Part 17

"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.

"I do hereby aver to the _Publick_, for _to the Publick alone I now address myself_, that whenever T. Harris and his colleague will prefer a Bill in Chancery against us, respecting _our present Articles and past Transactions_, neither I nor Mr. Powell will make any delay in putting in a full and sufficient answer. And I now, in this public manner, call upon them to file this long-threatened bill against us. And I do hereby pledge my _honour_, not to T. Harris, but _to the Publick_, that no means or endeavours of mine, or Mr. Powell, shall be wanting to bring it to a short and speedy conclusion.

"It now only remains to assure that Publick, whose protection we have already so often experienced, that we are determined to open the Playhouse at the usual time; and then to submit it to their tribunal, whether they will suffer the insolence and tyranny of T. Harris to interrupt their amusements, as well as to oppress us and the rest of their servants in Covent-garden Theatre."

The invitation to try the merits of the dispute between Messrs. Colman, Harris, &c. offered at the close of the paper published by the former, was accepted; and a decision took place in the Court of Chancery July 1770, when it was decreed that Mr. Colman should continue the acting manager, subject to the advice of the three other managers.

One of the most splendid Masquerades which has taken place in England was that given by the King of Denmark at the Opera-house, in 1768. 3000 persons, or nearly that number, were present, and received an entertainment consisting of every delicacy in the utmost profusion.

I have just ceased to applaud the old custom of opening the doors of the Theatre _before five o'clock_; and have at this moment to notice the strange caprice of the publick, in requiring the managers _to open at five_. This alteration occurred in October 1768.

The stupid and barbarous diversion of Throwing at Cocks, practised by the vulgar on Shrove Tuesday, was very properly prevented by the Police in February 1769.

The reader cannot form a better idea of the amusements prepared for the publick by Mrs. Cornely than from the following account, published a few days after the Masquerade occurred February 1770.

"Monday night the principal Nobility and Gentry of this kingdom, to the number of near eight hundred, were present at the masked ball at Mrs. Cornely's in Soho-square, given by the gentlemen of the Tuesday Night's Club, held at the Star and Garter Tavern in Pall-mall. Soho-square and the adjacent streets were lined with thousands of people, whose curiosity led them to get a sight of the persons going to the Masquerade; nor was any coach or chair suffered to pass unreviewed, the windows being obliged to be let down, and lights held up to display the figures to more advantage. At nine o'clock the doors of the house were opened, and from that time for about three or four hours the company continued to pour into the assembly. At twelve the lower rooms were opened: in these were prepared the side-boards, containing sweetmeats and a cold collation, in which elegance was more conspicuous than profusion. The feast of the night was calculated rather to gratify the eye than the stomach, and seemed to testify the conductor's sense of its being prepared almost on the eve of Ash Wednesday. The richness and brilliancy of the dresses were almost beyond imagination; nor did any assembly ever exhibit a collection of more elegant and beautiful female figures. Among them were Lady Waldegrave, Lady Pembroke, the Dutchess of Hamilton, Mrs. Crewe, Mrs. Hodges, Lady Almeria Carpenter, &c. Some of the most remarkable figures were,

"A Highlander (Mr. R. Conway.)

"A double Man, half Miller, half Chimney Sweeper (Sir R. Phillips.)

"A political Bedlamite, run mad for Wilkes and Liberty, and No. 45.

"A figure of Adam in flesh-coloured silk, with an apron of fig-leaves.

"A Druid (Sir W. W. Wynne.)

"A figure of Somebody.

"Ditto of Nobody.

"A running-footman, very richly dressed, with a cap set with diamonds, and the words 'Tuesday Night's Club' in the front (the Earl of Carlisle.)

"His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester in the old English habit, with a star on the cloak.

"Midas (Mr. James the Painter.)

"Miss Monckton, daughter to Lord Gallway, appeared in the character of an Indian Sultana, in a robe of cloth of gold, and a rich veil. The seams of her habit were embroidered with precious stones, and she had a magnificent cluster of diamonds on her head; the jewels she wore were valued at 30,000_l._ The Duke of Devonshire was very fine, but in no particular character. Captain Nugent of the Guards, in the character of Mungo, greatly diverted the company.

"The Countess Dowager of Waldegrave wore a dress richly trimmed with beads and pearls, in the character of Jane Shore. Her Grace of Ancaster claimed the attention of all the company in the dress of Mandane. The Countess of Pomfret, in the character of a Greek Sultana, and the two Miss Fredericks, who accompanied her as Greek Slaves, made a complete groupe. The Dutchess of Bolton, in the character of Diana, was captivating. Lord Edg--b, in the character of an Old Woman, was full as lovely as his lady, in that of a Nun.

