Barwick_, who was lately my Servant, had committed a Rudeness
last night at the Play-house, by throwing of Oranges, and hissing
when Mrs. _l'Epine_ the Italian Gentlewoman Sung. I hope no one
can think that it was in the least with my Privity, as I assure
you it was not. I abhor such Practises, and I hope that you will
cause her to be prosecuted, that she may be punish'd as she
deserves.
I am, Sir, Your humble Servant,
KATHARINE TOFTS.
To Christopher Rich Esq.; at the
Theatre Royal. Feb. 6. 1703.'[425]
[Footnote 425: _Ibid._ Feb. 8, 1703.]
Misson gives a description of its interior, which, from his
invariable truthfulness, can be relied on. 'The Pit is an
Amphitheater, fill'd with Benches without Back boards, and adorn'd and
cover'd with green Cloth. Men of Quality, particularly the younger
Sort, some Ladies of Reputation and Vertue, and abundance of Damsels
that hunt for Prey, Sit all together in this place, Higgledy piggledy,
chatter, toy, play, hear, hear not. Farther up, against the Wall,
under the first Gallery, and just opposite to the Stage, rises another
Amphitheater, which is taken up by Persons of the best Quality, among
whom are generally very few Men. The Galleries, whereof there are only
two rows, are filled with none but ordinary People, particularly the
Upper One.'
Italian opera was coming mightily into vogue, but a new theatre was
needed for its performance, so a company was formed, capital 3,000_l._
in 100_l._ shares, which covered a subscription for life; and Sir John
Vanbrugh was entrusted with its building. The members of the Kitcat
Club were large subscribers; and Cibber says, 'Of this Theatre I saw
the first Stone laid, on which was inscrib'd _The little Whig_,[426]
in Honour to a Lady of extraordinary Beauty, then the celebrated Toast
and Pride of that Party.' But this seems an inaccuracy, for in a
newspaper-cutting of March 19, 1825, it says, 'Removing that portion
of the walls of the Italian Opera House, immediately adjoining the
cellar of Mr. Wright, on Saturday last, the workmen discovered the
first stone of the old building, laid in 1704. The stone was in a
perfect state, and in the cavity formed for the purpose of receiving
them were found several coins of the reign of Queen Anne; a brass
plate which covered the cavity bore the following inscription: "April
18, 1704. In the third year of the happy reign of our Sovereign Lady
Queen Anne, this corner stone of the Queen's Theatre was laid, by his
Grace Charles Duke of Somerset, Master of the Horse to her most sacred
Majesty."'
[Footnote 426: Lady Sunderland, second daughter of the Duke
of Marlborough. _See_ p. 22.]
The outside was imposing: an arcade, as now, ran along the front of
the building, the length of which was relieved by a dome in the
centre, and on the balustraded parapet were eight statues on
pedestals. But, if Cibber is to be trusted, the inside was so badly
constructed acoustically that 'scarce one Word in ten could be
distinctly heard in it,' and the consequence was that the roof had to
be remodelled and made flat.
Vanbrugh and Congreve opened this theatre on Easter Monday, April 9,
1705, and Mrs. Bracegirdle spoke a prologue, written by Dr. Garth, in
which are the lines, alluding to the Haymarket:--
Your own magnificence you here Survey,
Majestick Columns stand where Dunghills lay,
And Cars triumphal rise from Carts of Hay.
The play on this occasion was, according to Cibber, 'a translated
Opera, to _Italian_ Musick, called the _Triumph of Love_.' This, he
says, only ran three days, and then Sir John Vanbrugh produced his
comedy called 'The Confederacy.' Downes[427] says, 'It (i.e. the
Italian Opera) lasted but 5 Days, and they being lik'd but
indifferently by the Gentry; they in a little time marcht back to
their own Country. The first play _Acted_ there was _The Gamester_.'
[Footnote 427: _Roscius Anglicanus_, 1712.]
It is singular that neither of these authorities are correct, and
luckily we have the advertisements left to guide us. It is, however,
somewhat strange that there should have been no public announcement in
the newspapers of its opening; but the first advertisement published
is in the _Daily Courant_, April 14, 1705: 'At the Queen's Theatre in
the Haymarket, this present Saturday being the 14th of April, will be
reviv'd, The Indian Emperor, or the Conquest of Mexico by the
Spaniards. The Part of Cortez to be perform'd by Mr. Powel; with
Entertainments of Dancing, as also Singing by the new Italian Boy. By
Her Majesty's Sworn Servants.'
The next play was 'The Merry Wives of Windsor,' on April 23; on the
27th 'The Gamester'; and Downes says 'The Confederacy' was playing
long after.
This theatre was, undoubtedly, the most fashionable; and its prices,
at times, were far above its rivals. Take, for example[428]: 'At the
Desire of several Persons of Quality. At the Queen's Theatre in the
Hay Market, on Saturday next, being the 7th of February, will be
presented an Opera call'd Camilla. The Part of Metius (to which are
added several new Select Songs) to be perform'd by the famous Signior
Gioseppe Cassani, lately arrived from Italy. With several new
Entertainments of Dancing by Monsieur Cherrier, Monsieur Debargues,
Mrs. Santlow, Mrs. Evans, and others. The Boxes to be open'd to the
Pit, and no Person to be admitted but by Tickets, which will be
deliver'd out on Friday and Saturday Morning at White's Chocolate
House, at a Guinea each Ticket. The number of Tickets not to exceed
450.' On the 6th same month the performance was lowered to half a
guinea. Stage boxes, half a guinea; first gallery, 5_s._; upper
gallery, 2_s._; and on Feb. 10 admission was still further lowered.
[Footnote 428: _Daily Courant_, Feb. 4, 1708.]
Congreve soon gave up his share, and Sir John Vanbrugh was also glad
to get rid of this 'bad egg': so after Jan. 10, 1708, it was
transferred to Owen MacSwiney for operatic performances, one of which
we have just mentioned.
Pinkethman, the indefatigable, had a theatre at Greenwich, which he
worked during the summer months, though the exact time is unknown. In
an advertisement of his moving picture (_Daily Courant_, May 9, 1709)
he says it may be seen 'next Door to his New Play House, where variety
of Plays are Acted every Day as in London.' He could not long have
started, as in the _Tatler_ (No. 4, April 18, 1709) it says, 'We hear
Mr. _Penkethman_ has removed his ingenious Company of Strollers to
Greenwich. But other letters from Deptford say, the company is only
making thither, and not yet settled; but that several Heathen Gods and
Goddesses, which are to descend in machines, landed at the King's Head
Stairs last Saturday. _Venus_ and _Cupid_ went on foot from thence to
Greenwich; _Mars_ got drunk in the town, and broke his Landlord's
head, for which he sat in the Stocks the whole Evening; but Mr.
_Penkethman_ giving Security that he should do nothing this ensuing
Summer, he was set at liberty. The most melancholy part of all was,
that _Diana_ was taken, and committed by Justice Wrathful; which has,
it seems, put a stop to the Diversions of the Theatre at Blackheath.
But there goes down another _Diana_ and a _Patient Grissel_ next tide
from Billingsgate.'
Queen Anne was not a patron of the drama. She never went to the
theatre, and, as far as I can learn, seldom had dramatic performances
at court. 'On Sunday, being the Queen's Birth Day, her Majesty
receiv'd the usual Compliments on that occasion, and yesterday there
was an extraordinary appearance of the Nobility and Gentry of both
Sexes at St. James's upon the same account. The Play call'd, All for
Love,[429] was Acted in the presence of the Court.'[430] And this was
such an extraordinary event that even another newspaper informed its
readers of the astounding fact. Downes remarks on this: 'Note From
_Candlemas_ 1704 to the 22d of April 1706. There were 4 Plays
commanded to be _Acted_ at Court at St. _James'_, by the _Actors_ of
both Houses viz. First _All for Love_. The Second was _Sir_ Solomon
_or the Cautious Coxcomb_.[431] The next was _The Merry Wives of_
Windsor, _Acted_ the 23rd of _April_, the Queen's Coronation Day. The
last was _The Anatomist or Sham Doctor_;[432] it was perform'd on
_Shrove Tuesday_, the Queen's Birthday.'
[Footnote 429: _All for Love, or the World well Lost_, by
Dryden.]
[Footnote 430: _Postman_, Feb. 5/8, 1704.]
[Footnote 431: A translation from the _Ecole des Femmes_ of
Molière, and attributed to John Caryll.]
[Footnote 432: By Edward Ravenscroft, 1697.]
But though she would not go to the theatres, she heartily took their
reformation in hand, as the following proclamation shows:--
'ANNE R.
'WHEREAS. We have already given Orders to the Master of Our
Revels, and also to Both the Companies of Comedians, Acting in
_Drury Lane_, and _Lincolns Inn Fields_, to take Special Care,
that Nothing be Acted in either of the Theatres contrary to
Religion or Good Manners, upon Pain of our High Displeasure, and
of being Silenc'd from further Acting; And being further desirous
to Reform all other Indecencies, and Abuses of the Stage, which
have Occasion'd great Disorders, and Justly give Offence; Our
Will and Pleasure therefore is, and We do hereby strictly
Command, That no Person of what Quality soever, Presume to go
Behind the Scenes, or come upon the Stage, either before, or
during the Acting of any Play. That no Woman be Allow'd or
Presume to wear a Vizard Mask in either of the Theatres. And
that no Person come into either House without Paying the Prices
Establish'd for their Respective Places.
'All which Orders We strictly Command all Managers, Sharers, and
Actors of the said Companies, to see exactly Observ'd, and
Obey'd. And We Require and Command all Our Constables, and others
appointed to Attend the Theatres, to be Aiding and Assisting to
them therein. And if any Persons whatsoever shall disobey this
Our Known Pleasure and Command, We shall Proceed against them as
Contemners of Our Royal Authority, and Disturbers of the Publick
Peace.
'Given at our Court at St. _James's_ the 17th Day of _January_.
'In the Second Year of our Reign.'
Luttrell, writing on January 20, 1704, says: 'This day, the lords
ordered thanks to the Queen for restraining the play houses from
immorality.'
This proclamation, however, did not have the desired effect, for
another appeared in March the same year: 'WHEREAS great Complaints
have been made to Her Majesty, of many indecent, prophane and immoral
Expressions that are usually spoken by Players and Mountebanks
contrary to Religion and Good Manners. And thereupon Her Majesty has
lately given Order to _Charles Killigrew, Esqre._; Her Majesty's
Master of the Revels, to take especial care to correct all such
Abuses. The said Master of the Revels does therefore hereby require
all Stage Players, Mountebanks, and all other Persons, mounting
Stages, or otherwise, to bring their Several Plays, Drolls, Farces,
Interludes, Dialogues, Prologues, and other Entertainments, fairly
written, to him at his Office in _Somerset House_, to be by him
perused, corrected and allow'd under his hand, pursuant to Her
Majesty's Commands, upon pain of being proceeded against for contempt
of Her Majesty's said Order,'[433] etc. Another proclamation appeared
in the _Gazette_, Nov. 13/15, 1711, forbidding anybody to stand upon
the stage or go behind the scenes.
[Footnote 433: _Daily Courant_, March 9, 1704.]
That these proclamations were not strictly attended to is evidenced by
the notices scattered over the newspaper advertisements, till 1712,
that no Persons were allowed on the stage, or behind the scenes, by
her Majesty's command; but, after this last proclamation, the practice
seems to have been stopped.
Anne was determined that her orders should be carried out, and looked
after the small fry as well as the big fish. 'Whereas the Master of
the Revels has received Information, That several Companies of
Strolling Actors pretend to have Licenses from Noblemen, and presume
under that pretence to avoid the Master of the Revels, his Correcting
their Plays, Drolls, Farces, and Interludes: which being against Her
Majesty's Intentions and Directions to the said Master: These are to
signifie. That such Licenses are not of any Force or authority. There
are likewise several Mountebanks Acting upon Stages, and Mountebanks
on Horseback, Persons that keep Poppets, and others that make Shew of
Monsters, and strange Sights of living Creatures, who presume to
Travel without the said Master of the Revels' Licence,'[434] etc., and
goes on to say that their exhibitions must be licensed by him, under
penalty.
[Footnote 434: _London Gazette_, Feb. 1/5, 1705.]
These strolling actors seem to have been poor enough, and might fairly
come under the category of 'vagabonds by Act of Parliament' if the
account Steele[435] gives of them be in any way correct: 'We have now
at this Place a Company of Strolers, who are very far from offending
in the impertinent Splendour of the Drama. They are so far from
falling into these false Gallantries, that the Stage is here in its
Original Situation of a Cart. _Alexander_ the Great was acted by a
Fellow in a Paper Cravat; The next Day the Earl of _Essex_ seemed to
have no Distress but his Poverty: and my Lord _Foppington_ the same
Morning wanted any better means to shew himself a Fop Man by wearing
Stockings of different Colours. In a Word tho' they have had a full
Barn for many Days together, our Itinerants are still so wretchedly
poor, that without you can prevail to send us the Furniture you forbid
at the Play House, the Heroes appear only like sturdy Beggars, and the
Heroines Gipsies.'
[Footnote 435: _Spectator_, No. 48.]
'No person to be admitted to keep Places in the Pit' seems a singular
order, were it not explicable by the fact that people used to send
their footmen to keep places for them until their arrival, and that
the manners of these gentry gave great offence to the habitués of the
pit. The proper place for the footmen was the upper gallery, which was
allowed to them free, supposing they were in attendance on their
masters. We have seen Pinkethman's power over them, but their
behaviour generally was rough and noisy. In the _Female Tatler_, Dec.
9, 1709, is this notice: 'Dropt near the Play house, in the Haymarket,
a bundle of Horsewhips, designed to belabour the Footmen in the Upper
Gallery, who almost every Night this Winter, have made such an
intolerable Disturbance, that the Players could not be heard, and
their Masters were obliged to hiss them into silence. Whoever has
taken up the said Whips, is desired to leave 'em with my Lord Rake's
Porter, several Noblemen resolving to exercise 'em on their Backs, the
next Frosty Morning.'
The bad behaviour was not wholly confined to the lackeys, for
Addison[436] alludes to that of some ladies whilst at the Theatre: 'A
little before the rising of the Curtain, she broke out into a loud
Soliloquy, _When will the Dear Witches enter?_ and immediately upon
their first Appearance, asked a Lady that sat three Boxes from her, on
her Right Hand, if those Witches were not charming Creatures. A little
after, as _Betterton_ was in one of the finest Speeches of the Play,
she shook her Fan at another Lady, who sat as far on the Left Hand,
and told her with a Whisper that might be heard all over the Pit, We
must not expect to see _Ballon_ to-night. Not long after, calling out
to a young Baronet by his Name, who sat three seats before me, she
asked him whether Macbeth's wife was still alive: and before he could
give an Answer, fell a talking of the Ghost of Banquo.'
[Footnote 436: _Ibid._ No. 45.]
Steele,[437] too, tells of the bad conduct of a beau, which curiously
illustrates the necessity of Anne's proclamations: 'This was a very
lusty Fellow, but withal a sort of Beau, who getting into one of the
Side boxes on the Stage before the Curtain drew, was disposed to show
the whole Audience his Activity by leaping over the Spikes; he pass'd
from thence to one of the Entering Doors, where he took Snuff with a
tolerable good Grace, display'd his fine Cloaths, made two or three
feint Passes at the Curtain with his Cane, then faced about and
appear'd at t'other Door: Here he affected to survey the whole House,
bow'd and smil'd at random, and then shew'd his Teeth, which were some
of them indeed very white: After this he retired behind the Curtain,
and obliged us with several Views of his Person from every Opening.'
