vitiated: one remarkable instance I cannot forget. In January
1717 some dancers arrived from France, and with them one
Swartz, a German. This man brought over two dogs, whom
he had taught to dance the louvre and minuet; they were
immediately engaged by Rich, at ten pounds _per_ night,
and brought above twenty good houses, when the Othello of
Booth, the Wildair of Wilks, and the Foppington of Cibber,
were neglected, and did not bring charges. The town, who were
formerly unanimous in supporting the stage, now were formed
into different parties; some preferred sense to sound, others
were for the Opera and Pantomime, and the actors, as Colley
Cibber remarks, 'were very near being wholly laid aside,
or, at least, the use of their labour was to be swallowed
up, in the pretended merit of singing and dancing.' I must,
however, not forget to mention, that a few years ago, some
ladies of the first distinction, eminent for their just
taste, entered into a society, and distinguished by the name
of the Shakspeare Club, in order to support his plays on the
stage. Many verses were written on this occasion; one stanza
I remember:
"No more shall Merit's passion fail,
Since Beauty wit and knowledge prize,
Whose bright example shall prevail,
And make it fashion to be wise.
"I must do justice to the managers of the Dublin Theatres,
in commending their care and assiduity to please the Town;
and could wish, instead of importing from Sadler's-wells
wire-dancers, &c. they would revive some select plays of
Shakspeare and Jonson.
"I have at my leisure hours drawn up the following scale of
the merits of the performers on the Irish stage; I have no
connections with either Theatre or Managers, but am a lover
of Truth and the Drama. I am, &c.
THEATRICUS.
"_Dublin._
"A SCALE of the Merits of the Performers on the Irish Stage,
1763.
Men. |Trag.|Com.|| Women. |Trag.|Com.
----------+-----+----++-----------+-----+----
Barry | 20 | 10 ||Dancer | 14 | 16
Mossop | 15 | 6 ||Fitz-Henry | 14 | 6
Sheridan | 15 | 6 ||Abington | 0 | 18
Macklin | 8 | 15 ||Hamilton | 10 | 12
Sowdon | 13 | 12 ||Kennedy | 8 | 10
Dexter | 10 | 12 ||Kelf | 8 | 10
T. Barry | 10 | 8 ||Barry | 8 | 10
Ryder | 6 | 12 ||Jefferson | 6 | 8
Stamper | 0 | 12 ||Ambrose | 0 | 8
Sparks | 0 | 12 ||Mahon | 0 | 6
Jefferson | 8 | 10 ||Roach | 0 | 6
Heaphy | 6 | 8 ||Parsons | 0 | 6
Reddish | 6 | 8 || | |
Walker | 0 | 8 || | |
Glover | 4 | 8 || | |
Mahon | 4 | 6 || | |
The doors of the Theatres were opened _circa_ 1765 before five o'clock,
and the house thus filled gradually. The present method of opening
one hour before the commencement of the performance occasions great
confusion, and frequent injury to individuals.
Mrs. CORNELY
Died in the Fleet-prison at a very advanced age in 1797. She was born
in Germany, and, having talents for singing, performed publicly in her
native country and Italy. Mrs. Cornely arrived in England about 1756
or 7; and being a woman of much taste and address, and possessed of
many accomplishments, she soon received the patronage those advantages
excited. To continue the celebrity thus obtained, she explored the
regions of fancy, and exhausted every art, to contrive fascinating
amusements for the eager publick, who crowded to Carlisle-house,
Soho-square, as the very focus of pleasure and entertainment. While
this lady confined her exertions to mere frivolous and fashionable
enticements, she succeeded admirably; but, wishing to soar beyond her
sphere in endeavouring to establish a musical meeting, the Proprietors
of the Opera-house became alarmed, and applied to the Civil power
to suppress what they deemed an unwarrantable rivalship. This was
easily accomplished; and Mrs. Cornely had the mortification to find
herself considerably involved without a hope of remuneration; but
her concerts, balls, and masquerades were continued with advantage,
though her influence insensibly declined; and other attractions,
particularly the Pantheon, withdrawing many of her patrons, she was
at length compelled to relinquish her pretensions to public favour,
and fly from the menaces of her creditors, whose number and demands
were very considerable. It is said that she remained in concealment
for many years under the name of Smith; but, her active spirit being
still unsubdued, she ventured once more as a candidate for public
favour in the strange profession of a keeper of Asses at Knightsbridge,
where she fitted up a suite of rooms for the reception of visitors
to breakfast in public, and regale themselves with the milk of that
patient and enduring animal. The success of this enterprise may be
anticipated: a second flight from her creditors, and the catastrophe of
the Fleet-prison, closed the scene.
