Chapter XVI (8)

"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.]