[Footnote 437: _Spectator_, No. 240.]
And, again, take this short sketch: 'And our rakely young Fellows live
as much by their Wits as ever; and to avoid the clinking Dun of a
Boxkeeper, at the End of one Act, they sneak to the opposite Side
'till the End of another; then call the Boxkeeper saucy Rascal,
ridicule the Poet, laugh at the Actors, march to the Opera, and spunge
away the rest of the Evening. The Women of the Town take their Places
in the Pit with their wonted Assurance. The middle Gallery is fill'd
with the middle Part of the City: and your high exalted Galleries are
grac'd with handsome Footmen, that wear their Master's Linen.'[438]
[Footnote 438: _Humours of the Army_, Chas. Shadwell, 1713.]
Such then was the appearance in front of the stage; and, to thoroughly
realise the scene, we must remember, _en passant_, that necessary
individual the 'Candle Snuffer,' and those bold young women, whose
class Nell Gwynne made famous, the 'Orange Wenches.'
Four or five hours in such theatres were almost insupportable without
some slight refreshment, and this was supplied by these girls, who
continually circulated throughout the audience. Their class is
sufficiently alluded to in a passage in the _Spectator_, No. 141: 'A
Poet sacrifices the best Part of his Audience to the Worst; and as one
would think neglects the Boxes, to write to the Orange Wenches.' They
seem to have fulfilled other duties besides supplying refreshment:--
Now turn, and see where loaden with her Freight,
A Damsel Stands, and Orange-wench is hight;
See! how her Charge hangs dangling by the Rim,
See! how the Balls blush o'er the Basket-brim;
But little those she minds, the cunning _Belle_
Has other Fish to Fry, and other Fruit to sell;
See! how she whispers yonder youthful Peer,
See! how he smiles, and lends a greedy Ear.
At length 'tis done, the Note o'er Orange wrapt
Has reach'd the Box, and lays in Lady's Lap.[439]
[Footnote 439: _The Stage_, N. Rowe.]
Bad weather occasionally militated against the poor players. 'Her
Majesty's Servants at the Theatre Royal (the weather being chang'd)
intend to act on Wednesdays and Fridays till Bartholomew Fair.'[440]
This and bad trade made them look out for novelties, such as acting a
play the characters in which were sustained entirely by women, or
having amateurs on the stage. 'At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, to
morrow being Friday the 7th of July, will be reviv'd a Play call'd,
The Orphan, or, the Unhappy Marriage.[441] All the Men's parts to be
perform'd by young Gentlemen for their Diversion.'[442] Or they would
try the effect of 'a New Prologue by a Child of 4 years of Age,' or 'a
New Epilogue by Mrs. Pack in a Riding Habit, upon a Pad-Nagg
representing a Town Miss Travelling to Tunbridge.'
[Footnote 440: _Daily Courant_, July 26, 1704.]
[Footnote 441: By Thos. Otway.]
[Footnote 442: _Daily Courant_, July 6, 1704.]
The properties of a theatre have always been a fair whetstone for men
to sharpen their humour on, and the writers of the time of Queen Anne
were not behindhand in this respect. When Drury Lane was closed by
order, in 1709, the _Tatler_ (No. 42) made very merry over the
miscellaneous effects:--
'Three Bottles and a half of lightning.
'One Shower of Snow in the whitest French Paper.
'Two Showers of a browner sort.
'A Sea, consisting of a dozen large waves; the tenth bigger than
ordinary, and a little damaged.
'A dozen and a half of Clouds, trimmed with black, and well
conditioned.
'A Mustard bowl to make Thunder with.
'The Complexion of a Murderer in a Bandbox; consisting of a large
piece of burnt Cork, and a Coal black Peruke,' etc.
At the death of Peer, the property man at this theatre, the _Guardian_
extracted much fun from a catalogue of articles under his care.
Rowe goes into poetry on the same subject--thus:--
Hung on the selfsame Peg, in Union rest
Young _Tarquin's_ Trowsers, and _Lucretia's_ Vest,
Whilst without pulling Quoives _Roxana_ lays
Close by _Statira's_ Petticoat her Stays
........................................
Near these sets up a Dragon drawn Calash,
There a Ghost's Doublet delicately slash'd,
Bleeds from the mangled Breast, and gapes a frightful Gash.
In Crimson wrought the sanguine Floods abound,
And seem to gutter from the streaming Wound.
Here Iris bends her various painted Arch,
There artificial Clouds in sullen Order march,
Here stands a Crown upon a Rack, and there
A _Witch's_ Broomstick by great _Hector's_ Spear;
Here stands a Throne, and there the _Cynick's_ Tub,
Here _Bullock's_ Cudgel, there Alcida's Club:
Beads, Plumes, and Spangles, in Confusion rise,
Whilst Rocks of Cornish Diamonds reach the Skies.
Crests, Corslets, all the Pomp of Battle join,
In one Effulgence, one promiscuous shine.
The actors of this reign, with a few exceptions, were not people of
much genius. After these few, some were respectable, the rest bad;
but, although the play was the proper place of amusement to go to, and
there were seldom more than two theatres open at once, yet we find it
comparatively languishing, the companies frequently playing only twice
a week, or the theatre closed altogether. Doubtless the tragedy was
stilted, and the comedy was akin to buffoonery. As witness to the
latter let Addison[443] testify: 'It would be an Endless Task to
consider Comedy in the same Light, and to mention the innumerable
Shifts that small Wits put in practice to raise a Laugh. _Bullock_ in
a short Coat, and _Norris_ in a long one, seldom fail of this Effect.
In ordinary Comedies, a broad and a narrow Brim'd Hat are different
characters. Sometimes the Wit of the Scene lies in a Shoulder belt,
and sometimes in a Pair of whiskers.'
[Footnote 443: _Spectator_, No. 44.]
The 'Phœnix of the Stage,' as Anthony, or Tony, Aston calls
Betterton, stands pre-eminent among the actors. Born in 1635, he was
an old man when Queen Anne came to the throne; and he died on April
28, 1710, from the effects of gout, which he aggravated by acting when
the fit was on. His last performance was on April 13, 1710, and it is
thus described in the _Daily Courant_ of that date: 'At the Desire of
several Persons of Quality. For the Benefit of Mr. Betterton. At the
Queen's Theatre in the Hay market this present Thursday being the 13th
April will be Reviv'd, The Maid's Tragedy.[444] The part of Melantius
by Mr. Betterton, Amintor by Mr. Wilks, Calianax by Mr. Pinkethman,
Evadne by Mrs. Barry, and all the other parts to the best Advantage.
To which will be added Three Designs, Representing the Three Principal
Actions of the Play, in Imitation of so many great Pieces of History
Painting, where all the real Persons concern'd in those Actions will
be Plac'd at proper distances, in different Postures peculiar to the
Passion of each Character.'
[Footnote 444: By Beaumont and Fletcher.]
Totally unfit, from illness, to act, he had resort to violent remedies
to enable him to go through his part, which he did, with his gouty
foot in a slipper, but the exertion killed him. A great favourite of
Charles II., that king not only sent him to Paris, to see and report
on the French theatres, but appointed him to teach the nobility for
court theatricals, whilst his wife tutored the future queens Mary and
Anne--in fact, the latter settled a pension of 100_l._ per annum upon
her, after her husband's death. Pepys describes him as 'the best actor
in the world,' and so he undoubtedly was--in his age. Aston[445]
describes him thus: 'He had little Eyes, and a broad Face, a little
Pock fretten, a Corpulent Body, and thick Legs, with large Feet....
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.'
[Footnote 445: _Supplement to Cibber._]
Room must be found for one little anecdote which Aston tells of him.
'Mr. _Betterton_ had a small Farm near _Reading_, in the County of
_Berks_; and a 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 entered.'
Among the actors of the time he was looked up to as a king.
Downes[446] says: 'I must not Omit Praises due to Mr. Betterton. The
first and now only remains of the old Stock, of the Company of Sir
_William Davenant_ in _Lincolns_ Inn Fields; he like an old Stately
Spreading Oak now stands Fixt, Environ'd round with brave Young
Growing Flourishing Plants.... Mr. _Dryden_ a little before his Death
in a Prologue, rendring him this Praise:--
[Footnote 446: _Roscius Anglicanus_, 1708.]
He like the Setting Sun, still shows a Glimmery Ray
Like Antient ROME Majestick in decay.'
He was buried in Westminster Abbey on May 2, 1710, and Steele[447]
wrote a long panegyric upon him, saying he 'ought to be recorded with
the same respect as Roscius among the Romans.'
[Footnote 447: _Tatler_, 167.]
He died, not in want, but in comparatively poor circumstances, and he
must have been a man of some culture, as the following advertisement,
soon after his death, shows:[448] 'This Day will be Continued the Sale
by Auction of the _Prints_, and _Books of Prints and Drawings_, of Mr.
_Tho. Betterton_, deceased, &c.'
[Footnote 448: _Harl. MSS._ 5996, 100.]
Verbruggen, although he died in 1708, played in Queen Anne's reign.
But little is known of him, except that he was a tragedian, and was
the original Oronooko. A contemporary character of him is 'A fellow
with a crackt voice, he clangs his words, as if he spoke out of a
broken drum.'[449] Downes says, 'his Person being tall, well built
and clean, only he was a little In Kneed, which gave him a
shambling Gate;' and he adds, '_Verbruggen_ was Nature without
Extravagance--Freedom without Licentiousness--and vociferous without
bellowing.'
[Footnote 449: _Comparison between the two Stages._]
Cave Underhill was another veteran, of whom Steele writes[450] when
making an appeal to the public to support him: 'he has been a comic
for three generations; my father admired him extremely when he was a
boy.' He took a benefit at Drury Lane on June 3, 1709, when 'Hamlet'
was played, and he took his favourite part of the gravedigger.
[Footnote 450: _Tatter_, 22.]
Leigh was another old actor who died in this reign.
Estcourt deserves notice. He was born in 1668, and, at the age of 15,
ran away from his father's house, and joined a company of strollers at
Worcester. He was recovered, and apprenticed to an apothecary in
London; again ran away, and led a wandering life for some years, till
we find him engaged at Drury Lane. Downes describes him as '_Histrio
Natus_; he has the Honour (Nature enduing him with an easy, free,
unaffected Mode of Elocution) in Comedy always to Lœtificate his
Audience, especially Quality.' He was a pet of the Duke of
Marlborough, and was _Providore_ of the famous Beefsteak Club, where
he wore a small gold gridiron suspended from his neck by a green
ribbon. He retired from the stage some time before his death, and took
the 'Bumper' in St. James Street, where he Lœtificated his
customers in another manner. Steele puffed him in the _Spectator_, and
wept over his decease in the same periodical.[451]
[Footnote 451: No. 468.]
The name of Dogget is, perhaps, as well known to us as any actor of
the time. An Irishman by birth, he came to England and joined a
travelling troupe; afterwards being good enough to play at both Drury
Lane and Lincoln's Inn Fields. In fact, he was joint manager of the
former with Wilks and Cibber, but gave it up in 1713, because Booth
was forced on him as a co-partner; and he never returned to the
theatre, either as a regular actor or as manager. It must have been a
blow to him, for he was fond of money, and was then reputed to have
been worth £1,000 per annum. He was not particular: he put his pride
in his pocket, and had a booth at Bartholomew Fair, the same as
Pinkethman or Mills. He died at Eltham, in Kent, Sept. 22, 1721, and
left in his will the memorable Coat and Badge to be raced for,
annually, on the anniversary of the accession of George the First, to
show his attachment to the Whig party and the House of Brunswick.
Downes says of him, 'On the Stage, he's very Aspectabund, wearing
Farce in his Face; his Thoughts deliberately framing his Utterance
Congruous to his Looks; He is the only Comick Original now extant.'
Tony Aston says 'he was a little, lively spract Man.... 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.'
Colley Cibber was born in London Nov. 6, 1671, and is known as much,
or more, as a playwright, or poet as an actor. In his boyhood he tried
for a scholarship at Winchester, but failed; afterwards he meditated
going to the University, but the Revolution of 1688 broke out, and he
was for a short time in the army as his father's substitute. He saw no
service, and soon became an actor, _i.e._ in 1690, and did not quit
the stage till 1730, in which year he was made Poet Laureate to George
II. He died Dec. 12, 1757. Downes tells us he was 'A Gentleman of his
time who has Arriv'd to an exceeding Perfection, in hitting justly the
Humour of a starcht Beau or Fop; as the Lord _Fopington_; Sir
_Fopling_ and Sir _Courtly_, equalling in the last the late eminent
Mr. _Mountfort_, not much Inferior in Tragedy, had Nature given him
Lungs, Strenuous to his finisht Judgment.' Gildon,[452] however, falls
foul of him; but then, the only good words he had were for Betterton
and Barry.
[Footnote 452: _Comparison between the two Stages._]
_Ramble._ But prithee look on this side; there's Cibber, a poet
and fine Actor.
_Critick._ And one that's always repining at the success of
others, and upon the stage makes all his fellow actors uneasy.
Wilks, the best tragedian of the age, came of a good Worcestershire
family, and, from his association with actors, drifted into the
profession. He was remarkable for the carefulness of his acting, and
for the ease and good breeding he displayed upon the stage. He died in
1732 at the age of 76. What do his contemporaries say of him? Downes
says, 'Proper and Comely in Person, of Graceful Port, Mein and Air;
void of Affectation; his Elevations and Cadences just, Congruent to
Elocution.' The author of 'The Comparison between the two Stages' can
say nothing ill-natured of him, and Steele[453] speaks highly of him.
[Footnote 453: _Spectator_, 370.]
_Ramble._ Ay, but Powell----
_Critick._ Is an idle fellow, that neither minds his business,
nor lives quietly in any community--
is a fair criticism on that actor, who, had he been but as steady or
painstaking, might have rivalled Wilks; but he was a drunken,
dissipated dog, a careless study, with a bad memory; pursued by
bailiffs, he sometimes walked with his sword drawn--once making an
unfortunate 'officer' retreat to the other side of the road, where he
called out, 'We don't want you _now_, Mr. Powel.' Died Dec. 14, 1715.
Booth was the Aristo of the profession. He was not only nearly related
to the Earl of Warrington, but in 1704 he married a daughter of Sir
William Barkham, Bart., of Norfolk. A scholar of the great and
terrible Dr. Busby, he shone in acting in the Latin plays at
Westminster. He was intended for the Church, but he caught stage
fever, ran away from school at the age of 17, and joined the theatre
at Dublin. When he came to London he became a pupil of Betterton's,
and profited by his master's instructions. He was joint patentee in
Drury Lane, but he left the stage at the early age of 46. Died 1733.
Of the minor actors Pinkethman stands first. He was low comedy, and
his great ambition was to please the gods. We have heard a good deal
about him in this book in his various characters as caterer for the
amusement of the public. Gildon, of course, can say nothing good of
him.
_Sullen._ But Penkethman the flower of----
_Critick._ Bartholomew Fair, and the idol of the rabble; a fellow
that over does everything, and spoils many a part with his own
stuff.
Be this as it may, he is very honourably mentioned throughout the
_Spectator_, although Steele[454] gives him a good-humoured rap over
the knuckles. 'Mr. William Bullock and Mr. William Penkethman are of
the same Age, Profession, and Sex. They both distinguish themselves in
a very particular Manner under the discipline of the Crab-tree, with
this only difference, that Mr. Bullock has the more agreeable Squall,
and Mr. Penkethman the more graceful Shrug. Penkethman devours a cold
Chick with great Applause; Bullock's talent lies chiefly in Asparagus.