The above slight outline of the life of this singular female will
explain some subsequent parts of this Chapter. Mrs. Cornely is said
to have expended near 2000_l._ in 1765 in altering and embellishing
Carlisle-house.
In the year 1766 the Patentees and persons employed about Drury-lane
Theatre commenced a subscription, in order to establish a fund for
the support and relief of such performers and others belonging to the
Theatre as through age, infirmity, or accident, should be obliged to
retire from the stage. To this sum the Patentees gave benefit-plays,
and some benevolent persons not connected with the Theatre augmented
it by donations. In 1776, the amount of their principal was 3400_l._,
which the managers vested in the public funds, and a house in
Drury-lane that let for 50_l. per annum_; since which period it is
still farther increased.
Partnerships too frequently produce dissentions and a struggle for
individual power: the publick was called upon in 1768 to witness the
truth of this observation in a letter from T. Harris to G. Colman on
the affairs of Covent-garden Theatre, which, with the answer, follows:
"The schemes and arts (says Mr. Harris) that you have practised to
creep into an exclusive management, and in consequence of that into an
exclusive possession, were various, and incessant in their operations.
But, among them all, your favourite scheme to that end, was that of
being thought an able and successful manager; and to support that
character, it is incredible to those who know not your arts, what an
enormous burthen it hath been to the partnership: not less than thirty,
forty, fifty, and sixty pounds in orders, were generally sent into the
Theatre each night; and on one night in particular, in support of one
of your pieces, upwards of one hundred pounds. Thus, Sir, you supported
your fame, at the expence of our common property.
"The next day (June the 12th) by accident I and Mr. Rutherford
severally met Mr. Sarjant's son, one of our box-keepers, who informed
us, that Mr. Colman had taken away the keys of all the doors in the
Theatre, and that the doors were all barred and bolted, but that,
if we applied, we alone might be admitted through Mr. Powell's house
in the Piazza, in which there was a door which communicated with the
Theatre.
"Being well advised that we could not justify entering our own
premises through another man's house, and being well aware of your
---- disposition, we determined not to go into the Theatre through
the house of Mr. Powell, who was then at Bristol.--We therefore, on
Monday the 13th of June, sent a servant with a written order for
admittance: he was refused by Mr. Sarjant, who urged your express
order for that purpose. We then desired two gentlemen to accompany
us to the Theatre, and in their hearing demanded entrance of Mr.
Sarjant, who answered us, thrusting his head out of a barred window,
that Mr. Colman had got all the keys of the doors, and he could not
let us in. We immediately dispatched Mr. Sarjant junior, whom we met
under the Piazza, to you, Sir, with our compliments, desiring you
to send the keys of the Theatre, informing you, that we were then
waiting with two friends, and wished to take a walk in the Theatre.
