Hall at _Hampton-Court_; -where Plays were intended to have been acted twice a Week during the -Summer-Season. But before the Theatre could be finish'd, above half the -Month of _September_ being elapsed, there were but seven Plays acted -before the Court returned to _London_.[154] This throwing open a Theatre -in a Royal Palace seem'd to be reviving the Old _English_ hospitable -Grandeur, where the lowest Rank of neighbouring Subjects might make -themselves merry at Court without being laugh'd at themselves. In former -Reigns, Theatrical Entertainments at the Royal Palaces had been -perform'd at vast Expence, as appears by the Description of the -Decorations in several of _Ben. Johnson_'s Masques in King _James_ and -_Charles the First_'s Time;[155] many curious and original Draughts of -which, by Sir _Inigo Jones_, I have seen in the _Musæum_ of our greatest -Master and Patron of Arts and Architecture, whom it would be a needless -Liberty to name.[156] But when our Civil Wars ended in the Decadence of -Monarchy, it was then an Honour to the Stage to have fallen with it: -Yet, after the Restoration of _Charles_ II. some faint Attempts were -made to revive these Theatrical Spectacles at Court; but I have met with -no Account of above one Masque acted there by the Nobility; which was -that of _Calisto_, written by _Crown_, the Author of Sir _Courtly Nice_. -For what Reason _Crown_ was chosen to that Honour rather than _Dryden_, -who was then Poet-Laureat and out of all Comparison his Superior in -Poetry, may seem surprizing: But if we consider the Offence which the -then Duke of _Buckingham_ took at the Character of _Zimri_ in -_Dryden_'s _Absalom_, &c. (which might probably be a Return to his -Grace's _Drawcansir_ in the _Rehearsal_) we may suppose the Prejudice -and Recommendation of so illustrious a Pretender to Poetry might prevail -at Court to give Crown this Preference.[157] In the same Reign the King -had his Comedians at _Windsor_, but upon a particular Establishment; for -tho' they acted in St. _George_'s Hall, within the Royal Palace, yet (as -I have been inform'd by an Eye-witness) they were permitted to take -Money at the Door of every Spectator; whether this was an Indulgence, in -Conscience I cannot say; but it was a common Report among the principal -Actors, when I first came into the _Theatre-Royal_, in 1690, that there -was then due to the Company from that Court about One Thousand Five -Hundred Pounds for Plays commanded, _&c._ and yet it was the general -Complaint, in that Prince's Reign, that he paid too much Ready-money for -his Pleasures: But these Assertions I only give as I received them, -without being answerable for their Reality. This Theatrical Anecdote, -however, puts me in mind of one of a more private nature, which I had -from old solemn _Boman_, the late Actor of venerable Memory.[158] -_Boman_, then a Youth, and fam'd for his Voice, was appointed to sing -some Part in a Concert of Musick at the private Lodgings of Mrs. _Gwin_; -at which were only present the King, the Duke of _York_, and one or two -more who were usually admitted upon those detach'd Parties of Pleasure. -When the Performance was ended, the King express'd himself highly -pleased, and gave it extraordinary Commendations: Then, Sir, said the -Lady, to shew you don't speak like a Courtier, I hope you will make the -Performers a handsome Present: The King said he had no Money about him, -and ask'd the Duke if he had any? To which the Duke reply'd, I believe, -Sir, not above a Guinea or two. Upon which the laughing Lady, turning to -the People about her, and making bold with the King's common Expression, -cry'd, _Od's Fish! what Company am I got into!_ - -Whether the reverend Historian of his _Own Time_,[159] among the many -other Reasons of the same Kind he might have for stiling this Fair One -the _indiscreetest and wildest Creature that ever was in a Court_, might -know this to be one of them, I can't say: But if we consider her in all -the Disadvantages of her Rank and Education, she does not appear to have -had any criminal Errors more remarkable than her Sex's Frailty to answer -for: And if the same Author, in his latter End of that Prince's Life, -seems to reproach his Memory with too kind a Concern for her Support, we -may allow that it becomes a Bishop to have had no Eyes or Taste for the -frivolous Charms or playful _Badinage_ of a King's Mistress: Yet, if the -common Fame of her may be believ'd, which in my Memory was not doubted, -she had less to be laid to her Charge than any other of those Ladies -who were in the same State of Preferment: She never meddled in Matters -of serious Moment, or was the Tool of working Politicians: Never broke -into those amorous Infidelities which others in that grave Author are -accus'd of; but was as visibly distinguish'd by her particular Personal -Inclination to the King, as her Rivals were by their Titles and -Grandeur. Give me leave to carry (perhaps the Partiality of) my -Observation a little farther. The same Author, in the same Page, -263,[160] tells us, That "Another of the King's Mistresses, the Daughter -of a Clergyman, Mrs. _Roberts_, in whom her first Education had so deep -a Root, that though she fell into many scandalous Disorders, with very -dismal Adventures in them all, yet a Principle of Religion was so deep -laid in her, that tho' it did not restrain her, yet it kept alive in -her such a constant Horror of Sin, that she was never easy in an ill -course, and died with a great Sense of her former ill Life." - -To all this let us give an implicit Credit: Here is the Account of a frail -Sinner made up with a Reverend Witness! Yet I cannot but lament that this -Mitred Historian, who seems to know more Personal Secrets than any that -ever writ before him, should not have been as inquisitive after the last -Hours of our other Fair Offender, whose Repentance I have been -unquestionably inform'd, appear'd in all the contrite Symptoms of a -Christian Sincerity. If therefore you find I am so much concern'd to make -this favourable mention of the one, because she was a Sister of the -_Theatre_, why may not--But I dare not be so presumptuous, so uncharitably -bold, as to suppose the other was spoken better of merely because she was -the Daughter of a _Clergyman_. Well, and what then? What's all this idle -Prate, you may say, to the matter in hand? Why, I say your Question is a -little too critical; and if you won't give an Author leave, now and then, -to embellish his Work by a natural Reflexion, you are an ungentle Reader. -But I have done with my Digression, and return to our Theatre at -_Hampton-Court_, where I am not sure the Reader, be he ever so wise, will -meet with any thing more worth his notice: However, if he happens to read, -as I write, for want of something better to do, he will go on; and perhaps -wonder when I tell him that: - -A Play presented at Court, or acted on a publick Stage, seem to their -different Auditors a different Entertainment. Now hear my Reason for it. -In the common Theatre the Guests are at home, where the politer Forms of -Good-breeding are not so nicely regarded: Every one there falls to, and -likes or finds fault according to his natural Taste or Appetite. At -Court, where the Prince gives the Treat, and honours the Table with his -own Presence, the Audience is under the Restraint of a Circle, where -Laughter or Applause rais'd higher than a Whisper would be star'd at. At -a publick Play they are both let loose, even 'till the Actor is -sometimes pleas'd with his not being able to be heard for the Clamour of -them. But this Coldness or Decency of Attention at Court I observ'd had -but a melancholy Effect upon the impatient Vanity of some of our Actors, -who seem'd inconsolable when their flashy Endeavours to please had -pass'd unheeded: Their not considering where they were quite -disconcerted them; nor could they recover their Spirits 'till from the -lowest Rank of the Audience some gaping _John_ or _Joan_, in the -fullness of their Hearts, roar'd out their Approbation: And, indeed, -such a natural Instance of honest Simplicity a Prince himself, whose -Indulgence knows where to make Allowances, might reasonably smile at, -and perhaps not think it the worst part of his Entertainment. Yet it -must be own'd, that an Audience may be as well too much reserv'd, as -too profuse of their Applause: For though it is possible a _Betterton_ -would not have been discourag'd from throwing out an Excellence, or -elated into an Error, by his Auditors being too little or too much -pleas'd, yet, as Actors of his Judgment are Rarities, those of less -Judgment may sink into a Flatness in their Performance for want of that -Applause, which from the generality of Judges they might perhaps have -some Pretence to: And the Auditor, when not seeming to feel what ought -to affect him, may rob himself of something more that he might have had -by giving the Actor his Due, who measures out his Power to please -according to the Value he sets upon his Hearer's Taste or Capacity. But, -however, as we were not here itinerant Adventurers, and had properly but -one Royal Auditor to please; after that Honour was attain'd to, the rest -of our Ambition had little to look after: And that the King was often -pleas'd, we were not only assur'd by those who had the Honour to be near -him; but could see it, from the frequent Satisfaction in his Looks at -particular Scenes and Passages: One Instance of which I am tempted to -relate, because it was at a Speech that might more naturally affect a -Sovereign Prince than any private Spectator. In _Shakespear_'s _Harry -the Eighth_, that King commands the Cardinal to write circular Letters -of Indemnity into every County where the Payment of certain heavy Taxes -had been disputed: Upon which the Cardinal whispers the following -Directions to his Secretary _Cromwell_: - - _----A Word with you: - Let there be Letters writ to every Shire - Of the King's Grace and Pardon: The griev'd Commons - Hardly conceive of me. Let it be nois'd - That through our Intercession this Revokement - And Pardon comes.--I shall anon advise you - Farther in the Proceeding----_ - -The Solicitude of this Spiritual Minister, in filching from his Master -the Grace and Merit of a good Action, and dressing up himself in it, -while himself had been Author of the Evil complain'd of, was so easy a -Stroke of his Temporal Conscience, that it seem'd to raise the King into -something more than a Smile whenever that Play came before him: And I -had a more distinct Occasion to observe this Effect; because my proper -Stand on the Stage when I spoke the Lines required me to be near the Box -where the King usually sate:[161] In a Word, this Play is so true a -Dramatick Chronicle of an old _English_ Court, and where the Character -of _Harry the Eighth_ is so exactly drawn, even to a humourous Likeness, -that it may be no wonder why his Majesty's particular Taste for it -should have commanded it three several times in one Winter. - -This, too, calls to my Memory an extravagant Pleasantry of Sir _Richard -Steele_, who being ask'd by a grave Nobleman, after the same Play had -been presented at _Hampton-Court_, how the King lik'd it, reply'd, _So -terribly well, my Lord, that I was afraid I should have lost all my -Actors_! _For I was not sure the King would not keep them to fill the -Posts at Court that he saw them so fit for in the Play._ - -It may be imagin'd that giving Plays to the People at such a distance -from _London_ could not but be attended with an extraordinary Expence; -and it was some Difficulty, when they were first talk'd of, to bring -them under a moderate Sum; I shall therefore, in as few Words as -possible, give a Particular of what Establishment they were then brought -to, that in case the same Entertainments should at any time hereafter be -call'd to the same Place, future Courts may judge how far the Precedent -may stand good, or need an Alteration. - -Though the stated Fee for a Play acted at _Whitehall_ had been formerly -but Twenty Pounds;[162] yet, as that hinder'd not the Company's acting on -the same Day at the Publick Theatre, that Sum was almost all clear Profits -to them: But this Circumstance not being practicable when they were -commanded to _Hampton-Court_, a new and extraordinary Charge was -unavoidable: The Menagers, therefore, not to inflame it, desired no -Consideration for their own Labour, farther than the Honour of being -employ'd in his Majesty's Commands; and, if the other Actors might be -allow'd each their Day's Pay and travelling Charges, they should hold -themselves ready to act any Play there at a Day's Warning: And that the -Trouble might be less by being divided, the Lord-Chamberlain was pleas'd -to let us know that the Houshold-Musick, the Wax Lights, and a -_Chaise-Marine_ to carry our moving Wardrobe to every different Play, -should be under the Charge of the proper Officers. Notwithstanding these -Assistances, the Expence of every Play amounted to Fifty Pounds: Which -Account, when all was over, was not only allow'd us, but his Majesty was -graciously pleas'd to give the Menagers Two Hundred Pounds more for their -particular Performance and Trouble in only seven times acting.[163] Which -last Sum, though it might not be too much for a Sovereign Prince to give, -it was certainly more than our utmost Merit ought to have hop'd for: And I -confess, when I receiv'd the Order for the Money from his Grace the Duke -of _Newcastle_, then Lord-Chamberlain, I was so surpris'd, that I imagin'd -his Grace's Favour, or Recommendation of our Readiness or Diligence, must -have contributed to so high a Consideration of it, and was offering my -Acknowledgments as I thought them due; but was soon stopt short by his -Grace's Declaration, That we had no Obligations for it but to the King -himself, who had given it from no other Motive than his own Bounty. Now -whether we may suppose that Cardinal _Wolsey_ (as you see _Shakespear_ has -drawn him) would silently have taken such low Acknowledgments to himself, -perhaps may be as little worth consideration as my mentioning this -Circumstance has been necessary: But if it is due to the Honour and -Integrity of the (then) Lord-Chamberlain, I cannot think it wholly -impertinent. - -Since that time there has been but one Play given at _Hampton-Court_, -which was for the Entertainment of the Duke of _Lorrain_; and for which -his present Majesty was pleased to order us a Hundred Pounds. - -The Reader may now plainly see that I am ransacking my Memory for such -remaining Scraps of Theatrical History as may not perhaps be worth his -Notice: But if they are such as tempt me to write them, why may I not -hope that in this wide World there may be many an idle Soul, no wiser -than my self, who may be equally tempted to read them? - -I have so often had occasion to compare the State of the Stage to the -State of a Nation, that I yet feel a Reluctancy to drop the Comparison, -or speak of the one without some Application to the other. How many -Reigns, then, do I remember, from that of _Charles_ the Second, through -all which there has been, from one half of the People or the other, a -Succession of Clamour against every different Ministry for the time -being? And yet, let the Cause of this Clamour have been never so well -grounded, it is impossible but that some of those Ministers must have -been wiser and honester Men than others: If this be true, as true I -believe it is, why may I not then say, as some Fool in a _French_ Play -does upon a like Occasion--_Justement, comme chez nous!_ 'Twas exactly -the same with our Menagement! let us have done never so well, we could -not please every body: All I can say in our Defence is, that though many -good Judges might possibly conceive how the State of the Stage might -have been mended, yet the best of them never pretended to remember the -Time when it was better! or could shew us the way to make their -imaginary Amendments practicable. - -For though I have often allow'd that our best Merit as Actors was never -equal to that of our Predecessors, yet I will venture to say, that in -all its Branches the Stage had never been under so just, so prosperous, -and so settled a Regulation, for forty Years before, as it was at -the Time I am speaking of. The most plausible Objection to our -Administration seemed to be, that we took no Care to breed up young -Actors to succeed us;[164] and this was imputed as the greater Fault, -because it was taken for granted that it was a Matter as easy as -planting so many Cabbages: Now, might not a Court as well be reproached -for not breeding up a Succession of complete Ministers? And yet it is -evident, that if Providence or Nature don't supply us with both, the -State and the Stage will be but poorly supported. If a Man of an ample -Fortune should take it into his Head to give a younger Son an -extraordinary Allowance in order to breed him a great Poet, what might -we suppose would be the Odds that his Trouble and Money would be all -thrown away? Not more than it would be against the Master of a Theatre -who should say, this or that young Man I will take care shall be an -excellent Actor! Let it be our Excuse, then, for that mistaken Charge -against us; that since there was no Garden or Market where accomplished -Actors grew or were to be sold, we could only pick them up, as we do -Pebbles of Value, by Chance: We may polish a thousand before we can -find one fit to make a Figure in the Lid of a Snuff-Box. And how few -soever we were able to produce, it is no Proof that we were not always -in search of them: Yet, at worst, it was allow'd that our Deficiency of -Men Actors was not so visible as our Scarcity of tolerable Women: But -when it is consider'd, that the Life of Youth and Beauty is too short -for the bringing an Actress to her Perfection; were I to mention, too, -the many frail fair Ones I remember who, before they could arrive to -their Theatrical Maturity, were feloniously stolen from the Tree, it -would rather be thought our Misfortune than our Fault that we were not -better provided.[165] - -Even the Laws of a Nunnery, we find, are thought no sufficient Security -against Temptations without Iron Grates and high Walls to inforce them; -which the Architecture of a Theatre will not so properly admit of: And -yet, methinks, Beauty that has not those artificial Fortresses about it, -that has no Defence but its natural Virtue (which upon the Stage has -more than once been met with) makes a much more meritorious Figure in -Life than that immur'd Virtue which could never be try'd. But alas! as -the poor Stage is but the Show-glass to a Toy-shop, we must not -wonder if now and then some of the Bawbles should find a Purchaser. - -[Illustration: SUSANNA MARIA CIBBER.] - -However, as to say more or less than Truth are equally unfaithful in an -Historian, I cannot but own that, in the Government of the Theatre, I have -known many Instances where the Merit of promising Actors has not always -been brought forward, with the Regard or Favour it had a Claim to: And if -I put my Reader in mind, that in the early Part of this Work I have shewn -thro' what continued Difficulties and Discouragements I myself made my way -up the Hill of Preferment, he may justly call it too strong a Glare of my -Vanity: I am afraid he is in the right; but I pretend not to be one of -those chaste Authors that know how to write without it: When Truth is to -be told, it may be as much Chance as Choice if it happens to turn out in -my Favour: But to shew that this was true of others as well as myself, -_Booth_ shall be another Instance. In 1707, when _Swiney_ was the only -Master of the Company in the _Hay-Market_; _Wilks_, tho' he was then but -an hired Actor himself, rather chose to govern and give Orders than to -receive them; and was so jealous of _Booth_'s rising, that with a high -Hand he gave the Part of _Pierre_, in _Venice Preserv'd_, to _Mills_ the -elder, who (not to undervalue him) was out of Sight in the Pretensions -that _Booth_, then young as he was, had to the same Part:[166] and this -very Discouragement so strongly affected him, that not long after, when -several of us became Sharers with _Swiney_, _Booth_ rather chose to -risque his Fortune with the old Patentee in _Drury-Lane_, than come into -our Interest, where he saw he was like to meet with more of those -Partialities.[167] And yet, again, _Booth_ himself, when he came to be a -Menager, would sometimes suffer his Judgment to be blinded by his -Inclination to Actors whom the Town seem'd to have but an indifferent -Opinion of. This again inclines me to ask another of my odd Questions, -_viz._ Have we never seen the same passions govern a Court! How many white -Staffs and great Places do we find, in our Histories, have been laid at -the Feet of a Monarch, because they chose not to give way to a Rival in -Power, or hold a second Place in his Favour? How many _Whigs_ and _Tories_ -have chang'd their Parties, when their good or bad Pretensions have met -with a Check to their higher Preferment? - -Thus we see, let the Degrees and Rank of Men be ever so unequal, Nature -throws out their Passions from the same Motives; 'tis not the Eminence -or Lowliness of either that makes the one, when provok'd, more or less -a reasonable Creature than the other: The Courtier and the Comedian, -when their Ambition is out of Humour, take just the same Measures to -right themselves. - -If this familiar Stile of talking should, in the Nostrils of Gravity and -Wisdom, smell a little too much of the Presumptuous or the Pragmatical, -I will at least descend lower in my Apology for it, by calling to my -Assistance the old, humble Proverb, _viz._ _'Tis an ill Bird that, &c._ -Why then should I debase my Profession by setting it in vulgar Lights, -when I may shew it to more favourable Advantages? And when I speak of -our Errors, why may I not extenuate them by illustrious Examples? or by -not allowing them greater than the greatest Men have been subject to? Or -why, indeed, may I not suppose that a sensible Reader will rather laugh -than look grave at the Pomp of my Parallels? - -Now, as I am tied down to the Veracity of an Historian whose Facts -cannot be supposed, like those in a Romance, to be in the Choice of the -Author to make them more marvellous by Invention; if I should happen to -sink into a little farther Insignificancy, let the simple Truth of what -I have farther to say, be my Excuse for it. I am obliged, therefore, to -make the Experiment, by shewing you the Conduct of our Theatrical -Ministry in such Lights as on various Occasions it appear'd in. - -Though _Wilks_ had more Industry and Application than any Actor I had -ever known, yet we found it possible that those necessary Qualities -might sometimes be so misconducted as not only to make them useless, but -hurtful to our Common-wealth;[168] for while he was impatient to be -foremost in every thing, he frequently shock'd the honest Ambition of -others, whose Measures might have been more serviceable, could his -Jealousy have given way to them. His own Regards for himself, therefore, -were, to avoid a disagreeable Dispute with him, too often complied with: -But this leaving his Diligence to his own Conduct, made us, in some -Instances, pay dearly for it: For Example; he would take as much, or -more Pains, in forwarding to the Stage the Water-gruel Work of some -insipid Author that happen'd rightly to make his Court to him,[169] than -he would for the best Play wherein it was not his Fortune to be chosen -for the best Character. So great was his Impatience to be employ'd, that -I scarce remember, in twenty Years, above one profitable Play we could -get to be reviv'd, wherein he found he was to make no considerable -Figure, independent of him: But the _Tempest_ having done Wonders -formerly, he could not form any Pretensions to let it lie longer -dormant: However, his Coldness to it was so visible, that he took all -Occasions to postpone and discourage its Progress, by frequently taking -up the morning-Stage with something more to his Mind. Having been myself -particularly solicitous for the reviving this Play, _Dogget_ (for this -was before Booth came into the Menagement) consented that the -extraordinary Decorations and Habits should be left to my Care and -Direction, as the fittest Person whose Temper could jossle through the -petulant Opposition that he knew _Wilks_ would be always offering to it, -because he had but a middling Part in it, that of _Ferdinand_: -Notwithstanding which, so it happen'd, that the Success of it shew'd -(not to take from the Merit of _Wilks_) that it was possible to have -good Audiences without his extraordinary Assistance. In the first six -Days of acting it we paid all our constant and incidental Expence, and -shar'd each of us a hundred Pounds: The greatest Profit that in so -little a Time had yet been known within my Memory! But, alas! what was -paltry Pelf to Glory? That was the darling Passion of _Wilks_'s Heart! -and not to advance in it was, to so jealous an Ambition, a painful -Retreat, a mere Shade to his Laurels! and the common Benefit was but a -poor Equivalent to his want of particular Applause! To conclude, not -Prince _Lewis_ of _Baden_, though a Confederate General with the Duke -of _Marlborough_, was more inconsolable upon the memorable Victory -at _Blenheim_, at which he was not present, than our Theatrical Hero -was to see any Action prosperous that he was not himself at the Head of. -If this, then, was an Infirmity in _Wilks_, why may not my shewing the -same Weakness in so great a Man mollify the Imputation, and keep his -Memory in Countenance. - -This laudable Appetite for Fame in _Wilks_ was not, however, to be fed -without that constant Labour which only himself was able to come up to: -He therefore bethought him of the means to lessen the Fatigue, and at -the same time to heighten his Reputation; which was, by giving up now -and then a Part to some raw Actor who he was sure would disgrace it, and -consequently put the Audience in mind of his superior Performance: Among -this sort of Indulgences to young Actors he happen'd once to make a -Mistake that set his Views in a clear Light. The best Criticks, I -believe, will allow that in _Shakespear_'s _Macbeth_ there are, in the -Part of _Macduff_, two Scenes, the one of Terror, in the second Act, and -the other of Compassion, in the fourth, equal to any that dramatick -Poetry has produc'd: These Scenes _Wilks_ had acted with Success, tho' -far short of that happier Skill and Grace which _Monfort_ had formerly -shewn in them.[170] Such a Part, however, one might imagine would be one -of the last a good Actor would chuse to part with: But _Wilks_ was of a -different Opinion; for _Macbeth_ was thrice as long, had more great -Scenes of Action, and bore the Name of the Play: Now, to be a second in -any Play was what he did not much care for, and had been seldom us'd to: -This Part of _Macduff_, therefore, he had given to one _Williams_, as -yet no extraordinary, though a promising Actor.[171] _Williams_, in the -Simplicity of his Heart, immediately told _Booth_ what a Favour _Wilks_ -had done him. _Booth_, as he had Reason, thought _Wilks_ had here -carried his Indulgence and his Authority a little too far; for as -_Booth_ had no better a Part in the same Play than that of _Banquo_, he -found himself too much disregarded in letting so young an Actor take -Place of him: _Booth_, therefore, who knew the Value of _Macduff_, -proposed to do it himself, and to give _Banquo_ to _Williams_; and to -make him farther amends, offer'd him any other of his Parts that he -thought might be of Service to him. _Williams_ was content with the -Exchange, and thankful for the Promise. This Scheme, indeed, (had it -taken Effect) might have been an Ease to _Wilks_, and possibly no -Disadvantage to the Play; but softly----That was not quite what we had a -Mind to! No sooner, then, came this Proposal to _Wilks_, but off went -the Masque and out came the Secret! For though _Wilks_ wanted to be -eas'd of the Part, he did not desire to be _excell'd_ in it; and as he -was not sure but that might be the case if _Booth_ were to act it,[172] -he wisely retracted his own Project, took _Macduff_ again to himself, -and while he liv'd never had a Thought of running the same Hazard by any -farther Offer to resign it. - -Here I confess I am at a Loss for a Fact in History to which this can be -a Parallel! To be weary of a Post, even to a real Desire of resigning -it; and yet to chuse rather to drudge on in it than suffer it to be well -supplied (though to share in that Advantage) is a Delicacy of Ambition -that _Machiavil_ himself has made no mention of: Or if in old _Rome_, -the Jealousy of any pretended Patriot equally inclin'd to abdicate his -Office may have come up to it, 'tis more than my reading remembers. - -As nothing can be more impertinent than shewing too frequent a Fear to -be thought so, I will, without farther Apology, rather risque that -Imputation than not tell you another Story much to the same purpose, and -of no more consequence than my last. To make you understand it, however, -a little Preface will be necessary. - -If the Merit of an Actor (as it certainly does) consists more in the -Quality than the Quantity of his Labour; the other Menagers had no -visible Reason to think this needless Ambition of _Wilks_, in being so -often and sometimes so unnecessarily employ'd, gave him any Title to a -Superiority; especially when our Articles of Agreement had allow'd us -all to be equal. But what are narrow Contracts to great Souls with -growing Desires? _Wilks_, therefore, who thought himself lessen'd in -appealing to any Judgment but his own, plainly discovered by his -restless Behaviour (though he did not care to speak out) that he thought -he had a Right to some higher Consideration for his Performance: This -was often _Booth_'s Opinion, as well as my own. It must be farther -observ'd, that he actually had a separate Allowance of Fifty Pounds a -Year for writing our daily Play-Bills for the Printer: Which Province, -to say the Truth, was the only one we car'd to trust to his particular -Intendance, or could find out for a Pretence to distinguish him. But, to -speak a plainer Truth, this Pension, which was no part of our original -Agreement, was merely paid to keep him quiet, and not that we thought it -due to so insignificant a Charge as what a Prompter had formerly -executed. This being really the Case, his frequent Complaints of being a -Drudge to the Company grew something more than disagreeable to us: For -we could not digest the Imposition of a Man's setting himself to work, -and then bringing in his own Bill for it. _Booth_, therefore, who was -less easy than I was to see him so often setting a Merit upon this -Quantity of his Labour, which neither could be our Interest or his own -to lay upon him, proposed to me that we might remove this pretended -Grievance by reviving some Play that might be likely to live, and be -easily acted, without _Wilks_'s having any Part in it. About this time -an unexpected Occasion offer'd itself to put our Project in practice: -What follow'd our Attempt will be all (if any thing be) worth -Observation in my Story. - -In 1725 we were call'd upon, in a manner that could not be resisted, to -revive the _Provok'd Wife_,[173] a Comedy which, while we found our -Account in keeping the Stage clear of those loose Liberties it had -formerly too justly been charg'd with, we had laid aside for some -Years.[174] The Author, Sir _John Vanbrugh_, who was conscious of what -it had too much of, was prevail'd upon[175] to substitute a new-written -Scene in the Place of one in the fourth Act, where the Wantonness of his -Wit and Humour had (originally) made a Rake[176] talk like a Rake in the -borrow'd Habit of a Clergyman: To avoid which Offence, he clapt the same -Debauchee into the Undress of a Woman of Quality: Now the Character and -Profession of a Fine Lady not being so indelibly sacred as that of a -Churchman, whatever Follies he expos'd in the Petticoat kept him at -least clear of his former Prophaneness, and were now innocently -ridiculous to the Spectator. - -This Play being thus refitted for the Stage, was, as I have observ'd, -call'd for from Court and by many of the Nobility.[177] Now, then, we -thought, was a proper time to come to an Explanation with _Wilks_: -Accordingly, when the Actors were summon'd to hear the Play read and -receive their Parts, I address'd myself to _Wilks_, before them all, and -told him, That as the Part of _Constant_, which he seem'd to chuse, was -a Character of less Action than he generally appear'd in, we thought -this might be a good Occasion to ease himself by giving it to -another.--Here he look'd grave.--That the Love-Scenes of it were rather -serious than gay or humourous, and therefore might sit very well upon -_Booth_.----Down dropt his Brow, and furl'd were his Features.--That if -we were never to revive a tolerable Play without him, what would become -of us in case of his Indisposition?----Here he pretended to stir the -Fire.--That as he could have no farther Advantage or Advancement in his -Station to hope for, his acting in this Play was but giving himself an -unprofitable Trouble, which neither _Booth_ or I desired to impose upon -him.--Softly.--Now the Pill began to gripe him.----In a Word, this -provoking Civility plung'd him into a Passion which he was no longer -able to contain; out it came, with all the Equipage of unlimited -Language that on such Occasions his Displeasure usually set out with; -but when his Reply was stript of those Ornaments, it was plainly this: -That he look'd upon all I had said as a concerted Design, not only to -signalize our selves by laying him aside, but a Contrivance to draw him -into the Disfavour of the Nobility, by making it suppos'd his own Choice -that he did not act in a Play so particularly ask'd for; but we should -find he could stand upon his own Bottom, and it was not all our little -caballing should get our Ends of him: To which I answer'd with some -Warmth, That he was mistaken in our Ends; for Those, Sir, said I, you -have answer'd already by shewing the Company you cannot bear to be left -out of any Play. Are not you every Day complaining of your being -over-labour'd? And now, upon our first offering to ease you, you fly -into a Passion, and pretend to make that a greater Grievance than -t'other: But, Sir, if your being In or Out of the Play is a Hardship, -you shall impose it upon yourself: The Part is in your Hand, and to us -it is a Matter of Indifference now whether you take it or leave it. Upon -this he threw down the Part upon the Table, cross'd his Arms, and sate -knocking his Heel upon the Floor, as seeming to threaten most when he -said least; but when no body persuaded him to take it up again, _Booth_, -not chusing to push the matter too far, but rather to split the -difference of our Dispute, said, That, for his Part, he saw no such -great matter in acting every Day; for he believed it the wholsomest -Exercise in the World; it kept the Spirits in motion, and always gave -him a good Stomach. Though this was, in a manner, giving up the Part to -_Wilks_, yet it did not allow he did us any Favour in receiving it. Here -I observ'd Mrs. _Oldfield_ began to titter behind her Fan: But _Wilks_ -being more intent upon what _Booth_ had said, reply'd, Every one could -best feel for himself, but he did not pretend to the Strength of a -Pack-horse; therefore if Mrs. _Oldfield_ would chuse any body else to -play with her,[178] he should be very glad to be excus'd: This throwing -the Negative upon Mrs. _Oldfield_ was, indeed, a sure way to save -himself; which I could not help taking notice of, by saying, It was -making but an ill Compliment to the Company to suppose there was but one -Man in it fit to play an ordinary Part with her. Here Mrs. _Oldfield_ -got up, and turning me half round to come forward, said with her usual -Frankness, Pooh! you are all a Parcel of Fools, to make such a rout -about nothing! Rightly judging that the Person most out of humour would -not be more displeas'd at her calling us all by the same Name. As she -knew, too, the best way of ending the Debate would be to help the Weak; -she said, she hop'd Mr. _Wilks_ would not so far mind what had past as -to refuse his acting the Part with her; for tho' it might not be so good -as he had been us'd to, yet she believed those who had bespoke the Play -would expect to have it done to the best Advantage, and it would make -but an odd Story abroad if it were known there had been any Difficulty -in that point among ourselves. To conclude, _Wilks_ had the Part, and we -had all we wanted; which was an Occasion to let him see, that the -Accident or Choice of one Menager's being more employ'd than another -would never be allow'd a Pretence for altering our Indentures, or his -having an extraordinary Consideration for it.[179] - -However disagreeable it might be to have this unsociable Temper daily to -deal with; yet I cannot but say, that from the same impatient Spirit -that had so often hurt us, we still drew valuable Advantages: For as -_Wilks_ seem'd to have no Joy in Life beyond his being distinguish'd on -the Stage, we were not only sure of his always doing his best there -himself, but of making others more careful than without the Rod of so -irascible a Temper over them they would have been. And I much question -if a more temperate or better Usage of the hired Actors could have so -effectually kept them to Order. Not even _Betterton_ (as we have seen) -with all his good Sense, his great Fame and Experience, could, by being -only a quiet Example of Industry himself, save his Company from falling, -while neither Gentleness could govern or the Consideration of their -common Interest reform them.[180] Diligence, with much the inferior -Skill or Capacity, will beat the best negligent Company that ever came -upon a Stage. But when a certain dreaming Idleness or jolly Negligence -of Rehearsals gets into a Body of the Ignorant and Incapable (which -before _Wilks_ came into _Drury-Lane_, when _Powel_ was at the Head of -them, was the Case of that Company) then, I say, a sensible Spectator -might have look'd upon the fallen Stage as _Portius_ in the Play of -_Cato_ does upon his ruin'd Country, and have lamented it in (something -near) the same Exclamation, _viz._ - - _--O ye Immortal Bards! - What Havock do these Blockheads make among your Works! - How are the boasted Labours of an Age - Defac'd and tortured by Ungracious Action?_[181] - -Of this wicked Doings _Dryden_, too, complains in one of his Prologues -at that time, where, speaking of such lewd Actors, he closes a Couplet -with the following Line, _viz._ - - _And murder Plays, which they miscall Reviving._[182] - -The great Share, therefore, that _Wilks_, by his exemplary Diligence and -Impatience of Neglect in others, had in the Reformation of this Evil, -ought in Justice to be remember'd; and let my own Vanity here take Shame -to itself when I confess, That had I had half his Application, I still -think I might have shewn myself twice the Actor that in my highest State -of Favour I appear'd to be. But if I have any Excuse for that Neglect (a -Fault which, if I loved not Truth, I need not have mentioned) it is that -so much of my Attention was taken up in an incessant Labour to guard -against our private Animosities, and preserve a Harmony in our Menagement, -that I hope and believe it made ample Amends for whatever Omission my -Auditors might sometimes know it cost me some pains to conceal. But Nature -takes care to bestow her Blessings with a more equal Hand than Fortune -does, and is seldom known to heap too many upon one Man: One tolerable -Talent in an Individual is enough to preserve him from being good for -nothing; and, if that was not laid to my Charge as an Actor, I have in -this Light too, less to complain of than to be thankful for. - -Before I conclude my History, it may be expected I should give some -further View of these my last Cotemporaries of the Theatre, _Wilks_ and -_Booth_, in their different acting Capacities. If I were to paint them in -the Colours they laid upon one another, their Talents would not be shewn -with half the Commendation I am inclined to bestow upon them, when they -are left to my own Opinion. But People of the same Profession are apt to -see themselves in their own clear Glass of Partiality, and look upon their -Equals through a Mist of Prejudice. It might be imagin'd, too, from the -difference of their natural Tempers, that _Wilks_ should have been more -blind to the Excellencies of _Booth_ than _Booth_ was to those of _Wilks_; -but it was not so: _Wilks_ would sometimes commend _Booth_ to me; but when -_Wilks_ excell'd, the other was silent:[183] _Booth_ seem'd to think -nothing valuable that was not tragically Great or Marvellous: Let that be -as true as it may; yet I have often thought that, from his having no Taste -of Humour himself,[184] he might be too much inclin'd to depreciate the -Acting of it in others. The very slight Opinion which in private -Conversation with me he had of _Wilks_'s acting Sir _Harry Wildair_, was -certainly more than could be justified; not only from the general Applause -that was against that Opinion (tho' Applause is not always infallible) -but from the visible Capacity which must be allow'd to an Actor, that -could carry such slight Materials to such a height of Approbation: For, -though the Character of _Wildair_ scarce in any one Scene will stand -against a just Criticism; yet in the Whole there are so many gay and false -Colours of the fine Gentleman, that nothing but a Vivacity in the -Performance proportionably extravagant could have made them so happily -glare upon a common Audience. - -_Wilks_, from his first setting out, certainly form'd his manner of -Acting upon the Model of _Monfort_;[185] as _Booth_ did his on that of -_Betterton_. But----_Haud passibus æquis_: I cannot say either of them -came up to their Original. _Wilks_ had not that easy regulated Behaviour, -or the harmonious Elocution of the One, nor _Booth_ that Conscious Aspect -of Intelligence nor requisite Variation of Voice that made every Line the -Other spoke seem his own natural self-deliver'd Sentiment: Yet there is -still room for great Commendation of Both the first mentioned; which will -not be so much diminish'd in my having said they were only excell'd by -such Predecessors, as it will be rais'd in venturing to affirm it will be -a longer time before any Successors will come near them. Thus one of the -greatest Praises given to _Virgil_ is, that no Successor in Poetry came -so near _Him_ as _He_ himself did to _Homer_. - -Though the Majority of Publick Auditors are but bad judges of Theatrical -Action, and are often deceiv'd into their Approbation of what has no solid -Pretence to it; yet, as there are no other appointed Judges to appeal to, -and as every single Spectator has a Right to be one of them, their -Sentence will be definitive, and the Merit of an Actor must, in some -degree, be weigh'd by it: By this Law, then, _Wilks_ was pronounced an -Excellent Actor; which, if the few true Judges did not allow him to be, -they were at least too candid to slight or discourage him. _Booth_ and he -were Actors so directly opposite in their Manner, that if either of them -could have borrowed a little of the other's Fault, they would Both have -been improv'd by it: If _Wilks_ had sometimes too violent a Vivacity; -_Booth_ as often contented himself with too grave a Dignity: The Latter -seem'd too much to heave up his Words, as the other to dart them to the -Ear with too quick and sharp a Vehemence: Thus _Wilks_ would too -frequently break into the Time and Measure of the Harmony by too many -spirited Accents in one Line; and _Booth_, by too solemn a Regard to -Harmony, would as often lose the necessary Spirit of it: So that (as I -have observ'd) could we have sometimes rais'd the one and sunk the other, -they had both been nearer to the mark. Yet this could not be always -objected to them: They had their Intervals of unexceptionable Excellence, -that more than balanc'd their Errors. The Master-piece of _Booth_ was -_Othello_: There he was most in Character, and seemed not more to animate -or please himself in it than his Spectators. 