Penkethman is very dexterous at conveying himself under a Table;
Bullock is no less active in jumping over a Stick. Penkethman has a
great deal of money; but Mr. Bullock is the taller man.'
[Footnote 454: _Tatler_, 188.]
The mention of Crab-tree seems to suggest that Pinkethman had been
thrashed at some period of his career, as does a passage in another
_Tatler_ (No. 42), describing the theatrical properties at Drury Lane:
'Three oak Cudgels, with one of Crab-tree; all bought for the Use of
Mr. Pinkethman.'
That he must have been a fair actor is testified by the fact that he
played in two out of the four performances at St. James's.
As far as I can find out, he seems first to have acted at the Theatre
Royal in 1692, in the play of 'Volunteers, or the Stock Jobbers,'[455]
when he played the part of Taylor (six lines only). He rose gradually,
and was a painstaking actor, ever on the alert to court popular
favour. He became rich. Downes says of him, 'He's the darling of
_Fortunatus_, he has gain'd more in Theatres and Fairs in Twelve Years
than those that have Tugg'd at the Oar of Acting these 50.' To realise
this fortune he probably was saving in his habits, and not so lavish
as some of his compeers--a fact which is exaggerated into a charge of
meanness: see an Elegy on his Merry Andrew, John Edwards.[456]
[Footnote 455: By Thos. Shadwell.]
[Footnote 456: _Harl. MSS._ 5931, 251.]
Dull sneaking Pinkeman this loss bewail,
And sing his Dirge o're half a pint of Ale,
For if thou more didst spend at once, your Note
You'd Change, and for your Charges cut your throat.
He seems to have retired from the stage after his benefit on May 23,
1724, and he died in 1740.
The other actors, Bullock,[457] Mills, Norris, _alias_ Jubilee Dickey,
Pack Johnson, etc., are unworthy any notice except to chronicle their
names as actors of the time.
[Footnote 457: 'For the Benefit of Will. Bullock.
'At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, on Whitson Monday, being the 5th
of June, will be reviv'd a Diverting Comedy call'd the Miser [Thomas
Shadwell]. Written by the Author of the Squire of Alsatia; the part of
Timothy Squeez the Scriveners foolish Son to be acted by Will.
Bullock. With Entertainments of Dancing by Monsieur du Ruell. And Mr.
Clinch of Barnet will perform these several Performances, first an
Organ with three Voices, then the Double Curtel, the Flute, the Bells,
the Huntsman, the Horn, and Pack of Dogs, all with his Mouth; and an
old Woman of Fourscore Years of Age nursing her Grand Child; all of
which he does open on the Stage. Next a Gentleman will perform several
Mimick Entertainments on the Ladder, first he stands on the top round
with a Bottle in one hand and a Glass in the other, and drinks a
Health; then plays several Tunes on the Violin, with fifteen other
surprizing Performances which no man but himself can do. And Will
Pinkeman will dance the Miller's Dance and speak a comical joking
Epilogue on an Ass. Beginning exactly at five a Clock by reason of the
length of the Entertainments. At Common Prices.'--_Daily Courant_,
June 2, 1704.]
It is singular that the ladies of the stage of this period stand out
so prominently for their talents. It must have been by natural genius,
for they could have had little enough tradition to guide them, it
being only forty or fifty years since the first woman ever trod the
boards. Who she was seems to be somewhat obscure, but it probably was
Mrs. Coleman, who played Ianthe in the first part of the 'Siege of
Rhodes' in 1656, but she did not speak. We know Kynaston, who kept
Charles II. waiting whilst he was being shaved to play his part; he of
whom Pepys writes[458] thus: 'Kynaston, the boy, had the good turn to
appear in three shapes; first as a poor woman in ordinary clothes to
please Morose; then in fine clothes, as a gallant; and in them was the
prettiest woman in the whole house; and lastly, as a man; and then
likewise did appear the handsomest man in the house.' Of him Betterton
writes,[459] 'that it has been disputed among the Judicious, whether
any _Woman_ could have more sensibly touched the Passions.' He seems
to have been the last of the male actors who took female parts,
although in 1661 a woman actor was still a novelty. 'There saw the
"Scornfull Lady,"[460] now done by a woman, which makes the play much
better than ever it did to me.'[461] A Mrs. Sanderson is traditionally
said to have been the first woman actress, and she played Desdemona at
the theatre in Clare Market on Dec. 8, 1660. Betterton says the mother
of Norris, or Jubilee Dickey, 'was the first Woman who ever appeared
on the Stage as an Actress.'
[Footnote 458: _Diary_, Jan. 7, 1661.]
[Footnote 459: _The History of the English Stage._]
[Footnote 460: By Beaumont and Fletcher.]
[Footnote 461: _Pepys_, Feb. 12, 1661.]
Anyhow, never was there a period that could show four such actresses
as Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Bracegirdle, Mrs. Oldfield, and Mrs. Verbruggen.
Elizabeth Barry, the daughter of a barrister of good birth, was born
1658; so that she was not in her first youth at the accession of Anne.
Her father so encumbered his estate that it became necessary for his
children to seek their fortunes as best they might. She chose the
stage, and Sir Wm. Davenant took her in hand, but gave her up as
hopeless. The Earl of Rochester, however, having wagered that by
proper instruction she should be the finest actress on the stage in
less than six months, she took such pains that when, in 1677, she
played the Hungarian Queen in the tragedy of 'Mustapha,'[462] before
Charles the Second and the Duke and Duchess of York, she created an
absolute furore: so much so that the Duchess took lessons from her,
and not only gave her her wedding suit, but her coronation robes when
she became queen. She died on November 7, 1713, and was buried at
Acton, where her daughter, by the Earl of Rochester, was already
interred. Aston, speaking of her personal appearance, says: '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.'
[Footnote 462: By the Earl of Orrery.]
Betterton says Mrs. Bracegirdle was the daughter of Justinian
Bracegirdle of Northamptonshire, Esq., whilst Aston, who calls her
'the _Diana_ of the Stage,' says 'The most received Opinion is, that
she was the Daughter of a Coach Man, Coach maker, 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
_Wallsal_ or _Wolverhampton_.' She is believed to have been born about
the year 1674, and somehow came to be placed, when an infant, under
the care of Betterton and his Wife, who naturally brought her up to
the stage. So young did she enter her future profession that she acted
as a page in 'The Orphan,'[463] at the Dorset Garden Theatre in 1680,
when only six years old. She was not only remarkable for her
magnificent acting, but for the exceeding purity of her life, which no
breath of scandal could sully; although it could not be said it was
from want of temptation. Congreve writes of her:--
[Footnote 463: By Thos. Otway.]
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 D'Urfey, in his 'Don Quixote,' sings of her:--
Since that our Fate intends
Our Amity shall be no dearer,
Still let us kiss and be Friends,
And sigh we can never come nearer.
She was wonderfully charitable, and would go daily about the slums of
Clare Market relieving the necessitous; and woe be to anyone who
should have dared to molest her--his fate would have been speedy. She
retired from the stage in 1707, but did not die till 1748. Her
personal description is: '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
Age' (Aston).
Her great rival was Mrs. Anne Oldfield, who was born in Pall Mall in
1683. Her father was in the Horse Guards, and on his death left his
wife and daughter in very straitened circumstances. Tradition says
that she was living with her aunt, who kept the Mitre Tavern in St.
James's Market, when Sir John Vanbrugh heard her read some plays:
certain it is, he introduced her to Rich in 1699, when she played
Candiope, in 'Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen.'[464] Mrs. Oldfield
was far from being as immaculate in character as her rival. Her last
performance was on April 28, 1730; she died October 23, 1730, and was
buried in Westminster Abbey. Allusion has been made to her mode of
burial at the commencement of this book (p. 38).
[Footnote 464: By Dryden.]
Steele[465] gives her portrait thus: 'FLAVIA is ever well dressed, and
always the genteelest woman you meet; but the make of her mind very
much contributes to the ornament of her body. She has the greatest
simplicity of manners of any of her sex. This makes everything look
native about her, and her clothes are so exactly fitted, that they
appear, as it were, part of her person,' etc.
[Footnote 465: _Tatler_, 212.]
_Ramble._ There's Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Oldfield, Mrs. Verbruggen----
_Critick._ The last is a miracle, but the others mere rubbish,
that ought to be swept off the stage with the filth and dust.
Hers was a romantic history. Her maiden name was Percival, and she
married Mountford the actor, who was killed by Lord Mohun for
protecting Mrs. Bracegirdle. Betterton says, 'Her Father Mr.
_Percival_ had the Misfortune to be drawn into the Assassination Plot
against King _William_; for this he lay under Sentence of Death, which
he received on the same Night that Lord Mohun killed her husband, Mr.
_Mountfort_. Under this, almost insuperable Affliction, she was
introduced to the good Queen _Mary_, who being, as she was pleased to
say, _Struck to the Heart_ upon receiving Mrs. _Mountfort's_ Petition,
immediately granted all that was in her Power, a Remission of her
Father's Execution for that of Transportation. But Fate had so ordered
it that poor Mrs. _Mountfort_ was to lose both Father and Husband. For
as Mr. _Percival_ was going abroad, he was so weakened by his
Imprisonment, that he was taken Sick on the Road, and died at
_Portsmouth_.' She afterwards married Jack Verbruggen, and their
married life is thus described by Aston: '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 would 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 the fashion in the latter End of King _William's_ Reign.' She
is described as being 'a fine fair Woman, plump, full featured, her
Face of a fine smooth Oval.'
The theatre never solely depended upon the drama for its attractions,
and there was generally a ballet of some description; not, of course,
such elaborate affairs as we have now, but performances by one or two
artists, such as M. L'Abbé and Mrs. Elford. The dances were such as
chacones, minuets, allmands, corantos, jigs, sarabands, etc., and we
have already seen the pains taken with this art, and the elaborate
instructions of its professors.
CHAPTER XXVI.
OPERA, CONCERTS, MUSIC.
Introduction of Italian opera -- Its rapid popularity -- Mixture of
languages -- Handel -- His operas, and visit here -- Singers -- Abel
-- Hughs -- Leveridge -- Lawrence -- Ramondon -- Mrs. Tofts -- Her
madness -- Foreign singers -- Margherita de l'Epine -- Nicolino
Grimaldi -- Isabella Girardeau -- Composers -- Dr. Blow -- Jeremiah
Clarke -- Dean Aldrich -- Tom D'Urfey -- Henry Carey -- Britton,
the small coal man -- His concerts -- His death -- Concerts and
concert rooms -- Gasparini, the violinist -- Musical instruments
-- Musical scores.
'1673.4. 5 Jan. I saw an Italian opera in Music, the first that had
been in England of this Kind,' writes Evelyn; but Pepys mentions it
even earlier: '1667.8. Jan. 12. With my Lord Brouncker to his house,
there to hear some Italian musique, and here we met Tom Killigrew, Sir
Robert Murray, and the Italian, Signor Baptista,[466] who hath
prepared a play in Italian for the Opera, which Sir T. Killigrew do
intend to have up; and here he did sing one of the Acts.' There is,
however, no record of either of these being acted. The first opera of
which we have any record is a translation of 'Arsinoë,' an Italian
opera written by Stanzani of Bologna, for the theatre of that town, in
1677, and here is the premier advertisement of opera in England.
[Footnote 466: Battista Draghi.]
'At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, this present Tuesday being the
16th of January, will be presented a New Opera never perform'd before,
call'd Arsinoe Queen of Cyprus, After the Italian manner, All Sung,
being set to Musick by Mr. Clayton. With several Entertainments of
Dancing by Monsieur l'Abbee, Monsieur du Ruel, Monsieur Cherrier, Mrs.
Elford, Mrs. du Ruel, Mrs. Moss and others. And the famous Signiora
Francisca Margaretta de l'Epine will, before the Beginning and after
the Ending of the Opera, perform several Entertainments of singing in
Italian and English. No person to be admitted into the Boxes or Pitt
but by the Subscribers Tickets, to be delivered at Mrs. White's
Chocolate House. The Boxes on the Stage and the Galleries are for the
benefit of the Actors.'[467] The singers were all English; and here we
have the commencement of the subscription opera.
[Footnote 467: _Daily Courant_, Jan. 16, 1705.]
In the next two years there were but very few operas, although Addison
wrote one called 'Rosamond.' During this period, too, the Queen's
Theatre in the Haymarket was opened for Opera, with what success we
have seen.
The thin edge of the wedge, as regards Italian singing, was introduced
in 1707, when Valentini Urbani, a Castrato, and a female singer called
'The Baroness,' came over here. They made their first appearance 'At
the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, this present Saturday, being the 6th
of December, will be presented an Opera called "Camilla." All to be
sung after the Italian manner. The Parts of Latinus by Mr. Turner,
Prenesto by Signiora Margarita, part in Italian, Turnus by Signior
Valentino, in Italian, Metius by Mr. Ramondon, Linco by Mr. Leveridge,
Camilla by Mrs. Tofts, Lavinia by the Baroness, most in Italian,
Tullia by Mrs. Lindsey.'[468]
[Footnote 468: _Ibid._ Dec. 6, 1707.]
What a curious mixture it must have been, some singing in Italian and
some in English! but it was not the sole example, for when Italian
opera was introduced into Germany the recitative was given in German
and the airs sung in Italian.
Of course an innovation, and coming from a foreign source, roused the
insular prejudices of John Bull. It was un-English. As Dennis, the
critic, wrote[469]: 'And yet tho' the Reformation and Liberty and the
Drama were establish'd among us together, and have flourish'd among us
together, and have still been like to have fall'n together,
notwithstanding all this, at this present Juncture, when Liberty and
the Reformation are in the utmost Danger, we are going very bravely to
oppress the Drama, in order to establish the luxurious Diversions of
those very Nations, from whose Attempts and Designs, both Liberty and
the Reformation are in the utmost Danger.'
[Footnote 469: _An Essay on the Operas after the Italian
manner_, 1706.]
With far greater sense and show of reason he says: 'If that is truly
the most Gothick, which is the most oppos'd to Antick, nothing can be
more Gothick than an Opera, since nothing can be more oppos'd to the
ancient Tragedy, than the modern Tragedy in Musick, because the one is
reasonable, the other ridiculous; the one is artful, the other absurd;
the one beneficial, the other pernicious; in short, the one natural,
and the other monstrous. And the modern Tragedy in Musick, is as much
oppos'd to the Chorus, which is the Musical part of the Ancient
Tragedy, as it is in the _Episodique_; because, in the Chorus, the
Musick is always great and solemn, in the Opera 'tis often most
trifling and most effeminate; in the Chorus the Music is only for the
sake of the Sense, in the Opera the Sense is most apparently for the
sake of the Music.'
This mongrel style of performance, half Italian, half English, lasted
till 1710. 'Pyrrhus and Demetrius' (a translation of 'Pirro e
Demetrio' of Adriano Morselli) was the last opera thus played. On Jan.
3, 1709, the prices of admission were considerably reduced: stage
boxes from 15_s._ to 8_s._, first gallery from 5_s._ to 2_s._ 6_d._,
and upper gallery from 2_s._ to 1_s._ 6_d._, and the pit was 5_s._
Steele laughingly criticises[470] the performance of 'Pyrrhus and
Demetrius.' 'That the understanding has no part in the pleasure is
evident, from what these letters very positively assert, to wit, that
a great part of the performance was done in Italian; and a great
Critic fell into fits in the Gallery, at seeing not only Time and
Place, but Languages and Nations confused in the most incorrigible
manner.'
The opera of 'Almahide' (composer unknown, supposed to be Buononcini)
was brought out at the Hay market on Jan. 10, 1710, and was the first
opera ever played entirely in Italian and by Italian singers. These
were Nicolini, Valentini, Cassani, Margarita, and Isabella Girardeau.
