a play twice or thrice in a twelvemonth.

But it appeared that he was best pleased with those dramatick pieces which abounded in low humour and extravagant plot; the London Cuckolds and Fair Quaker of Deal were in more estimation with him, than the best written comedies in the English language.

The readers will not, I hope, be displeased, if I should record an anecdote of the royal taste for scenes of a peculiar cast. He had, when prince of Wales, seen the tragedy of Venice Preserv'd; but on his reading the play, he found the character of Aquilina, the Venetian courtezan, had been entirely omitted; and very little of Antonio,* the foolish orator, her lover, preserved. His royal highness was so diverted with the ridiculous dotages of the old speechmaker, and the perverse and petulant humours of his mistress, that he sent for one of the managers, and ordered him to restore the long exploded scenes of Antonio and Aquilina. Mrs. Horton, who was then a beautiful young actress, played the part of the courtezan, and the facetious Mr. William Pinkethman acted Antonio; but whether the revived scenes gave pleasure to any body but the royal person who commanded them, I could not learn.

The play of the Chances, as altered from Beaumont and Fletcher, by Villiers, duke of Buckingham, had been thrown out of the common list of plays for above twenty-five years. The king happened to recollect that Wilks and Oldfield had greatly di

* Antonio was designed by Otway to represent that great statesman Antony earl of Shaftsbury.

verted him in that comedy, and he asked one of his courtiers why it was never played. Mr. Garrick, as soon as he learned the king's inclination to see the Chances, immediately set about reforming the play, so as to render it less exceptionable in language and action.

The manager's great difficulty was, how to cast the part of the second Constantia, in such a manner, as that she might bear some resemblance to the first. Mrs. Pritchard was the only actress in the company who had, in a superiour degree, much vivacity, variety of humour, and engaging action; but this lady was become so bulky in her person, that she could not be mistaken for Miss Macklin, whose figure was elegant, and who acted the first Constantia; but could Mr. Garrick have surmounted this difficulty, Mrs. Cibber, by a clause in her articles, claimed a right to choose any character she pleased to act in a new or revived play. This actress, whose tones of voice were so expressive of all the tender passions, and was by nature formed for tragick representation, was unaccountably desirous of acting characters of gayety and humour, to which she was an absolute stranger: she had no idea of comedy, but such as implied a representation of childish simplicity.

Mr. Garrick knew that it was impossible to divert her from the resolution to play Constantia, and therefore gave way to her humour, till the want of applause should admonish her to resign the part.

I need not recall to the reader's mind the great delight which Mr. Garrick gave the publick in Don John. Mrs. Cibber soon grew tired of a part to

which the audience afforded no signs of approbation. Miss Haughton, a young actress, succeeded her for a short time, and merited a good share of applause. But Mr. Garrick, some years after, in Mrs. Abingdon, met with a Constantia who disputed the palm of victory with his Don John. She so happily assum

ed all the gay airs, peculiar oddities, and various attitudes of an agreeable and frolicksome madcap, that the audience were kept in constant good humour and merriment, which they recompensed by the loudest applause, through all the several scenes in which she acted. The king commanded the Chances, and seemed to enjoy the performance of it.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Mr. Foote's frequent engagements with the managers of Drury-lane ....His Fondlewife in the Old Bachelor.... Ben in Love for Love, &c.....Speaks a prologue, written by Mr. Garrick....His character of Cadwallader....Disputes about it....How ended.

MR. FOOTE, after he had successively presented his whimsical exhibitions, under the title of giving tea, at the unusual hour of twelve o'clock at noon, in the little theatre in the Hay-market, began to apply himself to the writing of farces, or short comedies of two acts, such as the Knights at the Land'sEnd, the Englishman at Paris, the Englishman returned from Paris, &c. These were some of his introductory pieces to many others more regular and permanent. Before he obtained the royal patent for acting plays at the theatre in the Haymarket, he frequently acted his pieces at Drurylane in the beginning of the winter. Sometimes he ventured on some important parts in old comedies, such as Fondlewife in the Old Bachelor, Sir Paul Pliant in the Double Dealer, and Ben in Love for Love.

His intimacy with people of the first rank contributed to support him in his feeble attempts upon these masterly characters of Congreve; and it will scarce be credited, that for three nights the boxes were crowded, to see Foote murder the part of Ben; for his acting bore no resemblance to nature

and character.

He was even destitute of what no man could suppose him to want, a proper confidence in his own abilities; for surely his Ben was as unentertaining a lump of insipidity as ever a patient audience was presented with; it was not even a lively mistake of humour.

In his Fondle wife he had luckily remembered that great master of acting, Colley Cibber. In the course of the first scene, he drew the attention of the audience. He merited, and gained, much applause; but in the progress of the part, he forgot his exemplar, and degenerated into buffoonery. His Sir Paul Pliant was worse, if possible, than his Ben; for fear restrained him from being outrageous in the sailor: but, in the Knight, he gave a loose to the most ridiculous burlesque, and the vilest grimace. However, the people laughed heartily, and that, he thought, was a full approbation of his grotesque performance. In short, Foote was a despicable player in almost all parts but those which he wrote for himself.

In the summer of 1754, Foote paid a visit to Paris, and many idle reports had been spread concerning him during his residence in that capital. In the winter he acted his Englishman at Paris at Drury-lane; a farce, in which he played the Englishman with that sort of spirit, which, though not truly comick, was at least bold, and calculated to impose upon an audience. Mr. Garrick wrote a humorous prologue, which Foote spoke. In this the several reports which had been spread about the town concerning him, are set in a very droll and laughable view,