'Tis true he owed his last -and highest Advancement to his acting _Cato_: But it was the Novelty and -critical Appearance of that Character that chiefly swell'd the Torrent of -his Applause: For let the Sentiments of a declaiming Patriot have all the -Sublimity that Poetry can raise them to; let them be deliver'd, too, with -the utmost Grace and Dignity of Elocution that can recommend them to the -Auditor: Yet this is but one Light wherein the Excellence of an Actor can -shine: But in _Othello_ we may see him in the Variety of Nature: There the -Actor is carried through the different Accidents of domestick Happiness -and Misery, occasionally torn and tortur'd by the most distracting Passion -that can raise Terror or Compassion in the Spectator. Such are the -Characters that a Master Actor would delight in; and therefore in -_Othello_ I may safely aver that _Booth_ shew'd himself thrice the Actor -that he could in _Cato_. And yet his Merit in acting _Cato_ need not be -diminish'd by this Comparison. - -_Wilks_ often regretted that in Tragedy he had not the full and strong -Voice of _Booth_ to command and grace his Periods with: But _Booth_ us'd -to say, That if his Ear had been equal to it, _Wilks_ had Voice enough to -have shewn himself a much better Tragedian. Now, though there might be -some Truth in this; yet these two Actors were of so mixt a Merit, that -even in Tragedy the Superiority was not always on the same side: In -Sorrow, Tenderness, or Resignation, _Wilks_ plainly had the Advantage, -and seem'd more pathetically to feel, look, and express his Calamity: -But in the more turbulent Transports of the Heart, _Booth_ again bore -the Palm, and left all Competitors behind him. A Fact perhaps will set -this Difference in a clearer Light. I have formerly seen _Wilks_ act -_Othello_,[186] and _Booth_ the _Earl of Essex_,[187] in which they both -miscarried: Neither the exclamatory Rage or Jealousy of the one, or the -plaintive Distresses of the other, were happily executed, or became either -of them; though in the contrary Characters they were both excellent. - -When an Actor becomes and naturally Looks the Character he stands in, I -have often observ'd it to have had as fortunate an Effect, and as much -recommended him to the Approbation of the common Auditors, as the most -correct or judicious Utterance of the Sentiments: This was strongly -visible in the favourable Reception _Wilks_ met with in _Hamlet_, where -I own the Half of what he spoke was as painful to my Ear as every Line -that came from _Betterton_ was charming;[188] and yet it is not -impossible, could they have come to a Poll, but _Wilks_ might have had a -Majority of Admirers: However, such a Division had been no Proof that -the Præeminence had not still remain'd in _Betterton_; and if I should -add that _Booth_, too, was behind _Betterton_ in _Othello_, it would be -saying no more than _Booth_ himself had Judgment and Candour enough to -know and confess. And if both he and _Wilks_ are allow'd, in the two -above-mention'd Characters, a second Place to so great a Master as -_Betterton_, it will be a Rank of Praise that the best Actors since my -Time might have been proud of. - -I am now come towards the End of that Time through which our Affairs had -long gone forward in a settled Course of Prosperity. From the Visible -Errors of former Menagements we had at last found the necessary Means to -bring our private Laws and Orders into the general Observance and -Approbation of our Society: Diligence and Neglect were under an equal -Eye; the one never fail'd of its Reward, and the other, by being very -rarely excus'd, was less frequently committed. You are now to consider -us in our height of Favour, and so much in fashion with the politer Part -of the Town, that our House every _Saturday_ seem'd to be the appointed -Assembly of the First Ladies of Quality: Of this, too, the common -Spectators were so well appriz'd, that for twenty Years successively, on -that Day, we scarce ever fail'd of a crowded Audience; for which -Occasion we particularly reserv'd our best Plays, acted in the best -Manner we could give them.[189] - -Among our many necessary Reformations; what not a little preserv'd to us -the Regard of our Auditors, was the Decency of our clear Stage;[190] -from whence we had now, for many Years, shut out those idle Gentlemen, -who seem'd more delighted to be pretty Objects themselves, than capable -of any Pleasure from the Play: Who took their daily Stands where they -might best elbow the Actor, and come in for their Share of the Auditor's -Attention. In many a labour'd Scene of the warmest Humour and of the -most affecting Passion have I seen the best Actors disconcerted, while -these buzzing Muscatos have been fluttering round their Eyes and Ears. -How was it possible an Actor, so embarrass'd, should keep his Impatience -from entering into that different Temper which his personated Character -might require him to be Master of? - -Future Actors may perhaps wish I would set this Grievance in a stronger -Light; and, to say the Truth, where Auditors are ill-bred, it cannot -well be expected that Actors should be polite. Let me therefore shew how -far an Artist in any Science is apt to be hurt by any sort of -Inattention to his Performance. - -While the famous _Corelli_,[191] at _Rome_, was playing some Musical -Composition of his own to a select Company in the private Apartment of -his Patron-Cardinal, he observed, in the height of his Harmony, his -Eminence was engaging in a detach'd Conversation; upon which he suddenly -stopt short, and gently laid down his Instrument: The Cardinal, -surpriz'd at the unexpected Cessation, ask'd him if a String was broke? -To which _Corelli_, in an honest Conscience of what was due to his -Musick, reply'd, No, Sir, I was only afraid I interrupted Business. His -Eminence, who knew that a Genius could never shew itself to Advantage -where it had not its proper Regards, took this Reproof in good Part, and -broke off his Conversation to hear the whole _Concerto_ play'd over -again. - -Another Story will let us see what Effect a mistaken Offence of this -kind had upon the _French_ Theatre; which was told me by a Gentleman of -the long Robe, then at _Paris_, and who was himself the innocent Author -of it. At the Tragedy of _Zaire_, while the celebrated Mademoiselle -_Gossin_[192] was delivering a Soliloquy, this Gentleman was seiz'd -with a sudden Fit of Coughing, which gave the Actress some Surprize and -Interruption; and his Fit increasing, she was forced to stand silent so -long, that it drew the Eyes of the uneasy Audience upon him; when a -_French_ Gentleman, leaning forward to him, ask'd him, If this Actress -had given him any particular Offence, that he took so publick an -Occasion to resent it? The _English_ Gentleman, in the utmost Surprize, -assured him, So far from it, that he was a particular Admirer of her -Performance; that his Malady was his real Misfortune, and if he -apprehended any Return of it, he would rather quit his Seat than -disoblige either the Actress or the Audience. - -This publick Decency in their Theatre I have myself seen carried so far, -that a Gentleman in their _second Loge_, or Middle-Gallery, being -observ'd to sit forward himself while a Lady sate behind him, a loud -Number of Voices call'd out to him from the Pit, _Place à la Dame!_ -_Place à la Dame!_ When the Person so offending, either not apprehending -the Meaning of the Clamour, or possibly being some _John Trott_ who -fear'd no Man alive; the Noise was continued for several Minutes; nor -were the Actors, though ready on the Stage, suffer'd to begin the Play -'till this unbred Person was laugh'd out of his Seat, and had placed the -Lady before him. - -Whether this Politeness observ'd at Plays may be owing to their Clime, -their Complexion, or their Government, is of no great Consequence; but -if it is to be acquired, methinks it is pity our accomplish'd -Countrymen, who every Year import so much of this Nation's gawdy -Garniture, should not, in this long Course of our Commerce with them, -have brought over a little of their Theatrical Good-breeding too. - -I have been the more copious upon this Head, that it might be judg'd how -much it stood us upon to have got rid of those improper Spectators I -have been speaking of: For whatever Regard we might draw by keeping them -at a Distance from our Stage, I had observed, while they were admitted -behind our Scenes, we but too often shew'd them the wrong Side of our -Tapestry; and that many a tolerable Actor was the less valued when it -was known what ordinary Stuff he was made of. - -Among the many more disagreeable Distresses that are almost unavoidable in -the Government of a Theatre, those we so often met with from the -Persecution of bad Authors were what we could never intirely get rid of. -But let us state both our Cases, and then see where the Justice of the -Complaint lies. 'Tis true, when an ingenious Indigent had taken perhaps a -whole Summer's Pains, _invitâ Minervâ_, to heap up a Pile of Poetry into -the Likeness of a Play, and found, at last, the gay Promise of his -Winter's Support was rejected and abortive, a Man almost ought to be a -Poet himself to be justly sensible of his Distress! Then, indeed, great -Allowances ought to be made for the severe Reflections he might naturally -throw upon those pragmatical Actors, who had no Sense or Taste of good -Writing. And yet, if his Relief was only to be had by his imposing a bad -Play upon a good Set of Actors, methinks the Charity that first looks at -home has as good an Excuse for its Coldness as the unhappy Object of it -had a Plea for his being reliev'd at their Expence. But immediate Want was -not always confess'd their Motive for Writing; Fame, Honour, and -_Parnassian_ Glory had sometimes taken a romantick Turn in their Heads; -and then they gave themselves the Air of talking to us in a higher -Strain--Gentlemen were not to be so treated! the Stage was like to be -finely govern'd when Actors pretended to be Judges of Authors, &_c._ But, -dear Gentlemen! if they were good Actors, why not? How should they have -been able to act, or rise to any Excellence, if you supposed them not to -feel or understand what you offer'd them? Would you have reduc'd them to -the meer Mimickry of Parrots and Monkies, that can only prate, and play a -great many pretty Tricks, without Reflection? Or how are you sure your -Friend, the infallible Judge to whom you read your fine Piece, might be -sincere in the Praises he gave it? Or, indeed, might not you have thought -the best Judge a bad one if he had disliked it? Consider, too, how -possible it might be that a Man of Sense would not care to tell you a -Truth he was sure you would not believe! And if neither _Dryden_, -_Congreve_, _Steele_, _Addison_, nor _Farquhar_, (if you please) ever made -any Complaint of their Incapacity to judge, why is the World to believe -the Slights you have met with from them are either undeserved or -particular? Indeed! indeed, I am not conscious that we ever did you or any -of your Fraternity the least Injustice![193] Yet this was not all we had -to struggle with; to supersede our Right of rejecting, the Recommendation, -or rather Imposition, of some great Persons (whom it was not Prudence to -disoblige) sometimes came in with a high Hand to support their -Pretensions; and then, _cout que cout_, acted it must be! So when the -short Life of this wonderful Nothing was over, the Actors were perhaps -abus'd in a Preface for obstructing the Success of it, and the Town -publickly damn'd us for our private Civility.[194] - -I cannot part with these fine Gentlemen Authors without mentioning a -ridiculous _Disgraccia_ that befel one of them many Years ago: This -solemn Bard, who, like _Bays_, only writ for Fame and Reputation; on the -second Day's publick Triumph of his Muse, marching in a stately -full-bottom'd Perriwig into the Lobby of the House, with a Lady of -Condition in his Hand, when raising his Voice to the Sir _Fopling_ -Sound, that _became the Mouth of a Man of Quality_, and calling -out--Hey! Box-keeper, where is my Lady such-a-one's Servant, was -unfortunately answer'd by honest _John Trott_, (which then happen'd to -be the Box-keeper's real Name) Sir, we have dismiss'd, there was not -Company enough to pay Candles. In which mortal Astonishment it may be -sufficient to leave him. And yet had the Actors refus'd this Play, what -Resentment might have been thought too severe for them? - -Thus was our Administration often censured for Accidents which were not -in our Power to prevent: A possible Case in the wisest Governments. If, -therefore, some Plays have been preferr'd to the Stage that were never -fit to have been seen there, let this be our best Excuse for it. And -yet, if the Merit of our rejecting the many bad Plays that press'd hard -upon us were weigh'd against the few that were thus imposed upon us, our -Conduct in general might have more Amendments of the Stage to boast of -than Errors to answer for. But it is now Time to drop the Curtain. - -During our four last Years there happen'd so very little unlike what -has been said before, that I shall conclude with barely mentioning -those unavoidable Accidents that drew on our Dissolution. The first, -that for some Years had led the way to greater, was the continued ill -State of Health that render'd _Booth_[195] incapable of appearing on -the Stage. The next was the Death of Mrs. _Oldfield_,[196] which -happen'd on the 23d of _October_, 1730. About the same Time, too, -Mrs. _Porter_, then in her highest Reputation for Tragedy, was lost -to us by the Misfortune of a dislocated Limb from the overturning of -a _Chaise_.[197] And our last Stroke was the Death of _Wilks_, in -_September_ the Year following, 1731.[198] - -[Illustration: CHARLES FLEETWOOD.] - -Notwithstanding such irreparable Losses; whether, when these favourite -Actors were no more to be had, their Successors might not be better born -with than they could possibly have hop'd while the former were in -being; or that the generality of Spectators, from their want of Taste, -were easier to be pleas'd than the few that knew better: Or that, at -worst, our Actors were still preferable to any other Company of the -several then subsisting: Or to whatever Cause it might be imputed, our -Audiences were far less abated than our Apprehensions had suggested. So -that, though it began to grow late in Life with me; having still Health -and Strength enough to have been as useful on the Stage as ever, I was -under no visible Necessity of quitting it: But so it happen'd that our -surviving Fraternity having got some chimærical, and, as I thought, -unjust Notions into their Heads, which, though I knew they were without -much Difficulty to be surmounted; I chose not, at my time of Day, to -enter into new Contentions; and as I found an Inclination in some of -them to purchase the whole Power of the Patent into their own Hands; I -did my best while I staid with them to make it worth their while to come -up to my Price; and then patiently sold out my Share to the first -Bidder, wishing the Crew I had left in the Vessel a good Voyage.[199] - -What Commotions the Stage fell into the Year following, or from what -Provocations the greatest Part of the Actors revolted, and set up for -themselves in the little House in the _Hay-Market_, lies not within the -Promise of my Title Page to relate: Or, as it might set some Persons -living in a Light they possibly might not chuse to be seen in, I will -rather be thankful for the involuntary Favour they have done me, than -trouble the Publick with private Complaints of fancied or real Injuries. - - -_FINIS_. - - - - -SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. - -BY ROBERT W. LOWE. - - -[Illustration: Ad Lalauze, sc] - -The transaction to which Cibber alludes in his last paragraph is one -with regard to which he probably felt that his conduct required some -explanation. After the death of Steele, a Patent was granted to Cibber, -Wilks, and Booth, empowering them to give plays at Drury Lane, or -elsewhere, for a period of twenty-one years from 1st September, -1732.[200] Just after it came into operation Wilks died, and his share -in the Patent became the property of his wife. Booth, shortly before his -death, which occurred in May, 1733, sold half of his share for £2,500, -to John Highmore, a gentleman who seems to have been a typical amateur -manager, being possessed of some money, no judgment, and unbounded -vanity. In making this purchase Highmore stipulated that, with half of -Booth's share, he should receive the whole of his authority; and he -accordingly exercised the same power of control as had belonged to -Booth. Mrs. Wilks deputed Mr. John Ellys, the painter, to be her -representative, so that Cibber had to manage the affairs of the theatre -in conjunction with a couple of amateurs, both ignorant, and one -certainly presumptuous also. He delegated his authority for a time to -his scapegrace son, Theophilus, who probably made himself so -objectionable that Highmore was glad to buy the father's share in the -Patent also.[201] He paid three thousand guineas for it, thus purchasing -a whole share for a sum not much exceeding that which he had paid for -one-half. Highmore's first purchase took place in the autumn of 1732, -his second somewhere about May, 1733; so that, when Drury Lane opened -for the season 1733-34, he possessed one-half of the three shares into -which the Patent was divided. Mrs. Wilks retained her share, but Mrs. -Booth had sold her remaining half-share to Henry Giffard,[202] the -manager of Goodman's Fields Theatre, at which, eight years later, -Garrick made his first appearance. Highmore had scarcely entered upon -his fuller authority when a revolt was spirited up among his actors, the -chief of whom left him in a body to open the little theatre in the -Haymarket. Shameful to relate, the ringleader in this mutiny was -Theophilus Cibber; and, what is still more disgraceful, Colley Cibber -lent them his active countenance. Benjamin Victor, though a devoted -friend of Colley Cibber, characterizes the transaction as most -dishonest,[203] and there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of his -information or the soundness of his judgment. Davies ("Life of Garrick," -i. 76) states that Colley Cibber applied to the Duke of Grafton, then -Lord Chamberlain, for a new License or Patent in favour of his son; but -the Duke, on inquiring into the matter, was so disgusted at Cibber's -conduct that he refused the application with strong expressions of -disapprobation. The seceders had of course no Patent or License under -which to act; but, from the circumstance that they took the name of -Comedians of His Majesty's Revels, it is probable that they received a -License from the Master of the Revels, Charles Henry Lee. Highmore, -deserted by every actor of any importance except Miss Raftor (Mrs. -Clive), Mrs. Horton, and Bridgwater, was at his wits' end. He summoned -the seceders for an infringement of his Patent, but his case, tried on -5th November, 1733, was dismissed, apparently on some technical plea. He -could not prevail upon the Lord Chamberlain to exert his authority to -close the Haymarket, so he determined to try the efficacy of the Vagrant -Act (12 Queen Anne) against the irregular performers. John Harper -accordingly was arrested on 12th November, 1733, and committed to -Bridewell. On the 20th of the same month he was tried before the Court -of King's Bench as a rogue and vagabond; but, whether from the -circumstance that Harper was a householder, or from a decision that -playing at the Haymarket was not an act of vagrancy,[204] he was -discharged upon his own recognizance, and the manager's action failed. -He had therefore to bring actors from the country to make up his -company; but of these Macklin was the only one who proved of any -assistance, and the unfortunate Highmore, after meeting deficiencies of -fifty or sixty pounds each week for some months, was forced to give up -the struggle.[205] Another amateur then stepped into the breach--Charles -Fleetwood, who purchased the shares of Highmore and Mrs. Wilks for -little more than the former had paid for his own portion. Giffard seems -to have retained his sixth of the Patent. Fleetwood first set about -regaining the services of the seceders, and, as the majority of them -were probably ashamed of following the leadership of Theophilus Cibber, -he succeeded at once. The last performance at the Haymarket took place -on 9th March, 1734, and on the 12th the deserters reappeared on Drury -Lane stage. This transaction ended Colley Cibber's direct interference -in the affairs of the theatre, and his only subsequent connection with -the stage was as an actor. His first appearance after his retirement was -on 31st October, 1734, when he played his great character of Bayes. -During the season he acted Lord Foppington, Sir John Brute, Sir Courtly -Nice, and Sir Fopling Flutter; and on 26th February, 1735, he appeared -as Fondlewife for the benefit of his old friend and partner, Owen -Swiney.[206] At the end of the season 1734-5, an arrangement was under -consideration by which a committee of actors, including Mills, Johnson, -Miller, Theo. Cibber, Mrs. Heron, Mrs. Butler, and others, were to rent -Drury Lane from Fleetwood, for fifteen years, at £920 per annum; but the -arrangement does not appear to have been carried out, and Fleetwood -continued Patentee of Drury Lane until 1744-5. - -The rival company, under the control of John Rich, acted at Lincoln's Inn -Fields from 18th December, 1714, to 5th December, 1732; then they removed -to the new Covent Garden Theatre, which was opened on 7th December with -"The Way of the World." For several seasons both companies dragged along -very uneventfully, so far as the artistic advancement of the stage was -concerned, although the passing of the Licensing Act of 1737, already -fully commented on, was an event of great historical importance. -Artistically the period was one of rest, if not of retrogression; the -methods of the older time were losing their meaning and vitality, and were -becoming mere dry bones of tradition. The high priest of the stage was -James Quin, a great actor, though not of the first order; and among the -younger players perhaps the most notable was Charles Macklin, rough in -manner as in person, but full of genius and a thorough reformer. Garrick -was the direct means of revolutionizing the methods of the theatre, and it -was his genius that swept away the formality and dulness of the old -school; but it ought to be remembered that the way was prepared for him by -Charles Macklin, whose rescue of Shylock from low comedy was an -achievement scarcely inferior to Garrick's greatest. During this dull -period Cibber's appearances must have had an importance and interest, -which, after Garrick's advent, they lacked. - -In the season 1735-6 he acted Sir Courtly Nice and Bayes, and in the -next season his play of "Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John," a -miserable mutilation of Shakespeare's "King John," was put in rehearsal -at Drury Lane. But such a storm of ridicule and abuse arose when this -play was announced, that Cibber withdrew it,[207] and it was not seen -till 1745, when, the nation being in fear of a Popish Pretender, it was -produced at Covent Garden from patriotic motives. - -Cibber's implacable foe, Fielding, was one of the ringleaders in the -attack on him for mutilating Shakespeare; and in his "Historical Register -for 1736,"[208] in which Colley is introduced as "Ground-Ivy,"[209] gives -him the following excellent rebuke:-- - -"_Medley._ As _Shakspear_ is already good enough for People of Taste, -he must be alter'd to the Palates of those who have none; and if you -will grant that, who can be properer to alter him for the worse?" - -In 1738, having, as Victor says ("History," ii. 48), "Health and -Strength enough to be as useful as ever," he agreed with Fleetwood to -perform a round of his favourite characters. He was successful in -comedy, but in tragedy he felt that his strength was no longer -sufficient; and Victor relates that, going behind the scenes while the -third act of "Richard III." was on, he was told in a whisper by the old -man, "That he would give fifty Guineas to be then sitting in his easy -Chair by his own Fire-side." Probably he never played in tragedy again -until the production of his own "Papal Tyranny"--at least I cannot -discover that he did. In 1740-1 he acted Fondlewife for the benefit of -Chetwood, late prompter at Drury Lane, who was then imprisoned in the -King's Bench for debt; and his reception was so favourable that he -repeated the character a second and third time for his own profit.[210] -Upon these occasions he spoke an "Epilogue upon Himself," which is given -in "The Egotist" (p. 57 _et seq._), and forms so good an epitome of -Cibber's philosophy, besides giving an excellent specimen of his style, -that I quote it at length:-- - - "Now worn with Years, and yet in Folly strong, - Now to act Parts, your Grandsires saw when Young! - What could provoke me!--I was always wrong. - To hope, with Age, I could advance in Merit! - Even Age well acted, asks a youthful Spirit: - To feel my Wants, yet shew 'em thus detected, - Is living to the Dotage, I have acted! - T' have acted only Once excus'd might be, - When I but play'd the Fool for Charity! - But fondly to repeat it!--Senseless Ninny! - --No--now--as Doctors do--I touch the Guinea! - And while I find my Doses can affect you, - 'Twere greater Folly still, should I neglect you. - Though this Excuse, at _White'_s they'll not allow me; - The Ralliers There, in Diff'rent Lights will shew me. - They'll tell you There: I only act--sly Rogue! - To play with _Cocky_![211]--O! the doting Dog! - And howsoe'er an Audience might regard me, - One--_tiss ye Nykin_,[212] amply might reward me! - Let them enjoy the Jest, with Laugh incessant! - For True, or False, or Right, or Wrong, 'tis pleasant! - Mixt, in the wisest Heads, we find some Folly; - Yet I find few such happy Fools--as _Colley_! - So long t'have liv'd the daily Satire's Stroke, } - Unmov'd by Blows, that might have fell'd an Oak, } - And yet have laugh'd the labour'd Libel to a Joke. } - Suppose such want of Feeling prove me dull! - What's my Aggressor then--a peevish Fool! - The strongest Satire's on a Blockhead lost; - For none but Fools or Madmen strike a Post. - If for my Folly's larger List you call, - My Life has lump'd 'em! There you'll read 'em all. - There you'll find Vanity, wild Hopes pursuing; - A wide Attempt: to save the Stage from Ruin! - There I confess, I have _out-done_ my _own out-doing_![213] - As for what's left of Life, if still 'twill do; - 'Tis at your Service, pleas'd while pleasing you: - But then, mistake me not! when you've enough; - One slender House declares both Parties off: - Or Truth in homely Proverb to advance, - I pipe no longer than you care to dance." - -The representative of Lætitia (or _Cocky_) alluded to in this Epilogue -was Mrs. Woffington, with whom stage-history has identified the -"Susannah" of the following well-known anecdote, which I quote from an -attack upon Cibber, published in 1742, entitled "A Blast upon _Bays_; -or, A New Lick at the Laureat." The author writes: "No longer ago than -when the _Bedford Coffee house_ was in Vogue, and Mr. _Cibber_ was -writing _An Apology for his own Life_, there was one Mr. S---- (the -Importer of an expensive _Haymarket_ Comedy) an old Acquaintance of Mr. -_Cibber_, who, as well as he, retain'd a Smack of his antient Taste. In -those Days there was also a fair smirking Damsel, whose name was -_Susannah-Maria_ * * *, who happen'd to have Charms sufficient to revive -the decay'd Vigour of these two Friends. They equally pursued her, even -to the _Hazard of their Health_, and were frequently seen dangling after -her, with tottering Knees, at one and the same Time. You have heard, -Sir, what a witty Friend of your own said once on this Occasion: _Lo! -yonder goes_ Susannah _and the two Elders._" Even Genest has applied -this anecdote to Mrs. Woffington, but the only circumstance that lends -confirmation to this view is the fact that Swiney (who is Mr. S----) -left her his estate. Against this must be set the important points that -Susannah Maria was not Mrs. Woffington's name, and that the joke -depended for its neatness and applicability on the name Susannah. The -narrator of the story, also, gives no hint that the damsel was the -famous actress, as he certainly would have done; and, most important of -all, it must be pointed out that at the period mentioned, that is, while -Cibber was writing his "Apology," Mrs. Woffington had not appeared in -London. The "Apology" was published in April, 1740, and had probably -been completed in the preceding November; while Mrs. Woffington made her -London _débût_ on 6th November, 1740.[214] - -During the season 1741-2, "At the particular desire of several persons -of Quality," Cibber made a few appearances at Covent Garden; the -purpose being, in all probability, to oppose the extraordinary -attraction of Garrick at Goodman's Fields. In 1743-4 he played at the -same theatre as Garrick, being engaged at Drury Lane for a round of his -famous characters; but there is no record that Garrick and he appeared -in the same play. For the new actor Cibber had, naturally enough, no -great admiration. He must have resented deeply the alteration in the -method of acting tragedy which Garrick introduced, and is always -reported as having lost no opportunity of expressing his low opinion of -the new school.[215] - -His last appearances on the stage were in direct rivalry with his young -opponent. As has been related, Cibber's alteration of "King John," which -had been "burked" in 1736-7, was produced, from patriotic motives, in -1745. As the principal purpose of the alteration was to make King John -resent the insolence of the Pope's Nuncio in a much more emphatic manner -than he does in Shakespeare, it may easily be imagined how wretched a -production Cibber's play is. Genest's criticism is not too strong when -he says (iv. 161): "In a word, Cibber has on this occasion shown himself -utterly void of taste, judgment and modesty--well might Fielding call -him Ground-Ivy, and say that no man was better calculated to alter -Shakspeare for the worse ... in the Epilogue (which was spoken by Mrs. -Clive) Cibber speaks of himself with modesty, but in the dedication, -being emboldened by the favourable reception of his Tragedy, he has the -insolence to say '_I have endeavoured to make it more like a play than I -found it in Shakspeare._'" "Papal Tyranny" was produced at Covent Garden -on 15th February, 1745,[216] and, in opposition to it, Shakespeare's -play was put up at Drury Lane, with Garrick as King John, Macklin as -Pandulph, and Mrs. Cibber (the great Mrs. Cibber, wife of Theophilus) as -Constance. Cibber's play was, nevertheless, successful; the profit -resulting to the author being, according to Victor, four hundred pounds, -which he wisely laid out in a profitable annuity with Lord Mountford. In -this play Cibber made his last appearance on the stage, on 26th -February, 1745, on which day "Papal Tyranny" was played for the tenth -time. "After which," says Victor ("History," ii. 49) "he retired to his -easy Chair and his Chariot, to waste the Remains of Life with a -chearful, contented Mind, without the least bodily Complaint, but that -of a slow, unavoidable Decay." - -His state of mind was probably the more "chearful and contented" because -of his unquestionable success in his tilt with the formidable author of -"The Dunciad;" a success none the less certain at the time, that the -enduring fame of Pope has caused Cibber's triumph over him to be lost -sight of now. The progress of the quarrel between these enemies has -already been related up to the publication of Cibber's "Apology" (see -vol. i. p. 36), and on pages 21, 35, and 36 of the first volume of this -edition will be found Cibber's perfectly good-natured and proper remarks -on Pope's attacks on him. Whether the very fact that Cibber did not show -temper irritated his opponent, I do not know; but it probably did so, -for in the fourth book of "The Dunciad," published in 1742, Pope had -another fling at his opponent (line 17):-- - - "She mounts the throne: her head a cloud conceal'd, - In broad effulgence all below reveal'd; - ('Tis thus aspiring Dulness ever shines:) - Soft on her lap her laureate son reclines." - -And in line 532 he talks of "Cibberian forehead" as typical of -unblushing impudence. - -It is not surprising that this last attack exhausted Cibber's patience. -He had hitherto received his punishment with good temper and good -humour; but his powerful enemy had not therefore held his hand. He now -determined to retaliate. Conscious of the diseased susceptibility of -Pope to ridicule, he felt himself quite capable of replying, not with -equal literary power, but with much superior practical effect. -Accordingly in 1742 there appeared a pamphlet entitled "A Letter from -Mr. Cibber, to Mr. Pope, inquiring into the motives that might induce -him in his Satyrical Works, to be so frequently fond of Mr. Cibber's -name." To it was prefixed the motto: "_Out of thy own Mouth will I judge -thee._ Pref. to the _Dunciad_." - -Cibber commences by stating that he had been persuaded to reply to Pope -by his friends; who insisted that for him to treat his attacker any -longer with silent disdain might be thought a confession of Dulness -indeed. This is a highly probable statement; for an encounter between -the vivacious Cibber and the thin-skinned Pope promised a wealth of -amusement for those who looked on--a promise which was amply fulfilled. -Cibber proceeds to assure Pope that, having entered the lists, he will -not in future avoid the fray, but reply to every attack made on -him.[217] He confesses his vast inferiority to Pope, but adds: "I own -myself so contented a Dunce, that 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; of which the -laborious Rout you make about it, in those Loads of Prose Rubbish, -wherewith you have almost smother'd your _Dunciad_, is so sore a Proof." -On page 17 of his "Letter" Cibber gives an interesting account of a -quarrel between Pope and himself, to which he, with sufficient -probability, attributes much of Pope's enmity. The passage is curious -and important, so I quote it in full:-- - -[Illustration: ALEXANDER POPE.] - -"The Play of the _Rehearsal_, which had lain some few Years dormant, -being by his present Majesty (then Prince of _Wales_) commanded to be -revived, the Part of _Bays_ fell to my share. To this Character there -had always been allow'd such ludicrous Liberties of Observation, upon -any thing new, or remarkable, in the state of the Stage, as Mr. _Bays_ -might think proper to take. Much about this time, then, _The Three Hours -after Marriage_ had been acted without Success;[218] when Mr. _Bays_, as -usual, had a fling at it, which, in itself, was no Jest, unless the -Audience would please to make it one: But however, flat as it was, Mr. -_Pope_ was mortally sore upon it. This was the Offence. In this Play, -two Coxcombs, being in love with a learned Virtuoso's Wife, to get -unsuspected Access to her, ingeniously send themselves, as two presented -Rarities, to the Husband, the one curiously swath'd up like an -_Egyptian_ Mummy, and the other slily cover'd in the Pasteboard Skin of -a Crocodile: upon which poetical Expedient, I, Mr. _Bays_, when the two -Kings of _Brentford_ came from the Clouds into the Throne again, instead -of what my Part directed me to say, made use of these Words, viz. 'Now, -Sir, this Revolution, I had some Thoughts of introducing, by a quite -different Contrivance; but my Design taking air, some of your sharp -Wits, I found, had made use of it before me; otherwise I intended to -have stolen one of them in, in the Shape of a _Mummy_, and t'other, in -that of a _Crocodile_.' Upon which, I doubt, the Audience by the Roar of -their Applause shew'd their proportionable Contempt of the Play they -belong'd to. But why am I answerable for that? I did not lead them, by -any Reflection of my own, into that Contempt: Surely to have used the -bare Word _Mummy_, and _Crocodile_, was neither unjust, or unmannerly; -Where then was the Crime of simply saying there had been two such -things in a former Play? But this, it seems, was so heinously taken by -Mr. _Pope_, that, in the swelling of his Heart, after the Play was over, -he came behind the Scenes, with his Lips pale and his Voice trembling, -to call me to account for the Insult: And accordingly fell upon me with -all the foul Language, that a Wit out of his Senses could be capable -of----How durst I have the Impudence to treat any Gentleman in that -manner? _&c. &c. &c._ Now let the Reader judge by this Concern, who -was the true Mother of the Child! When he was almost choked with the -foam of his Passion, I was enough recover'd from my Amazement to make -him (as near as I can remember) this Reply, _viz._ 'Mr. _Pope_----You -are so particular a Man, that I must be asham'd to return your Language -as I ought to do: but since you have attacked me in so monstrous a -Manner; This you may depend upon, that so long as the Play continues to -be acted, I will never fail to repeat the same Words over and over -again.' Now, as he accordingly found I kept my Word, for several Days -following, I am afraid he has since thought, that his Pen was a sharper -Weapon than his Tongue to trust his Revenge with. And however just Cause -this may be for his so doing, it is, at least, the only Cause my -Conscience can charge me with. Now, as I might have concealed this Fact -if my Conscience would have suffered me, may we not suppose, Mr. _Pope_ -would certainly have mention'd it in his _Dunciad_, had he thought it -could have been of service to him?" - -Cibber afterwards proceeds to criticise and reply to allusions to -himself in Pope's works, some of which are in conspicuously bad taste. -Cibber, of course, does not miss the obvious point that to attack his -successful plays was a foolish proceeding on Pope's part, whose own -endeavours as a dramatist had been completely unsuccessful, and who thus -laid himself open to the charge of envy. Nor is this accusation so -ridiculous as it may seem to readers of to-day, for a successful -playwright was a notable public figure, and the delicious applause of -the crowded theatre was eagerly sought by even the most eminent men. And -again, it must be remembered that Pope's fame was not then the perfectly -assured matter that it is now. - -But Cibber's great point, which made his opponent writhe with fury, was -a little anecdote--Dr. Johnson terms it "an idle story of Pope's -behaviour at a tavern"--which raised a universal shout of merriment at -Pope's expense. The excuse for its introduction was found in these lines -from the "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot":-- - - "Whom have I hurt? has poet yet or peer - Lost the arch'd eyebrow or Parnassian sneer? - And has not Colley still his lord and whore? - His butchers Henley? his freemasons Moore?" - -Cibber's anecdote cannot be defended on the ground of decency, but it is -extremely ludicrous, and in the state of society then existing it must -have been a knock-down blow to the unhappy subject of it. There can be -little doubt that it was this pamphlet which Pope received on the -occasion when the Richardsons visited him, as related by Johnson in his -Life of the poet: "I have heard Mr. Richardson relate that he attended -his father the painter on a visit, when one of Cibber's pamphlets came -into the hands of Pope, who said, 'These things are my diversion.' They -sat by him while he perused it, and saw his features writhing with -anguish: and young Richardson said to his father, when they returned, -that he hoped to be preserved from such diversion as had been that day -the lot of Pope." How deeply Pope was galled by Cibber's ludicrous -picture of him is manifested by the extraordinary revenge he took. And -even now we can realize the bitterness of the provocation when we read -the maliciously comic story of the vivacious Colley:-- - -"As to the first Part of the Charge, the _Lord_; Why--we have both had -him, and sometimes the _same_ Lord; but as there is neither Vice nor -Folly in keeping our Betters Company; the Wit or Satyr of the Verse! can -only point at my Lord for keeping such _ordinary_ Company. Well, but if -so! then _why_ so, good Mr. _Pope_? If either of us could be _good_ -Company, our being professed Poets, I hope would be no Objection to my -Lord's sometimes making one with us? and though I don't pretend to write -like you, yet all the Requisites to make a good Companion are not -confined to Poetry! No, Sir, even a Man's inoffensive Follies and -Blunders may sometimes have their Merits at the best Table; and in -those, I am sure, you won't pretend to vie with me: Why then may not my -Lord be as much in the Right, in his sometimes choosing _Colley_ to -laugh at, as at other times in his picking up _Sawney_, whom he can only -admire? - -"Thus far, then, I hope we are upon a par; for the Lord, you see, will -fit either of us. - -"As to the latter Charge, the _Whore_, there indeed, I doubt you will -have the better of me; for I must own, that I believe I know more of -_your_ whoring than you do of _mine_; because I don't recollect that -ever I made you the least Confidence of _my_ Amours, though I have been -very near an Eye-Witness of _Yours_----By the way, gentle Reader, don't -you think, to say only, _a Man has his Whore_, 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. But as Mr. -_Pope_ has so particularly picked me out of the Number to make an -Example of: Why may I not take the same Liberty, and even single him out -for another to keep me in Countenance? He must excuse me, then, if in -what I am going to relate, I am reduced to make bold with a little -private Conversation: But as he has shewn no Mercy to _Colley_, why -should so unprovok'd an Aggressor expect any for himself? And if Truth -hurts him, I can't help it. He may remember, then (or if he won't I -will) when _Button_'s Coffee-house was in vogue, and so long ago, as -when he had not translated above two or three Books of _Homer_; there -was a late young Nobleman (as much his _Lord_ as mine) who had a good -deal of wicked Humour, and who, though he was fond of having Wits in his -Company, was not so restrained by his Conscience, but that he lov'd to -laugh at any merry Mischief he could do them: This noble Wag, I say, in -his usual _Gayetè de Coeur_, with another Gentleman still in -Being,[219] one Evening slily seduced the celebrated Mr. _Pope_ as a -Wit, and myself as a Laugher, to a certain House of Carnal Recreation, -near the _Hay-Market_; where his Lordship's Frolick propos'd was to slip -his little _Homer_, as he call'd him, at a Girl of the Game, that he -might see what sort of Figure a Man of his Size, Sobriety, and Vigour -(in Verse) would make, when the frail Fit of Love had got into him; in -which he so far succeeded, that the smirking Damsel, who serv'd us with -Tea, happen'd to have Charms sufficient to tempt the little-tiny Manhood -of Mr. _Pope_ into the next Room with her: at which you may imagine, his -Lordship was in as much Joy, at what might happen within, as our small -Friend could probably be in Possession of it: But I (forgive me all ye -mortified Mortals whom his fell Satyr has since fallen upon) observing -he had staid as long as without hazard of his Health he might, I, - - _Prick'd to it by foolish Honesty and Love,_ - -As _Shakespear_ says, without Ceremony, threw open the Door upon him, -where I found this little hasty Hero, like a terrible _Tom Tit_, pertly -perching upon the Mount of Love! But such was my Surprize, that I fairly -laid hold of his Heels, and actually drew him down safe and sound from -his Danger. My Lord, who staid tittering without, in hopes the sweet -Mischief he came for would have been compleated, upon my giving an -Account of the Action within, began to curse, and call me an hundred -silly Puppies, for my impertinently spoiling the Sport; to which with -great Gravity I reply'd; pray, my Lord, consider what I have done was, -in regard to the Honour of our Nation! For would you have had so -glorious a Work as that of making _Homer_ speak elegant _English_, cut -short by laying up our little Gentleman of a Malady, which his thin Body -might never have been cured of? No, my Lord! _Homer_ would have been too -serious a Sacrifice to our Evening Merriment. Now as his _Homer_ has -since been so happily compleated, who can say, that the World may not -have been obliged to the kindly Care of _Colley_ that so great a Work -ever came to Perfection? - -"And now again, gentle Reader, let it be judged, whether the _Lord_ and -the _Whore_ above-mentioned might not, with equal Justice, have been -apply'd to sober _Sawney_ the Satyrist, as to _Colley_ the Criminal? - -"Though I confess Recrimination to be but a poor Defence for one's own -Faults; yet when the Guilty are Accusers, it seems but just, to make use -of any Truth, that may invalidate their Evidence: I therefore hope, -whatever the serious Reader may think amiss in this Story, will be -excused, by my being so hardly driven to tell it." - -In the remainder of Cibber's pamphlet there is not much that is of any -importance, though an allusion to one of Pope's victims having hung up a -birch in Button's Coffee House, wherewith to chastise his satirist, was -skilfully calculated to rouse Pope's temper. Cibber thoroughly succeeded -in this object,[220] perhaps to a degree that he rather regretted. Pope -made no direct reply to his banter, but in the following year (1743) a -new edition of "The Dunciad" appeared, in which Theobald was deposed -from the throne of Dulness, and Cibber elevated in his place. By doing -this Pope gratified his vengeance, but injured his poem, for the -carefully painted peculiarities of Theobald, a slow and pedantic -scholar, sat ill on the pert and vivacious Colley.