The Letters of David Garrick: Volume I Letters 1–334 [Reprint 2014 ed.] 9780674288133, 9780674336360

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Volume I Letters 1 - 3 3 4

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The Letters of DAVID GARRICK Edited by

DAVID M. LITTLE and GEORGE M. KAHRL Associate Editor

PHOEBE deK. WILSON

Volume I

Letters 1-334

THE BELKNAP PRESS OF

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge,

Massachusetts ιΦ3

© Copyright, 1963 By the President and Fellows of Harvard College Letters 479, 493, 501, 503, 504, 544, 628, 677, 717, 799, 895, 970, 1011, 1107, 1172, and 1230 from Garrick to James Boswell and the footnotes quoting from letters from Boswell to Garrick at Letters 628, 799, 895, 970, and 1107 are included in this edition by permission of Yale University and McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. All requests for permission to quote from these materials should be addressed to McGraw-Hill Book Company. © Copyright 1963 by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed in Great Britain by Oxford University Press · London Designed by Burton L. Stratton Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 63-7129 · Printed in Great Britain

To . and F.J.K.

Preface The editors have assembled about 1360 of David Garrick's letters, of which over half are hitherto unpublished. The only previous printing of any great number of the letters was that edited by James Boaden and published in 1831-32 as The Private Correspondence of David Garrick. Boaden drew on the largest single collection of letters, that which Mrs. Garrick had preserved and which after her death had eventually, through William Upcott and John Forster, been acquired by The Victoria and Albert Museum. O f the correspondence now in the Forster Collection, Boaden printed 242 of the 448 letters from Garrick, mainly consisting of drafts and copies, and 1050 of the 1637 letters to him. O f the surviving correspondence, letters to Garrick are more numerous than his own. A host of unpublished letters are in the Forster Collection and elsewhere; some are also published in the collections of letters of Garrick's correspondents. For the present volumes, only those letters answered by Garrick or written in answer to his have been taken into account. When their contents are illuminating, these letters, particularly those still unpublished, have been briefly quoted or summarized in the annotations. The manuscripts of Garrick's letters from which this edition is printed are of several sorts. First there are holograph letters which generally include addresses, postmarks, endorsements, seals, or other indications that the letter had been sent and received. Next there are holograph drafts, where in many instances the original letter has not been found but the draft has been preserved. Next there are holograph copies of letters now lost. Failing these primary sources the editors have used those copies which were made at Garrick's behest and which frequently carry his autograph, corrections, postscript, or endorsement. Finally, for some letters there was no alternative but to depend upon transcripts made by the recipients, by the present i*

viii

Preface

owner, by an emissary of the editors, or by the author or editor of a printed work. The drafts are characterized by deletions and corrections, by initials in the signature, by incomplete complimentary closes, and by autograph endorsements specifying the text as " a copy" or " m y answer." Occasionally Garrick wrote a draft on the reverse of the letter he was answering. The distinction between an original letter and a draft is not always certain, notably when the latter is free of corrections and has the signature. Of course, there is always the possibility that Garrick never sent as a letter, in whole or in part, the text now found in a draft. The practice, therefore, is to designate a letter as a draft only on ample evidence, and to assume without comment that all letters not otherwise specified in the addenda are holograph originals. In drafts, stylistic deletions have been ignored; the editors print what in their judgment was embodied in the final version. Deletions and excisions, however, that involve a change in meaning or reveal Garrick's habits as a letter writer are given in the annotations. Copies, other than autograph, are more complex. First there are clean copies prepared by amanuenses, signed and sent by Garrick. Undoubtedly these with signature, addresses, and postmarks, though designated as copies, are original letters. Other copies were presumably prepared for files. When copies are corrected in Garrick's autograph the changes are included in the text and the manuscript so described in the addenda. Much time was given to the identification of the twenty or more hands of copyists, but without any significant results. Not all the manuscripts extant in Garrick's autograph are strictly letters, though the borderline is sometimes shadowy. Garrick's verse letters are differentiated from his occasional verse, including verse epistles in the Horatian manner, by one or more earmarks of correspondence such as a single recipient, a place and date of composition, salutation, signature, postmark, and the existence of a letter which Garrick answered or which was an answer to his. Verses enclosed or alluded to in prose letters are included in this edition where they are essential to the meaning of the letter; otherwise the identification is made to the number in Mary E. Knapp's Checklist of Verse by David Garrick (Charlottesville, 1955). Legal and financial documents, unless they are in the form of letters or are closely related to the correspondence are utilized only in annotations as the occasion demands, or are printed in the appendices.

Preface

ix

For slightly less than one out of seven of the letters printed in these volumes only printed texts or facsimiles have been found. Unfortunately, these printed letters have in general been bowdlerized or subjected to every type of editorial revision. On the other hand, where letters survive in more than one version, the choice between a draft and a printed text presents a difficulty. The normal assumption is that texts printed by recipients or collectors were from original letters and thus represent Garrick's final wording. But late eighteenthand nineteenth-century editors took so much latitude that often Garrick's draft, or the corrected copy, seems to offer the more reliable reading. The present editors have consequently evolved the general practice of accepting the letter-draft as the basic text, amending or adding from the printed letter only when the variations or additions are of importance. These changes are enclosed in brackets and indicated in the notes. Editorial Practices The editors have preserved without correction the formal and stylistic characteristics of Garrick's hand. His frequent misspellings, not only of people and places but of ordinary words, are retained; his punctuation and capitalization, or lack of them, are undisturbed. All obvious flourishes have been ignored, and marks under superior letters have been dropped. Other editorial policies may be summarized briefly: Recipient headings are supplied by the editors, conjectural identifications being followed by question marks and supported in the annotations; titles are given as of the date of the letter. Place and date are normalized in position and sequence in the order ordinarily followed by Garrick, and any final periods have been dropped. When the editorial dating of a letter is dependent on a postmark, the letter of a correspondent, the production of a play, an historical allusion, or the like, the date is preceded by ante or post, it being understood that the date given may be included in the period. Full dates derived from postmarks and endorsements, or the century when missing, are bracketed without comment; dates supplied from internal evidence are bracketed and supported in the annotations. A question mark is placed after individual items or before the whole date when it is conjectural.

χ

Preface

Salutations in cases where letters have been taken from printed sources have been typographically normalized to the design of this edition. Text has square brackets enclosing words and letters which have been supplied by the editors, including obvious omissions, and are used to fill out names designated by initials, to supply indications of illegible or destroyed text, and to enclose comments on the state of the manuscript. Arrow brackets have been used to enclose conjectural emendations of holes, tears, trimmings, blots, decipherable deletions by recipients, and careless autograph deletions. Catchwords have been dropped, and obvious errors, typographical and misreading, in printed sources have been corrected without comment. The exceptions are annotated. Complimentary closing line divisions have not been preserved. Postscripts are normalized flush to the left with succeeding postscripts indented. Editorial addenda to the letters ignore the line divisions in the address and postmark, using a comma in the absence of prepositions. Postmarks have been included where they are necessary for dating or when they deviate from Garrick's dating; otherwise they are dropped and the word "postmarked" indicates that the letter passed through the mails. Of course often a letter was delivered by hand and bears no indication that it was sent or received. Seals and franks are also recorded in the addenda as evidence that a letter was formally dispatched. Garrick and his friends frequently endorsed letters for filing purposes and subsequent owners, dealers, and editors have also added occasional notes, but the only endorsements included are those which add information not found in the letter. The manuscript or printed source for each letter is followed by the title of the first complete printing. Where a printed source and first printing are the same only one entry is made. The first printing is of secondary importance and cannot always be given with certainty. Dealers' catalogues are not considered as first printings. Notes: Several devices, in addition to the use of shortened forms of bibliographical titles (listed in Short Titles, Abbreviations, and Titles Used without Specific Reference), have been resorted to for the sake of space. The dates of productions at Drury Lane, originally derived from playbills and elsewhere, have been checked against Dougald MacMillan's Drury Lane Calendar, iy4j-ijj6 (Oxford, 1938) and the original bibliographical reference dropped. Unless otherwise specified all references to productions are to first performances.

Preface

xi

All books, unless otherwise stated, are taken to have been published in London. Cross-references are given only as a necessary amplification of a particular letter or incident, especially when the allusions are separated by a considerable passage of time between letters, or when the subject is not easily found through the index. For the convenience of the reader, references wherever possible are to published material; manuscripts are cited only when, as far as is known, they are unpublished or where, as is often the case with Boaden, the manuscript being quoted is at variance with the printing. Unidentified names in the letter texts are so designated in the index only. A further note: Garrick's copious quotations demand some comment. He had an extraordinary, but not always accurate, memory. Unless of some significance, his many misquotations are not specified; nor have all his alleged quotations been tracked down. In the case of identifiable Latin quotations, the translations used are from the Loeb editions. Shakespearian allusions are given to the Globe edition. Acknowledgements To the scholarly and cultural traditions that sustain liberal studies, the editors are deeply obligated. Almost all who have cherished a letter or preserved a record of Garrick have contributed to these volumes; their help is acknowledged implicitly on every page. Moreover, all who use these volumes owe a debt of gratitude above all else to the past and present owners of Garrick manuscripts who have kindly granted permission to reproduce the letters in their possession or under their control. Separate acknowledgement of manuscripts is by necessity restricted to the list of Sources of Manuscripts, to be found in this volume, and to the addenda at the end of each letter. Thanks are also to be given to those book dealers who again and again traced manuscripts that passed through their hands or have allowed the reproduction of unpublished letters in their stock, notably: the American Autograph Shop, P. J. Dobell, Francis Edwards, Ltd., Ifan Kyrle Fletcher, Ltd., Maggs Brothers, Ltd., Elkin Mathews, Ltd., Bernard Quaritch, Ltd·, Herbert S. Renton, Charles J. Sawyer, Ltd., Alvin J. Scheuer, Walter T. Spencer, C. A. Stonehill, Inc., Sotheby & Co., John Taylor, Gabriel Wells, and Arthur Swann of the Parke-Bernet Galleries. The personal indebtedness of the editors covers nearly thirty years and includes many institutions and individuals. Without

xii

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generous grants from the Milton Fund at Harvard, the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, the Modern Language Association of America, the hours of clerical assistance would have been beyond the means of the editors. The editing was carried forward in the three great libraries that have assembled the largest collections of Garrick manuscripts. For the wealth of material, the research facilities, and professional assistance, the editors are beholden most of all to the Harvard University Libraries: Lillian A. Hall, Robert H. Haynes, William A. Jackson, Carolyn Jakeman; The Folger Shakespeare Library: Joseph Q,. Adams, Giles E. Dawson, James G. McManaway, Dorothy E. Mason, Louis B. Wright; The Victoria and Albert Museum. Special recognition is also due the following for many courtesies: The Bodleian Library: H. H. E. Craster, R. W. Hunt; The Bristol Public Libraries: James Ross; The British Museum: Η. I. Bell, A. J. Collins, Sir F. G. Francis; The Cardiff Public Libraries: J. E. Thomas; The Library of the Duke of Devonshire: Francis Thompson, T. S. Wragg; The Fitzwilliam Museum; The Garrick Club: S. E. L. Boddeley, K. A. Plimpton, E. S. Satterwaite; The Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery: Leslie Edgar Bliss, R. B. Haselden; The John Rylands Library; The Massachusetts Historical Society: Stephen T. Riley; The National Portrait Gallery: Charles Kingsley Adams, Η. M. Hake; The New Place Museum; The New York Public Library: John D. Gordan, K. D. Metcalf; The Pierpont Morgan Library: F. B. Adams, Jr., Belle da Costa Greene, H. S. Morgan; The Sheffield City Libraries: John Bebbington, J. P. Lamb; Society of Antiquaries: H. W. Clapham; The Trustees and Guardians of Shakespeare's Birthplace: Frederick C. Wellstood; The William Salt Library; The Wisbeck Museum and Literary Institution: E.J. Rudesdale; The Yale University Library; Willard Connely of the American University Union in London and Horatio S. Krans in Paris assisted with research and introduction to scholars and libraries abroad. The help given by many individuals when limited to one letter or query is generally acknowledged in the annotations. The extensive and diverse contributions, however, of many specialists, antiquarians, and scholars year in and out during the editing must be here recognized. The many changes in official titles and capacities we must pass over, and on this occasion name and thank only once the host of individuals we wish to memorialize.

Preface

xiii

Many owners and collectors of manuscripts, antiquarians, and bibliographers responded generously with much unpublished material: Oliver R. Barrett, The Duke of Bedford, Harold Child, A. C. Cox, R. A. Cunningham, Robert Denham, Robert Eddison, Mrs. Gabrielle Enthoven, J. B. Fortescue, G. G. Fortescue, Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., R. N. Carew Hunt, Mary C. and Donald F. Hyde, William Jaggard, K. R. Jones, R. W. Ketton-Cremer, W. R. LeFanu, Compton MacKenzie, Sir John Murray, Lord Nelson, Cregoe D. P. Nicholson, the Rev. John Northridge, Aleyn Lyell Reade, S. R. Roget, Sybil Rosenfeld, The Earl of Sandwich, Gladys Scott Thompson, R. R. Vernon, Owen D. Young. Earl Spencer permitted the examination of the Garrick letters at Althorp and their listing in these volumes. One of the pleasures in collecting and editing of such a "prodigious multiplicity of materials," in Boswell's phrase, has been the unfailing cordiality and help of scholars. To this fellowship in research and learning, the editors have turned again and again for general as well as particular assistance. We can only regret that some of these have not survived to see the fruit of their kindness. The list of scholars is long and distinguished: C. Colleer Abbott, George P. Baker, W. J. Bate, F. W. Bateson, Reginald Blunt, Benjamin Boyce, R. W. Chapman, James L. Clifford, Archibald C. Coolidge, Jr., Thomas W. Copeland, Sir Ambrose Heal, Philip Hofer, Charles Beecher Hogan, Mary Alden Hopkins, Howard M. Jones, Mary E. Knapp, W. J. Lawrence, Dougald MacMillan, W. M. Merchant, Colman O. Parsons, L. F. Powell, Cecil Price, S. C. Roberts, Hedwig Schleiffer, George Sherburn, Claude Simpson, F. J. Snell, Paget Toynbee, Leonard Whibley, W. T. Whitley. Especially are we grateful to Percy Laithwaite for his extensive searching of Lichfield records; to Robert F. Metzdorf for his reading the manuscript at an early stage and all his bibliographical assistance; to George Winchester Stone, Jr., for supplying much material about Garrick and the stage from his own extensive learning and the Folger Shakespeare Library; to Arthur Wheen, Keeper of the Library of the Victoria and Albert Museum for his cordial and patient response to many letters of enquiry over the years. Always it was rewarding to correspond or visit with Levi Fox, the perceptive guardian of the memory and memorabilia of Garrick in Stratfordupon-Avon. We are also much indebted to Thomas J. Wilson, who from his specialist's familiarity with eighteenth-century France, carefully examined Garrick's French correspondence.

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There are those who devotedly aided in research or in typing or verification of the manuscript: Lucy Drucker and Joan Row in London; D. R. Elloway of Oxford; Grete Luckmann and Gertrude Stemberger in Vienna; Yves R. Bourgeois, J. P. Caillö, and F. GaifFe in Paris; and William D. Brodek, Paul O. Clark, Edward B. Hall, Martha Kemp, and Mary J. Reardon. To them appreciative thanks are due. It is no small tribute to the provocative rivalry of two universities that no one could have been more cordially welcomed and aided than the Harvard editors of David Garrick have been by the Yale faculty and editors of James Boswell. All kinds of valuable professional help was graced with friendship, and we are pleased to name over a distinguished company: L. P. Curtis, Frederick W. Hilles, W. S. Lewis, Herman W. Liebert, Louis Martz, Allardyce Nicoll, Frederick A. Pottle, Chauncey B. Tinker, W. K. Wimsatt, Jr. Especially we are grateful to Yale University and the McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., for permission to print the Garrick letters in the Boswell papers. The sustaining support which the Theatre Collection of the Harvard University Libraries has given in the preparation of these volumes cannot be easily defined or lightly acknowledged. It was here that the project had its inception, and here it was largely carried through. The rich collection of manuscripts and documents, playbills, and theatrical memorabilia have been invaluable. The wide knowledge possessed by the Curator, the late William B. Van Lennep, was stimulating and fruitful; his resourcefulness solved many obscure problems of identification and dating. Of the imperfections of these volumes the editors are all too aware. Because Garrick lived and wrote for the passing moment, neither he nor his friends, with a few exceptions, consistently preserved his letters. The result is that his correspondence survives haphazardly, and no edition can ever be considered complete. There is the hope, however, that this collection may stimulate the discovery of additional letters, enough to make up a supplementary volume. The incompleteness of the correspondence, the immediacy and brevity of the allusions, and Garrick's incomplete dating have all conspired to multiply the annotations. Rather than attempt to fill in the gaps in biography or history, the editors have endeavored to limit the notes to what is pertinent to the letter in hand. For the general reader an Introduction has been provided. In Johnson's words in his Sermon XII, as he contemplated human

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error, the editors plead their fallibility: "The labours of man are not only uncertain, but imperfect. If we perform what we design, we yet do not obtain what we expected. What appeared great when we desired it, seems little when it is attained; the wish is still unsatisfied, and something always remains behind, without which the gratification is incomplete." D. M. L . 15 October 1953 G. Μ. K . David M. Little, who pioneered in the assembling of the letters and in the initial editing, was denied, by an untimely death on 25 April 1954, the gratification of seeing these volumes in print. T o the Preface, drafted before his death in all essentials, except for the acknowledgements, the surviving editor would like to add a few words of personal acknowledgement and appreciation. Harvard University made me welcome in Cambridge by an appointment as a Research Fellow and an Associate of Adams House for one year, by the invitation from Reuben A. Brower and Ronald Ferry, masters of Adams and Winthrop Houses, to occupy for several summers the quarters of my Harvard undergraduate sons, and by accommodating me with a study for many years in the Widener Library. For cordial hospitality I am indebted to Dr. and Mrs. Clarence James Gamble, of Milton, on many occasions and for many months, and to Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Morpurgo of London for hospitality in St. John's Wood and editorial assistance in the Introduction. The Administration and Trustees of Elmira College graciously granted two sabbatical leaves and funds for editing; a Ford Foundation Fellowship made residence in Cambridge possible for one of these leaves, and a grant from the American Philosophical Society, a summer in London. Mr. and Mrs. James M. Osborn were cordial hosts in New Haven, and Mr. Osborn perennially sent me recent acquisitions to his great library of manuscripts, introduced me to other scholars and libraries, and comforted me with genial personal interest. David Little's death, in the fullness of his powers, was a personal sorrow to all who knew him. O f our collaboration, which grew out of a friendship in graduate days, more than all else I would like to say this: As enjoyable as have been all the varied experiences as joint-editors, the lasting memory of his companionship outmeasures all other rewards. May 1963 G. Μ. K .

Contents Volume I List of Illustrations

xix

Introduction

xxiii

Sources of Manuscripts

lxv

Short Titles and Abbreviations

lxix

Chronology of Garrick's Life

lxxiv

Letters 1-334

1

Volume II List of Illustrations

ν

Letters 335-815

421 Volume III

List of Illustrations

vii

Letters 816-1362

915

Appendices

1341

A. Material Relating to Mrs. Garrick.

B. Contractual and

Business Documents Relating to Drury Lane Theatre,

c.

Memoranda

to

Garrick.

on

the

D.

Stonhouse's

E. King's Letter to Garrick.

to George Garrick.

Index

Jubilee,

Letter

F. Hopkins' Letters

G. Garrick's Will.

1371

Illustrations Volume I Garrick's Bookplate From an original.

half title ornament (By permission of the Harvard Theatre Collection)

David Garrick in 1740-41

1x6

From the painting by Jean-Baptiste Van Loo. W. Somerset Maugham Collection of Theatrical Paintings, London. (By permission of the Trustees of the National Theatre and the Victoria and Albert Museum) Mrs. David Garrick when a Young Woman

117

From the painting by John Zoffany. Present location unknown. (Reproduced, by permission, from a photograph in the Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard University) A Playbill from Garrick's First Season as an Actor

148

A t Ipswich, on July 21, 1741, Garrick first appeared upon the stage as a professional actor, taking the name of Mr. Lyddall; the playbill also advertises his first play, Lethe. From an original. (By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.) Letter 25

149

From the original: Garrick to his brother Peter, August 22, [1742]. (By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.) Garrick's Villa at Hampton

212

From the aquatint by J. C. Stadler, made from a painting by Joseph Farington, published June 1, 1793. (By permission of the Harvard Theatre Collection) A M a p of the Villa at Hampton and its Surroundings Redrawn from the map in a brochure advertising the sale of the property, 1822. (By permission of the Harvard Theatre Collection)

213

Illustrations

XX

T h e Facade of Drury Lane Theatre, 1776

244

R . and J. Adam architects. From an engraving by P. Begbie. permission of the Harvard Theatre Collection)

(By

T h e Interior of Drury Lane Theatre, 1775

245

R. and J. Adam architects. From an engraving by B. Pastorini. (By permission of the Harvard Theatre Collection)

Volume II David Garrick in 1751

538

From a pastel, done in France, by Jean Liotard. (Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth; reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement) Mrs. David Garrick in 1751

539

From a pastel, done in France, by Jean Liotard. (Devonshire Collection,ρ Chatsworth; reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement) Garrick in Florence in November 1763 From the painting by Thomas Patch. Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter)

570 (By permission of the Royal

Miniatures of Garrick in Costume, 1766 From the gouaches on vellum by Jean-Louis Faesch. of the Harvard Theatre Collection)

571 (By permission

Letter 514, the first page

666

From the original: Garrick to Edmund Burke, July 16, [1768]. (By permission of Earl Fitzwilliam and Earl Filzwilliam's Estates Company and the Sheffield City Libraries) Letter 514, the wrapper 667 showing address, postmarks, seal, and endorsements. From the original: Garrick to Edmund Burke, July 16, [1768]. (By permission of Earl Fitzwilliam and Earl Fitzwilliam's Estates Company and the Sheffield City Libraries)

Illustrations

xxi

T h e Shakespeare Jubilee Amphitheatre

698

Drawn by R. B. Wheler and engraved by F. Eglinton. (Reproduced from a plate in The History and Antiquities of Stratford-upon-Avon, by Robert B. Wheler, Stratford, [1806]) A Ticket to the Shakespeare Jubilee

698

From an original, signed by George Garrick. Harvard Theatre Collection)

(By permission of the

Announcement of the Shakespeare Jubilee

699

From an original broadside. {By permission of the Trustees and Guardians of Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon)

Volume III Mr. and Mrs. Garrick in 1773

1104

From the painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Major General Ε. H. Goulbum, D.S.O.)

{By kind permission of

Mr. and Mrs. Garrick at Shakespeare's Temple, Hampton 1105 From the painting by John Zoffany. {By kind permission of the Earl of Durham) Letter 468: A n Example of a Draft

1136

From the original: Garrick to Lady Camden, [post June 27, 1767]. {By permission of the Victoria and Albert Museum) A n Unfinished Portrait of Garrick From the painting by John Zoffany. Club, London)

1137 (By permission of the Garrick

A Page from the Drury Lane Account Books, 1750 From the original "Drury Lane Records." Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.)

1232

{By permission of the

T h e River Front of the Adelphi

1233

From a contemporary engraving in the possession ofJohn Gloag, Esq. {Reproduced in John Gloag, Georgian Grace, London: A. & C. Black; New York: Macmillan Co., [1956]. By kind permission of Mr. Gloag) A Playbill for Garrick's Final Performance, 1776 From an original.

1264

{By permission of the Harvard Theatre Collection)

Garrick's Death Mask, the Eyes Inserted, 1779 From the engraving by R . E. Pine. Theatre Collection)

1265

(By permission of the Harvard

Introduction he, who struts his hour upon the stage, Can scarce extend his fame for half an age; Nor pen nor pencil, can the Actor save, The art, and artist, share one common grave. (Garrick, Prologue, The Clandestine Marriage) The chronological arrangement of Garrick's letters for publication and the erratic survival of his correspondence do not afford a perspective of his life as a whole or a context for the reading of the various letters in these volumes. For the general reader, therefore, and not the scholar who wishes only for an index, an introductory survey of the circumstances and diversities of Garrick's life may be of some help in understanding these thirteen hundred or so letters that often have little more in common and sequence than Garrick's autograph. If a summary of Garrick's career and friendships appears simple the cause is to be found in his character and age. His temperament in no way distinguished him as an individual or as an actor; it had none of the aberrations that endear Boswell and Johnson to modern curiosity. He became an actor because he was able and well paid. His income enabled him to satisfy the contemporary aspirations for family, property, friends, society, literature, and the fine arts. On none of these subjects did he have any studied theories. The values of his life as communicated in his correspondence originate, therefore, not in a complex or eccentric personality, but in a sustained mastery of his profession, and in acute sensibilities. The art of the actor in contrast to that of the playwright, as Garrick good-humoredly observed in his prologue to The Clandestine Marriage, lives only in the ephemeral hour of the production and in the memories of the audience. Yet some of the gifts that graced Garrick's acting survive in his letters. Garrick did not write

xxiv

Introduction

for posterity but to transact some business or in the immediate context of a friendship—in the hour and the mood—in the same spirit as an actor he called upon his powers to stir the audience immediately before him. His most remarkable achievements as an actor were his versatility and his general appeal. So too the wide range of his correspondents. "I suppose [he] had more, what we may call particular friends, than any man in England"; Hannah More could have added that his acquaintance was much sought after by his contemporaries. In the present collection there are some three-hundred and forty correspondents: familiar names in dramatic history, those high in state affairs and society, authors of repute, indigent actors and temperamental actresses, aspiring playwrights, chance acquaintances, and obscure but worthy citizens who have long since faded into the oblivion of a will or a parish register. Indeed, not all the individuals he mentions can be identified; others need no introduction. With the versatility that was one of his gifts as an actor, Garrick spontaneously adopted the tone of his correspondent. In manner he ranges from the gossipy letters to his family, the scrappy notes to intimates in London, the carefully revised contractual proposals, the impetuous, irritated squabbles with actors and authors, to graceful literary flourishes, and epistles with the elegance of French manners. If, at times, the letters are offensively familiar, it is we in our passion for completeness who have violated decorum. Whatever the occasion, he infused most of his letters with the vitality and naturalness that marked his acting. Often he poured out his replies immediately, using the blank spaces on the letters of his correspondents for drafts. He wrote at all hours, in all moods and states of health, even, at times, while waiting for his entrance call on the stage. It was very much in his usual manner, when he once wrote, "I sit down to gallop over a few pages of Nonsense to thee." It was in the passing hour that he had a flair for the colorful and imaginative turn of phrase, that he wrote with humor and elan. Garrick's correspondence survives more by accident than design. He kept about sixteen hundred letters of his correspondents, largely for business purposes, or because he was proud of the friendships. Of his own letters he prepared and kept drafts and copies of barely one third of all extant letters, again mostly for business. These personal files are now part of the Forster Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum. There are many obvious gaps in the known correspondence, and in almost every surviving exchange of letters

Introduction

XXV

with one friend, some of Garrick's letters are missing. The survival is erratic both in time and relative importance. The largest group preserved was to the most obscure of all correspondents, Peter Fountain, while only a few scattered letters have turned up to obviously more intimate and well-known friends. What percentage of Garrick's total correspondence is extant can only be guessed at— perhaps not more than one tenth of all he wrote. Accustomed as we are to the seriousness of the drama of the last century and the exacting judgements of modern scholars and critics, we are inclined to regret that Garrick wasted so much of his talent on the now all but forgotten theatrical entertainment of the eighteenth century. Barely half a dozen of his ninety or more roles, exclusive of Shakespeare, are ever revived. Further, as a manager for some twenty-eight years he was much taken up in his letters with the trivia of production. Finally, though many of his correspondents were humble and obscure, the fame of many of his friends cannot give life and value to all of these letters. For us, as for his contemporaries, it is not the role or the correspondent, but Garrick who is the center of our interest. Garrick's affections, intensified by familial memories of persecution and exile and poverty, were all his life centered in his family and his wife. His forebears were among the French refugees who for generations preserved their origins in the Huguenot community in London. The family, still extant, originated in the barren country (as the name Garrigue implies) near Castres, and the grandfather, David Garric, was at Bordeaux when driven to England in 1685 by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. His son, Peter, was too young for the hazardous journey and it was not until 1687, when he was eighteen months old that he was smuggled out of France in the arms of a nurse. David Garric was naturalized in 1695 and with paternal care bought a commission in the British Army for his son Peter as soon as he came of age in 1706. It was as an ensign in a foot regiment, then quartered in Lichfield, that Peter on November 13, 1706, married Arabella, the daughter of a poor vicar-choral in Lichfield Cathedral, Anthony Clough, and his wife Elizabeth Bailye, both natives of Lichfield. Peter and Arabella's first child was a son Peter ( 1 7 1 0 ) , next a daughter Magdalen ( 1 7 1 5 ) , and then David, born in the Angel Inn, Hereford, on February 19, 1 7 1 7 , whither his mother had accompanied his father, now a lieutenant, on a recruiting

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party. By the time of David's first letter to his father in January 1733 there were four more children, Jane (1718), William (1720), George (1723), and Merrial (1724), and the father to meet the expenses of so large a family had exchanged a half-pay lieutenancy for an active captaincy in Kirke's Regiment at Gibraltar, where he was to remain for five years (1731-1736). In young Peter's absence as a midshipman under Sir Chaloner Ogle in the West Indies, David as a boy assumed the responsibilities for the family and, among other duties, wrote his father frequently over the five years. Later, after the early death of both father (1736) and mother (1740), David in affection, and with the means his success gave him to show this affection, became the virtual head of the family. Of the three sisters who lived on in Lichfield, Jane died unmarried in 1745, and Magdalen in 1764, while Merrial married Thomas Docksey and survived until 1799, often dependent on David's loans and later on Peter's benefaction. The Dockseys had an only daughter Merrial. David's brother William, after an unsettled beginning in the army, drops out of Garrick's letters. Garrick never lost touch, however, with his father's family, the Cazalets and Fermignacs, or his mother's people in Lichfield, the Cloughs and Bailyes. From what is known of the earlier years, Garrick's more intimate family and business ties were with his brothers Peter and George. His business relations with Peter had their inception in an obscure episode early in David's life when at the age of ten or twelve he was sent off for a year or more as an apprentice to his father's brother, David, a prosperous wine merchant in Lisbon. Just why nothing came of this apprenticeship is not known. In 1736 David was left by his Lisbon uncle a thousand pounds, partly in compensation for the time lost in his education and partly because he was his namesake. By the same will of Uncle David, Peter was given only five hundred pounds. T o compensate for the inequalities in Uncle David's will, David's father in the following year willed him only a pound, but his brother Peter an additional five hundred pounds. A year later, in 1738, when David came of age, the two brothers with their combined inheritances of a thousand pounds each entered into a partnership in the wine trade. Peter gave up a career in the navy and returned to Lichfield to conduct the business there. David, on the other hand, began soliciting trade in London, from Durham Yard, off the Strand. The partnership continued for four years, until David, failing more and more in the wine trade but prospering in

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acting, decided to become an actor. In his decision, David's one desire, as his several letters show, was to win Peter's approval and hold his affections. Peter continued in the wine and brewing business and prospered. He built a handsome house in Lichfield, facing the entrance of the Cathedral, where he often later entertained his brother and sisterin-law. On several occasions David sought sinecures for Peter, notably as a collector of customs at Whitehaven. The ties with Peter kept alive the ties with Lichfield, and Garrick's many letters to Peter are full of gossip of family, old friends, the exchange of gifts and visits. Garrick's family affections were put to the greatest test by George. Little is known of George's life in Lichfield before 1746 when David wrote Peter that he had obtained through his friend Paterson, the London City Solicitor, a place for George in his office. With all David's recommendations and hopes and advice, nothing came of this opportunity, and by 1750 George had become for life David's assistant in all the routine management of Drury Lane and the mollifying mediary between the exacting demands of his brother and the irresponsibility of the company of actors. Just what compensation George received at first is uncertain, but by 1767 he was receiving an allowance of £100 from David plus £200 from the theater. From the first, George exceeded his income and he survived on the bounty of David, though under the guise of loans. Typical is the entry made by Garrick in a diary on July 26, 1755: "the same Day I cancell'd another Bond due to me from George dated y e 20th of April 1750 for 2θθ£ w oh he is to pay me when he grows rich." It was a thankless job that George had at Drury Lane, yet he carried on season in and season out with the tolerance of the company and gratitude from David. What irritations arose between the brothers grew mostly out of George's domestic life. Sometime in 1751-52, in the Savoy Chapel whose records are now lost, George married Catherine, the daughter of Nathan Carrington, a king's messenger for fifty years. Carrington, by exploiting every privilege of the office, amassed a small fortune on an annual salary of £45. In 1752, undoubtedly with Carrington's influence, George became a stable-keeper in the Royal Household and moved into Somerset House. Here, under the influence of an ambitious grandparent, George's five children grew up, after their father's second marriage in 1771, entirely dependent on the bounty of grandparent and uncle.

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Carrington, George's eldest son, was sent to Eton and Cambridge, ordained by the Bishop of London in 1776, appointed domestic chaplain to the Duke of Devonshire, and shortly thereafter instituted Vicar of Hendon on presentation of Garrick who owned the advowson—all pretty much at Garrick's expense. David, the second son, early settled upon an army career and was sent by his uncle to study in The Academy that later became the University of Geneva. All the while he held a commission as a cornet in the Royal Regiment of Dragoons presumably purchased by his grandfather. Asthma and obesity prompted his resignation of the commission, and for a while he lived with his aunt and uncle, appearing in amateur theatricals. Later Garrick tried in vain to obtain another commission for David. In the end, when David married Emma Hart in 1778, Garrick settled upon him as a wedding gift an estate that he had bought in 1757 in Essex. Even the third son, Nathan, though as a namesake favored by the grandfather, enjoyed his uncle's bounty, notably while at Eton. Without exception, George's sons little merited their uncle's continued kindness and not one of them amounted to anything. Destined to be childless himself, Garrick took an even more personal interest in George's two daughters, Arabella and Catherine. Not only did he make the arrangements for their education in Paris but also guided their tastes and included them in Hampton parties. When Arabella married Captain Frederick Schaw in 1778, Garrick assumed the role of a father, with all that it involved financially in the eighteenth century. In his will he left the girls £6,000 apiece. After his death, in 1781 Catherine married John George Payne. As if to cap a profitable career of dependency, in 1771 George married Elizabeth Tetley, an actress, and moved out of Somerset House. Their only son, George, was for many years an actor and left numerous descendants, some of whom are now living in Canada. Over the years Garrick took his brother George more and more into his confidence, demanded an increase in his salary, and gave him more responsibilities. The later letters of the brothers were generally written when one or the other was ill at Bath, and though taken up mostly with theatrical matters, they are affectionate on family affairs, except for a brief interlude when Garrick felt that George had not treated him with complete candour about his finances. "George was always in anxiety," according to Charles Dibdin in his autobiography, "lest in his absence his brother should have wanted him; and the first question he asked on his return was,

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'Did David want m e ? ' " George died about three months after his brother, in 1779, which circumstance being remarked in the greenroom, as Dibdin reports, and noticed as extraordinary, "extraordinary," said old Bannister, "not at all—David wanted him." With all the tensions entailed in his financial bounty, in the end totaling no small fortune, Garrick never lost the warm affection of his family. But Garrick's letters to his family concern far more than the petty and familiar relations of a large family much dependent on the worldly success of one member only. These letters embrace a larger community outside the family, and that was the community life of Lichfield. Through family and boyhood ties, Garrick kept up a lively interest in Lichfield. While much of the cultural history for which Lichfield is famous developed after Garrick left, the sources were all vigorous in his boyhood. Small though it was, Lichfield was fortunate in having what might be called two local industries that in the eighteenth century were sure to attract wealth and learning and cultivated society. As a cathedral town there were always the chapter and diocesan officials resident in the close and a succession of young clergy fresh from the university, almost all sons of wealthy gentry, who in worldly wisdom of the times sought the preferments, social standing, and leisure that the Church could offer. In Lichfield much of the stimulating intellectual life of the community centered in the Cathedral. O f this life, partly through his grandfather's humble vicarial position, but more through his own attractive personality as a boy, Garrick was a welcome partaker. The natives of a holy city are notoriously indifferent, and all his life Garrick looked upon the Church as a profession, a way of making a living. Through his father, on the other hand, Garrick was also at home with the officers of the regiments quartered in Lichfield, again younger sons of the gentry with the leisured interests that only privilege and education can give. Though poor themselves, the Garricks were visited by the best families, and David was encouraged to hope for the gift of a commission that was never realized. It is clear from Garrick's early letters to his father that he was immersed in all the life of Lichfield, that he knew and was known by the leading citizens of all stations. Among many of the Staffordshire and Lichfield families Garrick formed lasting relations, but none so strong as with his classmates in the old and very superior Grammar School. Here again Garrick was exceptionally fortunate.

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For over a hundred years university graduates as tutors and masters had been preparing local boys for Oxford and Cambridge. In Garrick's own day under the Rev. John Hunter, headmaster, a remarkable number of distinguished men were educated at the school, among others Samuel Johnson; there Garrick continued for six or eight years, except for the year or so in Lisbon. From the Lichfield Grammar School he and George went to the new school recently launched at Edial by Samuel Johnson, Garrick's senior by seven years. In the brief life of that school, though he may not have learned much French and Latin, he grew in respect and affection for his master. In the twenty years of his life as a boy and young man in Lichfield, Garrick profited most of all by the guidance, patronage, and society of Lichfield's most respected gentleman-scholar Gilbert Walmesley, Registrar of the Ecclesiastical Court, who lived in the Bishop's Palace. Well-born, wealthy, a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford, called to the bar at the Inner Temple, he read widely, cultivated liberal tastes, and enjoyed good conversation. Under his guidance Garrick decided to prepare for the bar, and to this end went up to London and enrolled, on March 9, 1737, in Lincoln's Inn. 1 Introduced by Walmesley's warm recommendation, Garrick began tutoring in mathematics with John Colson, a scholar then living in Rochester, but who shortly was appointed a professor at Cambridge and retired to Lichfield, thus ending Garrick's formal education. Garrick never belittled his Lichfield origins, never sought sympathy for the privations implicit in being a member of a large family living on a captain's pay. With many Lichfield friends he kept up old ties, and they were ever welcome to his home in London. He returned to Lichfield often, not out of sentiment or vanity, but to partake in the rich life of an exceptional community. When Garrick settled in London in 1737—first in law and then in wine—the theatrical world was in a turmoil. The fortunes of the older theaters, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, were unsettled and new theaters were springing up. The rise of the young dramatist Henry Fielding and the popularity of his attack on the government in Pasquin at the Haymarket theater brought to a head the necessity of regulating the theaters. The upshot was the Licensing Act of 1737 which gave the Lord Chamberlain control over all dramatic entertainments. For the time being he limited these to the two older theatrical companies, Drury Lane and Covent Garden. In the ι . Receipt for fees, in the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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reshufflings and reorganizations of the next few years, Garrick took a lively interest and in some measure thereby served an apprenticeship to the theater. Garrick had, as he later wrote to Peter, "been always inclin'd to y® Stage." This was manifest in more than an enjoyment of strolling companies that played in Lichfield. At the age of eleven, he acted with school friends and a sister Farquhar's Recruiting Officer in the great room in the Bishop's Palace, Garrick taking the lead as Sergeant Kite. Tradition has it that while Garrick was still living in Lichfield, neighbors paid his way to London so that he might attend the theaters. Once he was resident in London he sought the company of actors, and he was welcomed in the green rooms of both Drury Lane and Covent Garden. He shortly put all this experience to use by writing two popular entertainments, Lethe, produced at Drury Lane, April i , 1740, and The Lying Valet, at Goodman's Field, November 30 the following year. It is interesting that Lethe, with changes and additions, was played over 150 times in 24 out of the 28 years of Garrick's management of Drury Lane, and that it supplied one of the principal characters and one of Garrick's favorite roles, Chalkstone, in Garrick and Colman's popular Clandestine Marriage. Finally, Garrick was to be in love with the most popular actress in London, Peg Woffington, not just for a season or as a spectator, but year after year when they were playing together, until her infidelities disabused Garrick of his wish to marry her. O f more professional consequence, Charles Macklin, the Irish actor, confirmed if he did not form Garrick's taste for a more natural form of acting than was then the fashion. Macklin embodied everything that Garrick's family and friends despised and feared in an actor. Out of an adventurous life as a mimic, servant, author, and strolling actor, Macklin had gained enough practical experience to be a principal actor and in effect co-manager of Drury Lane from 1734 to 1743. But Macklin also had picked up reckless habits and low tastes which did not temper his irascibility. The friendship between Macklin and Garrick was disrupted in 1743 when the Drury Lane Company, led by Garrick and joined by Macklin, struck against Fleetwood, the manager. In spite of Garrick's intercession, Fleetwood refused in the settlement to include Macklin in the new contract, and Macklin was not reengaged until a year later. Macklin always held this against Garrick, who, nevertheless, in gratitude for all Macklin had taught him, endeavored to be kind in the face of Macklin's relentless criticism. 2 + L.D.G.