He very soon returned with this answer (delivered in the hearing of
the above-mentioned two gentlemen): 'That you would not send the keys;
that you had ordered all ingress to the Theatre to be denied us, except
through Mr. Powell's house; and even that way, we, and we _only_,
must enter.' With this very extraordinary rebuff we returned to our
respective homes. The time between this event and Friday morning, we
passed in reflection upon your unaccountable treatment of us; and in
consulting and advising with several gentlemen of great eminence in all
departments of the law; who all concurred in assuring us that no damage
could arise to us from entering our own premises, and turning our own
servants out, who refused us admittance. Accordingly, on the 17th
June, after six o'clock, Mr. Harris, attended by two witnesses, again
demanded admittance for himself and Mr. Rutherford, at Mr. Sarjant's
door; he answered from within, in the hearing of the witnesses, that,
by Mr. Colman's order, they would not admit us. Harris then came to
the door in Hart-street, where Mr. Rutherford was waiting for him,
attended by some servants, and told him the result of his demand at
Mr. Sarjant's door; whereupon Harris and Rutherford ordered their
servants to open a window on the North side of the said door, where
they entered with their servants. One of your servants, who kept
possession of the Theatre for you, having struck one of ours, it was
with the greatest difficulty we could prevent ours from doing mischief
to their opponents; we were therefore obliged to turn them all out of
the Theatre. Being thus in possession, we began immediately to take
a survey of the place; and never were men so much astonished as we
were, to find ourselves in so complete a fortification. Emery, the
master-carpenter to the Theatre, coming at that instant, we ordered him
to be let in; and taking him about the Theatre with us, we observed
to him how _advantageously_ he and his men had been employed for the
last week or two in cutting our boards and timber to pieces in order
to bar and fortify every avenue and window in the house, even those
which were thirty or forty feet from the ground. The fellow, with a
good deal of awkward embarrassment, scratching his head, replied,
'Why, Gentlemen, I told Mr. Colman, all I could do would signify
nothing against a sledge-hammer. I thought,' says he, 'it was a strange
undertaking.' We then asked him, if he too was engaged by Mr. Colman;
he said he was. On our telling him it was unaccountable to us how
house-keeper, wardrobe-keeper, and carpenters, should think of entering
into articles; he confessed he never heard of any such thing before in
his life, but that Mr. Colman had taken him one day entirely unguarded,
and in a manner compelled him immediately to sign an article. The more
we examined the Theatre, the more we were astonished at your excessive
precaution to prevent our getting into it. On the same day we sent
you a letter from the Theatre, importing, 'That we did not mean to
retaliate your behaviour; on the contrary, we had given orders to our
servants, at all times to admit you and Mr. Powell.'
"Reflecting now very considerately on our situation, and on your past
conduct; 'That you had from the beginning laid a plan of driving us out
of the Theatre; that, in the execution of that plan, you had persevered
through the whole season, paying no more regard to us than if we were
entirely unconcerned in the property; that you had very essentially
hurt the whole property, and the profits of the past season in
particular; that, in fine, you had engaged to act under your direction
solely every person belonging to the Theatre, upon pain of large
penalties; and had at last absolutely forbid our entrance into our own
house:' For these reasons we determined to remove from the Theatre, to
one of our dwelling-houses, such part of the property as might the most
effectually prevent your proceedings, until a plan should be formed,
which would as effectually confirm to us those legal and equitable
rights in the Theatre, of which you had so unwarrantably divested us.
"With this view only, we sent down to my house in Surrey-street, so
much of the wardrobe as we imagined would make the remaining part
useless, together with the musick, prompt-books, &c. &c. belonging to
the Theatre; of all which we have an exact inventory, and they will be
immediately and safely returned to the Theatre, whenever a fair and
equitable plan for the future government of it shall be fixed upon. It
has been urged by some, that it would have been much better for us at
once to have applied to the Court of Chancery for redress, and that
there we must have found a certain relief, and reparation for all past
damages: this too, Sir, has been always your language--'If I injure
you, why don't you apply to the Court of Chancery for redress?'
"There is no doubt, Sir, the Court of Chancery would redress us. But
delays are dangerous. Of this the history of the acting Manager,
recorded by Cibber, is a _memento_. A long Chancery suit would be but a
very poor remedy for the injuries you are daily doing us.
"About a month since we were again amused by you with the hopes of a
fair reference.--By our respective counsel a meeting was appointed for
all parties in Westminster-hall. We there met, in order, if possible,
to fix on a mode of arbitrating all differences; both parties brought
preliminary articles to be agreed to, before the general concerns
should be referred. On our part were produced these two:
"1st. That the contracts which you might have made without
our knowledge and consent, for the ensuing season, should be
rescinded, unless agreed to by us.
"2d. That no servants who were employed in shutting us out of
our own house, should be employed in future.
"Surely these can never be deemed unreasonable by any person, when at
the same time he is assured that we never wish, nor ever did wish, to
engage any performer, servant, &c. &c. who should be objected to by Mr.
Colman and Mr. Powell.
"You, Sir, on your part, insisted on the following eight preliminaries.
"1st. Colman and Powell should not be obliged to sell.