[221] To this -retaliation Cibber, as he had promised,[222] replied with another -pamphlet, entitled "Another Occasional Letter from Mr. Cibber to Mr. -Pope. Wherein the New Hero's Preferment to his Throne, in the _Dunciad_, -seems not to be Accepted. And the Author of that Poem His more rightful -Claim to it, is Asserted. With An Expostulatory Address to the Reverend -Mr. _W. W----n_, Author of the new Preface, and Adviser in the curious -Improvements of that Satire." The motto on the title-page was:-- - - "----_Remember_ Sauney's _Fate!_ - _Bang'd by the Blockhead, whom he strove to beat._ - Parodie on Lord _Roscommon_." - - -There is little that is of any note in this production, which is -characterized by the same real or affected good-nature as marked the -former pamphlet. The most interesting passages to us are those alluding -to the effect of Cibber's previous attack, and exulting over Pope's -distress at it. For instance (on page 7):-- - -"And now, Sir, give me leave to be a little surpriz'd at the -impenetrable Skull of your Courage, that (after I had in my first -Letter) so heartily teiz'd, and toss'd, and tumbled you through all the -Mire, and Dirt, the madness of your Muse had been throwing at other -People, it could still, so Vixen like, sprawl out the same feeble Paw of -its Satyr, to have t'other Scratch at my Nose: But as I know the Vulgar -(with whose Applause I humbly content my self) are apt to laugh when -they see a curst Cat in a Kennel; so whenever I observe your _Grimalkin_ -Spirit shew but the least grinning Gasp of Life, I shall take the honest -liberty of old _Towser_ the House-dog, and merrily lift up my Leg to -have a little more Game with you. - -"Well Sir, in plainer Terms, I am now, you see, once more willing to -bring Matters to an Issue, or (as the Boxers say) to answer your -Challenge, and come to a Trial of Manhood with you; though by our slow -Proceedings, we seem rather to be at _Law_, than at _Loggerheads_ with -one another; and if you had not been a blinder Booby, than my self, you -would have sate down quietly, with the last black Eye I gave you: For so -loath was I to squabble with you, that though you had been snapping, and -snarling at me for twenty Years together, you saw, I never so much as -gave you a single Growl, or took any notice of you. At last, 'tis true, -in meer Sport for others, rather than from the least Tincture of Concern -for my self, I was inticed to be a little wanton, not to say waggish, -with your Character; by which having (you know) got the strong Laugh on -my Side, I doubt I have so offended the Gravity, and Greatness of your -Soul, that to secure your more ample Revenge, you have prudently taken -the full Term of thirteen Months Consideration, before you would pour -it, upon me! But at last, it seems, we have it, and now Souse! out comes -your old _Dunciad_, in a new Dress, like fresh Gold, upon stale -Gingerbread, sold out in Penny-worth's of shining King _Colley_, crown'd -the Hero of Immortal Stupidity!" - -And again (on page 15): "At your Peril be it, little Gentleman, for I -shall have t'other Frisk with you, and don't despair that the very -Notice I am now taking of you, will once more make your Fame fly, like a -yelping Cur with a Bottle at his Tail, the Jest and Joy of every -Bookseller's Prentice between _Wapping_ and _Westminster_!" - -To this pamphlet Pope, whose infirmities were very great, made no reply, -and Cibber had, as he had vowed, the last word. Round the central -articles of this quarrel a crowd of supplementary productions had -gathered, a list of which will be found in the Bibliography of Cibber a -few pages on. - -Cibber's position of Poet Laureate furnished him with a steady income -during his declining years, and his Odes were turned out as required, -with mechanical precision and most unpoetic spirit. They were the -standing joke of the pamphleteers and news-sheet writers, and were -always accompanied with a running fire of banter and parody. Those -curious in the matter will find excellent specimens, both of the Odes -and the burlesques, in the early volumes of the "Gentleman's Magazine." - -After the termination of his quarrel with Pope, Cibber's life was very -uneventful; and, although it extended far beyond the allotted span, he -continued to enjoy it to the very end. Horace Walpole greeted him one -day, saying, "I am glad, Sir, to see you looking so well." "Egad, Sir," -replied the old man, "at eighty-four it is well for a man that he can -look at all." On 11th December, 1757, he died, having attained the great -age of eighty-six.[223] Dr. Doran "Their Majesties' Servants," (1888 -edition, ii. 235) says: "I read in contemporary publications that there -'died at his house in Berkeley Square, Colley Cibber, Esq., Poet -Laureate;'" and although it has been stated that he died at Islington, I -see no reason to doubt Dr. Doran's explicit statement. Cibber was buried -in the Danish Church, Wellclose Square.[224] - -So far as we know, only two of Cibber's children survived him, his -ne'er-do-well son Theophilus, and his equally scapegrace daughter -Charlotte, who married Charke the musician. The former was born in 1703, -and was drowned in the winter of 1758, while crossing to Ireland to -fulfil an engagement in Dublin. As an actor he was chiefly famous for -playing Ancient Pistol, but he was also excellent in some of his -father's characters, such as Lord Foppington, Bayes, and Sir Francis -Wronghead. His private life was in the last degree disreputable, and -especially so in his relations with his second wife, Susanna Maria -Arne--the great Mrs. Cibber. The literature regarding Theophilus Cibber -is considerable in quantity and curious in quality. Some account of it -will be found in my "Bibliographical Account of English Theatrical -Literature," pp. 52-55. Charlotte Charke, who was born about 1710, and -died in April, 1760, was of no note as an actress. Her private life, -however, was madly eccentric, and her autobiography, published in 1755, -is a curious and scarce work. - -Cibber's principal plays have been noted in the course of his "Apology;" -but, for the sake of convenience, I give here a complete list of his -regular dramatic productions:-- - -Love's Last Shift--Comedy--Produced at Drury Lane, 1696. - -Woman's Wit--Comedy--Drury Lane, 1697. - -Xerxes--Tragedy--Lincoln's Inn Fields, 1699. - -Richard III.--Tragedy (alteration of Shakespeare's play)--Drury Lane, -1700. - -Love Makes a Man--Comedy--Drury Lane, 1701. - -The School Boy--Comedy--Drury Lane, 26th October, 1702. - -She Would and She Would Not--Comedy--Drury Lane, 26th November, 1702. - -The Careless Husband--Comedy--Drury Lane, 7th December, 1704. - -Perolla and Izadora--Tragedy--Drury Lane, 3rd December, 1705. - -The Comical Lovers--Comedy--Haymarket, 4th February, 1707. - -The Double Gallant--Comedy--Haymarket, 1st November, 1707. - -The Lady's Last Stake--Comedy--Haymarket, 13th December, 1707. - -The Rival Fools--Comedy--Drury Lane, 11th January, 1709. - -The Rival Queans--Comical-Tragedy--Haymarket, 29th June, 1710. - -Ximena--Tragedy--Drury Lane, 28th November, 1712. - -Venus and Adonis--Masque--Drury Lane, 1715. - -Bulls and Bears--Farce--Drury Lane, 1st December, 1715. - -Myrtillo--Pastoral Interlude--Drury Lane, 1716. - -The Nonjuror--Comedy--Drury Lane, 6th December, 1717. - -The Refusal--Comedy--Drury Lane, 14th February, 1721. - -Cæsar in Egypt--Tragedy--Drury Lane, 9th December, 1724. - -The Provoked Husband--Comedy (in conjunction with Vanbrugh)--Drury Lane, -10th January, 1728. - -Love in a Riddle--Pastoral--Drury Lane, 7th January, 1729. - -Damon and Phillida--Pastoral Farce--Haymarket, 1729. - -Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John--Tragedy (alteration of -Shakespeare's "King John")--Covent Garden, 15th February, 1745. - -Of these, his alteration of "Richard III." had practically undisputed -possession of the stage, until the taste and judgment of Mr. Henry -Irving gave us back the original play.[225] But in the provinces, when -stars of the old school play a round of legitimate parts, the -adulterated version still reigns triumphant, and the great effect of the -night is got in Cibber's famous line:-- - - "Off with his head! So much for Buckingham!" - -In "The Hypocrite," a comedy still played at intervals, Cibber's -"Nonjuror" survives. Bickerstaffe, who was the author of the alteration, -retained a very large portion of the original play, his chief change -being the addition of the inimitable Mawworm. - -That another of Cibber's plays survives is owing to the taste of an -American manager and to the genius of an American company of comedians. -Mr. Augustin Daly's company includes among its repertory Cibber's -comedy of "She Would and She Would Not," and has shown in London as well -as in New York how admirable a comedy it is. It goes without saying to -those who have seen this company, that much of the success was due to -Miss Ada Rehan, who showed in Hypolita, as she has done in Katharine -("Taming of the Shrew"), that she is mistress of classical comedy as of -modern touch-and-go farce.[226] - -[Illustration: SUSANNA MARIA CIBBER AS CORDELIA.] - -Cibber was the cause of quite a considerable literature, mostly abusive. -The following list, taken from my "Bibliographical Account of English -Theatrical Literature" (1888), is, I believe, a complete catalogue of -all separate publications by, or relating to, Colley Cibber:-- - -A clue to the comedy of the Non-Juror. With some hints of consequence -relating to that play. In a letter to N. Rowe, Esq; Poet Laureat to His -Majesty. London (Curll): 1718. 8vo. 6d. - - Cibber's "Non-Juror," produced at Drury-Lane, December 6, - 1717, was written in favour of the Hanoverian succession. Rowe - wrote the prologue, which was very abusive of Nonjurors. This - tract is not an attack on the play, but a satire on, it is - said, Bishop Hoadly. - -A lash for the Laureat: or an address by way of Satyr; most humbly -inscrib'd to the unparallel'd Mr. Rowe, on occasion of a late insolent -Prologue to the Non-Juror. London (J. Morphew): 1718. folio. Title, 1 -leaf: Pref. 1 leaf. pp. 8. 6d. - - A furious attack on Rowe on account of his Prologue. A tract - of extreme rarity. - -A compleat key to the Non-Juror. Explaining the characters in that play, -with observations thereon. By Mr. Joseph Gay. The second edioion -(_sic_). London (Curll): 1718. 8vo. pp. 24 including title and -half-title. - - 3rd edition: 1718. Joseph Gay is a pseudonym. Pope is said to - be the author of the pamphlet, which is very unfriendly to - Cibber. - -The Theatre-Royal turn'd into a mountebank's stage. In some remarks upon -Mr. Cibber's quack-dramatical performance, called the Non-Juror. By a -Non-Juror. London (Morphew): 1718. 8vo. Title 1 leaf. pp. 38. 6d. - -The Comedy call'd the Non-Juror. Shewing the particular scenes wherein -that hypocrite is concern'd. With remarks, and a key, explaining the -characters of that excellent play. London (printed for J. L.): 1718. -8vo. pp. 24, including title. 2d. - -Some cursory remarks on the play call'd the Non-Juror, written by Mr. -Cibber. In a letter to a friend. London (Chetwood): 1718. 8vo. - - Dated from Button's Coffee-House and signed "H. S." Very - laudatory. - -A journey to London. Being part of a comedy written by the late Sir John -Vanbrugh, Knt. and printed after his own copy: which (since his -decease) has been made an intire play, by Mr. Cibber, and call'd The -provok'd husband, &c. London (Watts): 1728. 8vo. pp. 51, including -title. - - "The Provok'd Husband," by Vanbrugh and Cibber, was produced - at Drury Lane, January 10, 1728; and though Cibber's Nonjuror - enemies tried to condemn it, was very successful. This tract - shows how much of the play was written by Vanbrugh. - -Reflections on the principal characters in the Provoked Husband. London: -1728. 8vo. - -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. London (Printed by John Watts -for the author): 1740. 4to. Port. - - Second edition, London, 1740, 8vo., no portrait; third - edition, London, 1750, 8vo., portrait; fourth edition, 1756, 2 - vols. 12mo., portrait. A good edition was published, London, - 1822, 8vo., with notes by E. Bellchambers and a portrait. The - "Apology" forms one of Hunt's series of autobiographies, - London, 1826. One of the most famous and valuable of - theatrical books. - -An apology for the life of Mr. T---- C----, comedian. Being a proper -sequel to the Apology for the life of Mr. Colley Cibber, comedian. With -an historical view of the stage to the present year. Supposed to be -written by himself. In the stile and manner of the Poet Laureat. London -(Mechell): 1740. 8vo. 2s. - - The object of this pamphlet, ascribed to Fielding, is chiefly - to ridicule Colley Cibber's "Apology." Herman, 22s. - -A brief supplement to Colley Cibber, Esq; his lives of the late famous -Actors and Actresses. _Si tu scis, melior ego._ By Anthony, Vulgò Tony -Aston. Printed for the Author, N.P. (London): N.D. (1747-8). 8vo. pp. 24 -including title. - - A pamphlet of extreme rarity. Isaac Reed purchased a copy in - 1769; and in 1795 he notes on it that, though he has had it - twenty-six years, he has never seen another copy. Reed's copy - was bought by Field for 65s., at whose sale, in 1827, Genest - bought it for 36s. - -The tryal of Colley Cibber, comedian, &c. for writing a book intitled An -apology for his life, &c. Being a thorough examination thereof; wherein -he is proved guilty of High Crimes and Misdemeanors against the English -language, and in characterising many persons of distinction.... Together -with an indictment exhibited against Alexander Pope of Twickenham, Esq; -for not exerting his talents at this juncture: and the arraignment of -George Cheyne, Physician at Bath, for the Philosophical, Physical, and -Theological heresies, uttered in his last book on Regimen. London (for -the author): 1740. 8vo. pp. vii. 40. 1s. - - With motto--"Lo! He hath written a Book!" The Dedication is - signed "T. Johnson." - -The Laureat: or, the right side of Colley Cibber, Esq; containing -explanations, amendments, and observations, on a book intituled, An -apology for the life, and writings of Mr. Colley Cibber. Not written by -himself. With some anecdotes of the Laureat, which he (thro' an excess -of modesty) omitted. To which is added, The history of the life, -manners and writings of Æsopus the tragedian, from a fragment of a Greek -manuscript found in the Library of the Vatican; interspers'd with -observations of the translator. London (Roberts): 1740. 8vo. 1s. 6d. - - A furious attack on Cibber. The Life of Æsopus is a burlesque - Life of Cibber. Daniel. 7s. 6d. - -The history of the stage. In which is included, the theatrical -characters of the most celebrated actors who have adorn'd the theatre. -Among many others are the following, _viz._ Mr. Betterton, Mr. Montfort, -Mr. Dogget, Mr. Booth, Mr. Wilks, Mr. Nokes. Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Montfort, -Mrs. Gwin, Mrs. Bracegirdle, Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Oldfield. Together with, -the theatrical life of Mr. Colly Cibber. London (Miller): 1742. 8vo. - - A "boil-down" of Cibber's Apology. - -A letter from Mr. Cibber, to Mr. Pope, inquiring into the motives that -might induce him in his satyrical works, to be so frequently fond of Mr. -Cibber's name. London (Lewis): 1742. 8vo. 1s. - - Second edition, London, 1744, 8vo.; reprinted, London, 1777, - 8vo. The sting of this pamphlet lies in an anecdote told of - Pope at a house of ill-fame, in retaliation for his line: - - "And has not Colley still his lord and whore?" - -A letter to Mr. C--b--r, on his letter to Mr. P---- London (Roberts): -1742. 8vo. 26 pp. 6d. - - Very scarce. Abusive of Pope--laudatory towards Cibber. - -Difference between verbal and practical virtue. With a prefatory epistle -from Mr. C--b--r to Mr. P. London (Roberts): 1742. Folio. Title 1 -leaf: Epistle 1 leaf: pp. 7. - - Very rare. A rhymed attack on Pope. - -A blast upon Bays; or, a new lick at the Laureat. Containing, remarks -upon a late tatling performance, entitled, A letter from Mr. Cibber to -Mr. Pope, &c. _And lo there appeared an old woman!_ Vide the Letter -throughout. London (Robbins): 1742. 8vo. pp. 26. 6d. - - A bitter attack on Cibber. - -Sawney and Colley, a poetical dialogue: occasioned by a late letter from -the Laureat of St. James's, to the Homer of Twickenham. Something in the -manner of Dr. Swift. London (for J. H.): n.d. (1742). Folio. Title 1 -leaf: pp. 21. 1s. - - Very scarce. A coarse and ferocious attack on Pope in rhyme. - -The egotist: or, Colley upon Cibber. Being his own picture retouch'd, to -so _plain_ a likeness, that no one, _now_, would have the face to own -it, but himself. London (Lewis): 1743. 8vo. pp. 78 including title. 1s. - - Anonymous, but undoubtedly by Cibber himself. - -Another occasional letter from Mr. Cibber to Mr. Pope. Wherein the new -hero's preferment to his throne, in the Dunciad, seems not to be -accepted. And the author of that poem his more rightful claim to it, is -asserted. With an expostulatory address to the Reverend Mr. W. W----n, -author of the new preface, and adviser in the curious improvements of -that satire. By Mr. Colley Cibber. London (Lewis): 1744. 8vo. 1s. - - The Rev. W. W----n is Warburton. This tract was reprinted, - Glasgow, n. d., 8vo. The two "Letters" were reprinted, London, - 1777, with, I believe, a curious frontispiece representing - the adventure related by Cibber at Pope's expense in the - first "Letter." I am not certain whether the frontispiece was - issued with the London or Glasgow reprint, having seen it in - copies of both. In Bonn's "Lowndes" (1865) is mentioned a - parody on this first "Letter," with the same title, except that - "Mrs. Cibber's name" is substituted for "Mr. Cibber's name." - Lowndes says: "A copy is described in Mr. Thorpe's catalogue, - p. iv, 1832, 'with the frontispiece of Pope surprized with Mrs. - Cibber.'" I gravely doubt the existence of any such work, and - fancy that this frontispiece is the one just mentioned, but - wrongly described. Herman (two Letters, with scarce front.), 40s. - -A letter to Colley Cibber, Esq; on his transformation of King John. -London. 1745. 8vo. - - Cibber's mangling of "King John," entitled "Papal Tyranny in - the Reign of King John," was produced at Covent Garden, - February 15, 1745. - -A new book of the Dunciad: occasion'd by Mr. Warburton's new edition of -the Dunciad complete. By a gentleman of one of the Inns of Court. With -several of Mr. Warburton's own notes, and likewise Notes _Variorum_. -London (J. Payne & J. Bouquet): 1750. 4to. 1s. - - Cibber dethroned and Warburton elevated to the throne of - Dulness. - -Shakspere's tragedy of Richard III., considered dramatically and -historically; and in comparison with Cibber's alteration as at present -in use on the stage, in a lecture delivered to the members of the -Liverpool Literary, Scientific and Commercial Institution, by Thos. -Stuart, of the Theatre Royal. (Liverpool): n. d. (about 1850). 12mo. - - Cibber published in 1747 a work entitled "The Character and - Conduct of Cicero, considered from the history of his life by - Dr. Middleton;" but it is of little value or interest. - - - - - A BRIEF - - SUPPLEMENT - - TO - - _Colley Cibber_, Esq; - - HIS - - LIVES - - Of the late FAMOUS - - ACTORS and ACTRESSES. - - - _Si tu scis, melior ego._ - - By _ANTHONY_, } - Vulgò _TONY_} _ASTON_. - - - [Illustration] - - Printed for the AUTHOR. - - - - - * * * * * - - Mr. Cibber _is guilty of Omission, - that he hath not given us any Description - of the several Personages' - Beauties, or Faults----Faults (I say) of the - several_ ACTORS, &c. _for_ - - - Nemo sine crimine vivit. - - _Or, as the late Duke of_ Buckingham _says of_ - Characters, _that, to shew a Man not defective,_ - ------------------------------------were to draw - A faultless Monster, that the World ne'er saw. - - - * * * * * - - - - -A BRIEF SUPPLEMENT TO COLLEY CIBBER, ESQ; HIS LIVES OF THE LATE FAMOUS -ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. - - -[Illustration] - -Mr. _Betterton_ (although a superlative good Actor) labour'd under ill -Figure, being clumsily made, having a great Head, a short thick Neck, -stoop'd in the Shoulders, and had fat short Arms, which he rarely lifted -higher than his Stomach.--His Left Hand frequently lodg'd in his Breast, -between his Coat and Waist-coat, while, with his Right, he prepar'd his -Speech.--His Actions were few, but just.--He had little Eyes, and a -broad Face, a little Pock-fretten, a corpulent Body, and thick Legs, -with large Feet.--He was better to meet, than to follow; for his Aspect -was serious, venerable, and majestic; in his latter Time a little -paralytic.--His Voice was low and grumbling; yet he could Tune it by an -artful _Climax_, which enforc'd universal Attention, even from the -_Fops_ and _Orange-Girls_.--He was incapable of dancing, even in a -Country-Dance; as was Mrs. _BARRY_: But their good Qualities were more -than equal to their Deficiencies.--While Mrs. _BRACEGIRDLE_ sung very -agreeably in the LOVES of _Mars_ and _Venus_, and danced in a -Country-Dance, as well as Mr. _WILKS_, though not with so much Art and -Foppery, but like a well-bred Gentlewoman.--Mr. _Betterton_ was the most -extensive Actor, from _Alexander_ to Sir _John Falstaff_; but, in _that_ -last Character, he wanted the Waggery of _ESTCOURT_, the Drollery of -_HARPER_, the Sallaciousness of _JACK EVANS_.--But, then, _Estcourt_ was -too trifling; _Harper_ had too much of the _Bartholomew-Fair_; and -_Evans_ misplac'd his Humour.--Thus, you see what _Flaws_ are in _bright -Diamonds_:--And I have often wish'd that Mr. _Betterton_ would have -resign'd the Part of HAMLET to some young Actor, (who might have -Personated, though not have Acted, it better) for, when he threw himself -at _Ophelia's_ Feet, he appear'd a little too grave for a young Student, -lately come from the University of _Wirtemberg_; and his _Repartees_ -seem'd rather as _Apopthegms_ from a _sage Philosopher_, than the -_sporting Flashes_ of a Young HAMLET; and no one else could have pleas'd -the Town, he was so rooted in their Opinion.--His younger Cotemporary, -(_Betterton_ 63, _Powel_ 40, Years old) _POWEL_, attempted several of -_Betterton's_ Parts, as _Alexander_, _Jaffier_, &c. but lost his Credit; -as, in _Alexander_, he maintain'd not the Dignity of a King, but -_Out-Heroded_ HEROD; and in his poison'd, mad Scene, _out-rav'd all -Probability_; while _Betterton_ kept his Passion under, and shew'd it -most (as Fume smoaks most, when stifled). _Betterton_, from the Time he -was dress'd, to the End of the Play, kept his Mind in the same -Temperament and Adaptness, as the present Character required.--If I was -to write of him all Day, I should still remember fresh Matter in his -Behalf; and, before I part with him, suffer this facetious Story of him, -and a Country Tenant of his. - -Mr. _Betterton_ had a small Farm near _Reading_, in the County of _Berks_; -and the Countryman came, in the Time of _Bartholomew-Fair_, to pay his -Rent.--Mr. _Betterton_ took him to the Fair, and going to one _Crawley's_ -Puppet-Shew, offer'd _Two Shillings_ for himself and _Roger_, his -Tenant.--_No, no, Sir_, said _Crawley_; _we never take Money of one -another_. This affronted Mr. _Betterton_ who threw down the Money, and -they enter'd.--_Roger_ was hugeously diverted with _Punch_, and bred a -great Noise, saying, that he would drink with him, for he was a merry -Fellow.--Mr. _Betterton_ told him, he was only a Puppet, made up of -_Sticks and Rags_: However, _Roger_ still cried out, that he would go and -drink with _Punch_.--When Master took him behind, where the Puppets hung -up, he swore, he thought _Punch_ had been alive.--_However_, said he, -_though he be but_ Sticks and Rags, _I'll give him Six-pence to drink my -Health_.--At Night, Mr. _Betterton_ went to the _Theatre_, when was -play'd the ORPHAN; Mr. _Betterton_ acting _Castalio_; Mrs. _Barry_, -_Monimia_.----_Well_ (said Master) _how dost like this Play_, Roger? _Why, -I don't knows_, (says _Roger_) _its well enought for_ Sticks and Rags. - -To end with this _Phoenix_ of the Stage, I must say of him, as -_Hamlet_ does of his Father: "He was a Man (take him for all in all) I -cannot look upon his Like again." - -His Favourite, Mrs. _BARRY_, claims the next in Æstimation. They were -both never better pleas'd, than in Playing together.--Mrs. _Barry_ -outshin'd Mrs. _Bracegirdle_ in the Character of ZARA in the _Mourning -Bride_, altho' Mr. _Congreve_ design'd Almeria for that Favour.--And -yet, this fine Creature was not handsome, her Mouth op'ning most on the -Right Side, which she strove to draw t'other Way, and, at Times, -composing her Face, as if sitting to have her Picture drawn.--Mrs. -_Barry_ was middle-siz'd, and had darkish Hair, light Eyes, dark -Eye-brows, and was indifferently plump:--Her Face somewhat preceded her -Action, as the latter did her Words, her Face ever expressing the -Passions; not like the Actresses of late Times, who are afraid of -putting their Faces out of the Form of Non-meaning, lest they should -crack the Cerum, White-Wash, or other Cosmetic, trowel'd on. Mrs. -_Barry_ had a Manner of drawing out her Words, which became her, but not -Mrs. _Braidshaw_, and Mrs. _Porter_, (Successors.)----To hear her speak -the following Speech in the ORPHAN, was a Charm: - - _I'm ne'er so well pleas'd, as when I hear thee speak, - And listen to the Music of thy Voice._ - -And again: - - _Who's he that speaks with a Voice so sweet, - As the Shepherd pipes upon the Mountain, - When all his little Flock are gath'ring round him?_ - -Neither she, nor any of the Actors of those Times, had any Tone in their -speaking, (too much, lately, in Use.)--In _Tragedy_ she was solemn and -august--in _Free Comedy_ alert, easy, and genteel--pleasant in her Face -and Action; filling the Stage with Variety of Gesture.--She was Woman to -Lady _Shelton_, of _Norfolk_, (my Godmother)--when Lord _Rochester_ took -her on the Stage; where for some Time, they could make nothing of -her.--She could neither sing, nor dance, no, not in a Country-Dance. - - * * * * * - -Mrs. _BRACEGIRDLE_, that _Diana_ of the Stage, hath many Places -contending for her Birth--The most received Opinion is, that she was the -Daughter of a Coachman, Coachmaker, or Letter-out of Coaches, in the -Town of _Northampton_.--But I am inclinable to my Father's Opinion, (who -had a great Value for her reported Virtue) that she was a distant -Relation, and came out of _Staffordshire_, from about _Walsal_ or -_Wolverhampton_.--She had many Assailants on her Virtue, as Lord -_Lovelace_, Mr. _Congreve_, the last of which had her Company most; but -she ever resisted his vicious Attacks, and, yet, was always uneasy at -his leaving her; on which Observation he made the following Song: - - PIOUS Celinda _goes to Pray'rs, - Whene'er I ask the Favour; - Yet, the tender Fool's in Tears, - When she believes I'll leave her. - Wou'd I were free from this Restraint, - Or else had Power to win her! - Wou'd she cou'd make of me a Saint, - Or I of her a Sinner!_ - -And, as Mr. _Durfey_ alludes to it in his Puppet Song--in _Don Quixot_, - - _Since that our Fate intends - Our Amity shall be no dearer, - Still let us kiss and be Friends, - And sigh we shall never come nearer._ - -She was very shy of Lord _Lovelace's_ Company, as being an engaging Man, -who drest well: And as, every Day, his Servant came to her, to ask her -how she did, she always return'd her Answer in the most obeisant Words -and Behaviour, _That she was indifferent well, she humbly thank'd his -Lordship_.--She was of a lovely Height, with dark-brown Hair and -Eye-brows, black sparkling Eyes, and a fresh blushy Complexion; and, -whenever she exerted herself, had an involuntary Flushing in her Breast, -Neck and Face, having continually a chearful Aspect, and a fine Set of -even white Teeth; never making an _Exit_, but that she left the Audience -in an Imitation of her pleasant Countenance. Genteel Comedy was her -chief Essay, and that too when in Men's Cloaths, in which she far -surmounted all the Actresses of that and this Age.--Yet she had a Defect -scarce perceptible, _viz._ her Right Shoulder a little protended, which, -when in Men's Cloaths, was cover'd by a long or Campaign Peruke.--She -was finely shap'd, and had very handsome Legs and Feet; and her Gait, or -Walk, was free, manlike, and modest, when in Breeches.--Her Virtue had -its Reward, both in Applause and _Specie_; for it happen'd, that as the -Dukes of _Dorset_ and _Devonshire_, Lord _Hallifax_, and other Nobles, -over a Bottle, were all extolling Mrs. _Bracegirdle's_ virtuous -Behaviour, Come, says Lord _Hallifax_--_You all commend her Virtue, &c. -but why do we not present this incomparable Woman with something worthy -her Acceptance?_ His Lordship deposited 200 Guineas, which the rest made -up 800, and sent to her, with Encomiums on her Virtue.--She was, when on -the _Stage_, diurnally Charitable, going often into _Clare-Market_, and -giving Money to the poor unemploy'd Basket-women, insomuch that she -could not pass that Neighbourhood without the thankful Acclamations of -People of all Degrees; so that, if any Person had affronted her, they -would have been in Danger of being kill'd directly; and yet this good -Woman was an Actress.--She has been off the Stage these 26 Years or -more, but was alive _July 20, 1747_; for I saw her in the _Strand, -London_, then--with the Remains of charming _Bracegirdle_. - - * * * * * - -Mr. _SANDFORD_, although not usually deem'd an Actor of the first Rank, -yet the Characters allotted him were such, that none besides, then, or -since, ever topp'd; for his Figure, which was diminutive and mean, (being -Round-shoulder'd, Meagre-fac'd, Spindle-shank'd, Splay-footed, with a sour -Countenance, and long lean Arms) render'd him a proper Person to discharge -_Jago_, _Foresight_, and _Ma'lignij_, in the VILLAIN. But he fail'd in -succeeding in a fine Description of a triumphant Cavalcade, in _Alonzo_, -in the MOURNING BRIDE, because his Figure was despicable, (although his -Energy was, by his Voice and Action, enforc'd with great Soundness of Art, -and Justice.)--This Person acted strongly with his Face,--and (as King -_Charles_ said) was the best Villain in the World.--He proceeded from the -_Sandfords_ of _Sandford_, that lies between _Whitchurch_ and _Newport_, -in Shropshire.--He would not be concern'd with Mr. _Betterton_, Mrs. -_Barry_, _&c._ as a Sharer in the Revolt from _Drury-Lane_ to -_Lincoln's-Inn-Fields_; but said, _This is my Agreement_.--_To_ Samuel -Sandford, _Gentleman_, Threescore Shillings a Week.----Pho! pho! _said -Mr._ Betterton, _Three Pounds a Week_.----_No, no, said_ Sandford;--_To_ -Samuel Sandford, _Gentleman_, Threescore Shillings a Week. For which _Cave -Underhill_, who was a 3/4 Sharer, would often jeer _Sandford_; saying, -_Samuel Sandford, Gent, my Man._----Go, you Sot, said _Sandford_.--To -which t'other ever replied, _Samuel Sandford, my Man_ Samuel. - -[Illustration: CAVE UNDERHILL.] - -_CAVE UNDERHILL_, and Mr. _DOGGET_, will be the next treated of. - - * * * * * - -_CAVE UNDERHILL_, though not the best Actor in the Course of Precedency, -was more admired by the Actors than the Audience--there being then no -Rivals in his dry, heavy, downright Way in Low Comedy.--His few Parts -were, The first Grave-digger in HAMLET,--_Sancho Pancha_, in the first -Part of DON QUIXOT,--_Ned Blunt_, in the ROVER,--_Jacomo_, in the -LIBERTINE, and the _Host_, in the VILLAIN:--All which were dry, heavy -Characters, except in _Jacomo_; in which, when he aim'd at any Archness, -he fell into downright Insignificance.--He was about 50 Years of Age the -latter End of King _William's_ Reign, about six Foot high, long and -broad-fac'd, and something more corpulent than this Author; his Face -very like the _Homo Sylvestris_, or _Champanza_; for his Nose was -flattish and short, and his Upper Lip very long and thick, with a wide -Mouth and short Chin, a churlish Voice, and awkward Action, (leaping -often up with both Legs at a Time, when he conceived any Thing waggish, -and afterwards hugging himself at the Thought.)----He could not enter -into any serious Character, much more Tragedy; and was the most confin'd -Actor I ever saw: And could scarce be brought to speak a short _Latin_ -Speech in DON QUIXOT, when _Sancho_ is made to say, _Sit bonus Populus, -bonus ero Gubernator_; which he pronounced thus: - - _Shit bones and bobble arse, - Bones, and ears Goble Nature._ - -He was obliged to Mr. _Betterton_ for thrusting him into the Character -of _Merryman_ in his _Wanton Wife_, or _Amorous Widow_; but _Westheart -Cave_ was too much of a Dullman.--His chief Atchievement was in -_Lolpoop_, in the _'Squire of Alsatia_; where it was almost impossible -for him to deviate from himself: But he did great Injustice to Sir -_Sampson Legend_ in _Love for Love_, unless it had been true, that the -Knight had been bred a Hog-driver.--In short, _Underhill_ was far from -being a good Actor--as appear'd by the late _Ben. Johnson's_ assuming -his Parts of _Jacomo_--the Grave-digger in _Hamlet_--and Judge _Grypus_ -in _Amphytrion_.--I know, Mr. _Underhill_ was much cry'd up in his Time; -but I am so stupid as not to know why. - - * * * * * - -Mr. _DOGGET_, indeed, cannot reasonably be so censur'd; for whoever -decry'd him, must inevitably have laugh'd much, whenever he saw -him act. - -Mr. _Dogget_ was but little regarded, 'till he chopp'd on the Character -of _Solon_ in the _Marriage-Hater Match'd_; and from that he vegetated -fast in the Parts of _Fondlewife_ in the _Old Batchelor_--_Colignii_, in -the _Villain_--_Hob_, in the _Country Wake_--and _Ben_ the Sailor, in -_Love for Love_.--But, on a Time, he suffer'd himself to be expos'd, by -attempting the serious Character of _Phorbas_ in _Oedipus_, than which -nothing cou'd be more ridiculous--for when he came to these Words--(_But, -oh! I wish_ Phorbas _had perish'd in that very Moment_)--the Audience -conceived that it was spoke like _Hob_ in his Dying-Speech.--They burst -out into a loud Laughter; which sunk _Tom Dogget's_ Progress in Tragedy -from that Time. - - _Fælix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum._ - -But our present LAUREAT had a better Opinion of himself;--for, in a few -Nights afterwards, _COLLEY_, at the old Theatre, attempted the same -Character; but was hiss'd,--his Voice sounding like _Lord -Foppington's_--_Ne Sutor ultra Crepidam._ - -Mr. _Dogget_ was a little, lively, spract Man, about the Stature of Mr. -L----, Sen. Bookseller in B--h, but better built.--His Behaviour modest, -chearful, and complaisant.--He sung in Company very agreeably, and in -Public very comically.--He danc'd the _Cheshire Round_ full as well as -the fam'd Capt. _George_, but with much more Nature and Nimbleness.--I -have had the Pleasure of his Conversation for one Year, when I -travell'd with him in his strolling Company, and found him a Man of very -good Sense, but illiterate; for he wrote me Word thus--_Sir, I will give -you a_ hole instead of (_whole_) _Share_.--He dress'd neat, and -something fine--in a plain Cloth Coat, and a brocaded Waistcoat:--But he -is so recent, having been so often at _Bath_,--_satis est_.--He gave his -Yearly Water-Badge, out of a warm Principle, (being a _staunch -Revolution-Whig_.)----I cannot part with this _Nonpareil_, without -saying, that he was the most faithful, pleasant Actor that ever was--for -he never deceiv'd his Audience--because, while they gaz'd at him, he was -working up the Joke, which broke out suddenly in involuntary -Acclamations and Laughter.--Whereas our modern Actors are fumbling the -dull Minutes, keeping the gaping Pit in Suspence of something delightful -a coming,--_Et parturiunt Montes, nascitur ridiculus Mus_. - -He was the best Face-player and Gesticulator, and a thorough Master of -the several Dialects, except the _Scots_, (for he never was in -_Scotland_) but was, for all that, a most excellent _Sawney_. Whoever -would see him pictur'd, may view his Picture, in the Character of -_Sawney_, at the _Duke's Head_ in _Lynn-Regis_, in _Norfolk_.----While I -travell'd with him, each Sharer kept his Horse, and was every where -respected as a Gentleman. - -_Jack Verbruggen_, in Point of Merit, will salute you next. - -_JACK VERBRUGGEN_, that rough Diamond, shone more bright than all the -artful, polish'd Brillants that ever sparkled on our Stage.--(_JACK bore -the BELL away._)--He had the Words perfect at one View, and Nature -directed 'em into Voice and Action, in which last he was always -pleasing--his Person being tall, well-built and clean; only he was a -little In-kneed, which gave him a shambling Gate, which was a -Carelessness, and became him.--His chief Parts were _Bajazet_, -_Oroonoko_, _Edgar_ in King _Lear_, _Wilmore_ in the _Rover_, and -_Cassius_, when Mr. _Betterton_ play'd _Brutus_ with him.--Then you -might behold the grand Contest, _viz._ whether Nature or Art -excell'd--_Verbruggen_ wild and untaught, or _Betterton_ in the Trammels -of Instruction.---In _Edgar_, in King _Lear_, _Jack_ shew'd his Judgment -most; for his Madness was unlimited: Whereas he sensibly felt a -Tenderness for _Cordelia_, in these Words, (speaking to her)--_As you -did once know_ Edgar!--And you may best conceive his manly, wild Starts, -by these Words in _Oroonoko_,--_Ha! thou hast rous'd the Lyon [in] his -Den; he stalks abroad, and the wild Forest trembles at his Roar:_--Which -was spoke, like a Lyon, by _Oroonoko_, and _Jack Verbruggen_; for Nature -was so predominant, that his second Thoughts never alter'd his prime -Performance.--The late Marquess of _Hallifax_ order'd Oroonoko to be -taken from _George Powel_, saying to Mr. _Southern_, the Author,--That -_Jack_ was the unpolish'd Hero, and wou'd do it best.--In the _Rover_ -(_Wilmore_) never were more beautiful Scenes than between him, and -Mrs. _Bracegirdle_, in the Character of _Helena_; for, what with -_Verbruggen's_ untaught Airs, and her smiling Repartees, the Audience -were afraid they were going off the Stage every Moment.--_Verbruggen_ -was Nature, without Extravagance--Freedom, without Licentiousness--and -vociferous, without bellowing.----He was most indulgently soft, when he -says to _Imoinda_,--_I cannot, as I wou'd, bestow thee; and, as I ought, -I dare not._--Yet, with all these Perfections, _Jack_ did, and said, -more silly Things than all the Actors besides; for he was drawn in at -the common Cheat of Pricking at the Girdle, Cups and Balls, _&c._ and -told his Wife one Day that he had found out a Way to raise a great -Benefit.--_I hope_, said she, _you'll have your_ Bills _printed in_ Gold -Letters.--_No, no, better than that_, said he; _for I'll have the -King's-Arms all in Gold Letters_.--As Mr. _Verbruggen_ had Nature for -his Directress in Acting, so had a known Singer, _Jemmy Bowen_, the same -in Music:--He, when practising a Song set by Mr. PURCELL, some of the -Music told him to grace and run a Division in such a Place. _O let him -alone_, said Mr. _Purcell_; _he will grace it more naturally than you, -or I, can teach him_.