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It was under Henry Giffard, however, that Garrick made his debut as an actor. O f a good family and well-educated, Giffard, after a rugged apprenticeship in strolling companies, had built by subscription a handsome, well-appointed small theater in Goodman's Fields, in a suburb of London. Here he was prospering until ordered to close after the Licensing Act of 1737. H e petitioned in vain for redress. Pressed by his obligations he had no alternative but to go on playing, evading the Lord Chamberlain's ruling against theatrical entertainments except at the licensed theaters by advertising and charging only for a musical; he gave his plays gratis. Garrick" first acted as a substitute for Yates, who was ill, in a farce, Harlequin Student, produced several times in March 1741 by Giffard at Goodman's Field. T h e following summer Giffard included Garrick in the summer company at Ipswich, and there in June, under the pseudonym of Lyddall, Mrs. Giffard's maiden name, Garrick played for the first time as Aboan in Southerne's Oroonoko, later in that summer taking six or more additional roles. Back at Goodman's Fields in the fall, Giffard allowed Garrick to take the lead in Richard III in October, and before the winter season was over Garrick had acted 19 characters in 159 performances. It was an extraordinary achievement, and won for him, among other things, an offer of a contract at Drury Lane at five-hundred pounds for the ensuing season—the largest salary as yet offered to an English actor. O f all the accounts of Garrick's triumphant first night and first theatrical season, the most meaningful biographically are found in his letters to his brother Peter and his cousin Peter Fermignac. Only too conscious of the reputation of actors among family and friends back in Lichfield, Garrick eagerly sought to defend his decision to make the stage his career by writing of the fashionable society that sought his company. No one should begrudge him their recognition—he had a taste and a gift for brilliant society. Some of the young aristocrats, who for the passing moment fashionably patronized the actor, later in life in great positions of power and responsibility sought the confidence of Garrick the man. The blaze of the first season died down, and Garrick for the five years following, before he became co-manager of Drury Lane, pursued his ambition shrewdly and patiently in Dublin and London. T h e summer of '42 he was at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin; the following winter season with Fleetwood, the manager of Drury Lane, where he led the Company in a successful strike for arrears

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in salary. He was again at Drury Lane in 1743-44 a n d 1744-45; for the ensuing winter season he returned to Smock Alley to share the management and the profits with Thomas Sheridan the actormanager. All the while another theatrical adventurer, James Lacy, was coming up in the world. Failing in trade, Lacy had early turned to acting and stage managing, first with Rich at Covent Garden and later with Fielding at the Haymarket. When the Haymarket was closed as a result of the Licensing Act of 1737, Lacy had for a while become a public orator and lecturer. In 1744 he built the auditorium at Ranelagh Gardens, only to sell out to become assistant manager to Rich; at about the same time he became a partner in a banking house. A t the end of the 1744-45 season, with banking assistance, Lacy bought the Drury Lane patent and made his first overture to Garrick to join him in the management. Garrick bided his time and signed as an actor with Rich at Covent Garden for the 1746-47 season. The tortuous negotiations that continued between Lacy and Garrick before they became partners in the spring of 1747 can best be followed in Garrick's letters. (The contracts establishing the partnership are given in an appendix to these volumes.) Briefly, because the patent was in his name, Lacy was able to offer Garrick a half share for £12,000, Garrick to raise £8,000 immediately. By the terms of the contract of April 9, 1747, each partner was to receive £500 a year and divide the profits, and Garrick was additionally to have 500 guineas for his acting (by the last year of his acting he was receiving 800 guineas). Because Lacy shortly insisted that an oral understanding, accepted along with the written contract and covering the division of labors, had been violated, a second written agreement was signed in 1750, assigning to Garrick the "settling and ordering the business of the Stage," requiring joint negotiations of all contracts, and setting up means for resolving disputes and dissolving the partnership when either party so wished. Also it was agreed that Lacy was to be in charge of the properties. Lacy had an eye to business but no taste or imagination; his only original move was to hire a rope-dancer. He was suspicious of Garrick's decisions, insistent on his own prerogatives, and jealous of Garrick's success, even trying now and then to act himself. Garrick was often puzzled about what went on in Lacy's head, and quite appropriately called him "Timbertop." Though the partners had little in common and went their own ways outside the theater,

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it was a balanced and efficient partnership, and Drury Lane flourished. During the almost ten unsettled years between Garrick's departure from Lichfield and his becoming manager of Drury Lane, he met a great variety of people, with some of whom he sooner or later became fast friends. But it must be remembered that the surviving correspondence does not mirror or even record every friendship. There are few letters to his early professional friends; though Garrick was much in the company of Macklin, Barry, Quin, and Mrs. Cibber, the sometimes strained but often friendly correspondence with theatrical people survives from the later rather than the earlier years. No letter to GifFard or Thomas Sheridan has been found, and the early correspondence between Garrick and Peg Woffington was presumably destroyed by the correspondents themselves. Inevitably inhibited by professional rivalries in the theater, Garrick quite understandably found warmer and more unreserved friends elsewhere. These were John Hoadly, William Hogarth, and, to a lesser degree, Francis Hayman, the artist scene-painter at Drury Lane. Hoadly, the son of the Bishop of Winchester, had actually gone into the Church to have the means and the leisure to satisfy a ruling passion for amateur acting, the writing of pastoral drama, oratorios and poetry, revising old plays, and cultivating the company of actors and artists. To his home in Alresford he often invited Hogarth and Garrick, where the three indulged all their love of burlesque and acting and wit. Garrick kept up the friendship with Hoadly in many letters over the years, mostly on literary and theatrical matters. On the other hand he had Hogarth's and Hayman's company in London and hence little occasion to write them. More removed from the theater but in some ways closer to Garrick's temperament and affections was a small group of men who were astute in financial matters. In London they regularly met at the Queen's Arms Tavern, near St. Paul's, and they were often guests in each other's country homes. It was while yet in the wine business that Garrick doubtless met Somerset Draper of Wandsworth, Surrey, a wealthy brewer, stationer, and bookseller in London. Twenty years Garrick's senior, he was entrusted by Garrick with all the negotiations for the purchase of the Drury Lane patent, and acted as Garrick's banker and financial adviser. Some years after his death in 1756, Garrick wrote Hogarth that he

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had "lov'd [Draper] better than any Man breathing." James Clutterbuck, Draper's brother-in-law, was a wealthy mercer with a home in Richmond, near Garrick at Hampton, and like Draper assisted Garrick for many years in the management of Drury Lane and in his investments. More shadowy but of the longest duration were the ties with John Paterson, City Solicitor and Clerk of the Commissioners of the Land Tax, a lifelong legal counsel and the only one of this early circle of friends to serve as a pallbearer at Garrick's funeral. Within the circle, Samuel Sharp, the doctor, is seldom mentioned by Garrick in the letters, but William Windham the Elder, polished gentleman, scholar, and sportsman, appears as one of the first of several men of the world to whom Garrick turned in his own inexperience in public relations. That Garrick sought such men and was accepted by them is indicative of the hard core of worldly wisdom which lay in back of Garrick's respect for property and his lifelong prudence in all financial matters. With these entrepreneurs of one sort or another he passed beyond expediency to friendship. O f all Garrick's correspondence, early and late, the most welcome and revealing would have been that with his wife. But not one letter has been found that passed between them. Probably few if any were written before their marriage, because of Mrs. Garrick's unfamiliarity with English and Garrick's with German, and after their marriage there was no occasion for letters. Near the end of his life Garrick asserted: " I have not left M r e Garrick one day since we were Married, Near 28 years." But though she was never a correspondent of her husband, she was involved in much of his correspondence with others. Her tact belies her presence; she must be sought outside her husband's letters. Eva Maria Veigel (1724-1822) was born in Vienna on February 29, 1724, in a house, No. 323, called " Z u m weissen Hasen," situated on the corner of the Tiefer Graben and Heidenschuss. She was baptized in the Cathedral of St. Stephen. Her mother was Eva Maria Rosina and her father Johann Veigel (Faigl or Faigel), formerly a valet of the Graf Von Paar; at the time of her birth he was a resident burgher of Vienna. Early she became a pupil of the imperial ballet dancer, Franz Anton Hilverding (1710-1768), a pioneer in developing the ballet as an independent art, basing his compositions on a plot and interpreting the action by natural movements. The reforms begun by him were perfected by Noverre, the father of the modern ballet,

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who later professedly copied Garrick's style of acting. Eva Maria Veigel was Hilverding's most successful pupil. As was the general practice, she assumed a stage name, that of Violette, the French translation of her surname. A t the age of ten she danced publicly in the imperial ballet company as Psyche in Hilverding's ballet, Amour und Psyche (1734) at the Kärntnertortheater, then under the direction of Borosini and Sellier. Her talent was immediately recognized. She won entree to the court circle—Prince Eugene of Savoy invited her as the solo dancer at his parties; the Countess Rabutin became her patroness. In 1746 she accepted a contract with the Italian opera company in London and came to England. It was during that summer that she made her triumphant debut as a ballet dancer at the Opera House in the Haymarket, a performance attended by the K i n g and Queen and by many of the aristocracy. O n June 5 Walpole wrote: " T h e fame of the Violetta increases daily." In part this attention probably resulted from an introduction from the Stahremberg family to the Earl and Countess of Burlington, who became her English patrons. Garrick did not meet her professionally but socially. In the fall of 1746 she transferred from the Opera House to Drury Lane, but Garrick was at Covent Garden. By the following year when he became manager of Drury Lane the Violette apparently had become a member of the Burlington household, though continuing to dance, and she and Garrick often met at London social gatherings. O n June 6, 1749, William Hogarth wrote his wife: " I dont know whether or no you knew that Garrick was going to be married to the Violette when you went away. I supt with him last night and had a deal of talk about her." T h e y were married on June 22. T h e Burlingtons gave her a dowry of £6,000, to which Garrick added £4,000. Mrs. Garrick seems to have been universally beloved. Sterne wrote of her to Garrick from Paris on March 19, 1762: " I see nothing like her here, and yet I have been introduced to one half of their best Goddesses." T w o years later Baretti wrote from Venice on July 14 that he " h a d really a great value, and even affection, for your lady ever since she poured me a dish of tea the first time I saw her in London. I never shall forget that adventure, though she may. She did it in so graceful a manner, I could still paint her in that pretty attitude, had I Reynolds's or Guido's powers." Fanny Burney and Hannah More praised her often, but it remained for

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Mrs. Delany to summarize all the tributes when she wrote: " A s to Mrs. Garrick, the more one sees her the better one must like her; she seems never to depart from a perfect propriety of behavior, accompanied with good sense and gentleness of manners, and I cannot help looking on her as a wonderful creature, considering all circumstances relating to her." Apparently Mrs. Garrick's father died early, but her mother, Eva Rosina, lived on for many years, pathetically expressing her gratitude and dependence in her own letters and those of her children to Mrs. Garrick. A sister, Therese Fürst, dictated on February 26, 1752, a distressing letter to a father confessor announcing the death at birth of a son and detailing domestic bickerings of a family hard pressed for money. There was also a brother Ferdinand who visited Mrs. Garrick "twice in England, not much to her satisfaction." One of his letters survives, dated Vienna, December 12, 1772, in which he acknowledges the receipt of £80 sterling and refers to his mother as living. Eva Maria Garrick was to survive her husband by forty-three years, living on in the tradition of their years together. M a n y of her letters are extant; two of them may be found in Appendix A , and some are extracted in the footnotes to these volumes. (See Appendix A for the sources of Mrs. Garrick's biography.) T o return now to the summer of 1749 when the Garricks passed their wedding vacation at Mereton, in Surrey, about nineteen miles from London. By their marriage they were drawn through Mrs. Garrick into the orbit of the Burlingtons. A n y one would have been flattered to be noticed by the Burlingtons, who had rank and wealth and were patrons of the arts. From the time of their marriage the Garricks welcomed the invitations to Chiswick and Burlington House, and enjoyed the Burlingtons' hospitality, family, and friends in the long summers at Londesborough in Yorkshire, but after the Earl's death in 1753 the relationship began to suffer. From 1754, following the death of her only daughter, until her own death in 1758 the Countess, long accustomed to authority and adulation, commanded more attention than her tiresome senility merited. When her widowed son-in-law the Marquis of Hartington, later (December 1755) Duke of Devonshire, went to Ireland as the LordLieutenant in the spring of 1755, the Garricks became one of his major sources of information about the Burlington household, which included his small children. O u t of these domestic relations there developed a deep personal

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friendship between Garrick and Devonshire that transcended rank and convenience, and Garrick was sincerely grieved at his friend's death in 1764. There are good reasons for believing that Garrick's early interest in politics was stimulated by Devonshire. If Garrick's letters to him are not his best, they are certainly the longest, and it can only be regretted that Garrick by request destroyed many from Devonshire. Mrs. Garrick's closeness to the family is shown in her many extant letters to them. A t first she wrote only with assistance, but in a few years she had enough command of written English to attempt a letter alone; while she continued to improve in writing, she apparently never quite overcame the German accent for it clearly shows in her spelling. In the first summer of their marriage, while still at Mereton, Mrs. Garrick on July 25 wrote the Countess of Burlington: " M r . Garrick has bought the house in Southhampton Street for five hundred Guineas, Dirt and all; 'tis reckon'd a very good bargain." 2 This was a brick house at No. 27, still standing, just off the Strand and a five-minute walk from Drury Lane. It was not until October 14, 1749, that the necessary repairs were completed and the Garricks were able to move in; they were to occupy the house during the winter seasons until 1772 when they moved to the Adelphi Terrace. Wishing more room for entertaining and for his increasing possessions, but most of all to enjoy the life of a country gentleman, Garrick in January 1754 first rented and then on August 30 contracted to buy what was known as the Fuller House in Hampton. The property is described in part in the deed as " A l l that Garden or parcell of Ground as the same is Inclosed by a Brick Wall cont by Estimation 2a 3 r more or less . . . abutting upon the House & Garden late of Rich a Caswell on the West & on Bushy Park on the East" (Little Collection). The house faced on the Thames and was separated from an additional parcel of land along the shore by the London-Hampton Court Road, under which Garrick constructed a grotto-tunnel. Garrick altered and enlarged the house with the help of the well-known architect Robert Adam, including the building of a portico with four Corinthian columns, and had the gardens laid out by the famous landscape gardener, " C a p a b i l i t y " Brown. In August 1755 Garrick, again with Adam's help, constructed in the garden, on the banks of the Thames, an octagonal brick temple to Shakespeare with a dome and an Ionic pillared portico. Inside the temple he placed the life-sized statue of Shakespeare made for 2. Letter in the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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him by Roubiliac, later removed to the British Museum after Mrs. Garrick's death. Finally, again with plans by Robert Adam, Garrick built a handsome orangerie to the rear of the house. Although the garden, except for a few trees, has long since disappeared, the buildings and grounds survive pretty much as they were during Garrick's occupancy. '"Well, doctor,' said the actor, when, having taken [Johnson] the round of his newly-acquired possessions, he finally planted him in front of the Summer-house, 'and how do you like the spot?' The answer... was:' Ah, David, it is the leaving oisuch places as these that makes a death-bed terrible.'" 3 Through the years Garrick continued to add to his holdings in Hampton, until the property held by Mrs. Garrick after Garrick's death was the fifth largest in Hampton. Gradually the Garricks assembled at Hampton a magnificent collection of furniture, china, paintings (almost all by contemporary artists), and a large library. There were many Shakespearian relics, and almost inevitably there flourished in the gardens a mulberry tree planted from a slip of the famous mulberry tree of Stratford. After the villa at Hampton, the Adelphi Terrace, his third dwelling, is probably the best known of Garrick's residences, largely because he and Mrs. Garrick lived there for the final six and most remembered years of Garrick's life. About half of the dated letters in these volumes were written after 1772 when the Garricks made the Adelphi their London home. When the Adam brothers in 1768 leased Durham Yard to build a block of fine houses, the Garricks had known them for some years and, in support of their undertaking, contracted to rent one of the units. Nothing quite like it had been projected before: the brothers demolished all the buildings on the property and constructed great causeway arches along the Thames embankment; on the top of this masonry they laid out a handsome terrace overlooking the Thames, and overlooking the terrace a series of elegant residences designed and decorated in what was by then the most admired contemporary style. When the Garricks moved into their house at No. 5 (later numbered 4), Royal Terrace, in March 1772, the entire project was not yet completed. Later Garrick had as neighbors his friend Topham Beauclerk in No. 3, Robert Adam in No. 4, Dr. John Turton, who attended Garrick in Munich, in No. 7, and at Garrick's request Thomas Becket was leased a corner house for his bookshop. 3. Henry Ripley, Hampton-on-the-Thames, 1885, p. 14.

2«

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Introduction

While the Garricks were often at Hampton in all seasons, in the last years when Garrick's increasing illness made it advisable for him to be in London near his doctors, most of his letters were written from the Adelphi. It was at the Adelphi that Garrick died and from it that he was carried to be buried in Westminster Abbey. Garrick's correspondence understandably proliferated with his managership of Drury Lane. In the half-dozen years after 1747 when he became the leading actor and the co-manager of Drury Lane, Garrick laid down the daily and yearly patterns of his life in the continuities of acting, managing, and social life. The annual averages of surviving letters rose from around fifty to a hundred after his return from France in 1765, with the result that over twothirds of the extant letters were written in the final fifteen years of his life. His fame and the importance of many later correspondents may have helped preserve a greater ratio of the letters, yet many letters are obviously missing. Once Garrick was established as actor-manager, the chronology of his life is subordinate, except in the dating and order of his letters, to his sustained and diverse interests and friendships. Some perspective of the organic rather than chronological unities of Garrick's life may best serve, therefore, as an introduction to the later and greater body of correspondence. Other than through the traditions that came to him from his French origins and family, Garrick's first professional and eventually most enduring relation with French life was through Jean Monnet. In 1749 Monnet, who had already packed into a few years an extraordinary experience as printer, author, and director of the Opdra-Comique in Paris, the Lyons theater, and of touring companies, made plans at the suggestion of Rich, the manager of Covent Garden, to take a French company to London. When, however, negotiations with Rich fell through, Monnet turned to Garrick, and with his advice and support opened at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket on November 9, 1749, for a season of French comedy. Anti-French riots defeated the venture, and Monnet returned to France, saved from bankruptcy only by Garrick who gave him a benefit performance that realized about £100. Out of failure and disappointment began a friendship that lasted thirty years, kept up mostly in a correspondence of which some fifty of Monnet's letters survive, now in the Forster Collection. In the summer of 1751 the Garricks took a short vacation in Paris,

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leaving London on M a y 19 and returning late in July. T h e y went abroad, as did most Englishmen on their initial visit, to see the sights of Paris, but Garrick's rather sketchy diary makes it evident that he concentrated a sharp professional eye on the theaters and their actors. Monnet entertained the Garricks and introduced them to his friends of the Comddie-Fran$aise. T h e Garricks left Paris rather precipitantly, however, on the threat of an arrest, for Garrick apparently had sought to engage some French dancers—something of a political crime when actors are state employees. Once home in England, Garrick's associations with France were kept alive by correspondence and by the visit of two Frenchmen. T h e first, Claude-Pierre Patu, a young amateur in contemporary French literature, made Garrick conscious of a growing French interest in Shakespeare—a fashion that before it had run its course was to make something of a fool or a hero out of Garrick. T h e second Frenchman (actually a Swiss), Jean Georges Noverre, was a brilliant dancer and choreographer at the Com^die-Fra^aise under Monnet. In 1755 Noverre, with a troupe of dancers, came to London under contract with Garrick, and with some of the Drury Lane company produced on November 8 The Chinese Festival, a " G r a n d Entertainment of Dancing," first presented in Paris by Noverre on July 1 of the preceding year. Again, as in his attempt to introduce Monnet and French comedy in 1749, Garrick was defeated, after six performances, by the insularity of the Londoners. Though the heavy losses to both parties aroused some resentments, Garrick treated Noverre liberally, and Noverre returned to London the following season for another unsuccessful engagement. Though never again associated with Garrick, Noverre, who has left some of the best appreciative descriptions of Garrick's acting, made Garrick his model in his delineation of what are still the traditions in the current ballet. After nearly fifteen years as the mainstay of Drury Lane, Garrick had exhausted himself and satiated the London audience. A t this juncture he wisely turned his managerial duties over to George Colman and George Garrick and his roles to the young actor Powell, and on September 18, 1763, the night Drury Lane opened, he and his wife set out for Paris. Besides old friends, he was welcomed by Marmontel, d'Alembert, and Mile Clairon, and was emboldened to disagree with Voltaire on Shakespeare. A t the performance on the evening of his arrival in Paris, the actors in the ComddieFran9aise hailed him with the freedom of their house. After a fort-

xlii

Introduction

night in Paris, the Garricks pressed on to Italy. While they had intended to return to London in the summer of 1764, their plans were changed by illness. First Mrs. Garrick suffered a severe attack of rheumatism; next Garrick contracted a near-fatal fever in Munich, and it was November 1764 before they returned to Paris, where they stayed six months, finally reaching London in April 1765. There is no occasion to summarize the account of the Grand Tour given in the letters: it followed the usual eighteenth-century pattern. In Paris, as on their first brief visit, so later and at more leisure the Garricks constantly attended the theaters, visited friends, and were welcomed into some of the flourishing salons. It is not so much that for six months Garrick was pretty much the center of attention in Paris that makes this period influential in his subsequent life, but rather the stimulation of the intellectual atmosphere into which he was welcomed. Of Garrick's response to the recognition of his talents, very little can be learned from his letters. For all his London friends knew, Garrick was only concerned with the fortunes and future of Drury Lane and the reception that awaited him on his return. But the letters and memorabilia of his new French acquaintances fill out the record of what was absorbing Garrick in Paris. It is a commonplace in Western history that for several decades in the middle of the eighteenth century France took the lead in an intellectual and artistic ferment. All the brilliant thinking and talking and writing were not centered in a church or government or university, but in salons in Paris and elsewhere. Into three of the most influential of these salons Garrick was cordially received. As a guest in the home of M. and Mme Helvdtius in the rue Ste. Anne he entered into the conversation of the most illustrious contemporary writers: Diderot, d'Alembert, the driving spirits of the revolutionary Encyclopidie, Saint-Lambert, Marmontel, Grimm, Morellet, Raynal, Duclos, and their witty and charming wives and mistresses. Much the same group he met also at Baron d'Holbach's in the rue Royale. A somewhat different group assembled in the rue St. Honore at the salon of Mme Geoffrin, remembered for its artists as well as literary figures—the salon that welcomed also Hume, Adam Smith, Wilkes, and Walpole. In all this social life Garrick had as patron and guide Jean Baptiste Antoine Suard, perhaps the most loved and respected literary figure in the Paris salons, certainly the best informed on English life and letters. Despite the distinction and cordiality of acquaintances and friends met and cultivated while in Paris, the Garricks were never

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to return, and the ties and memories were revived only in an occasional letter—with one exception. At the Holbach's, Garrick met the spirited and thoughtful actor-novelist, Mme Marie Jeanne Riccoboni. She had surmounted by character and intelligence, and without bitterness, almost unbelievable misfortunes and had won respect by a succession of novels. In Garrick she found all she admired. He responded to more than her open flattery; here was a woman who did not talk about fashionable intellectual matters, but who lived intellectually, who, like himself, held her position in society by accomplishments only. There is no way of telling how much they were in each other's company in Paris, but on Garrick's return to London they began a correspondence of twelve or more years, of which some ten letters only of Garrick survive, but of which Garrick preserved some thirty-seven from Mme Riccoboni. The casual reader should not be misled by the persiflage, the disorder, the hyperbole, for no correspondence between Garrick and a woman is so sustained in professional content—in the exchange of ideas about the theater, on writing, on criticism, on personal philosophy. Paris, at one of its more brilliant periods, seems to have aroused in Garrick a sense that there was something more in acting than his success or popularity, something more in society and friendship than repartee, gossip, reminiscences, and companionship. Parisian culture made Garrick aware that he had a mind for something other than business, and that is no small awakening in anyone. The French philosophers, critics, and writers dignified acting as a fine art, not just a trade or a passing entertainment. They sought a philosophic basis for their criticism of the theater; they treated acting as a cultural and refining influence, on a footing with the other fine arts. Where the ancients honored the dramatist, the French esteemed the actor. In this open-minded respect for the actor, the French turned to Garrick as the greatest English actor, not simply for his acting, but for his ideas, judgments, and insights— his interpretation of the literary qualities of a play. Challenged by this respect for his profession, Garrick without losing any of his astuteness as a manager, developed into more of a conscious artist, a critic, with a sense of greater values. On his return to England his better acting was noticed by all his contemporaries. He felt a greater responsibility to public taste; he was more perceptive than ever of the destructive elements in the theater; he had more respect for the written word of the dramatist. All these changes come out in

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the letters following the six months in Paris, and more and more in the friendships he sought in England. This collection of letters has lost something of real consequence to Garrick and to all interested in French and English relations in the omission of two hundred and more letters that Garrick received from his French friends. For the remaining thirteen or so years of Garrick's life, after the visit to Paris, Garrick was supported and cheered by these letters, and often by the visits of the great French actors and actresses such as Lekain, Preville, and Mile Clairon; playwrights as Fenouillet, Belloy, Cailhava, and Duclos; philosophers and critics as Holbach, Grimm, Laplace, Suard, Beaumarchais, Chastellux, Morellet, and above all others in affection, understanding, and gratitude, M m e Riccoboni and Monnet. The focus of much of the conversation when Garrick was present at a salon in Paris was Shakespeare. Shakespeare had been all but unknown in France until there developed a great enthusiasm for English life. Voltaire helped launch the Anglomania with his Lettres sur les Anglais (1733-34), and Prdvost in his praise of Shakespeare in 1738 provoked a debate about Shakespeare's merits. Inevitably Garrick as an Englishman and an actor was drawn into the controversy. His avowed indebtedness to Shakespeare was nothing new: he had made his triumphant debut in Richard III and in the following years had acted and produced so many of Shakespeare's plays that by 1752 he was calling Drury Lane the "House of Shakespeare." Whether or not he was conscious of it, his own interpretations had had much to do with a growing appreciation of the depth and beauty of the poetry and of the importance of the uncorrupted original text of Shakespeare. Finally, Garrick, who had early started collecting Elizabethan editions of old plays, was able to assist some eighteenth-century editors of Shakespeare with original texts. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, with all the attention of the French critics plus some of the contagious enthusiasm of the Encyclopedists, that Garrick embraced a cause: Shakespeare the greatest of dramatists. Garrick came back to Drury Lane more determined than ever to revive and restore Shakespeare; he discussed Shakespeare more in his letters, and he risked a small fortune in his Shakespeare Jubilee celebration. Enthusiasm when it does not quite come off is usually ridiculous to a bystander; when it succeeds it is hailed as genius. Often the scale is tipped by such an erratic thing as the weather. With no more than a desire to fill an empty niche without cost

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and dedicate a new town hall, Francis Wheler of Stratford-uponA v o n proposed as early as November 28, 1767, to William Hunt, town clerk: " I t would be an Ornament to our New T o w n Hall at Stratford if we could get from M r Garrick some very handsom bust, statue, or picture of Shakespear . . . In order to flatter M r Garrick into some such Handsom present I have been thinking it woud not be at all a m i s s . . . to make M r Garrick an Honourary Burgess of Stratford & to present him therwith in a Box made of the Shakespears Mulberry tree." 4 Apparently by mutual agreement, the negotiations moved so deliberately that when finally the presentation was made on M a y 8, 1769, Garrick was not only ready with a statue and picture, but also some elaborate plans for a festival. T h e statue was a lead replica, cast by John Cheere, of Scheemaker's revision of his original statue in Westminster Abbey. The picture was Benjamin Wilson's of "Shakespeare in his S t u d y " ; later the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon acquired from Gainsborough the full-length portrait of Garrick standing by the bust of Shakespeare. Garrick announced his plan for a festival at his final performance of the season, M a y 18, 1769, and shortly in several newspapers. He was occupied all summer with the most careful and elaborate preparations of poetry, music, food, lodging, costumes, fireworks, medals, pictures, ribbons, and an octagonal amphitheater seating a thousand. The ceremonies opened at five o'clock, Wednesday, September 6, with firing of cannons and serenading the ladies. Preceding the public breakfast at nine, Garrick was invested as First Steward of the Festival with a medallion in mulberry wood on the front of which was carved a head of Shakespeare, with Garrick as Lear on the reverse. Following the breakfast, the company moved to the church for Dr. Arne's oratorio of Judith·, next, to the amphitheater for more music and a "sumptuous public ordinary"; the day closing with fireworks and a ball. It had been a wet season, and rain began again on Thursday morning. A t midday, in the amphitheater, Garrick recited his Ode Upon Dedicating a Building and Erecting a Statue to Shakespeare at Stratford Upon Avon, to the accompaniment of music prepared for the occasion. His prose encomium of Shakespeare followed. T h e rain continued, and by evening the A v o n had flooded; the scheduled fireworks display failed to go off in the downpour, but the masque ball was a success. T h e rain continued through the night, forcing the curtailment of the Friday 4. Letter in the New Place Museum, Stratford.

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ceremonies to a horse race and an evening assembly at which Mrs. Garrick danced. Many of the aristocracy and gentry plus many of Garrick's London friends flocked to the Jubilee, much to the consternation of the natives of Stratford who, however, awoke in time to overcharge for their services. Through it all moved the determined figure of Garrick, frustrated, laughed at, and as a result sometimes losing his usual sense of proportion, but in the ending attaining some personal satisfaction in a tribute of gratitude to Shakespeare's memory. Later, in less harassed moments, he referred to the Jubilee as " that foolish hobby horse of mine," and recouped his considerable personal financial loss by the production at Drury Lane of a highly successful pageant announced as " T h e Jubilee, in which will be introduced The Pageant, as it was intended for Stratford-upon-Avon." After the first performance on October 14, 1769, Hopkins, the prompter, recorded in his diary: " T h e Jubilee consists of Dialogue, Singing and Dancing—This Entertainment was written and compiled by Mr. Garrick.—It was received with Bursts of Applause—The Procession of Shakspeare's Characters is the most superb that ever was exhibited, or I believe ever will.—There never was an Entertainment produced that gave so much Pleasure to all Degrees, Boxes, Pit, and Gallery." 5 The Jubilee, produced as the afterpiece in the customary double feature at Drury Lane, ran for ninety-one nights the first season, twenty-seven in 1770-71, and thirty-five when it was revived in 1775-76. At Drury Lane, with Garrick in control of the situation and in his element, The Jubilee was a satisfying success. At Stratford, in the production of the Shakespeare Jubilee, he was at the mercy of the weather, of local conditions and people, the support of reluctant members of the Drury Lane Company, and the resistance to innovation. Perhaps it was too much of a violation of decorum or discretion for a professional showman to write, promote, and produce a spectacle in which he was the principal actor. The profusion of similar festivals ever since is at least a tribute to the idea. Garrick for his own generation and for posterity was above all else an actor, and because of the universality of his art, his references or discussions in his letters of his theories, innovations, qualities, and triumphs as an actor are generally intelligible. Yet rarely did Garrick write about his interpretation of roles; he was much more j . Dougald MacMillan, Drury Lane Calendar, 1747-1776 (Oxford, 1938), p. 143.

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taken up in his letters with the management of the Drury Lane Company. Though he was the best actor at Drury Lane and assigned himself his roles, he did not abuse his prerogatives as a manager to aggrandize the actor. His salary as an actor was fixed; he could increase his income only from a division of the profits, and profits built up from the effectiveness of the company as a whole. A summary of Garrick's management is not called for here, but for the reading of his letters some generalizations may be helpful about the fabric of Drury Lane, theatrical traditions and conventions, the functioning of the Company, and the temper of the audience, for these elements had some bearing on the management of the theater. When Garrick and Lacy became joint managers in 1747, Drury Lane was the older and smaller of the two patent theaters. Built in 1664 by Wren, Drury Lane had remained essentially the same structure, seating about a thousand spectators, until the new managers in their first season of 1747-48 made alterations increasing the capacity by about two hundred and fifty places. In 1762 remodeling nearly doubled the capacity. Later, in 1775, with Robert and James Adam as architects and with the addition of land surrounding the approaches, Drury Lane was redesigned not so much to increase capacity as to enhance the external appearance and the elegance of the interior. As for the productions, Garrick himself improved the acting by clearing the stage of spectators, admitting no one behind the scenes, and making innovations in lighting. He was less effective in reforming the audience, though he did succeed in abolishing the timehonored practice of not charging admission until the end of the first act. Coerced by riots, he had to bow, however, to the traditional practice of charging half price for admission at the end of the third act of the major production that always came first. Prices ranged from one to five shillings, just about the equivalent of Elizabethan or modern prices for theater tickets. The theater opened its doors at five o'clock or earlier, and the play began promptly at six. With no system of reserved seats, many sent footmen and servants early in the afternoon to hold seats for them; others crowded in often long before the performance to obtain the better seats. Under this system, tradesmen, workmen of all kinds, and apprentices had little chance to attend the opening play, as most of them were not free from their work until seven or after. Furthermore, their choice of entertainment was not so much the

xlviii

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long play but the farces and pantomimes, and music and dance that made up the second feature of the evening. This influx of half-pay customers was considerable and often nearly doubled the receipts. While often in his later years Garrick played to a capacity audience, the average daily attendance during his management ran from three-fourths to a half of the capacity, or from around 900 in the earlier years to around 1200 in the last ten years. The average daily receipts ran from £150-175, a little more than twice the actual cost of production, or a yearly average of around £25,000. Both of the patent theaters, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, opened in September and closed in late May or early June when their companies broke up and many of the actors went off" for the summer season to provincial theaters in England and Ireland. There were no productions on December 24 or 25, January 30 (the anniversary of the execution of Charles I), the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent, or during Holy Week. In the opening week the two theaters by agreement played on alternate nights; occasionally the theaters were engaged for an oratorio. Otherwise, Drury Lane and Covent Garden played six days a week. The managers controlled the calendar for three-fourths of the season, including announced benefit performances for charities such as the General Lying-in Hospital. For the last two months of the season approximately fifty benefit performances were scheduled for members of the Company. In negotiating the annual contract, the individual members of the Drury Lane Company had by tradition the option of a set gross salary or a lesser salary with a benefit performance. If the benefit were elected, the actor or member, either alone or in combination if a lesser employee in the theater, sold tickets for the evening to friends and admirers and received the net profits of the play and afterpiece of his own choice. The scheduling of benefit performances involved, inevitably, much jockeying for dates, popular plays and afterpieces, and the support of fellow actors. Some estimates of the tastes and potential size of the audience can be made from an analysis of the repertoire of Drury Lane under Garrick's direction. In an average season of 180-190 days, around fifty plays plus an equal number of afterpieces were produced. A popular play ran for about nine performances; only a very few of the most popular tragedies and comedies were presented more than fifteen times in one entire season, though repetitions of farces, pantomimes, and musical pieces were more frequent. Of the fifty

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different plays in the repertoire of a season, an average of less than five were new plays, in the sense that they were not alterations but original works produced for the first time in any theater. A slightly larger number of new afterpieces were introduced during a season. With the same pattern obtaining at Covent Garden, the conclusion is fairly sound that the two theaters just about exhausted the potential paid admissions in one week, and that a play that ran for two weeks was seen by about all the London playgoers.6 Garrick's audience was conservative in taste. It liked to see old plays again and again, but revised and adapted to please current fashions. The reworking by producers and collaborators of old plays for revivals or new productions has always been the practice, and largely anonymously, in the theater. Alterations have been made of earlier adaptations by nameless redactors until it is well-nigh impossible to establish the text of a given production of an old play, much less identify the last reviser. Just how many of these alterations Garrick made, generally of Shakespeare and against his better judgment, has been estimated as high as thirty-five. The production of a new play was something of a risk, and that is why so much of Garrick's correspondence is taken up with the criticism, selection, and staging of plays fresh from contemporary authors. In these decisions, involving old and new plays, Garrick was caught between his preference for the older dramatists in their original texts and the box-office pressure for alterations; between his preference for the older comedy and high tragedy and the current fashion for sentimentalism in both; and between his persistent solicitation of new plays and British conservatism. As a practical manager with a heavy weekly payroll to meet, in order to have an operating margin for new plays, Garrick exploited, at times cynically, the appetite for spectacle, dance, music, farce, and pantomime in the afterpieces in the second part of an evening program. It is some indication of popular taste that the eight most frequently acted pieces during Garrick's management were not plays but pantomimes, farces, one ballad opera, and one so-called "entertainment"; and it is also an index of Garrick's competence that he wrote three of the most popular afterpieces: Harlequin's Invasion, Lethe,

a n d The

Jubilee.

Introductory generalizations regarding the Drury Lane Company over a period of twenty-nine years are almost impossible until the 6. Harry William Pedicord, The Theatrical Public in the Time of Garrick (New York,

'954)» Passim.

1

Introduction

full publication and analysis of the Drury Lane Records (account books) and the Cross-Hopkins Diary, now in the Folger Shakespeare Library. For the general reader of Garrick's letters, however, sufficient insight into the diversity and functioning of the Company may be gained by examining the entries from the account books reproduced as an illustration in Volume III. Regarding these accountings, several remarks should be made. First, not all of the actors or staff or "servants" were involved in one production, and secondly, the actors were generally outnumbered by the other necessary members of the company such as scene painters, housekeeper, prompter, treasurer, and the like and their staffs. Occasionally, singers, dancers, musicians, and even actors were engaged for only one play or production. In short, the size of the Company varied annually, and even weekly, from seventy-five or more to twice that number. Though accountings were daily, most of the Company were on seasonal contracts. These contracts were generally transacted in the summer, often in competition with Covent Garden, and included not only salaries but specifications regarding roles, expenses, and services. With all the annual turnover, however, the Drury Lane Company remained relatively stable—actors, staff, and servants often continuing for ten, fifteen, and more years, occasionally with slight annual increases in compensation. Garrick's correspondence, on the other hand, tends to deal with the disruptions and initial contracts and subsequent disruptions, and hence leaves an impression of much instability and flux. Engaging new members and raises in salaries often involved some correspondence, but once negotiated, the affairs of the Company moved on year after year with little comment in the correspondence—much of the business being transacted by George Garrick and Lacy. Theatrical misunderstandings, because of the semi-public nature of the business, often ended up in the press, much to Garrick's frustration and to the prejudice of the theater; but notoriety belies frequency. With all the success and prosperity of Drury Lane, Garrick did not relax; rather he became more exacting in repertoire and tireless in engaging the best actors and actresses, until by 1772 he had assembled a company seldom if ever equaled in talent, versatility, and competence. In the greenroom Garrick was a thorough disciplinarian. Aware of the liabilities of so unstable a business, and the irresponsibility of the actors, Garrick realized he must firmly establish his authority; as he said: "Woe to y e Manager who is not the first Actor in his

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Company." He maintained his position, not by surrounding himself with lesser actors—he unhesitatingly always engaged the very best—but by playing all kinds of roles himself, major and minor, and everlastingly holding himself to the most exacting standards every time he appeared. In fact, so excellent was Garrick's coaching and producing that his greenroom became the school of British acting in the eighteenth century. Actor after actor trained in his Company went out to act in, manage, and build provincial theaters, sometimes doing all three in combination. Here are some of the graduates of his discipline: Mossop, Sparks, and King in Dublin; Ross in Edinburgh; Arthur and Palmer in Bath; Yates in Birmingham; Love in Richmond; Aickin in Liverpool; and Willoughby Lacy, Murphy, and Colman in London. Garrick never lost touch with his old pupils and wrote them often, sent them actors, supported their petitions for licenses, lent them money, and generally wished them well. Garrick carried over into his correspondence with actors some of the nervousness of his greenroom manner and was often impatient with people he liked and respected, as for example, Mrs. Cibber and Jane Pope, Ross, Powell, and Aickin. Generally these letters concern a disruption in the normal friendly relations and the smooth working of the Company and give the distorted impression that Garrick was in everlasting conflict with his associates. Occasionally illness or rivalries in casting made it necessary to enforce contracts and fines. Ambitious members of the Company bargained for better contracts, and younger people had to be added to the Company. It is even doubtful if the jealousies and caprices of the actresses Abington, Yates, and Younge, which seemed to bother Garrick so much, were exceptional in the fair business of the theater. It is extraordinary how frequently what appear to have been irreconcilable quarrels ended up in more genial relations. Garrick's abiding aifection for his Company was expressed in his frequent generosity to individual actors, but even more in his role as "Father founder & Protector" of the Theatrical Fund, set up in May 1766 by donations and benefits for the relief of the Drury Lane Company in disability and retirement. As steward, or chief executive officer, with a committee of thirteen from the Company, Garrick continued until his retirement to support the Fund by acting in benefit performances and soliciting the patronage of wealthy friends. By the annual accounting of May 1774 the Fund had grown to nearly three-thousand pounds.

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Introduction

The correspondence over new plays was both delicate and exasperating. Garrick wrote on September 14, 1746: " I have a Play now with Me, sent to Me by My Lord Chesterfield & wrote by One Smollet; it is a Scotch Story, but it won't do, & yet recommended by his Lordship & patroniz'd by Ladies of Quality: what can I say, or do ? must I belye my Judgment or run the risque of being thought impertinent, & disobliging ye Great Folks? some advice upon that Head if You please." When Garrick turned down Smollett's Regicide he had one of the more notorious of literary wrangles on his hands. The same prejudices bedeviled him when he turned down Home's Mgis: he had to face not only Bute, the Prime Minister, but all the Scottish literati. He had to resist Mickle's Scottish friends and his frustrated wrath. Even Johnson was embroiled against his better judgment in all the sorry business of Cleone.

The most exasperating correspondence was with an actor or an actor-manager turned author; above all others in pertinacity in this category were Samuel Foote and Arthur Murphy. On top of the jealousy of actors, both men were suspicious of managers, and both felt superior to Garrick as writers. Foote never let Garrick forget his resources as a mimic at the Haymarket, and Murphy his influence as a journalist and lawyer. The acrimony at times reached the point where Garrick terminated all correspondence and resolved the conflicts only in the presence of referees. In all the uneasy rivalry, however, there were intervals of congeniality and respect, and it was in the spirit of these happier moments that Murphy later wrote Garrick's life. To authors submitting new plays Garrick was stubbornly or generously at fault in analyzing deficiencies when he refused a play. Authors either resented this, or once having remedied the shortcomings assumed their plays acceptable and were incensed at a second refusal. This went on all of Garrick's life, and in later years involved him in fruitless correspondence with such forgotten authors as Mrs. Griffith, Mrs. Cowley, and half-a-dozen others. Exasperation reached the limit when such obstinate hack writers as William Kenrick, Joseph Reed, John Shebbeare, John Hill, and Thomas Francklin paraded their resentments in the press. Then Garrick went to the courts and did himself and the theater no good. Dramatic authors first and last were the burden and the bane of Garrick's correspondence. There were of course some good writers: on the credit side were such men as Richard Cumberland, Isaac Bicker-

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liii

staffe, Joseph Cradock, and Edward Thompson; but here again, though friendship with them promised well at the outset, in the end they became more of a trial than a comfort. In all fairness to individuals, however, some authors and dramatists became Garrick's most valued friends. He became acquainted with John Hawkesworth when the latter submitted his alterations of Southerne's Oroonoko, and from then on they collaborated in several productions. The Garricks often visited the Hawkesworths in Bromley, Kent (it was there, to Hawkesworth's private school, that Garrick sent the boy Cautherly who later was to become a member of the Drury Lane Company), and both men were friends ofJohnson. Their mutual interests eventually included Hawkesworth's miscellaneous writing, some of it written for the journals and newspapers in support of Garrick. Then there was George Colman; Garrick may have first noticed him in 1757 when Colman paid him a "Genteel Compliment" in a public letter defending the actor against pamphleteering attacks. By late 1760, when Garrick had undertaken to produce Colman's first play, Polly Honeycomb, he was addressing him as "Dear Coley." Colman was an admirable person—educated, gifted, socially polished, industrious, and ambitious, an equal and challenging rival to Garrick. From 1763 to 1765 Garrick entrusted to Colman the managerial responsibilities at Drury Lane; the letters which he wrote Colman from abroad during this period are among his best. Already they had begun a collaboration in playwriting which after Garrick's return was completed in The Clandestine Marriage. Garrick's refusal to take the lead in the play, and the circulation of rival claims to the authorship led to an estrangement, but the friendship was revived by the popular reception of the play in the spring of 1766. The two men in their private and professional lives continued on the best of terms, temporarily interrupted when Colman did not take Garrick into his confidence when he became manager of Covent Garden and later of the Haymarket. From the outset of their own friendship they drew together friends such as William Hogarth, John Wilkes, Evan Lloyd, Charles Churchill, and later Henry Bate. Often spontaneously, but occasionally from Garrick's nervous suggestions, these friends endeavored in miscellaneous journalism to cultivate for Garrick a favorable press. Garrick's theatrical career ended in the spring of 1776 with the sale of Drury Lane to R. B. Sheridan and his friends for £35,000. Garrick had immediately recognized Sheridan's talents as a play-

liv

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wright, and in the first troubled years of Sheridan's management of Drury Lane Garrick continued to give him support and encouragement. But Sheridan was not the careful businessman Garrick was, and when financial difficulties faced the new owners, and Willoughby Lacy became more irresponsible than ever in handling his inherited holding, Garrick had to protect vigorously the mortgage given him by his successors. T h e friendship meant more to both Garrick and Sheridan than the surviving correspondence indicates—Sheridan wrote the Monody on Garrick's death and was chief mourner at Garrick's funeral. For a man who passed so much of his life in public—who " went home every night," as Johnson said, " w i t h the plaudits of athousand in his cranium"7—one is inclined to forget or overlook his private life. Though Garrick's achievements and most of his friendships were of theatrical origins, nevertheless, his success as actor-manager afforded him the means for private pursuits, and his talents a capacity for private friendships. Outside the theater Garrick's most valued friendship was with Edmund Burke, though that too began in the theater. As a student in Dublin, Burke may have seen Garrick acting in a summer season at Smock Alley Theatre, though it is probable they did not meet until Burke's rather unsettled days in London—perhaps in 1756-57 when Burke first attended the London theaters and frequented the Grecian Coffeehouse. By Christmas 1760 the friendship was established, and on that day Garrick at a dinner in his home introduced Burke to Johnson. Prior to 1760 Burke's aspirations were literary, and not until after he returned to Ireland as secretary to William Gerard Hamilton was he involved in politics. This move, as Garrick predicted, was the turning point in Burke's life. In December he was elected to Parliament, and on January 18, 1766, Garrick cordially congratulated him on his maiden speech. Thereafter, until Garrick's death, their extant correspondence only partially records their unreserved confidence and affection, and Garrick's financial and political help to Burke. A friendship such as theirs could not have endured on expediency and dependency and glitter of fame; from the outset it included political acquaintances, the families of both men, and many enjoyable visits at Hampton and at Gregories, Burke's country house. 7. Boswell's Life of Johnson, ed. G. B. Hill and L. F. Powell (Oxford, 1934-1950) III, 363.

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lv

After his early years in London, with only Paterson of his early business advisers active in London affairs, Garrick turned to Richard Cox and then to the Hoare family as his bankers. Again, as earlier, financial transactions led to close friendships and frequent family visits. Cox, an army agent, founded a bank which is now affiliated with Lloyds, Ltd.; he was a member of a coterie of men of affairs, and was on familiar terms with several in Johnson's circle. The several Hoares inherited a banking business, reputedly founded in 1646, which still bears the founder's name. In place of Draper and Clutterbuck, Garrick found trusted legal advisers, close family friends, and eventually executors in Albany Wallis and Thomas Rackett. The conviviality Garrick formerly shared with Hoadly and Hogarth he now relished in the company of Richard Rigby and Bernard Hale. Both were army politicians, Rigby as Paymaster, Hale as a colonel and later LieutenantGovernor of Chelsea Hospital. Hale had married Rigby's sister, and they attended with the Garricks the lavish entertainments given at Rigby's country seat and at the Paymaster's office in London, and elsewhere. Here, as in other social circles, Garrick became acquainted with his hosts' neighbors and friends. Finally, among Garrick's many professional friends, mention should be made of Henry Wilmot, a wealthy solicitor of Farnborough Place, Hampshire, and his family, and of Dr. William Cadogan and his daughter Frances, who owned a villa at Fulham. Cadogan, who became Garrick's physician in his later years, enjoyed badgering Garrick by disparaging Shakespeare. All these men prospered, yet the friendships were more private than professional, and wives, children, and friends were included in pleasant family social life in London and in country homes. Garrick's correspondence with the aristocracy was extensive. Exclusive of fifty-five early letters to the Burlingtons and Devonshires and fifty-two letters to Lady Spencer (the latter only partially represented in this edition), Garrick addressed on an average about every twelfth letter to someone with a title, native or foreign. Furthermore, some twenty-five additional aristocratic correspondents are represented in the letters which Garrick saved but to whom his own letters are missing. The number and distinction of these correspondents is impressive until one analyzes the correspondence. Garrick's assistance was sought by the Duke of Bedford, Lady Sarah Lennox, the Delavals, and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn for private theatricals. Others

Ivi

Introduction

wrote recommending an author or actor, and a number who were all but strangers solicited, in the final months of Garrick's acting, the favor of boxes at Drury Lane. Garrick's own letters are generally addressed to titled officials about business matters or for patronage. For example, he wrote to Lord Bute when Prime Minister about command performances, to Sir Robert Wilmot in his position as secretary to the Lord Chamberlain under whom the theater was patented, and to the Earl of Hardwicke asking for soldiers for the Jubilee; letters to the Duke of Newcastle, the Duke of Bedford, the Hon. John Spencer, the Archbishop of York, and even some to the Duke of Devonshire concern recommendations for or solicitations of patronage. But where sinecures were concerned, in the overwhelming majority of instances Garrick only sought a favor once, and the exchange of letters was slight and formal. Apart from visits to Chatsworth and Londesburgh, which stemmed from Mrs. Garrick's association with the Burlingtons, it seems that not until the summer of 1771 were the Garricks invited to the luxurious summer parties that were the feature of country life among the aristocracy. In July and August of that year the Garricks were successively the guests of General Conway and Lady Ailesbury at Park Place, Berkshire, Lord and Lady Edgcumbe at Mount-Edgcumbe in Devonshire, and Lord Lyttelton at Hagley. In the summer of 1772 the Garrick's declined an invitation from Lord and Lady Hyde at The Grove in Hertford, but instead visited the Hon. Thomas Fitzmaurice on the Isle of Wight. In June 1773 they visited the Earl Temple at Stowe, Buckinghamshire; in August they were with the Earl of Shelburne at Bowood House in Wiltshire, and during that summer and the following they stayed with Lord and Lady Camden at Camden Place, Kent. The summer invitations of 1775 were from the Duke of Newcastle at Oatlands, Surrey, the Devonshires at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, and Lord and Lady Ossory at Ampthill, Bedfordshire. They again visited the Devonshires and Ossorys in 1776, and were with Lord Palmerston at Broadlands in Hampshire in 1778. This accounting is by no means the complete record of all the Garricks' rounds of visits to mansions of the landed aristocracy. It should be remembered, however, that often these invitations and acceptances were the result of but a slight acquaintance, and there was little more in the association than the prestige of the title and the fame of the actor. In a few notable instances title and fame were incidental to the friendship. Garrick's acquaintance with Grey Cooper, Joint-

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Ivii

Secretary of the Treasury, William Young, Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, and Joshua Reynolds was well established before any of them were knighted. Then again, of all the fashionable young aristocrats who had sought Garrick after his triumph at Goodman's Field, Lord Halifax and Lord Sandwich continued to seek out Garrick's company through the years, and Garrick often solicited commissions for friends from the latter, who became First Lord of the Admiralty. A later and younger correspondent was the Earl of Pembroke, a capable cavalry officer and administrator; judging from his letters to Garrick alone, for Garrick's to him have not been found, it must have been a congenial and warm friendship. Fortunately both sides of another correspondence survive, that between Garrick and the Hon. Thomas Fitzmaurice, who was much younger than Garrick. Second son of the Earl of Shelburne, he was well educated at Oxford and the Middle Temple, active in Irish politics, and a leader in industry. By the time of the earliest extant letters in the exchange, he and Garrick were already on confidential terms, and until Garrick's death they were often together, both in London and at country houses in the summer. Undoubtedly the Garricks' relationship with the Earl Camden and his family was one of the most satisfying. As Charles Pratt, Camden had been King's Counsel, Attorney General, and Chief Justice, before he was raised to the peerage in 1765; from 1766 until 1770 he was Lord Chancellor. From the many letters to the Garricks, as well as Garrick's own letters to Camden and allusions to him in others, it is evident that the families were often together in public and private, that both enjoyed the success of the other and shared a taste for the arts and letters. Ultimately neither Garrick's fame nor the titles of his correspondents would make his letters worth the reading unless some of the qualities of learning, wit, and charm that graced his social life animate the correspondence. Of this worth and these qualities the reader is to judge. With social dilettanti, parasites, idlers, and climbers, he was courteous and patient, but he did not cultivate their company. In general Garrick's friendships and the correspondence that endured some years were with men of respected attainments in the world in which he lived—men of active ability who rose to positions of power and esteem by meritorious application and intelligence, irrespective of origins. Whatever the occasion or the social position of his correspondent, Garrick wrote as an equal but with due respect for the forms of social distinction. The

Iviii

Introduction

Garricks were always welcome and charming guests; their wit and good taste soon eclipsed their fame, and in many of the letters human relations are portrayed at their best. Before his first letter to Lady Spencer on June i, 1764, as far as is known Garrick wrote to only eight women. After his return from France in 1765 until his death, Garrick wrote about 140 letters to 41 female correspondents. The sources of this increase were more in external conditions than in any change in Garrick. The social institution of the salon, under the patronage of women, was spreading in England, and women were ambitiously inviting writers, painters, musicians—public figures in literature and the fine arts—into their homes. If Garrick's increasing friendships with women were in any respect exceptional it was only that he was a party to Mrs. Garrick's several friendships with women. Then, too, perhaps because of his name, more of Garrick's letters were preserved as the years passed. Whatever the causes, the correspondence with women does not essentially differ from the tone and subject of his correspondence with men. Only occasionally do the letters go beyond the usual business correspondence with actresses, authoresses, the social formality of invitations and notes of thanks. T o the exceptions already mentioned, such as Mrs. Cibber and Mme Riccoboni, should be added a few women whose company Garrick thoroughly enjoyed for the same reasons that he cultivated the society of a few men. Least known of these was Frances Cadogan, the daughter of Garrick's good friend and physician, Dr. William Cadogan. From handling her father's social correspondence, she began writing Garrick on her own about daily family life with her father and about her reading, and Garrick responded in the pleasant spirit in which she wrote. The same spirit of unaffected confidence graces his letters to his nieces Arabella and Catherine Garrick and Elisabeth Fürst. Perhaps best known of his female correspondents is Elizabeth Montagu, wife of Edward, a son of the Earl of Sandwich, and by her own inheritance and marriage perhaps the wealthiest commoner in England. After the death of her only child she devoted herself to becoming the leading intellectual hostess of London in her house on Hill Street in Mayfair. By inviting to her parties men and women with a taste for literature and conversation she rescued cultured society from whist and quadrille. Sooner or later she entertained everyone of any literary reputation, and she herself wrote a

Introduction

lix

number of essays, a refutation of Voltaire's strictures on Shakespeare, and thousands of letters. Garrick respected her for more than her success as a hostess, and she in turn found more in Garrick than a famous guest. Under all the persiflage of flattery was a frankness and solid respect for talents well used, and their letters preserve some of the wit and good taste which must have been in their conversation. If Mrs. Montagu and Garrick were, after all, much alike, superficially the friendship of Garrick and Hannah More was the more incongruous but of more consequence. The daughter of a poor country teacher, all her life she devoted her modest talents to teaching, literature, and evangelism. During a visit to London in May 1774, when she was twenty, she effusively described to a Bristol correspondent her appreciation of Garrick's acting. This was repeated in part by Dr. James Stonhouse, her confidential counselor, in a letter to Garrick suggesting that Miss More would deeply appreciate meeting him. Garrick responded promptly with an invitation "and after an hour passed together, they parted reciprocally pleased, having discovered in each other what was gratifying to both—natural manners, original powers, and wit, and in union with good nature." 8 Much of their correspondence survives, covering many visits, their collaboration on plays, and the exchange of occasional verse. For all of Garrick's considerable help and kindness, Hannah More returned the mead of praise, poured out as did most of her female contemporaries too copiously for modern restraint. In all Garrick's friendly relations with women Mrs. Garrick was a party, and never more so than with Hannah More, and at Garrick's death it was to Hannah More that she turned for comfort, and the friendship and correspondence begun by Garrick was continued by Mrs. Garrick as the two women grew older. For several reasons Garrick's friendship and correspondence with the first Countess Spencer has been regarded as the one most cherished by him. First of all, more of their correspondence has survived than that with any other woman: fifty-two of Garrick's letters and fifteen from Lady Spencer. Then, Garrick's contemporaries shared his admiration for her, and her famous daughters, the fifth Duchess of Devonshire and the second Countess of Bessborough added to the reputation of their mother. Finally, though the Garricks first knew the Spencers in 1759 and a subsequent friendship 8. William Roberts, Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Mrs. Hannah More (New York, 1835), I, 36.

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developed when both families were in Italy in 1763-64, their intimacy did not come until the last thirty months of Garrick's life when there was all the stir and flourish of Iiis retirement from the theater and then the two short years of leisure before his painful last illness and death. This late and strong friendship was enjoyed in frequent and long visits at the Spencers' Althorp and the Garricks' Hampton. Garrick's last social gathering was at Althorp—from the Spencers' he was driven to the Adelphi to die. That Rigby offered Lady Spencer the privacy of a room at the Paymaster's office from which to watch Garrick's funeral is some measure of Rigby's respect for Lady Spencer's affection for Garrick. Apart, however, from the historical prominence of the friendship, the correspondence bears out the tradition that Garrick found in Lady Spencer the feminine grace and intelligence and unaffected naturalness that he so much admired, though in the latter he may have fallen short himself, and that she in turn saw beyond the actor to the integrity and generosity and responsiveness of the man. For Garrick the friendship was not an isolated private affair; it included the splendor of Althorp, the gatherings of the Spencer family and friends, the long conversations, the hunts, the consciousness that all this way of living was English country life at its best. Lady Spencer on her part appreciated at Hampton the graciousness of her hosts, the good taste in theater, literature, and the arts, the gentle living in a well-appointed house and spacious gardens. The friendship known only by fame and a few scattered letters, epitomes, and secondary sources is made public in the Letters of David Garrick and Georgiana Countess Spencer, 1759-1779,

edited b y

Earl Spencer and Christopher Dobson (Cambridge: The Roxburghe Club, i960)—letters which all must regret were not made available for inclusion in this collected edition. For all who are interested in the recent renaissance of Johnsonian studies and in the recovery of the Boswell Papers, now in Yale University, or who have been beguiled by the scholarly fiction of an Age of Johnson, Garrick's correspondence is bound to be a disappointment. Johnson himself is almost absent and his satellites are glimpsed only occasionally in their orbits. Yet a moment's reflection will correct the perspective and comfort vain expectations. It is the nature of letters to preserve the distant and the exceptional, not the immediate and habitual, a fact no better illustrated than in a comparison of Johnson's Letters and Boswell's Life. Many names

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in Boswell recur in Garrick's letters and among his correspondents. But in many instances Garrick's letter is the accident, not the rule, in his intimacy in London and elsewhere with many of the Johnson circle. Something has already been said by way of introduction to Garrick's friendship and correspondence with Fitzmaurice, Hawkesworth, and Burke. Of the rest of the circle, Garrick was first acquainted with Charles Burney as a musician and composer; later he was an enthusiastic admirer of Burney's History of Music, which he had patronized by introducing Burney to Continental acquaintances and contributing himself some account of Italian music. If Johnson did not share Garrick's enjoyment of Burney's enthusiasm for music, the two men did respond to the vitality of the Burney household, and Frances Burney in her affection for both men portrayed them in some of their more memorable moments. Yet there were uneasy relationships between Garrick and some of the Johnson group. Garrick's dealings with George Steevens ran the usual course of most of Steevens' personal relations. It began with Garrick lending Steevens many old plays from his library, and Steevens in turn assisting Garrick in collecting and cataloguing. In the end, as usual, Steevens' irascibility, his predilection to vex people got the better of him, and Garrick was disillusioned over the ingratitude for benefits forgot. Then Garrick reluctantly turned down some halfdozen of Sir John Hawkins' plays and reaped the bitter resentment of Johnson's future biographer. As for Goldsmith, most of the Johnson circle found him at one time or another a difficult companion. Garrick was no exception, and in the one letter to Goldsmith that has survived Garrick is placating fancied slights and quick resentments. All but one of Garrick's letters to William Warburton have disappeared, while Warburton's many dull and pompous letters to Garrick indicate little more than that Garrick rather respected Warburton's ambition to a kind of literary dictatorship. The surviving correspondence between Garrick and Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edward Gibbon, Thomas Percy, and the Thrales is also fragmentary and hardly touches on the diverse intellectual interests that Garrick shared with these and others in whose company he is often found in Boswell's Life of Johnson. Most disappointing of all, the life-long friendship of Garrick and Johnson is all but unrecorded in their correspondence. They had grown up in Lichfield, journeyed to London, and sought their fortunes in each other's company. Inevitably, in the first ten years

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or so in their preoccupation with separate careers they may have seen little of each other, yet they were enough in touch for Johnson to write the prologue for the opening of Drury Lane under Garrick's management, and in his second season as manager for Garrick to produce Johnson's Mahomet and Irene. At Garrick's death Johnson offered to write his life, an offer for reasons unknown not accepted by Mrs. Garrick. T o summarize in this introduction the many records covering the last thirty years of their hours and days together is not justified by the scantiness of their surviving correspondence. Cheerfully most of us would trade all eighty-seven of Garrick's letters to Peter Fountain for half-a-dozen to Johnson. Yet how typical the two surviving letters to Johnson must be. When Johnson in 1756 published his proposal for an edition of Shakespeare's plays Garrick was among the early subscribers, but in the ensuing ten years of dilatory editing Johnson spent the subscriptions and lost the list of the subscribers. Garrick during the same years was collecting old editions of Shakespeare (which Johnson often borrowed), putting on the Jubilee, and playing Shakespeare at Drury Lane. Johnson the editor was jealous of Garrick the actor, with the result that when the Plays of William Shakspeare in eight volumes were finally published in 1765 Garrick is nowhere mentioned. What is more, Johnson rather petulantly insisted Garrick had not been a subscriber; whereupon Garrick, in the first of the two surviving letters, patiently and kindly reminds Johnson of his initial support. In the second surviving letter, in 1771, Garrick turned to his old master for helpful criticism on an epitaph for Hogarth. Johnson responded with a proposed revision of some eight lines, and concluded in what must have been the spirit of much of their correspondence: " T h u s easy it is to find faults, but it is hard to make an epitaph. When you have reviewed it, let me see it again, you are welcome to any help that I can give, on condition that you make my compliments to Mrs. Garrick." 9 Though the very intimacy of the friendship precluded an extensive correspondence between Garrick and Johnson, we must be grateful that the recording spirit, James Boswell, the real architect of the Johnsonian Age, became a partner in the friendship and a correspondent of Garrick. They had first met in London in χ 760, but the surviving letters of their correspondence do not start until 1767, and then open, as might be expected by anyone knowing Boswell, 9. Letters of Samuel Johnson, ed. R. W. Chapman (London, 1953), I, 373.

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Ixiii

with a letter asking how Garrick had liked the History of Corsica. Garrick's response was most satisfactory—that is, flattering—and an exchange was launched of which some thirty-one letters survive. A t first the letters concern Corsica and Paoli, the theater in Edinburgh, invitations, the plays of Mickle and Home, actors and actresses, old books and new plays, the Jubilee, and only very slowly does the attention shift to Johnson, his edition of Shakespeare, his tour of Scotland. By September 1772 Boswell is soliciting additions to his catalogue of Johnson's writings, and thereafter the references to Johnson are most frequent. Boswell never for long lets Garrick forget the good qualities of Scottish life and letters, and Garrick never fails to respond with the sought-for praise. Boswell with all his prolix cordiality, seldom wrote a line without an ulterior purpose, and no one could long relax in his presence. More than perhaps in any of his other letters, Garrick replied to Boswell with the excited tenseness of an actor before a watchful audience. Only in a limited sense did Garrick's correspondence end with his death. The affectionate companionship of the Garricks in their marriage has left no records, unless perhaps in a devoted widowhood of forty-three years. The correspondence that literally was addressed to Garrick in his lifetime was in spirit and content often addressed to both the Garricks, and he answered for both of them. Hence, at his death, the friendships made did not terminate, and Mrs. Garrick continued the correspondence, too extensive to be included in these volumes. The survival of Garrick's memory and influence can be found also in the letters of his surviving friends; these too in the larger perspective of origins and continuity are a part of his correspondence. As in his life, so in his death, Garrick is a " s e t " subject for depreciation and eulogy. Neither is called for in an introduction to his letters; rather, let it end with the words of Joseph Reed, who, in writing to Garrick said, " A s to your letters I cannot think of parting with them . . . I shall keep them as carefully as ever Bigot did the relicks of his favorite Saint, & hope they will be preserv'd with equal care by some of my Descendants. A t present they are but literary trifles: a century hence they will be invaluable curiosities." 10 G. Μ . K . 10. "Theatrical Duplicity," p. 107.

3 + L.D.0.

Sources of Manuscripts The following list gratefully acknowledges the private collectors, public libraries, and dealers who at one time or another over almost forty years have generously contributed the texts of manuscript letters to the collected edition. Acknowledgment is made to the original donor and not the present location of the manuscript. The manuscript source of individual letters is also acknowledged in the addenda to each letter. Aberdeen University Library, Scotland R. B. Adam, Buffalo, New York American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City American Art Association, New York City American Autograph Shop, Marion Station, Pennsylvania Anderson Galleries, New York City Society of Antiquaries, London P. Astins, Bath, England Roger W. Barrett, Kenilworth, Illinois John David Batchelder Collection, Library of Congress, Washington James Beattie Collection, Aberdeen University Library, Scotland The Duke of Bedford, Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire Walter R. Benjamin, Autographs, New York City Berg Collection, New York Public Library BibliotMque publique et universitaire, Geneva, Switzerland Cortlandt F. Bishop, New York City Bodleian Library, Oxford, England Boswell Papers in Yale University, New Haven Bristol Public Libraries, England British Museum, London Charles A. Brown Collection, University of Rochester Library, New York A. B. Burney, Tunbridge Wells, England Cardiff Public Libraries, Wales L. Collison-Morley, Nostra, Shamley Green, Surrey Library of Congress, Washington Thomas Connolly, Chicago, Illinois Columbia University Library, New York City

Ixvi

Sources of Manuscripts

The Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth, Derbyshire P. J . Dobell, Tunbridge Wells, England Percy Dobell and Son, Tunbridge Wells, England Robert Eddison, Lindfield, Sussex Francis Edwards, Ltd., London W. W. Elkins, Philadelphia Enthoven Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London R. P. Esty, Philadelphia Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Förster Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London George G. Fortescue, Boconnoc, Lostwithiel, Cornwall Free Library of Philadelphia, Collection of the Rare Book Department Joseph W. P. Frost, Kittery Point, Maine Garrick Club, London Guild Collection, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Harvard College Library Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard College Library Frederick W. Hilles, New Haven The Hon. Mrs. Eustace Hills, Kendal, Westmorland Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., New York City R. N. Carew Hunt, London Hunter-Baillie Collection, Royal College of Surgeons, London Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, California Hyde Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Hyde, Somerville, New Jersey National Library of Ireland, Dublin Captain William Jaggard, Stratford-upon-Avon, England Dr. Johnson's House, Gough Square, London Johnson Society, Johnson Birthplace Museum, Lichfield R. W. Ketton-Cremer, Felbrigg Hall, Roughton, Norwich, England Theodore Leavitt, Ketonah, New York W. R. LeFanu, Shottesbrook, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex David M. Little Collection, Harvard College Library Cox and King's Branch, Lloyds Bank Ltd., London Amy Lowell Collection, Harvard College Library Compton MacKenzie, Denchworth Manor, Berkshire, England Thomas F. Madigan, Inc., New York City Maggs Brothers, Ltd., London Maine Historical Society, Portland Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum, Columbia University, New York City

Sources of Manuscripts E. Pcrcival Merritt, Boston, Massachusetts Albert G. Meyer, Highland Park, Illinois Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City Harold M. Moulton, New York City Harold Murdock Collection, Harvard College Library Sir John Murray, K.C.V.O., D.S.O., London National Portrait Gallery, London Newberry Library, Chicago New York Public Library, New York City Sir Laurence Olivier, London James M. Osborn, New Haven Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York City Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia The Duke of Portland, Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., London Herbert Stanley Renton, New Rochelle, New York University of Rochester Library, New York Royal College of Surgeons, London John Rylands Library, Manchester, England Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral of St. Asaph, Flintshire, Wales William Salt Library, Stafford, England The Earl of Sandwich, Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdonshire National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh Shakespeare Memorial Library, Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon Sheffield City Libraries, England Sheridan Collection, Harvard Theatre Collection George D. Smith, New York City Sotheby & Co., London Walter T. Spencer, London R. R. Vernon, Taunton, Somerset, England Victoria and Albert Museum, London Francis Godolphin Waldron, London National Library of Wales, Cardiff Sir J . Wathen Waller, Woodcote, Warwickshire Waterson Collection, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Watson Collection, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh Gabriel Wells, Inc., New York City Wisbech Museum and Literary Institute, Cambridgeshire Yale University Library, New Haven Owen D. Young, New York City

lxvii

Short Titles, Abbreviations, and Titles Used Without Specific Reference T h e sources for editorial annotations are specifically acknowledged in the notes to each letter. For recurrent sources, the following short titles have been used; those marked with an asterisk are the obvious sources for certain kinds of material, and therefore have not always been mentioned in the notes. London is to be understood where no other place of publication is given. Biographical material, unless otherwise specified, is from the standard reference books, French and English, notably the Nouvelle Biographie girUrale and the Dictionary of National Biography. Alumni Cantab. Alumni Oxen. Baker

BD Blunt, Mrs. Montagu BM Boaden Boswell

Burke

CG

* Alumni Cantabrigienses, ed. J. Venn and J. A. Venn, Cambridge, 1922-1947 * Alumni Oxonienses, 1715-1886, ed. Joseph Foster, 1887-88 •[Army Lists] A List of the Officers of the Army and of the Corps of Royal Marines, 1754Some Unpublished Correspondence of David Garrick, ed. George P. Baker, Boston, 1907 •Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of the British Parliament, 1708-1807, 1807 •David E. Baker, Isaac E. Reed, and Stephen Jones, Biographia Dramatica, 1812 Reginald Blunt, Mrs. Montagu, "Queen of the Blues," 1923 British Museum Private Correspondence of David Garrick, ed. James Boaden, 1831-32 * Boswell's Life of Johnson, together with Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides and Johnson's Diary of a Journey into North Wales, ed. George Birkbeck Hill, revised and enlarged by L. F. Powell, Oxford, 1934-1950 •Michael Bryan, Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, revised and enlarged by George C . Williamson, 1903, 1905 •John Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, 1833*Catalogue of the Library of David Garrick, Esq. . . . which will be sold by Mr. Saunders . . . on Wednesday, April 23d, 1833 Covent Garden Theatre •John Chamberlayne, Magnae Brittanniae Notitia, 22d to 38th eds., 1718-1755

lxx Cokayne, Baronetage Cokayne, Peerage Collins, Peerage Colman

Cradock Davies DL DLC DNB DP

FC Foot, Murphy Fitzgerald FSL Genest GM Gibbs, Peerage

HCL Hedgcock HM HTC Kenrick Knapp LC Little LM London Lysons

Short Titles •George E. Cokayne, Complete Baronetage, Exeter, 1900-1906 •George E. Cokayne, Complete Peerage, 1887-1898 •Arthur Collins, Peerage of England, 1779 George Colman, Posthumous Letters, ed. George Colman, the Younger, 1820 •Court and City Kalendar, 1749-1865 •Court and City Register, 1742-1814 Joseph Cradock, Literary and Miscellaneous Memoirs, 1826 •Charles Dalton, George the First's Army, 1910-1913 Thomas Davies, Memoirs of the Life of David Garrick, ed. S[tephen] J [ones], 1808 Drury Lane Theatre •Dougald MacMillan, Drury Lane Calendar, 1747-1776, Oxford, 1938 • Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Sir Sidney Lee, Oxford, 1893•Henry R . Plomer, George H. Bushneil, and Ernest R . McG. Dix, Dictionary of the Printers and Booksellers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1726 to 1775, Oxford, 1932 Forster Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Jessi Foot, Life of Arthur Murphy, 1811 Percy Fitzgerald, Life of David Garrick, 1899 Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. •John Genest, Some Account of the English Stage, from the Restoration in 1660 to 1830, Bath, 1832 *Gentleman's Magazine, 1731-1907 •Vicary Gibbs, and others, Complete Peerage, 1910-1959 •Sir George Grove, Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 4th ed., ed. Η. C. Colles, 1940 •Joseph Haydn, Book of Dignities, 1851, and later editions Harvard College Library, Cambridge Frank A. Hedgcock, A Cosmopolitan Actor, David Garrick and his French Friends, [1912] The Litde Theatre in the Haymarket Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard College Library, Cambridge •Gerrit J. Judd, Members of Parliament, New Haven, 1955 William Kenrick, Letter to David Garrick, Esq., 1772 •Henry Kent, Directory, or List of Principal Traders in London, 1732-1746; later, 1746-, Kent's Directory Mary E. Knapp, Checklist of Verse by David Garrick, Charlottesville, 1955 London Chronicle, 1757-1823 •Samuel Lewis, Topographical Dictionary of England, 7th ed., 1848 Pineapples of Finest Flavour; or, A Selection of Sundry Unpublished Letters of the English Roscius, David Garrick, ed. David M. Little, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1930 London Magazine, 1732-1785 Henry B. Wheatley and Peter Cunningham, London, Past and Present, 1891 Daniel Lysons, Environs of London, 1792-1796 •William Münk, Roll of the Royal College of Physicians, 1878

Short Titles Murphy

Nichols Nichols, Illustrations

Pcake, Colman

Poetical Works Reade Reed, "Theatrical Duplicity"

Roberts, Hannah More Sotheby

Stockdale Walpole, ed. Lewis Walpole, ed. Toynbee Wilkinson Wooll, Warton

3*

lxxi

Arthur Murphy, The Life of David Ganick, 1801 • S i r William Musgrove, Obituary Prior to 1800, ed. Sir George J . Armytage, Harleian Society Publications, vols. X L I V - X L I X , 1899-1901 John Nichols, Literary Anecdotes, 1812-1816 John Nichols, Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century, 1817-1831 *Nouvelle Biographie ginirale, ed. Ferdinand Hoefer, Paris, 1852-1866 J . Osborn, Compleat Guide to All Persons Who Have Any Trade or Concern with the City of London, and Parts Adjacent, 1740-1752; later, by Richard Baldwin, 1752Richard B. Peake, Memoirs of the Colman Family, 1841 • H e n r y R . Plomer, Dictionary of the Printers and Booksellers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1668 to 1725, ed. Arundell Esdaile, Oxford, 1922 Poetical Works. . .of David Ganick, printed for George Kearsley, 1785 • A l e y n L. Reade, Johnsonian Gleanings, 1909-1946 Joseph Reed, "Theatrical Duplicity: O r a Genuine Narrative of the Conduct of David Garrick, Esq: to Joseph Reed on his Tragedy of Dido," manuscript, Harvard Theatre Collection, Cambridge William Roberts, Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Mrs. Hannah More, N e w York, 1835 1744-1767: Samuel Baker; 1767-1778: S. Baker & G . Leigh; 1778-1800: Leigh & Sotheby; 1800-1804: Leigh, Sotheby & Son; 1804-1816: Leigh & S. Sotheby; 1816-1828: S. Sotheby; 1828-1836: Sotheby & Son; 1837-1843: S. L . Sotheby; 1843-1850: S. L. Sotheby & C o . ; 1850-1863: S. Leigh Sotheby & John Wilkinson; 1864-1924: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge; 1924-: Sotheby & Co. Percival Stockdale, Memoirs, 1809 Horace Walpole's Correspondence, ed. Wilmarth S. Lewis and others, Oxford and New Haven, 1937Letters of Horace Walpole, ed. Mrs. Paget Toynbee, Oxford, I9°3-I9°5 T a t e Wilkinson, Memoirs, York, 1790 John Wooll, Biographical Memoirs of the Late Rev. Joseph Warton, 1806 • H e n r y S. Wyndham, Annals of Covent Garden Theatre, 1906

Volume I Letters 1-334

Chronology of Garrick's Life 717, February 9

Born at the Angel Inn, Hereford

717—1737

Living and being schooled in Lichfield

737, March 2 March g

T o London with Samuel Johnson Enrolled at Lincoln's Inn

738-1741

I n the wine trade in London

740

First theatrical entertainments produced: Lethe (Drury Lane, April 1); The Lying Valet (Goodman's Fields, November 30)

741, June-July

Appearance at Ipswich Theatre under the assumed name of Mr. Lyddall

741-42

Professional actor at Goodman's Fields Theatre; Richard III on October 19, thereafter eighteen more roles

742, summer

Playing at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin

742-45

Playing at Drury Lane

745-46

Co-manager and actor at Smock Alley

746-47

Engagement at Covent Garden Theatre

747, April 9

Contract as partner at Drury Lane

749, J u n e 22

Married Eva Maria Veigel

-

749 7

2

Resident in Southampton Street, London

751, summer

Visit to Paris

754

Purchase of the Hampton villa

763-65

The Grand Tour

769, September

The Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford

772, March

Move to No. 5, The Adelphi

775-76

Final season as an actor; sale of Drury Lane

779, January 20

Death in London

ι

To Captain Peter Garrick1

Lichfield Hond Sir. Jan1? y e 21 173 [3]2 It is not to be expresst y® Joy that the family was in at y® Receipt of Dear Pappa's Letter, which we Receiv'd the 7 t h of this Month. My Poor Mamma 3 was in very good Spirits two or three Days after she receiv'd your Letter, but now begins to grow maloncolly again, and has little ugly fainting fits, she is in great hopes of y® Transports going for you every Day, for we Please our selves with y® hopes of your spending this Summer with y e Family. My Mamma rec'd y® thirty Pounds you was so good to send her, she has Paid ten Pounds to M r Rider for one Year's Rent, 4 and ten Pounds to the Baker,5 and if you can spare a little more as you tell her you will, she is in hopes of paying all y® Debts, that you may have nothing to fret you when you come home. My Mamma staid six Weeks in London after you left her at M r Bronker's,6 for she was very much out of order when she was there, and they would not part with Her before & was very good to her. M r Adair 7 came twice to see my Mamma at Mr. Bronker's, & was prodigiously civil and obliging, and beg'd her to send him some Ale, which she designs to do very soon: My Mamma paid for your Stockings & Holland as soon as you left her, and as soon as She came down to us, not to her great Joy, she found us very shabby in Cloaths, & in all our accoutrements, that we was rather like so many beggars than Gentlemen Soldiers, but with much ado at last she equipt us out a little better, & now with a great Deal of Mending & Patching we are in Statu quo. We receiv'd a Letter from Brother Peter,8 which was directed to you, and we thought it would be too troublesome to send it inclos'd, so have sent you a Coppy of it on y® other side, at Present we have but little News, Doctor Hector is married to Miss Pop Smith,9 & M r Lawrence 10 who is at London is married to y® Lady who you saw at Cap tn Goddard's 11 a very pretty Woman (only she squints a little, (as

To Captain Peter Garrick

2

Cap t n Brazen says in y e Recruiting officer) 12 Cap t n Weldon 13 has parted w t h his Commision, and has half Pay as Lieutenant of a Man of War, every Body loves & likes M r e Weldon, but he has quarell'd with most of y e People in this Place, which gives y e poor Woman a great deal of uneasyness, but they are both highly Civil to our family. M r & M ra Harvey 14 came to see my Mamma as soon as she came to Town, she is a very fine Lady & has return'd but few of her visits, I am great favourite of both of them and am with them every Day. M r Walmisley 15 has had a very great quarrel with

One full of Pride but void of Brains J One who with daring Insolence Makes Love his weak, his poor pretence, To Stile all Fools, himself y e Man of sence. He's not a Soldier, dreads all War, Excepting am'rous conflicts with y e Fair, Not blus'tring, but of easy Gait, Not warlike, but Effeminate; His Head's not hard, his face not bold, Both Head & Face of Softest mould: Not made for War, but lazy Peace, Seraglios more than Champs would please, Free from noise indulging ease. He's not a Beau with empty Scull His teeming head is always full, Of Rhymes & lies, Conceit & Pride, To praise himself, & Others to deride: * So half fill'd Casks of new brew'd Beer, Top full of something oft appear, When vent is given soon you'll find, The great production Froth & wind. He's not a Squire who never thinks, All morning hunts all Evening drinks, But turns ye Rule by Reason's light, Drinks all y e Morning, hunts at Night. Drink in a Morning ? some will say, Not Ale, you fool, but fine bohea Fittest Liquor for Coquettry Then Dangles after Belles at Night, The hunting hate y® Light. Go Muse seek out this foolish Man, Go search, mistake him if you can, Such Men as he are very Rare And Oh he shines beyond compare! When found Accost him, Sir, I pray, You'll pardon what I Now shall say, And take a Friendly free advice; Quit Poetry y r darling Vice,

April 24, 1735

21

A vice y® Witling cries, y o u jest ? r 2 a [1749]! I am very much hurt when Your Ladyship's says, that you are asham'd to think how much trouble You give me; in return, I say again & again, I have the greatest Pride & Pleasure in writing to your LadP & in hearing that my Letters are so graciously receiv'd; if so, how improper is your Saying above; for I am certain, that you are never asham'd of giving Pleasure, or doing y e kindest Offices. We are very well appriz'd here, that y r LadP will be fifty soon; & I most Sincerely hope, that I may celebrate it forty Years hence, as I shall always have y e greatest reason to remember it, with a most gratefull & Joyfull Heart— You are pleas'd in many of your Letters to speak somewhat disrespectfully of an old Woman, as y r LadP very maliciously represents her, therefore I must beg you to drop this Subject, that I may not be furnish'd with an Instance of Your Illnature, or a Reflection upon Y r Understanding. We have receiv'd & Eat the Pye, & a most charming feast it was; tho a little spoil'd before we could finish it; Next tuesday, I intend to taste y e Ale, according to Orders, & in ye mean time I send my thanks for both. I saw so much of Master Kitt at Chiswick, 2 that I knew, when the Objects, which glar'd, & dazzled him at first from their Novelty, had been more familiar to him, that he would find his tongue, & exert it w t h much Spirit; however I don't doubt but my Jimzy's great knowledge of men & things, will keep it, in a proper Subjection; & tho I can't hope to See Kitt so perfect a Creature as his Brother, yet if he is y e Second black Genius in y e World, it ought to Satisiye both him, & y r LadyP. Thus Anthony was to Caesar \3 Now I have mention'd M y Jimzy, & as I have profess'd & have, a most disinterested & cordial Esteem for him, I think it my Duty to acquaint him, that I fear Sally at Chiswick is failing in her faith to him: Charles & She walk'd out togeather, & were seen in amorous parle; therefore I hope that his Understanding & inconstancy With his Learning & a few large Glasses of White Wine, Will be able to subdue [h]is illplac'd Affections, & root ye Passion from my Jimzy's Breast. I beg, If He would have Charles poyson'd, or Sally murder'd, that I may know it by y e next post.

September g, 174g

123

She has had no return of her Illness, the reason She did not care to let y r LadP know of it, (I suppose) proceeded from some very delicate considerations; what was y 6 Cause of it, I am not yet certain of, but I am in hopes, I had more reason to be rejoyc'd, than shock'd at it, which I was exceedingly, at y® Time it happen'd— What can I possibly say to the many repeated professions of Friendship & regard Your LadP has shew'd M e ; was my talents but Equal to Your Humility & Benevolence, I would Endeavour to write, as I feel; but as it is, my Actions, & future behaviour can only speak for M e — Our house I am affraid will not be ready for Us, till about this Day three Weeks; it looks well & is very convenient;— She is most prodigiously busy in ranging, settling, furnishing, & changing her Mind twenty Times a Day. The Signs & tokens, Your LadP has observ'd in the Young Lord, I will venture to say (without any knowledge in Astrology) are the certain Indications of a right Mind; but indeed if he has not one, there will no Regard be pay'd hereafter to Blood, & hereditary Virtues. Your Flattery about my Letters is very intoxicating indeed, but that I put to y® Acc 4 of Your Partial Goodnature. I am (with M r a Garrick's warmest Love) Your LadyP'8 Most Dutifull: D Garrick Address: T o T h e R i g h t H o n b l e the Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmarked. Endorsement by the recipient: M r G : rec d Sept. 5 t h . Source: F S L . I. a. pet at 3.

71

The year is established by the reference to Merton (see Letter 58, n. 1). Master Kitt, with Jimzy, Sally, Cokey, Follow, and Charles, was apparently a Chiswick. Macbeth, III, i, 56f.