Still John Bull must assert himself, and between the acts _intermezzi_
were sung in English by Dogget, Mrs. Lindsey, and Mrs. Cross.
Another opera was that of 'Hydaspes' (by Francesco Mancini), which
Addison[471] made terrible fun of, especially of a fight that took
place between Nicolini and a lion. He had previously[472] unmercifully
ridiculed 'Nicolini exposed to a Tempest in Robes of Ermine, and
sailing in an Open Boat upon a Sea of Pasteboard,' 'the painted
Dragons Spitting Wildfire, enchanted Chariots drawn by _Flanders_
Mares, and real Cascades in artificial Landskips;' but then he might
have been sore at the fate of his own opera, 'Rosamond,' which was not
a success.
[Footnote 470: _Tatler_, No. 4.]
[Footnote 471: _Spectator_, 13.]
[Footnote 472: _Ibid._ 5.]
Towards the end of 1710 Handel, who was then twenty-seven years of
age, came over to England upon the invitation of several noblemen,
whose acquaintance he had made at the Court of Hanover; and here he
wrote, for Aaron Hill, who then managed the Haymarket Theatre, his
opera of 'Rinaldo,' the first advertisement of which contains a silly
blunder as to dates. 'By Subscription. At the Queen's Theatre in the
Hay Market, this present Saturday being the 24th day of February, will
be perform'd a new Opera, call'd Rinaldo. Tickets and Books will be
delivered out at Mr. White's Chocolate House in St. James's Street,
_to Morrow_ and Saturday next.'[473] In 1712 appeared another of
Handel's operas, 'Il Pastor Fido,' which was only performed four
times.
[Footnote 473: _Daily Courant_, Feb, 24, 1711.]
On Jan. 21, 1713, was performed his opera of 'Theseus,' about which
performance, however, there seems to have been some hitch, for we
read[474]: 'Advertisement from the Queen's Theatre in the Hay
Market.--This present Saturday the 24th of January, the Opera of
Theseus composed by Mr. Hendel will be represented in its Perfection,
that is to say with all the Scenes, Decorations, Flights and Machines.
The Performers are much concerned that they did not give the Nobility
and Gentry all the Satisfaction they could have wished, when they
represented it on Wednesday last, having been hindered by some
unforeseen Accidents, at that time insurmountable. The Boxes on the
Stage Half a Guinea, the other Boxes 8_s._ The Pit 5_s._, the first
Gallery 2_s._ 6_d._' On Handel's first visit, in 1710, the Queen gave
him a most flattering reception, and would fain have him remain here,
offering him a pension; but he excused himself, as being already
engaged to the Elector George of Hanover.
[Footnote 474: _Ibid._ Jan. 24, 1713.]
A few short notes about the singers will be interesting. Very early in
Anne's reign mention is made of a singer of whom the only record I can
find, is in the following advertisement, and some few others: 'To all
the Nobility and Gentry, Whereas Mr. _Abel_, having been Honoured with
the Commands of the Nobility and Gentry, to sing in Drury Lane 4
times; this is to give notice that the said Mr. Abel has not engaged
to sing in any other Consort, till that Noble Performance be
ended.'[475]
[Footnote 475: _Postman_, May 9/12, 1702.]
Hughes was a favourite concert singer, with a good countertenor voice;
and, when opera first came in, he always played the best parts, until
Valentini came over, after which he either died, or left the stage,
for no more is heard of him.
Richard Leveridge had a fine and powerful bass voice, and stuck to the
stage till he was more than eighty years old, singing in the pantomime
at Covent Garden. He was not only an actor and singer, but a
composer, having taken part in the composition of an English opera,
called the 'Island Princess,' in 1699, and he also wrote and composed
many Bacchanalian songs. Died 1758, aged 88.
Of Lawrence little is known, except that when the opera of 'Hydaspes'
was brought out on May 23, 1710, he was able to take a part in it,
although an inferior one, and _sing it in Italian_. He had a tenor
voice, and continued in Italian opera till 1717, when trace is lost of
him.
Ramondon seems to have come upon the stage in 1705, and to have had a
bass voice, as he took Leveridge's part in 'Arsinoë.' He seems to have
left the stage with the opera of 'Pyrrhus and Demetrius,' but he
published some songs in 1716, and set the song tunes in 'Camilla' for
the harpsichord or spinet.
Mrs. Tofts was our English prima donna, and she too possessed the then
rare accomplishment of being able to sing in Italian. She was the
daughter of a person in the family of Bishop Burnet, and when she
appeared on the stage, she won all hearts by her voice, figure, and
performance. Her voice was more soprano than contralto.
We have seen her disclaimer when her servant insulted Madame de
l'Epine; and doubtless it was sincere, as she was an equal, if not a
greater, favourite with the public. She retired from the stage, with a
competence amassed by her exertions, in 1709. If we may believe the
_Tatler_ (No. 20), she had sad cause for leaving the stage, having
lost her reason. 'The great revolutions of this nature bring to my
mind the distresses of the unfortunate CAMILLA, who has had the ill
luck to break before her voice, and to disappear at a time when her
beauty was in the height of its bloom. This lady entered so thoroughly
into the great characters she acted, that when she had finished her
part she could not think of retrenching her equipage, but would appear
in her own lodgings with the same magnificence that she did upon the
stage. This greatness of soul had reduced that unhappy princess to an
involuntary retirement, where she now passes her time among the Woods
and Forests, thinking on the Crowns and sceptres she has lost, and
often humming over in her solitude,
I was born of royal race,
Yet must wander in disgrace.[476]
etc. But for fear of being over heard, and her quality known, she
usually sings it in Italian,
Nacqui al regno, nacqui al trono
E per sono
I ventura pastorella.'[477]
A sad, very sad picture, if a true one.
[Footnote 476: From the opera of 'Camilla.']
[Footnote 477: Sic in orig., but it should read--
'E pur sono
Sventurata pastorella.']
At all events she must have got better, for she married a rich
gentleman named Joseph Smith, a virtuoso, and patron of art; and when
he went to Venice, as English consul, she accompanied him.
In _Spectator_ 443 is a letter, supposed to be written by her, from
Venice.
Her mental malady, however, again seized her, and she lived in
retirement, in a remote part of her own house, occasionally roaming
about her garden, singing. She is supposed to have died about 1760.
She and her rival are thus celebrated in a song by Hughes (author of
the 'Siege of Damascus'), called 'Tofts and Margaretta.'
Music has learn'd the discords of the State,
And concerts jar with Whig and Tory Hate.
Here Somerset and Devonshire attend
The British Tofts, and every note commend;
To native merit just, and pleas'd to see
We've Roman arts, from Roman bondage free:
There fam'd l'Epine does equal skill employ,
Whilst listening peers crow'd to th' ecstatic joy:
Bedford, to hear her song, his dice forsakes,
And Nottingham is raptur'd when she shakes:
Lull'd statesmen melt away their drowsy cares
Of England's safety, in Italian Airs.
Who would not send each year blank passes o'er,
Rather than keep such strangers from our shore?
Francesca Margherita de l'Epine came over here with a German musician
named Greber, and was sometimes irreverently called 'Greber's Peg.'
There is no doubt but that she sang very beautifully, and was without
a rival on the stage, or in the concert room, after the retirement of
Mrs. Tofts. She herself retired in 1718, and married Dr. Pepusch, the
celebrated musician, who gave her another nickname, that of 'Hecate,'
because of her swarthy complexion and unprepossessing countenance.
However, she came well dowered, for she brought him a fortune of
£10,000, a very large sum in those days. Swift, who evidently had a
John Bull's dislike for everything foreign, writes from Windsor to
Stella,[478] 'We have a music meeting in our town to-night. I went to
a rehearsal of it, and there was Margarita, and her sister, with
another drab, and a parcel of fiddlers; I was weary, and would not go
to the meeting, which I am sorry for, because I heard it was a great
assembly.' She died about the year 1740.
[Footnote 478: _Journal_, Aug. 6, 1711.]
The Cavaliere Nicolino Grimaldi,[479] commonly called Nicolini, was a
Neapolitan, and came over to England in 1708, entirely on his own
responsibility, hearing we were passionately fond of foreign operas.
He had achieved a high reputation in Italy, and sustained it here,
although foreigners were only tolerated, not liked. He first played
in 'Pyrrhus and Demetrius,' and he left England June 14, 1712. His
departure is thus chronicled by Addison[480]: 'I am very sorry to
find, by the Opera Bills for this Day, that we are likely to lose the
greatest Performer in Dramatick Musick that is now living, or that
perhaps ever appeared upon a Stage. I need not acquaint my Reader,
that I am speaking of _Signior Nicolini_.'
[Footnote 479: _Cavaliere di San Marco._]
[Footnote 480: _Spectator_, 405.]
Of Isabella Girardeau we know little, save that her maiden name was
Calliari, that she married a Frenchman, and sang from 1700 to 1720.
Of the musical composers living in Anne's reign, perhaps the oldest
was Dr. Blow, who died in 1708. Then there was Tudway, who composed an
anthem[481] on the occasion of Queen Anne visiting the University of
Cambridge, in 1705, which gained him his doctor's degree, and he was
afterwards made public Professor of Music to that university, where he
was longer remembered for his punning proclivities than for his
musical talents.
[Footnote 481: 'Thou, O God, hast heard my vows.']
Jeremiah Clarke, who was coadjutor with Dr. Blow as organist at the
King's Chapel, composed the beautiful anthem 'Praise the Lord, O
Jerusalem.' He shot himself in 1707 when about forty years of age.
There is a curious story told about his suicidal mania. Some weeks
before he finally committed the rash act, he was riding to town,
accompanied by a servant, returning from a visit to a friend in the
country, when the fit seized him, and, dismounting by a field in which
was a pond surrounded by trees, he tossed up whether he should hang or
drown. The coin fell _on its edge_ in the clay, and saved his life for
that time.
Dean Aldrich was then alive (he did not die till 1710), and he will be
long remembered, not only for his 'Artis Logicæ Rudimenta,' but for
his skill as a musical composer[482]; whilst no one at all conversant
with Church music will forget the names of Drs. Crofts and Greene.
[Footnote 482: See _Christ Church Bells_, Appendix.]
Among the secular composers was Tom D'Urfey, whose 'Pills to purge
Melancholy' is a storehouse of song; but, with the exception of Henry
Carey, whose 'Sally in our Alley' and 'Black-Eyed Susan' are immortal,
the opera and ballad composers of Anne's reign were of no great mark.
A most curious outcome of musical brotherhood was Thomas Britton, the
small-coal man, already casually mentioned. He must not be passed over
under any circumstances, as it is perhaps the only instance of
fraternity, absolute and equal, recorded in this reign, between the
upper and lower ranks of society. It was of him that Prior wrote:--
Though doom'd to small coal, yet to arts allied;
Rich without wealth, and famous without pride,
Music's best patron, judge of books and men;
Belov'd and honour'd by Apollo's train.
In Greece or Rome sure never did appear,
So bright a genius, in so dark a sphere!
More of the man had probably been sav'd
Had Kneller painted, and had Virtue grav'd.
This singular man had a small coal shop in Aylesbury Street,
Clerkenwell; and his room, which was over his coal stores, could only
be reached by a breakneck ladder, as Ward remarks--
Upon Thursdays repair
To my palace, and there
Hobble up stair by stair;
But I pray ye take Care
That you break not your shins by a Stumble.
Somehow, he had a soul above his vocation. He was a fair chemist, and
a collector (with some knowledge) of old books and manuscripts. But
the most curious part of all his surroundings was the fact that he was
able to gather round him in his dirty little den, not only all the
musical talent available, but titled _dilettanti_, and even elegant
ladies came to his _réunions_. It was quite the proper place to go to.
Hear what old Thoresby says,[483] 'In our way home called at Mr.
Britton's, the noted small coal man, where we heard a noble concert of
music, vocal and instrumental, the best in town, which for many years
past he has had weekly for his own entertainment, and of the gentry
&c. gratis, to which most foreigners and many persons of distinction,
for the fancy of it, occasionally resort.' And no wonder, when the
learned musical Dr. Pepusch might be present, or Handel played the
harpsichord, whilst Banister would take first violin. Still, it was a
peculiar place to meet in, and only shows what inconveniences people
will suffer for fashion's sake.
[Footnote 483: June 5, 1712.]
His death was almost as remarkable as his life. One of his performers
was injudicious enough to introduce to him a friend of his who was a
ventriloquist, who, without seeming to speak, bade him, as from a
far-off, sepulchral voice, fall down on his knees at once and say the
Lord's Prayer, for that he should die within a few hours. Poor Britton
did as he was bid--then went home, took to his bed, and died in a few
days of sheer fright, a victim to practical joking.
There was a vast amount of musical taste at that time, but of course
it was not so highly developed as now. We have seen that a dramatic
performance was generally accompanied by a musical one, and the
concerts, or _consorts_, as they were then called, were numerous.
Owing probably to the mourning consequent on the decease of William
III., the first announcement of a concert in Anne's reign that I can
find is one postponed from April 30, 1702, to May 7, and this was to
take place at Stationers' Hall, a very usual place for such
entertainments. In the same newspaper is a notice that 'The Queen's
Coronation Song, compos'd and Sung by Mr. Abell is to be perform'd at
Stationers Hall near Ludgate, to Morrow, being the First of May 1702
at 8 of the Clock at Night precisely, with other Songs in Several
Languages, and accompanied by the greatest Masters of Instrumental
Musick; Each Ticket 5_s._'
York Buildings was another favourite concert room, as was also
Hickford's Dancing Room. This latter place, being at the extreme West
End of London, bid for aristocratic patrons, and the prices were high;
indeed, the tickets for the following concert were the highest priced
of any I have ever met with: '1707 To Morrow being Wednesday the 2nd
of April, Signior Fr. Conti will cause to be perform'd at Mr.
Hickford's Dancing Room in James Street, in the Hay Market over
against the Tennis Court, the Consort of Musick compos'd by him for
her Majesty, and which he had the Honour to have perform'd at Court
the Day after the Act for the Union[484] pass'd. Signiora Margarita,
the Baroness, and Signior Valentino will sing in it accompanied with
several Instruments, and the Signior Conti will play upon his great
Theorbo, and on the Mandoline, an instrument not known yet. The
Consort will begin at 7 a Clock at Night. Tickets to be had only at
White's Chocolate House, and at the Smyrna Coffee House at a Guinea a
ticket.' A high price--but consider the attractions. All the available
talent, together with a _Monstre_ Instrument, and an entirely novel
one!
[Footnote 484: The Royal Assent to this Act was given March
6, 1707.]
Nowadays we should hardly expect concerts to be given at Chelsea
Hospital, but it was different then, and 'Ladies of Quality' probably
had as much influence then as they have now, and could get pretty well
what they liked: '1702 In Honour of the Queens Coronation; The Ladies
Consort of Musick; by Subscription of several Ladies of Quality (by
permission) at the Royal College of Chelsea, on Monday the 25th of the
present May, is to be performed once, a new Consort of Musick, by Mr.
Abel and other voices; with Instrumental Musick of all sorts; To be
placed in two several Quires on each side of the Hall; a manner never
yet performed in England. The Hall to be well illuminated; the said
Consort to begin exactly at five a Clock, and to hold 3 full hours.
Each Ticket 5_s._ Notice that the Moon will shine, the Tide serve, and
a Guard placed from the College to St. James's Park, for the safe
return of the Ladies.'