--In short, an Actor, like a Poet, - - _Nascitur, non fit._ - -And this Author prizes himself on that Attempt, as he hath had the -Judgment of all the best Critics in the Character of _Fondlewife_ in the -_Old Batchelor_.--_If you wou'd see Nature_, say they, _see_ Tony -Aston--_if Art_, Colley Cibber;--and, indeed, I have shed mock Tears in -that Part often involuntarily. - - * * * * * - -Mrs. _VERBRUGGEN_ claims a Place next. She was all Art, and her Acting -all acquir'd, but dress'd so nice, it look'd like Nature. There was not -a Look, a Motion, but what were all design'd; and these at the same -Word, Period, Occasion, Incident, were every Night, in the same -Character, alike; and yet all sat charmingly easy on her.--Her Face, -Motion, _&c._ chang'd at once: But the greatest, and usual, Position was -Laughing, Flirting her Fan, and _je ne scay quois_,--with a Kind of -affected Twitter.--She was very loath to accept of the Part of _Weldon_ -in _Oroonoko_, and that with just Reason, as being obliged to put on -Men's Cloaths--having thick Legs and Thighs, corpulent and large -Posteriours;--but yet the Town (that respected her) compounded, and -receiv'd her with Applause; for she was the most pleasant Creature that -ever appear'd: Adding to these, that she was a fine, fair Woman, plump, -full-featur'd; her Face of a fine, smooth Oval, full of beautiful, -well-dispos'd Moles on it, and on her Neck and Breast--Whatever she did -was not to be call'd Acting; no, no, it was what she represented: She -was neither more nor less, and was the most easy Actress in the World. -The late Mrs. OLDFIELD borrow'd something of her Manner in free -Comedy;--as for Tragedy, Mrs. _Verbruggen_ never attempted it. -_Melanthe_ was her Master-piece; and the Part of _Hillaria_ in -_Tunbridge-Walks_ cou'd not be said to be Acted by any one but her.--Her -Maiden-Name was _Percival_; and she was the Widow of Mr. _Mountford_, -(who was kill'd by Lord _Mohun_) when Mr. _Verbruggen_ married her.--She -was the best Conversation possible; never captious, or displeas'd at any -Thing but what was gross or indecent; for she was cautious, lest fiery -_Jack_ shou'd so resent it as to breed a Quarrel;--for he wou'd often -say,--_Dammee! tho' I don't much value my Wife, yet no Body shall -affront her, by G--d_; and his Sword was drawn on the least Occasion, -which was much in Fashion at the latter End of King _William's_ -Reign;--at which Time I came on the Stage, when Mr. _Dogget_ left it; -and then the facetious _Joe Haines_ was declining in Years and -Reputation, tho' a good Actor and Poet, his Prologues exceeding all ever -wrote.--[_Vide_ Love and a Bottle.] - - * * * * * - -_JOE HAINES_ is more remarkable for the witty, tho' wicked, Pranks he -play'd, and for his Prologues and Epilogues, than for Acting.--He was, -at first, a Dancer.--After he had made his Tour of _France_, he narrowly -escaped being seiz'd, and sent to the _Bastile_, for personating an -_English_ Peer, and running 3000 Livres in Debt in _Paris_; but, happily -landing at Dover, he went to _London_, where in _Bartholomew-Fair_, he -set up a Droll-Booth, and acted a new Droll, call'd, _The Whore of -Babylon, the Devil, and the Pope_. This was in the first Year of King -_James_ II. when _Joe_ was sent for, and roundly admonish'd, by Judge -_Pollixfen_ for it. _Joe_ reply'd, _That he did it in Respect to his_ -Holiness; _for, whereas many ignorant People believed the_ Pope _to be -a_ Beast, _he shew'd him to be a fine, comely old Gentleman, as he was; -not with Seven Heads, and Ten Horns, as the_ Scotch _Parsons describe -him_. However, this Affair spoil'd _Joe's_ expiring Credit; for next -Morning, a Couple of Bailiffs seiz'd him in an Action of 20_l._ as the -Bishop of _Ely_ was passing by in his Coach.--Quoth _Joe_ to the -Bailiffs,--_Gentlemen, here's my Cousin, the Bishop of_ Ely, _going into -his House; let me but speak to him, and he'll pay the Debt and Charges_. -The Bailiffs thought they might venture that, as they were within three -or four Yards of him. So, up goes _Joe_ to the Coach, pulling off his -Hat, and got close to it. The Bishop order'd the Coach to stop, whilst -_Joe_ (close to his Ear) said softly, _My Lord, here are two poor Men, -who have such great Scruples of Conscience, that, I fear, they'll hang -themselves._--Very well, _said the Bishop_. So, calling to the Bailiffs, -he said, _You two Men, come to me To-morrow Morning, and I'll satisfy -you_. The Men bow'd, and went away. _Joe_ (hugging himself with his -fallacious Device) went also his Way. In the Morning, the Bailiffs -(expecting the Debt and Charges) repair'd to the Bishop's; where being -introduced,--_Well_, said the Bishop, _what are your Scruples of -Conscience?_--_Scruples!_ (said the Bailiffs) _we have no Scruples: We -are Bailiffs, my Lord, who, Yesterday, arrested your Cousin_, Joe -Haines, _for 20l. Your Lordship promised to satisfy us To-day, and we -hope your Lordship will be as good as your Word._--The Bishop, -reflecting that his Honour and Name would be expos'd, (if he complied -not) paid the Debt and Charges.--There were two Parts of Plays (_Nol -Bluff_ in the _Old Batchelor_, and _Roger_ in _Æsop_) which none ever -touch'd but _Joe Haines_.--I own, I have copied him in _Roger_, as I did -Mr. _Dogget_ in _Fondlewife_.--But, now, for another Story of him. - -In the long Vacation, when Harlots, Poets, and Players, are all -poor,--_Joe_ walking in _Cross-Street_, by _Hatton-Garden_, sees a fine -Venison-Pasty come out of _Glassop's_, a Pastry-Cook's Shop, which a Boy -carried to a Gentleman's House thereby.--_Joe_ watch'd it; and seeing a -Gentleman knock at the Door, he goes to the Door, and ask'd him if he -had knock'd at it: _Yes_, said the Gentleman; _the Door is open'd_.--In -goes the Gentleman, and _Joe_ after him, to the Dining-Room.--Chairs -were set, and all ready for the Pasty. The Master of the House took -_Joe_ for the Gentleman's Friend, whom he had invited to Dinner; which -being over, the Gentleman departed. _Joe_ sat still.--Says the Master of -the House to _Joe_, _Sir, I thought you would have gone with your -Friend_!--_My Friend_, said _Joe_; _alas! I never saw him before in my -Life_.--_No, Sir_, replied the other: _Pray, Sir, then how came you to -Dinner here?_--_Sir_, said _Joe_, _I saw a Venison-Pasty carried in -here; and, by this Means, have din'd very heartily of it_. _My Name is_ -Joe Haines, (said he) _I belong to the_ Theatre.--_Oh, Mr._ Haines, -(continued the Gentleman) _you are very welcome; you are a Man of Wit: -Come, bring t'other bottle_; which being finish'd, _Joe_, with good -Manners, departed, and purposely left his Cane behind him, which he -design'd to be an Introduction to another Dinner there: For, next Day, -when they were gone to Dinner, _Joe_ knock'd briskly at the Door, to -call for his Cane, when the Gentleman of the House was telling a Friend -of his the Trick he play'd the Day before.--_Pray call Mr._ Haines -_in_.--_So, Mr._ Haines, said he; _sit down, and partake of another -Dinner_.--_To tell you the Truth_, said _Joe_, _I left my Cane Yesterday -on purpose_: At which they all laugh'd.--Now _Joe_ (altho' while -greedily eating) was very attentive to a Discourse on Humanity begun, -and continued, by the Stranger Gentleman; wherein he advanced, that -every Man's Duty was to assist another, whether with Advice, Money, -Cloaths, Food, or whatever else. This Sort of Principle suited _Joe's_ -End, as by the Sequel will appear. The Company broke up, and _Joe_, and -the Gentleman, walk'd away, (_Joe_ sighing as he went along.) The -Gentleman said to him, _What do you sigh for?_--_Dear Sir_, (quoth -_Joe_) _I fear my Landlord will, this Day, seize my Goods for only a -Quarter's Rent, due last Week_.--_How much is the Money?_ said the -Gentleman.--_Fifty Shillings_, said _Joe_, _and the Patentees owe me -Ten Pounds, which will be paid next Week._--_Come_, said the Gentleman, -_I'll lend thee Fifty Shillings on your Note, to pay me faithfully in -three Weeks_. Which _Joe_, with many Promises and Imprecations, -sign'd.--But _Joe_, thereafter, had his Eyes looking out before him; -and, whenever he saw the Gentleman, would carefully avoid him; which the -Gentleman one Day perceiv'd, and going a-cross _Smithfield_, met _Joe_ -full in the Face, and, in the Middle of the _Rounds_, stopp'd him. -Taking him by the Collar, _Sirrah_, said he, _pray pay me now, you -impudent, cheating Dog, or I'll beat you into a Jelly_.--_Joe_ fell down -on his Knees, making a dismal Outcry, which drew a Mob about them, who -enquir'd into the Occasion, which was told them; and they, upon hearing -it, said to the Gentleman, _That the poor Man could not pay it, if he -had it not_.--_Well_, said he, _let him kneel down, and eat up that thin -Sirreverence, and I'll forgive him, and give up his Note_.--_Joe_ -promis'd he would, and presently eat it all up, smearing his Lips and -Nose with the human Conserve. The Gentleman gave him his Note; when -_Joe_ ran and embrac'd him, kissing him, and bedaubing his Face, and -setting the Mob a hollowing. - - * * * * * - -_The_ SECOND PART _of their_ LIVES, _with the Continuation of_ JOE -HAINES'_s Pranks, the Author hopes a fresh Advance for.----In the_ -Interim, _he thanks his Friends._ - -_FINIS._ - - - - -MEMOIRS OF THE ACTORS AND ACTRESSES MENTIONED BY CIBBER, - -TAKEN FROM EDMUND BELLCHAMBERS'S EDITION OF THE "APOLOGY," 1822. - - -WILLIAM SMITH. - -This judicious actor, who is said to have been originally a barrister, -came into the Duke's Company, when acting under Sir William D'Avenant, -in Lincoln's Inn Fields, about the year 1663. He rose soon after to the -duties of _Buckingham_, in "King Henry the Eighth," and subsequently -filled a range of characters distinguished by their variety and -importance. _Sir William Stanley_, in Caryl's wretched play of the -"English Princess," procured him additional estimation and applause, -which were still farther enlarged by his performance of _Stanford_ in -Shadwell's "Sullen Lovers." Mr. Smith was the original _Chamont_ in -Otway's "Orphan," and played many parts of as much local consequence in -pieces that are now forgotten. - - NOTE.--All passages enclosed in square brackets are by the present - editor, who is also responsible for the notes marked (L.). - -Chetwood informs us that Mr. Smith was zealously attached to the -interests of King James the Second, in whose army, attended by two -servants, he entered as a volunteer. Upon the abdication of that -monarch, he returned to the stage, by the persuasions of many friends, -who admired his performances, and resumed his original part of -_Wilmore_ in the "Rover;" but having been received with considerable -disapprobation, on account of his party principles, the audience was -dismissed, and he departed from public life in the manner already -mentioned. It is difficult to reconcile these discrepancies. Chetwood's -minuteness looks like credibility, and Cibber has committed a mistake in -stating that Mr. Smith "entirely quitted" the stage at this secession, -he having returned in 1695, when at the earnest solicitations of his -sincere friends Mr. Betterton and Mrs. Barry, strengthened by the -influence of Congreve over many of his connections in high life, he -consented to sustain the part of _Scandal_ in that author's comedy of -"Love for Love," upon its production at the new theatre in Little -Lincoln's Inn Fields, when his inimitable performance imparted an extra -charm to that admirable play. Continued peals of applause attested the -satisfaction which his auditors felt at the return of their old -favourite, and it seems singular that Congreve should have wholly -overlooked this memorable event, in the "prologue" at least, where the -defection of Williams and Mrs. Mountfort is thus obscurely stated: - - Forbear your wonder, and the fault forgive - If in our larger family we grieve - One falling Adam, and one tempted Eve. - -Mr. Smith continued on the stage till about twelve months after this -period, when, according to Downes, having a long part in Banks's tragedy -of "Cyrus," 1696, he fell sick on the fourth day of performance, and -died from a cold, as Chetwood relates, occasioned by cramp, which having -seized him while in bed, he rose to get rid of it, and remained so long -in his naked condition, that a fever ensued from disordered lungs, and, -in three days, put an end to his existence. - -We have but a slender clue to the stage-management of Mr. Smith, which -was exercised over the Duke's Company in Dorset-garden, conjointly with -Betterton and Dr. D'Avenant, when the famous agreement which bears their -signatures was concluded with Hart and Kynaston, for an union of the -theatres. It has been said that Booth [who wrote an epitaph on Smith] -applied to him for an engagement, which was refused from a fear of -offending his relatives, but with that kindness of expression and -deportment so warmly distinguished in his epitaph. This assertion, -however, is unfounded, for when Mr. Smith died, Barton Booth was a -Westminster scholar, and in the fourteenth year of his age; the -character of this eminent comedian must, accordingly, have been drawn up -from such intelligence as the writer acquired at a subsequent period. - -It only remains to be remarked, that Chetwood has placed Mr. Smith's -original return to the stage in the year 1692; but, not to insist upon -the known looseness of this writer's information, let us ask if a -political offence would be so vehemently remembered, after the lapse of -four years, as to drive an estimable actor from the harmless pursuance -of his ordinary duties? Cibber is doubtless correct in the floating date -of this fact, which must have happened _previous_ to the revolution. Mr. -Smith was a principal actor in Lee's later tragedies, but in the -"Princess of Cleve," 4to, 1689, we find the part he would naturally have -played to Betterton's _Nemours_, supported by Mr. Williams. - -Smith's value as an actor, may be immediately felt by a reference to -the parts he enjoyed under Betterton, with whom he lived till death in -the most cordial manner, enhancing his fame by honourable emulation, -and promoting his interests by unbroken amity. No instance has been -recorded of their dissention or dispute, and from the notice which -Betterton extended to Booth, he very possibly communicated that high -account of his departed friend, which the latter has recorded with such -spirit and fidelity. - -From Cibber's admission, it appears, that Smith's moral qualities and -professional excellence, procured him an extensive reception among -people of rank, a patronage which his polished manners continued to -exact, till society, by his death, sustained one of its deepest -deprivations. (B.) Chetwood's story is now incapable either of proof or -disproof. The known facts about Smith's retirement are, that his name -appears to Constantine the Great, to Courtine in Otway's "Atheist," and -to Lorenzo in Southerne's "Disappointment," in 1684; that it then -disappears, and does not again occur till 1695. It is probable that he -retired in 1684, as it is unlikely that his name should not appear in -one or other of the 1685 bills. (L.) - - -CHARLES HART. - -Charles Hart was the great nephew of Shakspeare, his father, William, -being the eldest son of our poet's sister Joan. Brought up as an -apprentice under Robinson, a celebrated actor, he commenced his career, -conformably to the practice of that time, by playing female parts, among -which the _Duchess_, in Shirley's tragedy of the "Cardinal," was the -first that exhibited his talents, or enhanced his reputation. - -Puritanism having gathered great strength, opposed theatrical amusements -as vicious and profane institutions, which it was at length enabled to -abolish and suppress. On the 11th day of February, 1647,[227] and the -subsequent 22d of October, two ordinances were issued by the Long -Parliament, whereby all stage-players were made liable to punishment for -following their usual occupation. Before the appearance of this severe -edict, most of the actors had gone into the army, and fought with -distinguished spirit for their unfortunate master; when, however, his -fate was determined, the surviving dependants on the drama were -compelled to renew their former efforts, in pursuance of which they -returned, just before the death of Charles, to act a few plays at the -"Cockpit" theatre, where, while performing the tragedy of "Rollo," they -were taken into custody by soldiers, and committed to prison.[228] Upon -this occasion, Hart, who had been a lieutenant of horse, under Sir -Thomas Dallison, in Prince Rupert's own regiment, sustained the -character of _Otto_, a part which he afterwards relinquished to -Kynaston, in exchange for the fierce energies of his ambitious brother. - -At the Restoration, Hart was enrolled among the company constituting his -Majesty's Servants, by whom the new Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, was -opened on the 8th of April, 1663, with Beaumont and Fletcher's play of -the "Humourous Lieutenant," in which he sustained a principal character -for twelve days of successive representation. - -About the year 1667,[229] Hart introduced Mrs. Gwyn upon the dramatic -boards, and has acquired the distinction of being ranked among that -lady's first felicitous lovers, by having succeeded to Lacy, in the -possession of her charms. Nell had been tutored for the stage by these -admirers in conjunction, and after testifying her gratitude to both, -passed into the hands of Lord Buckhurst, by whom she was transferred to -the custody of King Charles the Second. - -The principal parts, according to Downes, sustained by Mr. Hart, -were _Arbaces_, in "King and No King;" _Amintor_, in the "Maid's -Tragedy;" _Othello_, _Rolla_, _Brutus_, and _Alexander the Great_. -Such was his attraction in all these characters, that, to use the -language of that honest prompter, "if he acted in any one of these -but once in a fortnight, the house was filled as at a new play; -especially _Alexander_, he acting that with such grandeur and agreeable -majesty, that one of the court was pleased to honour him with this -commendation--'that Hart might teach any king on earth how to comport -himself.'" His merit has also been specified as _Mosca_, in the "Fox," -_Don John_, in the "Chances," and _Wildblood_, in an "Evening's Love;" -which, however, according to the same authority, merely harmonised -with his general efforts, in commanding a vast superiority over the -best of his successors. - -Rymer has said that Hart's action could throw a lustre round the meanest -characters, and, by dazzling the eyes of the spectator, protect the -poet's deformities from discernment. He was taller, and more genteelly -shaped than Mohun, on which account he probably claimed the choice of -parts, and was prescriptively invested with the attributes of youth and -agility. He possessed a considerable share in the profits and direction -of the theatre, which were divided among the principal performers; and -besides his salary of £3 a week, and an allowance as a proprietor, -amounting to six shillings and three-pence a day, is supposed to have -occasionally cleared about £1000 per annum. - -[On the 14th of October, 1681, a memorandum was signed between Dr. -Charles Davenant, Betterton, and Smith, of the one part, and Hart -and Kynaston, of the other, by which the two last mentioned, in -consideration of five shillings each for every day on which there shall -be a play at the Duke's Theatre, undertake to do all they can to break -up the King's Company. The result of this agreement was the Union of -1682. This agreement is given in Gildon's "Life of Betterton" (p. 8), -and in Genest (i. 369). I suppose it is a genuine document, but I -confess to some doubts, based chiefly on my belief that Betterton was -too honest to enter into so shabby an intrigue.] - -Declining age had rendered Hart less fit for exertion than in the vigour -of life, and certain of the young actors, such as Goodman and Clark, -became impatient to get possession of his and Mohun's characters. A -violent affliction, however, of the stone and gravel, compelled him to -relinquish his professional efforts, and having stipulated for the -payment of five shillings a-day, during the season,[230] he retired from -the stage, and died a short time after. - -Hart was always esteemed a constant observer of decency in manners, and -the following anecdote will evince his respect for the clergy. That -witty, but abandoned fellow, Jo Haynes, had persuaded a silly divine, -into whose company he had unaccountably fallen, that the players were a -set of people, who wished to be reformed, and wanted a Chaplain to the -Theatre, an appointment for which, with a handsome yearly income, he -could undertake to recommend him. He then directed the clergyman to -summon his hearers, by tolling a bell to prayers every morning, a -scheme, in pursuance of which Haynes introduced his companion, with a -bell in his hand, behind the scenes, which he frequently rang, and cried -out, audibly, "Players! players! come to prayers!" While Jo and some -others were enjoying this happy contrivance, Hart came into the theatre, -and, on discovering the imposition, was extremely angry with Haynes, -whom he smartly reprehended, and having invited the clergyman to dinner, -convinced him that this buffoon was an improper associate for a man of -his function.[231] - - -MICHAEL MOHUN. - -The life of Michael Mohun, though passed in its early stages beneath a -different teacher, was chequered by the very shades which distinguished -that of Hart, with whom he acquired his military distinctions, and -reverted to a theatrical life. He was brought up with Shatterel, under -Beeston, at the "Cock-pit," in Drury-lane, where, in Shirley's play of -"Love's Cruelty," he sustained the part of _Bellamente_, among other -female characters,[232] and held it even after the Restoration. - -Having attained the rank of captain in the royal forces, Mohun went to -Flanders upon the termination of the civil war, where he received pay as -a major, and acquitted himself with distinguished credit. At the -Restoration, he resumed his pristine duties, and became an able second -to Hart, with whom he was equally admired for superlative knowledge of -his arduous profession. - -He is celebrated by Lord Rochester, as the great Æsopus of the stage; -praise, which, though coming from one of so capricious a temper, may be -relied on, since it is confirmed by more respectable testimony. He was -particularly remarkable for the dignity of his deportment, and the -elegance of his step, which mimics, said his lordship, attempted to -imitate, though they could not reach the sublimity of his elocution. The -Duke's comedians, it would seem, endeavoured to emulate his manner, when -reduced by age and infirmity, a baseness which the same noble observer -has thus warmly reprehended:-- - - Yet these are they, who durst expose the Age - Of the great Wonder of the English Stage. - Whom Nature seem'd to form for your delight, - And bid him speak, as she bid Shakespeare write. - These Blades indeed are Cripples in their Art, - Mimick his Foot, but not his speaking part. - Let them the _Traytor_ or _Volpone_ try, - Could they - Rage like _Cethegus_, or like _Cassius_ die? - (Epilogue to Fane's "Love in the Dark.") - -Mohun, from his inferior height and muscular form, generally acted -grave, solemn, austere parts, though upon more than one occasion, -as in _Valentine_, in "Wit without Money," and _Face_, in the -"Alchemist,"--one of his most capital characters,--he was frequently -seen in gay and buoyant assumptions to great advantage. He was -singularly eminent as _Melantius_, in the "Maid's Tragedy;" _Mardonius_, -in "King and No King;" _Clytus_, _Mithridates_, and the parts alluded to -by Lord Rochester. No man had more skill in putting spirit and passion -into the dullest poetry than Mohun, an excellence with which Lee was so -delighted, that on seeing him act his own King of Pontus, he suddenly -exclaimed, "O, Mohun, Mohun, thou little man of mettle, if I should -write a hundred plays, I'd write a part for thy mouth!" And yet Lee -himself was so exquisite a reader, that Mohun once threw down a part in -despair of approaching the force of the author's expression. The -"Tatler" has adverted to his singular science;[233] "in all his parts, -too," says Downes, "he was most accurate and correct;" and perhaps no -encomium can transcend the honours of unbroken propriety. - -About the year 1681, there are some reasons to suspect that the king's -company was divided by feuds and animosities, which their adversaries in -Dorset-garden so well improved, as to produce an union of the separate -patents. Hart and Kynaston were dexterously detached from their old -associates, by the management of Betterton, whose conduct, though -grounded upon maxims of policy, can derive no advantage from so unfair -an expedient. Upon the completion of this nefarious treaty, Mohun, who -found means to retain the services of Kynaston, with the remnant of the -royal company, continued to act in defiance of the junction just -concluded, as an independent body. Downes, in his "Roscius Anglicanus," -so far as the imperfect structure of its sentences can be relied on, -expressly asserts this; and yet if "the patentees of each company united -patents, and, by so incorporating, the duke's company were made the -king's, and immediately removed to the Theatre Royal in Drury-lane," -what field did Mohun and his followers select for their operations, to -pitch their tents, and hoist their standard? Till some period, at least, -of the year 1682, this party were in possession of their antient -domicile, as Mohun at that time, acted _Burleigh_, in Banks's "Unhappy -Favourite," and sustained a principal character in Southern's "Loyal -Brother," with, for his heroine, in both pieces, the famous Nell -Gwyn.[234] - -[Bellchambers is here very inaccurate. The union of 1682 was, no doubt, -opposed by some of the King's Company, from November, 1681, when the -memorandum between Davenant, Betterton, Hart, and others, was executed, -and the date of the actual conclusion of the union. This is clearly -indicated in Dryden's Prologue on the opening of Drury Lane by the -united company on 16th November, 1682. But, whatever the opposition had -been, it had ceased then, because in the cast of the "Duke of Guise," -produced less than three weeks later, appear the names of Kynaston and -Wiltshire, whom Bellchambers represents as supporting Mohun in his -supposed opposition theatre. (L.)] - - -CARDELL GOODMAN. - -Cardell Goodman, according to his own admissions, as detailed by Cibber -elsewhere, was expelled the university of Cambridge, for certain -political reasons, a disgrace, however, which did not disqualify him for -the stage. He came upon it, accordingly, by repairing to Drury-lane -theatre, where Downes has recorded [what was probably] his first -appearance, as _Polyperchon_, in the "Rival Queens," 4to. 1677. Here, -although we cannot trace his success in any character of importance, Mr. -Cibber has adverted to his rapid advances in reputation. He followed the -fortunes of Mohun in opposing the united actors, but, about three years -afterwards, resorted to them, (in 1685,) and sustained the hero of Lord -Rochester's "Valentinian." It is about this period that his excellence -must have blazed out as _Alexander the Great_, since Cibber, who went -upon the stage in 1690, says Goodman had retired before the time of his -appearance. - -The highest salary enjoyed at that period we are now treating of, was -six shillings and three pence per diem, a stipend that was by no means -equal to the strong passions and large appetites of a gay, handsome, -inconsiderate young fellow. He was consequently induced to commit a -robbery on the highway, and sentenced upon detection, to make a summary -atonement for his fatal error; but this being the first exploit of that -kind to which the scantiness of his income had urged him, King James was -persuaded to pardon him, a favour for which Goodman was so grateful, -that, in the year 1696, he shared with Sir John Fenwick in a design to -assassinate King William, who spared his life in consideration of the -testimony he was to render against his accomplice. This condition, -however, Goodman did not fulfil, as he withdrew clandestinely to the -continent, to avoid giving evidence, and died in exile. - -Having been selected as a fit instrument for her abandoned pleasures by -the Duchess of Cleveland, Goodman, long before his death, became so -happy in his circumstances, that he acted only at intervals, when his -titled mistress most probably desired to see him; for he used to say, he -would not even act _Alexander_, unless his Duchess were in front to -witness the performance. - - -RICHARD ESTCOURT. - -Richard Estcourt, according to the biographical notice of Chetwood, was -born at Tewksbury, in Glostershire, in the year 1668, and received a -competent education at the Latin grammar-school of his native town. -Influenced by an early attachment to the stage, he left his father's -house, in the fifteenth year of his age, with an itinerant company, and on -reaching Worcester, to elude the possibility of detection, made his first -appearance as _Roxana_, in the "Rival Queens." Having received a correct -intimation of this theatrical purpose, his father sent to secure the -fugitive, who slipped away in a suit of woman's clothes, borrowed from one -of his kind-hearted companions, and travelled to Chipping-Norton, a -distance of five-and-twenty miles, in the course of the day. - -To prevent such excursions for the future, he was quickly carried up to -London, and apprenticed to an apothecary in Hatton-garden, with whom, -according to some authorities, he continued till the expiration of his -indentures, and duly entered into business; which, either from want of -liking or success he soon afterwards renounced, and returned to his -favourite avocation.[235] Chetwood, on the contrary, asserts that he -broke away from his master's authority, and after strolling about -England for two years, went over to Dublin, where his performances were -sanctioned by ardent and universal applause. - -About the opening of the eighteenth century [that is, 18th October, -1704], Mr. Estcourt was engaged at Drury-lane Theatre, where he made his -débût as _Dominic_, in the "Spanish Friar," and established his efforts, -it is said, by a close imitation of Leigh, the original possessor of -that part. In the year 1705 [should be 1706], such was his merit or -reputation, that Farquhar selected him for _Sergeant Kite_, in the -"Recruiting Officer," a character to which Downes has alluded in terms -of unqualified praise. It is asserted in the "Biographia Dramatica," -that Mr. Estcourt was "mostly indebted for his applause to his powers of -mimicry, in which he was inimitable; and which not only at times -afforded him opportunities of appearing a much better actor than he -really was,--by enabling him to copy very exactly several performers of -capital merit, whose manner he remembered and assumed,--but also, by -recommending him to a very numerous acquaintance in private life, -secured him an indulgence for faults in his public profession, that he -might otherwise, perhaps, never have been pardoned." As if an actor, in -defiance of peculiar incapacity, associated emulation, and public -disgust, could maintain, for twelve successive years, the very highest -station in the Drury-lane company, attainable by talents, such as he was -only flattered with possessing! - -That Estcourt was happy in a "very numerous acquaintance," there is no -reason to conceal or deny. He was remarkable for the promptitude of his -wit, and the permanence of his pleasantry, qualifications that -recommended him to the most cordial intercourse with Addison, Steele, -Parnell, who has honoured him in a Bacchanalian poem, by the name of -Jocus, and other choice spirits of the age, who enjoyed the variety of -his talents, and acknowledged the goodness of his heart. He was highly -in favour with the great Duke of Marlborough, but those who know his -grace's character, will hardly be surprised to learn that he did not -improve his fortune by that dazzling distinction. Estcourt's honours, -indeed, were strictly nominal, for though constituted providore of the -Beef-steak Club,--an assemblage comprising the chief wits and greatest -men of the nation,--he gained nothing by the office but their badge of -employment,--a small golden gridiron, suspended from his neck by a bit -of green riband. - -If the foregoing remarks should be held sufficient to redeem his -dramatic character from the obloquy with which it has so long been -attended, the following anecdote will perhaps be accepted as ample -evidence of his great talent for private mimicry. - -Secretary Craggs, when very young, in company with some of his friends, -went, with Estcourt, to Sir Godfrey Kneller's, and whispered to him that -a gentleman present was able to give such a representation of many among -his most powerful patrons, as would occasion the greatest surprise. -Estcourt accordingly, at the artist's earnest desire, mimicked Lords -Somers, Halifax, Godolphin, and others, so exactly, that Kneller was -delighted, and laughed heartily at the imitations. Craggs gave a signal, -as concerted, and Estcourt immediately mimicked Sir Godfrey himself, who -cried out in a transport of ungovernable conviction, "Nay, there you are -out, man! By G--, that's not me!" - -About a twelvemonth before his death, having retired from the stage, -Estcourt opened the Bumper tavern, in Covent-garden, and by enlarging -his acquaintance, most probably shortened his days. He died in the year -1713 [should be 1712], and was buried near his brother comedian, Jo -Haynes, in the church-yard of St. Paul's, Covent-garden. - - -THOMAS BETTERTON. - -Thomas Betterton was born in Tothill-street, Westminster, in the year -1635 [baptized 11th August, 1635], his father at that time being -under-cook to King Charles the First. He received the rudiments of a -genteel education, and testified such a propensity to literature, that -it was the steadfast intention of his family to have had him qualified -for some congenial employment. This design, the confusion and violence -of the times most probably prevented, though a fondness for reading -induced them to consult his inclinations, and he was accordingly -apprenticed to Mr. Rhodes, a respectable bookseller, residing at the -Bible, in Charing-cross. - -This person, who had been wardrobe-keeper to the theatre in Blackfriars, -before the suppression of dramatic amusements, on General Monk's -approach to London, in the year 1659, obtained a license from -the [governing powers] to collect a company of actors, and employ -them at the "Cockpit," in Drury-lane. Here, while Kynaston, his -fellow-apprentice, sustained the principal female parts, Betterton was -distinguished by the vigour and elegance of his manly personations. The -fame of Beaumont and Fletcher was then at its zenith, and in their plays -of the "Loyal Subject," and the "Mad Lover," added to "Pericles," the -"Bondman," and the "Changeling," Mr. Betterton established the -groundwork of his great reputation. - -Sir William D'Avenant having been favoured with a patent before the -civil wars broke out, obtained a renewal of that royal grant upon the -Restoration, and in the spring of 1662 [should be June, 1661], after -rehearsing various plays at Apothecaries'-hall, he opened a new theatre -in Lincoln's-inn-fields, where Rhodes's comedians, with the addition of -Harris, and three others, were sworn before the Lord Chamberlain, as -servants of the crown, and honoured by the sanction of the Duke of York. - -Here Sir William D'Avenant produced his "Siege of Rhodes," a play in two -parts, embellished with such scenery and decorations as had never been -before exhibited on the boards of a British theatre. The parts were -strongly cast, and this drama, assisted by its splendid appendages, was -represented for twelve days, successively, with unbounded approbation. - -At this period Mr. Betterton first assumed the part of _Hamlet_, -deriving considerable advantage from the hints of Sir William D'Avenant, -to whom the acting of Taylor [who had been instructed by Shakespeare] -had been formerly familiar. Downes expressly declares that this -character enhanced Mr. Betterton's reputation to the utmost, and there -is much collateral evidence to substantiate its brilliant -superiority.[236] - -Mr. Betterton was so favourably considered by Charles the Second, that, -upon his performance of _Alvaro_, in "Love and Honour," he received that -monarch's coronation-suit for the character, as a token of esteem. -Public opinion kept pace with his efforts to secure it, and by evincing -unparalleled talent in such diversified parts as _Mercutio_, _Sir Toby -Belch_, and _Henry the Eighth_, (the last of which was adopted from his -manager's remembrance of Lowin) he speedily attained to that eminence in -his art, above which no human exertion can probably ascend. - -At the king's especial command, it has been asserted by some of his -biographers that Mr. Betterton went over to Paris to take a view of the -French stage, and suggest such means as might ensure a corresponding -improvement upon our own. They even go so far as to term him the first -who publicly introduced our moving scenes, though Sir William D'Avenant, -to whom that honour decidedly belongs, had attached them, less -perfectly, perhaps, in 1658, to his "Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru." - - -By or before 1663, Mr. Betterton had married Mrs. Saunderson, a -performer in the same company, of matchless merit and unsullied virtue, -though that event, by the "Biographia Dramatica," and other incautious -compilations, is referred to the year 1670. This lady, it may be -remarked, was single, while denominated mistress; the appellation of -miss not being made familiar to the middle classes, till after the -commencement of the ensuing century. - -The duke's company, notwithstanding the favour and excellence to which -Betterton, Harris, Smith, and other members were admitted, began to -feel its want of attraction so forcibly, that Sir William D'Avenant was -induced to try the effects of a new theatre, which was accordingly opened, -with unparalleled magnificence, in Dorset-garden, Salisbury-court, -notwithstanding an earnest opposition by the city of London, in November, -1671. Opinion, however, still inclining to their antagonists, dramatic -operas were invented, and soon enabled the players at this place to -achieve a triumph over merit unassisted by such expensive frivolity. - -At the death of D'Avenant, on the 17th of April, 1668, Mr. Betterton -succeeded to a portion of the management, and so great was the -estimation in which both he and his lady were held, that in the year -1675, when a pastoral, called "Calisto; or, the Chaste Nymph," written -by Mr. Crown, at the request of King Charles's consort, was to be -performed at court by persons of the greatest distinction, they were -appointed to instruct them in their respective parts. In 1682, an union -was effected with the rival company, which Mr. Betterton continued to -direct, till Rich, in 1690, obtained possession of the patent, and -dispossessed him of importance and authority. - -Exasperated by ill treatment, Mr. Betterton confederated with the -principal performers to procure an independent license, which being -granted by King William, they built a new theatre in Lincoln's-inn-fields, -by subscription, and opened it on the 30th of April, 1695, with -Congreve's comedy of "Love for Love." - -In 1705, enfeebled by age and infirmity, this distinguished veteran -transferred his license to Sir John Vanbrugh, who erected a handsome -theatre in the Haymarket, at which, divested of influence or control, he -accepted an engagement as an actor. - -Mr. Betterton's salary never exceeded eighty shillings a-week, and -having sustained the loss of more than £2,000, by a commercial venture -to the East Indies, in 1692, necessity compelled him to pursue his -professional avocations. On Thursday, April the 13th, 1709,[237] the -play of "Love for Love" was performed for his benefit, an occasion which -summoned Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Bracegirdle from their retirement, to aid -this antient coadjutor by the resumption of those parts they had -originally sustained. Congreve is said to have furnished a prologue, -though withdrawn and never submitted to print, which was delivered by -the latter lady, the former reciting an epilogue from the pen of Rowe, -which remains in lasting testimony of his affectionate regard. From this -address the following lines are worthy of transcription: - - But since, like friends to wit, thus throng'd you meet, - Go on, and make the generous work complete; - Be true to merit, and still own his cause, - Find something for him more than bare applause. - In just remembrance of your pleasures past, - Be kind and give him a discharge at last; - In peace and ease life's remnant let him wear, - And hang his consecrated buskin here. - -This hint, however, proved unavailing, and "Old Thomas" still continued -to labour, when permitted by intermissions of disease, for that -subsistence his age and his services should long before have secured. - -Mr. Betterton accordingly performed at intervals in the course of the -ensuing winter, and on the 25th of April, 1710 [should be 13th April], -was admitted to another benefit, which, with the patronage bestowed upon -its predecessor, is supposed to have netted nearly £1000. Upon this -occasion, he was announced for his celebrated part of _Melantius_, in -the "Maid's Tragedy," from the performance of which he ought, however, -upon strict consideration, to have been deterred; for having been -suddenly seized with the gout, a determination not to disappoint the -expectancy of his friends, induced him to employ a repellatory medicine, -which lessened the swelling of his feet, and permitted him to walk in -slippers. He acted, accordingly, with peculiar spirit, and was received -with universal applause; but such were the fatal effects of his laudable -anxiety, that the distemper returned with unusual violence, ascended to -his head, and terminated his existence, in three days from the date of -this fatal assumption. On the 2nd of May his remains were deposited with -much form in the cloisters of Westminster-abbey. - -Mr. Betterton was celebrated for polite behaviour to the dramatic -writers of his time, and distinguished by singular modesty, in not -presuming to understand the chief points of any character they offered -him, till their ideas had been asked, and, if possible, adopted. He is -also praised in some verses published with the "State Poems," for -extending pecuniary assistance to embarrassed writers, till the success -of a doubtful production might enable them to remunerate their generous -creditor. Indeed, Mr. Betterton's benevolence was coupled with such -magnanimity, that upon the death of that unhappy friend to whose -counsels his little fortune had been sacrificed, he took charge of a -surviving daughter, educated her at considerable expense, and not only -made her an accomplished actress, but a valuable woman.