To The Countess of Burlington

Sepbr 9th I 7 4 9 I must beg leave to tell Your LadyP a Story; I will not say much for the Goodness of it, but the Circumstances are whimsical & were very rediculous at the time they happen'd. a fortnight ago I was at London with my Charmer, & as I had some Business to do in y e

124

To The Countess of Burlington

Strand, I left her at B. house writing to your Lad®: as I was walking along, I saw a number of People got togeather about a Bookseller's Shop; 1 My Curiosity lead me to make one & I just came as a Man was getting up a Ladder to hang on a Sign for the Shop, which was New & fitted up very hansomely; I jostled in amongst the Crowd to See whose head had the honour of being Exalted; when behold, I saw my own; & My Name written about it, in Letters as tall as Myself; You may imagine I was much disconcerted to be thus caught; however I slunk away as fast as I could, & I believe was lucky enough not to be known by any present, or seen by any, who might have given out that I was superintending the work— M re Garrick was so tickled, with the thing, & y® Description of my confusion, that I could not help letting Y r LadP know it— I must farther inform You, that as No honour can be had, without Envy or illnature, some minor wit, has written a Satirical Poem upon it; in which he very gravely says, (& I am told dully too) that he does not think my writings are Sufficiently sublime to entitle Me to be a Sign; I am very much of his opinion, & hope he will print his Sentiments, that I may (good or bad,) send 'em for your Entertain4 at Londesburgh. I shall certainly let your Lp know when the Scrawls (a most proper phrase indeed) become troublesome; & I must likewise say, when they do become so to Me, I shall be a very unfit person either to corespond or be acquainted with Your LadP. You must not imagine to shake me off by y® Excuses of the Season's advancing or by depreciating your own Letters; I have tasted the Sweets of em too often to relinquish 'em Easily, & I can have no Business possibly, that should or ought to debar me from so much pleasure & Satisfaction. I wish from my soul I could send a Confirmation of what was Suspected; & which at present is my greatest Wish; 2 but be it as it will, I ought to be satisfy'd, for I have really more true happiness than comes to my Share— to ask more would be arrogance & presumption— She is well & happy, & / cannot be otherwise. Monday next (I am told) is the Day we are to keep, with Joyfullness and thanksgiving; 3 It will be remember'd by Us with that true pleasure & Satisfaction which result from Minds capable of thinking, & from Hearts capable of feeling; that I may for many, many Years, have no occasion to lament upon it, as I have now the greatest Reasons to rejoice, is the most pleasing hope, & sincere Wish of Mad m Your Lad»'8 Most Gratefull and Dutifull D. Garrick

September 12 [1749]

125

P.S. We Shall send for y® Pye to Night, it comes very apropos, & we cannot say how much we are oblig'd for it— the Ale is most Exquisite, & so much, that y® Strength is forgot in y® Drinking it— it almost took me by surprise last Saturday what can I say about y® Liberty we have of going to Burn house ?— I am mute, & shall make use of your Goodness for a week or ten Days, I beg my best Services & Duty may be presented to My Lord— M r s Garrick has undertaken when she writes, to present 'em to Lord & Lady Hartington Address: T o The R 4 Hon b l e the Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market-Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmarked. Endorsement by the recipient: M r G. recd Sept 12 t h , 1749. Source: L. Collison-Morley. ι. Possibly William Griffin's bookshop. 2. Having a child; a hope in which he was disappointed. 3. Lady Burlington's birthday was Sept. 13, not the 1 Ith as Mrs. Garrick thought.

72

To The Countess of Burlington

London Madam Tuesday Sepbr 12 th [ 1749] 1 Ever since last Thursday our family has been in an uproar, & poor Sir Paul is oblig'd to submit to his Lady's displeasure— Your Lady® must know, for y e better understanding our present disaster, that we are oblig'd to send our Letters from Merton Every post Day; & the Man that was intrusted with her Letter to Y r LadP last Thursday, unfortunately forgot his Comission, & return'd on Saturday follow« with y® Letter in his pocket— My Tyrant was really in a passion, & poor I preach'd up patience & Philosophy; pray my Dear (said I) don't be so uneasy;— but My Dear (said She) what will my Dear Lady Burlington think of not receiving a Letter from Me before her Birth Day; in short she fretted herself Sick about it, & y® poor fellow is become such a Nasty Devil, that he has not made his appearance since— I should have acquainted Y r LadP with our Misfortune in my last, but I had sent it away to London some hours before We knew of it— there was likewise a Letter to Lady Hartington under y® Same Cover— We receiv'd y® Pye on Sunday Morning, & Eat y® best half of it at Dinner; it was better (if possible) than y® first; & 7*

126

To The Countess of Burlington

we are so fond of it, that we carry it in y® Chaise with Us, & regale occasionally— She desires You will give M r Camus 2 a very fat kiss for her, & she will certainly repay You at sight— Your LadP knows she never lik'd y® Crust of Pyes, but this she devours immoderately, & blesses Ye hands that Sent it, and the hands that made it at Every Morsel— Our little Family rejoic'd exceedingly last Monday; & tho we won't dispute with Londesburgh about Grandeur & fine doings upon y e Occasion, Yet we have y e vanity to think that we could Match 'em for truth, Sincerity & warm Wishes. Did I imagine it, or did y r LadP once tell Me, that you should not be sorry, if some Chairman of Yours had Something to do the Playhouse ? Vacances of many kinds happen daily in our theatrical State, & I need not inform Your LadP, who has the Most Interest with his Majesty & the Ministers of Drury Lane— We open y e house on Saturday next— I have written this purely to quiet the heart of my Charmer, & to give y r Lad» information of the Mistake— She sends her Kisses without Number, & I my Duty without bounds. I am Y r LadP'8 most Obedient D Garrick Address: T o The R ' hon ble the Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market-Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmarked. Endorsement by the recipient: M r G reed Sept* 15® Source: FSL. 1. Reference to Merton establishes the year (see Letter 58, n. j). 2. Evidently the chef at Londesburgh.

73

To The Countess of Burlington

London Sepbr ye !6 th [1749] 1 What can I possibly say to Your LadyP more than I have said, & yet vastly short of what I ought to say ? — Your Kindness will even over-run my Imagination; & if My Heart, can keep pace with it, 'tis as much as I can Expect from it, with all its gratitude, ardor, Sensibility & what not— Your last favor so conferr'd, & with such flattering Circumstances can have no proper return from Us in

September ig [7749]

127

Words, & our future Actions alone must Speak for Us— My Charmer says, She can Speak upon y® Occasion, & intends doing it, in a post or two; I confess my inability, & I doubt ev'n her capacity, upon so singular a Subject— We are just now going back to Merton: tho the Playhouse opens to Night, I have taken the Liberty (as I am not personally wanted) to Excuse Myself from attending it— We are so happy in y® Country, when we are alone, that I shall take Every opportunity of enjoying it with convenience to my affairs— We are in great hopes that the twenty seventh of next Month will bring Your LadyP up to Town; We have heard Lord & Lady Hartington will be in Town then, & we flatter Ourselves they will not come alone— Our house is very near finish'd & we think to lye in it, by this day fortnight.— I am Your Ladyship's Most sincerely dutifull D: Garrick— I beg my Duty to his LordP & my best Services to Lord & Lady Hartington— I am much flatter'd, by ye Remembrance the latter makes of Me in her Letters to M re Garrick— Address: T o The R 4 Hon b l e the Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market-Weighton, Yorkshire. Endorsement by the recipient: M r G. rec·1 Sept r 1 9 t h ; by Mrs. Garrick: quickly, quickly, Says my Spouse,— So I can only Send you now, ten thousand Kisses. Source: F S L . ι . The year is established by the reference to finishing the new house in Southampton Street.

74

To The Countess of Burlington

London Sepbr ig»» [1749] 1 The Moment I receiv'd Your Ladyship's Letter, I sent the Porter to enquire after the rich Stuff, he took to ye D: of Newcastle.2 The Person (One Price) who had the care of those things, dy'd, & this parcell, with many others were found in his Room, when M r Redyard went to Enquire after it— the Duke says, if y r Lad» pleases, he will send it away imediatly; but Nothing will be done with it, till farther Orders— My Charmer sent the watches away

128

To The Countess of Burlington

some time ago, & they must be at Vienna before this time. Your LadP will scarcely give Us time to finish one Pye before You Send Another: We do 'Em great Justice I assure You, & Eat 'em to y e last Inch— that which is mention'd in Your Lad®'8 last, is just now arriv'd, and to morrow, we shall certainly begin the Attack— I am affraid we shall take very little of our Ale to Southampton Street; It is y e best was ever drank, & we are convinc'd from daily Experience, that it is as Wholsome, as palatable— I have sent the Poem, 3 & should have sent it before, if I had not thought it too insignificant— Your LadyP can possibly have no thanks to return Me, for any thing I do or say, and Every command I am honour'd & made happy with, I look upon as an additional Obligation. The Theatre in Drury Lane open'd last Saturday with the fullest house for the first Night, that has been known for these twelve Years: & there is a fine prospect of Success— I have not yet made My appearance, nor intend to do it till next Month— 4 The Town has it, that I shall open with Benedick the Married Man; I have so resolv'd, & I find the People are very impatient to laugh with Me & at Me— I have enquir'd after Francis francis, but he is not yet return'd from Wales— there was a Man call'd Robert the Helper in my Lord's Stables, who had a great desire to be our Coach man; he bears a very good Character, & if he could be spar'd from his Lordship's Service, we would be glad to have him imediatly— I suppose he can drive, or he would not have offer'd himself. Walley, Your Ladyp's late Servant, has apply'd to Me for some place in y e Playhouse— I told him there was no vacancy & if there was, I should not employ him, till I had Your permission— as soon as he left Me, he told Hobson our Stagekeeper, that Mre Garrick had occasion'd his being turn'd out of Burlington house, & that it was very hard I would not make use of him— I am affraid from this, that he is a bad Man, & I am sorry for it; He will soon I believe (from his appearance) repent his ill behaviour. I can't get to Night better pens or paper, so I must beg to be Excus'd this very bad scrawl— She says, she will write next post— she is sitting by me & complains of a cold Nose; but be our Noses how they may, our hearts I am sure are Warm & wholly Y r Ladyship's I am ever gratefull & dutifull D: Garrick I am just return'd from y e house and am oblig'd to write in a great

{October 3,

129

1749]

h u r r y ; besides She has p u t so m u c h W a t e r into y e I n k that I fear m y Letter is not l e g i b l e — Endorsement by the recipient: M r G. rec·1 Sept 24 th .

Source: F S L .

1. The year is provided by Garrick's reference to his opening in the part of Benedick. 2. Thomas Pelham-Holles (1693-1768), first Duke of Newcastle, was at this time First Lord of the Treasury. 3. This has not been found. 4. He, however, made his first appearance of the season on Sept. 28 in Much Ado About Nothing. The character of Benedick was chosen to anticipate the malice of small wits whose lampoons and epigrams upon his recent marriage fluttered in every coffeehouse. Passages in this part applicable to the actor occasioned great mirth (Murphy, I, 173-175)·

75

To The Earl of Burlington

Merton Sept., 2 i s t , 1 7 4 9 Y o u r being unmolested b y m e has been o w i n g to the great scarcity at present of N e w s , W i t a n d Intelligence of every kind. T h e only scrap of Poetry I h a v e seen for some time, that is w o r t h reading, I h a v e sent y o u r L o r d p . on the other side . . the author S i r Charles H a n b u r y W i l l i a m s 2 Source: Chas. J . Sawyer, Ltd., Catalogue 230, 1955, No. 235, fragment. 1. Identified in the source as " O n the Late Mr. Kent." (See also the Earl of Ilchester and Mrs. Langford-Brooke, The Life of Sir Charles Hanbury-Williams, 1929, p. 130.) 2. Sir Charles Hanbury Williams (1708-1759), diplomat and writer of satirical occasional verse.

76

To The Countess of Burlington

Madm [October 3, 1 7 4 9 ] 1 I h a v e got permission f r o m m y T y r a n t to return Y o u r L a d P thanks for the last C a r g o e of A l e , it c a m e safe to B u r l n H . last W e e k — I h a v e at last got information that S r W i l l m A b d e y 2 [illegible] in S u r r y , & both w e l l ; they are expected in T o w n next w e e k — I a m

130

To The Countess of Burlington

going to y® Playhouse immediatly; & tho there is not much Company in Town, Hobson tells me y® Boxes are quite f u l l — M y Charmer can't keep a w a y — she is well & in the highest Spirits, in short we have Every thing to make Us happy, & W e want only y® Pleasure of seeing Y o u r Lad p to compleat our Happiness— Address: T o The Right Hon b l e The Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market-Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmark: O C 5. Endorsement: M r a G. reca Oct r 8 th . Source: FSL. ι . This letter is an autograph postscript to a letter of Oct. 3, 1749, from Mrs. Garrick to Lady Burlington (FSL). 2. Sir William A b d y (d. 1750), Bt., of Chobham Place, Essex (Owen Manning and William Bray, History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey, 1814, III, 19a, i96f., 200, 203).

77

T o The Countess of Burlington

London Southampton Street Madam. O c t t a 7 t h [1749] 1 W e have drank Tea in our new house this Afternoon for the first time, but we don't intend to lye there till y® latter end of ye next, or the Beginning of the Week after; & by that time It will be well air'd, & the smell of the Paint quite g o n e — W e are as busy as two Bees, & till our hive is well rang'd, my Sweet Charmer hums about to some tune. Every thing in All our Affairs goes on as W e could wish, & W e have good health to crown the Whole, I am sure I never can be Uneasy, While she confesses herself so happy, as She does at present— I don't know whether I inform'd Your LadyP of a Visit, that M r Roberts 2 paid us some time ago; such a formal, cool, uneasy congratulation I never yet saw or heard; such affected Ease with a forc'd unpleasurable grin was never Y e t assum'd with so little success; I am certain, (& she is of y e same opinion), that our happiness hurts h i m — but I am taking up too much of Your LadyP' 8 time with this very insignificant Subject— M y Charmer wants to know how her old Friend Kelly 3 does, & how he behaves in his new Employment; she does not doubt his Care, or his honesty, but a good Heart is not always attended with dexterous hands, or quick L e g s — I had bought a Poem this afternoon to send Y o u ; but it is so very dull & sickly, I durst not venture— I have lately compar'd

October 12

[1749]

the Duke of Buckingham's Character of King Charles the Second, 4 with my Lord Hallifax's, & the Superiority of y 0 latter, is amazing, not that I think the former without It's merit— I think that Character, Should be printed by Itself: but I shall leave all my Schemes & Notions of those Papers, till I have ye pleasure of seeing y r LadP in Town, which I hope will not be long— I beg my Duty to his Lord? & I am Mad m Your most gratefull and Dutifull D : Garrick. Address: T o T h e Right H o n b l e T h e Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market-Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmarked. Endorsement by the recipient: M r G . rec d Oct 1 10 t h . Source: F S L . 1. The year is determined by the reference to the new house in Southampton Street. 2. Probably John Roberts (iji2?-iy]2), politician, for whose monument in Westminster Abbey part of Chaucer's tomb was removed. Roberts was secretary to Henry Ι Pelham, Ι743~ 754· 3· A servant of the Burlingtons and a favorite of Mrs. Garrick. 4. John Sheffield (1648-1721), first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, A Short Character of Charles II, 1696.

78

To The Countess of Burlington

Southampton Street Madam. Oct br 12 t h [ 1749] 1 If I could at any time, with a safe conscience Excuse M y Charmer's not paying her Duty by Letter to Your Lad" it is at present; If You were to see her over head & Ears in trunks & Boxes, ranging, scolding & running about, You would not be surpriz'd (as I am not) that she is now in a great chair sleeping at my Elbow— I am greatly affraid she hurries her Spirits too much, I make my Complaints daily, but all my Answer is, that I must not vext her little soul out·, We design lying in Southampton Street on Saturday next, & I shall be overjoy'd when we are clear of the present disagreeable disorder: indeed she is a most charming Ranger, & never was creature born more calculated for y« Province of Wife, than my Tyrant; she has truly that most desirable Talent, of creating Love & making People do their Business at the same time— I hope Your LadyP won't take my word for this, but be very soon an Eye Witness

132

To The Countess of Burlington

Yourself of her fine doings— a most strange Affair happen'd some Nights ago to us, which I can't help relating— last M o n d a y Night or rather Tuesday Morning, (for it was between two & three) we were in Bed at Merton; we went there very early as u s u a l — M y Charmer was fast asleep, & I was just awak'd from some disagreeable Dream, occasion'd as I imagine from eating too much of her hash at S u p p e r — as I lay uncompos'd, I thought I heard a noise in y β house, & as we had y e D a y before pack'd up our Things for London, I fancy'd some Rogues were got to 'Em. I did not get up immediatly, but sat up in Bed & listen'd, & then I was more convinc'd that there were some Persons got into y house; then I rose softly, that I might not alarm M y Wife; but while I was putting on m y Cloaths, she heard M e : I desir'd her not to be frighten'd, & told her my Suspicions ; I then went into a Closet by our Bedchamber, open'd the Window, & plainly heard Mens Voices, (speaking low) in the K i t c h i n — the first thing, I lock'd an outward door that they might not get to her that w a y , while I went y e O t h e r — I lighted a Candle by our L a m p , took a Pistol & sally'd forth; when I was upon the Stairs, I heard ye Voices much plainer; I then c a l l ' d — who's there? & having no Answer I run quick down, cock'd my Pistol, & burst ye Kitchin door open with my foot, where to my very great astonishment, I saw Every Servant we had, standing round & all is as much A m a z e as Myself: after M y Surprize & Passion were over, I was told that as they were to leave the Gardiner the Next day, he had treated 'em with some punch, & that they had been taking their farewell of him, & were that Moment going to B e d — thus ended our fright, which when it was over, occasiond much Mirth upon our recollecting some Circumstances— one thing I had forgot, which was, that they had been playing their Tricks, & one of y e Maids faces (whom I saw first) was black d all o v e r — thus ended this most rediculous affair, which I am sure won't give Y o u r Lad? half ye Entertainment, it does U s at this present— M r s Garrick behav'd like a Heroine, & followd me in her White Night gown, like Andromache at the rear of her H e c t o r — M a d a m has just this Moment awak'd, & bids me say in her Name, that she will write a very fine Letter next Tuesday; she knows Y o u r LadP is a cross patch by y r last Letter to her; she says to have neither German or French at y e beginning or End was a bad sign: but if Y o u ' l l let her know the Reason, She promises most faithfully, to be a very good Girl, & do so no M o r e — so far for her, now to Myself a g a i n — W e go on very well; our Business better this Season (so far) than it

October 14 [1749]

133

was last; & the People flatter M e by saying, I am much mended in my looks & Spirits, & the illnatur'd, are greatly disappointed at my being so well & happy— now for a vast Misfortune!— I beg Y r LadP will prepare to meet it with more Philosophy than we have— the poor Slave is dead, hang'd in her chain,— she was sorely lamented for two whole hours, but is now happily forgotten— 2 The Prince visits Cov 4 Garden house to Night, 3 which is most graciously done of him, for affairs there have been very indifferent hitherto— We are told the King comes to Drury Lane the first day he comes to London— M r Stainforth has been ill— Miss & her Mother went with her One Night to y e Play— He intended to be in Yorkshire soon, but is disappointed of some Assistance in his office, & is very much concern'd at it— I wish I had something of more consequence, or more entertaining to Send Y r Lad®; There are many Elegies written upon y® Death of S r Watkyn Williams,4 but all (as you may believe) most Execrable— I beg my Duty to his Lordship & that Your Lad? will believe me Your most dutifull & Gratefull D : Garrick Address: T o The Right Hon b l e The Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market-Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmarked. Endorsement by the recipient: M r G. rec d Oct r 1 5 » . Source: F S L . 1. The year is derived from the reference to Wynn's death. 2. Nothing more is known about this incident. 3. The Prince of Wales saw Q,uin perform Macbeth. "Prince Frederick, perhaps through the means of Thomson and Lyttelton, was a warm patron of Mr. Quin. He generally used to attend his benefit; and the plays he commanded . . . were confined to Covent Garden Theatre in compliment to this actor" (Thespian Dictionary, 1805). 4. Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (b. 1692), third Bt., died on Sept. 24, 1749 ([Askew Roberts], Wynnstay & The Wynns, Oswestry, 1885, p. 12). Elegies appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine (vol. X I X , Oct. 1749, p. 470), London Magazine (vol. X V I I I , Oct. 1749, p. 47 3 f.) , and one by Richard Rolt was issued separately.

79

To The Countess of Burlington

Southampton Street Oct br the 14" 1 [1749] 1 I cannot refrain letting Y r LadyP know, that We have with much regret left Burlington house, to confine our Thoughts & Wishes to

134

To The Countess of Burlington

a much narrower Compass in Southampton Street; however I flatter Myself that we carry that along with Us, which will make Us happy and contented Anywhere. We din'd here to day, for y® first time, & shall lye here to Night— We are in pretty tolerable Order, & Shall very soon be quite Settled, as the Ranger-General bestirs herself most immoderately— I ought to make my Speeches again for the favour and permission of Burlington house, but as I can't say enough, & Your LadP will think I say too much, I intend to be silent— There is no News yet stirring here of any kind; M r Fox & Lady Caroline, are, & will be, very Unhappy, till Master Fox is recover'd from the inoculation— 2 he has 'Em very thick, & Ranby 3 & Garnier4 lye at Holland house to attend him— I am just now going to y e house to play the Fool6 again; our Houses are very full, The People in high Spirits, & I shall do my best Endeavours to keep 'em so— My Charmer would send You a very fat Kiss, but her Face with ranging is too dirty to Shew her Affections that way— She has try'd the Shoes, but they are vastly too large for her; she reserves all her thanks and Complimte for y e many Many kind Remembrances of her, & I am, with my best Services to my Lord, Your Ladyship's Most dutifull and most Obedient D : Garrick— Address: near

T o T h e R i g h t H o n b l e T h e Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh

Market

Weighton,

M r G . rec d O c t 1 17®.

Yorkshire.

Source:

Postmarked.

Endorsement

by

the

recipient:

FSL.

ι. The year is determined by the reference to the new house in Southampton Street. 2. Henry Fox (1705-1774), first Baron Holland, had married Lady Georgiana Caroline Lennox, eldest daughter of Charles, second Duke of Richmond, in 1744. O f their three sons, Garrick's reference is most probably to the youngest, Charles James (1749-1806), later the great statesman, who was a delicate and frequently ailing child; he had been bom on Jan. 24 (Stephen Fox-Strangways, Lord Ilchester, Henry Fox, First Lord Holland, 1920, I, i74f.). 3. John Ranby (1703-1773), Sergeant-Surgeon to George II. 4. George Gamier (1703-1763), physician to the Duke of Cumberland who appointed him Apothecary-General to the Army (1735). Among the friends whom he entertained at his country seat, Rookesbury, Hampshire, were Hume, Hogarth, Churchill, Garrick, Foote, and Gibbon (Arthur E. Gamier, Chronicles of the Gamuts of Hampshire, Norwich, 1900, p. 2 if.). 5. Abel Drugger in Ben Jonson's Alchemist.

October 31,

80

174g

135

To The Countess of Burlington

London Madam. Oct 21 s t 1749 I am just come from playing the part of Lothario to one of the greatest houses I ever saw; & indeed hitherto our Success has been very extraordinary— Every Body agrees I never look'd so well, or play'd so well; this I durst not have said of Myself, had not M y Charmer insisted upon my letting Your Lad» know it— but how can it possibly be Otherwise? I have all I wish, & all I want at home, & have the Satisfaction to find Every Body pleas'd with my Happiness— The Picture his Lordship was so good to give Us, came to our house Yesterday, and it is a very great Ornament to our dining Room, I must once again beg leave to make my acknowledgments for it— She has some design of sending her Nonsense to Chiswick, as She does not intend to ride this winter, and She pretends to have that permission from M y Lord. I am in some doubt, whether the great Indulgence she has met with, does not make her fancy Many things, which she should not. Next Tuesday Your LadP is to have a Letter, & in it, there is to be some News, that will Surprize You— 1 I am order'd not to give the least hint of it— We are very proud with the German & french in Your Lady 1 ^' 8 last, & all I have to hope is, that I may be thought worthy of so much honour & Goodness, as You have conferr'd upon Your Ladyship's Most Obedient D Garrick. br

Address: T o The Right Hon b l e The Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh near Market Weighton, Yorkshire. Postmarked. Endorsement by the recipient: M»1 G. rec d Oct 1 24 t h . Source: F S L . ι. The letter has not been found.

81

To The Countess of Burlington

London Madam. Oct br 3 1 s t 1749 The Town (notwithstanding the King's BirthDay is past) 1 being as dull as Myself, it is very impertinent to trouble Your LadyP with a

To The Countess of Burlington

136

Letter, but as I have Experienc'd Y o u r Goodness of Every K i n d , I shall run no great risque to make another tryal of Y o u r patience. T h e french Players are at present the only Topick of Conversation; there are many Parties forming for & against ' E m — 2 I don't in the least concern Myself in the Matter, for if they are permitted they can't hurt Drury L a n e ; so I am quite Neuter, & am very well satisfy'd, whether they succeed or N o t — A very humerous Accident has happen'd lately to M r Ralph, 3 the political writer at T u r n h a m Green, which I believe will make M y Lord & Y o u r LadP l a u g h — M r Doddington 4 (his great friend & Patron) call'd a Welch Servant of his, & bid him take a Card to fetch M r R a l p h & his Wife 5 to dinner; the Simple Fellow thought his Master meant a Cart, and actually took one they Use in Carrying things to T o w n with a Tilt over it, & drove to Ralph's h o u s e — the blood of y e great Politician was much inflam'd, & if M r D had not appeas'd his Fury by sending the Coach & Six immediatly after, it is certainly thought, H e had been in y e next Remembrancer, there is a Print made of this Mistake 6 which causes much laugh & ridicule— T h e K i n g was at Drury lane last Saturday, & comes again to Morrow, but he don't chuse to have his N a m e mention'd in the Bills, to such a play; & indeed I am not Surpriz'd at it, for it is the London Cuckolds, 7 & a very unroyal Entertainment it must b e — I have been troubled within these few Days with a Sickness at my Stomach & lost m y Appetite a little, but my best Physician has so well prescrib'd & taken such care of M e , that I am now quite well; if it returns, she intends to give M e a puke; so I must not be fancifull or I shall certainly have i t — She is (thank God) perfectly well & in Spirits, not but I ex a great alteration in y e latter, if Y o u r L/adyship's) next does not give some account of a Journey from Y o r k s h i r e — I am in heart & M i n d faithfully & Sincerely Y o u r Ladyship's Most humble & most Dutifull D : Garrick She joins with M e in Duty & Respects to M y Lord, Lord Hartington & her L a d y P — Address: near

T o T h e R i g h t H o n W e T h e Countess of Burlington at Londesburgh

Market-Weighton,

M r G . rec d N o v r a d 1749.

Yorkshire. Source:

Postmarked.

Endorsement

by

the

recipient:

FSL.

1. George II had been born in Hanover on Oct. 30, 1683. 2. Jean Monnet (1703-1785), as director, built up the Opera-Comique until it rivaled the Comidie-Fran^aise and the Comddie-Italienne, and it was through their

November 4 [1749]

137

opposition that his privilege (licence) was withdrawn in 1745. After a season as director of the Lyons theater he returned to Paris, and in Aug. 1748 was invited by Rich to bring a troop of French comedians to London. When Rich refused to sign a contract, Monnet turned to Garrick who advised him to hire the Little Theatre in the Haymarket. Supported by a subscription of four-hundred pounds, Monnet opened on Nov. 9. AntiGallicism flared up, and the Lord Chamberlain withdrew permission, with the result that the costs fell on Monnet. Garrick came to his rescue with a benefit. This was the beginning of a long friendship (Hedgcock, pp. 97-107). 3. James Ralph (1705?-! 762), miscellaneous writer and political journalist, had come with Benjamin Franklin to England in 1724. Late in 1747, with the support of the Prince of Wales, Dodington, Bolingbroke, and Horace Walpole, all of the opposition, he launched The Remembrancer, a political weekly, which ran until June 1751. Though at the time of this letter Garrick was pleased to laugh at Ralph, he had earlier produced Ralph's The Astrologer (DL, April 3, 1744), and was later (1754) instrumental in engaging his services for the Pelham ministry and in obtaining him a pension. 4. George Bubb Dodington (1691-1762), later (1761) Baron Melcombe, politician and patron of letters. 5. Rebekah (Ogden) Ralph, an American. 6. No such caricature is recorded in the British Museum Catalogue. 7. Edward Ravenscroft's comedy (1681) which for many years was regularly presented on Lord Mayor's Day (Nov. 9). In 1752 Garrick set the example by omitting it on that date, and shortly afterwards the custom was abandoned (BD).

82

To The Countess of Burlington

London Novbr 4th [ 1749]1 M y C h a r m e r has been so ill of a violent cold since last tuesday, that she hopes Y o u r L a d y s h i p will excuse her not w r i t i n g last thursday, as she i m a g i n ' d she should h a v e been able to h a v e done it this P o s t — tho she is m u c h better, y e t she still continues ill, & N o t h i n g (she says) b u t the thoughts of Y r LadP' 8 c o m i n g to t o w n could possibly keep u p her S p i r i t s — S h e has been advis'd to be blooded, b u t there w a s no persuading h e r ; & I hope now there is no occasion; for her C o u g h is m u c h a b a t e d , & since the C o l d ' s r e m o v a l to her N o s e & E y e s , (for she c a n scarcely see, & blows continually) H e r h e a d has been better, & she is not so restless in the N i g h t . Y o u r L a d ® m a y i m a g i n e I h a v e been ill at Ease for some days, for tho I a m o b l i g ' d to attend y ® house, she c a n as little bear m y absence, as I c a n b e a r to be absent f r o m her. Y o u h a v e so spoil'd her b y the tender proofs of Y o u r A f f e c t i o n , that least y r L a d ' should be too m u c h a l a r m ' d a t m y A c c o u n t , she bids m e assure Y o u , that she shall b e quite well soon, & that Y o u will find her as y o u w o u l d

i38

To The Countess of Burlington

wish at Y r return; and indeed (this Cold excepted), she has very seldom had the least Complaint since the disagreeable parting of the Two chairs at Hammersmith— the Birds came to Us this Morning safe, plump, & sweet; but as Y r Lad® advis'd us, to do Nothing to 'Em but pluck their Feathers, we had a long Consultation whether their inside was to be drawn; for we found 'Em quite perfect; but their Guts were condemn'd at last, & they were roasted without ' E m — I am of opinion that we have done wrong, but as I am generally over rul'd in these affairs, the Sin is not upon Me. She says She must know the very Moment You think You shall arrive; We are very impatient you know, & if she fails of Intelligence Your Lad p must answer for ye Consequence— I believe she has a packet of News, but if it all is worth half so much as the heel of a Pocklington 3 Shoe2 in Y r LadP'8 Packet, I will be bound to keep Lady R r Company as long as I live— I have a Quarrel with S Robert, & can't forgive him easily; I am told, that he said to the Lord Chamberlain, 4 that my friends intended to demolish the French Players; this was as injurious, as false, & as I was sent for to y® Duke of Grafton about getting up a Play for y® King the Morning after, I took occasion to acquit Myself & friends of y e Slander; & indeed I had much Complaisance shewn to Me, and promises of favour— It is said the french Players won't act at all; as they have occasion'd much Noise & talk in the town, they are prohibited, least there should be any Quarrels & disturbance in the Theatre— I can venture now upon my Word to assure Your LadyP that She is much better; for since I begun to write this, I have had a little scold, for walking into her dressing Room with unclean Shoes; I vex her little soul out, very often by my inadvertency, but I must go to her wherever she is, tho I set her tongue a running— but this I am sure is running on at a Strange rate, so I shall have some Mercy upon Your Patience & conclude Myself as I ought, & Ever shall be Your Ladyship's Most dutifull D Garrick— Source: F S L . ι. The year is determined by the reference to the French players (see the preceding letter). a. Probably a local allusion to the neighboring town of Pocklington. 3. Possibly Mary (Finch) Watson-Wentworth (d. 1761), daughter of the sixth Earl of Winchilsea, who had married Thomas, first Marquis of Rockingham, in 1716. She was a first cousin of Lady Burlington. 4. The Duke of Grafton.

[ca. January

83

ioy

/75ο]

139

To James Lacy 1

D r Sr [ca. January 10, 1750]2 I was so Engag'd with y® Comp* You saw yesterday that I did not say so much to Y r Lett 1 as I otherwise shd have done— as to y e affair of our Articles, the Lawyers I hope will Soon agree about them; I have consulted the first in their profession for Worth & Ability & they assure Me of the reasonableness & Necessity of them & therefore, as it is now in their hands, I must abide by their opinion, but at the same time have desir'd that there may be no breach between Us on Acc 1 of Triffles; they know my Intentions & will not press any thing that shall appear to them unworthy for You to grant or Me to ask.— I must desire You on many Accounts to bring this Matter to a Speedy Issue for I am very justly uneasy at y® Unaccountable Impediments it has met w th . So much for y e chief Business—3 as to y® affair of Mr Woodward4 & Mr Foote6 I shall be in Town tomorrow & will be at y® house where I desire to Meet You & M r Foote face to face; if this Story you hint at, is a Matter of Consequence I doubt not but I shall clear it to Your Satisfaction, & in my turn I will then mention some Grievances on my part, w oh can be attested by those of Undoubted honour. I have long bury'd many disagreeable Circumstances in my Breast, & was resolv'd to forget them, could I have found that my Behavior would have had Its desir'd Effect— but is it not most rediculously astonishing that M r Foote, who (You know) has been so particularly pleasant & unjust at all times & in all places should be so extreamly disturb'd at Something he has heard from his Friend M r Woodward ?— but I must Source: F C , draft and copy. 1. F r o m the allusions to the agreement as partners a n d to the c o m m o n interest in the a f f a i r of W o o d w a r d a n d Foote, it is presumed that this letter a n d the following are to J a m e s L a c y . 2. G a r r i c k h a d n o t as y e t received Foote's letter, to w h i c h h e replied in L e t t e r 85, a n d k n e w o f the quarrel only from a h i n t b y L a c y : h e n c e a date early in J a n u a r y «750. 3. Despite the unfriendliness a n d suspicion w h i c h existed b e t w e e n t h e m , L a c y a n d G a r r i c k were a d m i r a b l y suited for their i n d i v i d u a l functions in the m a n a g e m e n t o f the theater, w i t h the result t h a t D r u r y L a n e

flourished

as never before. " M r . G a r r i c k a n d

M r . L a c y d i v i d e d the business of the theatre in such a m a n n e r as not to encroach u p o n e a c h other's province. M r . L a c y took u p o n himself the care of the w a r d r o b e , the scenes, a n d e c o n o m y of the household; w h i l e M r . G a r r i c k regulated the more i m p o r t a n t business of treating

with

authors,

hiring

actors,

distributing

parts in

plays,

superintending

To James Lacy

140

rehearsals, & c . " (Davies, I, 1 4 4 ; L a c y and Paterson's letters in F C ; see also Supplementary Agreement in Appendix B). 4. Henry Woodward ( 1 7 1 4 - 1 7 7 7 ) , who shared leading comic parts with Garrick during his long term at Drury Lane, had been the butt of Foote's mimicry in Diversions of the Morning. Woodward, on the occasion of his benefit, M a r c h : 8 , 1749, had retaliated with a satirical interlude entitled Tit for Tat; or, A Dish of the Auctioneer's Own Chocolate. 5 . Deletion: " I am very little affected by W h a t can be said by Either of them—the first is at present a disconted Spirit & in order to please y* Persons about him or indulge his Spleen, has recourse to y last refuge of low Minds; Tale-bearing & Mischief-making H e has had my confidence it is true, but I am as little affraid of his betraying it, as I am certain he w d if he could gain Sixpence by it—Therefore, if you please, first to ask him, whether he Acknowledges what M r Foote has been pleas'd to relate concerning Y o u . "

To James Lacy1

84

Sir [ca. January 15, 1750] 2 Upon my return from Lady Cobham's Yesternight I was surpriz'd to find Your Letter, I say, surpriz'd, because the Subject-Matter is almost the Same with y* last I receiv'd from You; & as we had refer'd our affair to y e Lawyers, I was in hopes that Every thing would be Settled to our mutual Satisfaction—3 I am really at a loss to know what You mean by the words innovation and Power—4 I neither want or Ask for Any w ch I have not had from y e beginning of our Management, & which You then thought triffling & most willingly granted Me; nay I will go farther, I defy You to produce one instance, where You have in y e least Suffer'd in Your Credit, Interest or Importance by Your keeping Your Word with Me in this particular— I shall See M r Squire on Fryday next, & then I suppose the Mysterious part of Y r Letter will be clear'd to M e — but be assur'd that what My honour ought to do, it will do; and if what Swift says is true that a regard to one's word, is ye best Security for our honour, You have little to fear on my Account— The Degrees of Friendship We may continue in or part with, will wholly depend upon Tour Self·, for I Ever was & Ever shall be inclin'd to be what I now Subscribe Myself.5 Yours most Sincerely D Garrick Source:

F C , draft.

1. See the preceding letter, note I. 2. Garrick's second letter in reply to a second one from L a c y , but before his letter to Foote (see preceding letter, n. 2).

[ante January

16,

1750]

141

3. Deletion: " A s I have not yet seen M r Squire I cannot answer Yours on Every particular, but." This may be Stafford Squire, Principal of Furnival's Inn, 1752 (Records of the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn: Admissions, 1430-1799, 1896, I, 144, ibid., Black Books, 1897-1902, III, 352, 367). 4. L a c y had written: " N o w you say y ' Instrum' wants an explanation— I do consent to it with all my Heart. But let it be an Explanation, not an Innovation . . . Y o u may remember S r that an equality of Power was insisted upon, when we first met; and y" original articles will sufficiently prove y 4 you did agree to i t " (FC). 5. Deletion·. " I want nor ask for any thing but Justice from Y o u & that I Expect."

To Samuel Foote Sir {ante January 16, 1750] 1 I am very much surpriz'd to find you so uneasie & hurt at y«5 Intelligence given you last night, but as you were doubtfull whether you receiv'd it from a Friend or an Enemy, I think, in prudence, you shou'd have consider'd twice before you had put pen to paper. 2 The sudden feeling you had at the News, (whether true or false) has hurry'd you a little into y e unintelligible— for what you can mean by Woodwards active humour, & my passive wit (unless like Bayes for the sake of the Antithesis) 3 I cannot possibly Comprehend? I assure you I neither have, nor will set my Wit to yours, either in y r Active or passive sense, for I confess myself incapable of engaging with you, at your usual weapons— I cannot but think you are very imprudent, in saying Woodward is contemptible for it is certainly lowering yourself to call him contemptible, who has made no Contemptible figure as y r Antagonist. What he intends in the Character of Malagene 4 I am a stranger to, he has desir'd to be free with me, as other folks have been, & so little sensible am I of the Consequence, that he has an unlimitted power to use me as he pleases— but pray, Sir, wou'd you have me (supposing he has a design to be pleasant with you) interfere in the Affair while there is a Mimical War betwext you, & first declar'd on y r side ? if I did, wou'd not he justly complain of unfair treatment, & say, that I am holding his hands, while you are beating him? But shou'd he dress at you in the Play, how can you be alarm'd at it, or take it ill; the Character of Malagene (exclusive of some little Immoralities, 5 which can never be apply'd to you) is that of a very smart, pleasant, Conceited fellow, & a good M i m i c — if you really imagine (as

142

To The Marquis of Hartington

you politely insinuate) that I have so great a regard for 5 s , sure then, my giving you the Liberty of the House was still a greater favour, & therefore I wonder (or rather I do not wonder) that you shou'd make me such a Return for it; however to convince you, that you are a little mistaken in that particular, I promise you, if y® Wormwood farce you mention in Terrorem, shou'd not prove so Entertaining or Benificial as you imagine, that I will pay to you, or to y r Order the aforesaid Sum of five Shillings whenever you shall call or send for it I am: &c. P.S.— [deleted] I have just sent for M r Woodward to Enquire into the Truth of your Intelligence, & he says he will tell Yourself the first time he sees you— Endorsement by Garrick: Foote's Letter & dressing at him. C o p y ' d b y R . Cross, J a n V 16. b y Garrick; Boaden, I , 5 5 f .

M y Answer about W o o d w a r d ' s Source: F C , copy, with postscript

ι . Garrick's reference to the revival of Thomas Otway's Friendship in Fashion (DL, J a n . 22, 1749/50) supplies the year; this was the only production of the play during Garrick's management. 2. Foote's letter, as well as Garrick's, is printed in Boaden (I, 54). 3. Cf. The Rehearsal, I V , ii. 4. In Friendship in Fashion. 5. Notwithstanding Otway's assurance in the original prologue that his play contained no indecencies, " N o , not so much as one well-meaning hint," Johnson relates that it was "upon its revival at Drury-lane in 1749, hissed off the stage for immorality and obscenity" {Lives of the English Poets, ed. George B. Hill, 1905, I, 243).

86

To The Marquis of Hartington

Northampton Fryday Noon [ ?May 1750] 1 Least Your Lordship should not receive My Yesterday's Letter, (which I put into ye Post at Dunstable), or that You may not be able to read it, if it should come to Y r hands; I send You this from Northampton— all safe & well hitherto— No Accidents, but a most Woefull mistake has been made to ye great inconvenience of Your humble Serv4 & his Lady— a Small Trunk in which were our Necessaries to appear decent at Chatsworth, is most unfortunately for Us left behind at London, & if ye Carefull M r Redyard at

June 2, 1750

143

Burlington house should have sent it by Sea to Londesburgh, before the Man, we have sent Post back again, should arrive, we must beg Your Lordship's Permiss11 to appear in our Fig Leaves— W e have great hopes to see Y r Lord? at Hardwick 2 on Sunday by Dinner; heav'n further our good intents, for the Duns behave most gloriously for ye Purpose— M y Lord & Lady Send their Comp t e & M a d a m & I, as in Duty bound, are Now, & Shall be for Evermore Your most unworthy humble Servants D Garrick— Source:

Duke of Devonshire.

ι. A careful comparison of the several following dated letters with the chronology of the Garricks' several summer visits to Londesburgh indicates that this letter was probably written at the outset of the journey north in the summer of 1750. By June 2, 1750, they had been at Chatsworth some time, after a visit to the Hartingtons at Hardwick Hall, and they did not reach Londesburgh until Wednesday, June 7. Depending on the conjectural duration of their stays at Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth, this letter was presumably written on a Friday, May 18 or 25,1750, after Garrick's final appearance at Drury Lane on Friday, May 11. 2. The manor, Hardwick Hall, a Devonshire possession in Derbyshire.

87

To Somerset Draper

Chatsworth M y Dear Draper, June 2, 1750 Knowing that you are more in town than Clutterbuck, I write this to you, to let you know that we are here still, nor shall we be parted with, until Monday next; so that if any letter or intelligence is gone to Londesburgh, I shall not receive it before next Tuesday night. W e are very happy here indeed, and the Duke is most obliging to me and mine. He has given me, since I have been here, a Book I much wanted, it is called Melanges d'Histoire & de Litterature, in three volumes. 1 I desired Vaillant 2 to get it me if he could: I wish you would let him know I have got it. I expect, whenever any news is stirring, that you will let me know it. I have made some enquiry after Digges,3 from a Mr. Ponsonby, 4 son-in-law to the Duke, who is just come from Ireland; he says the young man has great wants, but was liked very well. I wish we had him at a moderate, or even almost at any p r i c e — not exceeding five hundred pounds, and no clear benefit.

144

To Somerset Draper

I shall work this summer like a dragon; and, let what will happen, I shall be well prepared. I expect to hear from you often, with an account of reports, hints, facts, &c. dashed with your's and Clutterbuck's advice. When you see my partner, let him know that I am not yet at Londesburgh, and that when I am, I shall certainly write to him. M y services to him, and to all our friends in St. Paul's Church-Yard. 5 I have left behind me a box of Rhubarb Pills, they are in the closet next to my Study; I wish you would send them, wrapt in paper, with the Faithful Shepherdess,6 you will find among the single Plays in the same place, which you gave me; and the Monthly Review, 7 if you please; and any thing else, will be diverting. These put together, directed to me, and sent to the Porter at Burlington House, will be sent in his next parcel to my Lady. M y wife desires her best respect to you and your's, and to Clutterbuck and his; and she begs you will speak to Brother George, to take care the windows of her little India Closet are well barred; for she says, the " Tieves may sdeal her dings dere," if they are not taken care of. M y wife likewise begs of you to buy her, at any auction of books, if you can find them, the Complete Works of Abbi St. Real,8 in five or six volumes I think they are: if you cannot meet with them second-hand, pray buy them new for her, and she does not doubt but you will trust her until she returns. As I write to you, tell George I shall not write to him this post. Should not Bellamy be engaged, 9 if Cibber will not? But more o f t h a t hereafter. I am your's, most affectionately, D. Garrick. Source: London Morning Post, Sept. 28, 1786. ι. Written by Ν. B. d'Argonne under the pseudonym of M. de Vigneul-Marville. The revised and augmented edition in three volumes was published in Paris in 1725. 2. A well-known French family of booksellers in London throughout the eighteenth century. In 1750 Paul succeeded his uncle Isaac at 87 Strand; later he was to become Master of the Stationers' Company. 3. West Digges (1720-1786) made a successful debut under Sheridan at Smock Alley in 1749, but Garrick failed to engage him at Drury Lane ("The Orrery Correspondence, 1727-1752," HCL). 4. John Ponsonby (1713-1787), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, had married Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of the third Duke of Devonshire, Sept. 22, 1743. 5. At the Queen's Arms Tavern. 6. By John Fletcher, 7. Founded in 1749 by Ralph Griffiths and edited by him until 1803. It was, with the Critical Review, one of the two great critical journals of the century. 8. Cesar, Abb£ de Saint-Real (1639-1692); Les Oeuvres ώ St. Rial, Paris, 1745. 9. George Anne Bellamy (1731 ?-i788), the actress, illegitimate daughter of Lord Tyrawley, who numbered among her husbands West Digges and Henry Woodward. She was engaged by Garrick in 1750 to rival Mrs. Cibber at Covent Garden.

June 8, 1750

88

*45

To The Marquis of Hartington

Londesburgh My Lord. June 8th 1750 I am to acquaint Your Lordship that We got to this place on Wednesday Night, being detain'd at Lord Rockingham's1 a Day & a half— tho, we are all Well & Merry, I can't say we arriv'd here absolutely without Accidents; for Lady Burlington & her Grace of Garrick, were fairly turn'd heels upward in the once horse chair; & tho there was no broken Arms & Legs, We have a swell'd Face & a black Eye or two, which will hinder Us a few Days from seeing Company— that your Lord® may not immediatly impute this affair, (as is very Natural) to her LadyP'8 want of Skill in driving; I must inform You that they were stopt at Sparrington Lane to give the chair horse some water; & M r Joe very foolishly having taken off y e Bridle, the horse took fright & run away, first into some Water & then over some Logs of Wood, which brought the Chair & ye Ladies to y e Ground— we were for some time much frighten'd, but soon recover'd our Spirits, & think (with Sr Paul Plyant) that we are much beholden to providence—2 As the fall of such great Ladies may make a great Noise, I have written this, least some worse Account might reach You & give You unnecessary Apprehensions— I am desir'd to send the Compliments of this house to all in Your's— & if You will pay my best Respects to My Lord Duke & all the Gentlemen & Ladies, Your Lordship will very much Oblige Y r very humble Serv1 D: Garrick PS. we live in hopes to see You the latter End of next Week— Source: Duke of Devonshire. i . Charles Watson-Wentworth (1730-1782), second Marquis of Rockingham (1750), close friend and political associate of the Marquis of Hartington. Rockingham's seat was at Wentworth Woodhouse in the West Riding, a. The Double Dealer, I V , i.

146

89

To Somerset Draper

To Somerset Draper

Londesburgh M y Dear Draper, June 22, 1750 As I answered your letter in that I writ to Clutterbuck, I shall now answer his very obliging one (which I received this morning) in this to you. But first let me wish you joy of the gout; and although I am not sorry that you should feel a four-and-twenty hours twinge once a year for past sins, yet for many reasons and sakes, I must not have it encroach a moment farther as long as you live. I am sure it will give you, and all that belong to you, pleasure,

to hear that Lady Burlington, and my Lady Garrick, are quite well; and that two black patches, of an inch and a half diameter, are the only remains of the most frightful trouble they had. It is hardly to be conceived what I felt upon the occasion, although you and some others, who are more intimately acquainted with my quickness of sensation upon such occasions, may make a tolerable guess— however, it is quite forgotten now; and this day, being the Twentysecond of June, is wholly devoted, by the whole house here, to mirth and jollity; my Lord and Lady would have it so; the parish bells ring, and the fiddles are ready to strike up— in short, it is your friend's wedding-day. and although our Noble Friends here make too much of it, much against my consent, yet I never had such reason to rejoice in all my life! Let Sharp know I am much obliged to him for his advice upon the bruises. But all is well; and I hope, until I give her a black eye, I shall have no occasion to apply to his friendship again. I am glad you, Clutterbuck, and my Partner, have laid your nobs together: but are we not a little too delicate, and may be put to some inconveniences, from Mr. Lacy's too fine-spun politics ? If Bellamy is disengaged, why are we not to engage her ? We know Cibber will not be with us, and I think Elmy should not; 1 and then how can we patch up our broken fortunes better than with Bellamy ? If Lacy's great penetration cannot yet fathom the obscure, inconceivable, and impenetrable designs of our antagonist, by his spies, deep researches, and anonymous letters, why are we not to take things as they probably are, and act justly for our own preservation? Some folks have a pleasure in raising molehills upon the evenest ground, and strain at gnats, when they swallow camels like poached eggs.

July 13 [/75ο?]

147

I cannot possibly go from hence to see Digges, nor do I think it would be proper. Can Lacy spend his time better? he has more leisure and more judgment than I have; and if he should approve the Gentleman, he has more policy to bring about an agreement. Something of this nature may be mentioned to him; and if you or Clutterbuck would but insinuate his superior abilities to mine in these affairs, Vaffaire est faite, Rosinante will be mounted, in spite of the tears of Dulcinea. What sort of a Play is the Goblins ? 2 When I read it, it did not strike me some years ago; it is a good populous title, and if there was any merit, would do something: let me know your thoughts upon it; I am sure Clutterbuck would not be pleased with it, if it had not humours. Some Gentlemen dined with us yesterday, and told me that Quin has taken lodgings at Beverly, about seven miles from us. I am little surprised at it, for, by all accounts, he knows nobody there, and was never there before— is not it something odd? Do you understand it ? He is gone to Scarborough for three or four days. M y wife desires her warmest compliments to Mrs. Draper, and Mr. Clutterbuck·, and I send my love to you all. Yours, Dear Draper, most sincerely and affectionately, D. Garrick. Source: London Morning Post, Sept. 22, 1786. I. Mrs. Elmy had been a member of the cast supporting Garrick at Smock Alley in 1745-46. In 1750 she was engaged at Covent Garden, where she remained to the time of her retirement in 1762 (Thespian Dictionary, 1805). s. A tragicomedy by Sir John Suckling, printed in 1646 and acted at the Theatre Royal 1667.

90

T o The Marquis of Hartington

Londesburgh M y very good Lord. July 13 th [ 1750 ?] 1 I have vex'd myself all this Day for being disappointed of sending my Londesburgh Diary, as I propos'd— I had taken my Notes & made my Observations for that purpose, but my Lady Burlington who always sticks in my Skirts, told me (somewhat maliciously) this Morning, y4 she had sent an Account of y e Company to Lady

148

To The Marquis of Hartington

Hartington, & consequently ye best Part of my Performance was of no value— I beg you will assure her Ladyship that I had been particularly minute in y e Diary, & had imitated that agreable one at Chiswick in all its parts, but this unlucky prevention has absolutely clipt my Wings, & I am at present (secundum Shakespeare) duller than a Mallet— 2 My Lady Burl n receiv'd Lady Hartington's Letter this Morning, & thinks herself doubly oblig'd by it, as it was written in such hot Weather; the Hand that wrote it (I hear) melted like a Patt of Butter, & the travelling of y e little finger upon y® Paper, can be seen from my dear Mama to Tr dutifull Daughter·. Every Post Morning since Y r Departure, My Lady has rose almost with y e Lark to get her Letters, but then indeed she ballances her next Night's Accounts by encroaching very far into y® Day after. She hopes (& I am sure Y r LordP won't neglect it) that You will send her soon the Opinion of y® Learned, 3 for her motions will be absolutely govern'd by that— I was so Spoil'd by being taken abroad, on foot & Horseback by a certain Noble man some time ago, that my present Soliloquy Airings afford me very little Satisfaction; I murder a Rabbit now & then, & have been fatal to y e woodpeckers, but from a five Years cessation of Arms, I really cannot distinguish between tame & Wild Pigeons; for unluckily I fir'd among a flock of 'Em Yesterday upon y e Wolds, & incurr'd a penalty of twenty pounds by Act of Parliam*— I shall look before I shoot, y e next time, for such Mistakes have no Joke in 'Em— half a Dozen Patridges were brought in to Day kill'd by long Ralpho; I think they are rather too Small, but as they are not y e Produce of My Lord's Manor, they will be relish'd better with bread Sauce & a little Shalot— one thing I must not forget, My Lady order'd Me to say, that tho she is not so unreasonable to Expect a Letter Every post, she must & will have a Card; two words will be Sufficient, but a Card must come, thats ροζ— Madam Garrick (a very great Lady you know & I feel) presents her I dont know how many Compliments to Y r LordP & her LadP— She is hard upon the Ruffs, & Beauties they will be; She intends to Lay 'Em with her own hands at her LadP'8 feet— The round Table consisted to Day of Miss Andersons,4 M ra M r & Miss Constable, 5 & the Usuals; We Expected the Eldest M r Boyle 6 to dinner from London, but he is not yet Arriv'd— I can't say that I find any alteration in my Stomach or Impetuosity this very hot Weather, & tho I melt I don't decrease; Every Button of my Wastecoat is this Moment cock'd, & if I was but to indulge with half an Ounce more, they

F o r the Benefit o f

M r . M A R R and Mifs H I P P E S L E Y , By a C o m p a n y of Comedians F r o m the T h e a t r e s in L Ο Ν D Ο Ν.

A t the Piayhoufe in TANKARD STREET, O n Tuefda/, the t i f t of J u i y . Will be performed a C O M E D Y , call'd

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L JE I' Η JE« Or, iE S O P in the S H A D E S , M o p by Mr. G 1 F F A R D , Ventrcbleu and Sir Roger Raltcit, by Mr. L Y D D A L L , Sir Witsrjing Rattle Mr. M A R R , Macboggin Mr. Y A T E S , Scntpc the Attorney

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July 20, 1750

149

would certainly Shoot off— but however fat or lean, quick or calm, in Town or Country, Eating, drinking or Sleeping I am & Ever shall be M y Lord Y r Lords»'8 Most Obed» & faithfull Serv« D : Garrick Source: D u k e of Devonshire. 1. T h e year is conjectural, depending upon the references to the " r o u n d T a b l e " (found again in Letter 92), to the hot weather, and to the reviews of Halifax's book which appeared in 1750. In that year the heat on J u l y 1 3 and some preceding days was so great that it killed many fish in the Thames, and according to Walpole made the river hotter than the springs at Bristol (ed. Toynbee, I I I , 4 ; GM, vol. X X , J u l y 1 7 5 0 , p. 330). 2. Henry IV, Part 2, II, iv, 2 6 1 - 2 6 3 . 3. Reviews of Lord Halifax's Character of King Charles II, 1750, such as in the Monthly Review, vol. I l l , M a y 1750, p. 38. 4. Probably the daughters of Sir Edmund Anderson ( 1 6 8 7 - 1 7 6 5 ) of Lea, Lincolnshire, and Kildwick (Kilnwick) Percy, Yorkshire. H e had two or more daughters, one of whom, Molly, appears to have become a companion to L a d y Burlington (Mrs. Edwin Gray, Papers and Diaries of a York Family, 1927, p. 98). 5. Several Constable families lived near Londesburgh (Joseph Foster, Pedigrees of the County Families of Yorkshire, 1874, vol. II). 6. Hamilton Boyle ( 1 7 3 0 - 1 7 6 4 ) , eldest son and successor (1762) of J o h n Boyle, fifth Earl of Orrery.

91

To The Marquis of Hartington

Londesburgh J u l y 20 th 1750 No indeed— the Marquiss of Hartington shall not for y e future have y e honour of coresponding with David Garrick Esq 1 — were not (my good Lord) Y> conditions of the Obligation, that if y e Aforesaid Garrick should dare to trouble his betters with his Nonsense, that y e said Nonsense should not be answer'd, as it is really unanswerable— and Yet this Morning— (Angels & Ministers of Grace!) 1 a Letter, a long Letter came— but I know M y Cue, & shall for y e future Act only by Deputation.— therefore be it known unto y r LordP that I am at present a mere tool, vehicle, instrument, or what you please, of my Lady Burlington, & your Lord? is to take no more Notice of Me, than of a joint Stool, or any other Stool, which tho it may be Usefull or necessary, is nevertheless to be kept at a distance— that you may not wonder at my being particularly whimsical & 8 + L.D.G.

150

To The Marquis of Hartington

nonsensical to day, I must beg leave to inform Y r LordP that I have at this present writing such a Mixture of Ale Champaign, florence, claret & Cowslip Wine within Me, that My head may be in my Pocket for any Use I have of it— but how could I possibly avoid being so free with the Creature, in y® Company of Lord Langdale,2 his Honr, Mra Langdale of Cliff, Miss Kitty, & Monsr Philip— a disagreeable Circumstance indeed stopt y e Course of our Wit & humour for five Minutes— My Lord Langdale who had Eaten three plates of Soup, two of Salmon, one of Carp besides y e head, two Dozen of Gudgeons, some Eels, with Macoroni, Omlett & Rasberry tart, & adding to these, Strawberries & cream, Pineapple &c &c &c, grew a little sick after y® third Bottle of Burgundy, & I believe had left the Maigre Compound upon y e table he took it from, had not a handsome dram of brandy come to his & Our Relief— You may imagine we were damp'd for a few Minutes, till My Lord recover'd his Spirits again, & told us very seriously, that fasting Days never agreed with him— the Day of Departure from hence, is not yet fix'd, & I believe Lady Hartington's continuing so well, has delay'd our March some few Days— however We are all prepar'd for an Alarm, & away we go when my Lady Burlington hears y e Drum, or fancies that she hears it— My Lord Cavendish's great friend Monsr Bruneval is growing cool in his Affections, the Guinea Chickens at present engross his Soul & are all his care & Contemplation: He sigh'd grievously when he hear'd of M ra Sarah's Swelling, & made a Reflection upon it, that tho the Door was too little for her, she was not sensible of it & that was a happy thing— all y e Compte that can be imagin'd are sincerely sent from My Lord & Lady Bn & M ra G k to Lady Hartington & Y r LordP. I have not room to say all I wd but I am Y r Lord» most Ob4 humble Serv' D Garrick— Source: D u k e of Devonshire. 1. Hamlet, I, iv, 39. 2. Marmaduke, fourth Baron Langdale (1683-1771); "his H o n ' " refers to Marmaduke (1718-1778), his son and successor. Mrs. Langdale, Miss Kitty, and Philip are apparently relatives, but their lineage is not available. The village of Cliife is situated in the North Riding of Yorkshire, a considerable distance from Londesburgh, but North Cliffe and South ClifFe are about eight and nine miles south of Londesburgh and near Houghton, one of the chief seats of the Langdale family (John Burke, Extinct Peerage, 1846, p. 304f.; Thomas Langdale, A Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire, Northallerton, 1822).

July 22 [/75ο]

92

To The Marchioness of Hartington

Londesburgh Madam. July 22d [ 1750] 1 Did we not know that Lady Hartington can do A n y thing, & Every thing, we should have much wonder'd, how she could have whistl'd togeather so much Company in albemarle Street 2 ye 19 th of July; but however as the Drum3 was y* Means of curing her Ladyship's Headach, we bless all & Every O n e that compos'd it by what Names or title soever dignify'd & distinguish'd— I don't love to be the Messenger of ill News, but if M r Bruneval's friend (the Daily Advertiser) does not impose upon Us, with regard to the Death of M 1 8 Bruce, 4 Your LadP & Lord Hartington must mourn for three Weeks; so says Lady Burlington— U p o n second thoughts I dont know but this melancholly piece of News may be Wellcome; for Y o u r Ladyship becomes half Mourning, & M y Lord may outfeed his Black suit, if he does not make Use of it in these Mockeries of Woe, as Shakespear calls ' E m — 5 M y little sweet Lord not being mention'd in your Letter, has not made it quite so agreeable, as it should have b e e n — Some Notice must be taken of him in the Next; Y r Lad® may even descend to particulars; as that, on such a day, in ye Morn« about Nine o'Clock his LordP did this, or that, or t'other— I assure Y o u it will all be sweetmeat to Us, for W e reverence the Hem of his little Swanskin petticoat— T h e round table was well fill'd to day with S r Edmund Anderson & Daughters, M r e Allet & hers, M r Chorley & the Usuals— W e hear that Daniel & Tho e West Father & Son, Shoemakers & Fiddlers of the T o w n of Weighton, intend to present a Petition to Lord Hartington, the Purport of Which Y o u will know in a Post or t w o — While Y r Lad® continues so Well, W e shall continue here a little longer; but if you should chance to eat too much fruit & it should disagree with Y o u , y e Smallest hint of it packs up the great Box, & sets the Duns a g o i n g — Indeed I don't care how soon, for I shall be glad to make one upon the happy Occasion— If I were to send Y o u all the C o m p 0 & Respects, I am desir'd from L d Bur n to M r Chorley, I should Give y r LadP & Myself more trouble, than Either of us chooses, besides I am so Selfish at present that I shall only indulge Myself with sending M y duty & best Services to my very good Lord & Y r Self & c I am Y r LadyP' 8 most humble & very Obedient Servant D. Garrick.

To James Lacy

152

The Ladies are all gone (tho Sabbath day) to fish for Eels, M y Lord is reading the London Evening post, M r Bruneval & Chorley are talking Politicks & I am doing, y e most agreeable thing to me in ye World Obeying Lady Burlington's Comands & writing to Y r Ladyship. Source: Duke of Devonshire. ι. Garrick's mention of the death of Lady Bruce determines the year. 2. After his marriage the Marquis of Hartington "hired the large house in Albermarle Street that the Earl Poulet lived i n " (London, I, 14). 3. " T h i s is a riotous assembly of fashionable people, of both sexes, at a private house, consisting of some hundreds; not unaptly styled a drum, from the noise and emptiness of the Entertainment" (Tobias Smollett, Advice, 1746, p. 5, n. 30). 4. " O n monday night last died, at her house in Upper Grosvenor St. the Right Hon. the Lady Bruce, Relict of the late Lord Bruce, who was son and heir to the Earl of Aylesbury" (General Advertiser, J u l y 18, 1750, p. 2). Lady Bruce was a sister of Lord Burlington. 5. Not in Shakespeare; but compare Hamlet, I, ii, 86, and Pope, "Elegy, T o the Memory of an Unfortunate L a d y " (1. 57).

93

To James Lacy

Londesburgh J u l y 27, 1750 Dear Lacy, As our season approaches, and we are like to have warm work, you shall have me in council in less than a fortnight.— I have been informed that Barry and Cibber are certainly engaged with Rich, which neither amazes nor intimidates m e : — Let them do their worst, we must have the best company, and by a well layed regular plan, we shall be able to make them as uneasy with Rich, as Rich will be with them.— I shall be soon ready in Romeo,1 which we will bring out early; I have altered something in the beginning, and have made him only in love with Juliet.— I believe you'll like it.— If Bellamy agrees with us, she may open with i t ; — then, if we can get out King John2 before 'em, (as we certainly may) and dress the characters half old English, half modern, as in Edward the Black Prince, 3 we shall cut their combs there too.— I hope Mrs. Pritchard will be reconciled to Constance;— but who can do the Bastard?— Do you intend to prepare any thing for your alterations in the stage?— I wish we had a shewy thing that might make a stand to

July 27, 1750

i53

4

his frippery.— What is Leviez doing?— Shall not we want some young people in King's and Usher's places ? s If you think Lacey6 will be of service, make my brother George write to Burton, 7 and know at what reasonable price he will engage with us.— I assure you, I am in great spirits, and don't care how soon we are at work: I suppose you intend sticking to the resolution of opening the house the first Saturday in September.— I am indeed very happy here; the persons and place are truly noble and elegant; they are your well wishers, I assure you, particularly my Lord Hartington, who has not his fellow in Europe— he left this place above a fortnight, and is now in London with her Ladyship. I beg you will get forward the plays we intend shall be done by the Company;— the little parts too should be cast; for, by alterations, many of them are undisposed of, I long to be with you; our company, I think, will pull at the oars with their heads and hearts. We shall have no false brothers I hope, nor intriguing sisters; and then— that for Goliah and the Philistines!— Have you yet seen a young Gentleman I sent to you, who is willing to step into the Buskin? If he promises, cherish him, I beseech you.— I have read the Goblins, and think it very unfit for the stage.— It cannot possibly do. Come what, come may,— My Soul's in arms, and eager for the fray? I am, Your's most sincerely, D. Garrick. P.S. Don't trouble yourself to answer this, I shall be set out before your answer can reach me. Source: Public Advertiser, Aug. 3 1 , 1786. 1. On Sept. 28 Garrick and Barry at their respective theaters appeared in the part of Romeo. This was the beginning of a wearisome competition between the rival productions of Romeo and JulUt which continued until Oct. ia, on which date this epigram appeared in the Daily Advertiser·. "Well, what's to night?" says angry Ned, As up from bed he rouses; " R o m e o again!" and shakes his head; " A h ! Pox on both your houses." For a contemporary criticism of Garrick's Romeo, see John Potter's letter to Garrick, Oct. 13 (FC). 2. At Covent Garden on Feb. 23, 1751, with Barry as Faulconbridge, but it was not produced at Drury Lane until Jan. 23, 1754, when Garrick appeared as the Bastard. 3. An historical tragedy by William Shirley, first performed at Drury Lane Jan. 6, with Garrick in the title part.

154

To The Marquis of Hartington

4. Leviez (Levies), a Frenchman who for many years lived in London; he was first dancer at the Italian Opera House and later, from 1747-1762, dancer and ballet master at Drury Lane. O n his retirement he settled in Paris, where he became a marchand d'estamps and a patron of artists. When Garrick was in Paris in 1765 he saw Leviez (see Boaden, II, 446). A sketch of Leviez, in 1774, his Anglicized ways and his domestic happiness is given by Henry Angelo (Reminiscences, 1828, I, 69-73). 5. After two seasons at Drury Lane, Thomas K i n g (1730-1805) accepted Sheridan's offer to play at Smock Alley in 1750-51. From Dublin he went to Bath, not returning to Drury Lane until 1759. Usher appeared at Drury Lane regularly between the years 1748 and 1776, except for the period 1750-1754 when his name does not occur on the playbills. 6. Lacey, a member of the Drury Lane company, was at various times a provincial actor at Bath, Canterbury (1745 and later), and Richmond (Sybil Rosenfeld, Strolling Players & Drama in the Provinces, 1660-1765, Cambridge, 1939, passim). 7. Garrick's allusions here and elsewhere are too brief to identify which of the Burtons associated with Drury Lane he has in mind. 8. A n apt parody of Macbeth (I, iii, I46f.) certainly recognized by Lacy, with all its implications, as he and Garrick faced the uncertainties of the 1750-51 theatrical season.

94 M y Lord.

To The Marquis of Hartington Londesburgh July 31 s t [1750] 1

L a d y Burlington is so Employ'd about keeping L a d y Fr. Arundell, 2 Miss Andersons & M r a Constable in Conversation, that once again I shall do Myself the Pleasure & Y r LordsP y® honour of sending Y o u a few more insignificant L i n e s — O n Thursday Morn® (God willing) we Embark for the Humber, the Tide serving about Eleven, so that our hopes & wishes will set Us down on M o n d a y at Burlington house: but should we not arrive to an hour, let not Y r Lord®'8 noble heart, nor her Lady»' 8 Equally Noble but more tender heart be any way agitated thereat, for as John Moody says, Tackling may break, or one of the Duns may have y® tooth A c h which may delay us upon y® R o a d — W e were all mightily pleas'd to hear of Lord Cavendish's beginning to call a Spade a Spade, 3 but L a d y Bur n very gravely told Us that she knew of it; for his Lord® had talk'd to her before & gave her to Understand, that tho politically, he had been unintelligible to all but her Lad® yet he intended (like y® Oracles of Old) on such a D a y in y® Month of July to break from Silence, & open himself to y e w o r l d — tho Your Lord? may look upon these things as Jokes, I do assure Y o u some folks are very Enthusiastic upon this S u b j e c t —

October 4 [/75ο]

155

I don't know absolutely why, but indeed I am much pleas'd y4 I shall see Y r Lord» Soon, & Throw Myself & Buskins at her Ladyship's feet— Blessings, Loves, Compliments & Services are sent to You by Dozens, but as I have not time or Room to retail 'Em as they were given to Me I beg You will take 'Em in y® Lump, from My Lord Y r Lordship's Most faithfull D Garrick. My Lord Burlington will be oblig'd to You if You order y e Porter to direct the Saturdays New's papers to him at ye Post house in Hatfield— Endorsed by the recipient. Source: Duke of Devonshire. 1. The year is indicated by the preceding letter, clearly dated, in which Garrick says he will be in London in less than a fortnight (i.e., before Aug. ι o) and that Hartington is already there. The present letter, in which he sets Monday (Aug. 6) as his day of arrival, confirms the year dating by the conjunction of Hartington's presence in London and the fact that in 1750 Aug. 6 fell on a Monday. 2. Lady Frances (Manners) Arundel (d. 1769), sister of the Duke of Rutland and wife of Richard Arundel.

95

T o The Countess of Burlington

London Madam. Oct br 4 th [1750]1 Tho I have been acting y e Part of Romeo & a very fatiguing one it is, Yet I sit down with great pleasure, tho not in high Spirits, to Enquire after Y r Lady® & my Lord— The Battle between y e Theatres yet remains doubtfull, tho upon my Word I most sincerely & impartially think that we have y e Advantage; Our house to Night was much better than theirs, & I believe 'tis generally thought that our Performance is best— but this Y r Lad® must hear from other People— My Lady attends Us constantly Every Night & I could wish that I was as little tax'd with Acting, as she with Seeing Us A c t — the Nonpareil Closet is at last to my no small Joy, compleatly finish'd, I may Say Superlatively— & now the Head is at work upon her dressing Room— in short we must be doing, & a little Mischief rather than Nothing— She intends writing next post, & telling a vast Number of things,

156

To The Countess of Burlington

but what they are or can be, I can as little guess as I believe Y r LadP will be ye better for them.— Balls, feasting, Mirth pleasure &c I imagine begin to abound at Londesburgh & it can be no great Compliment, in my present Situation, to Say I wish to partake of 'Em— but that cannot be, & so I will think no more of it— Madam is well & sends her Duty with her usual Kisses— I am Lord Burlington's Lord & Lady Harringtons, but most particularly Y r LadyP'8 Most dutifull & gratefull Serv4 D: Garrick. Supper is now upon ye table & we shall remember our best friends very soon— Source: F S L . ι. T h e year is indicated by the references here and in Mrs. Garrick's letters of the same period (FSL) to the contest between Drury Lane and Covent Garden in the production of Romeo and Juliet—a rivalry that ran from Sept. a8, 1750, for thirteen nights.

96

To The Countess of Burlington

Madam. Oct br 13th 1750 I can give Y r Lad? the Satisfaction, & I flatter Myself that it will be so to You, of assuring You that y e Battle is at last Ended, & in our favour— our Antagonists yielded last thursday Night & we play'd ye Same Play (Romeo & Juliet) on ye Fryday to a very full house to very great applause; M r Barry & Mra Cibber came incog to see Us, & I am very well-assur'd they receiv'd no little Mortification— Miss Bellamy has surpriz'd Every body, & I hope before Y r LadP returns, that she will almost be*a Match [for] Madam Cibber, who I believe now begins to repent of leaving Drury Lane— I have written an Epilogue for Clive,1 which is an Answer to Barry's almost universally Exploded prologue—2 We have got y* Laugh on our Side, & by turning the whole to Joke, We are at present in y® highest Spirits— I have receiv'd great favour indeed from y® Town in y® Character of Romeo; & I am so extreamly well, that no fatigue hurts Me, & I have not once lost my Voice or Powers for thirteen Nights togeather, which is amazing; I need not tell Y r LadP that this is all owing to my happiness at Home— We have not been able to

October 13, 1750

157

See Chiswick since You left London, the Weather & my Engagements at y e Playhouse have kept Us in Town— We intend treating Ourselves with a Jaunt there tomorrow, & then Every Comand, we have been honour'd with shall be most punctually perform'd— I am greatly oblig'd to Y r Lad p for ye account of y e Plan for a Tragedy, but I am affraid my good friend M r Wood, tho a very learned & Sound devine, has not y e proper Notions & feeling of y e triffles in our Way— however I am not ye less indebted to him for his friendly intentions. I am sorry to hear the Ball was carry'd on with so little Spirit, I hope my Lady Hartington is not loosing her Relish for 'Em. I cannot say but I have some little feeling for poor Miss Stainforth's distresses, I hope y e next time she will have better Accomodations, or be more successfull in her Schemes— I think it a most providential Escape, that so desirable a Virgin got so clear from y e hands of Drunkenness & Brutality. My Lady is cutting her black hat to pieces; & interrupts me so Every Moment, that I am affraid (as Bayes says) I have not made Myself very well understood,3 & indeed I make but a very indifferent Corespondent, while I have so many Nonsensical things in my head, as y e present State of affairs obliges Me to have. She sends such a quantity of Kisses, duty & affection, that y e Paper cannot contain 'Em; I beg my duty to his LordP & to Lord & Lady Hartington & I am & ever shall be Y r Lad»'8 most Obedient D Garrick. Address: FSL.

T o T h e Countess of Burlington.

Endorsed by the recipient.

Source:

1. Catherine (Raftor) Clive ( 1 7 1 1 - 1 7 8 5 ) , commonly known as Kitty Clive, was of a good Irish family. She became a member of the Drury Lane company in 1747 and remained there, except for a brief interval, until her retirement in 1769. Temperamental and difficult at times, she had great talents as a comedienne; Garrick's patience was frequently tried, but he appreciated her worth in her particular type of character. He called her " P i v y . " 2. With an eye to the rivalry between the two houses, Garrick opened the season on Sept. 8 with an occasional prologue of his own. Barry responded to the challenge on Sept. 28 with a prologue preceding the first performance of Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden. Garrick thereupon wrote the epilogue spoken by Mrs. Clive on Oct. 1 1 , following the thirteenth performance of Romeo and Juliet at Drury Lane ( L M , vol. X I X , O c t . Nov. 1750, pp. 424, 473, 5i8f.). 3. The Rehearsal, I, i.

8*

158

To The Countess of Burlington

97

To The Countess of Burlington

London Madm Oct b r ye 18 th , 1750 W e were very much concern'd at y e News, which before this must have reach'd Y o u — but as I would avoid giving Y r LadP or M y Lord y e least melancholly reflection I shall dwell no longer upon this Subject. M r a Garrick (as I have been so much Employ'd at y e house) has Obey'd Y r LadyP'8 Comands; she has been twice at Chiswick since Y r Letter, & has Spoke to M r a Loxley & M r G o r i n g — Every thing will be done, as was order'd. the Sweet Lady Dorothy 1 is in perfect health, & grows handsommer & handsommer, which can't be said of y e Garden, for y e falling of y e Leaves does not become i t — the Water is much higher, & a few Days rain will restore it to It's usual appearance— W e go on vastly well at Drury Lane, Nothing is talk'd of now but y® Theatres, & I have y e Pleasure of assuring y r Lad® that we don't loose Ground in y e Contest, to Morrow a Grand Daughter of M r Cibber plays y e Part of Alicia in Jane Shore— 2 She has been instructed by him for some time; the Young Lady may have Genius for ought I know, but if she has, it is so eclips'd by the Manner of Speaking y e Laureat has taught her, that I am affraid it will not d o — W e differ greatly in our Notions of Acting (in Tragedy I mean) & If he is right I am, & ever shall be in y e wrong r o a d — When She has acted, I shall Send y r Lad® a just Acc 4 of her reception, for want of better matter— I am very much oblig'd to M r Ferret 3 for y e great care he took of M y Commissions, but M r Fawsit, 4 his Correspondent at Hull, has not Us'd him Well; for the Hams he Sent Us, have all prov'd Naught, not one could be Eat; they are old ones & y® Person who sold 'em must have designedly impos'd upon y 6 buyer; however his kindness is not y e less, nor could he help y® Disappointment: I beg Y r Lad® will excuse my mentioning this, & if you think it proper, M r Ferret may know i t — M a d a m hopes by this time that you think y® angry card need not have been sent. I am Affraid that I was y® Guilty person, for I had promis'd her to write one Night, but was so fatigu'd with playing, that I was oblig'd to Neglect my D u t y — My hands were guilty, but my heart is free.5

[ante February 23, /75z]

159

We beg our best Services to his Lord p & to Lord & Lady Hartington with five hundred Kisses to his dear litde Lordship— I am Lady Burlington's most dutifull & most gratefull D: Garrick. Monsr Bruneval has made a Visit to Madam, what pass'd I am a Stranger to— Address: T o T h e Countess of Burlington. FSL.

Endorsed by the recipient. Source:

1. Lady Dorothy Cavendish, born Aug. 18, daughter of the Hartingtons. 2. By Nicholas Rowe. 3. An agent of the Burlingtons. 4. As late as 1823 there was a Thomas Fawcett, bacon factor, at 36 Waterworks Street, Hull (Edward Baines, History, Directory and Gazeteer of the County of York, Leeds, 1823, II, 277). 5. John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee, Oedipus, III, i.

To Edward Capell1

98

Sir. Fryday— [ante February 23, 1 7 5 1 ] 2 The Author has sent me this additon to y e beginning of γ* Prologue—3 If I don't hear from You this Evens or to Morrow I shall think there is no Objection to it— I am Y r very hum1® Ser4 D Garrick In arms renown'd, for Arts of peace ador'd! Alfred! y® Nation's Father more than Lord! To Night our Author, has presum'd to draw— 4 Struck deep Ev'n now, with reverential awe! And Sets y® Godlike Figure fair in View!— Oh may discernment find y® Likeness true! &c— Source: F S L . i. The identity of the recipient, Edward Capell (1713-1781), is determined by the handwriting of the corrections on the manuscript of this letter. Capell, Shakespearean commentator, had in 1737 been appointed Deputy-Inspector of Plays by the Duke of Grafton, then Lord Chamberlain. Capell's early friendship with Garrick cooled in later

ι6ο

To George Garrick

years, perhaps as the result of his contention that the actor "spoke many speeches in Shakespeare without understanding them" (Nichols, Illustrations, I, 474f.). a. The approximate date is derived from the production of James Thomson and David Mallet's Alfred, as altered by Mallet, at Drury Lane on Feb. 23, 1751. 3. T o Alfred, spoken by Garrick; the author was the fifth Earl of Cork and Orrery (see the 1781 London edition of the play). 4. O n Garrick's letter Capell has revised the second part of this line to read: "fill'd with pious awe." But the published text retains Garrick's readings, save the first part of the same line which is changed to: " A British author." Similarly, Capell's emendations of the next line, "Fair from the real life has dar'd to draw," have not been followed in the published form, though both official alterations were probably used on the stage.

99

To George Garrick

Bath Dear George. March 31 st 1751 We got here Fryday Evening by Seven o'Clock; Y r Sister1 was much jolted for y e ten last Miles, & bad Roads they are, tho not dangerous— the Moment you have y·5 least intelligence when we open at y® Playhouse let me know, for if we don't begin Easter Monday, I will drink y e waters, for my Stomach is not in y* best Order— pray call now & then in Southampton Street, & look into y® Stables & see if Robin is Neat & tight & takes care of things, I believe he is honest, but he has a great Trust, & a wary Eye will not be amiss— a word to y® wise— now for Y r own Affair— I must beseech You to look narrowly into things & be sure of Matters before you Engage— Your Whole depends upon it, & should You be deceiv'd (I only say should you) You will be certainly worse than You are, & Miserable, therefore I say, take Heed; but when You are well assur'd of Your Point, & You like y® Party, It will prove a very lucky incident of y r Life, however if You consult with y® Good friend M r Squire, You cannot Err in one part, & if you consult Y r own Heart, & find it willing, in y® Other, You maybe a very happy Man—. I have drawn You out a Letter which You may alter, or omit parts of it, as will best suit with y® Circumstances of y® Affair— Madam. Tho I have not y e Pleasure of knowing You but by Sight, yet from that little Knowledge of You, I have often wish'd for more; I could not help making this Declaration to M r who has most kindly

[April 3, Ι75Λ

161

offer'd me his assistance to introduce me to y r acquaintance; I am most Sincerely oblig'd to him, but how I can make my Excuses to You, for desiring him to use his Interest for Me, gives me great Perplexity; for if you should think Me in y e least wanting in Respect by this abrupt manner of addressing You, I should be as much mortify'd with that, as I should receive pleasure in knowing that my Friends Good offices on my behalf were not unsuccessfull. all I shall urge in my own Justification, is y® well meaning intention of my heart; & if the truest Esteem for y r Person & Character, may entitle me to y r favourable interpretation, I may hope that this Letter may be receiv'd without Offence, & that I may have the Satisfaction of thanking You for such a Reception in Person. I am M a d m Y r most Obed' humble Ser 4 If my proposal would not be thought too importunate, I could wish to have Y r leave, to desire Y r Mama's permission, that I may wait upon You Some Day this Week. Now D r George, let me desire You for Y r own Sake to Enquire into her Character & that of Y r friend; You cannot be too circumspect in this grand affair of y r Life— 2 Source: F C ; Little, p. 34!". 1. Mrs. Garrick. 2. In 1751 or 1752 George Garrick married Catherine, daughter of Nathan Carrington.

100

To George Garrick

Bath Dear George Wedy Morn* [April 3, 1751] 1 I take the Opportunity by my Lord Killmoray 2 to Send you this— We certainly depart from this place on Fryday— Your last Letters to me here will be by this Night's post which I shall receive before I set o u t — on the Night you receive this (Thursday) direct my letters, & papers to the White Hart at Marlborough, Wiltshire. Send those on Fryday Night to Reading, the King's Arms, & those on

To The Earl of Burlington

162

Saturday to the Castle Salthill3 For fear of Mistakes in my haste take 'Em as follow. Thursday Night toy* White Hart Malborough Fryday Night King's Arms Reading

Saturday Night Castle Salthill I love to read all my Letter & papers upon ye road. Y r s Ever D: Garrick Should y r letter today which I have not yet receivd, I will answer it at Night— if not— You shall see me on Sunday. Source:

FSL.

ι. Because of the death of the Prince of Wales, the London theaters were closed from March 21 to April 8, 1751. Garrick took advantage of this brief respite to visit Bath, where he arrived on Friday, March 29, remaining there for about one week. The Wednesday following Garrick's arrival in Bath fell on April 3. 2. Thomas Needham (d. 1768), ninth Viscount Kilmorey. 3. All well-known post-stops on the Bath-London road.

ΙΟΙ

To The Earl of Burlington

My Lord. April 18th 1751 I have been two Days togeather at Chiswick, which I found in the highest Beauty with M ra Loxley commander in Chief— The Weather was fine & Madam & I enjoy'd Every thing about Us— The Bricklayers & Plaisterers I find are so very fond of the Place, that (like some very great Men at present in y e Ministry), they will stay with You, tho they do but little, till they are absolutely turn'd out. I have taken Your Lordship's Present to Me, out of ye hands of M r Goring, & indeed a fine Horse he is; He looks well, & goes Well, & is so hopefull & alter'd for y e better, that I have not a fault to find with him— I was most graciously stop'd y® other Day upon y® King's Road by Lady Belle Finch,1 who much Enquir'd after Y r LordP'8 Health; I satisfy'd her Lad» in Every particular to y® best of My Power & we parted— It was a great honour to be sure; but I have so little Satisfaction in things of mere honour, that I shall for the future

April 18, 1751

163

avoid giving her LadP any Opportunity of condescending to Speak with M e — There is a Strong Report to Day & well founded, that y® D[uke] of B[edford] resigns to Morrow; 2 as he is y® very corner Pin, of that party, it is thought there will be a general tip of his friends & family— M y Metaphor I am affraid is very low, but if y r LordP has y e least Knowledge of what the German Taylors play at, when they go to Chelsea, I need explain no farther— I have not set Eyes upon my good Friend M r Bruneval since I came from Bath, so I can say very little of y e State of Affairs at Pons's; 3 M r Hatchet 4 I believe, who wrote the Empty Purse, must soon Sing again, for I met him Yesterday in S l Martin's Lane in y® most poetical Bag Wig & Breeches I ever saw in my L i f e — When his Piece comes out, I shall certainly enclose it with a Letter to Soixante quatre as before, there is a Gentleman or two of M y Acquaintance have a great desire to See y® Staircase at Burlington house painted by Ricci, 5 if y r Lord® has no Objection & will give Me permission, I shall give 'Em great Pleasure; but I beg if there is y e least Objection, I may know i t — M y Wife was at y e Musick in y® Haymarket, 6 which was very much crowded, & perhaps to as indifferent an Entertainment as Ever was heard, Cuzzoni 7 not Excepted; There was one Lady so particular in a Side Box to be dress'd in a White Gown, which turn'd all the Eyes of y® Audience upon her; M r a Garrick has forgot her Name, but she is y*5 Little black Lady who generally attended y e Duke of Dorset's old flame—8 This is design'd as a hint to Lady Hartington's White Sack. I have been all this Morning getting Votes for M y friend M r Deputy Harrison, who stands for Chamberlain of London against M r Glover; I hope when M y Lord Hartington comes to Town he will join with other Gentleman to interest M r Arthur in his behalf— for he really is, what he says in his Advertis 4 , a true Subject to King George, a Zealous defender of y e present happy Establishment, & a warm Friend to y® Good Laws & Eating of y® City of London— 9 We send our Duties & best Respects to their Ladyship's & Lord Hartington & I am M y Lord Y r Lord»'8 Most Obedient humble Ser4 D Garrick. Endorsed by the recipient. Source: F S L . 1. Lady Isabella Finch (d. 1771), daughter of the sixth Earl of Winchelsea. 2. Bedford, now Secretary of State, was the leader of the faction in the Pelham ministry opposed to the Pelham family. When the Pelhams brought about the dismissal from the Admiralty of Sandwich, who was a supporter of Bedford, the latter, after long bickering, finally resigned on June 13.