"Lady Stanhope, as Melpomene, was a striking fine figure. Lady Augusta Stuart, as a Vestal, and Lady Caroline, as a Fille de Patmos, shewed that true elegance may be expressed without gold and diamonds. The Chimney Sweeper, Quack Doctor, and a Friar, acquitted themselves with much entertainment to the company.

"About two o'clock the company began to depart, in effecting which there was great difficulty.

"We hear that two Great Personages were complimented with two tickets for Monday night's masquerade, which they very politely returned.

"Most of the carriages that came to the masquerade were chalked by the populace with 'Wilkes and Liberty.'"

It will no doubt be remembered by many, that a very good representation of an eruption of Mount Ætna, on a large scale, with Cyclops at work in the centre of the mountain, was exhibited a few years since in the garden at Ranelagh. That it may not be supposed that this scene was a new thought, I shall describe the entertainment of an evening at Mary-le-bon gardens when they were in full reputation. The usual concerts and songs were performed; but Signior Torré had been employed to prepare a representation of Mount Ætna as an addition to the common fire-works, consisting of vertical wheels, suns, stars, globes, &c. in honour of the King's birth-day, June 4, 1772, who was, with the Queen, represented in transparencies surrounded by stars. When the fire-works were concluded, a curtain which covered the base of the mountain rose, and discovered Vulcan leading the Cyclops to work at their forge; the fire blazed, and Venus entered with Cupid at her side, who begged them to make for her son those arrows which are said to be the causes of love in the human breast: they assented, and the mountain immediately appeared in eruption with lava rushing down the precipices.

A few trees stand as mementoes of Mary-le-bon gardens near the North end of Harley-street.

January 27, 1772, was rendered remarkable in the annals of Amusement by the opening of the Pantheon in Oxford-street, which had been erected at a vast expence from the designs of Wyatt, the celebrated architect. Near two thousand persons of the highest rank and fashion assembled on this occasion to admire the splendid structure, which contained fourteen rooms, exclusive of the rotunda: the latter had double colonnades or recesses for the reception of company, ornamented with the reliefs peculiar to the Grecian style of building; and the dome contained others equally rich. In order to support the propriety of the name given to this superb place of fashionable resort, the architect introduced niches round the base of the dome with statues of the Heathen Deities; and to _complete_ the circle, added _Britannia and their present Majesties_. Such were the ideas of classic taste exhibited by the proprietors; the Gods worshiped in the _real Pantheon_, were compelled to witness a modern Pantheon _dedicated to pleasures_ and amusements of which even Jupiter himself was ignorant when in the Court of Olympus.

One of the first steps of the conductors was an order to exclude all loose women: an order which deserves honourable mention, but one impossible to be executed. The Masquerades given at the Pantheon would have been thin of company indeed, had not improper persons formed part of the silly groupe. The nature of those masked entertainments is so confined, that when one is seen or described, novelty is at an end. I shall therefore pass them over, and merely mention, that part of the commemoration of Handel, noticed at large in the first volume of "Londinium Redivivum," was celebrated at the Pantheon; after which caprice or some other cause converted it into an Opera-house, and very soon after an _accidental fire_ consumed it. The Pantheon has been rebuilt, but on a miserable plan indeed compared with the original: it now serves for Masquerades at different periods; and Garnerin and Lunardi have exhibited their balloons there.

It is by no means creditable to the memory of Mr. Garrick, that he acted the Beggar's Opera for two seasons in opposition to the entreaties of Sir John Fielding and his brethren the Magistrates, and after they had informed him that the representation invariably produced fresh victims to offended Justice. The latter season alluded to, 1773, produced a long and serious contention between persons who never before saw or had received the least injury from each other, through the turbulent and daring effrontery of the late veteran Macklin. This actor, offended at the conduct of a player named Reddish, and that of Sparks, the son of another, presumed to make the publick parties in the affair, by thus addressing the audience at Covent-garden Theatre on the night of October 30.

"Ladies and Gentlemen--My appearing before you in my own character, instead of that which I am this night appointed to perform, is an unexpected measure; but in my distressed condition, from my feelings as a man and an actor, and _in order to produce decency_ in this Theatre to-night, and from my duty to the publick, I humbly hope it will be found to be a necessary one. I am sensible, that, by a certain set of people, this address to you will be deemed a very saucy step; and that their wishes and endeavours will be, that it may be attended with a very serious and fatal animadversion; but I hope and trust, that it will excite a very different effect in the minds of the candid and the just, when they shall have heard my motive for this proceeding; which, with your indulgence and protection, I will humbly lay before you."