[238] - -Among many testimonies of deference to his judgment, and regard for his -zeal, the tributes of Dryden and Rowe have been brilliantly recorded. He -was naturally of a cheerful temper, with a pious reliance upon the -dispensations of providence, and nothing can yield a higher idea of his -great affability, than the effect his behaviour produced upon Pope, who -must have been a mere boy, when first admitted to his society. He sat to -the poet for his picture, which Pope painted in oil,[239] and so eager -was the bard to perpetuate his memory, that he published a modernization -of Chaucer's "Prologues," in this venerable favourite's name, though -palpably the produce of his own elegant pen.[240] As an author, Mr. -Betterton's labours were confined to the drama, and if his original -pieces are not entitled to much praise, his alterations exhibit some -judicious amendments. - - -EDWARD KYNASTON. - -Edward Kynaston made his first appearance in 1659, at the "Cockpit" in -Drury-lane, under the management of Rhodes, to whom, in his trade of -bookselling, he had previously been apprenticed. Here he took the lead -in personating female parts, among which he sustained _Calis_, in the -"Mad Lover;" _Ismenia_, in the "Maid in the Mill;" the heroine of Sir -John Suckling's "Aglaura;" _Arthiope_, in the "Unfortunate Lovers;" and -_Evadne_, in the "Maid's Tragedy." The three last of these parts have -been distinguished by Downes and our author as the best of his efforts, -and being then but a "mannish youth," he made a suitable representative -of feminine beauty. Kynaston's _forte_, at this period, appears to have -consisted in moving compassion and pity, "in which," says old Downes, -"it has since been disputable among the judicious, whether any woman -that succeeded him so sensibly touched the audience as he." - -At the Restoration, when his majesty's servants re-opened the "Red Bull" -playhouse, in St. John-street, next shifted to Gibbons's tennis-court, -in Clare-market, and finally settled, in 1663, at their new theatre in -Drury-lane, Kynaston was admitted to their ranks, and played -_Peregrine_, in Jonson's comedy of the "Fox." He also held _Sir -Dauphine_, a minor personage, in the same author's "Silent Woman," and -soon after succeeded to _Otto_, in the "Duke of Normandy," a part which -was followed by others of variety and importance. - -In derogation of Cibber's panegyric, we are assured by Davies, upon the -authority of some old comedians, that, from his juvenile familiarity -with female characters, Kynaston contracted some disagreeable tones in -speaking, which resembled the whine or cant that genuine taste has at -all times been impelled to explode. When George Powel was once -discharging the intemperance of a recent debauch from his stomach, -Kynaston asked him if he still felt sick. "How is it possible to be -otherwise," said Powel, "when I hear you speak?" Much as Kynaston, -however, might have been affected by the peculiarities of early -practice, we cannot consent, upon evidence such as this, to rob him of -the laurels that have sprung from respectable testimony. - -In 1695 he followed the fortunes of Betterton to Lincoln's-inn-fields, -and supported a considerable character in John Banks's "Cyrus the -Great," produced the year after this removal. The time of his retirement -is not known, but it appears from our author that he continued upon the -stage till his memory and spirit both began to fail him. He had left it, -however, before 1706, when Betterton and Underhill have been specified -by Downes, as "being the only remains of the Duke of York's servants," -at that time before the public. Kynaston died wealthy, and was buried in -the church-yard of St. Paul's, Covent-garden. - -Kynaston bore a great resemblance to the noted Sir Charles Sidley, a -similitude of which he was so proud, that he endeavoured to display it -by the most particular expedients. On one occasion, he got a suit of -laced clothes made in imitation of the baronet's, and appearing publicly -in it, Sir Charles, whose wit very seldom atoned for his ill-nature, -punished this vain propensity in his usual mischievous manner. He hired -a bravo to accost Kynaston in the Park, one day when he wore his finery, -pick a quarrel with him on account of a pretended affront from his -prototype, and beat him unmercifully. This scheme was duly put in -practice, and though Kynaston protested that he was not the person his -antagonist took him for, the ruffian redoubled his blows, on account of -what he affected to consider his scandalous falsehood. When Sir Charles -Sidley was remonstrated with upon the cruelty of this transaction, he -told the actor's friends that their pity was misplaced, for that -Kynaston had not suffered so much in his bones as _he_ had in his -character, the whole town believing that it was he who had undergone the -disgrace of this chastisement. - - -WILLIAM MOUNTFORT. - -William Mountfort, according to Cibber's estimate, was born in 1660, and -having, I suppose, joined the king's company at a very early age, about -the year 1682, "grew," in the words of old Downes, "to the maturity of a -good actor." At Drury-lane theatre, he sustained _Alfonso Corso_, in the -"Duke of Guise," in 1682. His rise was so rapid, that in 1685 we find -him selected for the hero of Crowne's "Sir Courtly Nice," "which," says -Downes, "was so _nicely_ performed," that none of his successors, but -Colley Cibber, could equal him. Perhaps the last new character assumed -by Mountfort was _Cleanthes_, in Dryden's "Cleomenes," a play to which -he spoke the prologue. - -I here present the reader with a narrative of those circumstances -attending the death of Mountfort, which have so long been misunderstood -and misrepresented. - -A Captain Richard Hill had made proposals of marriage to Mrs. -Bracegirdle, which were declined from what Hill appeared to consider an -injurious preference for Mountfort, between whom, though a married man, -and the lady, at least a platonic attachment was often thought to -subsist. Enraged at Mountfort's superior success, and affecting to treat -him as the only obstacle to his wishes, Hill expressed a determination -at various times, and before several persons, to be revenged upon him, -and as it was proved upon the trial, coupled this threat with some of -the bitterest invectives that could spring from brutal animosity. -Among Hill's associates was Lord Mohun, a peer of very dissolute -manners, whose extreme youth afforded but a faint palliative for his -participation in the act of violence and debauchery to which Hill -resorted. This nobleman, however, who seems to have felt a chivalric -devotion to the interests of his friend, engaged with Hill in a cruel -and perfidious scheme for the abduction of Mrs. Bracegirdle, whom Hill -proposed to carry off, violate, and afterwards marry. They arranged with -one Dixon, an owner of hackney carriages, to provide a coach and six -horses to take them to Totteridge, and appointed him to wait with this -conveyance over against the Horse-shoe tavern in Drury-lane. A small -party of soldiers was also hired to assist in this notable exploit, and -as Mrs. Bracegirdle, who had been supping at a Mr. Page's in -Prince's-street, was going down Drury-lane towards her lodgings in -Howard-street, Strand, about ten o'clock at night, on Friday the 9th of -December, 1692, two of these soldiers pulled her away from Mr. Page, who -was attending her home, nearly knocked her mother down, and tried to -lift her into the vehicle. Her mother, upon whom the blow given by these -ruffians had providentially made but a short impression, hung very -obstinately about her neck, and prevented the success of their -endeavours. While Mr. Page was calling loudly for assistance, Hill ran -at him with his sword drawn, and again endeavoured to get Mrs. -Bracegirdle into the coach, a task he was hindered from accomplishing, -by the alarm that Page had successfully given. Company came up, on which -Hill insisted on seeing Mrs. Bracegirdle home, and actually led her by -the hand to the house in which she resided. Lord Mohun, who during this -scuffle was seated quietly in the coach, joined Hill in Howard-street, -the soldiers having been previously dismissed, and there they paraded, -with their swords drawn, for about an hour and a half, before Mrs. -Bracegirdle's door. Hill's scabbard, it ought to be remarked, was -clearly proved to have been lost during the scuffle in Drury-lane, and -Lord Mohun, when challenged by the watch, not only sheathed his weapon, -but offered to surrender it. These were strong points at least in his -lordship's favour, and deserve to be noted, because the prescriptive -assertion that Mountfort was treacherously killed, is weakened by the -establishment of those facts. Mrs. Brown, the mistress of the house -where Mrs. Bracegirdle lodged, went out on her arrival, to expostulate -with Lord Mohun and his confederate, and after exchanging a few words of -no particular importance, dispatched her maid servant to Mountfort's -house,[241] hard by in Norfolk-street, to apprise Mrs. Mountfort of the -danger to which, in case of coming home, he would be subjected. Mrs. -Mountfort sent in search of her husband, but without success, and the -watch on going their round, between eleven and twelve o'clock, found -Lord Mohun and Hill drinking wine in the street, a drawer having brought -it from an adjacent tavern. At this juncture Mrs. Brown, the landlady, -hearing the voices of the watch, went to the door with a design of -directing them to secure both Lord Mohun and Hill, and some conversation -passed upon that subject, although her directions were not obeyed. -Seeing Mountfort, just as he had turned the corner into Howard-street, -and was apparently coming towards her house, Mrs. Brown hurried out to -meet him, and mention his danger, but he would not stop, so as to allow -her time for the slightest communication. On gaining the spot where Lord -Mohun stood, Hill being a little farther off, he saluted his lordship -with great respect, and was received by him with unequivocal kindness. -Lord Mohun hinted to Mountfort that he had been sent for by Mrs. -Bracegirdle, in consequence of her projected seizure, a charge which -Mountfort immediately denied. Lord Mohun then touched upon the affair, -and Mountfort expressed a hope, with some warmth, that he would not -vindicate Hill's share in the business, against which, while disclaiming -any tenderness for Mrs. Bracegirdle, he protested with much asperity. -Hill approached in time to catch the substance of Mountfort's remark, -and having hastily said that he could vindicate himself, gave him a blow -on the ear, and at the same moment a challenge to fight. They both went -from the pavement into the middle of the road, and after making two or -three passes at each other, Mountfort was mortally wounded. He threw -down his sword, which broke by the fall, and staggered to his own house, -where Mrs. Page, who had gone to concert with Mrs. Mountfort for her -husband's safety, hearing a cry of "murder" in the street, threw open -the door, and received him pale, bleeding, and exhausted, in her arms. -Hill fled and escaped, but Lord Mohun, having surrendered himself, was -arraigned before parliament as an accomplice, on the 31st of January, -1693, and, after a laborious, patient, protracted, and impartial trial, -acquitted of the crime, in which he certainly bore no conspicuous part. -Mountfort languished till noon the next day, and solemnly declared, at -the very point of death, that Hill stabbed him with one hand while he -struck him with the other, Lord Mohun holding him in conversation when -the murder was committed. From the fact, however, of Mountfort's sword -being taken up unsheathed and broken, there is no doubt, without -insisting upon the testimony to that effect, that he used it; and that -he could have used it after receiving the desperate wound of which he -died, does not appear, by his flight and exhaustion, to have been -possible. Some of his fellow-players, it seems, had sifted the evidence -of a material witness, the day after his death, and at this evidence -they openly expressed their dissatisfaction. Mountfort, it was -indisputably shown, too, _went out of the way to his own house_, in -going down Howard-street at all, as he ought to have crossed it, his -door being the second from the south-west corner. These circumstances -will perhaps support a conjecture that some part of the odium heaped -upon Lord Mohun and Hill has proceeded from the cowardice and -exasperation of a timid and vindictive fraternity, coupled with the -individual artifices of Mrs. Bracegirdle, to redeem a character which -the real circumstances of Mountfort's death, dying as her champion, -severely affected. Cibber's assurance of her purity, may merely prove -the extent of his dulness or dissimulation, for on calmly reviewing this -case in all its aspects, chequered as it is by Hill's impetuosity, Mrs. -Bracegirdle's lewdness, and Mountfort's presumption, I cannot help -inferring that he fell a victim, not unfairly, to one of those casual -encounters which mark the general violence of the times. The record of -his murder is therefore erroneous, and we may hope to see it amended in -every future collection of theatrical lives.[242] - - -SAMUEL SANDFORD. - -Samuel Sandford made his first appearance upon the stage, under -D'Avenant's authority, in the year 1663,[243] at the time when that -company was strengthened by the accession of Smith and Matthew Medbourn. -The first part for which he has been mentioned by Downes, is _Sampson_, -in "Romeo and Juliet;" he soon after sustained a minor part in the -"Adventures of Five Hours," fol. 1663; and when D'Avenant produced his -comedy of the "Man's the Master," he and Harris sung an eccentric -epilogue in the character of two street ballad-singers. Sandford was the -original _Foresight_, in "Love for Love," and though Mr. Cibber has -exclusively insisted upon his tragic excellence, he must have been a -comedian of strong and diversified humour. When Betterton and his -associates seceded to the new theatre in Lincoln's-inn-fields, he -refused to join them as a sharer, but was engaged at a salary of three -pounds per week. As Sandford is not enumerated by Downes among the -actors transferred to Swiney, in the latter end of 1706, when Betterton -and Underhill, indeed, are mentioned as "the only remains" of the duke's -company, it is clear he must have died during the previous six years, -having been referred to by Cibber, as exercising his profession in 1700. -His ancestors were long and respectably settled at Sandford, a village -in Shropshire; and he seems to have prided himself, absurdly, upon the -superiority of his birth. - - -JAMES NOKES. - -James Nokes formed part of the company collected at the "Cockpit," in -1659, and is first mentioned by Downes for _Norfolk_, in "King Henry the -Eighth," some time after D'Avenant's opening in Lincoln's-inn-fields. -Upon this assumption Mr. Davies has expressed a very reasonable doubt, -and conjectured, with much plausibility, that it was sustained by -Robert Nokes. - -In Cowley's "Cutter of Coleman-street" [1661], the part of _Puny_ was -allotted to Nokes, whose reputation at that period appears to have been -but feebly established, as the more important comic characters were -intrusted to Lovel and Underhill. We find the name of Nokes affixed to -_Lovis_, in Etherege's "Comical Revenge," 1664, but his performance of -that part, whatever merit it might have evinced, acquired no -distinction. [This is wrong; Nokes played Sir Nicholas Cully: the part -of Lovis was acted by Norris.] The plague then beginning to rage, -theatrical exhibitions were suspended, in May, 1665, and the company -ceased to act, on account of the great fire, till [about] Christmas, -1666, when their occupation was resumed in Lincoln's-inn-fields, and -Lord Orrery produced his play of "Mr. Anthony." In this piece there was -an odd sort of duel between Nokes and Angel, in which one was armed with -a blunderbuss, and the other with a bow and arrow. Though this frivolous -incident procured Nokes some accession of public notice, it was Dryden's -"Sir Martin Mar-all," [1667,] which developed his powers to their -fullest extent, and raised him to the highest pitch of popularity. - -According to Downes, the Duke of Newcastle gave a literal translation of -Molière's "Etourdi" to Dryden, who adapted the part of _Sir Martin -Mar-all_ "purposely for the mouth of Mr. Nokes;" and the old prompter -has corroborated Mr. Cibber's assertion of his success. Nokes added -largely to his reputation, in [1668], by performing _Sir Oliver_, in -"She would if she could;" and strengthened Shadwell's "Sullen Lovers," -by accepting the part of _Poet Ninny_. - -Nokes acted _Barnaby Brittle_ at the original appearance--about 1670--of -Betterton's "Amorous Widow," and [in 1671] performed _Old Jorden_, in -Ravenscroft's "Citizen turned Gentleman," a part which the king and -court were said to have been more delighted with than any other, except -_Sir Martin Mar-all_. His _Nurse_, in "Caius Marius," 1680, excited -such uncommon merriment, that he carried the name of Nurse Nokes to his -grave. In 1688, he supported the hero of Shadwell's "'Squire of -Alsatia," a play which was acted in every part with remarkable -excellence, and enjoyed the greatest popularity. We find no farther -mention of him, subsequent to this period, though included by Cibber -among those who were performing under the united patents, in 1690, when -he first came into the company. According to Brown, who has peculiarly -marked out his "gaiety and openness" upon the stage, he kept a -"nicknackatory, or toy-shop," opposite the spot which has since received -the denomination of Exeter Change. The date of his death is uncertain, -but there is some reason to presume that it happened about the year -1692.[244] - - -WILLIAM PINKETHMAN. - -The first mention of Pinkethman, by Downes, is for the part of _Ralph_, -in "Sir Salomon," when commanded at court, in the beginning of [1704], -but he had been alluded to, two years before, in Gildon's "Comparison -between the Two Stages," as the "flower of Bartholomew-fair, and the -idol of the rabble. A fellow that overdoes every thing, and spoils many -a part with his own stuff." [He was on the stage as early as 1692.] He -is again mentioned in the "Roscius Anglicanus" for _Dr. Caius_, in the -"Merry Wives of Windsor," and continued to act in the Drury-lane company -till his death, about the year 1725. - -Pinkethman was a serviceable actor, notwithstanding his irregularities, -and performed many characters of great importance. He was the original -_Don Lewis_, in "Love makes a Man," 1701, a proof that his talents were -soon and greatly appreciated. His eccentric turn led him, in too many -instances, from the sphere of respectability, and we find him in the -constant habit of frequenting fairs, for the low purpose of theatrical -exhibition. His stage talents were marred, it is true, by an extravagant -habit of saying more than had been "set down" for him; and though this -abominable blemish is fully admitted, still its toleration proves that -Pinkethman must have been an actor of uncommon value. His son was a -comedian of merit, who played _Waitwell_, in the "Way of the World," at -the opening of Covent-garden theatre, in December, 1732, and died in -May, 1740. - - -ANTHONY LEIGH. - -The "famous Mr. Anthony Leigh," as Downes denominates him, came into the -duke's company, about the year [1672], upon the deaths of several -eminent actors, whose places he and others were admitted to supply. He -played _Bellair_, _sen_., in Etherege's "Man of Mode," at its production -in 1676. In 1681, Leigh supported _Father Dominic_, in Dryden's "Spanish -Friar;" a piece, which, according to the "Roscius Anglicanus," was -"admirably acted, and produced vast profit to the company." Leigh's -success was so great in this character, that a full-length portrait was -taken of him in his clerical habit, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, for the Earl -of Dorset, from which a good mezzotinto engraving is now in the hands of -theatrical collectors. In 1685, we find him allotted to _Sir Nicholas -Calico_, in "Sir Courtly Nice;" in 1688 he supported _Sir William -Belfond_, in Shadwell's "Squire of Alsatia," and these parts, with a few -others, appear to have constituted his peculiar excellence. - -The satirical allusions of such a random genius as Brown, are rarely to -be relied upon, or we might suspect Leigh, from the following extract, -to have been distinguished by pious hypocrisy:-- - -"At last, my friend Nokes, pointing to a little edifice, which exactly -resembles Dr. Burgess's conventicle in Russel-court, says he, 'your -old acquaintance Tony Leigh, who turned presbyterian parson upon his -coming into these quarters, holds forth most notably here every -Sunday.'"--"Letters from the Dead to the Living" [1744, ii. 77]. - - -CAVE UNDERHILL. - -Cave Underhill was a member of the company collected by Rhodes, and -which, soon afterwards, submitted to the authority of Sir William -D'Avenant. He is first mentioned by Downes, for his performance of _Sir -Morglay Thwack_, in the "Wits," after which he sustained the -_Grave-digger_, in "Hamlet," and soon testified such ability, that the -manager publicly termed him "the truest comedian" at that time upon his -stage.[245] Underhill, about this time, strengthened the cast of "Romeo -and Juliet," by playing _Gregory_, and though the custom of devoting the -best talent which the theatres afford, to parts of minor importance, has -ceased, it is a practice to which the managers, were public amusement -consulted, might safely recur. In Shakspeare's "Twelfth Night," which, -says Downes, "had mighty success by its well performance," Underhill -soon after supported the _Clown_, a character in which the latter -attributes delineated by Cibber, could alone have been employed. -Underhill's reputation appears to have been speedily established, as we -find him intrusted by Cowley, in [1661], with the hero of his "Cutter of -Coleman-street;" and he is mentioned by Downes for especial excellence -in performing _Jodelet_, in D'Avenant's "Man's the Master." His first -new part after the accession of James, was _Hothead_, in "Sir Courtly -Nice;" on the 30th of April, 1695, he distinguished himself by his -chaste and spirited performance of _Sir Sampson Legend_, in Congreve's -"Love for Love," and in 1700, closed a long, arduous, and popular -career of original parts, by playing _Sir Wilful Witwou'd_, in the "Way -of the World." [He continued on the stage till 1710.] - -A brief account of this valuable comedian has been furnished by Mr. -Davies, which, for the satisfaction of our readers, we shall proceed to -transcribe. - -"Underhill was a jolly and droll companion, who, if we may believe such -historians as Tom Brown, divided his gay hours between Bacchus and -Venus, with no little ardour. Tom, I think, makes Underhill one of the -gill-drinkers of his time; men who resorted to taverns, in the middle of -the day, under pretence of drinking Bristol milk, (for so good sherry -was then called) to whet their appetites, where they indulged themselves -too often in ebriety. Underhill acted till he was past eighty. He was so -excellent in the part of Trinculo, in the Tempest, that he was called -Prince Trinculo.[246] He had an admirable vein of pleasantry, and told -his lively stories, says Brown, with a bewitching smile. The same author -says, he was so afflicted with the gout, that he prayed one minute and -cursed the other. His shambling gait, in his old age, was no hindrance -to his acting particular parts. He retired from the theatre in -1703."--"Dram. Misc.," iii. 138. - -On the 31st of May, 1709, Underhill applied for a benefit, and -procured it, upon which occasion he played his favourite part of the -_Grave-digger_, and received the following cordial recommendation from -Sir Richard Steele:-- - -"My chief business here [Will's Coffee House] this evening, was to speak -to my friends in behalf of honest Cave Underhill, who has been a comic -for three generations; my father admired him extremely when he was a -boy. There is certainly nature excellently represented in his manner of -action; in which he ever avoided that general fault in players, of doing -too much. It must be confessed, he has not the merit of some ingenious -persons now on the stage, of adding to his authors; for the actors were -so dull in the last age, that many of them have gone out of the world, -without having ever spoken one word of their own in the theatre. Poor -Cave is so mortified, that he quibbles and tells you, he pretends only -to act a part fit for a man who has one foot in the grave; _viz._ a -_Grave-digger_. All admirers of true comedy, it is hoped, will have the -gratitude to be present on the last day of his acting, who, if he does -not happen to please them, will have it then to say, that it is the -first time."--"Tatler," No. 22. - - -GEORGE POWELL. - -The father of George Powell was an actor in the king's company at the -time of its junction, in 1682, with the duke's. Powell's access to the -theatre was, therefore, easy; and we are intitled to suspect, though the -time is not to be ascertained, that he began to act at a very early -period. - -Even, according to Cibber's allowance, when Powell was appointed to the -principal parts abandoned by Betterton and his revolters, they were -parts for which, whether serious or comic, he had both elocution and -humour. It is remarked by Davies,[247] that Cibber "seems to have hated -Powell," and if so, we have a ready clue to the neglect and asperity -with which he has treated him. - -Powell succeeded Betterton, it is supposed, in the part of _Hotspur_, -when that excellent comedian exchanged its choleric attributes, in his -declining years, for the gaiety and humour of _Falstaff_. _Edgar_, in -"King Lear," was also one of his most successful characters, but of -this, owing to his irregularities, he was dispossessed by Wilks. To such -a height, indeed, was the intemperance of this actor carried, that Sir -John Vanbrugh, in his preface to the "Relapse," 4to, 1697, speaking of -Powell's _Worthy_, has exposed it in following manner: - - One word more about the bawdy, and I have done. I own the - first night this thing was acted, some indecencies had like to - have happened; but it was not my fault. The fine gentleman of - the play, drinking his mistress's health in Nantes brandy, - from six in the morning to the time he waddled on upon the - stage in the evening, had toasted himself up to such a pitch - of vigour, I confess I once gave up _Amanda_ for gone, and am - since, with all due respect to Mrs. Rogers, very sorry she - escaped: for I am confident a certain lady, (let no one take - it to herself that is handsome) who highly blames the play, - for the barrenness of the conclusion, would then have allowed - it a very natural close. - -To the folly of intoxication he added the horrors of debt, and was so -hunted by the Sheriffs' officers, that he usually walked the streets -with a sword (sheathed) in his hand, and if he saw any of them at a -distance, he would roar out, "Get on the other side of the way, you -dog!" The bailiff, who knew his old customer, would obligingly answer, -"We do not want you _now_, Master Powell." Harassed by his distresses, -and unnerved by drink, it is hardly to be wondered at if his reputation -decreased, and his ability slackened; but that his efforts were still -marked by a possession of the very highest qualities that criticism can -attest, is proved by the following extract from the "Spectator:" - - Having spoken of Mr. Powell as sometimes raising himself - applause from the ill taste of an audience, I must do him the - justice to own, that he is excellently formed for a tragedian, - and, when he pleases, deserves the admiration of the best - judges.--No. 40. - -Addison and Steele continued their regard for this unhappy man as long -as they could render him any service, and that he acted _Portius_, in -"Cato," on its appearance in 1713, must have been with the author's -approbation. The last trace we have of Powell is confined to a playbill, -for his benefit, in the year 1717, since when no vestige has been found -of his career. He lies buried, it has been said, in the vault of St. -Clement-Danes; but though the period of his death may be fixed not far -from the date of this document, it cannot be minutely ascertained. -[Genest says Powell died 14th December, 1714.] - -In the intervals of excess Powell found time for repeated literary -labour, having written four plays, and superintended the publication of -three more. His fault was too great a passion for social pleasure, but -though the irregularities this passion produced, disabled him from -exerting the talents he was allowed to possess, still his excellence on -the stage is not to be disputed. He was esteemed at one period of his -life a rival to Betterton, and had the prudence of his conduct been -equal to the vigour of his genius, he would have held, as well as -reached, that lofty station for which nature had designed him. - -If the testimony of Aston can be relied on, Powell was born in the year -1658, being incidentally mentioned by that facetious writer, as -Betterton's junior by three and twenty years. - - -JOHN VERBRUGGEN. - -John Verbruggen, it appears from the assertion of Mr. Davies, was a -dissipated young fellow, who determined, in opposition to the advice of -his friends, to be an actor, and accordingly loitered about Drury-lane -theatre, at the very time when Cibber was also endeavouring to get -admittance, in expectation of employment. On the death of Mountfort, -whose widow he married, Verbruggen was intrusted, I have no doubt, with -the part of _Alexander_, his fondness for which was such, that he -suffered the players and the public, for many years, to call him by no -other name. [He seems to have been called Alexander from his first -appearing on the stage, till 1694.] It is mentioned in more than one -pamphlet, that Cibber and Verbruggen were at variance, and hence the -animosity and unfairness with which the latter has been treated.[248] - -The first part to which Verbruggen can be traced, is _Aurelius_, in -"King Arthur," 4to, 1691 [he played _Termagant_ ("Squire of Alsatia") in -1688]: in the year 1696, Mr. Southern assigned him the character of -_Oroonoko_, by the special advice of William Cavendish, the first Duke -of Devonshire; and as the author informs us in his preface, "it was -Verbruggen's endeavour, in the performance of that part, to merit the -duke's recommendation." A further proof of Mr. Cibber's partiality, is -the constant respect paid to Verbruggen by such judges of ability as -Rowe and Congreve, for whose pieces he was uniformly selected. His -_Mirabel_, in the "Way of the World," and _Bajazet_, in "Tamerlane," -were parts of the highest importance, and it will be difficult to show -that an ordinary actor could have been intrusted, by writers of equal -power and fastidity, with duties of which he was not thoroughly -deserving. When Verbruggen died it is impossible to ascertain. He -played _Sullen_, in the "Beaux' Stratagem," at its production in 1707, -and as Elrington made his appearance in _Bajazet_, in 1711, there is -some reason to conclude that Verbruggen's death occurred during that -interval. [He died before April, 1708.] - -Though Gildon, a scribbler whose venality was only exceeded by his -dulness, has mentioned Verbruggen in the most derogatory terms,[249] -there is ample evidence in the bare record of his business, to justify -the most unqualified merit we may incline to ascribe. Chetwood alludes -to him, in pointing out Elrington's imitation of his excellencies, as "a -very great actor in tragedy, and polite parts in comedy,"[250] and the -author of the "Laureat" enumerates a variety of important characters, in -which he commanded universal applause. - - -JOSEPH WILLIAMS. - -Joseph Williams,[251] who was bred a seal-cutter, came into the duke's -company, about the year 1673, when but a boy, and according to the -practice of that period, being apprenticed to an eminent actor, "served -Mr. Harris." I find him first mentioned by Downes, for _Pylades_, in the -serious opera of "Circe;" his next character of importance being -_Polydore_, in the "Orphan," 1680; and, same year, _Theodosius_, in Lee's -tragedy of that name. The Union in 1682, without diminishing his merit, -appears to have lessened his value, by the introduction of Kynaston and -others, who had more established pretensions to parts of importance. - -The secession of Williams from Betterton's company, just before the -opening in 1695, has been noticed and explained by Mr. Cibber, in a -subsequent passage. Greatly, as I have no doubt, he has depreciated the -merit of this actor, no materials remain of a more recent date than -those already quoted, by which we may conjecture his talents, or enforce -his estimation. Williams is not to be confounded with an actor of the -same appellation, who was at Drury-lane theatre in the year 1730, and -relieved Cibber of _Scipio_, in Thomson's "Sophonisba," a curious -account of which is given in the "Dramatic Miscellanies." - - -ELIZABETH BARRY. - -Elizabeth Barry, it is said, was the daughter of Edward Barry, Esq., a -barrister, who was afterwards called Colonel Barry, from his having -raised a regiment for the service of Charles the First, in the course of -the civil wars. The misfortunes arising from this engagement, involved -him in such distress, that his children were obliged to provide for -their own maintenance. Lady D'Avenant, a relation of the noted laureat, -from her friendship to Colonel Barry, gave this daughter a genteel -education, and made her a constant associate in the circle of polite -intercourse. These opportunities gave an ease and grace to Mrs. Barry's -behaviour, which were of essential benefit, when her patroness procured -her an introduction to the stage. This happened in the year 1673, when -Mrs. Barry's efforts were so extremely unpropitious, that the directors -of the duke's company pronounced her incapable of making any progress in -the histrionic art. Three times, according to Curll's "History of the -Stage," she was dismissed, and by the interest of her benefactor, -re-instated. When Otway, however, produced his "Alcibiades," in 1675, -her merit was such, as not only to excite the public attention, but to -command the author's praise, which has been glowingly bestowed upon her -in the preface to that production. We find her, next season, filling -the lively character of _Mrs. Lovit_, in Etherege's "Man of Mode;" and -in 1680, her performance of _Monimia_, in the "Orphan," seems to have -raised that reputation to its greatest height, which had been gradually -increasing. The part of _Belvidera_, two years afterwards, and the -heroine of Southern's "Fatal Marriage," in 1694, elicited unrivalled -talent, and procured her universal distinction. - -When Mrs. Barry first resorted to the theatre, her pretensions to notice -were a good air and manner, and a very powerful and pleasing voice. Her -ear, however, was so extremely defective, that several eminent judges, -on seeing her attempt a character of some importance, gave their opinion -that she never could be an actress. Upon the authority of Curll's -historian, Mr. Davies[252] has compiled what appears to me an apocryphal -tale of her sudden rise to the pinnacle of excellence, though there is -no reason to dispute her criminal intimacy with the Earl of Rochester. I -am not inclined, while doubting the precise anecdote of his assistance, -to deny that much advantage might have been derived from his general -instructions. - -Mrs. Barry was not only remarkable for the brilliancy of her talent, but -the earnestness of her zeal, and the ardour of her assiduity. Betterton, -that kind, candid, and judicious observer, bore this testimony to her -eminent abilities, and unyielding good-nature, that she often exerted -herself so greatly in a pitiful character, that her acting has given -success to plays which would disgust the most patient reader.[253] When -she accepted a part, it was her uniform practice to consult the author's -intention. Her last new character was the heroine of Smith's "Phædra and -Hippolytus," and though Mrs. Oldfield and the poet fell out concerning a -few lines in the part of _Ismena_, Mrs. Barry and he were in perfect -harmony. [_Valide_, in Goring's "Irene," 1708, was her last new part.] - -Mrs. Barry must have closed her career with this performance, being -mentioned by Steele, in the "Tatler," when assisting at Betterton's -benefit, on Thursday, April 7th, 1709, as "not at present concerned in -the house." She died on the 7th of November, 1713, aged fifty-five -years, and was buried in Acton church-yard. Mr. Davies ascribes her -death to the bite of a favourite lap-dog, who, unknown to her, had been -seized with madness, and there seems to be no grounds for disturbing his -supposition. - - -MRS. BETTERTON. - -When Sir William D'Avenant undertook the management of the duke's -company, he lodged and boarded four principal actresses in his house, -among whom was Mrs. Saunderson, the subject of this article. - -Mrs. Saunderson's first appearance in D'Avenant's company, was made as -_Ianthe_, in the "Siege of Rhodes," on the opening of his new theatre in -Lincoln's-inn-fields, in April, 1662 [should be June, 1661]. She played -_Ophelia_ soon afterwards, and that part being followed by Shakspeare's -_Juliet_, evinces the consideration in which her services were held. -[About] 1663, she married Mr. Betterton, and not in 1670, as it is -erroneously mentioned in the "Biographia Dramatica," and other worthless -compilations.[254] - -The principal characters sustained by Mrs. Betterton, were _Queen -Catharine_, in "Henry the Eighth;" the _Duchess of Malfy_; the _Amorous -Widow_; those enumerated in the text, and many others, not less -remarkable for their importance than their variety. On the death of her -husband, in April, 1710, she was so strongly affected by that event, as -to lose her senses, which were recovered, however, a short time previous -to her own decease. Mr. Cibber may be right in stating that she only -enjoyed the bounty of her royal mistress for about half a year; but, in -that case, the pension could not have been granted directly he died, as -we find that Mrs. Betterton was alive on the 4th of June, 1711, more -than thirteen months after, and had the play of "Sir Fopling Flutter," -performed at Drury-lane for her benefit. Mrs. Betterton, though -prevented from performing, by age and infirmity, enjoyed a sinecure -situation in Drury-lane theatre, till she withdrew from it, in 1709, and -was paid at the rate of [one pound] a-week. The "Biographia Britannica" -says she survived her husband eighteen months, but the precise date of -her decease has never been discovered. [Mrs. Betterton made a will on -10th March, 1712. In all probability Bellchambers is right in supposing -that the annuity was not granted till some time after her husband's -death.] - - -BENJAMIN JOHNSON. - -This excellent actor, who was familiarly known by the appellation of his -great namesake, Ben Jonson, came into the Theatre Royal, from an -itinerant company, as Mr. Cibber relates, about the year 1695. He was -bred a sign painter, but took more pleasure in hearing the actors, than -in handling his pencil or spreading his colours, and, as he used to say -in his merry mood, left the saint's occupation at last to take that of -the sinner. - -Johnson's merit was evinced as _Sir William Wisewould_, in Cibber's -comedy of "Love's Last Shift," 4to, 1696; but I find him first mentioned -by Downes, for _Justice Wary_, in Caryl's "Sir Salomon" [about 1704 or -1705]; the old prompter, in a species of postscript to his valuable -tract, then terms him "a true copy of Mr. Underhill," and instances his -_Morose_, _Corbaccio_, and _Hothead_, as very admirable efforts. Johnson -passed over to the management of old Swiney, in 1706, with other members -of Betterton's company, and established a very high reputation by his -chaste and studied manner of acting. When Rich, in 1714, opened his new -theatre in Lincoln's-inn-fields, Booth, Wilks, and Cibber, the managers -of Drury-lane, solicitous to retain in their service comedians of merit, -paid a particular respect to Johnson, by investing him with such parts -of Dogget, who had taken leave of them, as were adapted to his powers. -Here he continued with fame and profit, till August, 1742, when he -expired in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Mr. Davies, who appears -to have been familiar with his excellencies, has given a description of -Johnson, which, for its evident taste and candour, I shall do myself the -pleasure to transcribe. - -"That chaste copier of nature, Ben Johnson, the comedian, for above -forty years, gave a true picture of an arch clown in the _Grave-digger_. -His jokes and repartees had a strong effect from his seeming -insensibility of their force. His large, speaking, blue eyes he fixed -steadily on the person to whom he spoke, and was never known to have -wandered from the stage to any part of the theatre."--"Dram. Misc.," -iii. 140. - - -WILLIAM BULLOCK. - -This excellent actor came to London, as we see, about 1695, deriving his -engagement from the distress in which Drury-lane theatre was involved by -the desertion of Betterton, and other principal performers. He quitted -this establishment in 1714, owing, as Mr. Cibber insinuates, to the -ungovernable temper of Wilks; and passed over to John Rich, at the -opening of Lincoln's-inn-fields. He is first mentioned by Downes, for -the _Host_, in Shakspeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor" [about 1704 or -1705], and appears to be pointed at in Dennis's "Epistle Dedicatory" to -the "Comical Gallant," where the irascible writer thus addresses the -Hon. George Granville:-- - -"Falstaff's part, which you know to be the principal one of the play, -and that which on all the rest depends, was by no means acted to the -satisfaction of the audience, upon which several fell from disliking the -action, to disapproving the play." [As noted before, p. 252, Bullock was -probably not the actor aimed at.] - -This piece was printed in 1702, as acted "at the Theatre Royal in -Drury-lane;" with a list of the _dramatis personæ_, but the names of the -actors not annexed. Bullock, however, sustained the part of _Sir -Tunbelly Clumsy_, in Vanbrugh's "Relapse," which had been previously -performed under the same auspices, and from its nature, most probably by -the same actor. - -William Bullock was a comedian of great glee and much vivacity, and in -his person large, with a lively countenance, full of humourous -information. Steele, in the "Tatler," with his usual kind sensibility, -very often adverts to Bullock's faculty of exciting amusement, but -sometimes censures his habit of interpolation.