The moon and tide were important factors then, as we find in a notice
of 'a Consort of Musick' at Richmond Wells, Aug. 12, 1703: 'This
Consort to be perform'd but once, because of the Queen's going to the
Bath. _Note._ The Tide serves at 11 o'clock in the Morning and Light
Nights.' So that the visitors were evidently expected to spend the
whole day there.
Another suburban Spa (Hampstead) was famous for its concerts, and
continued in favour during the whole of the reign.
'1705 On Saturday August 4th In the great Room at the _Ship Tavern
Greenwich_ will be an extraordinary Consort of Vocal and Instrumental
Musick, viz., Several Songs set by the best Masters; Particularly a
Song of two parts by Mr. Henry Purcel, never performed but once before
in Publick,' etc.
Towards the latter end of the reign the character of some of these
concerts seems to be altering. Take one at Stationers' Hall, Feb. 22,
1713, for instance: 'Among other choice Compositions, a celebrated
Song of Mr. Hendel's by a Gentlewoman from Abroad, who hath never
before exposed her Voice publickly in this kingdom. To which will be
added an uncommon piece of Musick by Bassoons only. Country Dances
when the Consort is over; and such a Decorum kept that the most
innocent may be present without the danger of an Affront.'
Concerts, as we see, were both vocal and instrumental. Of the vocal
performers much has already been said; of the instrumental, none are
worth notice, except Gasparini, an Italian, who was an excellent
violinist. The last and perhaps the least of them was: 'A Boy of about
Eight Years of Age will perform an Italian Sonata on the Trumpet, who
never yet perform'd in publick.' This musical treat took place at York
Buildings, Feb. 24, 1703.
The instruments in domestic use were the chamber or house organ, many
of which were frequently advertised for sale, the spinet, and
harpsichord, or harpsicalls, which we know so well, thanks to the
South Kensington Museum. Here, however, is a rare one: 'To be disposed
of, a most excellent Harpsicord made by the famous Sign. Gieronimo
Senti, at Pesaro in Italy, having 2 Extraordinary fine Keys of Ivory,
several Stops and Alterations besides the 2 Principals, and one
Octave, or the Spinet, which may by plaid seperately or together,
imitating most exactly the Theorbo, and most curiously the Arch Lute.'
The flute was played, as were also the lute, and the theorbo, a
lute-like instrument. The other stringed instruments were the bass
viol and the violin, Cremonas being then, as now, highly prized.
It was essentially an age for chamber music, with nice little social
gatherings, at which were played duets on the flute, etc., or catches,
rounds, and three-part songs were sung. What we should call _good_
music was thoroughly appreciated, and Corelli, perhaps, was then the
favourite composer. The following advertisement will show the class of
music then in vogue (1706): 'To all Lovers of Musick. This day are
published, and to be sold at Isaac Vaillant's Book and Map-seller in
the Strand near Catherine Street, Per.[485] Opera 2 da, Sonata di
Camera for 2 Flutes and Bass, Marini Opera 6 ta, 12 Sonatas for 2
Violins, a Viol and double Basses, 6 Sonatas and Solos transposed for
the Flute, pr 5_s._ Mr Novel's 12 Sonatas for 2 Violins and double
Basses, pr 6_s._, Six new Sonatas for 2 Flutes and a Bass by Mr.
Keller. Albicestilo, Opera Nona, 12 Solos for the Violin, a new Book
for the Harpsichord by Mr. Anglebert, with several Overtures, Minuets,
Jigs, &c. of Mr. Lully transposed for that instrument. These books are
printed by Steph Roger, most of them on Royal Paper. At the abovesaid
Vaillant's may be had the new Edition of Corelli printed on Imperial
Paper pr 32_s._ 6_d._'
[Footnote 485: ? Perti, who lived to the age of nearly 100,
and was alive in 1744.]
But all music was not as dear as this--for instance: 'The Monthly Mask
of Vocal Musick: the newest Songs, made for the Theatres and other
occasions Compos'd by Mr. John Welden and Mr. Dan Purcel. Publish'd
for November, which collections will be continued monthly for the year
1703 pr. 6_d._ Also a Set of Lessons for the Harpsicord or Spinnet.
Composed by Mr. John Eccles, Master of Her Majesties Musick pr 6_d._'
Music was printed either from engraved copper plates, as in the case
of 'The Nightingale,' which was engraved by Thomas Cross, who worked
in the very early part of the century, or by movable types, as is the
case with all music taken from 'The Dancing Master.' But the Dutch hit
upon a cheaper plan, and made use of pewter plates, which they
_stamped_, and so were able to undersell the engraved music. It is
said they got 1,500_l._ by printing the opera of 'Rinaldo.' One
Richard Mears also engraved music, but he, finding his trade
interfered with by the Dutchmen, took to stamping. At his death in
1743 almost the whole of the music-printing in the country was done by
the son of the following advertiser:[486] 'Twenty four _New Country_
Dances for the year 1710, with proper _Tunes_, and _New_ Figures, or
direction to each _Dance_, composed by Mr. Kynaston, all fairly
_Engraven_, price 6_d._ NOTE The New _Country_ Dancing _Master_ is
published, containing the Country dances for the three last years.
Printed for John Walsh. Servant in Ordinary to her Majesty.'
[Footnote 486: _Tatler_, 88.]
CHAPTER XXVII.
PAINTERS AND ARCHITECTS.
Wollaston -- Murray -- Hugh Howard -- Lewis Crosse -- Luke
Cradock -- Charles Jervas -- Richardson -- Sir James Thornhill --
Sir Godfrey Kneller -- Closterman -- Pelegrini -- Sebastian Ricci
-- Vander Vaart -- Laguerre -- Dahl -- Boit -- Class of pictures
in vogue -- Water colours -- Drawings -- Engravings -- Sculpture
-- Grinling Gibbons -- Architects -- Sir C. Wren -- Vanbrugh.
The sister art of painting was not well represented in this reign--by
native talent, at all events, except by Thornhill. There was
Wollaston, a portrait painter, who could only command five guineas for
a three-quarters canvas: he was one of Britton's amateurs, and played
both violin and flute. He died at an old age in the Charter House.
Thomas Murray was another portrait painter.
There was Hugh Howard, to whom Prior indited an ode commencing,
Dear Howard, from the soft assaults of love,
Poets and painters never are secure;
Can I untouch'd the fair one's passions move,
Or thou draw beauty, and not feel its power?
He was lucky, for through his acquaintances of high rank he obtained
the situation of Keeper of the State Papers, and Paymaster of His
Majesty's Palaces, when he still followed the pursuit of art, by
collecting prints and medals.
Lewis Crosse was a painter in water colours, and executed miniatures.
He also collected them, and his very valuable collection was sold in
1722, two years before his death. Luke Cradock, who was but a house
painter, rose by his own exertions to be an excellent painter of
birds, and, like H. S. Marks, Esq., R.A., his works were highly prized
for house decorations. According to Vertue, his pictures, soon after
his death, fetched three or four times the prices paid for them.
Charles Jervas, who lived in this reign, and had been a pupil of
Kneller, was a very good painter. He taught Pope to draw and paint,
and Pope wrote an 'Epistle to Mr. Jervas,' in which he belauded him,
as did also Steele[487] when he called him 'the last great painter
Italy has sent us, Mr. Jervas'--alluding to his return from studying
in Italy. He married a widow worth 20,000_l._, and the praise he
received with the affluence of his circumstances rendered him
inordinately vain, as the two following anecdotes will show. He made a
good copy of a Titian, and he thought he had actually outdone that
master; for, looking from one to the other, he complacently observed,
'Poor little Tit! how he would stare!' The Duchess of Bridgewater sat
to him for her portrait, that picture of which Pope says--
With Zeuxis' Helen thy Bridgewater vie
--and he remarked that she had not a handsome ear. Her ladyship asked
him his opinion of what _was_ a handsome ear, to which his answer
was--showing her one of his own.
[Footnote 487: _Tatler_, No. 4.]
Jonathan Richardson was, perhaps, the best English portrait painter of
his time; and, after the deaths of Kneller and Dahl, stood prominent
in that branch of his profession. Aikman and Alexander were also
contemporary artists.
But perhaps the English artist of that time best known to us is Sir
James Thornhill; not only by his painting in the dome of St. Paul's,
but by his masterpiece in the Hall of Greenwich Hospital. Indeed he
was a worthy rival both of Verrio and Laguerre. Forty shillings per
square yard was all he got for painting St. Paul's, and probably no
more for Greenwich. For his decorations at Blenheim he only received
twenty-five shillings per square yard; and the Directors of the South
Sea Company would pay him no more for the work he did on their
staircase and hall. There are a few other English painters, but they
were of no note.
Of foreign artists in England, doubtless the greatest was Kneller, who
was born at Lubeck in 1648. He came over here in 1674, without the
least intention of stopping; but, having painted Charles II. and
established a reputation, he made this country his home. Knighted by
William, petted by Anne, baroneted by George I., he could scarcely
expect greater honours. His principal works in Anne's reign were a bad
portrait of the King of Spain, who paid a visit to the Queen, and was
kept some time longer than he expected, by stress of weather; seven
portraits of admirals at Hampton Court, and the portraits of the Kit
Cat Club, which have already been noticed. He was as vain as Jervas,
if not more so. Pope tried to see to what extent his vanity would go.
'Sir Godfrey, I believe if God Almighty had had your assistance, the
world would have been formed more perfect.' ''Fore Gad, Sir, I believe
so too,' was the self-satisfied reply. He, however, was not devoid of
wit, as his little encounter with Dr. Ratcliffe proves. They lived
next to each other, and there was a door between the two gardens.
Through this door Ratcliffe's servants used to come and pick Kneller's
flowers; so the painter sent word that he would have the door shut. A
message came from the doctor that 'he might do anything with it but
paint it,' to which the artist replied that 'he would take anything
from him but his physic.' Kneller was painting the portrait of James
II., which was to be a present to Pepys, when the King received the
news of the landing of the Prince of Orange. He ordered the painter to
proceed with his work, so that 'his good friend Pepys should not be
disappointed.'
When Sir Godfrey moved from his house in Covent Garden, he had a sale
of pictures, probably of little artistic value, or only copies.[488]
'At the late Dwelling House of Sir Godfrey Kneller, in the Piazza's,
Covent Garden, will be sold a Collection of Original Paintings, fit
for Stair Cases, Chimneys, Doors or Closets. Some of the Masters they
were done by are as follows: viz. Holben, Ruben, Van Dyke, Sr. Peter
Lely, Antonio de Cortona, Solveta, Rosa, Snider, Vander Velde,
Rostraten, Bombodes, Verelst and several other great Masters.' This
auction was a failure: 'This is to give notice, That the Collection,
&c., will be Sold out of hand at very reasonable Rates at the
above-mentioned place, beginning this present _Monday_ being the 27th
of March, the badness and uncertainty of the Weather having put a stop
to the Auction.[489]
[Footnote 488: _Postman_, March 11/14, 1704.]
[Footnote 489: _Daily Courant_, March 27, 1704.]
John Closterman was the artist who painted the whole-length portrait
of Queen Anne, now in the Guildhall. We get several notices of him
from the newspapers: 'Mr. Closterman being obliged at Christmas next
to go to Hanover, and afterwards to several Courts of Germany; so that
it is uncertain whether he will ever return to England. Such Persons
of Quality and others, as have lately sate to him, are desired to take
notice, that their Pictures will be finished out of hand, and
deliver'd as they shall best please to order them.'[490]
[Footnote 490: _Ibid._, Aug. 6, 1705.]
In April of the next year he advertised that 'being oblig'd to leave
England very suddenly, will sell all his pictures by Auction.' Another
sale of pictures took place on Feb. 28, 1711, which was probably after
his death, the date of which is somewhat uncertain. He had married a
worthless girl, who robbed him of all he possessed, and then ran away:
this sent him mad, and he soon afterwards died.
Antonio Pelegrini made several designs for painting the dome of St.
Paul's, and was paid for them. He painted staircases, etc., for the
Dukes of Manchester and Portland, and for other noblemen. He died
abroad.
His master, Sebastian Ricci, came over here, and painted the
altarpiece in the chapel of Chelsea College; but he, too, did not
stop. Not so James Bogdani, a native of Hungary, who lived here
between forty and fifty years. He painted fruit, flowers, and birds,
and our royal palaces still possess examples of this master, which
were purchased by Queen Anne.
John Vander Vaart,[491] of Haarlem, lived for over fifty years in
Covent Garden, and died there. His _forte_ was game. He painted a
piece of still life--a violin--on a door at Devonshire House,
Piccadilly, that deceived everybody. This is now at Chatsworth.
[Footnote 491: In the _Postman_, Feb. 3/6, 1711, is an
advertisement of his, saying he intended retiring from
business, and will sell his collection of pictures.]
Pope's line, 'Where sprawl the Saints of Verrio and Laguerre,'
naturally makes us think of these two masters, and many were the
ceilings which the latter painted in England. He enjoyed royal
patronage under both William and Anne, designing for the latter some
tapestry, illustrative of the union between England and Scotland, in
which were portraits of the Queen and her ministers. He did the
drawings, but the tapestry was not made. His end was sudden: he died
of apoplexy in Drury Lane Theatre, whither he had gone to attend the
benefit of his son, who sang there in 'The Island Princess.'[492]
[Footnote 492: By P. A. Motteux.]
Michael Dahl was a Swede, and a mighty portrait painter. He was
Kneller's rival, and yet they must have been friends, for Sir Godfrey
painted his portrait. He was a great pet of Prince George of Denmark,
and was also patronised by the Queen.
Any account of the artists of this reign would be sadly incomplete
without mention of Boit, the enameller, who was certainly the best, up
to that time, after Petitot or Zincke. He got large sums for his
miniatures. Several now exist, and one, especially good, of Queen Anne
sitting, and Prince George standing beside her, is at Kensington
Palace. The most important work on which he was engaged during his
stay in England was a large plate, about 24 in. by 18, for which
Laguerre painted the design in oil. It represented the Queen, Prince
George, and the principal members of the Court, with Victory
introducing the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene; France and
Bavaria were prostrate, and there were the usual military
accompaniment of standards and trophies of arms. He got an advance of
£1,000, and spent £700 or £800 of it in erecting furnaces able to fire
so large a plate; and, when he began to lay on colour, he got another
advance of £700. Then came the memorable disgrace of Marlborough, and
he was ordered to change Marlborough into Ormonde, and Victory into
Peace. Prince Eugene would not sit, and no further progress was ever
made with the picture. Boit ran away, on the Queen's death, much in
debt, and got to France, where they were only too glad to receive him.
There he died in 1726.
Those were not, as now, golden days for artists, who never dreamed of
living in luxuriously furnished mansions of their own building. There
were no exhibitions of art, nor did the middle class indulge much in
oil paintings, which were principally confined to originals, or
copies, of the Italian or Dutch and Flemish schools. Of course every
gentleman who made the 'grand tour' brought some home with him, if
only to show his taste in such matters; and, through the fluctuations
of fortune, there was generally a good supply of them in the market.
The following extract from Swift's Journal to Stella will give some
idea of the price of a copy, for it is scarcely likely to have been an
original. '6 Mar. 1713. I was to day at an auction of pictures with
Pratt, and laid out two pounds five Shillings for a picture of
Titian, and if it were a Titian it would be worth twice as many
pounds. If I am cheated, I'll part with it to Lord Masham; if it be a
bargain, I'll keep it to myself. That's my conscience.'