This period was the touch-stone of opinion; the majority of the audience requested Macklin to proceed: one person exclaimed "No," but was silenced. The actor proceeded:

"Through the course of my theatrical life, I have constantly thought it the duty of an actor, and his best policy, to regulate his conduct in such a manner as to merit the credit and esteem of those who know him; so as to be able by moral justness to defy, and to be proof against all insinuations, aspersions, or open attacks upon his private character. This has been my constant doctrine; this my constant policy; and as a proof of my practice being conformable to these principles, I here appeal, not to hearsay, credulity, or party, but to all who know me: and I call upon every individual of the publick in this great metropolis to produce, if they can, a single instance to the contrary."

A person observed at this instant, "That is a bold challenge, Mr. Macklin;" to which he replied, "Sir, I will abide by it; and I repeat it; I say a _single instance_."

"From the first of my appearing upon the Stage, I have met with the indulgence, protection, and encouragement of a benevolent publick, until I attempted to act the part of Macbeth last Saturday: in that attempt I have not the least reason to complain of that awful and impartial tribunal, which, from my observation, and the experience of the oldest actors I have known, never yet condemned piece or actor that had merit: but the usage I have met with from news-writers is without example in the history of the Stage. I have here in my hand folios of paragraphs, epigrams, intelligences, and what are called criticisms, upon _me_: some even before I appeared in the character; such as do no great honour to the press, or to the genius, candour, or erudition, of the gentlemen who produced them. I will not give a name or a quality to these productions; the present publick and posterity, should they meet with them, will do it for me."

A voice from the gallery demanded an explanation, why he felt indignant at what had passed on the Saturday alluded to. Macklin affected to be at a loss what the gentleman meant: an altercation then ensued between Mr. Sparks, the person who spoke, and another, which ended _in a challenge_ to walk out, or to take the unknown's address. Quiet again took place.

"These criticks or partisans, not satisfied with their newspaper attacks upon my powers as a man and an actor, assembled in the gallery last Saturday night; and in two or three parties dispersed about the gallery, did by groans, laughs, hissing, and loud invectives, attack me in a violent manner. These parties were headed by two gentlemen, whom for the sake of truth and justice, with your permission, I will name.--The one was Mr. Reddish, a player belonging to Drury-lane Theatre; the other, one Mr. Sparks, a son of the late Luke Sparks, of worthy memory, an actor belonging to Covent-garden Theatre. This charge, I own, is a heavy one against Mr. Reddish in particular; as he is himself an actor: it is likewise heavy on Mr. Sparks, who intends to be one. Mr. Garrick, in his own defence, I am told, enquired into this matter in a formal manner behind the scenes; and upon the evidence produced by Mr. Reddish and Mr. Sparks, I am informed that Mr. Garrick did acquit Mr. Reddish of the charge; but I here pledge myself to give a positive proof of the fact of Mr. Reddish's hissing, which shall be supported by all the circumstances of probability and truth. I am afraid I have taken up too much of your time; yet, with your permission, I have a few words more to offer on this disagreeable subject.

"_The condition of an actor_ on the first night of his performing such a character as Macbeth is the most alarming, to a mind anxious to gain the public favour, _of any condition that the pursuit of fame or fortune can cast man into_. A dull plodding actor, whose utmost merit is mediocrity, is in no danger; he plods on from the indulgence of the publick, and their habit of seeing him, in safety; he never is in danger of offending by starts of genius, or by the unruly fire that the _fury of his spirits_ enkindles. Mediocrity is his merit; mediocrity is all that is expected from him; mediocrity is his protection. But the actor that can be impassioned in the extreme, and is _inflamed_ by Shakspeare's genius, will, on his first appearance in Macbeth, be _carried out of the reach of sober judgment_, and of wary, nice discretion; those passions and that _flame_ will _run away with him_, will make him _almost breathless_, _crack_ or hoarsen in his voice, arrest his memory, _confine his sight_, his action, gait, and deportment; and all that candour and the nicest judgment can expect from him is, that he shewed he understood his character, that he gave noble marks of genius and judgment, and that, when he had played the part half a dozen times, he would then charm and convince his audience of his powers, and of his having a competent capacity for it.

"But let this man be but checked by a single hiss, all his fire will instantly cool; his spirits abate their motions; grief and despair will seize him, and at once he becomes the pining broken-hearted slave of the tyrant that ruined a wretch that was labouring to please him, who did not dare to resent the cruelty, nor to assist himself. A soldier in the very front of war, at the teeth of his enemy, _and at the mouth of a cannon_, is not in so wretched, _nor in so fatal_, so hopeless a state. The noble ardour of the soldier gives him hope, alacrity, effort, double, treble vigour and courage; the very danger adds to both, and to such a degree, as to make him lose even the idea of danger; _and sure death, even death, in that state is preferable_ to an actor, who by his post is _obliged to endure the hiss of a Reddish, or a Sparks_; or a critic who hisses him for daring to act a part of Mr. Garrick's, and who would _damn him_ to want and _infamy_, to shew he is an admirer of Mr. Garrick."