[255] In Gildon's -"Comparison between the Two Stages," 1702 [p. 199], he is termed the -"best comedian since Nokes and Leigh, and a fellow that has a very -humble opinion of himself." Bullock's abilities have been ratified by -the sanction of Macklin, who denominated him a true theatrical genius; -and Mr. Davies saw him act several parts with great applause, and -particularly the _Spanish Friar_, when beyond the age of eighty. He died -on the 18th of June, 1733. [Genest, iii. 593, points out that Bullock -was acting in 1739.] - - -JOHN MILLS. - -Our first notice of this actor is found in the "Roscius Anglicanus," -where Downes, who seems anxious to dispatch his subject, says summarily -that "he excels in tragedy," but without making the remotest allusion to -any characters in which his talent had been displayed. - -John Mills the elder was, in person, inclined to the athletic size; his -features were large, though not expressive; his voice was full, but not -flexible; and his deportment was manly, without being graceful or -majestic. He was considered one of the most useful actors that ever -served in a theatre, but though invested by the patronage of Wilks with -many parts of the highest order, he had no pretensions to quit the -secondary line in which he ought to have been placed. Steele[256] taxes -him very broadly with a want of "sentiment," and insinuates that by -making gesture too much his study, he neglected the better attributes of -his art. - -On the death of Betterton, or soon after, Wilks, who took upon himself -to regulate the theatrical cast, gave _Macbeth_, with great partiality, -to Mills, while Booth and Powell were condemned to represent the -inferior parts of _Banquo_ and _Lenox_. Mills, though he spoke the -celebrated soliloquy on time,-- - - To-morrow, and to-morrow, etc., - -with propriety, feeling, and effect, wanted genius to realise the -turbulent scenes in which this character abounds. So much, indeed, was -his deficiency perceived, that the indignation of a country gentleman -broke out one night, during the performance of this play, in a very odd -manner. The 'squire, after having been heartily tired with Mills, on the -appearance of his old companion, Powell, in the fourth act, exclaimed, -loud enough to be heard by the audience, "For God's sake, George, give -us a speech, and let me go home."[257] - -I recollect an incident of the same sort occurring at Bristol, where a -very indifferent actor, declaimed so long and to such little purpose, -that an honest farmer, who sat in the pit, started up with evident -signs of disgust, and waving his hand, to motion the speaker off, cried -out, "Tak' un away, tak' un away, and let's have another." - -One of the best parts sustained by Mills, was that of _Pierre_, which he -acted so much to the taste of the public, that the applause it produced -him exceeded all that was bestowed upon his best efforts in every thing -else. He also acted _Ventidius_ with the true spirit of a rough and -generous old soldier, and in _Bajazet_, by the aid of his strong, deep, -melodious voice, he displayed more than ordinary power. - -It is supposed that Mills died in [December], 1736, respected by the -public as a decent actor, and beloved by his friends as a worthy man. - - -THEOPHILUS KEEN. - -Theophilus Keen received his first instructions in acting from Mr. -Ashbury, of the Dublin theatre, in which he made his appearance about -the year 1695. He most probably came into the Drury-lane company with -Johnson and others, when Rich had beaten up for recruits. On the opening -of the new house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, he went over to it, and, -according to Chetwood, had a share not only of the management, but in -the profit and loss, which latter speculation proved so disastrous to -him, that he died in the year 1719, of a broken heart. He was buried in -the church of St. Clement-Danes, and so much does he seem to have been -respected, that more than two hundred persons in deep mourning, attended -his funeral. - -The influence he possessed in the theatre sometimes led him to assume -such parts as _Edgar_, _Oroonoko_, and _Essex_, while his excellence lay -in _Clytus_, and characters of a similar cast. His figure and voice, -though neither elegant nor soft, were good, and his action was so -complete, that it obtained for him the epithet of majestic, and when he -spoke those lines of the _King_, in "Hamlet," where he descants upon the -dignity that "doth hedge" a monarch, his look and whole deportment were -so commanding, that the audience accompanied them always with the -loudest applause. - - -MRS. MARY PORTER. - -This valuable and respected actress, who was not only an honour to the -stage, but an ornament to human nature, obtained the notice of Betterton -by performing, when a child, the _Genius of Britain_, in a Lord Mayor's -pageant, during the reign of Charles or James the Second. It was the -custom for fruit-women in the theatre formerly to stand fronting the -pit, with their backs to the stage, and their oranges, &c. covered with -vine leaves, under one of which Betterton threatened to put his little -pupil, who was extremely diminutive, if she did not speak and act as he -would have her. - -Mrs. Porter was the genuine successor of Mrs. Barry, and had an elevated -consequence in her manner, which has seldom been equalled. One of her -greatest parts was Shakspeare's _Queen Catherine_, in which her -sensibility and intelligence, her graceful elocution and dignified -behaviour, commanded applause and attention in passages of little -importance. When the scene was not agitated by passion, to the general -spectator she failed in communicating equal pleasure; her recitation of -fact or sentiment being so modulated as to resemble musical cadence -rather than speaking. Where passion, however, predominated, she exerted -her powers to a supreme degree, and exhibited that enthusiastic ardour -which filled her audience with animation, astonishment, and delight. - -The dislocation of her thigh-bone, in the summer of 1731, was attended -with a circumstance that deserves to be recorded. She lived at -Heywood-hill, near Hendon, and, after the play, went home every night -in a one-horse chaise, prepared to defend herself against robbery, with -a brace of pistols. She was stopped on one of those occasions by a -highwayman, who demanded her money, and having the courage to level one -of her pistols at him, the assailant, who was probably unfurnished with -a similar weapon, assured her that he was no common thief, and had been -driven to his present course by the wants of a starving family. He told -her, at the same time, where he lived, and urged his distresses with -such earnestness, that she spared him all the money in her purse, which -was about ten guineas. The man left her, on which she gave a lash to the -horse, who suddenly started out of the track, overturned her vehicle, -and caused the accident already related. Let it be remembered to this -good woman's credit, that notwithstanding the pain and loss to which he -had, innocently, subjected her, she made strict inquiry into the -highwayman's character, and finding that he had told the truth, she -raised about sixty pounds among her acquaintance, and sent it, without -delay, to the relief of his wretched family. There is a romantic -generosity in this deed that captivates me more than its absolute -justice. - -About the year 1738, Mrs. Porter returned to the stage, and acted many -of her principal characters, with much vigour and great applause, though -labouring under advanced age and unconquerable infirmity. She had the -misfortune to outlive an annuity upon which she depended, and died in -narrow circumstances, about the year 1762. [She published Lord -Cornbury's comedy of "The Mistakes," in 1758, by which she realized a -large sum of money.] - -Though her voice was harsh and unpleasing, she surmounted its defects by -her exquisite judgment. In person she was tall and well shaped; her -complexion was fair; and her features, though not handsome, were made -susceptible of all that strong feeling could desire to convey. Her -deportment was easy, and her action unaffected; and the testimony upon -which the merits of Mrs. Porter are placed, entitles us to rank her in -the very first class of theatrical performers. - - -MRS. ANNE OLDFIELD. - -Anne Oldfield was born in the year 1683, and would have possessed a -tolerable fortune, had not her father, a captain in the army, expended -it at a very early period. In consequence of this deprivation, she -went to reside with her aunt, who kept the Mitre tavern, in St. -James's-market, where Farquhar, the dramatist, one day heard her reading -a few passages from Beaumont and Fletcher's "Scornful Lady," in which -she manifested such spirit, ease, and humour, that being struck by her -evident advantages for the stage, he framed an excuse to enter the room, -a little parlour behind the bar, in which Miss Nancy was sitting. - -Vanbrugh, who frequented the house, and was known to Mrs. Oldfield's -mother, received a communication from that lady of the very great warmth -with which his friend Farquhar had extolled her daughter's abilities. -Vanbrugh, who seems to have been a zealous and sincere friend to all by -whom his assistance was courted, immediately addressed himself to our -heroine, and having ascertained that her fancy tended to parts of a -sprightly nature, he recommended her to Rich, the manager of Drury-lane, -by whom she was immediately engaged, at a salary of fifteen shillings -_per_ week. Her qualifications soon rendered her conspicuous among the -young actresses of that time, and a man of rank being pleased to express -himself in her favour, Mr. Rich increased her weekly terms to the sum of -twenty shillings. - -The rise of Mrs. Oldfield was gradual but secure, and soon after the -death of Mrs. Verbruggen she succeeded to the line of comic parts so -happily held by that popular actress. Her _Lady Betty Modish_, in 1704, -before which she was little known, and barely suffered, discovered -accomplishments the public were not apprised of, and rendered her one -of the greatest favourites upon whom their sanction had ever been -bestowed. She was tall, genteel, and well shaped; her pleasing and -expressive features were enlivened by large speaking eyes, which, in -some particular comic situations, were kept half shut, especially when -she intended to realise some brilliant idea; in sprightliness of air, -and elegance of manner, she excelled all actresses; and was greatly -superior in the strength, compass, and harmony of her voice. - -Though highly appreciated as a tragic performer, Mrs. Oldfield, in the -full round of glory, used to slight her best personations of that sort, -and would often say, "I hate to have a page dragging my train about. Why -don't they give Porter those parts? She can put on a better tragedy face -than I can." The constant applause by which she was followed in -characters of this description, so far reconciled her to Melpomene, that -the last new one in which she appeared was Thomson's _Sophonisba_. Upon -her action and deportment the author has expressed himself with great -ardour in the following lines: - - Mrs. Oldfield, in the character of _Sophonisba_, has excelled - what, even in the fondness of an author, I could either wish - or imagine. The grace, dignity, and happy variety, of her - action have been universally applauded, and are truly - admirable. - -Thomson's praise, indeed, is not more liberal than just, for we learn, -that in reply to some degrading expression of _Massinissa_, relating to -Carthage, she uttered the following line,-- - - Not one base word of Carthage, for thy soul!-- - -with such grandeur of port, a look so tremendous, and in a voice so -powerful, that it is said she even astonished Wilks, her _Massinissa_; -it is certain the audience were struck, and expressed their feelings by -the most uncommon applause.[258] Testimony like this is sufficient to -protect her claim to tragic excellence, eclipsed as it certainly is by -the superiority of her comic reputation. - -_Lady Townly_ has been universally adduced as her _ne plus ultra_ in -acting. She slided so gracefully into the foibles, and displayed so -humourously the excesses, of a fine woman too sensible of her charms, -too confident in her strength, and led away by her pleasures, that no -succeeding _Lady Townly_ arrived at her many distinguished excellencies -in the character. By being a welcome and constant visitor to families of -distinction, Mrs. Oldfield acquired a graceful carriage in representing -women of high rank, and expressed their sentiments in a manner so easy, -natural, and flowing, that they appeared to be of her own genuine -utterance. Notwithstanding her amorous connexions[259] were publicly -known, she was invited to the houses of women of fashion, as conspicuous -for unblemished character as elevated rank. Even the royal family did -not disdain to see Mrs. Oldfield at their levees. George the Second and -Queen Caroline, when Prince and Princess of Wales, often condescended to -converse with her. One day the Princess told Mrs. Oldfield, she had -heard that General Churchill and she were married: "So it is said, may -it please your royal highness," replied Mrs. Oldfield, "but we have not -owned it yet." - -In private, Mrs. Oldfield was generous, humane, witty, and well-bred. -Though she disliked the man, and disapproved of his conduct, yet the -misfortunes of Savage recommended him to her pity, and she often relieved -him by a handsome donation. Her influence with Walpole contributed to -procure his pardon when convicted, on false evidence, of murder, and -adjudged to death, a fate which his most unnatural mother did her utmost -to enforce. It is not true that she either allowed this poet an annuity, -or admitted his conversation,[260] but still the benefits she did confer -upon him were quite numerous enough to warrant his celebration of her -memory. The goodness of her heart, and the splendour of her talents, were -topics upon which Savage might have ventured to insist, without -endangering his piety or wounding his pride. Dr. Johnson has sanctioned -the silence of this author,[261] on the grounds of Mrs. Oldfield's -condition; but that dogmatic man would have shown a truer taste for -benevolence, had he recommended the most ardent devotion to individuals -of any stamp, who were actuated by so glorious a principle. - -Pope, who seems to have persecuted the name of player with a malignancy -unworthy of his genius, has stigmatised the conversation of Mrs. -Oldfield by the word "_Oldfieldismos_," which he printed in Greek -characters; nor can there be a doubt that he meant her by the dying -coquette, in one of his epistles. That Mrs. Oldfield was touched by the -vanity of weak minds, and drew an absurd importance from the popularity -of her low station, may be fairly inferred, and might have been fairly -derided;[262] but Pope, with his usual want of candour, has appealed to -less tangible failings, and tried, as in most cases, much more to -ridicule the person than correct the fault. I do not dispute the -brilliancy of his sarcasm, but I would rather hail the rigour of his -justice.[263] - -Mrs. Oldfield died on the 23d of October, 1730, most sincerely lamented -by those to whom her general value was not unknown. - - - - -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. II. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHISWICK PRESS:--C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, - CHANCERY LANE. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[Footnote 1: That is, "The Beaux' Stratagem," by Farquhar, produced 8th -March, 1707. Cibber played the part of Gibbet.] - - -[Footnote 2: "Lady's Last Stake; or, the Wife's Resentment," a comedy by -Cibber, produced 13th December, 1707. - - LORD WRONGLOVE Mr. Wilks. - SIR GEORGE BRILLANT Mr. Cibber. - SIR FRIENDLY MORAL Mr. Keene. - LADY WRONGLOVE Mrs. Barry. - LADY GENTLE Mrs. Rogers. - MRS. CONQUEST Mrs. Oldfield. - MISS NOTABLE Mrs. Cross.] - - -[Footnote 3: "The Double Gallant; or, the Sick Lady's Cure," a comedy by -Cibber, produced 1st November, 1707. - - SIR SOLOMON SADLIFE Mr. Johnson. - CLERIMONT Mr. Booth. - CARELESS Mr. Wilks. - ATALL Mr. Cibber. - CAPTAIN STRUT Mr. Bowen. - SIR SQUABBLE SPLITHAIR Mr. Norris. - SAUNTER Mr. Pack. - OLD MR. WILFUL Mr. Bullock. - SIR HARRY ATALL Mr. Cross. - SUPPLE Mr. Fairbank. - LADY DAINTY Mrs. Oldfield. - LADY SADLIFE Mrs. Crosse. - CLARINDA Mrs. Rogers. - SYLVIA Mrs. Bradshaw. - WISHWELL Mrs. Saunders. - SITUP Mrs. Brown.] - - -[Footnote 4: The plays from which Cibber compiled "The Double Gallant" -are "Love at a Venture," "The Lady's Visiting Day," and "The Reformed -Wife" (Genest, ii. 389).] - - -[Footnote 5: Eighteenpence was for many years the recognized price of -plays when published.] - - -[Footnote 6: These were played on 14th January, 21st January, and 4th -February, 1707, in the order Cibber gives them. The alteration of -Dryden's plays was done by Cibber, and was called "Marriage à la Mode; -or, the Comical Lovers." - - CELADON Mr. Cibber. - PALAMEDE Mr. Wilks. - RHODOPHIL Mr. Booth. - MELANTHA Mrs. Bracegirdle. - FLORIMEL Mrs. Oldfield. - DORALICE Mrs. Porter. - -I have not seen a copy of this, so take the cast from Genest.] - - -[Footnote 7: An elephant was introduced into the pantomime of "Harlequin -and Padmanaba," at Covent Garden, 26th December, 1811. Genest points out -that one had appeared at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, in 1771-2.] - - -[Footnote 8: In Mr. Percy Fitzgerald's "New History of the English -Stage" (ii. 436) he gives an interesting memorandum by the Hon. Sir -Spencer Ponsonby-Fane regarding this point. It begins: "That the -Chamberlain's authority proceeded from the Sovereign alone is clear, -from the fact that no Act of Parliament, previous to the 10 Geo. II., c. -28 (passed in 1737), alludes to his licensing powers, though he was -constantly exercising them."] - - -[Footnote 9: Langbaine, in his "Account of the English Dramatick Poets," -1691, says (p. 212): "_Maids Tragedy_, a Play which has always been -acted with great Applause at the King's Theatre; and which had still -continu'd on the English Stage, had not King _Charles_ the _Second_], -for some particular Reasons forbid its further Appearance during his -Reign. It has since been reviv'd by Mr. _Waller_, the last Act having -been wholly alter'd to please the Court." - -I think there can be little doubt that the last reason suggested by -Cibber was the real cause of the prohibition.] - - -[Footnote 10: Produced at Dorset Garden, 1681.] - - -[Footnote 11: Produced at Dorset Garden, 1690. See _ante_, vol. i. p. -187. I presume that the lines alluded to by Cibber are:-- - - "Never content with what you had before, - But true to change, and Englishmen all o'er."] - - -[Footnote 12: In the "Biographia Dramatica" (iii. 24) the following note -appears: "Mary Queen of Scotland. A play under this title was -advertised, among others, as sold by Wellington, in St. Paul's -Churchyard, in 1703." But the work Cibber refers to is "The Island -Queens; or, the Death of Mary Queen of Scots," a tragedy by John Banks, -printed in 1684, but not produced till 6th March, 1704, when it was -played at Drury Lane as "The Albion Queens."] - - -[Footnote 13: "The Unhappy Favourite; or, the Earl of Essex," produced -at the Theatre Royal, 1682.] - - -[Footnote 14: "Virtue Betrayed; or, Anna Bullen," first acted at Dorset -Garden, 1682.] - - -[Footnote 15: Bellchambers notes here that this order was superfluous, -because the prohibition was inserted in the Patents given to Davenant -and Killigrew. But, whether superfluous or not, I find from the Records -of the Lord Chamberlain's Office that this order was frequently made. On -16th April, 1695, an edict was issued forbidding actors to desert from -Betterton's company; on 25th July, 1695, desertions from either company -were forbidden; and this latter order was reiterated on 27th May, 1697.] - - -[Footnote 16: I do not know whether it is merely a coincidence, but it -is curious that, after Betterton got his License (on 25th March, 1695), -an edict was issued that no one was to desert from his company to that -of the Theatre Royal; while a general order against any desertion from -either company to the other was not issued for more than three months -after the first edict. The dates, as given in the Records of the Lord -Chamberlain's Office, are 16th April and 25th July respectively. If this -were intentional, it would form a curious commentary on Cibber's -statement.] - - -[Footnote 17: Genest supposes that this incident occurred about June, -1704. But the Lord Chamberlain's Records of that time contain no note of -it, and Cibber's language scarcely bears the interpretation that three -years elapsed between Powell's leaving Drury Lane and returning to it, -as was the case at that time; for he was at Lincoln's Inn Fields for -three seasons, 1702 to 1704. I find, however, a warrant, dated 14th -November, 1705, to apprehend Powell for refusing to act his part at the -Haymarket, so that the audience had to be dismissed, and for trying to -raise a mutiny in the company. He was ordered to be confined in the -Porter's Lodge until further notice. On the 24th November Rich was -informed that Powell had deserted the Haymarket, and was warned not to -engage him. Now these desertions must have followed each other pretty -closely, for he was at Drury Lane in the beginning of 1705; at the -Haymarket in April of the same year; and about six months later had -deserted the latter. The sequel to this difficulty seems to be the -silencing of Rich for receiving Powell, on 5th March in the fifth year -of Queen Anne's reign, that is, 1707. Unless the transcriber of the -Records has made a mistake in the year, Powell was thus suspended for -about eighteen months. It will be noticed that Cibber does not say that -he was acting the night after his release, but merely that he was behind -the scenes.] - - -[Footnote 18: Among the Lord Chamberlain's Records is a copy of a decree -suspending all performances at Drury Lane because Powell had been -allowed to play. This is dated 3rd May, 1698. His offence was that he -had drawn his sword on Colonel Stanhope and young Davenant. The -suspension was removed the following day; but on the 19th of the same -month Powell was forbidden to be received at either Drury Lane or Dorset -Garden.] - - -[Footnote 19: A warrant was issued to apprehend Dogget and take him to -the Knight Marshall's Prison, on 23rd November, 1697, his offence being -desertion of the company of Drury Lane and Dorset Garden. The Records -contain no note as to the termination of the matter; but this is, beyond -doubt, the occasion referred to by Cibber.] - - -[Footnote 20: Horace, _Epis._, i. 6, 68.] - - -[Footnote 21: At Drury Lane, 14th April, 1713.] - - -[Footnote 22: This is a pretty way of putting what Johnson, in his Life -of Addison, afterwards stated in the well-known words: "The Whigs -applauded every line in which Liberty was mentioned, as a satire on the -Tories; and the Tories echoed every clap to show that the satire was -unfelt." In the next paragraph Johnson describes the play as "supported -by the emulation of factious praise."] - - -[Footnote 23: I confess I do not know Cibber's authority for this -statement.] - - -[Footnote 24: "The Laureat" abuses Cibber for this sentence, declaring -that he evidently considered "Sophocles" to be the name of a tragedy. -But Cibber's method of expression, though curious, does not justify this -attack.] - - -[Footnote 25: "Caviare to the general."--"Hamlet," act ii. sc. 2.] - - -[Footnote 26: Malone supposes that Skipwith acquired his shares from the -Killigrew family, but in the indenture by which he transferred his -interest to Brett, it seems as if he had acquired part of it from -Alexander Davenant, and the remainder by buying up shares of the -original Adventurers. The indenture will be found at length in Mr. Percy -Fitzgerald's "New History of the English Stage," i. 252. Skipwith is -described in the "Biog. Dram." (i. 487) as "a weak, vain, conceited -coxcomb." The proportion in which the shares were divided among the -various holders is shown by the "Opinion" of Northey and Raymond, in -1711, to have been this: Three-twentieths belonged to Charles Killigrew. -The remainder was divided into tenths, of which two-tenths belonged to -Rich; the other eight parts were owned by the Mortgagees or Adventurers. -If Cibber's supposition is correct, two of these parts belonged to -Shipwith.] - - -[Footnote 27: It is dated 6th October, 1707.] - - -[Footnote 28: As noted vol. i. p. 213, January, 1695, Old Style; that -is, January, 1696.] - - -[Footnote 29: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 84) says: "The heads of the -English actors were, for a long time, covered with large full-bottomed -perriwigs, a fashion introduced in the reign of Charles II., which was -not entirely disused in public till about the year 1720. Addison, -Congreve, and Steele, met at Button's coffee-house, in large, flowing, -flaxen wigs; Booth, Wilks, and Cibber, when full-dressed, wore the same. -Till within these twenty-five years, our Tamerlanes and Catos had as -much hair on their heads as our judges on the bench.... I have been -told, that he [Booth] and Wilks bestowed forty guineas each on the -exorbitant thatching of their heads."] - - -[Footnote 30: "The Laureat," p. 66, relates with great acrimony an -anecdote of Colonel Brett's reproving Cibber harshly for his treatment -of an author who had submitted a play to him. Cibber is said to have -opened the author's M.S., and, having read two lines only, to have -returned it to him saying, "Sir, it will not do." Going to Button's, he -related his exploit with great glee, but was rebuked in the strongest -terms by Colonel Brett, who is said to have put him to shame before the -whole company. This is related as having occurred many years after the -time Cibber now writes of; the suggestion being that Brett did not -consider Cibber as a friend.] - - -[Footnote 31: This was the Countess of Macclesfield, the supposed mother -of Richard Savage, who had a large fortune in her own right, of which -she was not deprived on her divorce from the Earl of Macclesfield. -Shortly after her divorce, probably about 1698, she married Brett. She -lived to be eighty, or over it, dying 11th October, 1753.] - - -[Footnote 32: A comedy by Mountfort the actor, originally played at the -Theatre Royal, 1691. The part of Young Reveller was then taken by the -author, and we have no record of Cibber's playing it before 1708; but -from this anecdote he must have done so ten years earlier.] - - -[Footnote 33: In Boswell's Life of Johnson (i. 174) there is a note by -Boswell himself:-- - -"Miss Mason, after having forfeited the title of Lady Macclesfield by -divorce, was married to Colonel Brett, and, it is said, was well known -in all the polite circles. Colley Cibber, I am informed, had so high an -opinion of her taste and judgement as to genteel life, and manners, that -he submitted every scene of his _Careless Husband_ to Mrs. Brett's -revisal and correction. Colonel Brett was reported to be too free in his -gallantry with his Lady's maid. Mrs. Brett came into a room one day in -her own house, and found the Colonel and her maid both fast asleep in -two chairs. She tied a white handkerchief round her husband's neck, -which was a sufficient proof that she had discovered his intrigue; but -she never at any time took notice of it to him. This incident, as I am -told, gave occasion to the well-wrought scene of Sir Charles and Lady -Easy and Edging."] - - -[Footnote 34: See note, vol. i. p. 301.] - - -[Footnote 35: 1707. See note on page 3 of this vol.] - - -[Footnote 36: The edict which ordered this division of plays and operas -is dated 31st December, 1707. Each theatre is ordered to confine itself -to its own sphere on pain of being silenced; and no other theatre is -permitted to be built. A copy of the edict is given by Mr. Percy -Fitzgerald ("New History," i. 258), but it is not a _verbatim_ copy of -the original in the Lord Chamberlain's Office, though it contains all -that is of importance in it.] - - -[Footnote 37: At the Union, 1707-8, the Lord Chamberlain took measures -to assert his supremacy. Under date 6th January, 1708, he orders that no -actors are to be engaged at Drury-Lane who are not Her Majesty's -servants, and he therefore directs the managers to send a list of all -actors to be sworn in.] - - -[Footnote 38: Bellchambers notes that Mrs. Tofts "sang in English, while -her associates responded in Italian."] - - -[Footnote 39: The whole passage regarding Nicolini is:-- - -"I went on _Friday_ last to the Opera, and was surprised to find a thin -House at so noble an Entertainment, till I heard that the Tumbler was -not to make his Appearance that Night. For my own Part, I was fully -satisfied with the Sight of an Actor, who, by the Grace and Propriety of -his Action and Gesture, does Honour to an human Figure, as much as the -other vilifies and degrades it. Every one will easily imagine I mean -Signior _Nicolini_, who sets off the Character he bears in an Opera by -his Action, as much as he does the Words of it by his Voice. Every Limb, -and every Finger, contributes to the Part he acts, insomuch that a deaf -Man might go along with him in the Sense of it. There is scarce a -beautiful Posture in an old Statue which he does not plant himself in, -as the different Circumstances of the Story give Occasion for it. He -performs the most ordinary Action in a Manner suitable to the Greatness -of his Character, and shows the Prince even in the giving of a Letter, -or the dispatching of a Message. Our best Actors are somewhat at a Loss -to support themselves with proper Gesture, as they move from any -considerable Distance to the Front of the Stage; but I have seen the -Person of whom I am now speaking, enter alone at the remotest Part of -it, and advance from it with such Greatness of Air and Mien, as seemed -to fill the Stage, and at the same Time commanded the Attention of the -Audience with the Majesty of his Appearance."--"Tatler," No. 115, -January 3rd, 1710.] - - -[Footnote 40: An excellent account of Mrs. Tofts is given by Mr. Henry -Morley in a note on page 38 of his valuable edition of the "Spectator." -She was the daughter of one of Bishop Burnet's household, and had great -natural gifts. In 1709 she was obliged to quit the stage, her mental -faculties having failed; but she afterwards recovered, and married Mr. -Joseph Smith, a noted art patron, who was appointed English Consul at -Venice. Her intellect again became disordered, and she died about the -year 1760.] - - -[Footnote 41: Cibber's most notorious blunder in language was made in -this sentence. In his first edition he wrote "was then _but_ an Adept in -it," completely reversing the meaning of the word "Adept." Fielding -("Champion," 22nd April, 1740) declares Cibber to be a most absolute -Master of English, "for surely he must be absolute Master of that whose -Laws he can trample under Feet, and which he can use as he pleases. This -Power he hath exerted, of which I shall give a _barbarous_ Instance in -the Case of the poor Word _Adept_.... This Word our great _Master_ hath -tortured and wrested to signify a _Tyro_ or _Novice_, being directly -contrary to the Sense in which it hath been hitherto used." It is of -course conceivable that the error was a printer's error not corrected in -reading the proof.] - - -[Footnote 42: Nicolini was the stage name of the Cavalier Nicolo -Grimaldi. Dr. Burney says: "This great singer, and still greater actor, -was a Neapolitan; his voice was at first a _soprano_, but afterwards -descended into a fine _contralto_." He first appeared, about 1694, in -Rome, and paid his first visit to England in 1708. Valentini Urbani was -a _castrato_, his voice was not so strong as Nicolini's, but his action -was so excellent that his vocal defects were not noticed.--"General -History of Music," 1789, iv. 207, 205.] - - -[Footnote 43: Colonel Brett, by an indenture dated 31st March, 1708, -made Wilks, Estcourt, and Cibber, his deputies in the management of the -theatre. Genest (ii. 405) says this was probably "31st March, 1708, Old -Style," by which I suppose he means March, 1709. But I cannot see why he -should think this. Brett entered into management in January, 1708, and -was probably out of it by March, 1709. It may be that Genest supposes -that this indenture marks the end of Brett's connection with the -theatre; whereas it was probably one of his first actions. It will be -remembered that he stated his intention of benefitting Cibber by taking -the Patent (see _ante_, p. 42). A copy of the indenture is given by Mr. -Percy Fitzgerald ("New History," ii. 443). It is dated 31st March in the -seventh year of Queen Anne's reign, that is, 1708.] - - -[Footnote 44: On p. 328 of vol. i. Cibber says that Rich (about 1705) -had led the Adventurers "a Chace in Chancery several years." From the -petition presented in 1709 against the order silencing Rich, we learn -that the principal Adventurers were: Lord Guilford, Lord John Harvey, -Dame Alice Brownlow, Mrs. Shadwell, Sir Edward Smith, Bart., Sir Thomas -Skipwith, Bart., George Sayer, Charles Killegrew, Christopher Rich, -Charles Davenant, John Metcalf, Thomas Goodall, Ashburnham Toll, -Ashburnham Frowd, William East, Richard Middlemore, Robert Gower, and -William Collier. It is curious that everyone who has reproduced this -list has, as far as I know, mistaken the name "Frowd," calling it -"Trowd." The earliest reproduction of the list of names which I know is -in the "Dramatic Censor," 1811, col. III.] - - -[Footnote 45: I do not know when Sir Thomas Skipwith died; but in 1709 -the petition of the Adventurers, &c., is signed by, among others, Sir -Thomas Skipwith.] - - -[Footnote 46: This anecdote shows that Rich had some sort of Committee -of Shareholders to aid (or hinder) him. Subsequent experience has shown, -as witness the Drury Lane Committee at the beginning of this century, -how disastrous such form of management is.] - -[Footnote 47: Dr. Doran ("Their Majesties' Servants," 1888 edition, i. -103) gives the following account of Goodman's connection with this -plot:-- - -"King James having saved Cardell's neck, Goodman, out of pure gratitude, -perhaps, became a Tory, and something more, when William sat in the seat -of his father-in-law. After Queen Mary's death, Scum was in the Fenwick -and Charnock plot to kill the King. When the plot was discovered, Scum -was ready to peach. As Fenwick's life was thought by his friends to be -safe if Goodman could be bought off and got out of the way, the rogue -was looked for, at the _Fleece_, in Covent Garden, famous for homicides, -and at the robbers' and the revellers' den, the _Dog_, in Drury Lane. -Fenwick's agent, O'Bryan, erst soldier and highwayman, now a Jacobite -agent, found Scum at the _Dog_, and would then and there have cut his -throat, had not Scum consented to the pleasant alternative of accepting -£500 a year, and a residence abroad.... Scum suddenly disappeared, and -Lord Manchester, our Ambassador in Paris, inquired after him in vain. It -is impossible to say whether the rogue died by an avenging hand, or -starvation."] - - -[Footnote 48: This anecdote is valuable as establishing the identity of -_Captain_ Griffin with the Griffin who retired (temporarily) from the -stage about 1688. See note on page 83 of vol. i.] - - -[Footnote 49: When Betterton and his associates left the Theatre Royal -and opened Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. See Chapter VI.] - - -[Footnote 50: Indulto--In Spain, a duty, tax, or custom, paid to the -King for all goods imported.] - - -[Footnote 51: In the "Answer to Steele's State of the Case," 1720 -(Nichols's ed. p. 527), it is said: "After Mr. Rich was again restored -to the management of the Play-house, he made an order to stop a certain -proportion of the clear profits of every Benefit-play without exception; -which being done, and reaching the chief Players as well as the -underlings, zealous application was made to the Lord Chamberlain, to -oblige Mr. Rich to return the money stopped to each particular. The -dispute lasted some time, and Mr. Rich, not giving full satisfaction -upon that head, was silenced; during the time of which silence, the -chief Players, either by a new License, or by some former (which I -cannot absolutely determine, my Memoirs being not at this time by me) -set up for themselves, and got into the possession of the Play-house in -Drury-lane."] - - -[Footnote 52: See _ante_, vol. i. p. 161.] - - -[Footnote 53: This warning is dated 30th April, 1709, and is a very -peremptory document. Rich's treasurer is ordered to pay the actors the -full receipts of their benefits, under deduction only of £40 for the -charges of the house. See the Order for Silence quoted _post_, page 73.] - - -[Footnote 54: Mrs. Bracegirdle retired in February, 1707. Mrs. Barry -played up to the end of the season, 1708, that is, up to June, 1708. She -does not seem to have been engaged in 1708-9, but she was a member of -the Haymarket Company in 1709-10.] - - -[Footnote 55: From Chapter XVI. it will be seen that Wilks's unfair -partiality for John Mills, whom he forced into prominence at Booth's -expense, was the leading reason for Booth's remaining with Rich.] - - -[Footnote 56: The Order for Silence has never, I believe, been quoted. I -therefore give it in full. The theatre closed on the 4th of June, 1709, -which was Saturday, and did not open again under Rich's management, the -Order for Silence being issued on the next Monday. - -"_Play House in Covent Garden silenc'd._ Whereas by an Order dated the -30^{th} day of Apr^{ll} last upon the peti{c~o}n of sev^{ll} Players &c: -I did then direct and require you to pay to the respective Comedians who -had benfit plays last winter the full receip^{ts} of such plays -deducting only from each the sume of 40l. for the Charges of the House -pursuant to the Articles made w^{th} y^m at y^e theatre in the -Haymarkett and w^{ch} were promis^d to be made good upon their removall -to the Theatre in Covent Garden. - -"And whereas I am inform^d y^t in Contempt of the said Ord^r y^u still -refuse to pay and detain from the s^d Comedians y^e profits of y^e s^d -benefit plays I do therefore for the s^d Contempt hereby silence you -from further acting & require you not to perform any Plays or other -Theatricall entertainm^{ts} till further Ord^r; And all her Maj^{ts} -Sworn Comedians are hereby forbid to act any Plays at y^e Theatre in -Covent Gard^n or else where w^{th}out my leave as they shall answer the -contrary at their perill And &c: Given &c: this 6^{th} day of June 1709 -in the Eighth Year of her Majesty's Reign. - - "(Signed) KENT. - - "To the Manager or Manag^{rs} } - of her Maj^{ts} Company of Comedi^{ns} } - for their Patentees." } - - I have copied this from the Lord Chamberlain's Records.] - - -[Footnote 57: - - "_Honoured Sir_, - _July_ 1. 1710. - -"Finding by divers of your late Papers, that you are a Friend to the -Profession of which I was many Years an unworthy Member, I the rather -make bold to crave your Advice, touching a Proposal that has been lately -made me of coming into Business, and the Sub-Administration of Stage -Affairs. I have, from my Youth, been bred up behind the Curtain, and -been a Prompter from the Time of the Restoration. I have seen many -Changes, as well of Scenes as of Actors, and have known Men within my -Remembrance arrive to the highest Dignities of the Theatre, who made -their Entrance in the Quality of Mutes, Joynt-stools, Flower-pots, and -Tapestry Hangings. It cannot be unknown to the Nobility and Gentry, That -a Gentleman of the Inns of Court, and a deep Intriguer, had some Time -since worked himself into the sole Management and Direction of the -Theatre. Nor is it less notorious, That his restless Ambition, and -subtle Machinations, did manifestly tend to the Extirpation of the good -old _British_ Actors, and the Introduction of foreign Pretenders; such -as Harlequins, _French_ Dancers, and _Roman_ Singers; which, tho' they -impoverish'd the Proprietors, and imposed on the Audience, were for some -Time tolerated, by Reason of his dextrous Insinuations, which prevailed -upon a few deluded Women, especially the Vizard Masks, to believe, that -the Stage was in Danger. But his Schemes were soon exposed, and the -Great Ones that supported him withdrawing their Favour, he made his -_Exit_, and remained for a Season in Obscurity. During this Retreat the -Machiavilian was not idle, but secretly fomented Divisions, and wrought -over to his Side some of the inferior Actors, reserving a Trap Door to -himself, to which only he had a Key. This Entrance secured, this cunning -Person, to compleat his Company, bethought himself of calling in the -most eminent of Strollers from all Parts of the Kingdom. I have seen -them all ranged together behind the Scenes; but they are many of them -Persons that never trod the Stage before, and so very aukward and -ungainly, that it is impossible to believe the Audience will bear them. -He was looking over his Catalogue of Plays, and indeed picked up a good -tolerable Set of grave Faces for Counsellors, to appear in the famous -Scene of _Venice Preserved_, when the Danger is over; but they being but -meer Outsides, and the Actors having a great Mind to play the _Tempest_, -there is not a Man of them when he is to perform any Thing above Dumb -Show is capable of acting with a good Grace so much as the Part of -_Trincalo_. However, the Master persists in his Design, and is fitting -up the old Storm; but I am afraid he will not be able to procure able -Sailors or experienced Officers for Love or Money. - -"Besides all this, when he comes to cast the Parts there is so great a -Confusion amongst them for Want of proper Actors, that for my Part I am -wholly discouraged. The Play with which they design to open is, _The -Duke and no Duke_; and they are so put to it, That the master himself is -to act the Conjurer, and they have no one for the General but honest -_George Powell_. - -"Now, Sir, they being so much at a Loss for the _Dramatis Personæ_, -_viz._ the Persons to enact, and the whole Frame of the House being -designed to be altered, I desire your Opinion, whether you think it -advisable for me to undertake to prompt 'em: For tho' I can clash Swords -when they represent a Battel, and have yet Lungs enough to huzza their -Victories, I question, if I should prompt 'em right, whether they would -act accordingly.