CHAPTER II. David Garrick. 1759. ON the 29th of Novem short life.* If he is a rich man, he will be richer for hearing there of what account the poor may be; if he is a poor man, he will not be poorer for the knowledge that those above him have their he was taught there, o happy human faces, at the theatre was always in his reach. If there is truth in what was said by Sir Richard Steele, that being happy, 1759. ber the Bee's brief life and seeing others happy, for two Et. 31. closed, with its eighth num- hours, is a duration of bliss not ber; and in the following month at all to be slighted by so shortits editor, Mr. Oliver Gold-lived creature as man, it is cersmith, was sought out both by theatre adds short-sightedness to tain that he who despises the that distinguished author Doctor Smollett, and by Mr. John Newbery the bookseller, of St. Paul'schurchyard. But as he had meanwhile made earnest application to Mr. David Garrick for his interest in an election at the Society human sympathies. Sir Thomas of Arts, it will be best to describe at once the circumstances in- Overbury held a somewhat strong volved in that application, and opinion as to this; thinking the its result on the poor author's playhouse more necessary in a subsequent intercourse with the well-governed rich manager and proprietor of than the school, because men the theatre royal in Drury-lane. than by precept: and, however were better taught by example Goldsmith was passionately fond of the theatre. In proslight the disregard it has fallen perous days, it will ring with his into now, it might really seem to humour and cheerfulness; in be a question not altogether unthese struggling times, it was the important, whether a high and help and refuge of his loneliness. healthy entertainment, the nature We have seen him steal out of of which, conservative of all his garret to hear Columba sing; and man, is to encourage, refine, kindly relations between man and if she fell short of the good old music he had learnt to love and diffuse humanity, might not at Lissoy, the other admiration claim a kind and degree of sup commonwealth port which in England has always been withheld from it. ** 66 Æt. 31. This remark occurs to me here," machine is both to move and because many disappointments "rest; there is no drawback on in connection with it will occur 66 the profit of the night in old hereafter; and already even "plays; and any access of 1759. Garrick's fame and strength had "reputation to a dead aubeen shaken by his difficult rethor carries no imperlations with men of letters. "I"tinent claims and invidious dis"am as much an admirer of Mr. "tinctions along with it. When "Garrick," said Mr. Ralph, in "the playhouse is named," he his Case of Authors by Profession, added bitterly, "I make it a point published in 1758, "and his ex-"to pull off my hat, and think "cellences, as I ought to be: and "myself obliged to the lowest "I envy him no part of his good "implement belonging to it. I "fortune. But then, though I❝am ready to make my best ac"am free to acknowledge he was "knowledgments to a harlequin "made for the stage, I cannot "who has continence enough to "be brought to think the stage "look upon an author in the "was made only for him; or that “ green-room, of what considera"the fate of every dramatic writer "tion soever, without laughing "ought either to be at his mercy, "at him." Other pamphlets fol"or that of any other manager lowed in the cry; and Ned Pur“whatever; and the single con- don drew up a number of anony"sideration that there is no alter-mous suggestions as to "how Mr. "native but to fly from him, in "Garrick ought to behave.”* "case of any neglect or con- It was the employment of this "tempt, to Mr. Rich, is enough tone that introduced needlessly "to deter any man in his senses elements of bitterness, for the "from embarking a second time charge was a simple one, and "on such a hopeless voyage." might have been stated simply. Manifestly, however, this was No doubt Garrick, in common the fault neither of Rich nor of with every manager-actor before Garrick, but of the system which or since his time, was fairly exleft both to shift as they could, posed to it. I have turned to the and made self-protection the play-bills of the season directly primary law. "The manager," preceding the appearance of Mr. continues Mr. Ralph, admitting Ralph's pamphlet, ** and find, the whole question at issue in his For which he was afterwards obliged complaints, "whether player or to apologise to the people abused, and "harlequin, must be the sole to promise the public, by advertisement, "pivot on which the whole never again to offend in the like man ner. Monthly Review, XXI. 368. ** An unpublished letter is before me, since this was written, have sufficed en-written by this same Mr. Ralph to Gartirely to alter, from what they then were, rick, the year before his pamphlet, conthe position and the claims of the taining a brief summary of his private theatres. [1870]. wrongs, and furnishing so complete an Oliver Goldsmith's Life and Times. I. II amidst revivals of Fletcher's Rule one original production: Lilliput, a Wife and Have a Wife and Shir- played by children. It is not imley's comedy of The Gamester, material to the question, howand Shakespeare's Tempest "for, by Mr. Lacy in your name: but on 1759. as an opera and Taming of "second thoughts chose to avoid the imÆt. 31. the Shrew as a farce, but "prudence of risking the little character 66 66 66 66 66 66 I had in a way which could add so little illustration of Garrick's case, as well as "to it, and again applied myself to the of that of his opponents, that I am glad "construction of another comedy, on a to have the opportunity of printing it. "plan acknowledged by yourself to be The weakness as well as strength of both "new and striking, which, having licked may be observed in it. The manager's "into something like shape, I took care mistake was to encourage hopes up to the to tender before your doors were point when it no longer seemed un-"opened, believing in such case no reasonable to the expectant to claim a danger of a disappointment could be sort of property in their realisation. The "against me in point of time. But by author's mistake was to suppose that any some strange fatality, I was never, it such encouragement could involve the seems, to make a right judgment with right to force a play upon a theatre irre-regard to the theatre. Your letter of spective not only of the manager's con- the 10th gave me to understand this bevenience, but of his final right of judg-"lief of mine was ill-grounded, and your ment and rejection. Let it be observed," other letter of Wednesday the 14th is too, that Garrick has evidently obliged "full of resentment that a man of the Mr. Ralph with money, and that the of- "wrong side of fifty should find out anfence which causes the rupture does not "other year of waiting was too large a appear to have been anything more grave tax on a short term for any man of comthan the suggestion that Mr. Ralph should mon sense to pay, which was the wait one season more. "Sir," he writes, "amount of mine to you, expressed in the dating his letter the 17th September 1757, "most complaisant terms in my power "So long ago as the year 1743, I had "to use; and if some little impatience "reason to be convinced that the stage" had been visible at bottom, allow me to "was enchanted ground to me, which I ask you, Sir, whether it would not have "might see, but was never to take hold "been nobler in you to have imputed it 66 of, and I then resolved to turn my back to the peevishness incident to all manon the delusion for good and all. This "kind under disappointments and dif66 resolution I adhered to invariably for "ficulties, and whether in your happy "ten years in succession, and you were "situation you could not very well have "the only man that could have induced "afforded to do so. For the rest, Sir, "me to break it, which you did by put- 'you must be convinced that I cannot be "ting me on altering some old comedy "so absurd as to put my time into the "under promise that it should be per- "scale against yours or even your very "formed when done. In this service I "harlequin's. I was in fact desirous to "employed time enough to convince me "avoid a farther éclaircissement which I "that to compose was as easy as to cobble."foresaw would administer no consola"I then turned my hand from old to new "tion to me; and as to the favours you "things, hoping to be instrumental at "have done me, and the trouble you have "least in preserving a secret which "bestowed upon me, nothing that has "seemed to be on the point of being lost "happened, or can happen, shall ever "to the country; but on this I was again "put me on diminishing their value, or "unlucky, for having submitted to be "explaining away the duties of acknow"judged in part by producing three acts"ledgment incumbent on me for them. "only out of five, my plan was con- "Being still, with truth and sincerity, "demned without mercy, and I ac-"Sir, Your most obliged, humble Ser"quiesced in the sentence almost without "vant, J. RALPH." It is characteristic of "a murmur. I then became humble Mr. Ralph that even in this last appeal for "enough to think of stooping to a farce, a friendly settlement before open war "which it is true I was promised room (for so I apprehend the letter should be 66 1759. ever, to recount the highest good new plays, to make the ventragic claimants thus affronted by ture of good old ones? Shakespeare, Fletcher, Shirley, In truth, looking fairly at and Lilliput. They were White- his theatrical management, head, Crisp, Francis, Francklin, with the light his published Glover, Brown, Mallet, Murphy, Correspondence has thrown t. 31. and Dodsley: for denying whose upon it, it was a great improvehigher attractiveness to the ment, in all generous and liberal Shakespeares and Fletchers, nay, points, on those which preceded for preferring even the comic to it. Booth treated writers of Anne that tragic Lilliput,* the public much more scurvily than the seems a better object of attack writers of George the Second than the manager. When, some were treated by Garrick. "Booth years afterwards, Horace Wal-"often declared," says his pole joined the cry, this had biographer, "in public company, sarcastic admission. "Garrick is "that he and his partners lost "treating the town as it de- "money by new plays; and that, "serves," he said, "and likes to "if he were not obliged to it, he "be treated: with scenes, fireworks, "would seldom give his consent "and his own writing. A good "to perform one of them." "new play I never expect to see Garrick transposed and altered "more; nor have seen since the often; but he never forced upon "Provoked Husband, which came the unhappy author of a tragedy "out when I was at school."** a change in the religion of his Was it Garrick's crime, without hero, nor told a dramatist of good esteem that he had better taken), he cannot suppress his jeer about have turned to an honest and the harlequins. For farther very plea- laborious calling, nor complacentsant illustration of the subject of this ly prided himself on choaking sing* Most happily did Goldsmith himself, had silenced a young aspirant. ing birds when his stern negative a few months later, ridicule these tragedies as "good, instructive, moral Those were the achievements of "sermons enough," which a theatre-goer manager Cibber. Garrick was might turn to much profit. "There," he at all times fonder than needful of says, "I learn several great truths: as, chapter see Mr. Percy Fitzgerald's Life of Garrick, 1. 367-89 (1870). "that it is impossible to see into the ways "of futurity; that punishment always at"tends the villain; that love is the fond "soother of the human breast; that we "should not resist heaven's will, for in resisting heaven's will, heaven's will is "resisted: with several other sentiments his own importance, it is true: but society has no right to consent to even the nominal depression, in the so-called social scale, of a man whose calling exacts no equally new, delicate, and striking." common accomplishments, and "Barbarossa I have read," says Gray, then resent the self-exaggeration "but I did not cry; at a modern tragedy, unwholesomely begotten on its "it is sufficient not to laugh." Works, own injustice. When Junius took III. 127. offence at the player whom dukes **Collected Letters, v. 388. and duchesses tolerated at their miration into bystanders, did yet, table, it was not a matter to most laboriously and most clumwaste wit upon, or sarcasm, or sily, bring out Doctor Smollett, in 1759. scathing eloquence: he a piece altogether unworthy of simply told the “Vagabond” his genius.* The concession was Et. 31. to stick to his pantomimes. appropriately followed by proEven men of education were duction of the Agis of Mr. Home; known to have pursued Gar-not without reason, by Douglasrick, when on country visits to loving Gray, cried over for its noblemen of his acquaintance, exclusively modern Greek, and with dirty clumsily-folded notes, compared to "an antique statue passed amid the ill-concealed "painted white and red, frizzed laughter of servants to the great "and dressed in a negligée made man's guest, with the address of "by a Yorkshire mantua-ma"Mr. David Garrick, Player." It "ker."** Then, failure and asked for a strength which Gar- laughter repaying this pains and rick did not possess, to disregard warmth, the cold fit came violentthis vulgar folly; it wounded him ly back; and in the season of '58 where he was known to be weak; and '59 the wrongs of Robert it tempted him to those self- Dodsley and Arthur Murphy, the assertions which imply the failure bereaved Cleone and deserted of self-reliance; it poisoned his Orphan of China, were the talk perfect faith in all who were not of the town. The topic seemed solely governed by his will; and to force itself on one who was it blinded him to the ridicule delivering in a protest against with which even dependents the wrongs of men of letters; listened to his public distress on and with the Enquiry into Polite the mornings of crowded re- Learning appeared these remarks, hearsals, that to decline some in a chapter devoted to the ambassador's proffered courtesies stage. **** made him wretched, but prior "Our poet's performance must promises to countess dowagers "undergo a process truly chemimust be kept. "cal, before it is presented to A satisfaction of this kind was "the public. It must be tried in afforded to Mr. Ralph, when, in "the manager's fire, strained the season ('57-'58) of this the “through a licenser, and suffer appearance of his pamphlet, "from repeated corrections till it the outraged manager, laughing heartily at all authors' complaints and attacks, and tearing up their rebellious pamphlets with as elaborate carelessness as he would the card of a duke, lord, judge, or bishop, to strike awe and ad *The Reprisals, or the Tars of Old Eng land, written and acted to animate the people against the French; a poor comedy, or rather farce, but containing some capital sailor-talk, and inimitable touches of caricature. Gray's Works, III. 161, 188, &c. **Murphy's Garrick, 1. 317. See also *** Chap. XII. |