To give an idea of the range of art which these pictures occupied, let
us take the names of the masters, with their spellings, as they appear
in the advertisements. _Italian_. Giorgione-da Castle Franco, Titian,
Palma, Tintoret, Bassan, Cavalieri, Gioseppi d'Arpino, Paulo Faranati,
Camillo Procacino, Spaniolette, Bartolemeo, Pordenone, Andrea del
Sarto, Leonardo da Vinci, Paulo Veronese, Gaspar Poussin, Julio
Romano, Pollydore, Parmigiano, Baptista Franca, Corregio, Primaticcio,
Schiavone, Claud Lorain, Fran, Bolognese, Mola, the Borgognon, Luca
Jordano, Bourdon, Perosini, Scacciati, Daudini, Tempesto, and Guido
Guavini.
Among the Dutch and Flemish Masters were: Van Dyke, Quentin Messias,
Ostervelt, Vander Werff, Van de Velde, Cornelius Johnson, Vander Meer,
Brayuinx, Griffiere, Backhuysen, De Wit, Brawer, Wyck, Ostade,
Hondecoeter, Saftleven, Boc, Percellus, Ryzeberg, Blœmœrt,
Youngfranc, Bramer, Varelst, Palamedus, Levintz, Ruysdail, Hemskirk,
Breughel, Holben, Rubens, Berchem, and Teniers.
And we have one advertisement where 'Among them are Portraits a half
length of the Queen of _England_[493] by _Ryly_: Sir _Tho More_; Lord
_Cicil_ in Queen _Elizabeth's_ time, and the Lord _Francis Bacon_.'
[Footnote 493: Either Mary of Modena, Consort of James II.,
or Queen Mary.]
People who could not afford oil paintings might buy water colours, and
the following gives us the names of two famous artists: 'A choice
collection of Limnings, by Mr. _Cooper_ and old Mr. _Hoskins_ now in
the possession of his Son _John Hoskins_ of _Chelsea_, will be sold by
Auction. Likewise several Boxes of Limning Colours,' etc. These were,
in all probability, miniatures.
Drawings, both in crayon and black lead, line engravings, and etchings
were within the compass of most people's purses, and here is an
advertisement which would create some interest even now at Christie's.
'At the Eagle and Child in Bedford Street, Covent Garden, &c. will be
continued the Sale by Auction of a collection of Paintings, Drawings,
and Prints, by the most famous Italian, and other great Masters. The
Drawings are of the most celebrated Masters of the several Schools of
Italy. A great number of them in Frames and Glasses. The Prints are in
great perfection, a great many Etcht by the Masters themselves, others
graved by the most eminent Gravers. There are a great many
extraordinary rare Wood Cuts, they have been collecting these 30 Years
with great industry and expense, most out of the chiefest Auctions in
England, and others bought in Holland and France, by Mr. William
Gibson,[494] Limner.'
[Footnote 494: A miniature painter, pupil of Sir Peter Lely,
and nephew of Gibson, the dwarf painter.]
We know the engravings of that time were very good: they were also
very cheap, and of good subjects. 'You may have the Right Originals
after the greatest Masters, as Raphael, Michael Angelo, Ruben, Julij
Romana, all well graven, and 30 sorts of Altarpieces and Prints ready
framed;' or one might buy 'A complea. Sett of the Prints of the Royal
Palaces and Noblemen's Seats in England, neatly bound up together, or
sold Singly for 1_s._ apiece; and likewise a curious Collection of
Italian and French prints, particularly the Original Battles of
Alexander; the Galleries of Luxemburgh; Poussin's Landskips, and many
others.' Good English Engravers were then very scarce: nearly all the
illustrations to books were engraved by foreigners, and very
frequently in Holland.
Take the following for example--engraved in England, but by a
foreigner: The Seven Cartons of Raphael d'Urbin drawn and engraved
from the Originals in the Gallery at Hampton Court by S. Gribelin, are
sold by C. Mather near Temple Bar in Fleet Street &c.--price 15_s._'
There was another set of these engraved in 1711 and 1712, by Michael
Dorigny, who offered eight plates 19 in. by 25 to 30 for four guineas.
Steele gives this venture a kindly puff in _Spectator_ 226.
Sculpture was not at a premium, there being but one sculptor at all
worthy of the name (of course except Gibbons), and he was Francis Bud,
to whom, among other works, we owe the statue of Queen Anne in St.
Paul's Churchyard, and the Conversion of St. Paul in the pediment of
the cathedral.
The virtuosi got their statuary from Italy, and of course these
classical gentlemen would be satisfied with nothing less than 'right
Antiques.' 'Four Marble Figures lately come from Italy, with 2 half
bodies. The Figures are Jupiter and Venus, Bacchus and his Mistress.'
There was a demand for plaster and leaden casts for garden
ornamentation, and this was met by one Van Nost, who lived in 'Hide
Park Road, near the Queen's Mead House,' who had a fine collection,
which was sold after his death, in 1712. His widow also sold, at a
great reduction in price, 'the fine Marble Figures and Bustos, curious
inlaid Marble Tables, Brass and Leaden Figures and very rich Vauses.'
Grinling Gibbons, of course, bears the palm in the matter of carving
in this age, and we must not forget that he carved in stone and marble
as well as in wood. The statue of Charles II. in the old Royal
Exchange, the base of Charles the First's statue at Charing Cross, and
the marble pedestal of the equestrian statue of Charles II. at
Windsor, together with the magnificent tomb of Baptist Noel, Viscount
Camden, in the church of Exton, Rutlandshire, all testify to his
ability when dealing with the more obdurate materials. As to his wood
carvings, they are most numerous and widely spread. In the choir of
St. Paul's, at Chatsworth, at Burleigh, at Petworth, etc., are
triumphs of his skill.
From sculpture to architecture is but a step; and a reign that can
boast of two such architects as Wren and Vanbrugh must of necessity
rank high as favouring this art. If Wren had built nothing else but
St. Paul's, his fame would have been immortal, and the other buildings
with which he beautified London, thanks to the great fire, cannot add
lustre to his name. In the architecture of his churches he was very
uneven; but it must not be forgotten that he had at that time so much
work on hand, that thorough originality could not be expected in every
case, and also, in very many instances he was hampered as to the
expense. Not that he was an extravagant architect. The man who could
build (even taking money at its different value then and now) St. Mary
Aldermary for a little over 5,000_l._, or St. Mary-le-Bow for
8,000_l._--exclusive of the steeple, which cost nearly 1,400_l._
more--could not be accused of extravagance. We owe to him the
Monument, Greenwich and Chelsea Hospitals, the Theatre and Ashmolean
Museum at Oxford, and the library of Trinity College, Cambridge,
besides a large number of churches, all still existing, and the Royal
Exchange and Temple Bar, destroyed. In this reign he was thoroughly
appreciated and honoured; was knighted by Anne, was President of the
Royal Society, and sat twice in Parliament; and it was reserved to the
Whigs in George the First's reign to deprive him of his places, and
leave him uncared for in his old age.
The versatile Vanbrugh, who could be playwright or architect, poet,
theatrical manager, or king-at-arms, adds much to the lustre of Anne's
reign.
We have seen how Swift lampooned him on the building of his own house
at Whitehall (p. 47), and we all know Dr. Evans' epitaph upon him:--
Lie heavy on him, earth, for he
Laid many a heavy load on thee.
That he was as great an architect as Wren, cannot be for a moment
entertained; but that he was not without good taste and scientific
knowledge, his two best works, Blenheim and Castle Howard, testify.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SCIENCE, ETC.
Its infancy -- Virtuosi -- Gresham College -- Visit to the Royal
Society's Museum -- Their curiosities -- Their new house --
Geology -- Experimental philosophy -- Courses of chemistry --
Mathematics -- List of patents -- Hydraulic machinery -- Savery's
steam engine -- Description.
Exact science, as we understand the term, hardly existed. Sir Isaac
Newton was just lighting the spark which has been fanned by succeeding
generations into such a mighty flame. The Royal Society was an
absolute laughing-stock, and men called virtuosi pottered about,
looking (and doubtless thinking they were) mighty wise.
Any man who investigated nature after his lights, and with the
imperfect materials which were at his command, was looked upon as a
fool.
'The _Will_ of a VIRTUOSO.[495]
[Footnote 495: _Tatler_, No. 216.]
'I _Nicholas Gimcrack_ being in sound health of mind, but in great
weakness of body, do by this my last Will and Testament bestow my
worldly Goods and Chattels in manner following.
'_Imprimis_. To my dear wife, One box of butterflies, One drawer of
Shells, A female Skeleton, A dried Cockatrice.
'_Item._ To my Daughter _Elizabeth_. My Receipt for preserving dead
Caterpillars. Also my preparations of winter May dew, and
Embryo-Pickle.
'_Item._ To my little daughter _Fanny_, Three Crocodile's Eggs. And
upon the birth of her first Child if she marries with her mother's
consent, the Nest of a Humming Bird.
'_Item._ To my eldest Brother, as an acknowledgment for the Lands he
has vested in my Son _Charles_, I bequeath my last Year's Collection
of Grasshoppers.
'_Item._ To his Daughter _Susanna_, being his only Child, I bequeath
my English Weeds pasted on Royal paper, with my large Folio of Indian
Cabbage.
'Having fully provided for my nephew _Isaac_ by making over to him,
some years since, a Horned Scarabæus, the Skin of a Rattle snake, and
the Mummy of an Egyptian King, I make no further Provision for him in
this my _Will_.
'My eldest Son _John_ having spoken disrespectfully of his little
Sister, whom I keep by me in Spirits of Wine, and in many other
instances behaved himself undutifully towards me, I do disinherit, and
wholly Cut off from any part of this my personal estate, by giving
him a single Cockle shell.
'To my second Son _Charles_, I give and bequeath all my Flowers,
Plants, Minerals, Mosses, Shells, Pebbles, Fossils, Beetles,
Butterflies, Caterpillars, Grasshoppers, and Vermin, not above
specified; as also my Monsters, both wet and dry; making the said
_Charles_ whole and sole _Executor_ of this my last _Will_ and
_Testament_; He paying or causing to be paid, the aforesaid Legacies
within the space of six Months after my Decease. And I do hereby
revoke all other _Wills_ whatsoever by me formerly made.'
_Clarinda._ A Sot, that has spent £2000 in Microscopes, to find
out the Nature of Eals in Vinegar, Mites in a Cheese, and the
blue of Plums which he has subtilly found out to be living
Creatures.
_Miranda._ One who has broken his brains about the nature of
Magots, who has studied these twenty years to find out the
several sorts of Spiders, and never cares for understanding
Mankind.[496]
[Footnote 496: _The Virtuoso_, by Shadwell.]
It is needless to say that Gresham College, then the home of the Royal
Society, affords a wealth of merriment to Ward. It is 'Wise Acres
Hall,' or 'Maggot Mongers' Hall'; but his description,[497] although
whimsical, is truthful, and shows the puerility (as we might term it)
of science in those days. 'My Friend conducted me up a pair of Stairs,
to the Elaboratory-Keeper's Apartment and desir'd him to oblige us
with a Sight of his Rarities; who very curteously granted us the
Liberty; opening his Warehouse of _Egyptian Mummies_, old musty
Skeletons, and other antiquated Trumpery: The first thing he thought
most worthy of our Notice, was the _Magnet_, with which he show'd some
notable Experiments, it made a Paper of Steel Filings Prick up
themselves one upon the back of another, that they stood pointing like
the Bristles of a _Hedge Hog_; and gave such Life and Merriment to a
parcel of Needles, they danced the Hay, by the motion of the Stone, as
if the Devil were in 'em; the next things he presented to our view,
were a parcel of Shell Flies almost as big as _Lobsters_, arm'd with
Beaks as big as _Jack-Daws_: then he commended to our observation that
Wonderful Curiosity, the _Unicorn's_ Horn; made, I suppose, by an
Ingenious Turner, of the Tusks of an _Elephant_; it is of an excellent
Virtue; and, by report of those that know nothing of the matter, will
expel Poison beyond the _Mountebanks Orvieton_; Then he carry'd us to
another part of the Room, where there was an _Aviary_ of Dead Birds,
Collected from the extream parts of _Europe_, _Asia_, _Africa_, and
_America_; amongst which were an _East India_ Owl, a _West India_ Bat,
and a Bird of _Paradise_, the last being Beautified with variety of
Colours, having no discernable Body, but all Feathers, Feeding, when
alive, upon nothing but Air, and tho' 'tis as big as a Parrot, 'tis as
light as a Cobweb. Then he usher'd us among sundry sorts of Serpents,
as the _Noy_, _Pelongy_, _Rattle Snake_, _Aligator_, _Crocodile_ &c.
That looking round me, I thought myself hem'd in amongst a legion of
Devils; When we had taken a survey of these pin-cushion Monsters, we
turn'd towards the Skeletons of Men, Women, and Monkeys, Birds, Beasts
and Fishes; Abortives put up in Pickle, and abundance of other
Memorandums of Mortality; that they look'd as Ghostly as the Picture
of _Michael_ Angelo's Resurrection; as if they had Collected their
Scatter'd Bones into their Original Order, and were about to March in
search after the rest of the Appurtenances.'
[Footnote 497: _London Spy._]
That this account is not exaggerated is shown by an extract or two of
Dr. Green's catalogue of these curiosities.
'Tortoises, when turned on their backs, will sometimes fetch deep
sighs and shed abundance of tears.
'A bone, said to be taken out of a Mermaid's head.
'A stag-beetle, whose horns, worn in a ring, are good against Cramp,
&c.'
The Royal Society, however, under Newton's presidency, woke up
wonderfully in Anne's reign, although they still pottered after such
things as dissecting dolphins,[498] etc. In 1705 the Mercers' Company
gave them notice to quit Gresham College, and they petitioned the
Queen for a grant of land near Westminster, but the petition was
refused. Then they applied to the trustees of the Cotton Library for
permission to meet at Cotton House, Westminster, but could not obtain
it. And so they tried for six years to get their own premises, and at
last succeeded in buying the house (really two houses) of Dr. Brown,
in Crane Court, Fleet Street, which house, but little altered, is now
standing, and is in the occupation of the Scottish Corporation. This
cost them 1,450_l._, 550_l._ of which they paid out of their own
funds, and borrowed the remainder at six per cent.; but it also
required 1,800_l._ to fit these houses for the requirements of the
Society: yet somehow they managed to hold their first meeting there on
Nov. 8, 1710.
[Footnote 498: Thoresby.]
Addison, in the _Tatler_,[499] cannot resist the temptation of making
fun of this Society: 'When I married this Gentleman he had a very
handsome estate, but upon buying a set of Microscopes he was chosen _a
Fellow of the Royal Society, from which time I do not remember ever to
have heard him speak as other people did_, or talk in a manner that
any of his family could understand.' Steele,[500] too, must needs give
a little stab: 'When I meet with a young fellow that is an humble
admirer of these Sciences, but more dull than the rest of the Company,
I conclude him to be a Fellow of the Royal Society.'
[Footnote 499: No. 221.]
[Footnote 500: _Tatler_, 236.]
The science of geology was very little known, although Dr. Woodward,
in his 'Natural History of the Earth,' notes its division into strata,
but in that, as in all other sciences, they were but in a very
elementary stage. They had only got as far as this: 'An Account of
the Origin and Formation of Fossil-Shells, &c., wherein is proposed a
Way to reconcile the two different Opinions, of those who affirm them
to be the Exuviæ of real Animals, and those who fancy them to be Lusus
Naturæ.'