--I am - - Your Honour's most humble Servant, - "J. DOWNES. - -"_P.S._ Sir, Since I writ this, I am credibly informed, That they design -a New House in _Lincoln's-Inn-fields_, near the Popish Chapel, to be -ready by _Michaelmas_ next; which indeed is but repairing an Old one -that has already failed. You know the honest Man who kept the Office is -gone already."] - - -[Footnote 58: The chief actor who remained with Rich was Booth. Among -the others were Powell, Bickerstaffe, Pack, Keene, Francis Leigh, -Norris, Mrs. Bignell, Mrs. Moor, Mrs. Bradshaw, and Mrs. Knight.] - - -[Footnote 59: An interesting advertisement was published on Rich's -behalf in July, 1709, which gives curious particulars regarding the -actors' salaries. I quote it from "Edwin's Eccentricities," i. 219-224, -without altering the figures, which, as regards the pence, are rather -eccentric:-- - -"ADVERTISEMENT CONCERNING THE POOR ACTORS, WHO, UNDER PRETENCE OF HARD -USAGE FROM THE PATENTEES, ARE ABOUT TO DESERT THEIR SERVICE. - -"Some persons having industriously spread about amongst the Quality and -others, what small allowances the chief Actors have had this last Winter -from the Patentees of Drury Lane Play-house, as if they had received no -more than so many poor palatines; it was thought necessary to print the -following Account. - -"The whole company began to act on the 12th of October, 1708, and left -off on the 26th of the same month, by reason of Prince George's illness -and death; and began again the 14th of December following, and left off -upon the Lord Chamberlain's order, on the 4th of June last, 1709. So -acted, during that time, in all 135 days, which is 22 weeks and three -days, accounting six acting days to a week. - - In that time £ s. d. - - To Mr. Wilkes, by salary, for acting, and taking - care of the rehearsals; paid 168 6 8 - - By his Benefit play; 90 14 9 - - Total 259 1 5 - ------------- - To Mr. Betterton by salary, for acting, 4_l._ a week - for himself, and 1_l._ week for his wife, although - she does not act; paid 112 10 0 - - By a benefit play at common prices, besides what - he got by high prices, and Guineas; paid 76 4 5 - ------------- - 188 14 5 - ------------- - To Mr. Eastcourt, at 5_l._ a week salary; paid 112 10 0 - - By a benefit play; paid 51 8 6 - ------------- - 163 18 6 - ------------- - To Mr. Cibber, at 5_l._ a week salary; paid 111 10 0 - - By a benefit play; paid 51 0 10 - ------------- - 162 10 10 - ------------- - - To Mr. Mills, at 4_l._ a week for himself, and 1_l._ - a week for his wife, for little or nothing 112 10 0 - - By a benefit play paid to him (not including therein - what she got by a benefit play) 58 1 4 - ------------- - 170 11 4 - ------------- - - To Mrs. Oldfield, at 4_l._ a week salary, which for 14 - weeks and one day; she leaving off acting presently - after her benefit (viz.) on the 17th of March last, - 1708, though the benefit was intended for her whole - nine months acting, and she refused to assist others - in their benefits; her salary for these 14 weeks and - one day came to, and she was paid, 56 13 4 - - In January she required, and was paid ten guineas, to - wear on the stage in some plays, during the whole - season, a mantua petticoat that was given her for - the stage, and though she left off three months - before she should, yet she hath not returned any - part of the ten guineas 10 15 0 - - And she had for wearing in some plays a suit of - boys cloaths on the stage; paid 2 10 9 - - By a benefit play; paid 62 7 8 - ------------- - 132 6 7 - ------------- - Certainties in all 1077 3 8 - ------------- - -"Besides which certain sums above-mentioned, the same actors got by their -benefit plays, as follows: - - £ s. d. - - Note, that Mr. Betterton having had 76_l._ 4_s._ 5_d._ - as above mentioned, for two-thirds of the profits by - a benefit play, reckoning his tickets for the boxes - at 5_s._ a piece, the pit at 3_s._ the first gallery - at 2_s._ and the upper gallery at 1_s._----But the - boxes, pit, and stage, laid together on his day, and - no person admitted but by his tickets, the lowest - at half a guinea a ticket; nay he had much more, for - one lady gave him ten guineas, some five guineas, - some two guineas, and most one guinea, supposing that - he designed not to act any more, and he delivered - tickets out for more persons, than the boxes, pit, - and stage could hold; it is thought he cleared at - least 450_l._ over and besides the 76_l._ 4_s._ 5_d._ 450 0 0 - - 'Tis thought Mr. Estcourt cleared 200_l._ besides the - said 51_l._ 8_s._ 6_d._ 200 0 0 - - That Mr. Wilkes cleared by Guineas, as it is thought, - about 40_l._ besides the said 90_l._ 14_s._ 9_d._ 40 0 0 - - That Mr. Cibber got by Guineas, as it is thought, - about 50_l._ besides the said 51_l._ 0_s._ 10_d._ 50 0 0 - - That Mr. Mills got by guineas about 20_l._ as it is - thought, besides the said 58_l._ 1_s._ 4_d._ 20 0 0 - - That Mrs. Oldfield, it is thought, got 120_l._ by - guineas over and above the said 62_l._ 7_s._ 8_d._ 120 0 0 - ------------- - In all 880 0 0 - ------------- - -"So that these six comedians, who are the unsatisfied people, have -between the 12th of October and the 4th of June last, cleared in all the -following sums: - - £ s. d. - - Acted 100 times, Mr. Wilkes certain 259 1 5 - and more by computation 40 0 0 - ------------- - Both 299 1 5 - ------------- - Acted 16 times, Mr. Betterton certain 188 14 5 - and more by computation 450 0 0 - ------------- - 638 14 5 - ------------- - Acted 52 times, Mr. Estcourt certain 163 18 6 - and more by computation 200 0 0 - ------------- - 363 18 6 - ------------- - Acted 71 times, Mr. Cibber certain 162 10 10 - and more by computation 50 0 0 - ------------- - 212 10 10 - ------------- - Acted -- times, Mr. Mills certain 170 11 4 - and more by computation 20 0 0 - ------------- - 190 11 4 - ------------- - Acted 39 times, Mrs. Oldfield certain 132 6 7 - and more by computation 120 0 3 - ------------- - 252 6 7 - ------------- - In all 1957 3 2 - ------------- - -"Had not acting been forbid seven weeks on the occasion of Prince George's -death, and my Lord Chamberlain forbad acting about five weeks before the -tenth of July instant; each of these actors would have had twelve weeks -salary more than is above-mentioned. - -"As to the certainties expressed in this paper, to be paid to the six -Actors, the same are positively true: and as to the sums they got over -and above such certainties, I believe the same to be true, according to -the best of my computation. - -"Witness my hand, who am Receiver and Treasurer at the Theatre Royal, -Drury Lane, - - "July 8th, 1709. - "ZACHARY BAGGS."] - - -[Footnote 60: It was opened 18th December, 1714.] - - -[Footnote 61: The Lord Chamberlain's Records enable an exact account to -be given of the transactions which led to the formation of this -Haymarket Company. After Rich was silenced, his actors petitioned the -Lord Chamberlain on three separate occasions, namely, 10th June, 20th -June, and 5th July, 1709, and in answer to their petitions, the -Haymarket, which was then devoted solely to Opera, was permitted to be -used for Plays also. In an Answer to the actors' petitions, the Lord -Chamberlain permits the manager of the Haymarket to engage such of them -as he wished, and to act Plays four times a week, the other days being -devoted to Operas. This License is dated 8th July, 1709. This is, of -course, only a formal sanction of the private arrangement mentioned by -Cibber _ante_ p. 69; and was resented by Booth and others who were in -Rich's favour. They therefore petitioned the Queen direct, in despite of -the Lord Chamberlain (see "Dramatic Censor," 1811, col. 112; Genest, ii. -426; Mr. Fitzgerald's "New History," i. 273), but no result followed, -until Collier's advent, as is related further on.] - - -[Footnote 62: The description of the shape of the stage which follows is -interesting and valuable. In early times the stage was a platform -surrounded by the audience, not, as now, a picture framed by the -proscenium. This is evident, not only from descriptive allusions, but -from the two drawings which have come down to us of the interior of -pre-Restoration theatres--De Witt's drawing of the Swan Theatre in 1596, -reproduced in Herr Gaedertz's "Zur Kenntniss der altenglischen Bühne" -(Bremen, 1888), and the well-known print of the Red Bull Theatre during -the Commonwealth, which forms the frontispiece to Kirkman's "The Wits, -or Sport upon Sport" (1672). In both of them the pit entirely surrounds -the stage on three sides, while the fourth side also contains spectators -in boxes placed above the entrance-doors. By gradual modifications the -shape of the stage has changed, till now the audience is confined to one -side. The doors used for entrances and exits, to which Cibber alludes, -have disappeared comparatively recently. They may be seen, for instance, -in Cruikshank's plates to Dickens's "Grimaldi."] - - -[Footnote 63: The Haymarket opened on 15th September, 1709, and there -was no rival theatre till 23rd November, when Drury Lane opened; but -from this latter date till the end of the season both theatres were -open.] - - -[Footnote 64: Bellchambers has here the following note:--"The monarch -alluded to, I suppose, was Victor Amadeus, King of Sardinia. Carlo -Broschi, better known by the name of Farinelli, was born in the dukedom -of Modena, in 1705, and suffered emasculation, from an accident, when -young. The Spanish king Ferdinand created him a knight of Calatrava, -honoured him with his friendship, and added to his fortune. He returned -to Italy on his patron's death, and died in 1782."] - - -[Footnote 65: Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni Hasse, whose famous -rivalry in 1726 and 1727 is here referred to, were singers of remarkable -powers. Cuzzoni's voice was a _soprano_, her rival's a _mezzo-soprano_, -and while the latter excelled in brilliant execution, the former was -supreme in pathetic expression. Dr. Burney ("History of Music," iv. 319) -quotes from M. Quantz the statement that so keen was their supporters' -party spirit, that when one party began to applaud their favourite, the -other party hissed!] - - -[Footnote 66: Horace, _Epod._ xvi. 2.] - - -[Footnote 67: See note on page 87.] - - -[Footnote 68: The trial opened on 27th February, 1710, and lasted for -more than three weeks. The political excitement it caused must have -done great harm to theatricals. Shadwell, in the Preface to "The Fair -Quaker of Deal," mentioned _post_, page 95, says it was a success, -"Notwithstanding the trial in Westminster-Hall, and the rehearsal of -the new opera."] - - -[Footnote 69: In the British Museum will be found a copy of the report -by the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General, who were ordered by Queen -Anne to inquire into this business. Rich declared that Collier broke -into the theatre with an armed mob of soldiers, &c., but Collier denied -the soldiers, though he admitted the breaking in. He gave as his -authority for taking possession a letter signed by Sir James Stanley, -dated 19th November, 1709, by which the Queen gave him authority to act, -and required him not to allow Rich to have any concern in the theatre. -His authority was appointed to run from 23rd November, 1709.] - - -[Footnote 70: "Tatler," No. 99, 26th November, 1709: "_Divito_ [Rich] -was too modest to know when to resign it, till he had the Opinion and -Sentence of the Law for his Removal.... The lawful Ruler [of Drury Lane] -sets up an Attorney to expel an Attorney, and chose a Name dreadful to -the Stage [that is Collier], who only seemed able to beat _Divito_ out -of his Intrenchments. - -"On the 22d Instant, a Night of public Rejoycing, the Enemies of -_Divito_ made a Largess to the People of Faggots, Tubs, and other -combustible Matter, which was erected into a Bonfire before the Palace. -Plentiful Cans were at the same time distributed among the Dependences -of that Principality; and the artful Rival of _Divito_ observing them -prepared for Enterprize, presented the lawful Owner of the neighbouring -Edifice, and showed his Deputation under him. War immediately ensued -upon the peaceful Empire of Wit and the Muses; _The Goths_ and _Vandals_ -sacking _Rome_ did not threaten a more barbarous Devastation of Arts and -Sciences. But when they had forced their Entrance, the experienced -_Divito_ had detached all his Subjects, and evacuated all his Stores. -The neighbouring Inhabitants report, That the Refuse of _Divito_'s -Followers marched off the Night before disguised in Magnificence; -Door-Keepers came out clad like Cardinals, and Scene-Drawers like -Heathen Gods. _Divito_ himself was wrapped up in one of his black -Clouds, and left to the Enemy nothing but an empty Stage, full of -Trap-Doors, known only to himself and his Adherents."] - - -[Footnote 71: Barton Booth, Theophilus Keen, Norris, John Bickerstaffe, -George Powell, Francis Leigh, George Pack, Mrs. Knight, Mrs. Bradshaw, -and Mrs. Moore were Collier's chief performers. As most of them had -signed the petition in Rich's favour which I mentioned in a note on page -79, it is not wonderful that disturbances soon arose. Collier appointed -Aaron Hill to manage the company, and his post seems to have been a -somewhat lively one. On 14th June, 1710, the Lord Chamberlain's Records -contain an entry which proves how rebellious the company were. Powell, -Booth, Bickerstaffe, Keen, and Leigh, are stated to have defied and -beaten Aaron Hill, to have broken open the doors of the theatre, and -made a riot generally. For this Powell is discharged, and the others -suspended. Mr. Fitzgerald ("New History," i. 308 _et seq._) quotes a -letter from Hill, in which some account of this matter is given.] - - -[Footnote 72: Charles Shadwell's "Fair Quaker of Deal" was produced at -Drury Lane on 25th February, 1710. In the Preface the author says, "This -play was written about three years since, and put into the hands of a -famous Comedian belonging to the Haymarket Playhouse, who took care to -beat down the value of it so much, as to offer the author to alter it -fit to appear on the stage, on condition he might have half the profits -of the third day, and the dedication entire; that is as much as to say, -that it may pass for one of his, according to custom. The author not -agreeing to this reasonable proposal, it lay in his hands till the -beginning of this winter, when Mr. Booth read it, and liked it, and -persuaded the author, that, with a little alteration, it would please -the town" (Bell's edition). If, as is likely, Cibber is the actor -referred to, his abuse of the play and the actors is not -unintelligible.] - - -[Footnote 73: Hester Santlow, the "Santlow, fam'd for dance" of Gay, -married Barton Booth. She appears to have retired from the stage about -1733. Genest (iii. 375) says, "she seems to have been a pleasing actress -with no great powers." Her reputation was none of the best before her -marriage, for she was said to have been the mistress of the Duke of -Marlborough and of Secretary Craggs. See memoir of Booth.] - - -[Footnote 74: Genest (ii. 430) has the following outspoken character of -Rich: "He seems in his public capacity of Patentee and Manager to have -been a despicable character--without spirit to bring the power of the -Lord Chamberlain to a legal test--without honesty to account to the -other proprietors for the receipts of the theatre--without any feeling -for his actors--and without the least judgment as to players and -plays."] - - -[Footnote 75: Rich's Patent was revived, as Cibber states (p. 78), in -1714, when it was the property of his son, John Rich.] - - -[Footnote 76: There is no more curious transaction in theatrical history -than the acquisition of the entire right in the Patent by Rich and his -son. Christopher Rich's share (see note on p. 32) was seventeen -one-hundredths, or about one-sixth; yet, by obstinate dishonesty, he -succeeded in annexing the remainder.] - - -[Footnote 77: In March, 1705.] - - -[Footnote 78: There has been some doubt as to the locality of the -theatre in Little Lincoln's Inn Fields, in which Betterton acted, one -authority at least holding that he played in Gibbons' Tennis Court in -Vere Street, Clare Market. But Cibber distinctly states that Rich rented -the building which Betterton left in 1705, and old maps of London show -clearly that Rich's theatre was in Portugal Street, just opposite the -end of the then unnamed street, now called Carey Street. In "A New and -Exact Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster," published 30th -August, 1738, by George Foster, "The New Play House" is given as the -name of this building, and it is worthy of notice that Cibber, a few -lines above, writes of "the New Theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields." See -also vol. i. p. 192, note 1, where I quote Downes, who calls Betterton's -theatre the New Theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields. About 1756 this house -was made a barrack; it was afterwards an auction room; then the China -Repository of Messrs. Spode and Copeland, and was ultimately pulled down -about 1848 to make room for the extension of the Museum of the Royal -College of Surgeons.] - - -[Footnote 79: The Licence to Swiney, Wilks, Cibber, and Dogget, for -Drury Lane, is dated 6th November, 1710. In it Swiney's name is spelled -"Swyny," and Cibber's "Cybber."] - - -[Footnote 80: Westminster Bridge was authorized to be built in the face -of virulent opposition from the Corporation of London, who feared that -its existence would damage the trade of the City. Dr. Potter, Archbishop -of Canterbury, and others interested, applied for an Act of Parliament -in 1736; the bridge was begun in 1738, and not finished till 1750, the -opening ceremony being held on 17th November of that year. Until this time -the only bridge was London Bridge. See "Old and New London," iii. 297.] - - -[Footnote 81: I presume the Noble Commissioner is the Earl of Pembroke, -who laid the first stone of the bridge on 29th January, 1739.] - - -[Footnote 82: Collier seems to have relied on Aaron Hill in all his -theatrical enterprises, for, as previously noted, Hill had been manager -for him at Drury Lane.] - - -[Footnote 83: At the end of the season 1708-9. See _ante_, p. 69.] - - -[Footnote 84: Collier's treatment of Swiney was so discreditable, that -when he in his turn was evicted from Drury Lane (1714) we cannot help -feeling gratified at his downfall.] - - -[Footnote 85: Swiney's Licence for the Opera is dated 17th April, 1712.] - - -[Footnote 86: For a further account of Steele's being given a share of -the Patent, which he got through Marlborough's influence, see the -beginning of Chapter XV.] - - -[Footnote 87: See vol. i. 284-285.] - - -[Footnote 88: That is, he had been the chief of Collier's Company at -Drury Lane at his opening in November, 1709. See _ante_, p. 94.] - - -[Footnote 89: Martial, x. 23, 7.] - - -[Footnote 90: This is a blunder, which, by the way, Bellchambers does -not correct. "Cato" was produced at Drury Lane on 14th April, 1713. The -cast was:-- - - CATO Mr. Booth. - LUCIUS Mr. Keen. - SEMPRONIUS Mr. Mills. - JUBA Mr. Wilks. - SYPHAX Mr. Cibber. - PORTIUS Mr. Powell. - MARCUS Mr. Ryan. - DECIUS Mr. Bowman. - MARCIA Mrs. Oldfield. - LUCIA Mrs. Porter.] - - -[Footnote 91: "The Laureat" says these Irish actors were Elrington and -Griffith, but I venture to think that Evans's name should be substituted -for that of Griffith. All three came from Ireland to Drury Lane in 1714; -but, while Elrington and Evans played many important characters, -Griffith did very little. Again, I can find no record of the latter's -benefit, but the others had benefits in the best part of the season. The -fact that they had _separate_ benefits makes my theory contradict Cibber -on this one point; but what he says may have occurred in connection with -one of the two benefits. Cibber's memory is not infallible.] - - -[Footnote 92: Genest's record gives Wilks about one hundred and fifty -different characters, Dogget only about sixty.] - - -[Footnote 93: Horace, _Ars Poetica_, 121.] - - -[Footnote 94: See note on page 120.] - - -[Footnote 95: Johnson (Life of Addison) terms this "the despicable cant -of literary modesty."] - - -[Footnote 96: 14th April, 1713. See note on page 120.] - - -[Footnote 97: Mrs. Oldfield, Powell, Mills, Booth, Pinkethman, and Mrs. -Porter, had their benefits before "Cato" was produced. "Cato" was then -acted twenty times--April 14th to May 9th--that is, every evening except -Monday in each week, as Cibber states. On Monday nights the benefits -continued--being one night in the week instead of three. Johnson, Keen, -and Mrs. Bicknell had their benefits during the run of "Cato," and on -May 11th the regular benefit performances recommenced, Mrs. Rogers -taking her benefit on that night.] - - -[Footnote 98: The Duke of Marlborough is the person pointed at.] - - -[Footnote 99: Theo. Cibber ("Life of Booth," p. 6) says that Booth in -his early days as an actor became intimate with Lord Bolingbroke, and -that this "was of eminent advantage to Mr. _Booth_,--when, on his great -Success in the Part of CATO (of which he was the original Actor) my -Lord's Interest (then Secretary of State) established him as a Manager -of the Theatre."] - - -[Footnote 100: There are five Prologues by Dryden spoken at Oxford; one -in 1674, and the others probably about 1681.] - - -[Footnote 101: James II.] - - -[Footnote 102: Obadiah Walker, born 1616, died 1699, is famous only for -the change of religion to which Cibber's anecdote refers. Macaulay -("History," 1858, ii. 85-86) relates the story of his perversion, and in -the same volume, page 283, refers to the incident here told by Cibber.] - - -[Footnote 103: 1713. The performance on 23rd June, 1713, was announced -as the last that season, as the company were obliged to go immediately -to Oxford.] - - -[Footnote 104: Dryden writes, in one of his Prologues (about 1681), to -the University of Oxford:-- - - "When our fop gallants, or our city folly, - Clap over-loud, it makes us melancholy: - We doubt that scene which does their wonder raise, - And, for their ignorance, contemn their praise. - Judge, then, if we who act, and they who write, - Should not be proud of giving you delight. - London likes grossly; but this nicer pit - Examines, fathoms, all the depths of wit; - The ready finger lays on every blot; - Knows what should justly please, and what should not."] - - -[Footnote 105: In a Prologue by Dryden, spoken by Hart in 1674, at -Oxford, the poet says:-- - - "None of our living poets dare appear; - For Muses so severe are worshipped here, - That, conscious of their faults, they shun the eye, - And, as profane, from sacred places fly, - Rather than see the offended God, and die." - -Malone (Dryden's Prose Works, vol. i. part ii. p. 13) gives a letter -from Dryden to Lord Rochester, in which he says: "Your Lordship will -judge [from the success of these Prologues, &c.] how easy 'tis to pass -anything upon an University, and how gross flattery the learned will -endure."] - -[Footnote 106: Theo. Cibber ("Life of Booth," p. 7) says that Colley -Cibber and Booth "used frequently to set out, after Play (in the Month -of _May_) to _Windsor_, where the _Court_ then was, to push their -different Interests." Chetwood ("History," p. 93) states that the other -Patentees "to prevent his solliciting his Patrons at Court, then at -_Windsor_, gave out Plays every Night, where Mr. _Booth_ had a principal -Part. Notwithstanding this Step, he had a Chariot and Six of a -Nobleman's waiting for him at the End of every Play, that whipt him the -twenty Miles in three Hours, and brought him back to the Business of the -Theatre the next Night."] - - -[Footnote 107: The new Licence was dated 11th November, 1713. Dogget's -name was of course included as well as Booth's.] - - -[Footnote 108: This must have been in November, 1713.] - - -[Footnote 109: The Right Hon. Thomas Coke.] - - -[Footnote 110: The dates regarding this quarrel with Dogget are very -difficult to fix satisfactorily. In the collection of Mr. Francis Harvey -of St. James's Street are some valuable letters by Dogget in connection -with this matter. From these, and from Mr. Percy Fitzgerald's "New -History" (i. 352-358), I have made up a list of dates, which, however, I -give with all reserve. We know from "The Laureat" that Dogget had some -funds of the theatre in his hands when he ceased acting, and this fact -makes a Petition by Cibber and Wilks, that he should account with them -for money, intelligible. This is dated 16th January, 1714--it cannot be -1713, as Mr. Fitzgerald says, for Booth was not admitted then, and the -quarrel had not arisen. Then follows a Petition from Cibber, Booth, and -Wilks, dated 5th February, 1714, praying the Chamberlain to settle the -dispute. Petitions by Dogget bear date 17th April, 1714; and, I think, -14th June, 1714. Mr. Fitzgerald gives this latter date as 14th January, -1714, and certainly the date on the document itself is more like "Jan" -than "June;" but in the course of the Petition Dogget says that the -season will end in a few days, which seems to fix June as the correct -month. The season 1713-14 ended 18th June, 1714. Next comes a Petition -that Dogget should be compelled to act if he was to draw his share of -the profits, which is dated 3rd November, 1714. In this case we are on -sure ground, for the Petition is preserved among the Lord Chamberlain's -Papers. Another Petition by Dogget, in which he talks of his being -forced into Westminster Hall to obtain his rights, is dated "Jan. ye 6 -1714," that is, 1715. After this, legal action was no doubt commenced, -as related by Cibber.] - - -[Footnote 111: So full an account of Dogget is given by Cibber and by -Aston, that I need only add, that he first appeared about 1691; and that -he died in 1721.] - - -[Footnote 112: See memoir of Mrs. Porter at the end of this volume.] - - -[Footnote 113: On March 18th, 1717. Cibber is wrong in stating that this -was Dogget's last appearance; for a week after he played Ben in "Love -for Love" (March 25th, 1717), and made his last appearance, after the -lapse of another week (April 1st, 1717), when he acted Hob in "The -Country Wake."] - - -[Footnote 114: Downes ("Rosc. Ang.," p. 52) gives a quaint description -of Dogget: "Mr. _Dogget_, On the Stage, he's very Aspectabund, wearing a -Farce in his Face; his Thoughts deliberately framing his Utterance -Congruous to his Looks: He is the only Comick Original now Extant: -Witness, _Ben. Solon_, _Nikin_, The _Jew_ of _Venice_, &c."] - - -[Footnote 115: "The Laureat," p. 83: "Thy Partiality is so notorious, -with Relation to _Wilks_, that every one sees you never praise him, but -to rail at him; and only oil your Hone, to whet your Razor."] - - -[Footnote 116: 1714.] - - -[Footnote 117: In the Dedication to Steele of "Ximena" (1719) Cibber -warmly acknowledges the great service Steele had done to the theatre, -not only in improving the tone of its performances, but also in the mere -attracting of public attention to it. "How many a time," he says, "have -we known the most elegant Audiences drawn together at a Day's Warning, -by the Influence or Warrant of a single _Tatler_, when our best -Endeavours without it, could not defray the Charge of the Performance." -In the same Dedication Cibber's gratitude overstepped his judgment, in -applying to Steele's generous acknowledgment of his indebtedness to -Addison's help in his "Spectator," &c., Dryden's lines:-- - - "Fool that I was! upon my Eagle's Wings - I bore this Wren, 'till I was tir'd with soaring, - And now, he mounts above me----" - -The following Epigram is quoted in "The Laureat," p. 76. It originally -appeared in "Mist's Journal," 31st October, 1719:-- - - "_Thus_ Colley Cibber _to his Partner_ Steele, - _See here, Sir Knight, how I've outdone_ Corneille; - _See here, how I, my Patron to inveigle, - Make_ Addison _a_ Wren, _and you an_ Eagle. - _Safe to the silent Shades, we bid Defiance; - For living Dogs are better than dead Lions_." - -In one of his Odes, at which Johnson laughed (Boswell, i. 402) Cibber -had the couplet:-- - - "Perch'd on the eagle's soaring wing, - The lowly linnet loves to sing." - -"Ximena; or, the Heroic Daughter," produced on 28th November, 1712, was -an adaptation of Corneille's "Cid." We do not know the cast of 1712, but -that of 1718 (Drury Lane, 1st November) was the following:-- - - DON FERDINAND Mr. Mills. - DON ALVAREZ Mr. Cibber. - DON GORMAZ Mr. Booth. - DON CARLOS Mr. Wilks. - DON SANCHEZ Mr. Elrington. - DON ALONZO Mr. Thurmond. - DON GARCIA Mr. Boman. - XIMENA Mrs. Oldfield. - BELZARA Mrs. Porter.] - - -[Footnote 118: A Royal Licence was granted on 18th October, 1714, to -Steele, Wilks, Cibber, Dogget, and Booth. The theatre opened before the -Licence was granted. The first bill given by Genest is for 21st -September, 1714.] - - -[Footnote 119: Christopher Rich died before the theatre was opened, and -it was under the management of John Rich, his son, that Lincoln's Inn -Fields opened on 18th December, 1714, with "The Recruiting Officer." The -company was announced as playing under Letters Patent granted by King -Charles the Second.] - - -[Footnote 120: This refers to a riot raised by the supporters of Mrs. -Rogers, on Mrs. Oldfield's being cast for the character of Andromache in -Philips's tragedy of "The Distressed Mother," produced at Drury Lane on -17th March, 1712.] - - -[Footnote 121: Cibber on one occasion manifested temper to a rather -unexpected degree. In 1720, when Dennis published his attacks on Steele, -in connection with his being deprived of the Patent, he accused Cibber -of impiety and various other crimes and misdemeanours; and Cibber is -said in the "Answer to the Character of Sir John Edgar" to have inserted -the following advertisement in the "Daily Post": "Ten Pounds will be -paid by Mr. CIBBER, of the Theatre Royal, to any person who shall (by a -legal proof) discover the Author of a Pamphlet, intituled, 'The -Characters and Conduct of Sir JOHN EDGAR, &c.'" (Nichols, p. 401.)] - - -[Footnote 122: Cibber refers to his remarks (see vol. i. p. 191) on the -conduct of the Patentees which caused Betterton's secession in 1694-5.] - - -[Footnote 123: In addition to Keen, Bullock (William), Pack, and Leigh, -whom Cibber mentions a few lines after, Spiller and Christopher Bullock -were among the deserters; and probably Cory and Knap. Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. -Knight, and Mrs. Kent also deserted.] - - -[Footnote 124: George Pack is an actor of whom Chetwood ("History," p. -210) gives some account. He first came on the stage as a singer, -performing the female parts in duets with Leveridge. His first -appearance chronicled by Genest was at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1700, as -Westmoreland in the first part of "Henry IV." Chetwood says he was -excellent as Marplot in "The Busy Body," Beau Maiden in "Tunbridge -Walks," Beau Mizen in "The Fair Quaker of Deal," &c.: "_indeed Nature -seem'd to mean him for those Sort of Characters_." On 10th March, 1722, -he announced his last appearance on any stage; but he returned on 21st -April and 7th May, 1724, on which latter date he had a benefit. Chetwood -says that on his retirement he opened the Globe Tavern, near -Charing-Cross, over against the Hay-Market. When Chetwood wrote (1749) -Pack was no longer alive.] - - -[Footnote 125: Francis Leigh. There were several actors of the name of -Leigh, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish them. This -particular actor died about 1719.] - - -[Footnote 126: In the "Weekly Packet," 18th December, 1714, the -following appears:-- - -"This Day the New Play-House in Lincolns-Inn Fields, is to be open'd and -a Comedy acted there, call'd, The Recruiting Officer, by the Company -that act under the Patent; tho' it is said, that some of the Gentlemen -who have left the House in Drury-Lane for that Service, are order'd to -return to their Colours, upon Pain of not exercising their Lungs -elsewhere; which may in Time prove of ill Service to the Patentee, that -has been at vast Expence to make his Theatre as convenient for the -Reception of an Audience as any one can possibly be." - -Genest remarks that this seems to show that the Lord Chamberlain -threatened to interfere in the interests of Drury Lane. He adds: -"Cibber's silence proves nothing to the contrary, as in more than one -instance he does not tell the whole truth" (ii. 565). In defence of -Cibber I may say that the Chamberlain's Records contain no hint that he -threatened to interfere with the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre or its -actors.] - - -[Footnote 127: In both the first and second editions Cibber writes 1718, -but this is so obviously a misprint that I correct the text. Steele was -elected for Boroughbridge in the first Parliament of George I., which -met 15th March, 1715.] - - -[Footnote 128: "The very night I received it, I participated the power -and use of it, with relation to the profits that should arise from it, -between the gentlemen who invited me into the Licence."--Steele, in "The -Theatre," No. 8 [Nichols, p. 64].] - - -[Footnote 129: The managers also expended money on the decoration of the -theatre before the beginning of the next season after the Patent was -granted. In the "Daily Courant," 6th October, 1715, they advertise: "His -Majesty's Company of Comedians give Notice, That the Middle of next Week -they will begin to act Plays, every day, as usual; they being oblig'd to -lye still so long, to finish the New Decorations of the House."] - - -[Footnote 130: This revival was on 2nd December, 1718. Dennis, whose -"Invader of his Country" was, as he considered, unfairly postponed on -account of this production, wrote to Steele:-- - -"Well, Sir, when the winter came on, what was done by your Deputies? -Why, instead of keeping their word with me, they spent above two months -of the season in getting up "All for Love, or, the World well Lost," a -Play which has indeed a noble first act, an act which ends with a scene -becoming of the dignity of the Tragic Stage. But if HORACE had been now -alive, and been either a reader or spectator of that entertainment, he -would have passed his old sentence upon the Author. - - "'_Infelix operis summâ, quia ponere totum - Nesciet._'" [_Ars Poetica, 34._] - Nichols' "Theatre," p. 544.] - - -[Footnote 131: Cibber here skips a few years, for the report by Sir -Thomas Hewitt is dated some years after the granting of the Patent. The -text of it will be found in Nichols's "Theatre," p. 470:-- - - "MY LORD, _Scotland-yard, Jan. 21, 1721_. - - "In obedience to his Majesty's commands signified to me by - your Grace the 18th instant, I have surveyed the Play-house - in Drury-lane; and took with me Mr. RIPLEY, Commissioner - of his Majesty's Board of Works, the Master Bricklayer, - and Carpenter: We examined all its parts with the greatest - exactness we could; and found the Walls, Roofing, Stage, Pit, - Boxes, Galleries, Machinery, Scenes, &c. sound, and almost as - good as when first built; neither decayed, nor in the least - danger of falling; and when some small repairs are made, and - an useless Stack of Chimnies (built by the late Mr. RICH) - taken down, the Building may continue for a long time, being - firm, the Materials and Joints good, and no part giving way; - and capable to bear much greater weight than is put on them. - - "MY LORD DUKE, - "Your GRACE's Most humble and obedient servant, - "THOMAS HEWETT. - - "N.B. The Stack of Chimnies mentioned in this Report (which - were placed over the Stone Passage leading to the Boxes) are - actually taken down."] - - -[Footnote 132: See _ante_, vol. i. p. 234.] - - -[Footnote 133: Cibber, vol. i. p. 94, relates how, when the King's -Company proved too strong for their rivals, Davenant, "to make head -against their Success, was forced to add Spectacle and Music to -Action."] - - -[Footnote 134: In the season 1718-19, Rich at Lincoln's Inn Fields -frequently produced French pieces and operas. He must have had a company -of French players engaged.] - - -[Footnote 135: This is, no doubt, John Weaver's dramatic entertainment -called "The Loves of Mars and Venus," which was published, as acted at -Drury Lane, in 1717.] - - -[Footnote 136: The following lines ("Dunciad," iii. verses 229-244) are -descriptive of such pantomimes as Cibber refers to:-- - - "He look'd, and saw a sable Sorc'rer rise, - Swift to whose hand a winged volume flies: - All sudden, Gorgons hiss, and dragons glare, - And ten-horn'd fiends and giants rush to war. - Hell rises, Heav'n descends, and dance on Earth, - Gods, imps, and monsters, music, rage, and mirth, - A fire, a jig, a battle, and a ball, - Till one wide conflagration swallows all. - Thence a new world, to nature's laws unknown, - Breaks out refulgent, with a heav'n its own: - Another Cynthia her new journey runs, - And other planets circle other suns: - The forests dance, the rivers upward rise, - Whales sport in woods, and dolphins in the skies, - And last, to give the whole creation grace, - Lo! one vast Egg produces human race." - -The allusion in the last line is to "Harlequin Sorcerer," in which -Harlequin is hatched from a large egg on the stage. See Jackson's -"History of the Scottish Stage," pages 367-368, for description of John -Rich's excellence in this scene.] - - -[Footnote 137: In the "Dunciad" (book iii. verses 261-264) Pope writes:-- - - "But lo! to dark encounter in mid air - New wizards rise: here Booth, and Cibber there: - Booth in his cloudy tabernacle shrin'd, - On grinning Dragons Cibber mounts the wind." - -On these lines Cibber remarks, in his "Letter to Mr. Pope," 1742 (page -37): "If you, figuratively, mean by this, that I was an Encourager of -those Fooleries, you are mistaken; for it is not true: If you intend it -literally, that I was Dunce enough to mount a Machine, there is as -little Truth in that too."] - - -[Footnote 138: Henry of Navarre, of whom it has been said that he -regarded religion mainly as a diplomatic instrument.] - - -[Footnote 139: It is hardly necessary to note that this was the Scottish -Rebellion of 1715; yet Bellchambers indicates the period as 1718.] - - -[Footnote 140: Cibber's most notorious play, "The Nonjuror," was -produced at Drury Lane on 6th December, 1717. The cast was:-- - - SIR JOHN WOODVIL Mr. Mills. - COLONEL WOODVIL Mr. Booth. - MR. HEARTLY Mr. Wilks. - DOCTOR WOLF Mr. Cibber. - CHARLES Mr. Walker. - LADY WOODVIL Mrs. Porter. - MARIA Mrs. Oldfield.] - - -[Footnote 141: Genest (ii. 615) quotes the Epilogue to Sewell's "Sir -Walter Raleigh," produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields 16th January, 1719:-- - - "Yet to write plays is easy, faith, enough, - As you have seen by--Cibber--in Tartuffe. - With how much wit he did your hearts engage! - He only stole the _play_;--he writ the _title-page_."] - - -[Footnote 142: Genest says it was acted twenty-three times.] - - -[Footnote 143: Genest remarks (ii. 616) that "Cibber deserved all the -abuse and enmity that he met with--the Stage and the Pulpit ought NEVER -to dabble in politics." - -Theo. Cibber, in a Petition to the King, given in his "Dissertations" -(Letter to Garrick, p. 29), says that his father's "Writings, and public -Professions of Loyalty, created him many Enemies, among the -Disaffected."] - - -[Footnote 144: "Mist's Weekly Journal" was an anti-Hanoverian sheet, -which was prominent in opposition to the Protestant Succession. -Nathaniel Mist, the proprietor, and, I suppose, editor, suffered sundry -pains and penalties for his Jacobitism. In his Preface to the second -volume of "Letters" selected from his paper, he relates how he had, -among other things, suffered imprisonment and stood in the pillory.] - - -[Footnote 145: There can be little doubt that the "Nonjuror" was one of -the causes of Pope's enmity to Cibber. Pope's father was a Nonjuror. See -"Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," where the poet says of his father:-- - - "No courts he saw, no suits would ever try, - Nor dar'd an oath, nor hazarded a lie."] - - -[Footnote 146: Produced 10th January, 1728. See vol. i. p. 311, for list -of characters, &c.] - - -[Footnote 147: Meaning, no doubt, that the post of Poet Laureate was -given to him as a reward for his services to the Government.] - - -[Footnote 148: 1733.] - - -[Footnote 149: In leaping from 1717 to 1728, as Cibber does here, he -omits to notice much that is of the greatest interest in stage history. -Steele's connection with the theatre was of a chequered complexion, and -it is curious as well as regrettable that an interested observer like -Cibber should have simply ignored the great points which were at issue -while Steele was a sharer in the Patent. In order to bridge over the -chasm I give a bare record of Steele's transactions in connection with -the Patent. - -His first authority was a Licence granted to him and his partners, -Wilks, Cibber, Dogget, and Booth, and dated October 18th, 1714. This was -followed by a Patent, in Steele's name alone, for the term of his life, -and three years after his death, which bore date January 19th, 1715. -Cibber (p. 174) relates that Steele assigned to Wilks, Booth, and -himself, equal shares in this Patent. All went smoothly for more than -two years, until the appointment of the Duke of Newcastle (April 13th, -1717) as Lord Chamberlain. He seems soon to have begun to interfere in -the affairs of the theatre. Steele, in the eighth number of "The -Theatre," states that shortly after his appointment the Duke demanded -that he should resign his Patent and accept a Licence in its place. This -Steele naturally and rightly declined to do, and here the matter rested -for many months. With reference to this it is interesting to note that -among the Lord Chamberlain's Papers is the record of a consultation of -the Attorney-General whether Steele's Patent made him independent of the -Lord Chamberlain's authority. Unfortunately it is impossible to decide, -from the terms of the queries put to the Attorney-General, whether these -were caused by aggressive action on Steele's part, or merely by his -defence of his rights. - -The next molestation was an order, dated December 19th, 1719, addressed -to Steele, Wilks, and Booth, ordering them to dismiss Cibber; which they -did. His suspension, for it was nothing more, lasted till January 28th, -1720. Steele, in the seventh number of "The Theatre," January 23rd, -1720, alludes to his suspension as then existing, and in No. 12 talks of -Cibber's being just restored to the "Begging Bridge," that is, the -theatre. The allusion is to an Apologue by Steele ("Reader," No. II.) -which Cibber quotes, and applies to Steele, in his Dedication of -"Ximena" to him. A peasant had succeeded in barricading, with his whole -belongings, a bridge over which an enemy attempted to invade his native -country. He kept them back till his countrymen were roused; but when the -forces of his friends attacked the enemy, the peasant's property was -destroyed in the fray and he was left destitute. He received no -compensation, but it was enacted that he and his descendants were alone -to have the privilege of _begging_ on this bridge. Cibber applies this -fable to the treatment of Steele by the Lord Chamberlain, and there can -be no doubt that this Dedication must have caused great offence to that -official, and contributed materially to Cibber's suspension, though -Steele declared that the attack upon his partner was merely intended as -an oblique attack on himself. The author of the "Answer to the Case of -Sir Richard Steele," 1720 (Nichols's ed., p. 532), says that Cibber had -offended the Duke by an attack on the King and the Ministry in the -Dedication of his "Ximena" to Steele. He also says that when the -Chamberlain wanted a certain actor to play a part which belonged to one -of the managers, Cibber flatly refused to allow him, and was thereupon -silenced. (The actor is said to have been Elrington, and the part -Torrismond; but I doubt if Elrington was at Drury Lane in 1719-20.) A -recent stage historian curiously says that the play which gave offence -was "The Nonjuror," which is about as likely as that a man should be -accused of high treason because he sang "God Save the Queen!" - -Steele then, being made to understand that the attack on Cibber was the -beginning of evil directed against himself, wrote to two great Ministers -of State, and presented a Petition to the King on January 22nd, 1720, -praying to be protected from molestation by the Lord Chamberlain. The -result of this action was a revocation of Steele's Licence (_not_ his -Patent specially, which is curious) dated January 23rd, 1720; and on the -next Monday, the 25th, an Order for Silence was sent to the managers and -actors at Drury Lane. The theatre accordingly remained closed Monday, -Tuesday, and Wednesday, January 25th to 27th, 1720, and on the 28th -re-opened, Wilks, Cibber, and Booth having made their submission and -received a Licence dated the previous day. - -On the 4th of March following the actors of Drury Lane were sworn at -the Lord Chamberlain's office, "pursuant to an Order occasioned by -their acting in obedience to his Majesty's Licence, lately granted, -exclusive of a Patent formerly obtained by Sir Richard Steele, Knight." -The tenor of the Oath was, that as his Majesty's Servants they should -act subservient to the Lord Chamberlain, Vice-Chamberlain, and -Gentleman-Usher in Waiting. Whether Steele took any steps to test the -legality of this treatment is doubtful; but, on the accession of his -friend Walpole to office, he was restored to his position at the head of -the theatre. On May 2nd, 1721, Cibber and his partners were ordered to -account with Steele for his past and present share of the profits of the -theatre, as if all the regulations from which his name had been excluded -had never been made. This edict is signed by the Duke of Newcastle, and -must, I fancy, have been rather a bitter pill for that nobleman. How -Steele subsequently conducted himself, and how much interest he took in -the theatre, Cibber very fully relates in the next few pages. After -Steele's death a new Patent was granted to Cibber, Wilks, and Booth, as -will be related further on. It may be noted here, however, that the date -of the new Patent proves conclusively that Steele's grant was never -superseded. The new power was dated July 3rd, 1731, but it did not take -effect till September 1st, 1732, exactly three years after Steele's -death, according to the terms of his original Patent.] - - -[Footnote 150: This is one of Cibber's bad blunders. The Case was heard -in 1728. Genest (iii. 208) refers to the _St. James's Evening Post's_ -mention of the hearing; and, in the Burney MSS. in the British Museum, a -copy of the paragraph is given. It is not, however, a cutting, but a -manuscript copy. "Saty. Feb. 17. There was an hearing in the Rolls -Chapel in a Cause between Sir Richard Steele, Mr. Cibber, Mr. Wilks, and -others belonging to Drury-Lane Theatre, which held five hours--one of -which was taken up by a speech of Mr. Wilks, which had so good an -effect, that the Cause went against Sir Richard Steele."