"Meaning, we conceive, that if the referees should think it necessary
to oblige either of the parties to sell, it must be Harris and
Rutherford.
"2d. All contracts to be made by Mr. Colman to be confirmed.
"Can this be a reasonable preliminary, to be obliged to confirm all
contracts made by you, without having the least knowledge how many,
with whom, or upon what condition, they were entered into? For we
are at this time entire and absolute strangers to all your late
proceedings, except what we gather from uncertain report, and some few
of the parties who have engaged with you.
"3d. No legal proceedings to be stopped.
"The meaning of this preliminary we did not enter into, as no legal
proceedings were begun, nor had we any guess at your litigious
intention of making Garton put us in the Crown-office; or of your
inquisition, &c. &c.
"4th. Powell's article to be cancelled, and another made,
allowing him more explicitly the largest salary in the house.
"That you should think it proper to give Mr. Powell this _douceur_, we
were not at all surprised; but it did not occur to us why we should
give any farther indulgence to a man, who, after having attached
himself to you, had separated himself from you, disapproved of your
conduct, and then without the least reason implicitly and blindly
suffered himself to be duped by you again.
"5th. The books to be restored to Garton.
"The books were never intended to be kept from Mr. Garton, so as to
prevent his making up his accounts. We mean, whenever he is disposed to
take his discharge.
"6th. The wardrobe to be restored, and all damages to be made
good by Harris and Rutherford.
"To that we should have no objection, provided we are not obliged to
make good the damages Mr. Powell has done.
"7th. Colman still to be the _acting_ manager. If alteration
in the controuling power, it must be lodged in the other
three proprietors.
"Here the cloven foot indeed appears plainly: so the article must not
be meddled with, or it must be altered in your favour!
"8th. That all bills and all claims upon the Theatre should
be discharged.
"Whoever will attentively consider the above preliminaries must
observe, that there is not a single point on which an arbitration could
turn, which is not most artfully and subtilly provided for by Mr.
Colman; that is to say, on every point they must determine absolutely
for Mr. Colman, or otherwise some one of the preliminary articles will
prevent their considering it at all. And these, Mr. Colman, you called
fair, candid, and honest proposals, and have thrown the grossest abuse
on us for not consenting to what you call a fair reference.
"Mr. Harris and another gentleman calling in at the Theatre one
afternoon, found therein Mr. Powell and yourself, with each a candle in
your hands, lighting and shewing the Theatre to two of your counsel,
your attorney, and another gentleman. Mr. Harris was at a loss to
know whether they came as witnesses, or for what other purposes. The
servants of the Theatre, however, were ordered to shew you, and your
friends, all possible respect. Besides this fact, we defy you to prove
at any one time that either yourself or Mr. Powell, or any one that
came by your order, was refused entrance into the Theatre."
"_Mr. Colman's Retort._
"As to my management of the Theatre, whatever reflections T. Harris
may endeavour to throw on it, however he may prevaricate by talking
of the small profits that have resulted from it, the success of it is
incontestible; and the extraordinary receipts of the last season are
an irrefragable proof that Covent-garden Theatre has attracted the
particular notice and favour of the publick under my direction. If
the disbursements have been very large, great part of those sums must
be considered as the first expence of setting up in business, having
been employed in what may be called stock in trade, which is at this
instant of great intrinsic value, and will prevent future expence; and,
large as those disbursements have been, I was not the promoter of them,
except in the single instance of engaging Mr. and Mrs. Yates, more than
Mr. Harris; and that single instance was honoured with Mr. Rutherford's
approbation, till his colleague exerted his undue influence over him,
and taught him to object to it.
"Now I am on the article of expence, it may not be amiss to lay before
the publick a short anecdote. When Mr. Powell, at a meeting of all the
proprietors, proposed some additional illuminations, I objected to
them, at least for the present, saying that they would have a happier
effect at the commencement of a season. Mr. Harris said, the measure
being advisable, the sooner it was carried into execution the better.
Mr. Powell accordingly gave the necessary orders; but when the bills
came in, Mr. Harris and his colleague forbade the payment of the sum
charged for two lustres to their Majesties box, saying it was a measure
that had not been submitted to them.