But science was making such steps that men were willing to be taught,
and consequently teachers were found. The stage physical science had
reached in 1706 is shown by the following advertisement: 'For the
Advancement of Experimental Philosophy, and for the Benefit of all
such Gentlemen as are willing to lay the best and surest Foundation
for all useful Knowledge: There are provided Engines for rarefying and
condensing Air, with all the Appurtenances thereunto belonging; also
Barometers, Thermometers, and such other Instruments as are Necessary
for a Course of Experiments, in order to prove the Weight and Spring
of the Air, its usefulness in the propagation of Sounds and
Conversation of Life, &c., with several new and surprising Experiments
concerning the production of Light in Vacuo: Likewise Utensils proper
for making the Hydrostatical Experiments to determine the Laws of
Fluids Gravitating upon each other. By J. Hodgson and F. Hawksbee,
Fellows of the Royal Society. This Course will begin &c.... at which
times Lectures will be Read for the better understanding the
Experiments, and for the drawing of such Conclusions and Uses as flow
from them. Those Gentlemen that are desirous to be present must pay 2
Guineas, one at the time of Subscription, and the other on the 3rd
Night after the Course begins.' Hawksbee continued these lectures till
his death, about 1710 or 1711.
Courses of chemistry had existed ever since the commencement of the
reign: _vide_ 'A Course of Chimistry, commencing the 27th of April,
1702, containing above 100 Operations, will be performed by George
Willson at his Elaboratory in Well Yard, by St. Bartholomew's Hospital
in Smithfield.' His fee was two and a half guineas.
What was meant by this course we cannot tell, but there is another
advertisement in 1712 which may throw some light upon it: 'A Compleat
Course of Chymistry containing about 100 Operations, illustrated with
the proper Scholia, has been perform'd at the Laboratory of Mr. Edward
Bright, Chymist, in White Friars near Fleet Street, to the entire
Satisfaction of the Gentlemen that attended it, &c.... In these
Courses Endeavours are used to demonstrate the Constituent Parts of
each Medicine, their Virtues and Doses; to which will be added many
useful Observations applicable to the Practice of Physick.
The higher branches of mathematics were also publicly taught in 1705:
'On Tuesday next being the 2nd Day of October, at the Marine Coffee
house in Birchin Lane, Mr. Harris will go on with the Public
Mathematic Lecture; beginning them with Geometry anew; and he will
explain largely the Uses of all the Propositions as he goes along:
with a particular regard to the principles of true Mechanick
Philosophy.' This latter was highly necessary, for mechanics were in
an exceedingly elementary state: even such a common thing as a wind
dial was new, and wonderful, in 1706. 'The WIND DIAL, lately set up at
Grigsby's Coffee and Chocolate House, behind the Royal Exchange, being
the first and only one in any publick House in England, and having
given great Satisfaction to all that have seen it, and being of
Constant use to those that are in any wise Concerned in Navigation: We
think it may not be improper to describe it to the Publick, viz. The
Dial Board is fixed to the Ceiling of the Publick Ground room, upon
which are all the points of the Compass in Gold Letters, and a Hand
Points to each of them, continually as the Wind varies. The Hand is
directed by an Iron work, which is turned by a Fan placed 90 foot
high, to prevent the effects of Eddy Winds.'
Condensing sea water, in order to make it potable, is, if an old
invention, quite a modern practice; yet we see it in use in 1705. 'Mr.
Walcot's Engines for making Sea Water Fresh and Wholesome, are sold by
him at his Warehouse in Woolpack Alley in Houndsditch at reasonable
rates being of great use and advantage for all Ships, especially such
as go long voyages.'
Perhaps the best method of gauging the mechanical genius of the age is
to examine the patents granted, and, as they are very few in this
reign, a short list of them will fulfil this condition, and yet not be
wearisome.
Jan. 1, 1703. A grant to George Sorocold, gent., of a new invention by
him contrived and found out, for cutting and sawing all kinds of
boards, timber, and stone, and twisting all kinds of ropes, cords, and
cables, by the strength of horses or water.
April 8, 1704. A grant to Benjamin Jackson, gent., of the sole use and
exercise of a new invention for ordinary coaches, calashes, shazes,
waggons, and other carriages and machines of that nature, that though
the wheels or carriages may be overset, yet the bodies of them shall
remain upright.
May 1, 1704. A grant to Nicholas Fain, gent., Peter Defaubre, and
Jacob Defaubre, watchmakers, for making use of precious or more common
stones, crystal or glass, as an internal and useful part of watches
and other engines.
July 29, 1704. A grant unto Richard Cole, gent., of his invention of
forming glasses into conical figures, and lamps for the better
dispersing and casting of light.
April 12, 1706. A grant unto Henry Mill, gent., of his new invention
of a mathematical instrument, consisting of several new sorts of
springs for the ease of persons riding in coaches, chariots, calashes,
and chaises.
June 6, 1706. A grant unto Robert Aldersey of his new invention in
contriving a floating dam to carry lighters and other vessels over the
greatest flats and shallows in any navigable river.
1706. A grant unto Thomas Savery, Esq., of his new invention for
making double hand-bellows, which by the power of springs and screws
will produce a continual blast.
July 26, 1709. A grant unto Jeremiah Wieschamer of his new invention
of a mill or engine for the more easy grinding or pressing of
sugar-canes with a less number of oxen, horses, or cattle than by
those mills formerly used.
April 3, 1712. A grant unto Israel Pownoll of his new invented engine
or machine for taking up ballast, sullage, sand, etc., of very great
use in cleansing rivers, harbours, etc.
June 17, 1712. A grant unto Nicholas Lewis Mandell, Esq., and John
Grey, carpenters, of their two new invented engines; the one of a
small size for the weighing and raising up any weight far beyond what
can be performed by any crane or capstone; and the other for raising
water in a new and surprising manner, of great use in extinguishing
fire.
April 2, 1714. A grant unto John Wilks of his new invented engine or
mill for grinding all sorts of wood dry for the use of dying.
May 27, 1714. A grant unto John Coster, gent., and John Coster, jun.,
gent., of their new invented engine for drawing water out of deep
mines.
[Illustration: Savery's Steam Engine.]
These are all the mechanical patents worthy of notice during Anne's
reign. Hydraulic machinery was particularly useful, and attention was
specially paid to its perfection. Here is the record[501] of a
draining feat happily completed: 'The Lands in Havering and Dagenham
Levels in Essex, having lain these 6 Years under Water, were, after a
great deal of Industry and Expence happily recovered on the 29th Day
of October past, being the same Day 6 years that that Breach happened.
The Gentlemen concerned in that Undertaking have given to the
Artificers and Labourers an Ox and a Sheep to be Roasted whole, and a
Hog to be barbicui'd, with large Puddings in their Bellies, on the
13th of this present Instant, on the said Works.'
[Footnote 501: _Daily Courant_, Nov. 11, 1713.]
But few people remember that the steam engine was a living and
working fact, and a commercial commodity, in Queen Anne's time, and
this owed its being to the general utility of hydraulic machinery.
Salamon de Caus and the Marquis of Worcester are rivals as to the
invention of a working steam engine, and Papin came very near to being
successful, even going so far as to propel a ship with revolving oars
or paddles, which could in speed beat the king's barge manned by
sixteen rowers. But it was reserved to Savery to make it commercially
valuable. In 1698 he took out a patent. 'A grant to Thomas Savery
gentl, of the sole exercise of a new invenc̃on by him invented,
for raising of water, and occasioning moc̃on to all sorts of Mill
Works, by the impellent force of fire, which will be of great use for
draining mines, serving towns w{th} water, and for the working of all
sorts of Mills where they have not the benefit of water nor Constant
winds, to hold for 14 years; with usual clauses. Testibus apud
Westm̃ 25{o} die Julij anno supradc̃o.'
He could not have wasted much time in perfecting his invention and
putting it on a sound commercial basis, for we find an advertisement
in the _Postman_, March 28/31, 1702: 'Captain _Savery's_ Engines which
raise Water by the force of Fire in any reasonable quantities and to
any height, being now brought to perfection, and ready for publick
use; These are to give notice to all Proprietors of Mines and
Collieries which are encumbered with Water, that they may be furnished
with Engines to drain the same at his Work house in _Salisbury Court,
London_, against the Old Play house, where it may be seen working on
_Wednesdays_ and _Saturdays_ in every week from 3 to 6 in the
afternoon; where they may be satisfied of the performance thereof,
with less expence than any other force of Horse or Hands, and less
subject to repair.'
He must, even then, have had some at work, for he says in the preface
to his little work,[502] dated Sept. 22, 1701: 'That the _attending_
and working the _Engine_ is so far from being so,[503] that it is
familiar and _easie_ to be learned by those of the _meanest Capacity_,
in a very little time; insomuch, that I have Boys of 13 or 14 years of
_Age_, who now _attend_ and _work_ it to perfection, and were _taught_
to do it in a few days; and I have known some _learn_ to work the
Engine in _half-an-hour_.'
[Footnote 502: _The Miner's Friend, or, an Engine to raise
Water by Fire described_, &c. by Thomas Savery, Gent.
London. 1702.]
[Footnote 503: _I.e._ intricate and difficult to work.]
He had visions of its future power, and knew somewhat of its vast
capabilities: 'Whereas this _Engine_ may be made _large_ enough to do
the _work_ required in employing _eight_, _ten_, _fifteen_, or _twenty
horses_ to be constantly maintained and kept for doing _such a work_;
it will be improper to stint or _confine_ its Uses and Operation in
respect of _Water Mills_.' He then suggests that it would pump water
to the top of a house, for domestic supply, for fountains, and in case
of fire--or supply towns with water, draining fens, mines, and coal
pits, nay, he even suggests their use through the furnace and shaft,
as ventilators. More than all, he says, 'I believe it may be made very
_useful_ to Ships, but I dare not meddle with that matter; and leave
it to the Judgement of those who are the best Judges of Maritain
Affairs.'
His engine was as ingenious as it was simple. Two boilers with
furnaces supplied the steam. This was admitted alternately, by means
of a handle worked by a man or boy, into one of two elliptical
receivers, where it condensed, formed a vacuum, and the water rushed
in and filled its place--the same principle which is the foundation of
that invaluable feed-pump, Giffard's injector. When full, the
application of steam ejected it from the receiver, and forced it up
the pipe, and so _de novo_. His idea was to utilise the water thus
raised to turn a water-wheel, and thus get effective power for working
machinery in mills.
CHAPTER XXIX.
LITERATURE, THE PRESS, ETC.
Authors -- Public libraries -- Their condition -- George
Psalmanazar -- Hack writers -- Poverty of authors -- Their
punishment -- The press -- _Daily Courant_ -- List of newspapers
-- _London Gazette_ -- _Postboy_ -- _Postman_ -- Dawk's _News
Letter_ -- Dyer's -- Evening papers -- Dearth of domestic news --
Amenities of the press -- Roper and Redpath -- Tutchin -- His
trial -- Press remuneration -- Mrs. Manley -- The Essay papers --
The halfpenny stamp -- Its effect -- Advertising -- Almanacs --
List of them -- Moore's -- The _Ladies' Diary_ -- _Poor Robin's
Almanack_ -- Merlinus Liberatus -- The Essayists and Partridge --
His false death -- His elegy and epitaph -- An amateur magazine.
Well might the time of Anne be called the Augustan age of literature.
The writers of that day have lived till ours, and will live and be
quoted as models of purity of style, as long as, and wherever, the
English language is spoken. In what other age can such a wealth of
literary names be found as Addison, Steele, Swift, Pope, Warburton,
Gay, Prior, Parnell, Defoe, Vanbrugh, Congreve, Rowe! It was the grand
awakening of letters; and, having good food provided for them, the
people appreciated it, and it undoubtedly laid the foundation of the
present reading age. Before this time there had been no books, _i.e._
adapted to the general public, to read. Truly, there were scholars
here and there, and the Universities were ever fountains of learning;
but literature had not entered into every-day life, and we have to
thank Steele and Addison, who charmed the public taste by their social
and moral essays, into becoming first a reading, and then a thinking
people.
There were men who loved their books--veritable bibliophiles--and what
choice editions they must have possessed! Look at the huge volumes of
title-pages which Bagford collected as materials for his history of
printing--which never was written--look at the treasures that have
come down to us in the Cotton, Harleian Royal, and Lambeth libraries!
A sale like that of the Sunderland library[504] convulses the literary
world, and buyers come from all parts of the globe. Then, however, an
advertisement like this was not uncommon: 'A curious Collection of
Books, which was Collected by a great Antiquarian, in Greek, Latin,
Spanish, French, Italian, and English, in all Faculties and Sciences,
many of them very scarce, of the best Authors and Editions, as Aldus,
Stevens, Elzevir and others,' etc.
[Footnote 504: The Duke of Marlborough's collection, sold
1882.]
We learn from Misson the state of our public libraries. He says: 'At
present I know but three publick ones in this City; those of the
Chapter at _Westminster_, and _Sion College_ (which are very much
neglected, and in a sorry Condition in all Respects) and that which
Dr. _Tenison_, Archbishop of _Canterbury_, has lately founded. The two
former are going to Decay, and the latter is not yet quite form'd.
Neither the one nor the other are much frequented. The King's Library
at St. _James's_ is also in a miserable state; I am told that Dr.
_Bentley_, who has the keeping of it, in the room of Mr. _Instel_,
does all he can to restore it; but his Endeavours will be to no
purpose, unless the Master of it has Leisure and Will to have an Eye
to it himself. There have been Books in Pawn in the Hands of the
Binders, I know not how many Years. King _Charles II._ did but laugh
at it. It is, nevertheless, a Pity that so many good Books, and so
well bound, should be given up to the Mould and Moisture of the Air,
to Moths and to Dust. The Library of Sir _Robert Cotton_ is
particularly famous for Manuscripts. The Royal Society have begun to
Collect a pretty good one: the late Duke of _Norfolk_, who was of it,
left them his. There are a great many Noble men in England that love
Books, and have good Collections of them.'
A literary curiosity of this reign deserves to be, and must be,
noticed. It is George Psalmanazar, the impostor who, for a while,
deceived the majority of the English _literati_. He seems to have been
born in France in 1679, and to have received a good education. He
wandered about as a pilgrim, and that either not paying, or else being
dissatisfied with the life, he hit upon the extraordinary idea of
passing himself off as a Formosan, and to do this he actually had to
invent a new language and grammar. Accompanied by a clergyman named
Innes, he came over to England, where he translated the Church
Catechism into pretended Formosan, and he published a History of
Formosa, and of his own adventures; but the suspicions of the learned
were aroused, and he was unmasked. He tried to fight against it for
some time, and issued advertisements in the papers, that he could be
seen, spoken with, and catechised, but to no purpose. He afterwards
lived by doing hack work for the booksellers, and at his death he
thoroughly confessed his imposture.
The hack writers of the time are thus humorously described in the
_Guardian_ (No. 58): 'According as my necessities suggest it to me, I
hereby provide for my being. The last summer I paid a large debt for
brandy and tobacco, by a wonderful description of a fiery dragon, and
lived for ten days together upon a whale and a mermaid. When winter
draws near, I generally conjure up my spirits, and have my apparition
ready against long dark evenings. From November last to January I
lived solely upon murders; and have since that time, had a comfortable
subsistence from a plague and a famine. I made the Pope pay for my
Beef and Mutton last Lent, out of pure spite to the Romish Religion;
and at present my good friend the King of Sweden finds me in clean
linen, and the Mufti gets me credit at the Tavern.'
Literary men had their money troubles then as now--probably not more
so--as many a melancholy tale of modern Grub Street could tell.