--St. James's -Evening Post, Feb. 17 to Feb. 20, 1728. In its next issue, Feb. 20 to -Feb. 22, it corrects the blunder which it had made in attributing -Cibber's speech to Wilks.] - - -[Footnote 151: This was in the Dedication to "Ximena." The passage will -be found quoted by me in a note on page 163 of this volume.] - - -[Footnote 152: Cibber himself, of course.] - - -[Footnote 153: This Coronation was tacked to the play of "Henry VIII.," -which was revived at Drury Lane on 26th October, 1727. Special interest -attached to it on account of the recent Coronation of George II.] - - -[Footnote 154: This was in 1718. On 24th September, 1718, the bills -announce "the same Entertainments that were performed yesterday before -his Majesty at Hampton Court."] - - -[Footnote 155: In Whitelocke's "Memorials" there is an account of a -Masque played in 1633, before Charles I. and his Queen, by the gentlemen -of the Temple, which cost £21,000.] - - -[Footnote 156: The Earl of Burlington.] - - -[Footnote 157: "Calisto" was published in 1675. Genest (i. 181) says: -"Cibber, with his usual accuracy as to dates, supposes that Crowne was -selected to write a mask for the Court in preference to Dryden, through -the influence of the Duke of Buckingham, who was offended at what Dryden -had said of him in Absalom and Achitophel--Dryden's poem was not written -till 1681--Lord Rochester was the person who recommended Crowne." I may -add that Dryden furnished an Epilogue to "Calisto," which was not -spoken.] - - -[Footnote 158: Boman, or Bowman, was born about 1651, and lived till -23rd March, 1739. He made his first appearance about 1673, and acted to -within a few months of his death, having thus been on the stage for the -extraordinary period of sixty-five years. He was very sensitive on the -subject of his age, and, if asked how old he was, only replied, that he -was very well. Davies speaks highly of Boman's acting in his extreme old -age ("Dram. Misc.," i. 286 and ii. 100). Mrs. Boman was the adopted -daughter of Betterton.] - - -[Footnote 159: Bishop Burnet.] - - -[Footnote 160: First edition, vol. i.] - - -[Footnote 161: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," i. 365) says: "Wolsey's filching -from his royal master the honour of bestowing grace and pardon on the -subject, appeared so gross and impudent a prevarication, that, when this -play was acted before George I. at Hampton-Court, about the year 1717, -the courtiers laughed so loudly at this ministerial craft, that his -majesty, who was unacquainted with the English language, asked the -lord-chamberlain the meaning of their mirth; upon being informed of it, -the king joined in a laugh of approbation." Davies adds that this scene -"was not unsuitably represented by Colley Cibber;" but, in scenes -requiring dignity or passion, he expresses an unfavourable opinion of -Cibber's playing.] - - -[Footnote 162: From the Lord Chamberlain's Records it is clear that £10 -was the fee for a play at Whitehall during the time of Charles I. If the -performance was at Hampton Court, or if it took place at such a time of -day as to prevent the ordinary playing at the theatre, £20 was allowed.] - - -[Footnote 163: The warrant for the payment of these performances is -dated 15th November, 1718. The expenses incurred by the actors amounted -to £374 1_s._ 8_d._, and the present given by the King, as Cibber -states, was £200; the total payment being thus £574 1_s._ 8_d._] - - -[Footnote 164: M. Perrin, the late manager of the Theatre Français, was -virulently attacked for giving _la jeune troupe_ no opportunities, and -so doing nothing to provide successors to the great actors of his time.] - - -[Footnote 165: After the death of Wilks and Booth, and the retirement of -Cibber, the stage experienced a period of dulness, which was the natural -result of the want of good young talent in the lifetime of the old -actors. Such periods seem to recur at stated intervals in the history of -the stage.] - - -[Footnote 166: "Venice Preserved" was acted at the Haymarket on 22nd -February, 1707, but Dr. Burney's MSS. do not give the cast. On 15th -November, 1707, Pierre was played by Mills.] - - -[Footnote 167: For an account of this matter, see _ante_, page 70.] - - -[Footnote 168: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 255) has the following -interesting statement regarding Cibber and Wilks, which he gives on -Victor's authority:-- - -"However Colley may complain, in his Apology, of Wilks's fire and -impetuosity, he in general was Cibber's great admirer; he supported him -on all occasions, where his own passion or interest did not interpose; -nay, he deprived the inoffensive Harry Carey of the liberty of the -scenes, because he had, in common with others, made merry with Cibber in -a song, on his being appointed poet laureat; saying at the same time, he -was surprised at his impertinence, in behaving so improperly _to a man -of such great merit_."] - - -[Footnote 169: John Dennis, in an advertisement to the "Invader of his -Country," remarks on this foible. He says:-- - -"I am perfectly satisfied that any Author who brings a Play to -_Drury-Lane_, must, if 'tis a good one, be sacrificed to the Jealousie -of this fine Writer, unless he has either a powerful Cabal, or unless he -will flatter Mr. _Robert Wilks_, and make him believe that he is an -excellent Tragedian." The "fine Writer" is, of course, Cibber.] - - -[Footnote 170: "In the trajedy of _Mackbeth_, where _Wilks_ acts the -Part of a Man whose Family has been murder'd in his Absence, the -Wildness of his Passion, which is run over in a Torrent of calamitous -Circumstances, does but raise my Spirits and give me the Alarm; but when -he skilfully seems to be out of Breath, and is brought too low to say -more; and upon a second Reflection, cry, only wiping his Eyes, What, -both my Children! Both, both my Children gone--There is no resisting a -Sorrow which seems to have cast about for all the Reasons possible for -its Consolation, but has no Recource. There is not one left, but both, -both are murdered! Such sudden Starts from the Thread of the Discourse, -and a plain Sentiment express'd in an artless Way, are the irresistible -Strokes of Eloquence and Poetry."--"Tatler," No. 68, September 15th, -1709. - -The extraordinary language of Macduff is quoted from Davenant's -mutilation of Shakespeare's play. Obviously it is not Shakespeare's -language.] - - -[Footnote 171: Charles Williams was a young actor of great promise, who -died in 1731. On the production of Thomson's "Sophonisba" at Drury Lane, -on February 28th, 1730, Cibber played Scipio, but was so hissed by a -public that would not suffer him in tragic parts, that he resigned the -character to Williams. (See Footnote 201, vol. i. anchored on page 179.) -This would seem to indicate that Williams was an actor of some position, -for Scipio is a good part.] - - -[Footnote 172: "In the strong expression of horror on the murder of the -King, and the loud exclamations of surprize and terror, Booth might have -exceeded the utmost efforts of Wilks. But, in the touches of domestic -woe, which require the feelings of the tender father and the -affectionate husband, Wilks had no equal. His skill, in exhibiting the -emotions of the overflowing heart with corresponding look and action, -was universally admired and felt. His rising, after the suppression of -his anguish, into ardent and manly resentment, was highly expressive of -noble and generous anger."--"Dram. Misc.," ii. 183.] - - -[Footnote 173: This revival took place 11th January, 1726. The play was -acted eleven times.] - - -[Footnote 174: Jeremy Collier specially attacked Vanbrugh and his -comedies for their immorality and profanity, and for their abuse of the -clergy. Even less strict critics than Collier considered Vanbrugh's -pieces as more indecent than the average play. Thus the author of -"Faction Display'd," 1704, writes:-- - - "_Van_'s Baudy, Plotless Plays were once our boast, - But now the Poet's in the Builder lost."] - - -[Footnote 175: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 455) says that he supposes -Cibber prevailed upon Vanbrugh to alter the disguise which Sir John -Brute assumes from a clergyman's habit to that of a woman of fashion.] - - -[Footnote 176: Sir John Brute.] - - -[Footnote 177: Cibber's meaning is not very clear, but if he intends to -convey the idea that it was for this revival that Vanbrugh made these -alterations, he is probably wrong, for when the play was revived at the -Haymarket, on 19th January, 1706, it was announced as "with -alterations."] - - -[Footnote 178: Mrs. Oldfield played Lady Brute, whose lover Constant -is.] - - -[Footnote 179: Wilks played Constant; Booth, Heartfree; and Cibber, Sir -John Brute.] - - -[Footnote 180: Cibber begins the seventh chapter of this work with an -account of Betterton's troubles as a manager. See vol. i. p. 227. See -also vol. i. p. 315.] - - -[Footnote 181: - - "Ye Gods, what Havock does Ambition make - Among your Works!"--"Cato," act i. sc. 1.] - - -[Footnote 182: - - "And, in despair their empty pit to fill, - Set up some Foreign monster in a bill. - Thus they jog on, still tricking, never thriving, - And murdering plays, which they miscall reviving." - - "Address to Granville, on his Tragedy, _Heroic Love_."] - - -[Footnote 183: "During Booth's inability to act, ... Wilks was called -upon to play two of his parts--Jaffier, and Lord Hastings in Jane Shore. -Booth was, at times, in all other respects except his power to go on the -stage, in good health, and went among the players for his amusement His -curiosity drew him to the playhouse on the nights when Wilks acted these -characters, in which himself had appeared with uncommon lustre. All the -world admired Wilks, except his brother-manager: amidst the repeated -bursts of applause which he extorted, Booth alone continued -silent."--Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 256).] - - -[Footnote 184: Aaron Hill, quoted by Victor in his "Life of Barton -Booth," page 32, says: "The Passions which he found in Comedy were not -strong enough to excite his Fire; and what seem'd Want of Qualification, -was only Absence of Impression."] - - -[Footnote 185: Wilks can have seen Mountfort only in his early career, -for he did not leave Ireland till, at least, 1692; and in that year -Mountfort was killed.] - - -[Footnote 186: Wilks first played Othello in this country on June 22nd, -1710, for Cibber's benefit. Steele draws attention to the event in -"Tatler," No. 187, and in No. 188 states his intention of stealing out -to see it, "out of Curiosity to observe how _Wilks_ and _Cibber_ touch -those Places where _Betterton_ and _Sandford_ so very highly excelled." -Cibber was the Iago on this occasion. Steele probably found little to -praise in either.] - - -[Footnote 187: The Earl of Essex, in Banks's "Unhappy Favourite," was -one of Wilks's good parts, in which Steele ("Tatler," No. 14) specially -praises him. Booth acted the part at Drury Lane on November 25th, 1709.] - - -[Footnote 188: See Cibber on Betterton's Hamlet and on Wilks's mistakes -in the part, vol. i. page 100.] - - -[Footnote 189: In the Theatre Français a similar arrangement holds to -this day, Tuesday being now the fashionable night. M. Perrin, the late -manager, was accused of a too great attention to his _Abonnés du Mardi_, -to the detriment of the theatre and of the general public.] - - -[Footnote 190: See _ante,_ vol. i. page 234.] - - -[Footnote 191: Arcangelo Corelli, a famous Italian musician, born 1653, -died 1713, who has been called the father of modern instrumental music.] - - -[Footnote 192: Jeanne Catherine Gaussin, a very celebrated actress of -the Comédie Française, was the original representative of Zaïre, in -Voltaire's tragedy, to which Cibber refers. She made her first Parisian -appearance in 1731; she retired in 1763, and died on 9th June, 1767. -Voltaire's "Zaïre" owed much of its success to her extraordinary -ability.] - - -[Footnote 193: Cibber has been strongly censured for his treatment of -authors. "The Laureat" gives the following account of an author's -experiences: "_The Court sitting, Chancellor Cibber_ (for the other two, -like M----rs in _Chancery_, sat only for Form sake, and did not presume -to judge) nodded to the Author to open his Manuscript. The Author begins -to read, in which if he failed to please the _Corrector_, he wou'd -condescend sometimes to read it for him: When, if the play strook him -very warmly, as it wou'd if he found any Thing new in it, in which he -conceived he cou'd particularly shine as an Actor, he would lay down his -Pipe, (for the _Chancellor_ always smoaked when he made a Decree) and -cry, _By G--d there is something in this: I do not know but it may do; -but I will play such a Part_. Well, when the Reading was finished, he -made his proper Corrections and sometimes without any Propriety; nay, -frequently he very much and very hastily maimed what he pretended to -mend" (p. 95). The author also accuses Cibber of delighting in repulsing -dramatic writers, which he called "Choaking of Singing birds." However, -in Cibber's defence, Genest's opinion may be quoted (iii. 346): "After -all that has been said against Chancellor Cibber, it does not appear -that he often made a wrong decree: most of the good plays came out at -Drury Lane--nor am I aware that Cibber is much to be blamed for -rejecting any play, except the Siege of Damascus in the first -instance."] - - -[Footnote 194: In the preface to "The Lunatick" (1705) the actors are -roundly abused; but the most amusing attack on actors is in the -following title-page: "The Sham Lawyer: or the Lucky Extravagant. As it -was _Damnably_ Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury Lane." This play, by -Drake, was played in 1697, and among the cast were Cibber, Bullock, -Johnson, Haines, and Pinkethman. - -Bellchambers notes: "Such was the case in Dennis's 'Comic Gallant,' -where one of the actors, whom I believe to be Bullock, is most severely -handled." I think he is wrong in imagining Bullock to be the actor -criticised. Dennis says that Falstaffe was the character that was badly -sustained, and I cannot believe Bullock's position would entitle him to -play that part in 1702. Genest (ii. 250) suggests Powell as the -delinquent.] - - -[Footnote 195: Cibber's account of Booth is so complete that there is -little to be added to it. Booth was born in 1681, and was of a good -English family. He first appeared in Dublin in 1698, under Ashbury, but -returned to England in 1700, and joined the Lincoln's Inn Fields -Company. He followed the fortunes of Betterton until, as related by -Cibber in Chapter XII., the secession of 1709 occurred. From that point -to his retirement the only event demanding special notice is his -marriage with Hester Santlow (see p. 96 of this volume). This took place -in 1719, and was the cause of much criticism and slander, some of which -Bellchambers reproduces with evident gusto. I do not repeat his -statements, because I consider them wildly extravagant. They are fully -refuted by Booth's will, from the terms of which it is clear that his -marriage was a happy one, and that he esteemed his wife as well as loved -her. Booth's illness, to which Cibber refers above, seized him early in -the season of 1726-27, and though after it he was able to play -occasionally, he was never restored to health. His last appearance was -on 9th January, 1728, but he lived till 10th May, 1733.] - - -[Footnote 196: See memoir of Mrs. Oldfield at end of volume.] - - -[Footnote 197: Mrs. Porter met with the accident referred to in the -summer of 1731. See Davies, "Dram. Misc.," iii. 495. She returned to the -stage in January, 1733.] - - -[Footnote 198: Wilks died 27th September, 1732. He was of English -parentage, and was born near Dublin, whither his father had removed, -about 1665. He was in a Government office, but about 1691 he gave this -up, and went on the stage. After a short probation in Dublin he came -over to London, and was engaged by Rich, with whom he remained till -about 1695. He returned to Dublin, and became so great a favourite -there, that it is said that the Lord Lieutenant issued a warrant to -prevent his leaving again for London. However, he came to Drury Lane -about 1698, and from that time his fortunes are closely interwoven with -Cibber's, and are fully related by him.] - - -[Footnote 199: "The Laureat," p. 96: "As to the Occasion of your parting -with your Share of the Patent, I cannot think you give us the true -Reason; for I have been very well inform'd, it was the Intention, not -only of you, but of your Brother Menagers, as soon as you could get the -great Seal to your Patent, (which stuck for some Time, the then Lord -_Chancellor_ not being satisfied in the Legality of the Grant) to -dispose it to the best Bidder. This was at first kept as a Secret among -you; but as soon as the Grant was compleated, you sold to the first who -wou'd come up to your Price."] - - -[Footnote 200: Among the Lord Chamberlain's Papers is a copy of a -warrant to prepare this Patent. It is dated 15th May, 1731, and the -Patent itself is dated 3rd July, 1731, though it did not take effect -till 1st September, 1732. The reason for this is noted on page 196.] - - -[Footnote 201: "The Grub-Street Journal," 7th June, 1733, says: "One -little Creature, only the Deputy and Representative of his Father, was -turbulent enough to balk their Measures, and counterbalance all the -Civility and Decency in the other scale.... To remedy this, the -Gentleman who bought into the Patent first, purchased his Father's -Share, and set him down in the same obscure Place from whence he rose."] - - -[Footnote 202: In "The Case of John Mills, James Quin," &c., given in -Theo. Cibber's "Dissertations" (Appendix, p. 48), it is stated that -"such has been the Inveteracy of some of the late Patentees to the -Actors, that when Mrs. _Booth_, Executrix of her late Husband, _Barton -Booth_, Esq; sold her sixth part of the Patent to Mr. _Giffard_, she -made him covenant, not to sell or assign it to Actors."] - - -[Footnote 203: "I must own, I was heartily disgusted with the Conduct -of the Family of the _Cibbers_ on this Occasion, and had frequent and -violent Disputes with Father and Son, whenever we met! It appeared to -me something shocking that the Son should immediately render void, and -worthless, what the Father had just received Thirty-one Hundred and Fifty -Pounds for, as a valuable Consideration."--Victor's "History," i. 14.] - - -[Footnote 204: Cibber, in Chapter VIII. (vol. i. p. 283), alludes to -this trial, and gives the first of these two suppositions as the reason -of Harper's acquittal, but Victor ("History," i. 24) says that he has -been informed that this is an error.] - - -[Footnote 205: "He was a Man of Humanity and strict Honour; many -Instances fatally proved, that his Word, when solemnly given, (which was -his Custom) was sufficient for the Performance, though ever so injurious -to himself."--Victor's "History," i. 25.] - - -[Footnote 206: See _ante_, Chapter IX. (vol. i. Footnote 367 anchored on -page 330)] - - -[Footnote 207: "The clamour against the author, whose presumption was -highly censured for daring to alter Shakspeare, increased to such a -height, that Colley, who had smarted more than once for dabbling in -tragedy, went to the playhouse, and, without saying a word to any body, -took the play from the prompter's desk, and marched off with it in his -pocket."--"Dram. Misc.," i. 5.] - - -[Footnote 208: Produced at the Haymarket, 1737.] - - -[Footnote 209: - - "Enter Ground-Ivy. - -_Ground._ What are you doing here? - -_Apollo._ I am casting the Parts in the Tragedy of King _John_. - -_Ground._ Then you are casting the Parts in a Tragedy that won't do. - -_Apollo._ How, Sir! Was it not written by _Shakespear_, and was -not _Shakespear_ one of the greatest Genius's that ever lived? - -_Ground._ No, Sir, _Shakespear_ was a pretty Fellow, and said some -things that only want a little of my licking to do well enough; King -_John_, as now writ, will not do----But a Word in your Ear, I will make -him do. - -_Apollo._ How? - -_Ground._ By Alteration, Sir; it was a Maxim of mine when I was at the -Head of Theatrical Affairs, that no Play, tho' ever so good, would do -without Alteration."--"Historical Register," act iii. sc. 1.] - - -[Footnote 210: These appearances took place on January 12th, 13th, and -14th, 1741.] - - -[Footnote 211: Fondlewife's pet name for his wife Lætitia.] - - -[Footnote 212: Lætitia's pet name for Fondlewife. See vol. i. page 206.] - -[Footnote 213: An allusion to his own phrase in the Preface to "The -Provoked Husband." See vol. i. page 51.] - - -[Footnote 214: The name "Susannah Maria" naturally suggests Susanna -Maria Arne, the wife of Theo. Cibber; but the anecdote cannot refer -to her, because she was married in 1734, some years before Cibber -began his "Apology."] - - -[Footnote 215: Davies ("Dram. Misc.," iii. 501) says: "Mr. Garrick asked -him [Cibber] if he had not in his possession, a comedy or two of his own -writing.--'What then?' said Cibber.--'I should be glad to have the -honour of bringing it into the world.'--'Who have you to act it?'--'Why, -there are (said Garrick) Clive and Pritchard, myself, and some others,' -whom he named.--'No! (said the old man, taking a pinch of snuff, with -great nonchalance) it won't do.'" Davies (iii. 502) relates how Garrick -drew on himself a rebuke from Cibber. Discussing in company the old -school, "Garrick observed that the old style of acting was banishing the -stage, and would not go down. 'How do you know? (said Cibber); you never -tried it.'"] - - -[Footnote 216: "Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John." - - KING JOHN Mr. Quin. - ARTHUR, his Nephew Miss J. Cibber. - SALISBURY Mr. Ridout. - PEMBROKE Mr. Rosco. - ARUNDEL Mr. Anderson. - FALCONBRIDGE Mr. Ryan. - HUBERT Mr. Bridgewater. - KING PHILIP } { Mr. Hale. - LEWIS the Dauphin } of France { Mr. Cibber, Jun. - MELUN, a Nobleman } { Mr. Cashell. - PANDULPH, Legate from Pope Innocent Mr. Cibber, Sen. - ABBOT } of Angiers { Mr. Gibson. - GOVERNOR } { Mr. Carr. - LADY CONSTANCE Mrs. Pritchard. - BLANCH, Niece to King John Mrs. Bellamy.] - -[Footnote 217: "_On_ CIBBER'S _Declaration that he will have the last -Word with Mr. POPE._ - - QUOTH _Cibber_ to _Pope_, tho' in Verse you foreclose, - I'll have the last Word, for by G--d I'll write Prose. - Poor _Colley_, thy reas'ning is none of the strongest, - For know, the last Word is the Word that lasts longest." - "The Summer Miscellany," 1742.] - - -[Footnote 218: This play was produced at Drury Lane, 16th January, 1717; -and the performance of "The Rehearsal" referred to took place on the 7th -February.] - - -[Footnote 219: The Earl of Warwick was the young nobleman, and it is -said in Dillworth's "Life of Pope" that "the late Commissioner Vaughan" -was the other gentleman.] - - -[Footnote 220: "But Pope's irascibility prevailed, and he resolved to -tell the whole English world that he was at war with Cibber; and, to -show that he thought him no common adversary, he prepared no common -vengeance; he published a new edition of the 'Dunciad,' in which he -degraded Theobald from his painful pre-eminence, and enthroned Cibber in -his stead."--Johnson's "Life of Pope."] - - -[Footnote 221: "Unhappily the two heroes were of opposite characters, -and Pope was unwilling to lose what he had already written; he has -therefore depraved his poem by giving to Cibber the old books, the old -pedantry, and the sluggish pertinacity of Theobald."--Johnson's "Life of -Pope."] - - -[Footnote 222: See _ante_, p. 272.] - - -[Footnote 223: It has been generally stated that Cibber died on 12th -December, 1757, but "The Public Advertiser" of Monday, 12th December, -announces his death as having occurred "Yesterday morning." The -"Gentleman's Magazine" and the "London Magazine," in their issues for -December, 1757, give the 11th as the date.] - - -[Footnote 224: Mr. Laurence Hutton, in his "Literary Landmarks of -London" (p. 54), gives the following interesting particulars regarding -Cibber's last resting-place: "Cibber was buried by the side of his -father and mother, in a vault under the Danish Church, situated in -Wellclose Square, Ratcliff Highway (since named St. George Street). This -church, according to an inscription placed over the doorway, was built -in 1696 by Caius Gabriel Cibber himself, by order of the King of -Denmark, for the use of such of his Majesty's subjects as might visit -the port of London. The church was taken down some years ago (1868-70), -and St. Paul's Schools were erected on its foundation, which was left -intact. Rev. Dan. Greatorex, Vicar of the Parish of St. Paul, Dock -Street, in a private note written in the summer of 1883, says:-- - -"'Colley Cibber and his father and mother were buried in the vault of -the old Danish Church. When the church was removed, the coffins were all -removed carefully into the crypt under the apse, and then bricked up. So -the bodies are still there. The Danish Consul was with me when I moved -the bodies. The coffins had perished except the bottoms. I carefully -removed them myself personally, and laid them side by side at the back -of the crypt, and covered them with earth.'"] - - -[Footnote 225: Shakespeare's "Richard III." was produced at the Lyceum -Theatre on 29th January, 1877. It was announced as "strictly the -original text, without interpolations, but simply with such omissions -and transpositions as have been found essential for dramatic -representation." In Richard Mr. Irving's great powers are seen to -special advantage. - -The cast of Cibber's play in 1700 was-- - - KING HENRY VI., _designed for_ Mr. Wilks. - EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES Mrs. Allison. - RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK Miss Chock. - RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER Mr. Cibber. - DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM Mr. Powel. - LORD STANLEY Mr. Mills. - DUKE OF NORFOLK Mr. Simpson. - RATCLIFF Mr. Kent. - CATESBY Mr. Thomas. - HENRY, EARL OF RICHMOND Mr. Evans. - OXFORD Mr. Fairbank. - QUEEN ELIZABETH Mrs. Knight. - LADY ANN Mrs. Rogers. - CICELY Mrs. Powel.] - - -[Footnote 226: A beautiful Portfolio of Sketches of Mr. Daly's Company -has been published, in which is a portrait of Miss Rehan as Hypolita, -with a critical note by Mr. Brander Matthews.] - - -[Footnote 227: This is a specimen of that commonest of blunders, the -confusing of the dates of the first month or two of the year. The edict -was issued February, 1647-8, that is, 1648. What Bellchambers calls the -"subsequent" October was therefore the preceding October. (L.)] - - -[Footnote 228: See "Historia Histrionica."] - - -[Footnote 229: Nell Gwyn made her first appearance not later than 1665. -Pepys, on the 3rd of April, 1665, mentions "Pretty, witty Nell, at the -King's House." (L.)] - - -[Footnote 230: Should be for the remainder of his life. (L.)] - - -[Footnote 231: Vide Davies's "Dramatic Miscellanies," vol. iii. p. 264. - - -Another anecdote of the same kind is found in a "Life of the late famous -comedian, J. Haynes," 8vo. 1701, which, as it preserves a characteristic -trait of this valuable actor, is worth repeating. - -"About this time [1673] there happened a small pick between Mr. Hart and -Jo, upon the account of his late negotiation in France,{A} and there -spending so much money to so little purpose, or, as I may more properly -say, to no purpose at all. - - {A} Soon after the theatre in Drury-lane was burnt down, Jan. - 1671-2, Haynes had been sent to Paris by Mr. Hart and Mr. - Killegrew, to examine the machinery employed in the French - Operas.--_Malone._ - -"There happened to be one night a play acted, called 'Cataline's -Conspiracy,' wherein there was wanting a great number of senators. Now -Mr. Hart being chief of the house, would oblige Jo to dress for one of -these senators, although his salary, being 50_s._ per week, freed him -from any such obligation. But Mr. Hart, as I said before, being sole -governor of the playhouse, and at a small variance with Jo, commands it, -and the other must obey. - -"Jo being vexed at the slight Mr. Hart had put upon him, found out this -method of being revenged on him. He gets a Scaramouch dress, a large -full ruff, makes himself whiskers from ear to ear, puts on his head a -long Merry-Andrew's cap, a short pipe in his mouth, a little -three-legged stool in his hand; and in this manner follows Mr. Hart on -the stage, sets himself down behind him, and begins to smoke his pipe, -laugh, and point at him, which comical figure put all the house in an -uproar, some laughing, some clapping, and some hollaing. Now Mr. Hart, -as those who knew him can aver, was a man of that exactness and grandeur -on the stage, that let what would happen, he'd never discompose himself, -or mind any thing but what he then represented; and had a scene fallen -behind him, he would not at that time look back, to have seen what was -the matter; which Jo knowing, remained still smoking. The audience -continued laughing, Mr. Hart acting, and wondering at this unusual -occasion of their mirth; sometimes thinking it some disturbance in the -house, again that it might be something amiss in his dress: at last -turning himself toward the scenes, he discovered Jo in the aforesaid -posture; whereupon he immediately goes off the stage, swearing he would -never set foot on it again, unless Jo was immediately turned out of -doors, which was no sooner spoke, but put in practice."] - - -[Footnote 232: Bellamente is not a female, but a male character. By -referring to the mention of this matter in the "Historia Histrionica," -it will at once be seen how Bellchambers's blunder was caused. (L.)] - - -[Footnote 233: "My old friends Hart and Mohun, the one by his natural -and proper force, the other _by his great skill and art_, never -failed to send me home full of such ideas as affected my behaviour, -and made me insensibly more courteous and human to my friends and -acquaintance."--"Tatler," No. 99.] - - -[Footnote 234: The following extract from a pamphlet, called "A -Comparison between the Two Stages," will amply evince the popular -estimation in which Hart and Mohun were held:-- - -"The late Duke of Monmouth was a good judge of dancing, and a good -dancer himself; when he returned from France, he brought with him St -André, then the best master in France. The duke presented him to the -stage, the stage to gratify the duke admitted him, and the duke himself -thought he would prove a mighty advantage to them, though he had nobody -else of his opinion. A day was published in the bills for him to dance, -but not one more, besides the duke and his friends came to see him; the -reason was, the plays were then so good, and Hart and Mohun acted them -so well, that the audience would not be interrupted, for so short a -time, though 'twas to see the best master in Europe." - -I suspect that Mohun was born about the year 1625, from the circumstance -of his acting _Bellamente_, the heroine of Shirley's "Love's Cruelty," -in 1640, when he had probably reached, and could hardly have exceeded, -the age of fifteen years. (B.) - -As has been before pointed out, Bellamente is not a female character. He -is the husband of Clariana, and could scarcely be played by a boy. If -Mohun represented the character in 1640, he must have been considerably -older than Bellchambers imagines. (L.)] - - -[Footnote 235: This account, though generally rejected, appears to me -more deserving of credit than Chetwood's notoriously neglectful habits, -in gleaning intelligence, or making assertion.] - - -[Footnote 236: "I have lately been told by a Gentleman who has -frequently seen Mr. _Betterton_ perform this Part of _Hamlet_, that he -has observ'd his Countenance (which was naturally ruddy and sanguin) in -this Scene of the fourth Act where his Father's Ghost appears, thro' the -violent and sudden Emotions of Amazement and Horror, turn instantly on -the Sight of his Father's Spirit, as pale as his Neckcloath, when every -Article of his Body seem'd to be affected with a Tremor inexpressible; -so that, had his Father's Ghost actually risen before him; he could not -have been seized with more real Agonies; and this was felt so strongly -by the Audience, that the Blood seemed to shudder in their Veins -likewise, and they in some Measure partook of the Astonishment and -Horror, with which they saw this excellent Actor affected."--"Laureat," -1740, p. 31. - -----"I have seen a pamphlet, written above forty years ago, by an -intelligent man, who greatly extols the performance of Betterton in this -last scene, commonly called the closet scene."--Davies's "Dramatic -Miscellanies," vol. iii. p. 112, ed. 1784.] - - -[Footnote 237: In Gildon's "Life," &c., 1710, there is a copy of Rowe's -"Epilogue," stated to have been spoken by Mrs. Barry "at the Theatre -Royal, in Drury-lane, April the 7th," and this mistaken date has been -perpetuated by the "Biographia Dramatica." [In spite of this -contradiction of Gildon and the "Biographia Dramatica," they are right, -and Bellchambers is wrong. The date was 7th April, 1709.]] - - -[Footnote 238: This lady, who was remarkably handsome, married Boman, -the actor.] - - -[Footnote 239: This curiosity, I believe, is still preserved in the Earl -of Mansfield's mansion, at Caen-wood.] - - -[Footnote 240: Pope, in the postscript of a letter to Cromwell, writes -thus:-- - -"----This letter of death puts me in mind of poor Betterton's, over whom -I would have this sentence of Tully for an epitaph, which will serve for -his moral as well as his theatrical capacity: - - '_Vitæ bene actæ jucundissima est recordatio._'" - -In another part of his correspondence, he intimates that Betterton's -"remains" had been taken care of, alluding, I suppose, to this -post-humous forgery.] - - -[Footnote 241: Mrs. Brown swore she went herself, but appears to have -been mistaken.] - - -[Footnote 242: Bellchambers seems to have had a craze on the subject of -Mrs. Bracegirdle's character, which he vilifies on every possible -opportunity. His opinion here appears to me very questionable.] - - -[Footnote 243: Sandford played Worm in "The Cutter of Coleman Street" as -early as 1661. (L.)] - - -[Footnote 244: Cibber says that Nokes, Mountfort, and Leigh, "died about -the same year," _viz._ 1692.] - - -[Footnote 245: "Roscius Anglicanus."] - - -[Footnote 246: I find, on looking over the "Roscius Anglicanus," -that _Trinculo_ is termed _Duke Trinculo_, in a short reference -to the "Tempest."] - - -[Footnote 247: "Dramatic Miscellanies," vol. ii. p. 323.] - - -[Footnote 248: "That Verbruggen and Cibber did not accord, is plainly -insinuated by the author of the Laureat. It was known that the former -would resent an injury, and that the latter's valour was entirely -passive. The temper of Verbruggen may be known, from a story which I -have often been told by the old comedians as a certain fact, and which -found its way into some temporary publication. - -"Verbruggen, in a dispute with one of King Charles's illegitimate sons, -was so far transported by sudden anger, as to strike him, and call him a -son of a whore. The affront was given, it seems, behind the scenes of -Drury-lane. Complaint was made of this daring insult on a nobleman, and -Verbruggen was told, he must either not act in London, or submit -publicly to ask the nobleman's pardon. During the time of his being -interdicted acting, he had engaged himself to Betterton's theatre. He -consented to ask pardon, on liberty granted to express his submission in -his own terms. He came on the stage dressed for the part of _Oroonoko_, -and, after the usual preface, owned that he had called the Duke of St. -A. a son of a whore. 'It is true,' said Verbruggen, 'and I am sorry for -it.' On saying this, he invited the company present to see him act the -part of _Oroonoko_, at the theatre in Lincoln's-inn-fields."--"Dramatic -Miscellanies," vol. iii. p. 447.] - - -[Footnote 249: "A fellow with a crackt voice: he clangs his words as if -he spoke out of a broken drum."--"Comparison, &c.," 1702.] - - -[Footnote 250: "History of the Stage," p. 136.] - -[Footnote 251: There was also a David Williams; perhaps the person who -played the _2d Grave-digger_, in "Hamlet." (B.) [Genest gives this part -to Joseph Williams.]] - - -[Footnote 252: "Dramatic Miscellanies," vol. iii. p. 209.] - - -[Footnote 253: "Life of Betterton," p. 16.] - - -[Footnote 254: Downes expressly mentions her as Mrs. Betterton for -_Camilla_ [should be _Portia_], in the "Adventures of Five Hours," 1663; -and she also acted by that name, a few months after, in the "Slighted -Maid." This error originated with the "Biographia Britannica," but Mr. -Jones, the late slovenly editor of the book alluded to, had ample means -to correct it. (B.)] - - -[Footnote 255: "You'll have Pinkethman and Bullock helping out Beaumont -and Fletcher."--Tatler, No. 89.] - - -[Footnote 256: "Tatler," No. 201.] - - -[Footnote 257: "Dramatic Miscellanies," vol. ii. p. 133.] - - -[Footnote 258: "Dramatic Miscellanies," vol. iii. p. 465.] - - -[Footnote 259: It is supposed that she was engaged in a tender -intercourse with Farquhar, and was the "Penelope" of his amatory -correspondence. She lived successively with Arthur Mainwaring, one of -the most accomplished characters of his age, and General Churchill; by -each of whom she had a son.] - - -[Footnote 260: This fact is firmly denied in Cibber's "Lives of -the Poets," and with a pointed reference to Johnson's admission of -it.--Vol. v. p. 33.] - - -[Footnote 261: Savage, however, was _not_ silent; though he abstained -from putting his name to the poem, he indisputably wrote upon Mrs. -Oldfield's death. It is preserved in Chetwood's "History."] - - -[Footnote 262: What can be more ridiculous than the following anecdote? - -Mrs. Oldfield happened to be in some danger in a Gravesend boat, and -when the rest of the passengers lamented their imagined approaching -fate, she, with a conscious dignity, told them their deaths would be -only a private loss;--"But I am a public concern."--"Dramatic -Miscellanies," vol. i. p. 227.] - - -[Footnote 263: The bitterness of Pope's muse subsided upon no occasion, -where the name of Mrs. Oldfield might be aptly introduced. Thus in the -"Sober Advice from Horace," one of his inedited poems: - - Engaging Oldfield! who, with grace and ease, - Could join the arts to ruin and to please.] - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcription note: - -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 44 Sir Thomas Shipwith[Skipwith], had trusted - pg 103 of so grave and stanch[staunch] a Senator - pg 113 have been in our Power so throughly[thoroughly] to - pg 159 he expresly[expressly] wrote for him - pg 241 upon the Model of Monfort[Mountfort not corrected] - pg 349 The "famous Mr. Antony[Anthony] Leigh," - pg 370 nor can their[there] be a doubt - pg 289 Added heading [Bibliography of Colley Cibber] - fn 26 two of these parts belonged to Skipwith[Shipwith] - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. -COLLEY CIBBER, VOLUME II (OF 2)*** - - -******* This file should be named 44065-8.txt or 44065-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/0/6/44065 - - - -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. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -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 - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |