Chapter I: Front Matter

MEMOIRS
OF
JOSEPH GRIMALDI

EDITED
BY "BOZ"

_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GEORGE CRUIKSHANK_

LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS
BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
NEW YORK: 416 BROOME STREET

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK

_Price 2s. each, boards._

The Greatest Plague of Life; or, The Adventures
of a Lady in Search of a Good Servant.
Edited by the BROTHERS MAYHEW. With
Illustrations by GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.

Whom to Marry and How to Get Married; or, The
Adventures of a Lady in Search of a Good
Husband. Edited by the BROTHERS MAYHEW, and
Illustrated by GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.

Mornings at Bow Street. With Steel Frontispiece
and 21 Illustrations by GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

It is some years now, since we first conceived a strong veneration for Clowns, and an intense anxiety to know what they did with themselves out of pantomime time, and off the stage. As a child, we were accustomed to pester our relations and friends with questions out of number concerning these gentry;--whether their appetite for sausages and such like wares was always the same, and if so, at whose expense they were maintained; whether they were ever taken up for pilfering other people's goods, or were forgiven by everybody because it was only done in fun; how it was they got such beautiful complexions, and where they lived; and whether they were born Clowns, or gradually turned into Clowns as they grew up. On these and a thousand other points our curiosity was insatiable. Nor were our speculations confined to Clowns alone: they extended to Harlequins, Pantaloons, and Columbines, all of whom we believed to be real and veritable personages, existing in the same forms and characters all the year round. How often have we wished that the Pantaloon were our god-father! and how often thought that to marry a Columbine would be to attain the highest pitch of all human felicity!

The delights--the ten thousand million delights of a pantomime--come streaming upon us now,--even of the pantomime which came lumbering down in Richardson's waggons at fair-time to the dull little town in which we had the honour to be brought up, and which a long row of small boys, with frills as white as they could be washed, and hands as clean as they would come, were taken to behold the glories of, in fair daylight.

We feel again all the pride of standing in a body on the platform, the observed of all observers in the crowd below, while the junior usher pays away twenty-four ninepences to a stout gentleman under a Gothic arch, with a hoop of variegated lamps swinging over his head. Again we catch a glimpse (too brief, alas!) of the lady with a green parasol in her hand, on the outside stage of the next show but one, who supports herself on one foot, on the back of a majestic horse, blotting-paper coloured and white; and once again our eyes open wide with wonder, and our hearts throb with emotion, as we deliver our card-board check into the very hands of the Harlequin himself, who, all glittering with spangles, and dazzling with many colours, deigns to give us a word of encouragement and commendation as we pass into the booth!

But what was this--even this--to the glories of the inside, where, amid the smell of saw-dust, and orange-peel, sweeter far than violets to youthful noses, the first play being over, the lovers united, the ghost appeased, the baron killed, and everything made comfortable and pleasant,--the pantomime itself began! What words can describe the deep gloom of the opening scene, where a crafty magician holding a young lady in bondage was discovered, studying an enchanted book to the soft music of a gong!--or in what terms can we express the thrill of ecstasy with which, his magic power opposed by superior art, we beheld the monster himself converted into Clown! What mattered it that the stage was three yards wide, and four deep? _we_ never saw it. We had no eyes, ears, or corporeal senses, but for the pantomime. And when its short career was run, and the baron previously slaughtered, coming forward with his hand upon his heart, announced that for that favour Mr. Richardson returned his most sincere thanks, and the performances would commence again in a quarter of an hour, what jest could equal the effects of the Baron's indignation and surprise, when the Clown, unexpectedly peeping from behind the curtain, requested the audience "not to believe it, for it was all gammon!" Who but a Clown could have called forth the roar of laughter that succeeded; and what witchery but a Clown's could have caused the junior usher himself to declare aloud, as he shook his sides and smote his knee in a moment of irrepressible joy, that that was the very best thing he had ever heard said!

We have lost that clown now;--he is still alive, though, for we saw him only the day before last Bartholomew Fair, eating a real saveloy, and we are sorry to say he had deserted to the illegitimate drama, for he was seated on one of "Clark's Circus" waggons:--we have lost that Clown and that pantomime, but our relish for the entertainment still remains unimpaired. Each successive Boxing-day finds us in the same state of high excitement and expectation. On that eventful day, when new pantomimes are played for the first time at the two great theatres, and at twenty or thirty of the little ones, we still gloat as formerly upon the bills which set forth tempting descriptions of the scenery in staring red and black letters, and still fall down upon our knees, with other men and boys, upon the pavement by shop-doors, to read them down to the very last line. Nay, we still peruse with all eagerness and avidity the exclusive accounts of the coming wonders in the theatrical newspapers of the Sunday before, and still believe them as devoutly as we did before twenty years' experience had shown us that they are always wrong.

With these feelings upon the subject of pantomimes, it is no matter of surprise that when we first heard that Grimaldi had left some memoirs of his life behind him, we were in a perfect fever until we had perused the manuscript. It was no sooner placed in our hands by "the adventurous and spirited publisher,"--(if our recollection serve us, this is the customary style of the complimentary little paragraphs regarding new books which usually precede advertisements about Savory's clocks in the newspapers,)--than we sat down at once and read it every word.

See how pleasantly things come about, if you let them take their own course! This mention of the manuscript brings us at once to the very point we are anxious to reach, and which we should have gained long ago, if we had not travelled into those irrelevant remarks concerning pantomimic representations.

For about a year before his death, Grimaldi was employed in writing a full account of his life and adventures. It was his chief occupation and amusement; and as people who write their own lives, even in the midst of very many occupations, often find time to extend them to a most inordinate length, it is no wonder that his account of himself was exceedingly voluminous.

This manuscript was confided to Mr. Thomas Egerton Wilks: to alter and revise, with a view to its publication. Mr. Wilks, who was well acquainted with Grimaldi and his connexions, applied himself to the task of condensing it throughout, and wholly expunging considerable portions, which, so far as the public were concerned, possessed neither interest nor amusement, he likewise interspersed here and there the substance of such personal anecdotes as he had gleaned from the writer in desultory conversation. While he was thus engaged, Grimaldi died.

Mr. Wilks having by the commencement of September concluded his labours, offered the manuscript to the present publisher, by whom it was shortly afterwards purchased unconditionally, with the full consent and concurrence of Mr. Richard Hughes, Grimaldi's executor.

The present Editor of these Memoirs has felt it necessary to say thus much in explanation of their origin, in order to establish beyond doubt the unquestionable authenticity of the memoirs they contain.

His own share in them is stated in a few words. Being much struck by several incidents in the manuscript--such as the description of Grimaldi's infancy, the burglary, the brother's return from sea under the extraordinary circumstances detailed, the adventure of the man with the two fingers on his left hand, the account of Mackintosh and his friends, and many other passages,--and thinking that they might be related in a more attractive manner, (they were at that time told in the first person, as if by Grimaldi himself, although they had necessarily lost any original manner which his recital might have imparted to them;) he accepted a proposal from the publisher to edit the book, and _has_ edited it to the best of his ability, altering its form throughout, and making such other alterations as he conceived would improve the narration of the facts, without any departure from the facts themselves.

He has merely to add, that there has been no _book-making_ in this case. He has not swelled the quantity of matter, but materially abridged it. The account of Grimaldi's first courtship may appear lengthy in its present form; but it has undergone a double and most comprehensive process of abridgment. The old man was garrulous upon a subject on which the youth had felt so keenly; and as the feeling did him honour in both stages of life, the Editor has not had the heart to reduce it further.

Here is the book, then, at last. After so much pains from so many hands--including the good right hand of GEORGE CRUIKSHANK, which has seldom been better exercised,--he humbly hopes it may find favour with the public.

DOUGHTY STREET,
_February, 1838_.

CONTENTS.

Introductory Chapter page v

CHAPTER I.

His Grandfather and Father--His Birth and first appearance
at Drury Lane Theatre and at Sadler's Wells--His Father's
severity--Miss Farren--The Earl of Derby and the Wig--the
Fortune-box and Charity's reward--His Father's pretended Death,
and the behaviour of himself and his brother thereupon 1

CHAPTER II.

1788 to 1794.