164

To Messenger Monsey

3. A coffee-house in New Street, Covent Garden (J. Holden MacMichael, Charing Cross, 1906, p. 316). 4. William Hatchet, a minor actor, playwright, and translator, one-time associate and collaborator of Mrs. Eliza Haywood (Thespian Dictionary, 1805). 5. Marco Ricci (d. 1730), "nephew and disciple of Sebastian Ricci, equally eminent for painting history, architecture, and landscape; but, in the latter, his style and taste of design appear truly excellent... At Burlington-house some of the ceilings were painted by him, and also a piece of ruins in the style of Viviano" (Matthew Pilkington, Dictionary of Painters, 1798, p. 55of.). 6. The King's Theatre or the Royal Italian Opera House, Haymarket, in " 1 7 5 1 opened in January; but, after two performances, operas were removed to the Little Theatre opposite" (Michael Kelly, Reminiscences, 1826, II, 356). 7. Francesca Cuzzoni (ca. 1700-1770), one of the most famous singers in the first half of the century. She made her debut in London in 1723; by 1751 she was almost voiceless and her London concerts were failures. 8. Lady Elizabeth (Berkeley) Germain (i68o?-i76g), daughter of the second Earl of Berkeley and widow of Sir John Germain, whose influence over Lionel Cranfield Sackville (1688-1765), first Duke of Dorset (1720), was generally known (Walpole, ed. Toynbee, I, 135). Her companion was Mrs. Biddy Floyd to whom Swift addressed in 1707 his poem, "The Receipt to Form a Beauty" (The Correspondence of Jonathan Swift, ed. F. Elrington Ball, 1910, I, 134η.). 9· Sir Thomas Harrison (1700-1765) was elected by the Common Council of London in 1751 as Chamberlain of London and Receiver-General of the land tax for London, Westminster, and Middlesex (GM, vol. X X X V , Jan. 1765, p. 46).

102

To Messenger Monsey1 Chiswick

M y D e a r Doctor, M a y ye 7 t h [ 1 7 5 1 ? ] 2 Y o u r patient took the prescription on S u n d a y n i g h t ; she fancies that she felt queerly all night, a n d about five in the m o r n i n g she w a s a little sick, a n d h a d some little propensity to puke, b u t did not. A t six, she swallowed the four other pills, w h i c h agreed well w i t h h e r ; a n d n o w she finds herself m u c h better for the operation. O n W e d n e s d a y she intends taking the three pills, as directed, a n d four of the others, as before, in the morning. T h e y w e r e sufficiently strong for h e r ; a n d , unless y o u w o u l d h a v e her m a n u r e the whole parish, she shall leave the other two for another opportunity. S h e has such faith in y o u , 3 that she is sure, a n d swears, that y o u will restore her statu quo. W h e n y o u return to T o w n , w e b e g that y o u will give us notice in S o u t h a m p t o n Street; for, be it w h e r e it will, or be w e w h e r e w e m a y , w e are resolved to see y o u at y o u r o w n time; but, I hope a n d

May 7 [.1751?]

165

believe you will find us at home, and then you shall hear and know more. Madam and I are invited to dine with our friend at Windsor, at Mr. Naylor's, 4 to-morrow; but, we cannot stir from this place till she has done ******** -s and then we shan't hang an a—e at any invitation whatever. We propose to ourselves much pleasure by waiting upon you to Eltham; and, if you disappoint us, may— I'll tell you what, the next time I see you. If the noble Lord you are with,6 should happen to know that I have the pleasure of corresponding with you, I beg {if it be not too impertinent) that you will make my duty acceptable to his Lordship. I am, and ever shall be, Your's most sincerely now and evermore, D. Garrick. P.S. As this is the day after operation, and Madam can trust her **** with a ****, she sends you one, with her best respects. Source: The British Stage, andLiteraiy Cabinet, ed. [Thomas Kenrick], V I (1822), i5f1. So identified in the source. 2. The context of the first paragraph and the postscript imply that the letter was written on a Tuesday. During Garrick's residence in Southampton Street, May 7 fell on a Tuesday in 1751, 1754, and 1765; since his letters written from Chiswick cease in 1753, the first date seems the most likely. 3. "Mrs. Garrick was particularly gratified with the blunt sincerity of the doctor's manner" (John Taylor, Records of My Life, 1832, I, 78). 4. Possibly Francis Hare-Naylor (1713-1775), son of Dr. Francis Hare of Chichester, at this time was living in Little Thurlow, Suffolk (Augustus J. C. Hare, Story of My Life, 1896, I, if., V I , 5 i 7 f . ) . 5. " T h e place of one or two gross p[a]ssages, I have been compelled to supply with asterisks" (The British Stage, and Literary Cabinet, ed. [Thomas Kenrick], vol. VI, 1822, Ρ· Η)· 6. According to a note in The British Stage (ibid.), this was Francis, second Earl (1712) of Godolphin (1678-1766), Governor of the Scilly Islands from 1728 to 1766 and Monsey's patron. While practicing at Bury St. Edmunds, so it is related, the doctor attended the earl who had fallen ill on a journey. Pleased with his wit and skill, Godolphin urged him to come to London, and was probably interested in obtaining for him the post at the Chelsea Hospital (Anon., A Sketch of the Life and Character of the Late Dr. Monsey, 1789, pp. 15-26).

To George Garrick

103

To Somerset Draper

Boulogne Dear Draper, Tuesday, M a y 21 [ 1 7 5 1 ] 1 W e arrived here safe, sound, and in spirits, last night, and had only a passage of three hours and a half from Dover. M y wife was a little sick, but I was as hearty as the most stinking tar-barrel of them all. Pray let my brother George and Friends know where I am, and that I am well; they will, perhaps, be glad to hear of me. I must desire you to speak to Mr. Taylor, and know of him what necklaces he would have us bring for him, for, by mistake, we left his note behind us. I beg you will let me hear from you as often as occurrences happen. What Hero will the Romeo and Juliet have ? 2 It is a very warm day here— I cannot say I shall be displeased at a let down. The horses are to the chaise, so I can only say, what you know already, that I am, Dear Draper, Ever your's, D. Garrick. M y direction is, A Monsieur Monsieur Garrick, chez Monsieur Salvia, Banquier, ä Paris. Source: London Morning Post, Oct. 7, 1786. 1. On Sunday, May 19, 1751, the Garricks left London for an excursion of two months to Paris (see The Diary of David Garrick, Being a Record of His Memorable Trip to Paris in 1751, ed. Ryllis C. Alexander, New York, 1928). 2. On May 17, at the close of the regular season, the company at Covent Garden performed Romeo and Juliet, with Barry as Romeo; the performance was repeated on the 21 st at the request of "several persons of quality" (Genest, IV, 337f.)·

104

To George Garrick

Paris June 30 [ 1 7 5 1 ] 1 [Telling him he had heard from Lord Hartington that he could not give him the appointment, but] he will give you something under him which will be much better and much more to my liking, for as he is a young, worthy and rising nobleman, y r future (by y r own conduct) may be made

[July 775/]

167

Source: Sotheby, Catalogue, July 15, 1891, extract. i. The year is established by the fact that after 1751 the Garricks were not in Paris on a June 30 until after Hartington became Duke of Devonshire (see also Hartington's letter to Garrick of June 22, 1751» FC).

105

To The Reverend Doctor John Hoadly

M y Dear & very good Friend. [July I 7 5 1 ] 1 I thank thee most heartily for thy kind & friendly Letter— I am return'd with my better half, safe & sound from Paris & as true an Englishman as E v e r — not but let me tell thee, (thou reverend Son of a — more reverend Father), I am much, very much pleas'd with my Jaunt, & am ready & willing to take y e Same & for a Month longer, whenever Business will permit & I am call'd upon— I am sorry that son of a Bitch y e Gout, likes the tenement so well, that there's now routing him from thy Plump Body; the Bugs in France would be glad to see thee there, & many a delicious Meal they would make of thee; Beef & Pudd*, tho at second hand, is a great rarity, & therefore Thou art a Feast fit for the Bugs\ But before I rattle away let me seriously thank You, for Your good offices in poor Brickenden's affair, 2 You have acted like a good Soul by Him, & like a true Friend by Me, & y® Bishop 3 wisely & Justly by Us a l l — I should always be glad to see any thing Such a Man writes, but don't give Y r self any trouble upon that Account— Brickenden has written to me a Letter of thanks & tells me, he has fall'n upon y e Greeks, & Romans, resolv'd to Conquer or die. Thou talk'st like a Sensible Young Man about Stage Plays & c — I have y® Same opinion of y® Spanish Curate, 4 that you have; but as we have try'd y® Comic part of it lately, we must not venture yet to revive y® W h o l e — I shall look into y® farce Myself & see where I think y e Alteration necessary, I have quite forgot it, & shall be better able to judge of It's Weakness, by looking at it n o w — 5 You must give absolutely another Turn to S r John Gentry,® when you can Spare a Week, from gathering Y r Tythes & shearing Y r Sheep, put on thy Burgeon & the black Cap with a little Tassell & feague it a w a y — could I call at S4 Maries 7 I would, there are no two Hearts in y® Kingdom

To Peter Garrick w o u l d m o r e willingly knock a t t h y D o o r t h a n ours, p r a y tell this to y® best of W o m e n & tack our Sincere respects at y e E n d of i t — our Forces I believe will be m u c h y·* S a m e as they w e r e last Y e a r , w i t h a small addition of a recruit or two, w h o never y e t a p p e a r ' d upon a n y S t a g e — 8 food for Powder Hall9 I shan't say a n y thing of F r a n c e till I see thee & t h e n — perhaps w e m a y talk of S o m e t h i n g e l s e — M y W o m a n likes Y o u , & I like Y o u r s & so w e send our best wishes to both, & y e Sooner I hear f r o m y o u , or see y o u the better & So Y o u r s & thine (thou facetious honest S o u l ! ) Sincerely & A f f e c t * D Garrick Source: F S L ; Baker, pp. 4 1 - 4 3 . 1. It is not known exactly when the Garricks left France, though certainly by late in the month (see following letter). Garrick's diary ends July 2, 1751 (The Diary of David Garrick, Being a Record of His Memorable Trip to Paris in 1751, ed. Ryllis C. Alexander, New York, 1928). 2. Brickenden is presumably some member of the Colwell Brickenden family who lived at Chawton near Winchester and the Hoadlys (The Victoria History of Berkshire, ed. William Page and Peter H. Ditchfield, 1906-1924, IV, 210). 3. The recipient's father, Benjamin, Bishop of Winchester. 4. Beaumont and Fletcher's comedy (1622) altered as a farce, had been acted at Drury Lane, Oct. 19, J 749. 5. Probably Hoadly's farce, "The Housekeeper." It was rejected by Garrick, and never acted or printed (BD). 6. Presumably a character in " T h e Housekeeper." 7. Hoadly had been appointed Rector of St. Mary, near Southampton, in 1743, and retained this living to his death. 8. James Dexter (d. 1788) made his first appearance at Drury Lane Oct. 22, in Southerne's Oroonoko. Though well received at first, his popularity waned rapidly and he disappears from the London bills after 1753. He later succeeded Sheridan in Dublin (Davies, I, I94f.). David Ross also made his first appearance during the season 1751-52. 9. Henry IV, Part 1, IV, ii, 7if.

106

To Peter Garrick

Chiswick D e a r Peter. J u l y ye [ 1 7 5 1 ] 1 Y o u r Sister 2 & I are m u c h O b l i g ' d to Y o u for Y r w e l l c o m e h o m e Letter, & kind Invitation to L i c h f i e l d — I assure Y o u , W e h a d most sincerely intended to steal d o w n to Y o u & Sisters this M o n t h , & so

July [1751]

169

have cross'd y e Country & met Lord & Lady Burlington upon y e Yorkshire Road; but when we came to hint it to y e Family here, We had grave faces & cool Answers; so that we have thought it wisest & best (knowing that we can Make freer with You than greater folks) to defer our Expedition into Staffordshire, w cl1 upon my word shall be ye first opportunity; for our Hearts & Wishes tend that W a y — W e have y® greatest Obligations to our friends here, & as We elop'd from 'Em ye beginning of ye Summer, they expect (& with Reason) that we should stay with 'Em y e remaining Part; & so we shall. We are at Ghiswick at present & Expect Every Moment an Order for Yorkshire, which tho a little too late in y e Year for my affairs, must be comply'd w i t h — I have lent George a little Horse & he intends seeing You soon in Company w t h our friend Tom Morgan 3 from ye West Indies; He is an Honest good principled Young fellow I believe, of ye Conceito kind, but bateing his Languishings & Head tossings, he is a plaisant Companion & a pretty Musician— George will bring You & M y Sisters some Triffles from France, which we hop'd to have deliver'd Ourselves, but I have told You w l has prevented Us & so I shall say no M o r e — We shall not be at Chatsworth this Summer, but go directly for Londesburgh, Lord Burlington's Seat; Lord & Lady Hartington, (who are now w t h Us) set out for Chatsworth very soon; if you make a Visit to M r Boothby 4 in a fortnight's time, I would have you by all means go there with him on a publick day, they will receive You well Im Sure, I have had great kindness shew'd Me by ye whole Family— Is not y e Mr Boothby you mention, y e Gentleman who married Miss Hollins?5 If it is, I am sure he must be happy; for when I knew her at School, she was a Pretty, sweet-temper'd & most agreeable Creature— I met M r e B & Miss Pen S6 in Ranelaugh Gardens, w t h whom I walk'd & talk'd some time; they seem'd to be pleas'd, for I left Lady Hartington & M y Wife & their Company to entertain ' E m — I flatter'd y e Aunt much upon her holding her own, as they say in y e Country, but E'gad she's a Hammer, & not y e pleasantest Companion in y e Dog Days. Miss seems to tend too much towards her good Aunt; a fine Woman indeed, but rather inclining to y e Cut & come again, but withal that, she still retains y e Supreme Delicacy & nice Morality of y e Family— the Mother I find is dead. I have seen Y r mad Friend B[illegible]n at Tunbridge; he was very fond of M e ; but he is apt to be troublesome, & [trimmed] I kept him

170

To Jean-Baptiste

Sauvi

as much aloof as I possibly could— George tells Me, he hears that Miss S [deleted] is to be married to him— You ask me how I like France ? It is ye best place in the world to make a Visit to, & I was indeed much Satisfy'd with my Journey; the Particulars of my Liking & dislike you shall know when you see Me; I had much honour done Me both by French & English, & Every body & thing contributed to make me happy— The great fault of our Countrymen is, y4 when they go to Paris, they keep too much among themselves; but if they would Mix w tb ye French as I did, it is a most agreeable Jaunt— I beg in Y r Next y l you will really once more set my Age down, as it stands in y* never to be confuted Witness against me, our Family Bible— send it me as it really is— I pass, you must know for 32 only, I want to be certain Myself, tho ye world may still be in ye Dark— My best Respects pray to my good Friend M r Walmisly Love to Sisters & believe Me Y ra most Affec^ D Garrick. Source: F C . ι. References to the Parisian trip determine the year. 2. Mrs. Garrick. 3. Perhaps the son of the Thomas Morgan who married Elizabeth Clough, and, therefore, possibly Garrick's first cousin (see letter of Peter Garrick to David Garrick, Feb. 21, 1742, William Salt Library). 4. Presumably Brooke Boothby (1710-1789) of Ashbourne Hall, Derbyshire (Reade, V I , 174; The History and Topography of Ashbourne, Ashbourne, 1839, pp. 35-67). 5. Phoebe (1716-1788), daughter of William Hollins, of Mossley, Staffordshire, whom Brooke Boothby married in 1742 as his second wife. 6. Mrs. Rupert Browne and her niece Penelope Sudell, the daughter of Mrs. Browne's sister-in-law, Penelope, of Lichfield.

107

To Jean-Baptiste Sauve1

Londres Aout 7e 1751 J e ne puis assez vous temoigner Mon eher Monsieur combien J e vous suis obligee de tendres Egards que vous me marquez par rapport a ma Sant6; le Bruit qu'on a fait courir de mon pretendu accident n'a pas eu le moindre fondement, et J e n'ai Senti d'autre malheur en quittant la France que celui de la quitter;2 ayant fait

I71

August 7,1751

le Voyage de Paris a Londres en quatre Jours et demi avec un assez beau temps et en parfaite Sante— M r Denis 3 vous remercie de votre bon et Obligeant Souvenir, et vous en fait Mille Compliments: quoique Je ne lui ai pas l'Obligation de m'avoir remi le bras, Je lui ai celle de me preter la main pour vous ecrire celle ci: mais J'espere si fort me perfectioner par votre agreable commerce et amiti£, que dans peu, Je serai en Etat de Marcher Sans Secours.— Un Ami qui vient d'arriver, m'apprend qu'une Nouvelle Actrice 4 avoit debutee sur votre theatre avec les applaudissemens de tout Paris, mais Je m'en rapporterai la dessus a votre Judgement plutot que sur le bruit public; mandez moi ce qui en est, aussi bien que toutes autres nouvelles ou le Theatre doit interesse: de mon cote Je tacherai de vous donner votre revanche si quelque chose d'icy peut vous faire plaisir, en cela comme en toute autre chose vous pouvez me commander. Nous allons faire un petit tour a la Campagne chez my Lord Burlington, a mon retour qui sera dans environ cinq ou Six Semaines, Je me flatte de trouver votre reponce, n'ayant rien plus a coeur que de recevoir de vos choses nouvelles, etant avec la plus parfaite estime et l'affection la plus Sincere Mon eher amy Votre tres humble et tres Obeissant Serviteur D : Garrick. Mon Epouse vous Salue, avec mille Embrassemens pour Mad e Delanoue, auquels Je vous prie d'ajouter autant de la mienne Address:

A Monsieur, Monsieur Delanoüe vis a Vis de la Comedie frangoise

dans les Fauxbourgs S l Germain, a Paris.

Postmark:

A V 8.

Source:

FSL.

1. Jean-Baptiste Sauvi (1701-1761), known as La Noue, actor and dramatist, was a member of the Comidie-Frangaise. 2. The origin of this false report cannot be traced. It is true that Garrick left France in some haste. Official documents showing that he was under suspicion of trying to entice certain French dancers to England, a political crime, may account for his sudden return to London in July (Hedgcock, pp. m - 1 1 6 ) . 3. Charles Denis (1705?-i772), miscellaneous writer and translator, was the son of a Huguenot refugee, the Rev. Jacob Denis. 4. Adelaide-Louise-Pauline Hus (1734-1805), who made her debut July 26 in Voltaire's Zaire at the Comddie-Frangaise (Charles Colli, Journal et mAnoires, Paris, 1868, I. 333f·)·

172

108

To Somerset Draper

To Somerset Draper

Londesbrough My Dear Draper, Aug. 17, 1 7 5 [ i ] 1 Thanks for thy kind letter, and thanks for your frequent visits to Southampton-street and the playhouse. Have you seen the Great Lacy lately ? I wish, when you have that pleasure, that you would hint your great surprise and dislike to Maddox's rope-dancing upon our stage.2 I cannot possibly agree to such a prostitution upon any account; and nothing but downright starving would induce me to bring such defilement and abomination into the house of William Shakespeare. What a mean, mistaken creature is this Par[tn]er3 of mine! Has George told you that he has signed a memorandum with Maddox for double the sum he told us that he had engaged him for ?— What can be the meaning of this ?— Oh, I am sick, sick, sick of him! I am working and studying here like a horse.— I intend playing Coriolanus4 and the Rehearsal, alternately— All's Well,5 &c. and Merope,6 in the same manner: and then I shall present you with Don John1 and .So[ί]ία,8 into the bargain; besides new plays without number. But mum! do not even tell this to that deepest of all politicians, James Lacy, Esq. Dr. Young's play9 will do— greatly. It is much the best modern play we have, and written with great tragic force. I do not imagine that Millar is connected with him; 10 however I shall know that at my return; for I am to spend half a day with him at Wellwyn. The Doctor seemed desirous to wash his hands of the play, and to give it up to my care and direction.— But more of this hereafter. Your news about Doctors Haye and Smallbrooke11 is surprising!— Have you not heard whether Cibber is engaged or not?— Is she gone to France for some time— or what is the mystery of her leaving us at this time ?— Quere— does not she want to get rid of Barry, and takes this method of doing it delicately ?— When I shall set forth from this place I know not; but as late as possible.— M y Lord Burlington continues as he was. M y wife, who esteems you much, begs her kindest remembrance (with mine) to you and your's; and so farewel for this time. Thine most affectionately, D. Garrick. P.S. Clutterbuck, I suppose, is gone his journey.

August

ig,

1751

m

Source: London Morning Post, Sept. 25, 1786. 1. In the source the date appears as 1750, which is patently wrong since Garrick was not at Londesburgh on Aug. 17 of that year (Letter 93). Although the identity of day and month and similarity of reference to Lacy and Maddox in this and the letter of Aug. 17 [1752] imply that both were written in the same year, it is improbable that Garrick would on the same day he asked George about Draper's serious operation ignore the subject in writing Draper. Further, in July and August of 1752 he was negotiating with Young for a play he had not seen (The Brothers), while in this letter he appears familiar with the play under discussion. 2. Anthony Maddox (d. 1758), equilibrist, performed at Sadler's Wells, Covent Garden, and at various London fairs, but there is no record that he ever appeared at Drury Lane (Robert Hitchcock, An Historical View of the Irish Stage, Dublin, 1788-1794, i, 309)· 3. Printed as "Parker." The reference here and to the " h e " in the next line are to Lacy. 4. Not produced at Drury Lane until Nov. 1 1 , 1754. Garrick did not appear in it, and this was the only season during his management that Coriolarms was played. 5. All's Well That Ends Well had been revived in 1747-48, and was performed occasionally thereafter. 6. By Aaron Hill (DL, April 15, 1749). For Richardson's assistance in persuading Garrick through Moore and Millar to produce this play originally, see Richardson's letter to Hill of Jan. 12, 1748/49 (FSL). 7. Garrick first played Don John in the Duke of Buckingham's alteration of Beaumont and Fletcher's The Chances on Nov. 7, 1754. 8. Sosia is printed as "Sofia." Hawkesworth's alteration of Dryden's Amphitryon; or, The Two Sosias was not acted at Drury Lane until Dec. 15, 1756. 9. Edward Young (1683-1765), poet and dramatist, from 1730 on had been Rector of Welwyn in Hertfordshire, where he lived in retirement. His play, The Revenge, was to be produced at Drury Lane on Oct. 10, 1751. 10. Millar did, however, publish Young's Night Thoughts in this same year. 1 1 . George Hay (1715-1778) later (1773) knighted, D.C.L., and Richard Smalbroke (i7i6?-i8o5), D.C.L., were both educated at Oxford, members of Doctors' Commons, prominent lawyers, and held appointments in ecclesiastical courts (Boswell, I. 134)·

109

To The Marquis of Hartington

M y Lord. Augst 19th 1 7 5 1 e r I h a d y H o n o r of Y o u r a n s w e r ; b u t if Y L o r d s h i p gives Y o u r s e l f the trouble of regarding w h a t I write either f r o m M y s e l f or b y Deputation, I must be modest enough for y e future to let y o u alone; perhaps y o u r great punctuality m a y be m e a n t as a delicate hint to M e to be quiet, b u t as such a H i n t is rather too delicate for me, I cannot fore bear writing again, tho I h a v e v e r y little to s a y — Poor Cokey departed this L i f e last F r y d a y N o o n , S h e fell a M a r t y r

174

To The Marquis of Hartington

to Love, or rather Dy'd of Love; for ye Violence of An Intrigue between her & Follow has certainly kill'd her— This is a very uncommon Death for a Lady of her Age, & deserves to be commemorated in an Epitaph; but I eat so much here, that I am not in y e least Humor for Singing, & Mr Allet is so busy in getting in his Harvest, that I am affraid we shall not have a Single Stanza to Cokey's Virtues— Lady Burlington has told my Lady Hartington of the addition to my family by y® Sudden Appearance of a Dun Foal, this has occasion'd much wonder & Speculation among y® Londesburgh Philosophers; for M r Wise says (& what he says he'll swear) that no Mare in y® world ever took Horse better, than she took ye Persian last May;— Col. Gee they say by this Time is dead, y® last Letters from Bath say He was then almost Speechless— My Lord I think continues very well & has walkd better of late than he has done since his Illness— The Person who came for Yr Lordship's Mares told John Moody1 that you talk'd of coming soon here this has put us all into y e highest spirits & we shall be looking out Every day— I am told that Lady Hartington calls Some people unkind for not writing: I do assure her LadyP upon y e faith of a Christian & all that, that two Letters have been Sent from My Wife & Me to Chatsworth within these nine Days; I expect from yr LordP'8 kindness to Me, that You will clear that affair up & reinstate me in her Ladyship's good Graces— the Sweet Dorothea's Birth Day was celebrated here in Bumpers of Champaign— The family of Kilwick is now here,2 Mr Constable left us Yesterday but if y® weather continues as it is now, we shall certainly see Nobody— My Lady is uneasy for more Letters from You; & if one had not luckily been found this Morn« wrap'd up in y® News papers from London, we should have had a very Squabbish Day. I beg my Duty & best Services may be lay'd at her LadP'8 feet, if she is in temper to receive 'Em, & if you will say Something, that ought to be said from Me, to his Grace, I shall be still more oblig'd to You. I am my Lord Yr LordP'0 Most humble & most Obed4 Ser4 D Garrick Endorsed by the recipient.

Source: Duke of Devonshire.

ι. An agent of the Burlingtons. a. The family of Sir Edmund Anderson of Kildwick Hall, Yorkshire.

August 23 [775/]

175

n o To The Marchioness of Hartington Madam. Fryday Aug84 23d [1751] 1 Lady Burlington has permitted Me (Your Unkind humble Servant) to let Your Ladyship know her Mind, with a piece of My O w n — first then, I am comanded to declare that our Wishes & Expectations are on Tip toe to see Lord Hartington & Your LadyP with y e rest of y* Cherubs & Cherubims 2 ye latter End of next Week at y e farthest; all things are prepar'd or preparing for Your Reception, & a most gracious one You'll have; I assure You the News has spread to Market Weighton already, Daniel West has new strung his Fiddle, & has order'd in a fresh Cargo of Catgut against y r LadyP'8 arrival to these Parts. Miss Mostyn 3 came here to Day by Dinner, tho she set out from London only on Wednesday, & came round by S r John Bland's4 & York. She is as Well & as fresh, as if she had only been from Dover Street to Burlington house, but her Servants (Male & female) are indeed in a Woeful pickle— Her Maid had lik'd to have dy'd at Stamford; but as She thought she might as well bury her at Londesburgh as there, she tumbled her into y e Post chaise & has brought her here not absolutely dead, nor alive— I hope that Nothing will hinder Y r Ladyship's coming next Week, that I may just take one peep before I go, for alass! Drury Lane House opens y e Seventh of Sep br & my Presence will be necessary— Miss Langdales are still with U s — M r & M ra Burton5 din'd here Yesterday, & went from Kilwick this Morning to York, to be entertain'd with a Concert. M r Allet promis'd to attend me to Beverly last Thursday Morning, but going to York y e Day before, & hearing that y® famous Geortini 6 was to perform y e next Morning, there was a long Debate between his Honor & his Gusto; but y® Fiddle prevail'd, & I danc'd away by Myself to Beverly— M re Garrick desires her Duty to my Lord & y r LadP; she longs for next Week, & begs & petitions with Me her humble Spouse, that you would not Unkindly deprive Us of a Sight of You before We set out on Our Melancholly Journey. Every Body sends to You more than I can possibly say I have promis'd 'Em all to be particular, but I must beg leave to lump 'Em, & only to single out One, who intreats You & his Lord®, to believe that tho as insignificant he is Your Ladyship's Most faithfull humble Ser1 D Garrick Source: Duke of Devonshire.

176

To The Marchioness of Hartington

ι. The year is derived from the fact that between 1750, when Giardini came to England, and 1758, when Lady Burlington died, 1751 is the only year in which Drury Lane opened on Sept. 7. а. William, Dorothy, and Richard Cavendish. 3. Elizabeth, or Betty, Mostyn, is conjecturally identified as the daughter of Sir Roger Mostyn and Lady Essex (Finch) Mostyn. Her mother and Lady Burlington were half sisters (John Burke, Extinct Baronetcies, 1844). 4. Sir John Bland (ca. 1 7 2 2 - 1 7 5 5 ) , Bt., of Kippax Park, Yorkshire. 5. Possibly Richard Burton, and his wife, who lived in nearby Beverley and Cottingham and administered ecclesiastical legacies. In 1751 he was appointed guardian of William Gee (Archbishop Herring's Visitation Returns, 1743, edd. Sidney L . Ollard and Philip C. Walker, Yorkshire Archaeological Society, vol. I, 1928, pp. 103, 1 5 1 , 152, 1 5 5 ; Burke, Commoners, 1836). б. Felice de Giardini ( 1 7 1 6 - 1 7 9 6 ) , the Italian violinist who came to England in 1750. Dr. Burney affirms that no artist, Garrick alone excepted, was ever so much applauded (Sir George Grove, Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 4th ed., ed. Η. C. Colles, 1940, II, 376).

1 1 1 To The Marchioness of Hartington Londesburgh Aug st 25 th [ 1 7 5 1 ] 1 I don't doubt but Your Ladyship by this time thinks less unkindly of me, than You did; My Bounty of late has overflow'd in Letters, & this I think makes the last of three dozen I have written within this fort'night— I am in great hopes that y r Lad p is set forth from Chatsworth, before you can receive this, & I am in greater hopes too that I shall not be met on Londesburgh Terrass with frowns for my unkindness— Lady Burlington having receiv'd no News from You this Morn 8 is fully persuaded, or is willing to persuade herself, that You may be here in y e Middle & not ye latter End of y e Week— however hope's our Comfort & so We shall live till Your Ladyship & retinue appear— I had forgot to inform You in my last that Your Poet Laureat M r Bronsdon was taken up for robbing ye Western Mail, & was in some Jail from Thursday to Saturday— 2 he is vastly pleas'd with the Conceit, but since that has been dying for Love of Miss Betty Mostyn at Cheltenham— the Cradles will be ready air'd, ye pap Spoons scour'd, & all y® necessary apparatus ready for y r attendant Cherubs— I have really nothing more to say, but desiring my Duty to his Lordship & telling Your Lad? that I am Your most Obedient & humble Pig D. Garrick

October 12

[/75/.?]

Address: T o the Marchioness of Hartington at Chatsworth, Seal. Source: Duke of Devonshire.

177 Derbyshire.

ι. Reference to the Bronsdon episode establishes the year. 2. " W e hear from Gloucester that the Person mentioned to be committed to that Gaol on suspicion of robbing the Western Mail, proves to be Edward Bronsdon, Esq. a Gentleman of a very considerable fortune. T h e suspicion was chiefly founded on his Freedom of Behaviour in shewing his Landlord a much larger quantity of Money and Notes than people usually travel with; but he at the same time convinced them how well he was prepared to defend it, having a Blunderbuss charged with slugs, and a brace of Pistols for close quarters, as he called it. H e was in Gaol from Saturday evening to Monday morning, when he was discharged" (London Daily Advertiser, A u g . 16, 1751, p. 2).

112

To The Countess of Burlington

Madam. Oct b r 12 t h [1751 P]1 I should have pay'd my Duty to Y o u the last Post, but I was so fatigu'd w t h the Business of y e Theatre, & so blinded with a most violent Cold in M y head, that I was oblig'd to defer it till this. I have really wanted time from my foolish affairs to write an Epigram, (which I certainly should have done had I been at Londesburgh) upon M r Clifton's Marriage & hunting ye Next M o r n i n g — Y r L a d P ' s Commands are Ever Sacred to M e , & always Shall be O b e y ' d to y e best of my Power, But my head at present so runs upon my theatrical Generalship, that I can no more tag Rhymes now, than I can help Scribbling W h e n I have nothing Else to d o — I should have sent y r L a d P the Scarborough Sweep, had they not been mislay'd somewhere, but I shall reserve ye Nosegay with some additional flowers to present to Y o u at yr Arrival in T o w n — O u r house is Still unfurnish'd & unfinish'd; M a d a m works like a horse from Morn® to Night, & yet we are still in Dirt & disorder; She found time to procure a bluet C a p for y e Sweet little one 2 at Chiswick, & that is all she has done since she came from Yorkshire, ranging & praying. I did not Expect that Kelly's affairs would have reach'd Y r L a d y P ' 8 Ear, I was a little concern'd in it Myself, but if Y o u have heard y e truth, & nothing but y e truth, I flatter Myself that y r Ladyship cannot blame Me; when I have y® Pleasure of seeing you, I will declare how far I had to do in i t — I am much pleas'd that y r L a d P has seen y e famous Tragedy, which at once is

178

To The Reverend Thomas Birch

a proof positive of the State of Taste & Criticism in Your Neighbourhood; for such a heap of Stuff was surely never before collected togeather to regale y® Yorkshire Ladies & Gentlemen. M ra Garrick desires M re Mostyn to pay Miss Pop for her Pearls, & I beg that You will let that Lady know (the Silver Eel I mean) that I hope She'll excuse my sending her any News from Spain, for our Campaign is open, we have begun to cannonade on both Sides, & a bloody battle is soon Expected— tho this very fair Weather We have had of late is not y e Most favorable to a Playhouse, I repine ye less at it, as I am sure my Lord Burlington must Enjoy it: We desire our Duties to his LordP & to L d & Lv Hartington, our best Respects to Lord Caven sh & Lady Dorothy & I am what I ever must be both from gratitude & Inclination Y r LadyP's Most faithfull humble Ser vt D: Garrick. Source: National Library of Ireland. I. In a letter of obscure allusions, the conjectural year is indicated by the purchase of a "bluet Cap," presumably for the new Hartington baby (see close of letter, where his elder brother and sister are mentioned). a. Presumably Lord Richard Cavendish (1751-1781), Hartington's second son and third child.

113

To The Reverend Thomas Birch1

D r Sir. Saturday 10 o'Clock [December 21, 1751] I hope You will excuse y e Liberty I shall take in this Letter, since the Motive is only to bring You & a most intimate Friend of Mine better acquainted— You mention'd Yesterday Evening y e Life, Letters &c of Arch Bishop Tillottson,2 that you were preparing for y® Press; if you have not yet made any Engagement about 'Em, I should take great Pleasure in bringing you & my Friend3 togeather, who is a proprietor in y® Works of y e Same Author, & who wishes to be known to You & concern'd with You— 4 I should not have ventur'd to have propos'd such a thing to You, had I not been well assur'd that both M r Birch & M r Draper would thank me for bringing 'Em acquainted with Each Other. I am S r Y r most Obed' hum le Ser1 D: Garrick

March 21, 1J52 Endorsement:

Decemb. 21. 1751.

Source:

179 BM; Nichols, Illustrations, I, 824.

ι . Thomas Birch (1705-1766), D.D. 1753, historian and biographer, of whom Dr. Johnson said, " T o m Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation; but no sooner does he take a pen in his hand, than i t . . . benumbs all his faculties" (Boswell, I, 159). 2. John Tillotson (1630-1694), voluminous controversial writer and Archbishop of Canterbury (1691). 3. Presumably Draper had purchased the rights of some of Tillotson's previously published works. 4. Birch's edition of Tillotson's works was published in 1752 by Tonson and Draper.

114

To Peter Garrick

Dear Peter. March 21 st , 1752 I am glad You & Company got safe to Your dear beloved Lichfield, & as glad that You found all well at y e Castle on y e Bridge.1 You need not have troubled M r Sharpless to frank Y r Letters, letter of Carrington Garrick, Sept. 7, 1773, FSL; for his will see Probate Court of Canterbury, Collier 413). 6. Monsieur Devisse, a dancer, appeared regularly at Drury Lane during the season »753-53· 7. Piettero, a dancer, first appeared at Drury Lane on Oct. 15, 1751 (playbill, Huntington Library), and evidently returned to France at the close of the season. Contrary to Garrick's hope, Piettero did return for the season 1752-53. He was later maitre de ballet at the Italian Opera House (Henry Angelo, Reminiscences, 1828, I, 134). 8. Edward Moore's tragedy, The Gamester (DL, Feb. 7, 1753). 9. Richard Cross (d. 1759), the Drury Lane prompter (Boaden, I, 69η.).

120

To George Garrick

M y Dear George. Aug8* 28 th 1752 I hope Robin is set out for Us, & that You have given him directions in writing, If he is not yet gone, for I am not sure whether I order'd him Monday or Tuesday send him forth the Morning after you receive this, which will be Tuesday Sep br I s t & write the same Night to Me, here as usual, & I shall receive it time enough to go from hence to meet him at y e Water Side Either Fryday or Saturday— but I hope Your next Letter will clear up that to Me & then I shall not be kept in Suspense, however George, write me a few Lines on Tuesday, & I shall be more certain, for we receive y e Letters by six in y® Morn« & We may set out on our Journey after that— I hope Robin has directions to go to Wintringham by y® Ombre side & wait there for U s — His Journey shd be as follows— from Londn to Biggleswade from Bigde to Stamford, from Stamd to Lincoln & from Linn to Wintringham, which last is a very easy day's Journey— however let him do What he will, so he comes safe & well to Wintringham & there wait for Us— If You should write me a Letter y e Night the house Opens Saturd* y® 16 th direct it for M e to be left at the Swan at Wellwyn in Hartfordshire where I must stop half a Day to settle Matters with DT Young— pray write to me there with an acc4 of y e house, y® Play & other Matters I think you are right to Soften the

September ι,

1752

187

rough places, which I had put in for Lacy, I want to know much how y e portion works with him— let me know the particulars— Yates is an unaccountable Dog, & I'm affraid has kick'd down all ye Milk at Birmingham. 1 My best Services to Woodward & thank him for his News about Theo Cib: but sure it cannot be— 2 pray tell Woodd I have some News for him too. Miss Auretti, MonS r Pitro, Mad m e Janeton, 3 y e Father, Mother & all their Generation may Kiss my A—se; I am so sick of their no meaning Messages & Compliments, that Every time I see her Name in a Letter, my Stomach falls a heaving as Yours would do, if You were to sit with Your Nose over a Pot with a Stale Turd in it, & that turd not y r own— No more of y e Aurettis I beg you— heugh— is there any talk of Rich's Opening ? when ? & who has he got.4 Say Nothing of D r Young's play— I have doctor'd Moore's a little,6 that is—thicken'd y e Pudding a little, for indeed as y e Taste of y e Audiences is at present, it was too much upon y e Squatter for 'Em— I can write no more, & I have so laugh'd with writing this Nonsense that Im but just able to send Love to little Siss Y r s Ever & Ever D G— Source: FSL.

ι • The scanty records of Yates's private life do not mention this episode. a. Perhaps the offer, for which Cibber signed a contract on Nov. 13, " t o revise, correct, and improve a work now printing in four volumes [and to allow] that his name shall be made use of as the author of the said work"—that is, The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland to the Time of Dean Swift, 5 vols., 1 7 5 3 (Sir Walter Raleigh, Six Essays on Johnson, Oxford, 1910, pp. 1 1 9 - 1 2 1 ) . 3. Mile Anne Auretti and Mme Janeton Auretti, dancers, appeared at Drury Lane between 1748 and 1754. 4. Rich opened Covent Garden Sept. 18 with The Beggar's Opera·, during the 1 7 5 2 - 5 3 season both Barry and Mrs. Cibber were at their best, and Quin in his last appearances. Rich cleared £ 1 1 , 0 0 0 . 5. In the preface to The Gamester Moore has acknowledged his indebtedness to Garrick for many popular passages in it. " I believe the scene between Lewson and Stukely, in the fourth act, was almost entirely his [Garrick's]; for he expressed, during the time of action, uncommon pleasure at the applause given to i t " (Davies, I, 202).

1 2 1

Garrick

Dear George. Tuesday Sep br Ist, 1752 I receiv'd by this Post a Letter from my friend Clutterbuck & You— I find by his, that Lacy has been with him, & is almost dead with

188

To George Garrick

y e bloody Flux— He ought to have a thorough Scouring before his inside will be tolerably clear from y e filth & Nastiness that he has been gathering from his Youth upward till now— He desires me to forgive him; that I will with all my heart for I thank my God that I have no Malice in my Nature, but I can't forget him soon, nor will I be upon Brotherly terms w th him; there is a rank viciousness in his Disposition that can only be kept under by y e Whip & curb— I suppose Robin Set out for Us this Morn« & that he will be at Wintringham on Fryday Night— We propose leaving this place Saturday Morn® & hope to see You about Wednesday; for as I told You before I must have some Conversation with D r Young— but say Nothing of this to Lacy, & if he asks when I shall come, say You can't tell— My Service to Cross & let him know I have receiv'd his last Lettr & I shall be very well contented with what is Settled, till I see him— M r Woodward must chuse which part he will do in y e Silent Woman1 & I think Shuter will do Daw as well as any thing— tell him y4 I suppose M r Lacy will Settle y e Parts in y e Double Disappoint—2 to y® best advantage— I hope he has spoke to Mossop about Subtle—3 If You write to me a Line about y house On Saturday Night (y e Opening), direct for Me at y e Bell at Stilton in Huntingtonshire to be left till call'd for, & for fear of y e worst put in another at y e Same time (two lines will do) directed for Me at y e White Swan at Wellwyn in Hartfordshire to be left till call'd for, they will neither Miscarry for I know both y e Landlords, & they will carry y e Letter barefoot into Scotland, rather than I should not have it— My Wife thinks y e Maids have Mistook her about cleaning y® windows, She meant that the Glazier was to do 'Em as Usual, & hopes that they have not been shewing their Ars—s out of y e windows in Order to clean 'Em— I long to see y e house at Ealing, I am preposess'd that it will do— M r Carrington is very Obliging, & I shall tell him so when I see him— I am glad to hear that Siss keeps so well, I suppose there will be no Seeing her face for her Belly when I come to Town— give our kindest & best Love to her & both of You believe Me Y r most affect e Brother D: Garrick— I have thought better of it, You may if you please only write to Stilton, I have sent you franks. I have Enclos'd You half a dozen Lines upon y e affair between Withers & my friend Dr Gamier,4 if you like 'Em put 'Em into y e

October 14,

1752

Penny post seal'd up, the Publisher of y e Whitehall5 I dare say will put 'Em in, if not there will be no great loss— say Nothing of 'Em to anybody, be sure— Adieu! My Wife desires you'll bid ye Maids dust ye red Room & Pictures, but to care of Gilding & Carving. Source: FSL. 1. Ben Jonson's Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman, was revived at Drury Lane, Oct. 26, with Woodward as Sir John Daw and Edward Shuter ( 1 7 2 8 ? - ! 776) as Sir Amorous la Foole. 2. A farce by Moses Mendez (DL, Sept. 19, 1747). 3. Burton, not Mossop, performed Subtle in The Alchemist when it was given for Woodward's benefit, March 20, 1753. Henry Mossop ( 1 7 2 9 ? - ! 774?), after an initial success at Smock Alley in 1749 ( " T h e Orrery Correspondence, 1 7 2 7 - 1 7 5 2 , " H C L ) , joined the Company at Drury Lane in 1 7 5 2 and became a popular and valuable actor. 4. " T h e Buck and the Doctor" (Knapp, No. 14). 5. The Whitehall Evening Post, published by Charles Corbett (d. 1752).