Swift's society did some good. Take his Journal to Stella, Feb. 12 and
13, 1713, as an example: 'I gave an account of Sixty guineas I had
collected, and am to give them away to two Authors to-morrow, and lord
Treasurer has promised me a hundred pounds to reward some others.... I
found a letter on my table last night to tell me that poor little
Harrison ... was ill, and desired to see me at night.... I went in the
morning, and found him mighty ill, and got thirty guineas for him from
Lord Bolinbroke, and an order for a hundred pounds from the treasury
to be paid him to-morrow.... I was to see a poor poet, one Mr. Diaper,
in a nasty garret, very sick. I gave him twenty guineas from Lord
Bolinbroke, and disposed the other sixty to two other authors.' This
was practical benevolence, but its record only shows the sad necessity
there was for its exercise.
Other troubles they had, and perhaps not the least of them was the
fear of personal violence. They hit hard in those days, and people did
not always take their castigation meekly. Sometimes they took the law
into their own hands, and then woe be to the unfortunate author.
Samuel Johnson (author of _Julian_) in Charles the Second's reign was
not only publicly whipped, but was nearly murdered in his own house.
Tutchin, too, who wrote a poem on the death of James II., was waylaid,
and so frightfully beaten that he died from its effects. Defoe also
frequently mentions attempts to injure him. So Swift wrote to
Stella,[505] 'No, no, I'll walk late no more; I ought to venture it
less than other people, and so I was told.'
[Footnote 505: _Journal_, June 30, 1711.]
In what condition was the press of that day? Let Pope's bitter pen
answer--
Next plunged a feeble, but a desperate, pack,
With each a sickly brother at his back;
Sons of a day; just buoyant on the flood,
Then numbered with the puppies in the mud.
Ask ye their names? I could as soon disclose
The names of these blind puppies as of those.
And monumental brass this record bears,
These are--ah--no--these were--the gazetteers.[506]
[Footnote 506: _Dunciad._]
[Illustration: a Printing Press.]
When Anne succeeded to the throne on March 8, 1702, the following
newspapers were in existence: _The London Post_, _English Post_,
_Postman_, _Postboy_, _Flying Post_, _London Gazette_, _Post Angel_,
_New State of Europe_, and Dawks's and Dyer's _News Letter_ (the
former of which was printed in script letters, to look as much as
possible like writing). The whole of these were issued three times a
week; but three days after Anne's accession came out the first daily
paper in England. The _Daily Courant_ was born March 11, 1702, and
this little fledgling, the precursor of the mighty daily press,
measures but 14 in. by 8 in. It is printed only on one side of the
sheet: the reason given for which is, to say the least, peculiar,
reminding one of the lines:--
My wound is great, because it is so small,
Then were it greater, were it none at all.
'This Courant (as the Title shews) will be Publish'd Daily; being
design'd to give all the Material News as soon as every Post arrives;
and is confin'd to half the Compass, _to save the Publick at least
half the Impertinences of Ordinary News Papers_.' Probably the correct
reason was that, being a new venture, it could not obtain
advertisements. These, however, speedily came when it passed into the
hands of Samuel Buckley (printer of the _Spectator_), and, in May, it
was in a most flourishing state, the other side being entirely taken
up with them, and it continued to have its fair share during the whole
of the reign. There is nothing very striking about its news, but, as
it is such a wonderful infant, I have reproduced this first number in
its entirety[507] here--it will serve as a model to show the kind of
news contained in these newspapers. There now exist but two newspapers
which were in being in Queen Anne's reign, namely, the _London
Gazette_ (but that has been kept alive through its official nursing),
and--but one due to private enterprise--_Berrow's Worcester Journal_,
which was established in 1700.
[Footnote 507: See Frontispiece.]
The other papers born in this reign, including the _Satirical_ and
_Essay_ papers, are _The Observator_, _Gazette de Londres_, _Monthly
Register_, _Letter Writer_, _Whitehall_, _Rehearsal_, _Diverting
Post_, _A Weekly Review of the Affairs of France_, by Daniel De Foe,
_Whipping Post_, _News Letter_, _General Remarks on Trade_, _Mercurius
Politicus_, _St. James's_, _Kensington_, _Evening Post_, _A Review of
the State of the British Nation_, _The Weekly Comedy_, _Generous
Advertiser_, _Humours of a Coffee House_, _The British Apollo_,
_Tatler_, _Athenian News_, _Examiner_, _Medley_, _Moderator_, _Evening
Courant_, _British Mercury_, _Protestant Postboy_, _Hermit_, _Useful
Intelligencer_, _Night Post_, _Spectator_, _Plain Dealer_, _Guardian_,
_The Reconciler_, _The Mercator_, _Englishman_, _Britain_, _The
Lover_, _The Patriot_, _Controller_, _Weekly Packet_, _Monitor_.
It would be a waste of time to follow the fortunes of all these
papers; suffice it to say, that the majority of them had but a brief
existence, and let us note only a few of the prominent ones. First of
all the _London Gazette_, of which Misson says 'it is the truest and
most Cautious of all the Gazettes that I know. It inserts no news but
what is Certain, and often waits for the Confirmation of it, before it
publishes it.' It was first published on Feb. 1, 1666, and still
continues to this day as the official newspaper. It was first printed
by Thomas Newcomb, of the Savoy, then by Edward Jones, who died in
1705. From Feb. 18 of that year to Feb. 26, 1708, it was printed by
his widow, M. Jones. At the latter date, it appears as printed by J.
Tonson, at Gray's Inn Gate, who, although he moved into the Strand,
continued to print it during the remainder of the reign. It was
somewhat smaller than the other papers, and its normal price was
1_d._, but, if of extra size, owing to addresses to the Queen, etc.,
it was 2_d._ It was published twice weekly, and was the only one of
the newspapers that kept up the old style of reckoning time. It did
not begin the new year till after March 25; thus, for the year 1702,
all the Gazettes would be 1701 till March 25, after which they would
be 1702 till that same date in 1703.
When Samuel Buckley took the _Daily Courant_ in hand, he at once
filled it with advertisements. He then lived at the _Dolphin_, in
Little Britain; afterwards at Amen Corner. Either he sold the
_Courant_, or gave up printing it, for on Sept. 25, 1714, it was
'Printed by S. Gray, sold by Ferd. Burleigh in Amen Corner.' Perhaps
he could not attend to two papers at once, for, on the copy of the
_London Gazette_ for Sept. 25/28, 1714, in the British Museum, is
written 'first Gazette by Mr. Buckley.' Dunton[508] says of him: 'He
was Originally a Bookseller, but follows Printing. He is an excellent
_Linguist_, understands the _Latin_, _French_, _Dutch_ and _Italian_
Tongues; and is Master of a great Deal of Wit. He prints the _Daily
Courant_ and _Monthly Register_ (which, I hear, he Translates out of
the Foreign Papers himself).' Its usual price was 1_d._, but there was
a special edition published. The news of every _Post Day's Courant_,
is Constantly Printed with the _News_ of the _Day before_, on a Sheet
of Writing _Paper_, a _Blank_ being left for the Conveniency of
sending it by the Post. And may be had for 2_d._'[509]
[Footnote 508: _The Life and Errors of John Dunton_, Lond.
1705.]
[Footnote 509: _Daily Courant_, Sept. 21, 1705.]
[Illustration: 'London Gazettes Here!']
Dunton thought the _Postboy_ was the best for English and Spanish
news, but the _Postman_ was the best for everything. A French
Protestant, named Fonvive, wrote the latter, and in the early part of
Anne's reign the _Postboy_ was written by Thomas, afterwards by Boyer,
also a foreigner, who had been tutor to the young Duke of Gloucester.
Swift writes of him: 'One _Boyer_, a French dog, has abused _me_ in a
pamphlet, and I have got him up in a Messenger's hands. The secretary
promised me to _swinge_ him. I must make that rogue an example to
others.'
In the early days of the reign both these papers had manuscript
postscripts, or supplements, when any fresh news arrived that was not
in their last edition, they being published thrice weekly. 'This is to
give Notice, that the _Post Boy_, with a Written Postscript,
containing all the Domestick Occurrences, with the Translations of the
Foreign News that arrives after the Printing of the said _Post Boy_,
is to be had only of Mr. John Shank, at Nandoe's Coffee house, between
the two Temple Gates; and at Mr. Abel Roper's at the _Black Boy_, over
against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet Street.' 'The Author of this
Paper having several times declared in Print that he is no ways
directly nor indirectly concerned in the Written Postscripts to the
_Post Man_, nor any other News but what is printed therein; he thinks
he has reason to complain of several People, who write to him from the
Country about faults and mistakes contained in those Written
Postscripts, putting him thereby to unnecessary Charges. He desires
those Persons to forbear the same for the future, but if they are not
satisfied with their written News (seeing they are not Contented with
what is Printed), they may be furnished with written Postscripts at
_Tom's_ Coffee House in St. Martin's Lane, by a Person, who the Author
hopes, will give them entire satisfaction.'
Later on in the century they printed these postscripts, but they were
not safe even then. 'There being a Sham Postscript published last
night, with an Advertisement, intending to impose the same upon people
as a Postscript to the _Postman_, We think fit to desire again our
readers to buy no Postscripts to the _Postman_, but from the Hawkers
they know, as the only means to stop that Villanous practice; and when
there is any material New, we shall take care to publish a Postscript,
provided it be a Post Day, and not too Late.' The _Post Boy_ had two
rough woodcuts, one on each side of the title: one of a Post boy on
horseback, blowing his horn; the other a Fame, blowing a trumpet, on
the banner of which is inscribed _Viresque acquirit eundo_; whilst the
_Postman_ has two woodcuts occupying the same position: one of a ship
in full sail; the other of a post boy on horseback, blowing his horn.
They are the same size as the _Daily Courant_.
'Dawks's _News Letter_, For Thirty Shillings a Year, paying a Quarter
before Hand to J. Dawks at the West End of Thames Street by Wardrobe
Stairs, near Puddle Dock,' was, as before said, printed in imitation
of writing. It generally contained a little more domestic news than
the other papers, and may be said to be the first evening paper. 'This
News Letter continues to be published every Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday, in the Evening, and contains what is most Remarkable, in any
(or all) of the other News Papers; to which is added the Occurrences
of the Day, and the Heads of the Foreign Mails, which come in many
times after the publication of the Printed Papers; and is so
contrived, that a Blank Space is left for any Gentleman, or others, to
write their private Business to their Friends in the Country, so that
they may have therewith the Chiefest News stirring.' Ichabod Dawks
started his _News Letter_ on Aug. 4, 1696. Steele mentions it more
than once in the _Tatler_, notably No. 178, where he says: 'But Mr.
Dawkes concluded his paper with a courteous sentence, which was very
well taken, and applauded by the whole company. "We wish," says he,
"all our Customers a merry Whitsuntide, and many of them." Honest
Ichabod is as extraordinary a man as any of our fraternity, and as
particular.'
The proprietor of the other news-letter, Dyer, got into trouble more
than once. In 1694 he was summoned before the Parliament, and
reprimanded by the Speaker 'for his great presumption' in printing the
proceedings of the House. And once again, in 1702, he was ordered to
attend the House to answer for his presuming to misrepresent the
proceedings. He did not attend, and the attorney-general was
instructed 'to find out and prosecute him.'
In No. 18 of the _Tatler_, the joint production of Steele and Addison,
is an excellent _résumé_ of the foregoing newspapers. 'There is
another sort of gentlemen whom I am much more concerned for, and that
is the ingenious fraternity of which I have the honour to be an
unworthy member; I mean the News Writers of Great Britain, whether
Post Men or Post Boys, or by what other name or title soever
dignified, or distinguished. The case of these gentlemen is, I think
more hard than that of the Soldiers, considering they have taken more
towns, and fought more battles. They have been upon parties and
skirmishes, when our armies have lain still; and given the general
assault to many a place, when the besiegers were quiet in their
trenches. They have made us masters of several strong towns many weeks
before our generals could do it; and completed victories, when our
greatest captains have been glad to come off with a drawn battle.
Where Prince Eugene has slain his thousands, _Boyer_ has slain his ten
thousands. This gentleman can indeed be never enough commended for his
courage and intrepidity during the whole war: he has laid about him
with an inexpressible fury; and, like the offended Marius of ancient
Rome, made such havoc among his countrymen, as must be the work of two
or three ages to repair. It must be confessed, the redoubted _Mr.
Buckley_ has shed as much blood as the former; but I cannot forbear
saying (and I hope it will not look like envy) that we regard our
brother _Buckley_ as a kind of _Drawcansir_,[510] who spares neither
friend nor foe; but generally kills as many of his own side as the
enemies. It is impossible for this ingenious sort of men to subsist
after a peace; everyone remembers the shifts they were driven to in
the reign of King Charles the Second, when they could not furnish out
a single paper of News, without lighting up a comet in Germany, or a
fire in Moscow. There scarce appeared a letter without a paragraph on
an earthquake. Prodigies were grown so familiar, that they had lost
their name, as a great Poet of that age has it. I remember Mr. _Dyer_,
who is justly looked upon by all Fox hunters in the nation as the
greatest statesman our country has produced, was particularly famous
for dealing in whales; insomuch, that in five months' time (for I had
the Curiosity to examine his letters on that occasion) he brought
three into the mouth of the River Thames, besides two porpoises and a
Sturgeon. The judicious and wary Mr. _Ichabod Dawks_ hath all along
been the rival of this great writer, and got himself a reputation from
plagues and famines; by which, in those days, he destroyed as great
multitudes, as he has lately done by the sword. In every dearth of
news, Grand Cairo was sure to be unpeopled.'
[Footnote 510: The name of a principal character in the Duke
of Buckingham's comedy of _The Rehearsal_.]
[Illustration: A News Man.]
The _Evening Post_ came out in Aug. 1706, and was 'Published by John
Morphew near Stationers' Hall.' It seems to have been then a failure,
but it was started again in 1709. The _Evening Courant_, which started
July 1711, seems also to have had a very brief existence, as did also
the _Night Post_, which was born the same year, but this latter seems
to have had a longer life than its sister the _Courant_.
The domestic news in them was nearly _nil_--principally of the sailing
of ships or bringing in of prizes. Foreign news was taken bodily from
the foreign papers, as we see in the _Daily Courant_, in the Appendix;
and the home news was left to take care of itself. The _Gazette_
generally had the Queen's Speech to Parliament, and sometimes the
other newspapers would also have it, if on very special occasions, say
on June 6, 1712, when the Queen communicated to Parliament the terms
on which a peace might be made; yet the only reference the _Flying
Post_ of June 5/7 has on the subject is, 'Yesterday Her Majesty went
to the House of Peers, and made a long speech to both Houses.'
In fact, in all the twelve years of this reign, I only remember
meeting with one long account of any piece of home news, and I cannot
help thinking that was manufactured, as it is decidedly of the
catchpenny and chapbook order. It was 'An Account of the Apprehending
and taking of _Thomas Wallis_, alias _Whipping Tom_,' a wicked villain
who got hold of unprotected females, when crossing the unfrequented
fields near Hackney, and administered a fearful thrashing to them,
'with a great Rodd of Birch, that the Blood ran down their tender
Bodies in a sad and dreadful manner.' His only excuse was his 'being
resolved to be Revenged on all the Women he could come at after that
manner, for the sake of one Perjur'd Female, who had been Barbarously
False to him.' He 'believed that he had Whip'd from the 10th of
_October_ last to the 1st of _December_, about Three Score and Ten,
including Widdows, Wives and Maids, and did intend, if he had not been
taken, to have made them up to a Hundred betwixt this and _Christmas_,
at which time he then intended to keep Hollyday till after Twelfday,
and then began his Whipping Work.' And once, too, the _Postboy_ (Jan.
27/29, 1713) broke out in a sarcastically humorous vein: 'On Monday
last that Facetious and Merry Gentleman in the Pulpit, Mr. Daniel
Burgess, departed this Life to the great Mortification of his Female
Auditors.'