The Father's real Death--His Will, and failure of the
Executor--Generous conduct of Grimaldi's Schoolmaster,
and of Mr. Wroughton the Comedian--Smart running against
time--Kindness of Sheridan--Grimaldi's industry and
amusements--Fly-catching--Expedition in search of the "Dartford
Blues"--Mrs. Jordan--Adventure on Clapham Common: the piece of
Tin--His first love and its consequences 17

CHAPTER III.

1794 to 1797.

Grimaldi falls in Love--His success--He meets with an accident
which brings the Reader acquainted with that invaluable
specific "Grimaldi's Embrocation"--He rises gradually in his
Profession--The Pentonville Gang of Burglars 28

CHAPTER IV.

1797 to 1798.

The Thieves make a second attempt; alarmed by their perseverance,
Grimaldi repairs to Hatton Garden--Interview with Mr. Trott;
ingenious device of that gentleman, and its result on the third
visit of the Burglars--Comparative attractions of Pantomime and
Spectacle--Trip to Gravesend and Chatham--Disagreeable recognition
of a good-humoured friend, and an agreeable mode of journeying
recommended to all Travellers 40

CHAPTER V.

1798.

An extraordinary circumstance concerning himself, with another
extraordinary circumstance concerning his Grandfather--Specimen
of a laconic epistle, and an account of two interviews with Mr.
Hughes, in the latter of which a benevolent gentleman is duly
rewarded for his trouble--Preparations for his marriage--Fatiguing
effects of his exertions at the Theatre 51

CHAPTER VI.

1798.

Tribulations connected with "Old Lucas," the constable, with an
account of the subsequent proceedings before Mr. Blamire, the
magistrate, at Hatton Garden, and the mysterious appearance of a
silver staff--A guinea wager with a jocose friend on the Dartford
Road--The Prince of Wales, Sheridan, and the Crockery Girl 62

CHAPTER VII.

1798 to 1801.

Partiality of George the Third for Theatrical
Entertainments--Sheridan's kindness to Grimaldi--His
domestic affliction and severe distress--The production of
Harlequin Amulet a new era in Pantomime--Pigeon-fancying and
Wagering--His first Provincial Excursion with Mrs. Baker, the
eccentric Manageress--John Kemble and Jew Davis, with a new
reading--Increased success at Maidstone and Canterbury--Polite
interview with John Kemble 76

CHAPTER VIII.

1801 to 1803.

Hard work to counterbalance great gains--His discharge _from_
Drury Lane, and his discharge _at_ Sadler's Wells--His return to
the former house--Monk Lewis--Anecdote of him and Sheridan, and of
Sheridan and the Prince of Wales--Grimaldi gains a son and loses
all his capital 88

CHAPTER IX.

1803.

Containing a Very Extraordinary Incident Well Worthy of the
Reader's Attention 97

CHAPTER X.

1803 to 1805.

Bologna and his Family--An Excursion into Kent with that
personage--Mr. Mackintosh, the gentleman of landed property,
and his preserves--A great day's sporting; and a scene at the
Garrick's Head in Bow Street, between a Landlord, a Gamekeeper,
Bologna and Grimaldi 106

CHAPTER XI.

1805 to 1806.

Stage Affairs and Stage Quarrels--Mr. Graham, the Bow Street
Magistrate and Drury Lane Manager--Mr. Peake--Grimaldi is
introduced to Mr. Harris by John Kemble--Leaves Drury Lane Theatre
and engages at Covent Garden--Mortification of the authorities at
"the other house"--He joins Charles Dibdin's Company and visits
Dublin--The _wet_ Theatre--Ill success of the speculation, and
great success of his own Benefit--Observations on the comparative
strength of Whisky Punch and Rum Punch, with interesting experiment
115

CHAPTER XII.

1806 to 1807.

He returns to town, gets frozen to the roof of a coach on the
road, and pays his rent twice over when he arrives at home--Mr.
Charles Farley--His first appearance at Covent Garden--Valentine
and Orson--Production of "Mother Goose," and its immense
success--The mysterious adventure of the Six Ladies and the Six
Gentlemen 124

CHAPTER XIII.

1807.

The mystery cleared up chiefly through the instrumentality of Mr.
Alderman Harmer; and the characters of the Six Ladies and the Six
Gentlemen are satisfactorily explained--The Trial of Mackintosh
for Burglary--Its result 133

CHAPTER XIV.