"The pitiful charge concerning orders sent into the Theatre, as far
as it is imputed to me as an artifice to support my reputation, Mr.
Harris knows to be false. Mr. Rutherford and himself have told me more
than once, that I sent in fewer orders than any of the proprietors.
The little piece at which his malice points was, with all its faults,
extremely successful, and of great advantage to our Theatre last
season. The people sent to the house on one night in particular did not
go at my desire in support of my piece, but at the instance of all the
proprietors in support of the house, which was threatened to be pulled
down; and it was thought a very cheap expedient to sacrifice a hundred
pounds, to prevent a tumult which might perhaps have occasioned a loss
of one or two thousand. As to the piece, good or bad, being very well
acted, it brought great houses, and was received with much applause,
so that however Mr. Harris may prove the soundness of his taste and
judgment, he certainly does not manifest his gratitude by a public
disapprobation of it.
"I am now arrived at that period, where I should think any present
appeal to the publick, if any were necessary, ought to have begun; but
as T. Harris chose to go over the old ground again, I was obliged to
follow him, and to trace him through all his doublings of cunning and
sophistry. What follows is entirely new matter, which has arisen since
the tenth of February, the date of my last publication.
"The first new act of hostility on the side of the negative managers
was intended, like their late proceedings, as a negative general, being
calculated to deprive us of the very sinews of war. On the 14th of
February they sent, without our knowledge, the following letter to the
bankers where our money was deposited.
'To Messrs. FREAME, SMITH, and Co.
'GENTLEMEN,
'We desire you will not pay any money, or deliver any
property in your hands belonging to the proprietors of
Covent-garden Theatre to any person whatsoever, until farther
notice from us. And we desire you in like manner, to retain
any further sums of money belonging to the said proprietors
that may be sent to you. We are, &c.
T. HARRIS. J. RUTHERFORD.
_London, 14th Feb. 1768._'
"At the beginning of the season the bankers had received an order,
signed by all the proprietors, to pay all drafts of Mr. Garton,
our Treasurer. It is a question therefore whether any two of the
proprietors had a legal right to revoke the joint order of the
four, and to desire the bankers not to pay any money to any person
whatsoever. However that may prove, a step of such importance could not
have been too early communicated to Mr. Powell and me. It was a measure
that struck at the very being of our Theatre.
"A few days after the following letter was sent to the Treasurer:
'To Mr. JONATHAN GARTON.
'Sir, We desire you will, with all possible dispatch, send
to each performer, officer, and servant of Covent-garden
Theatre, whose articles expire this season, or who are not
under articles, a copy of the inclosed letter; and that you
will take down the names of those to whom such copy is sent,
and return us a list thereof signed by yourself.
'We also desire you will have your accounts ready for our
examination, and your balance for inspection, on Monday
morning next at eleven o'clock, as we shall then be at the
office for that purpose. We are, Sir, your most humble
servants,
T. HARRIS. J. RUTHERFORD.
_Thursday, Feb. 25, 1768._'
'_Letter inclosed._
'I am directed by Messrs. Harris and Rutherford, to give
you notice that "you cannot be considered as belonging to
Covent-garden Theatre, after the expiration of this season,"
unless the engagement you may enter into for the next be
confirmed in writing by one, or both of them.
Yours, &c.
J. GARTON.'
_Feb. 28, 1768._
"The determined resolution of Messrs. Rutherford and Harris to rescind
the article respecting the management, appears in the above notice,
wherein they assume, contrary to the letter, spirit, and common sense
of that article, the power of dismission, the dismission of almost
the whole Theatre, as well as the power of signing the articles of
agreement; to which also they have not any right. The ordering the
Treasurer to transcribe and circulate these notices was undoubtedly
intended as a new insult to me; and perhaps the Treasurer, who was now
growing obnoxious to them, because he would not further their attempts
to stop the business of the Theatre, was purposely distressed with this
order, that they might take offence at his denial to comply with it. I
had not the most distant intention of settling the future state of the
company without communicating the plan of it to them. This, whatever
they might have learned from their informers, my subsequent conduct
testified. I suffered, however, the poor young men to continue to
expose themselves. The notices were actually served on the persons they
required, and I passed over this new instance of their insolence and
irregularity with the most silent contempt.