Mr. Macklin then went on beseeching the audience to believe that the agitation he felt on Saturday evening prevented him from exerting his faculties; that he was then under the same terrors; and concluded by begging them to try his merits by uninterrupted attention for a few nights, and then applaud or reject him.

Messrs. Reddish and Sparks, though they knew Macklin had gained public approbation by his strange address, did not hesitate severally to make oath that Mr. Reddish never hissed the complainant; and that, when Sparks once did, Reddish warmly insisted that he should forbear. In addition to these assertions, Sparks published a letter, containing a positive denial of his being present at the second performance of Macbeth on the Saturday mentioned.

The reader to whom this scene is now first known cannot but perceive Macklin's aim in all his proceedings; and, if he entertains the same ideas of justice with myself, he will be pleased to find those aims completely disappointed. Whatever impropriety of conduct Reddish and Sparks might have been guilty of, Macklin had no right to disturb the public peace by making many hundreds of inconsiderate people judges of his or their private jealousies.

On Saturday evening the 6th of November Macklin _acted_ the second part of his appeal to the audience, and affected to be literally overcome by the awful situation his opponents and himself stood in before Heaven and the frequenters of theatrical amusements. He called for a glass of water to prevent him from fainting; and the compassionate audience ordered him a chair, on which they desired he might sit and read his proofs in opposition to the oaths of Reddish and Sparks. When he finished the play proceeded.

Transactions of this nature never fail to produce parties, which arrange themselves on either side of the question, as caprice, or justice, actuates the individuals who compose them. A trial of strength on this _most important_ subject took place at Covent-garden Theatre on Thursday evening November 18, when a considerable number of persons raised a violent uproar, for the express purpose of preventing the commencement of the play in which Macklin was announced to perform. After some time had elapsed, the offender appeared, but to no purpose, as neither himself, his accusers, or approvers, could distinguish a word uttered by either; but the narrators of the disgusting occurrence say, that Macklin retired and threw off his dress for the character of Shylock, and re-appeared; that Mr. Bensley was commissioned by the Managers to pronounce--nobody would hear what--and retired; that Macklin dressed again, and again entered, but the noise, in which "_Off_" predominated, encreased with tenfold violence, and he was even commanded to go on his knees. This he positively refused, and made his "_exit in a rage_." Mr. Woodward succeeded Mr. Bensley as a pacificator with equal success. The Managers at length, foreseeing perhaps fatal consequences, sent Mr. Owenson upon the Stage, who held a large board before him on which they had written with chalk, "At the command of the publick, Mr. Macklin is discharged." This concession procured loud applause from the opposers of the actor; but his friends in the gallery, doubly exasperated, demanded "Shylock, Macklin, and Love a-la-mode," instead of "She Stoops to Conquer," which was begun by the Manager's direction. The confusion soon became general, and many persons left the Theatre. Mr. Fisher, one of the proprietors, entered, and attempted to speak; but Colman, and Colman alone, would satisfy the audience. That gentleman was at length induced to make (as he observed) _his first appearance_, attended by Colonel Lechmere; a general plaudit succeeded; and when silence could be obtained he said that, from the hour he had undertaken the management of the Theatre, his first wish had ever been to know the pleasure of the publick, that he might instantly comply with it; and, as a proof of the truth of his assertion, he referred the audience to the _legible card_ which had just been offered to their perusal. Mr. Colman farther observed, that the Managers really had no other play in readiness besides "She Stoops to Conquer;" and recommended those who were displeased with it to receive their money and retire. A new trial of skill commenced between the contents and non-contents; the musick played, and the first scene of the above play was completed; but the second produced such brutal rage in the gallery, that it became unsafe to remain on the stage, and the curtain was finally dropped. The audience immediately retired, and received their entrance-money as they went; but the Managers are said to have lost near 90_l._ by certain despicable wretches who clambered from the Pit into the Boxes, and thus obtained Box prices instead of Pit.

That this most unpleasant affair terminated without bloodshed or bruises, or broken limbs, must excite both astonishment and pleasure; and I think it must be allowed equally astonishing, that Mr. Macklin ever dared again to face an audience.

It is singular that Macklin was under the necessity of publishing the ensuing extract of a letter, directed to Dr. Kenrick, _to clear himself of a charge of hissing_ a new play on the 26th of November.

"SIR,