1807 to 1808.

Bradbury, the Clown--His voluntary confinement in a Madhouse,
to screen an "Honourable" Thief--His release, strange conduct,
subsequent career, and death--Dreadful Accident at Sadler's
Wells--The night-drives to Finchley--Trip to Birmingham--Mr.
Macready, the Manager and his curious Stage-properties--Sudden
recall to Town 148

CHAPTER XV.

1808 to 1809.

Covent Garden Theatre destroyed by fire--Grimaldi makes a trip
to Manchester: he meets with an accident there, and another at
Liverpool--The Sir Hugh Myddleton Tavern at Sadler's Wells, and
a description of some of its frequenters, necessary to a full
understanding of the succeeding chapter 158

CHAPTER XVI.

1809.

Grimaldi's Adventure on Highgate Hill, and its consequences 165

CHAPTER XVII.

1809 to 1812.

Opening of the new Covent Garden Theatre--The great O. P.
Rows--Grimaldi's first appearance as Clown in the public
streets--Temporary embarrassments--Great success at Cheltenham and
Gloucester--He visits Berkeley Castle, and is introduced to Lord
Byron--Fish sauce and Apple Pie 172

CHAPTER XVIII.

1812 to 1816.

A Clergyman's Dinner-party at Bath--First Appearance of Grimaldi's
Son, and Death of his old friend Mr. Hughes--Grimaldi plays at
three Theatres on one night, and has his salary stopped for his
pains--His severe illness--Second journey to Bath--Davidge, "Billy
Coombes" and the Chest--Facetiousness of the aforesaid Billy 183

CHAPTER XIX.

1816 to 1817.

He quits Sadler's Wells in consequence of a disagreement with
the Proprietors--Lord Byron--Retirement of John Kemble--Immense
success of Grimaldi in the provinces, and his great gains--A scene
in a Barber's Shop 194

CHAPTER XX.

1817.

More provincial success--Bologna and his economy--Comparative
dearness of Welsh Rare-bits and Partridges--Remarkably odd modes
of saving money 203

CHAPTER XXI.

1817 to 1818.

Production of "Baron Munchausen"--Anecdote of Ellar the Harlequin,
showing how he jumped through the Moon and put his hand
out--Grimaldi becomes a Proprietor of Sadler's Wells--Anecdotes of
the late Duke of York, Sir Godfrey Webster, a Gold Snuff-box, his
late Majesty, Newcastle Salmon, and a Coal Mine 209

CHAPTER XXII.

1818 to 1823.

Profit and Loss--Appearance of his Son at Covent Garden--His
last engagement at Sadler's Wells--Accommodation of the Giants
in the Dublin Pavilion--Alarming state of his health--His
engagement at the Coburg--The liberality of Mr. Harris--Rapid
decay of Grimaldi's constitution, his great sufferings, and last
performance at Covent Garden--He visits Cheltenham and Birmingham
with great success--Colonel Berkeley, Mr. Charles Kemble, and Mr.
Bunn 218

CHAPTER XXIII.

1823 to 1827.

Grimaldi's great afflictions augmented by the dissipation and
recklessness of his Son--Compelled to retire from Covent Garden
Theatre, where he is succeeded by him--New Speculation at Sadler's
Wells--Changes in the system of Management, and their results--Sir
James Scarlett and a blushing Witness 229

CHAPTER XXIV.

1828.

Great kindness of Miss Kelly towards Grimaldi--His farewell
benefit at Sadler's Wells; last appearance, and farewell
address--He makes preparations for one more appearance at Covent
Garden, but, in a conversation with Mr. Charles Kemble, meets with
a disappointment--In consequence of Lord Segrave's benevolent
interference, a benefit is arranged for him at Drury Lane--His
last interview with Mr. Charles Kemble and Fawcett 236

CHAPTER XXV.

1828 to 1836.

The farewell benefit at Drury Lane--Grimaldi's last appearance and
parting address--The Drury Lane Theatrical Fund, and its prompt
reply to his communication--Miserable career and death of his
Son--His Wife dies, and he returns from Woolwich (whither he had
previously removed) to London--His retirement 244

Concluding Chapter 253

MEMOIRS

OF

JOSEPH GRIMALDI.