122

To William Mason1

London Sir. Oct br 14th 1752 D r Boyce2 shew'd me Your most Obliging Letter, & Since that I have had y e Pleasure of seeing M r Gray 3 & of read8 y e faithfull ShepherdessΛ tho I am much pleas'd with y e Poetry, yet I am affraid it is not dramatical Enough, to have a good Effect upon the Stage; when I have ye Pleasure of Seeing You in Town I will give You the best Reasons for my Opinion that I can— You have desir'd, that I would freely give You my thoughts upon the affair, & I hope You will Excuse me for so doing: I cannot say how much I am indebted to You for that part of D r Boyce's Letter which relates to Me; I beg that I may see You when You come to London that I may thank You in Person. I am S r Y r most Obedient humble Servant D : Garrick. Address: T o M r Mason Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge. OC 17. Source: HTC.

Postmark:

I. William Mason ( 1 7 2 4 - 1 7 9 7 ) , ordained 1754, poet and dramatist, was the intimate friend and biographer of Gray. 9*

ι go

To The Marquis of Hartington

2. William Boyce (1710-1779), Mus. D. 1749, wrote new songs for Garrick's Lethe in 1749 and set to music Mason's " O d e on the Installation of the Duke of Newcastle." 3. Thomas Gray (1716-1771), the poet. 4. Two years earlier Garrick had Fletcher's dramatic pastoral under consideration; it may have been at his suggestion that Mason prepared the adaptation mentioned here. Mason's version, however, was never acted and never printed {Harcourt Papers, ed. Edward W. Harcourt, Oxford [1880-1901] V I I , 10).

123

T o The Marquis of Hartington

M y Lord [post November 14, 1752] 1 r 2 e M Roberts has written to Me in y Name of M r Pelham 3 to Exert my Interests for Col. Cornwallis, 4 who intends standing for West r — as I imagine Your Lordship's Influence will go ye Same way, I have ventur'd to promise all my Endeavors for that Gentleman's Service— I din'd last Wednesday at Burlington house— M y Lady talk'd much of You & dwelt upon i t — she said— and indeed Nobody contradicted her, that You w e r e / best & Worthiest Man she Ever knew, tho I have known this to be her thoughts, I never heard her say quite so much before— M y Lord continues as he was when You left London; they did me y e honor to call in Southampton Street before Dinner to Day & I thought his Lord p rather look'd better than usual— I have sent Y r Lord® M r Woodward's Letter, 6 & at y e Same time Assure You that upon my honor, it is no performance of Mine. M r s Garrick & her worthier half most humbly recommend their Duties & Services to Lady Hartington's & Y r Lordship's Commands, & what so poor a Man as Hamlet is can do t' Express his Love shall neverfail6 I am Ever Your Lordship's Most faithfull & Most Oblig'd Ser* D : Garrick Endorsement by the recipient: M r . Garrick 175a.

Source: Duke of Devonshire.

ι . The approximate date is derived from the reference to Woodward's Letter. 2. John Roberts, Pelham's secretary. 3. Henry Pelham (i695?-i754), statesman, brother of the Duke of Newcastle. 4. Edward Cornwallis (1713-1776), son of Charles, fourth Baron Cornwallis. Prior to his unanimous election as M.P. for Westminster (Jan. 12, 1753), he served in a number of public offices. 5. Presumably A Letter from Henry Woodward, Comedian, the Meanest of All Characters, to Dr. John Hill, Inspector-General of Great Britain, the Greatest of All Characters. Woodward

June 18, 1753

191

had been insulted in the theater, and in the controversy which followed Hill sided with the insulter and attacked Woodward in " T h e Inspector" (No. 524), published in the London Daily Advertiser of Nov. 14, 1752. The Letter was Woodward's purported reply (Robert W. Lowe, Bibliographical Account of English Theatrical Literature, 1888, p. 367; Genest, IV, 365^). 6. Hamlet, I, v, i8sf.

124

To Samuel Richardson

Dear S r Tuesday Morn® [post November 20, 1 7 5 2 ] 1 Had I not receivd a Note from You this Morning, I should have sent You one to Day, to condole with You for y e late loss,2 which I heard of, Yesterday at M r Fielding's 3 I am very sorry I cannot yet oblige You & the Ladies with Every Man in his humor, M r e Ward who play'd y® Part of M r a Kitely has left Us 4 & We have Nobody ready in That Character— 6 it Ever was & Ever will be y® Greatest pleasure to M e to See, hear, read or oblige M r Richardson; & I will certainly wait upon him y e first Morning that I can get loose from my very troublesome & foolish Affairs. I am D r S r Ever & Sincerely Yours D : Garrick Source: William Salt Library.

1. The month and year are determined by the reference to Richardson's "loss." 2. In a letter of Nov. 20, 1752, Richardson alludes to a fire in his printing-shop, occasioned by the carelessness of an assistant (Correspondence of Samuel Richardson, ed. Anna L. Barbauld, 1804, III, 48f., VI, 2i7f.). 3. Henry Fielding (1707-1754), the novelist. 4. Mrs. Ward (d. 1771), an actress of striking beauty but of doubtful ability, left Drury Lane after a single season (1751-52) to join Sheridan at Smock Alley (Genest, IV, 355, X , 380). 5. Ben Jonson's comedy was, however, performed on Nov. 30, with Garrick as Kitely and Mrs. Davies as Dame Kitely.

125

To John Hussey Delaval1

Chiswick Dear Sir, June 18 th 1753 I was in y e Country when Your Play 2 & Letter came to Southampton Street; I am now just come to Town to regulate some affairs of y e

To Peter Garrick

192

Theatre, & to make some necessary preparations for ye Ensuing winter & then I shall away into Yorkshire for Six Weeks, where I shall brood over the favor you have sent M e — I shall there have time to consider it with all the Care I am capable of, & then I will do Myself y® pleasure to write You my thoughts, upon y® Whole— and now give me leave Sir to return You My Acknowledgements for y e honor you have done Me in committing Your poetical Offspring to my Direction— I shall think myself bound by all y e Laws of friendship & Gratitude to act for it consistently with ye great Confidence You have repos'd in M e — You may rest assur'd that the Secret shall be inviolably kept by Me, & that no one (till you are pleas'd to tell it yrself) shall know of our dramatical intercourse. I shall trouble you with a Letter from Yorkshire when I have consider'd, & can give You my opinion of y e Tragedy. I beg leave once more to thank you for your most kind & Friendly wishes in my behalf & I am D r Sir Your most Oblig'd & most Obed[ 4 ] hum le Ser4 D : Garrick M r s desires that her Compliments may be presented with mine to M r e Delaval. 3 Address: T o John Delaval E s q r a t Sea ton Delaval near Newcastle, Northumberland.

Postmark: J U 23.

Source: Robert Eddison.

1. John Hussey Delaval (1738-1808), later (1761) Bt. and (1771) Baron. Like his elder brother, Francis Blake Delaval, he was active in amateur theatricals. 2. The play has not been identified (but see John Robinson, " A Catalogue of Books and Plays, in French and English," Delaval Papers, Newcasde, ca. 1890, pp. 81, 84). 3. Susanna (Robinson, Potter) Delaval (d. 1783), daughter of her husband's aunt Margaret (Delaval) Robinson. She was the widow of John Potter when she married John Hussey Delaval in 1750.

126

To Peter Garrick

Chiswick Dear Peter July y e 4 th [1753?] 1 I have just now heard that there is an Estate belonging to one M r Boothby (I don't know if it is Y r friend or not) near Ashbourn, 2 of about £300 ρ ann to be sold, & has been upon Sale near Two Years— D r Taylor y e Physician tells me that it is one of y e prettiest

July

4

[1753?]

193

freehold Estates in y e County of D e r b y — I wish you would make some Enquiry about it, & let me know y e particulars as soon as You c a n — pray inform Me if there is y e River Dove near y e house, & what kind of a house, what Wood, what prospect &c & c ? — I should be glad to purchase a Good thing in Derbyshire, that I might serve y e Devonshire family upon Occasions. I could be glad that you would get y e best information you can, but not mention my Name Yet, for fear they should rise upon i t — M r Fletcher would perhaps give some account of i t — D r Taylor y e Clergyman 3 who liv'd once at Ashbourn & belongs now to Westminster told my friend D r Taylor y e Physician of i t — They say 'tis y e prettiest thing next to M r Oakover's in y e County— 4 I own I love a good Situation prodigiously, & I think the four great Requisites to make one are, Wood, Water, Extent, & inequality of Ground— I should be glad to know if this place has any, or a l l — shd you hear of any good thing besides this, that may be had reasonably, & has taste in it, (for do you mind Me, there must be a little Taste for Us), I beg you will let me know— but first Enquire about this Estate of M r Boothby, I think they say The River Dove washes his Land; which would be a great Inducement to Me, for I must have a R i v e r — I am writing now in y e greatest haste, & with y e damndest pen I ever handled; but, you'll decypher me, I don't doubt— I imagine we shall go for Yorkshire on Monday; when You write to me direct for Me under Cover to y e Earl of Burlington in Piccadilly London M y wife sends her Love with Mine to you all, & believe M e — Most A f f e c t & Sincerely Y r a D Garrick how does Linney do ? Address:

T o M r Garrick in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Source:

FC.

ι. The conjectural date given to this letter is dependent upon the dating in the following letter and on the itinerary and chronology outlined in the following letters, all of which seem to point to the visit to Londesburgh in the summer of 1753 rather than to any other summer. Although, as he says in this letter, Garrick planned to leave London on Monday, July 9, he apparently was not able to, for by Monday, July 16, he was at Booth Ferry, fifteen miles from Londesburgh, expecting to be with the Burlingtons that evening. 2. Brooke Boothby's family had lived for centuries in this vicinity. 3. John Taylor (1711-1788), Prebendary of Westminster 1746, a vigorous and opinionated friend of both Garrick and Johnson. 4. Okeover (Oakover) Hall, near Dovedale.

194

To George Garrick

127

To George Garrick

Booth Ferry Dear George. Monday July 16 th [1753] 1 We came here last Night, & if the Weather does not hinder Us (for it is a most vile day indeed) we shall cross y® water about ten o'Clock this Morning & be at Londesburgh by Dinner— but that depends upon the higher Powers, & they are still in Bed. Our Objection to Great Amwell 2 is, that there is not house at all to Lye i n — I don't insist upon a good house, but a Hut to sleep in will be necessary, till we can rebuild or look about us a little; so You are mistaken if You think I am Nice about a Mansion— how could Peter be so much Mistaken about y e Estate of Tooley3 to tell me it was £60 ρ An, when Antrobus 4 says it is £700 ρ An the one is much too little, as the Other (I fear) is too great, however I should be glad to know at what price it will be sold at, for I would not loose a good thing & Convenient for a few hundreds, tho I borrow'd 'Em. pray my love to Draper & thank him for his Abstract, I will write to Lord Rochford as soon as I get to Londesburgh, we will certainly be much Oblig'd to his Lord® for the Dancers he mentions & I will send him my thoughts upon it directly— I am surpriz'd that Clutterbuck can think Miles ill-us'd by our Objecting to Peter Wood;5 Every Person in our Situation must be careful to whom they let their houses round y e Theatre; not but I should have yielded to better reasons had not Lacy seem'd so very uneasy; & whether his fears arose from his having promis'd Rosimond6 (which he certainly did, as well as others) or from his feeling that Wood's Principles were too much like his Own with a better head, I can't tell; but it is he that is uneasy, so I beg you will settle it among Y o u — M r Miles could not have an Answer till we had got y e house Ourselves, & we did not get it until just after y e finishing of y e Season— What do you & my friends think of letting Lacy have y e house himself at so Much, & thus let him do what y* Devil he will w t h i t — but I speak at random— I am glad y® Renter's affair goes on so well— let Moore be us'd genteely to be sure; his account ought to be put upon a better footing than it is, not that I will Ever be upon y e same terms with him that I have been— My Wife says, M r Lawrence knows what is to be done with our Bedchamber, & she desires that y® Paper it is to be done with, may be Exactly y e Same pattern with what is there— that must be particularly taken

July 22 [1753]

195

care of, y e rest both M r Lawrence & He who puts up y® Paper, knows— She desires you will tell y® Cook to buy some Lavender in ye Market, a dozen bunches if it be good to sweeten y® Linnen with— I have sent two Tickets y® one for M r Clutterbuck, y® Other for M r Windham, pray let them have ' E m as soon as possible— I have some Notion that the New Actor (the Attorney I mean) has something about him— pray try him again— You will be surpriz'd I suppose, how I can Answer y® Lett 1 you sent to Londesburgh, before I get there; you must know that y e Gard'ner & Keeper always meet my Lord at this place, & y e first brought y® Letters with him. Y r e most Sincerely D Garrick. Source: H C L . ι. In both 1750 and 1753 the Garricks were at Londesburgh and July 16 fell on a Monday, but in 1750 they arrived at Lord Burlington's seat in early June (Letter 88), whereas in 1753 they did not set out from Chiswick until July (Letter ia6). Further, the year 1753 is supported by the allusions to Wood and Miles which appear to postdate rather than antedate the references in Letter 119 of Aug. 25 [1752]. Booth Ferry was a five-and-a-half-mile ferry on the main route from London to Londesburgh (Thomas Allen, History of the County of Lincoln, Lincoln, 1834, vol. I, frontispiece). 2. In Hertfordshire, purchased in 1743 by Bibye Lake and from whom it passed to his daughter {The Victoria History of the County of Hertford, ed. William Page, vol. I l l , 1912, p. 417). 3. Tooley Park, Leicestershire, whose owner, Thomas Boothby, had died on Aug. 4, 1752 (John Nichols, History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, vol. IV, pt. 2, 1814, p. 872f.). 4. Presumably a member of the family long associated with the Coutts banking house. 5. See Letter 119. 6. Presumably Thomas Rosamon (or Rosomon), the proprietor of Sadler's Wells Theatre.

128

T o The Marquis of Hartington

Londesburgh M y Lord. J u l y 22 d [ 1 7 5 3 ] While the Duns are taking their Evening's airing upon y® Wolds, I have taken y® opportunity to write three Lines to Y r Lordship— Lady Burlington has been much, very much disappointed, that she has not heard from Chiswick these two last Posts— as y® last Letter

196

To The Marquis of Hartington

from thence gave some Account of Lady Hartington's & Y r Lordship's Illness, there is indeed much Uneasiness that there has not been some Intelligence about it to D a y — Her Lady® ask'd me with great agitation this Morning, if I had receiv'd no Letter; I endeavor'd to Satisfye her, by saying that all was well by Lady Hartington's last acc 4 . I hope we shall hear Something next Tuesday or Woe betide U s — I am sure I won't drink a dish of Tea with her Lady® that Morning— but Seriously, there is such a tender & uncommon concern about Every thing that concerns Your Lordship & Family, that I am sure, You will as readily send Comfort to her Lad p & she will most ardently receive it— Lord Burlington is very low this Even» & thinks himself much worse, than he appears to be, I believe he will be better in y·* morning; there has been a most Surprizing Change in Lady Burlington for the better these two Days; her LadP confesses it, & we are in great Spirits upon it— M y Wife did not know till this afternoon that you are not to be here till we are gone; She is most prodigiously angry indeed, & will not yet be persuaded but that it is some Joke of Lady Burlington's & Mine. Miss Molly Anderson is just arriv'd, & consents that I shall say, how sorry she is, that thro her Means I wrote a Fib about y e Marq s of R[ockingha] m for he did speak, but she says it was so low, that it was y e same thing as not Speaking at all— W e desire our Duties & best Respects to her LadP & I am M y Lord Y r Lordship's most humble & most Obed 1 Ser4 D Garrick. P.S. Lady B. expected that M r e Loxley at least would have sent her a Line— Endorsement by the recipient: M r Garrick J u l y 22, 1 7 5 3 . shire.

129

Source: Duke of Devon-

To The Marquis of Hartington

Londesburgh M y Lord. July 29 th [ 1 7 5 3 ] Lady Burlington has desir'd M e to acquaint Y r Lordship, with the present State of this Family— Her LadyP in y e first place, is I think,

July 29 [.1753]

197

as well as Ever I remember her, & her Looks if possible better; but those she says, are not to be rely'd on. His Lordship has lately been taken with a New disorder; about an hour & half or two hours after dinner he grows Sick, & cannot keep any thing upon his Stomach; this I believe can have no bad Consequence, if it does not continue; for his LordP generally seems Easier & better after it; he Eats very little, scarcely anything, but does not abate of his pint, Small beer &c & c — he looks very well, & in y e Morning is in Spirits as Usual— this Day din'd with Us, Lord & Ly Langdale, 1 M r & M r e Langdale of Home, 2 S r Ed d Anderson, Miss Molly, Miss Langdale of Cliff, S r H. Bedengfield, 3 Bishop Bonner, 4 & M r & M r e Garrick— a full Company indeed & so full, that after Dinner, when y e Ladies & Gentlemen retir'd to Coffee & Tea, M y Lord could not be prevail'd upon to follow 'Em: His Sickness coming on, he chose to be from them, & they left us rather before S i x — I have at last visited York, & am not much delighted w t h M y Expedition— D r Drake 5 told Me, that there is Much Mis[c]hief brewing on account of y e late Meeting— 6 & he told me too a Strange Story, about L a Holderness, y e Marquis of R. & a Printer— but it is much too long for me to tell, or Y r LordP to hear— We all, & Each in particular, seperately & Jointly desire our Duties to Lady Hartington & Y r Lordship & I am & Ever must be Y r Lordship's Most faithfull and most Obed 4 humble Ser4 D Garrick. Will it not be impertinent to present my Duty to y e Duke of Devonshire ? Endorsement

by the recipient:

M r Garrick J u l y 29, 1 7 5 3 .

Source:

D u k e of D e v o n -

shire. ι . Elizabeth Langdale, younger daughter of William, Lord Widrington. 2. Home Hall on Spalding Moor, about eight miles southwest of Londesburgh, was one of the chief seats of the Langdale family (Thomas Langdale, Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire, Northallerton, 1822, p. 170). 3. Sir Henry Arundell Bedingfield (1683-1690?-i76o), Bt., of Oxburgh, Norfolk. He married, in Aug. 1719, Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Boyle, second Earl of Burlington. She had died Nov. 25, 1751. 4. Possibly a facetious reference to Bryan Allott or to some other local clergyman. Garrick probably had in mind the famous Edmund Bonner (1500 7-1569), Bishop of London. 5. Francis Drake (1696-1771), York physician and antiquarian and friend of the Burlingtons; author of Eboracum, or the History and Antiquities of the City of York (1736). 6. See the following letter, note 2.

I g8

To The Marchioness of Hartington

130 To The Marchioness of Hartington London Madam. Aug 84 2 1 s t [ 1 7 5 3 ] 1 I was so tir'd & sleepy when I wrote last to Y r LadyP, that upon my Word I have not now y e least Idea of What I said, or intended to S a y — I am at present indeed not quite so drowzy, but I question Much if I shall appear less dull and unentertaining— M r e Garrick is not the least disconcerted by our Expedition on y e Road, & I must say, that Lying at Stamford y e first day, & dining y e Next at Hatfield was very Spirited for her Delicacy. I beg you will let Lord Hartington know, that I had him in my Eye all y* way from Londesburgh, shining in his Birth Day Suit; to morrow I shall visit Mercers & Weavers to fancy Something worthy of the great trust, that is committed to my Taste & Care— If I should fail, I will not swear what would be y e Consequence. W e have some thoughts (after a little necessary ranging) to visit Chiswick which I imagine will be about y e End of y e Week & then Lady Hartington will receive a full & true Account of y® Life, Health & Conversation of that plump Cherub Master Richard, between Highgate & London the affair of y e York Meeting 2 came into my head, & I could not get rid of it, till I had Scribbled y* Lines Underneath— D r Goddard 3 I'm sure will not dislike ' E m ; Y r Ladyship may dispose of ' E m as You think proper, but I must not be known for many Reasons to be the Author of ' E m — Upon a late Meeting at York. When Rock\iri\g[hd\m met with the County to cavil, T o down with S r Darcy, & up with S r Savile; He urg'd that γ6 first, was unfit from his Age, In Business, & Bustle of State to Engage: Quoth Darcy, my Lord, that I'm Old is a truth; But Old as I am, I can yet cope with Youth; Shall Age & Experience be counted demerit, Tho Time has not blited the Flesh or ye Spirit ? T o prove that my Powers can support y e Old Member Let us try if Your May can outdo my December; While thus M y Lord Marquis I'm hearty & strong, 'Tis better so Old, than be always too Young.

[post August 21,1733]

199

Such as they are, they are at y r Lady»'® Service, If you should like these perhaps you may see y e Spectacles berhym'd in my next— One Single Line to know how Lord Burlington & Y r Ladyships are, would give Us much pleasure; W e desire our Duties & Service to all & Every One, & I am Y r Ladyship's very peart & most Obed 4 hum le Ser 1 D : Garrick. Will Y r LadyP give me a Chiswick Ticket or two ? I had three but they are gone— Source: Duke of Devonshire, transcript of verses in F S L . ι. The allusion to the York meeting indicates the year. 2. During the summer of 1753 preparations for a parliamentary election were afoot in Yorkshire. One faction, headed by Robert D'Arcy (1718-1778), fourth Earl of Holderness, supported Sir Conyers D'Arcy (age 69) of Aske; a second faction, led by the Marquis of Rockingham, proposed as a candidate Sir George Savile (age 27). Eventually Savilc withdrew, and D'Arcy was returned unopposed on May 1, 1754 (The Parliamentary Representation of the County of York, ed. Arthur Gooder, Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1938, II, ioif., 146). 3. Henry Goddard ( 1 7 0 7 1 - ι ^ η ) , M.D. 1753, practiced medicine at Foston, Yorkshire (Alumni Cantab.).

131

To John Hussey Delaval1

Sir. [post August 2 1 , 1 7 5 3 ] 2 I was very sorry that I could not see Y o u at S r Tho 8 Robinson's 3 Yesterday, for You left us so abruptly at y r Brother's 4 & did not come afterwards to Macklin's 5 that I have had no Opportunity to tell You of my late Distress— I have had all my Books taken down in y® Study, I have search'd into Every Draw'r & Box I have, & yet cannot find Your Manuscript— I assure you I have never known so much Uneasiness in my Life, nor indeed did I Ever loose or mislay a Manuscript Play before— I could be glad to see You some time to Day to talk y e affair over; I have sent into Yorkshire to see if I may not have left it behind M e at Lord Burlington's; If ye answer from hence gives me no Intelligence of it, I really think it would be proper (w th Y r leave) to put in an Advertisement, shd any Body have been wicked Enough to take it out of my Drawers— In short I have so many things to say that I cannot

200

To John Hussey Delaval

h a v e room here to tell y o u , that I could wish, y o u w d let me k n o w w h e n I m a y see y o u to D a y for a f e w Minutes. I a m going n o w to y e House, & shall be there till after T w e l v e — f r o m that till T h r e e , I a m at y r C o m m a n d s — I dine out, & shall be at leisure again a b o u t E i g h t — will y o u b e at M a c k l i n ' s this E v e n « ? or shall I call u p o n You?

N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g this m y trouble &

confusion, I

may

perhaps find it w h e n & where I least expect i t — Excuse m y great hurry & believe M e D r S r y r most O b e d * h u m l e Sert D Garrick Source: Robert Eddison. ι. In the absence of contrary evidence John Hussey Delaval is identified as the recipient, on the assumption that the references in this and Letter 125 are to the same play. On this assumption the letter is dated and the allusions identified. 2. Presumably written shortly after Garrick's return from a visit to Yorkshire mentioned here and in Letters 125 and 130, that is, after Aug. 21, 1753, the date of the preceding letter, and before Burlington's death in Dec. 1753. 3. Sir Thomas Robinson {ιηαοΐ-ιηηη), Bt., amateur architect, owner and rebuilder of Rokeby, and man of fashion, had exhausted his inheritance only to recoup his fortunes as Governor of Barbados and by marriage to an heiress. In 1747 he returned to London and built for himself Prospect Place, a house adjoining Ranelagh Gardens, of which he was a considerable shareholder and director of entertainments. In Prospect Place he became an extravagant host to society. 4. Francis Blake Delaval (i724?-i77i), K.C.B. 1761, was well known in fashionable circles and active in amateur theatricals, both at his own country house at Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, and in the productions of the Duke of York in London. 5. Macklin, after his retirement, kept a tavern and coffee-house under the Piazza, Covent Garden.

132

To John Hussey Delaval1

D r Sir.

[post

August 2 1 , 1 7 5 3 ]

at y e Bottom of a Box in w h i c h I h a d p u t some O l d Pamphlets, the Enclos'd M a n u s c r i p t was f o u n d — I a m really m u c h rejoic'd at i t — I look upon these Copies to be G r e a t Trusts & therefore the loss of ' E m occasions a very disagreeable situation to a M a n , w h o has y e least D e l i c a c y about him. I a m S r your most h u m e Ser 4 D : Garrick Source: Robert Eddison. i. An obvious sequel to the preceding letter, and presumably written a few days later to the same recipient.

September 4,

133

201

To Samuel Richardson

London Dear Sir. Sep 1 * y e 4 t h 1 7 5 3 How can I sufficiently Thank You for y r most friendly Letter, & the Trust You have repos'd in M e — M y Wife too is full of her Gratitude to You, for bringing her so soon acquainted with Sweet Miss Byron & that most inimitable Personage Sir Rowland Meredith. 1 The good M r Richardson may rest assur'd that the T w o Vol 8 he has made me happy with shall only move from y e Scrutore to my hands, & from my hands back again to their Concealment under Lock & K e y — I wish from my Soul that I could as Easily procure You Justice & Reparation from the matchless Villains who have plunder'd You of Your Treasure 2 as I can Secure that You have honor'd me with, from their infernal Clutches— I am most Sincerely warm upon this Subject, & could I stir the World in Y r Behalf, my Zeal & Friendship should not be a moment idle— I have sent You y e Enclos'd to shew Y o u that Lord Orrery will Exert his Influence & Power in this Just Cause; 3 I must desire You to preserve his Lordship's Letter, for I think it does great honour to You, the Writer & Myself. The Mistake I made about y e Title was owing to our Friend Draper; but it Signifies little as my meaning & Wishes cannot be Mistaken; I shall burn till I know how y e Affair proceeds; Faulconer's Conduct amazes M e ; 4 I knew him to be an Important Fool, & therefore imagin'd that his false Consequence might have kept his hands from the Dirt— Lord Orrery has most strikingly painted y e whole Group; & I dare say the features are as far from Caracatura as flattery— Let me once more thank You (in my own & M r s Garrick's Name) for Your great Kindness to Us, & believe M e most cordially Your Friend, Wellwisher, & Obed 1 Servant D : Garrick Source: Johnson Birthplace Museum, facsimile; R i c h a r d R y a n , Dramatic Table Talk, 1 8 2 5 , I I , 288. ι . Characters in Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison. 2. Through the treachery of one of his printers, duplicate galleys of the novel had been posted, as issued, to a group of Dublin booksellers, thus enabling them to publish a nearly complete pirated edition some months in advance of the English edition.

202

To The Reverend Joseph Smith

3. Precisely what Orrery's connection with this matter may have been cannot be determined; the letter which Garrick mentions is apparently not extant. In a later letter to Richardson, dated Nov. 9, acknowledging a presentation set of Sir Charles Graitdison, Lord Orrery wrote: " I wish your gift might have been to a more useful servant; but, as I feared, so I found it impossible to be the important friend I most heartily wished myself" (Correspondence of Samuel Richardson, ed. Anna L. Barbauld, 1804, I, 17a). 4. George Faulkner had arranged with Richardson to publish the Irish edition of Sir Charles Grandison. Prevented by the appearance of the piracy, Faulkner determined to make the best of his disappointment by allying himself with the unscrupulous printers who had cheated Richardson. A lively dispute followed, in the course of which Richardson, apparently not without some reason, attached the guilt of his betrayal to Faulkner {Sir Charles Grandison, V I I , 424-442).

134

To The Reverend Joseph Smith

Dear Josey. [ante September 6, 1753] 1 I was out of town when your obliging Lett 1 came to my house— I most Sincerely thank you & M re Smith2 for thinking of Me & Mine. I met with such a kind of treatment at Grove that I have conceiv'd Resentment & dislike against the place. We are told that some Persons of Family & Fortune are about it, I shall therefore not contend with my betters, Especially as ye Bone in Question does not absolutely hit my Tooth— 3 To have been near you, would have been my principal Enducement; but as that must be had upon very unreasonable & some disagreeable terms I shall content Myself with y e Bank of ye Thames— I have a place in my Eye that I think will Suit us, & if I sha purchase i t — let me tell you from my heart, that Nobody will be more wellcome to Me & My Wife than M r & M ra Smith. I am Yours most Sincerely D Garrick. PS. our Playhouse Meeting was to Day, 4 & I am so hurried, vex'd & what not, that I beg you'll excuse this Scrawl— Address: T o the Rev«1 M r Smith at Stenmore Middx. Source: F C ; Boaden, II, 336.

Postmark:

SE 6.

1. The year is provided by the reference to the Grove estate, which was for sale the year before Garrick bought Hampton. 2. Mary (1678-1780). 3. Undoubtedly the Grove estate near Watford in Hertfordshire (see Letter 699).

[post February 27, 1754]

203

It was to be purchased in 1753 by Thomas Villiers, later (1776) Earl of Clarendon (John E. Cussans, History of Hertfordshire, 1881, III, 170). 4. The 1753-54 season at Drury Lane opened on Sept. 8; the preliminary meeting was held probably about a week earlier.

135

To James Murphy French1

Sir [post November 21, 1753] 2 I shall be glad to wait upon you any morning after tomorrow that you will please to call upon me in Southampton street. Will nine o'clock be too Early for you ? I am Sr. Y r . very hum l e Servant D. Garrick P.S. I am very secret I assure you. I shall be home next Fryday Evening at Seven. Source:

The R. B. Adam Library,

Buffalo, 1 9 2 9 , 1 , 1; Foot, Murphy,

p. 91.

1. Identified in the source as James Murphy French (1725-1759), the elder brother of Arthur Murphy the dramatist; he had early adopted his maternal uncle's surname. French contributed to his brother's publication, The Gray's Inn Journal, and wrote two comedies, " T h e Brothers" and " T h e Conjurers," neither of which was ever produced or printed. A t this time he was attempting to get a play accepted at Drury Lane. 2. This is the reply to French's letter of Nov. 21, 1753 (Foot, Murphy,

136

p. 90).

To Arthur Murphy1

Sir. [post February 27, 1754] 2 Y o u were most Extreamly Wellcome to the Ticket or any other assistance in M y Pow'r in all your Undertakings, whether Serious or Whimsical— If you chuse to relinquish Your right to y e freedom of Drury-Lane Playhouse, you certainly will do as you please— but without y e Ticket, I imagine M r Murphy will find the Doors open to him as usual— and be it farther known to Y o u Sir, that as I thought Y o u were above an undue Influence, I never meant y e Tick 1 as y e least T y e upon T h e Liberty of Y o u r Pen or Conversation. T h e Mistake between Us about y e Young Apprentice,3 is indeed most Mysterious & Surprizing, & as it was impossible to give you any

204

To William Toung

promise for this Season, on account of my other Engagements with M r Foote &c, so I most Solemnly declare, that (however You may have mistaken Me) I never hinted or thought of performing it this Winter; nay I imagin'd You were quite Satisfy'd w t h It's appearing next Year, at y e beginning of y e Season, that you approv'd of It's being left w t h Me for alterations, (if necessary), & that at y e Same time I told You in what Manner I would Endeavor to Strengthen y e Author's Night, but Supposing this Mistake between Us about y e Time of It's appearing; how could it be insinuated to y r disadvantage) that I refused Y r Piece ? so far from that— have I not said Every where & to Every body who knew Us both, that y e Subject was well imagin'd & that I would Act & do Every thing in M y Pow'r to make it succeed?— I assure You that I desire no Gentleman to wait upon Me unnecessarily, I hope that I give Myself no Unreasonable Airs to any Author, & however I may have been Misrepresented, I flatter Myself that No Gentleman who has had Dealings with Me, will do me the injustice to charge Me w t h breach of Promise, false Parade, or the Want of Warmth to Support their Performances, in my double Capacity of Manager & Actor. I am S r Y r most Obed 1 hum e Serv 1 D Garrick. P.S. I was oblig'd to go from Home Yesterday the moment I had dress'd Myself, or I should have sent You an answer before— Endorsement by Garrick: 12 D G to A M .

Source: F C ; Boaden, I, 66f.

1. Arthur Murphy (1727-1805), actor, dramatist, and miscellany writer. His relations with Garrick might be described as a lifelong dispute, punctuated by brief, but never lasting, intervals of friendliness. 2. This is the reply to Murphy's letter of Feb. 27, 1754 (Boaden, I, 65f.). 3. Murphy's successful farce, The Apprentice (DL, Jan. 2, 1756).

137

To William Young1

Andover M y dear Sir 9 'oClock [Summer? 1754] 2 I have got y e best pen & Ink in y e house to return You & M r s Young 3 our Acknowledgments for one of y e most pleasurable Weeks

[Summer? W e E v e r E n j o y ' d — Y r Horses & 'ben piacevole, tizing

&

205

1754] Chaise have brought U s

hither

I h o p e w e shall r e a c h H a m p t o n 4 w i t h o u t

an Individual—

stigma-

I n e v e r l e f t a P l a c e i n so m e l a n c h o l l y a G u i s e

in m y L i f e time, & y e best C o m p l i m 4 I c a n p a y Y o u & y * rest o f y e a b s u r d C o m p a n y W e left b e h i n d , is to tell Y o u , t h a t I h a v e w i s h ' d m y S e l f w i t h Y o u a g a i n a t h o u s a n d t i m e s — I m o s t sincerely W i s h t h a t Y o u m a y n e v e r k n o w W o r s e Spirits t h a n W e all h a d a t S t a n d l i n c h , 6 & t h a t y o u m a y n e v e r b e w i t h o u t a Lemon

i n Y r P o c k e t to

s q u e e z e for Y o u r r o u n d t a b l e — O u r best R e s p e c t s w a i t u p o n Y o u n g & our

Complim48

to

be repos'd, or t h e facetious i n More

de l'Petrarche,

ye

r e s t — should t h e a g e d M

Sign1

r

Mrs

Losack6

Fräcese be composing a n y thing

p r a y let ' E m n o t b e d i s t u r b ' d to tell ' E m h o w

M u c h I a m their h u m e S e r 4 — Y o u r s D e a r Sr most a f f e c l y D

Garrick

P S . M y L o v e p r o v e to J ü l u s & N a u g h t y K . R i c h f o r d Endorsement: G a r r i c k 1754.

Source: F S L .

1. William Young (1725-1788), was born in the West Indies; going to England some time before 1747, he was in 1769 to be created a baronet and appointed LieutenantGovernor of the Island of Dominica. 2. The assumption is that the Garricks visited the Youngs during the summer when the theater was closed. 3. Elizabeth (1729-1801), daughter of Brook Taylor of Bifrons, Kent, had become Young's second wife in 1747. 4. In Jan. 1754 Garrick rented what was known as the Fuller House in Hampton, and on Aug. 30 he contracted with Lacey Primate, the owner, to purchase the property (Henry Ripley, The History and Topography of Hampton-on-Thames, 1885, p. 13f.; contract, H T C ) . " A m o n g many other alterations and improvements, he built a new front to the house after a design by Adam, and having made several small purchases to extend his premises, the gardens were laid out with much taste, under his own direction" (Lysons, V , 76). Later, in 1770, Mrs. Delany wrote: " T h e house is singular. . . and seems to owe its prettiness and elegance to her [Mrs. Garrick's] good taste; but I saw it so short a time, and only passed once through the rooms, that I can't well describe it, but on the whole it has the air of belonging to a genius. W e had an excellent dinner nicely served, and when over went directly to the garden—a piece of irregular ground sloping down to the Thames, very well laid out, and planted for shade and shelter; and an opening to the river which appears beautiful from that spot, and from Shakespeare's Temple at the end of the improvement, where we drank tea and coffee, and where there is a very fine statue of Shakespeare in white marble, and a great chair with a large carved frame, that was Shakespeare's own chair, made for him on some particular occasion, with a medallion of him fixed in the back. Many were the relics we saw of the favorite p o e t " (The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs. Delany, ed. Lady Llanover, 2d ser., 1862, I, 283f.). 5. A seat in the parish of Downton, Wiltshire, built by Sir Peter Vandeput in 1733. Young, who acquired the house in 1752, is reported to have ruined himself in decorating the interior, engaging Cipriani to paint one of the rooms in fresco. In 1768 Young was to sell the estate, which was later (1805) presented to Lord Nelson and given its present name of Trafalgar House (courtesy of Lord Nelson).

2o6

To Peter Garrick

6. Possibly James Losack (d. 1756), Judge of the Admiralty Court, 1754; or, more probably, a facetious reference to his son, Richard Hawkshaw Losack (1730-1813), who frequently dined with Garrick (Diary of John Baker, ed. Philip G. Yorke, 1931, pp. 74η., 90, ioiff.; Vere L. Oliver, Caribbeana, 1914, vol. I l l , supplement, p. 76, V , 241).

To Peter Garrick Hampton Dear Peter Sep br 2d [1754?] 1 I should have answer'd Y r e sooner, had not George wrote you Word that I agree to y e Gardiner's proposals & hope in a Day or two to have notice of his coming, for I shd be glad to see him Settled here, before I repair to London to begin y® Acting Season— 2 I hope he has a good Character in his Neighborhood, for he will be left in trust of Every thing, house, Garden Workmen &c & c — you must likewise be so good to say what Expences I am to be at for his Journey, tho as I agree to his wages wcl1 are high (I think that he might have bore his own Expences to T o w n — however that I leave to y o u — We shall have no occasion for a Laundry Maid, so we shall spare you that trouble, for my Wife has alter'd that scheme, at least for a time— but if you shd know oT two Maids between this & next Spring, one for Laundry & y e other for a Dairy & the Chickens w ch are prime in their Way, we shd be greatly oblig'd to You, if You would give us Notice of them, & secure them for U s — as to M ra [deleted] I should be proud & pleas'd to Serve any of her family, as I did one of her Daughters before— but to obtain a Place y4 would be fit for her to accept, would take up Some time & Enquiry, for the People of fashion are all out of Town, & Those I am immediatly intimate w t h are provided with favourites, w c h I neither can, or indeed would chuse to remove— I shall be willing to Say Every thing favourable & kind of y e Young Lady, if I should have an opportunity, or if my good opinion will be Ever Serviceable to her, she may command Me at all times We were indeed most happy at Windham's, all mirth, Joy, Love Elegance & what not. he desird his best wishes to you very affect^— He seems thoughtfull at times, greatly so, & I don't absolutely like his Looks & Cough— 3 I write this in great hurry for I have Comp? w t h Me. I have Enclos'd (as I have a frank) Some of our periodical Papers— I will not answer for

[Fante September 4, 1754]

207

their Superlative Merit, such as they are you are wellcome t o — W e send our Love to you all & I am Y 1 8 Ever D Garrick Source:

FC.

ι. The conjectural year is established by the references to the arrangements necessary for the new house at Hampton. 2. In 1754 Drury Lane opened Sept. 14. 3. William Windham died of tuberculosis on Oct. 30, 1761.

139

To The Reverend Joseph Smith

M y Dear Josey. Saturday Even® [ ?ante September 4, 1754] 1 Lest Vaillant should mistake what I desir'd him to say to you, & y r better half, take it, my dear Friend, from myself,— If the weather continues fine, W e are advis'd by our Workmen to finish our house at once, w c h will oblige Us to open one Part of it, & retire to London a Week before our T i m e — if this Scheme is put in Execution, we cannot possibly have y e Pleasure of giving Y o u & M r a Smith a Bed in y e house, but we can give Y o u hearty Meals with a heartier Wellcome, & must put you over to y e Public house for Your Nocturnal Incubations. Pray will you let M r Vaillant know that I have Sign'd y e Papers he left for me, & that if he will call at Hampton to Morrow at Breakfast, I will pay him y e M o n e y — it will not be M u c h out of his W a y , & I should be glad to See h i m — Let M e tell you once more with y e Greatest Sincerity, that I am & Ever shall be Your Zealous Friend & Wellwisher D Garrick. PS I write in y e midst of Company & have not made Myself intelligible— Address:

T o the R e v d M r Smith at Stanmore in Middlesex.

Postmark:

S E 4.

Source: F C ; Boaden, I I , 125. ι . The conjectural year here, as in the preceding letter, is based on the assumption that the reference to work on the house is to the new one at Hampton.

To The Marquis of Hartington

2O8

140

To

Lond n D Sir Sept 28 [1754?]1 I am Engag'd already to more Plays than I can possibly perform in the two next Seasons— I have Seen M r Moncreif 2 since Y r Letter & told how my Engagements Stood, but have promis'd him all y e Service in my Power, provided he can get it Acted at y e other house— When I see Y o u I shall Explain farther to Y o u ; in y e mean time be assur'd that y r recommendation will always have great Weight w t h D r S r Y r most Obed' Ser 1 D : Garrick r

th

P.S. I will wait upon You when you come to Town if you will let me know when— Source: F S L . i. The year is provided, conjecturally, by the evident reference to Moncreiff's tragedy, Appius (CG, March 6, 1755). a. John Moncreiff (fl. 1 7 4 8 - 1 7 6 7 ) , Scottish poet and dramatist; he wrote only one play (BD).

141

To The Marquis of Hartington

London M y Lord. Tuesday Oct br I s t [ 1 7 5 4 ] M y Wife & I arriv'd at Chiswick Yesterday: about Six o'Clock, or before, the Ladies went to walk in y e Garden & left her Lad», Lord Cavendish 1 & Myself in y e Parlour— we had no Conversation there, but a little while after, walking in y e Garden, L * B[urlington] gave me an opening to begin ye Discourse, which I did (I think) with decency, prudence & Firmness— in Short it is impossible to write down all our Conversation, for she was so desirous to talk w t h Me, that She sent me into y e house w t h L d Cavendish, & beg'd me to come back again, for it was her Misfortune to have No Friend to talk to— I return'd & we were togeather near two hours, & much reasoning we had, & much Complaining; & so much weeping, that I was oblig'd to desire her LadP to be less exalted in her tears:

October ι [1754]

209

there was Nothing that we had not some Talk about; to most of which I pretended Ignorance, tho I could have contradicted her in many of her facts, but I spoke only to those which I might be suppos'd to know, as well as herself— she complain'd (as I knew she would) that You would not let her consult You in her Affairs, but was always giving short reserv'd Answers & telling her that her Lad» knew best— to one part of this Allegation (concerning y e Affair of Dean Alcock) 2 I argu'd w t h her, because I was by; & indeed she could not get over it: She vows a most prodigious, unalterable regard & Love for Y o u ; & has perceiv'd with much affliction & distress, Y r Coolness & Gloom for this Month past, & she saw too, that I had observ'd it, & thought of Speaking to Me about i t — She is affraid there is some Snake in y e Grass, who has set You against her, I return'd y e Snake upon her, & confounded h e r — in Short I cannot tell you all till I have y«5 Satisfaction of Seeing Y o u ; but I think it was a lucky Incident, for her heart seems more Easy & I trust & hope, that Matters will soon be much mended— I am confident she felt M y Arguments Strongly & I Expect that we shall never Meet, but there will be some Repetition of Grievances. We had a talk about ye Will, & I told her in part what y e World said & that Y r Lord? was y e only person, who did not complain of i t — then she told me y e whole affair of y r Conversation & warmth w t h her about y e Will, & y e Consequential Messages by M r Arundel; 3 all w c h were ill represented but I could not gain say her, for I was to know Nothing of y e Matter— ye Moment your LordP returns I will see You, I could be glad to meet you in London before you go to Chiswick, & certainly will if y r Lord® gives me Notice. I am Y r LordShip's most faithfull & devoted Ser' D Garrick I shall be in Southampton Street most of y e week Endorsement

by the recipient:

Mr.

Garrick. Octr.

I.

1754.

Source:

Duke

of

Devonshire. ι. Presumably William, Hartington's eldest son. 2. Probably John Alcock (d. 1769), D.D., Dean of Ferns in Ireland (Henry Cotton, Fasti Ecclesiae Hibemicae, Dublin, 1848, II, 351). His father, Alexander Alcock (d. 1747), had been Dean of Lismore, where Lord Burlington's chief Irish estate, Lismore Castle, was situated (LM, vol. X V I , Sept. 1747, p. 436). 3. The Hon. Richard Arundel (d. 1758), long a public official and, for seven parliaments, M.P. for Knaresborough, Yorkshire. He was named as executor of the wills of the Burlingtons (Parliamentary Representations of Yorkshire, ed. Godfrey R. Park, 1886, p. 120; Probate Court of Canterbury, Hutton 25g, Searle 333).

2IO

142

To The Marquis of Hartington

T o The Marquis of Hartington

Hampton Wednesday Morn« [October 2, 1754] After I had wrote to Your LordP I went to Chiswick to call upon my wife to go to Hampton— Lady Burlington desir'd to see Me before I set off, I went into her Room, & she told Me with tears, that she had not slept one Wink all Night w t h reflecting upon our conversation— she then Said, that she must desire me to do for her, what she had several times intended to ask me, w ch was, to talk w t h Your Lord p from her, & beg to know, w* may have been y e Cause of y r Lordships Coolness & Gravity of late; that she cannot charge herself with y e least Neglect or Unkindness, & that Your Behavior which is so reserv'd, afflicts her so sensibly that she must intreat to know y e Reason for it makes her Life miserable— this is y e thing I could have wish'd, & as she has desir'd that you may not know of her Lad®'8 & my conversation, Nothing could have happen'd so luckily— she says my talking to her has oblig'd her beyond Measure, & indeed I never saw Such a Change from y e Severe, to y e Good & tender. She is greatly allarm'd, & gets me as often as she can into a Corner for advice, & I am to lye there to Night again in order to have my Instructions of What I am to say to Y r Lordship— now indeed is y·5 time to fix Matters upon such a footing, that No uneasiness shall Enter again into ye family; I cannot say that I have been so pleas'd & satisfy'd a long time; & Y r Lord» may be assur'd that I have acted with all y® Prudence & delicacy, so nice an affair requires, & let me likewise say, with that firmness & regard to both, that unless the Devil steps in between, (and I flatter myself that he is shut out at present) Good, real Good must be ye Consequence, pray let me know when I may see Y r Lord®, for Lv Burlington has desir'd that I will see You as soon as I can; I suppose Tuesday or Wednesday Morn® will be y e farthest. M r e Garrick sends her Duty & I am as in duty bound Y r Lordship's most faithful & Obed 4 Ser* D Garrick. PS. Y r LordP must take no Notice of this, till I see you; but this was unnecessary— Y r LordP has now time to consider what is further to be done. Endorsement by the recipient: Mr. Garrick Octr. 2. 1754. Devonshire.

Source: Duke of

November 2 [1754]

143

211

To The Marquis of Hartington

M y Lord. Nov r 2 d [1754] 1 Yesterday, & not before, I had the critical Tete a tete with her almost unintelligible Ladyship: W e walk'd into y e Garden togeather & she began w t h asking Me, whether y r Lordship had said anything more of Y o u r Grievances— N o M a d a m (said I) his Lp talk'd no more o f t h a t affair; I indeed Spoke to him & told him I was glad to see that his Lord? seem'd to be chearfuller than Some time ago. Y o u r answer was to M e — While her LadyP is pleas'd to be kind I shall return it, & live w t h her, (if she pleases) as W e Us'd to do before these Bickerings, but I cannot, & ought not, to pass my Life in gloom & with unkind treatment: it is very odd said s h e ; — but I saw her struck & much touch'd & this Subject d r o p t — I wanted to introduce the grand affair, w c h I did by asking her, when you was to return, She said, she did not know, that she had ask'd Lv Hart n , but she could not t e l l — I suppose says I, this new Scheme of another house near Uffington is taking place & his Lp is there— 2 oh No Says She, I believe he is still at C h a t s w o r t h — then I came in to y·5 M a t t e r — I could not help laughing at my Lord (said I) for thinking of another house in that cursed Country, & said to Him how can Y r Lord? think of any place when Y o u may have Londesburgh— how so M r David cri'd his LordP? W h y I have heard M y L a d y B[urlington] say that she Wonder'd how you could go there when you might have Londesburgh; if L a d y Β—-— would Chuse it to be so (reply'd y r LP) she certainly would have Spoke of i t — w h y have I not? (interrupted y e Lady) Several & Several times ? you have heard me, have you not ? I don't remember Y o u r Saying this to L d Η : M a d m , I recollect Something of y r Saying this to Ly Hart, but that was in a careless W a y — I mean says she Every thing I say, & I sh d think what is said to O n e is said to B o t h — I am very sorry (said I) there is y8 Reserve, for I am Sure Lord Hart n likes Londesburgh so well, that he would have it upon y r own terms— I hope he won't hire this other house, as he talk'd of, & for a term of Y e a r s — here there was a dead S t o p , — with only an Ejaculation now & then, of, it is very o d d ! — I can't make Speeches,— & such kind of no-meaning Words! in short how this will work I can't s a y — but if she intends as she o u g h t — this will open her Mouth & heart imediatly, if N o t — I shall be angry, amaz'd and disappointed— Y r Cloaths have been

To The Marquis of Hartington

212

three Days with y e Tailor, I flatter Myself Y o u ' l l like them; M r s G send her D u t y & I am M y Lord Y r Lordship's Most faithfull & most Obed» Serv' D Garrick. I am going to play Macbeth, & have wrote so unintelligibly that I fear you won't make it o u t — Y r Lord» will Excuse M e . Source: D u k e of Devonshire. i. The year 1754 is the only one in which Garrick played Macbeth on Nov. 2; the date is substantiated by the references in this letter and others of the same year to the difficulties of Lady Burlington. a. The strained relations between Hartington and his mother-in-law presumably prompted him to look elsewhere for a residence, but nothing has been found associating him with Uffington (Lincolnshire), the seat of the Earls of Linsey (William Marrat, History of Lincolnshire, Boston, 1816, III, 5-15).

144

T o

T h e

Marquis

of

Hartington

M y Lord. Thursday noon [November 7, 1754] 1 I should certainly have waited upon Y r Lordship this Evening, had I not been Engag'd to play in y e C h a n c e s — I have not seen y e Lady Since I wrote to Y r Lord»; there is Nothing particular to be done by Y o u I think, but to second my Attack, if she talks to y r Lord? about Londesbrough— Should she Ask whether you had fix'd upon a Place, I think she sh a know that Y o u are about it, which will bring out her intentions, if she has any to produce. I hope y r Lord? will See to y e bottom of her heart if there is y e least Opening for i t — M y Wife is gone there this Morning, if She has learnt any thing, I will put it in y e Postscript, for I shall keep y e Lett r unseal'd till I see h e r — Now for a distress of my own. about Six days ago, his Majesty sent for a List of P l a y s — I sent one y e Next Morning, with y e Chances at y e head of i t — 2 I went to Court on Sunday, saw Lord Northumberland, 3 but no Orders had been g i v e n — but Yesterday Morning it was known, that y e K i n g goes certainly to Covent Garden, 4 w c h indeed Surpriz'd M e ; for N o Care has been wanting on my Part to make y e Reception & Entertainment for his Majesty, as well as I possibly c o u l d — I have new dress'd y e Play, put Every

M a p of the Villa at H a m p t o n and its Surroundings

213

[*754\ re

5

Performer I could of Merit in it— nay hir'd M Macklin on purpose for one of ye Characters— in Short I was in a great Puzzle & much concern'd at first, but I am at present Subsided; & find, that If ye Greatest will open their Ears to malice & design, y e Lowest may Suffer; in Short, I see, that I am not absolutely little Enough, not to have some Enemies— however I am now Satisfy'd— I can't reproach Myself with giving any offence, & therefore I shall trouble my Mind no more about it— I wish I knew when Yr Lord® intends to try yr Cloaths, for I would certainly make one of ye Party. I am Ever Yr Lordship's Most faithful Ser1 D: Garrick Endorsement by the sixth Duke of Devonshire: ( M r Garrick to L d H n ) . 1754. Source: Duke of Devonshire. 1. The month and day are established by Garrick's references to playing in The Chances, revived on Thursday, Nov. 7, 1754, with Garrick as Don John. 2. " T h e King happened to recollect that Wilks and Oldfield had greatly diverted 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" (Davies, I, a2af.). 3. Hugh (Smithson) Percy (1715-1786), second Earl of Northumberland, later (1766) first Duke of Northumberland, appointed in 1753 a Lord of the Bedchamber. 4. On Nov. 7 at Covent Garden, an alteration of an old tragedy, Phaedra and Hippolyte, was performed. The playbills do not indicate that it was a command performance. 5. Ann (Purvor, Grace) Macklin (d. 1759), Charles Macklin's first wife, the mother of Maria Macklin and herself an excellent actress, played the part of the Landlady. Miss Macklin also appeared in this revival as the first Constantia.

145

To William Young [1754]

Blessings on my heart I had quite forgot my Love, Respects, Complim1® & what not to the Wanton Marquis— Address: T o W . Y o u n g Esq 1 . Joseph W . P. Frost.

IO + L . D . O .

Seal.

Endorsement: Garrick. — I754-

Source:

214

146

To The Marquis of Hartington

To The Marquis of Hartington

London My Lord. May 16 th 1755 It is with the greatest Pleasure that we have heard of Your Safe arrival in Ireland: 1 and tho Y r Excellency has Experienc'd some very rough doings before y r landing, Every body here Expects that you will find Nothing but a Calm on Shore— Since y r Departure I have been very frequent in my Visitations at B[urlington] H[ouse]. My Wife is there constantly Every d a y — We are in most prodigious favor, & all y e Old Affections are returning again— Miss B[etty] M[ostyn] has not yet left her Room, tho she is much better; I have more than once met a certain Person going to visit her, & very awkward were the Encounters: it is a most strange silly Business! My Lady Yesterday in y e Midst of her warmth & Goodness to Me ask'd m e — what those frequent visitings imported? & what I thought of his sitting for hours by y e Lady's bed-side ? I answer'd— that there were such variety of Friendships in the World, & such unaccountable circumstances in many of them, that I wanted both Understanding & Knowledge of y e world, to decypher them— She smil'd most graciously & said she thought as I did, but would venture to speak more openly; for such freedoms (or words to that Effect) were what she did not like— in short I find a Change of some sort or other is coming about— Miss Anderson & M r e Garrick are always with her, & she has of late been most particularly kind to my Wife— I find y e Servants & others talk oddly of M r M[arsham] & Miss B . — They call him y e Physician, & peep out of y e Windows at him as he goes to & fro. L* B[urlington] has been very ill since Y r LordP left Us, & indeed looks most Woefully— a short odd Dialogue pass'd between John Moody & Y r hum e Ser4 Yesterday— it was as follows D. G. Well John how does Miss do? When did You see her? Moodlv—I have not seen her these Seven Days— but I hear she's better— She'll mend— D. G. I hope she will— how do you think my Lady is ? Moody Why Well Enuff— ay a y — things are all comming reet again— D. G. how comming right ? I don't understand You. Moody. Well well Yo'll see— I wish yo'd come offner among us— D. G. I intend it John, for I have time now—

May 22 [1755]

215 2

—and so we parted— for I > B. sent Roger for me to come to her immediatly, for fear I should go & dine with M r Arundel who had press'd Me— all the Sweet-ones are Well & Every thing there I think goes as YR Lord® would wish—3 her LP does not like they shd go much abroad into y® Park or Else where, wcl1 my Wife tells Me Caroline4 is a little uneasy at— but that is a very small Matter— M r Collins6 I hear leaves Town to Morrow or ye next Day, he Seems to be in great favor wth her Lad®— He is very Cleaver indeed & must be of great Service to her— I hope Y r LordP will give Me all ye Information & preparation you can concerning ye Affair was mention'd to Me by Y r LordP in y® Hackney-Coach— for my greatest Pride & Pleasure is subscribing Myself Y r Excellency's Most devoted Servant D: Garrick PS. this day a Marriage was consummated between Biddy6 & Mrs. Chandler's Sweet-lips to y® Great Joy of our Family— M re Garrick send her duty. Endorsed by the recipient.

Source: Duke of Devonshire.

1. Hartington had been constituted Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland on March 27 (patent issued April 3) and assumed his duties at Dublin on M a y 5 (Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report 12, Appendix, pt. 10, vol. I, 1891, p. 5, n. 1). He replied to this letter on M a y 21 (FC). 2. A young footman, soon to cause dissension in the household. 3. Harrington's children were cared for in the Burlington household while their father was in Ireland, for their mother had died in December (Francis Bickley, The Cavendish Family, 1 9 1 1 , p. 21 if.). 4. Lady Caroline Cavendish (d. 1760), Hartington's sister. 5. Evidently agent for the property at Londesburgh. There are at Chatsworth fourteen letters ( 1 7 5 4 - 5 5 ) addressed by John Collins to Lord Burlington. 6. The Garricks' favorite house dog.

147

To The Marquis of Hartington

London May 22d [1755] Tho I troubled Y r Lordship so lately, Yet as a little Matter has arisen since, I cannot help letting you into our present situation of Affairs— L* B[urlington] I think is now quite recover'd, & with ye

2i6

TO The Marquis of Hartington

return of her health, her Mind too, seems to recover It's former Inclinations— She wains greatly in her affection towards Miss B[etty] to Whom We are most extreamly civil— her Lp has desir'd Miss And n to go with her to Chis k — So one will be play'd against y e O t h e r — Miss And n goes, & we shall (as often as We can) make two of y e Party. We din'd there to Day w t h M r Arundel, who is going Next Week to Tunbridge— there was much Fear express'd lest y r frequent & necessary Entertainments should induce You to drink more Claret than Ordinary— for y e Birds have sung that Y r Excellency has been very jovial with both Parties— I rec'd a Letter from Ireland Yesterday, w c h Says (& I doubt not of It's truth) that a Face of Joy & Content is seen through y e Whole Nation— moreover it was signify'd unto Me that y r Lords had bespoke y e Man of Mode, 1 & intended, that Even y® Poor Players should have some share in y e General Satisfaction— I very much fear that the three hours you spent at y e Theatre were not y e merriest since y r Arrival in Ireland. Lady B. is still harping upon M r Marsham, but M y wife never makes any Answers to her Questions; Miss And n likewise (by my Wife's instructions) lets her Lp play a Solo upon these Occasions— however that Friendship is carried on a little too f a r — for, When the Platonic extends so far as Sitting upon y e Bed for hours togeather, & the Maid is all the While reading Gilblas, & scratching Mocoa in y e Outer Room, the more unrefin'd part of y e House, the Ladies of y e Kitchin & laundry, will fancy & tell strange Stories— among y e rest of y e Impertinence of this Letter, I must inform You that Redyard has resign'd the Po[r]tership, 2 but has reserv'd his Sallary for Life; He is Succeeded in honor & dignity by M r James Busby, who told me this Evening with great importance, that he was now settled most comfortably to his Wish, & when her LadyP was from Town, he could have leisure to pursue his Physical Studies— What Excuse can I possibly make, for mixing this trash with y e Affairs of a Nation? Y r Lordship knows I mean Well, so I shall say no M o r e — M r e Garrick begs her Duty may be presented to you, & joins her fears with mine on account of y r frequent Junckettings— We are affraid they will kill You with Kindness; for what Else is there to fear? I am Ever & most dutifully Y r Lordship's humble faithful Serv4 D Garrick

June 14, 1755 Endorsement by the recipient: M r Garrick May 22 d 1755. Devonshire.

217 Source: Duke of

1. Etherege's comedy. 2. At Burlington House.

148

To The Marquis of Hartington

London M y Lord. J u n e 14 t h 1 7 5 5 M r a Garrick & Y r humble Servant beg leave to congratulate Y o u upon a paragraph in y e Public advertiser of this day, w c h informs Us, that a Turtle of a most Extraordinary Size is brought from Antigua as a present to the Lord Lieutenant; M r s Garrick in particular is so feelingly affected w t h this News, that she desir'd I would Send her Complim 18 to Y r Excellency upon y e Occasion. 1 but indeed I have some other Matters to communicate to y r Lordship; no less than a strange revolution & most extraordinary Bustle w cl1 has happen'd lately at B[urlington] H[ouse] & since I wrote my last Letter. Her LadP Since y e Recovery of Miss B[etty], has taken much to her again & has us'd poor Miss A[nderson] most abominably; so bad & unaccountable it was, that She had intended to remonstrate to my L a d y , had not my wife desir'd her to be patient— she has follow'd her advice & Matters have rather been better— Which I believe has been partly owing to a most terrible Fracas, that has wholly Engross'd her Lad®, about a Note of M i n e — M r e A n n Mostyn 2 sent me a Note Seal'd some days ago, only to let me know, that she would call upon U s at Hampton & lye there— Her M a n took it to Southampton Street, I was at Β. H., he then brought it there, & desir'd Busby to send it immediatly to M e ; Busby run up w t h it to J i m who stood upon ye Steps & He took i t — I & my Wife were there, but no Note was brought M e : nor did I know of it, till y·* Night after, when M r s A n n came to Us & was surpriz'd that I knew Nothing of the N o t e — in Short upon consideration W e found, that the Note was Stop'd, open'd, read, & sent (after W e had left Β. H . to go to Hampton), to our House in Covent Garden— I own I was very angry & M a d a m worse— when we return'd to T o w n I sent her, for I w d not trust

2i8

To The Marquis of Hartington

myself at first— in Short much confusion, hurry, vexation, palliation, argumentation & what not Ensu'd— they wanted to lay it upon Jim's forgetfullness, & we found her LadP took it so much to heart that upon her writing a Letter to my Wife & upon other Considerations of more Moment, We have comply'd w th her LadP'8 desires, & the Storm is settled, & all is well again— I had a most Entertaining conference with the two Ladies upon this affair. Every thing y4 was said by one, was contradicted by y® other; in short many tears & many fibs Ended this mighty plot— The particulars of Which will Entertain You when Yr Lordp has Nothing better to hear or think of— We are to dine there to morrow— Mra Garrick has given them a most delicate Jobation—3 Jim looks most Sorrowfully conscious, & rowls a guilty Eye— We behave as if Nothing had happen'd— a very sad adventure truly.— We have flatter'd Ourselves that Your Lord® would have been in England before, but if Satisfactory Substantial Pleasures defer yr return (as We hear they do) We are, & must be, contented. One thing I had forgot to mention, & w ch I think yr Lord? ought to know— Lady Bfurlington], in one of her Warm conferences with Mre Garrick said— "I am in a very unhappy Situation,— I hear Nothing, I am told Nothing, nor indeed do I believe Any body,— Except Lord Hartington— thus Your Lord® Sees the Whole World is sacrific'd to You; I cannot say but I forgave her Every thing for Saying So— tho to be sure Yr hum1® Servant was included in y e Number she was pleas'd to Compliment— I receiv'd two posts ago a Slender Petition from my Brother at Lichfield to be deliver'd by Me to Yr Lordship; He is indeed a most worthy Man (tho my Brother) as I believe Mr Boothby can testifye; but tho I regard him much & never refus'd him Any thing he Ever ask'd Me before, for he is a Modest Man too (tho my Brother), Yet I have receiv'd so many favors, undeservedly too, from Yr Excellency, that I could not, would not, durst not do it— this I have sent him word, & he will be so sensible of it, that I now think, as I most sincerely Wish, that Yr Lordship will never be troubl'd w th Me or any of my Family again— I should be most extreamly happy, could I convince You how much I am from Principle & inclination, more than from Interest My Lord Your Excellency's Most dutifull & most Obed* hum le Ser' D Garrick Endorsed by the recipient. Source: Duke of Devonshire.

June 26 [1755]

219

ι. Hartington replied on June 19: " T e l l her she need not envy me the Turtle, for that, like most other things in the News Paper, prov'd false; Lord Powerscourt sent me two days ago a very small one which Mons r Joly dress'd a la Francaise very i l l " (FC). 2. Presumably the sister of Betty Mostyn and a half-cousin of Lady Burlington (John Burke, Extinct Baronetcies, 1844). 3. King Lear, II, iv, 22f.

149

To The Marquis of Hartington

Hampton M y Lord. June 26 th [ 1 7 5 5 ] It gives me very great uneasiness to See Y r Lordship return M e Letter for Letter; I am indeed most sensible of y e honor; but as I am convinc'd that little time can be spar'd from y e Public Business to answer such triffles, I must beg leave that they may pass unnotic'd for y* future, or else my delicacy will call upon M e to be less free of my chit-chat, & to take Y r Lordship's Politeness as a hint to me to be quiet. Pray my good Lord honor me less, that I may have y e Satisfaction of saying a Word or two to You whenever Nonsense prompts, or circumstances arise: I am sorry that any thing in my Letters shd give Y r LordP ye least vexation; however the Cause of it, has had ye happiest Effect; for since the little Bustle about y e Letter, Lady Β [urling ton] has been most affectionately kind to Us, & appears without Hypocrisy to desire to have Us as often with her as will suit w t h our affairs; & which inclination We shall most Zealously comply w t h in hopes some small good may come of it. We din'd there on Sunday last, & her J o y was great at our coming (for it was two days sooner than W e promis'd to see her) she was indeed very agreeable the whole day, and press'd us to Stay— in short none of y e little strokes of Resentment were exercis'd against us, but all were Smiles & confidence, dash'd w t h a few affectionate tears, tho ye Garden was Wet, she would walk out with me alone, & open her heart to me— She told me of Y r Staying in Ireland, of things wearing a good aspect, of her going to Town ye day before for some Papers of consequence to send to Y r Lord? & that You would now (to her great Joy) be made acquainted with Y r Irish Estate 1 (for it was Yours) that you, & only Y o u & Y r e , Employ'd her whole thoughts & Cares; & in short could I have been satisfy'd of her Intentions as I was pleas'd w t h her professions, I could have drank up the Nile or Eat a Crocodile 2 to do her Service—

220

To The Marquis of Hartington

this Jaunt into y® W e t Garden I fear has given her y e Gout again, (for she has been really very ill by her looks) W e have Either gone or sent to her Every day, & we think to attend her to morrow, as I find there is such a Sneaking kindness for Us at y e bottom, I will nurse & Encourage it most industriously for y e f u t u r e — Miss B[etty] sees that we are anchor'd deep, nay she told M e herself at our conversation upon y e Affair of the Note, that she thought I hated her, & as she knew I had great Interest w t h my L a d y she was affraid of my Exercising it against h e r — I appeal'd to m y L a d y if Ever I had Endeavor'd to hurt Miss B. & her Lad? s a i d — that I never did, & that she had, & Ever had, y e highest Notions of my Integrity & Veracity. W h e n M r a Garrick had her interview with them about y e Note, she spoke her Mind most calmly & f r e e l y — she told Miss B. before M y L a d y ; that she never told L a d y Β a L y e in her Life; that she w d do Every thing in her Power to add to L a d y B s pleasure or happiness, that her Obligations were infinite, & that her Gratitude would Ever make her sensible of her duty; but she never Endeavor'd to gain her Love by any base Means, Either by abusing Miss B. or any Body Else her Lad? was pleas'd to protect & f a v o r — in short the German3 thinks that she made a great figure, & gave her Stabs with great coolness— Moreover she said, that she never Endeavor'd to heighten L a d y B's. resentment against any one Person, she was pleas'd to be out of humor with, & she wish'd that Every body about her, would Strive to abate her little piques & prejudices, rather than inflame t h e m — my L a d y join'd w t h her in Every thing, & Miss B. was all humility & confusion— W e have this Moment receiv'd a Note from Chiswick that she keeps her bed yet & that W e must not fail to be there to Morrow. W e shall certainly o b e y — I always Enquire after Y r E x c e l s & she most graciously lets me into y e Small Secrets of State, but always with Hamlet's c a u t i o n — Still y fingers on Tr Lips I pray.* I shew'd her a Letter I receiv'd from D r Barry concerning Y r Lord®. I have Enclos'd that part of y e Letter for y r Entertainment. Miss Anderson is much better treated of l a t e — it is my opinion that Miss B. cannot hold it l o n g — for She is so foolish at times that some folks are quite a s h a m ' d — She is a most compleat T o a d Eater i n d e e d — but yet (if I judge aright) it won't do. I cannot say but I am pleas'd that Y o u Stay in Ireland, it is certainly the Sine qua n o n — all reports now seem to center in this,

June 26 [1755]

221

that Your Lordship will certainly Unite all parties & return to Us with y e Blessings of two Nations— 6 I am so persuaded of this (that did not I know y r Excellency hates bad Verses) I should be preparing an Ode for y e Purpose— now I am talking of Verses— M r Jones y e Famous Irish Bricklayer & Poet 6 sent me an Ode from Dublin to present to y r Excellency, there was such an Irishism in the proposal, that I have desir'd to be Excus'd, & I don't doubt but by this Time You have seen & felt the Trowel & Mortar. What can I possibly say to y r Lord» consistent w t h any Share of Modesty about my Eldest Brother ? Your Lordship loves plain Dealing & therefore this is y e plain truth— Peter has a small Business at Lichfield w c h barely Answers his Gentlemanlike Notions of things; w c h Notions indeed are very, very Moderate— could he have y e least Assistance, he w d be as happy, as he is honest; & I shd then have no other care in ye World, but that of expressing & Shewing my Gratitude. If any small Matter in y e irish revenue shd lye upon Y r LordP'8 hands, (which is impossible) & that y r Excellency has no other calls upon You, (which is impossible too) I could then wish that one Peter Garrick Brother to y r most faithfull Serv4 might feel with y e rest of his Family y r Goodness & favor. 7 I am most sincerely asham'd and sorry for what I have done, & shall not dare to read it again: I never had y e least right or title to ask any favor before, & I could not have imagin'd that Ever I shd venture to trouble y r Lord» again— but if You will forget that it was Ever Wrote, & only excuse a Brother's Love which has Urg'd me to it, I shall think that indulgence not the least of the favors conferr'd upon M y Lord Y r Excellency's Most dutifull humble & Obed 1 Serv4 D : Garrick. P.S. pray burn y e part of D r B' s Letter. Endorsement

by the recipient:

Mr.

Garrick June 26 1755.

Source:

Duke of

Devonshire. 1. Lismore Castle. 2. Hamlet, V, i, 299. 3. Mrs. Garrick. 4. Hamlet, I, v, 188. 5. "Lord Hartington had been sent over merely to restore peace," Charlemont recorded in his memoirs, " a purpose for which his conciliatory temper and his near connexion with both parties well adapted him, and this point having been completely attained, his administration went on quietly" (Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report 12, Appendix, pt. 10, vol. I, 1891, p. 6). 6. Henry Jones (1721-1770), poet and dramatist, was originally apprenticed to a 10»

222

To The Marquis of Hartington

bricklayer in Ireland. Patronized by Lord Chesterfield, he went to London where he achieved success with his tragedy, The Earl of Essex (CG, Feb. ai, 1753)· 7. Hartington replied from Dublin, Aug. 6: "That if ever I have it in my power nothing can give me more pleasure than to serve any body that belongs to you, but at the same time I must inform you that I have very few things to give away" (FC).

150

To The Marquis of Hartington

Hampton June 28 th [ 1 7 5 5 ] Tho I wrote to Y r Excellency y e last Post, I cannot refrain from paying my Duty to You this. I said so much & in such a hurry, in my last, that I forgot to mention the Sweet-ones, whom I had Seen y e Day before, & with whom I play'd a long time Yesterday— M r s Garrick reminded me of this just now, w ch made me start up (for y r Lord p knows that I hurry a little), call for pen & Ink, & with my dinner in M y Mouth, once again indulge Myself in y e Liberty Y r Lord® was so kind to give M e — Not but y e impertinent Push I made for my Brother distress'd me so much, that had not y e Sea been between, Nothing could have prevail'd upon Me to speak for him in y e Manner I have done— Lady B[urlington] still keeps her Bed, but as y e Gout has flown to y e Extremities (for her hands are muffled in flannel) She has felt less Sickness & thinks herself out of danger for this bout— She told me She had done some Business of Consequence w th S r Ant? & to do w cl1 she thought it necessary to send her Guardian Maidens, Miss B\etty], & Miss A\nderson\, out of ye Room— What y e Mighty Matter was, I can't tell, but she told, she was forc'd to desire S r Ay to think more, & say less— The Cherubs are all well— L d C[avendish] rides like a Man, & in Every thing will answer & fullfill all y r Lordship's Wishes— He grows greatly & tho not without his merriment his disposition seems to be reserv'd & Sedate: Master Richd is most surprizingly alter'd, & from ye Silent, sour Dapimibomenos,1 he turns out y e liveliest drollest most Engaging Child, that Ever was seen— He is in high favor indeed! Lady Dorothy, is Every thing Y r LordP can Wish, I cannot say, that my Wife & I approve totally with her present Guardians & tutors, but (We think) while M r e Huet 2 is so Near them, & so Wisely & Justly does her duty, her LadyP cannot suffer— I think it a most providential thing, that She superintends

3Φ 5 [/755·?]

223

them. There are most strange heartburnings & disorders in y e Family! the Nurses (y r Lord» knows) are dropping off d a i l y — Nanny Swinnerton is out of favor & her Husb d resolves to quit the Service & threatens to tell a heavy tale at leaving i t — Roger was taken by Surprize y e Other day, & cloath'd in S r Tho 8 Mostyn's 3 Livery, to be Miss B's Footman; but y e L a d is so thunderstruck, that he stares & Stalks about like an I d e o t — H e won't stay another Y e a r for thrice his W a g e s — Jimm, & Betty Cook, have had a most terrible quarrell— they all want to open their Hearts to M e — but I a m resolv'd neither to meddle or m a k e — all but Jimm, curse Miss B., & to be sure warm doings are going f o r w a r d — the chief design of this was to assure Y o u that Y o u r most precious Concerns are all w e l l — Y r LordP would indeed be proud & pleas'd to See them: M r a Garrick desires I will not forget, as I did in my last, to Send her Duty & best Services— I am Ever bound Y r Excellency's Most Obed 4 & faithful Servant D : Garrick— PS. Mons r Camus is return'd from France very i l l — Endorsement by the recipient: Mr. Garrick June 28, 1755. Devonshire.

Source: Duke of

1. The Homeric α·παμ.(φόμενος(Οά}>$$φ, iv, 203). Apparently used by Garrick as a single word, in personification, of one merely who answers—an interlocutor. 2. The governess of the Cavendish children? 3. Sir Thomas Mostyn (ca. 1704-1758), brother of Anne and Betty and a half-cousin of Lady Burlington through their common grandfather Daniel Finch (d. 1729/30), seventh Earl of Winchelsea (John Burke, Extinct Baronetcies, 1844; Thomas Pennant, History of the Parishes of Whiteford and Holywell, 1796, p. 68).

151

To Peter Garrick

Hampton Dear Peter. July 5 t h [1755?] 1 W e are here at present over head & Ears in dirt & M o r t a r ; how far it will be prudent to leave the Workmen in this Situation, we shall know in a little time, & then (if possible) W e will take a trip down to Y o u with Pleasure; but as what we are doing, is of no less a

To Peter Garrick

224

Concern than our future happiness with regard to y e Comforts of habitation, Y o u must let Us cut out our Time according to our Exigencies, with Regard to y* Lord Lieutenant, You may be assur'd that I shall loose no proper time to bring about w4 I before hinted to Y o u ; but as I am so well acquainted w t h his Lordship, my own obligations to him, & human Nature, there is a proper Manner & delicacy to be Us'd w cl1 shall be exerted, when the hour arrives, with y e greatest Zeal in Y r Service— Some Places you know are to be taken by Sap, & Some by Storm, & if in this Case I work Slow, it is to make my Way Sure: as I most sincerely hope that y r Circumstances don't press Y o u so much, to make it necessary to hazard a premature application, I would rather follow my Notions of y e Affair; & be assur'd that y e Utmost Pow'rs of my head & heart will be call'd forth upon ye Occasion— I thank you for y r Lichfield News— does not my Treasurer M r Joseph Wood 2 bear himself at Lichfield in a most Stately & pleasantconceited Manner. I imagine that he would rather that I kept from Staffordshire this Summer; for whilst, y e Manager is away you know, The Treasurer may puff & Swell about, like an Enrag'd Turkey-Cock; but the Moment I enter, he must draw up his red Rag & gobble no longer, to be serious, he is a very Carefull, honest Man, has been most faithful to Me, & We have Sav'd much Money Since he has had to do y e Cash. d If we sh Come to You, our Stay will be but Short & in about a Month or thr at R o m e , & with w h a t appetite I shall return to it a g a i n — the two

Dances

(Love's Brothers) were very kind & O b l i g i n g to u s — they are both very ingenious & agreable M e n : the Painter is a great Genius, & will do w* he pleases when he goes to L o n d o n , 1 1 w c h will be y® next Spring, I ought to say this

Spring, for it is absolutely more

than Spring with u s — it is as w a r m now here, as it is with Y o u in J u n e — it is too h o t — nay it is S u l t r y — M y Wife sends her love with mine to Y o u & Y o u r B a b e s — pray write as soon as Y o u receive t h i s — send me a bit of Every t h i n g — & remember to date Y r letter. Yours Ever & Ever most Affectionatly D Garrick PS. R e m e m b e r me to Love & c W h a t ' s become of y® N e w Pantomime? Address: A Monsieur, Monsieur Garrick in Somerset Stable Y a r d near the Strand, London, Ingleterra. Postmarked. Source: F C ; Hedgcock, pp. 173-175. ι. Garrick has written 1763, but his presence in Naples indicates the correction. 2. Colman's play enjoyed a run of eighteen nights in Nov. and Dec. 1763. 3. Martha (Rigby) Hale (d. 1803), sister of Richard Rigby of Mistley Hall, Essex and wife (1750) of Colonel Bernard Hale (Robert Clutterbuck, History and Antiquities of Hertford, 1815-1828, III, 133; Poetical Works, II, 522). 4. Brownlow Cecil (1725-1793), ninth Earl of Exeter (1754), Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland and Recorder of Stamford. 5. Probably Philip Changuion, who was in charge during the interval between Sir James Gray's departure on April 10, 1763, and the arrival of the new Minister, Sir William Hamilton, on Nov. 17, 1764 (David B. Horn, British Diplomatic Representatives, i68g-ij8g, Camden Society, 3d ser. vol. X L V I , 1932, p. 76). 6. Isaac Jamineau (d. 1789), who had been Consul-General at Naples since 1761 {LM, vol. X X X , May 1761, p. 279). 7. In 1771 Burney was to publish The Present State of Music in France and Italy. 8. Charles Nicolas Cochin, Voyage d'ltalie, Paris, 1758. 9. This particular Burton has not been identified among the several in the Drury Lane company. 10. Cymbeline was played six times in December, with Miss Pride as Imogen. 11. Nathaniel Dance (1734-1811), the painter, and George Dance the Younger (1741-1825), the architect, were the younger brothers of James (1722-1774), the comedian and dramatist. James, upon leaving Oxford, assumed the name Love and turned to the stage. After acting at Dublin and Edinburgh he was engaged at Drury Lane (1762), where he remained until his death. Nathaniel, as Garrick predicted, achieved great success in England. 12. Love's Rites of Hecate.

402

323

To George Garrick

To George Garrick

Naples Jan* y® 3 1 s t 1764 M y dear George. We have been here six Weeks & intend to stay till about the 23 d of next Month; then We shall return to Rome for a Month or more, then We shall set out for Bologna in our way to Venice, & from thence through Germany in our way to England— this is our intended Route, which I will dispatch w th all convenient speed, but am affraid that I shall not see Your fat face, or kiss ye brawn of it, till ye middle of J u n e — now I am out of y r Clutches I must make a Meal, & a good one, in Italy; I shall never return to it again, & therefore I will make Good Use of my time— W e have been very happy here & have receiv'd Every mark of favour from all sorts of People— I Eat & drink too much, & laugh from Morning to Night— our Mirth has been lately damp'd by my poor Wife's keeping her bed & room for many Days, with a most obstinate Rheumatism in her hip— she has been blister'd & c & c & tho she is better, yet still continues lame & Weak, however she hopes to be at A Carnaval Masquerade (which begins next Tuesday), in y e Dress of a lame old Woman; I have scolded & phyz'd about it, but if she can wag, she goes— We are continually with Lady Orford, Lady Spencer, Lord Exeter Lord Palmerstn1 & the Nobility of y e Country, who have descended from their great pride & Magnificence to honour Us with their Smiles— in short we are in great fashion & I have forgot England & all my trumpery at Drury Lane, I am glad you go on so well; I find by Gastrell's2 Lett 1 & y e news papers, that y e Rites of Hecute go on well. 3 I hope that you will bring Murphys play out,4 that I may not be troubled with it when I come to England: I don't understand y r affair w t ü him— pray explain it a little: I have wrote to Tou from this place & to Colman; but as my Neapolitan Servant put y e Letters into y e Post We are affraid that he pocketed y e Money & Wip'd his Arse with my Wit & humour— I hope you have seen Mr> Hale's Letter, that y r hard Expressions in y r last, may be somewhat melted down in y r next: I can say Nothing about Powel's Benefit, as I am not able to give my opinion at this distance— I fear for his head, & of course for his heart, if he talks of Consequence, he is undone— What in y® name of Wonder is Hamilton doing in Ireland?— 8 I hear, but can't believe y e strange things they say of him— one word about that pray:— You have said Nothing lately

January 31, 1764

403

of Covent Garden ?— do they beat You soundly, or is it only de la part du premier genie de son Siecle, ne peut etre que tres flatteur pour un homme qui

To George Colman n'ose pretendre a rien. Je vous supplie de l'assurer que Je me trouve trop honnore d'un trait si distingue de son Estime pour ne point embrasser la premiere Occasion de lui rendre mes devoirs en personnel 2 ce qui ne peut etre que vers la fin de l'et£ prochain, comme les lettres que J'attens de recevoir a Venise doivent regier mon voyage par l'Almagne ou par la France: Je prens encore la libert£, Monsieur, de vous prier de faire mes Complimens a Monsieur Pirnon et de lui faire savoir que J'ai recü le Velour pour M a Femme; que Je ne puis determiner encore ou Je Souhaiterois qu'on m'envoiat mes habits; mais qu'aussi töt que Je serois arrive ä Venise, Je lui marquerai le tems et le lieu— Madame Garrick vous prie d'accepter ses Complimens et Je suis avec la plus grande Estime Monsieur votre tres humble & tres obeissant Serviteur David Garrick. Source: Bibliothfeque publique et universitaire. ι. So identified by the owners. Francois Tronchin (1704-1798), of a Swiss Protestant family, was a successful lawyer, administrator (as Conseiller of the Petit Conseil, Geneva, 1753-1768), dramatist, factotum and friend of Voltaire. He played host to the distinguished and fashionable society of his day (Henry Tronchin, Le Conseiller Franfois Tronchin, Paris, 1895, p. 6). a. See Letter 335, note 4.

329

T o George Colman

Rome M y dear Colman. April 11 t h 1764 Tho' I resolv'd in my last letter to George not to trouble Y o u any more till I got to Venice, yet I cannot hold it out so long, but must say a word or two more to You from this Place; which of all Places in the World is the most worth coming to & writing about— to shew You, that I think so, You must know that I am antiquityhunting from Morning to Night & my poor wife drags her lame leg after me: by y® bye she is now much better, & we have hopes of her being able to run away again from Me, if she can meet w t h another Capt n Caswell; 1 She desires her love to you, & thanks You for writing to Me, as I sure to be always in Spirits for some time after ye receipt of a letter from Y o u : I have not been quite so well here

April

Ii,

1764

411

as at Naples, which is rather extraordinary; whether I fatigu'd myself too much, or whether y e Climate does not suit me so well, I can't say, but I have had some disagreeable nervous flutterings that made me as grave as an Owl for a few days, but since y e rains have fall'n (& they come down here in Pailfulls) & y e Sun is bright upon us, I have been as frisky as y® poor flys, who were woefully damp'd by y e wet weather, but are now as troublesome & as pert as your humble Servant— His Holyness the Pope is trying by prayers tears & intercessions to avert the Famine which his State is threaten'd with— He has crept up the holy stairs (santa Scala) w ch W ere brought from Jerusalem, he has order'd processions & what not— We are not so bad, as they are at Naples, for there indeed y® Tragedy was deep— I remember some Scenes w t h horror, & since we came away, many People have dropt down in y e Street, & been taken away dead, from mere want of food— our Prospect at Venice is rather worse, for we hear that y® Plague has spread as far Trieste, & that they begin to talk of Quarantine in y e Neighbouring States, if so, we shall run y® gauntlet terribly, but we are not dismay'd, & must go thro' with it— I must thank you again for the trouble & Care you have had about Count Firmian's books— He is very happy at y® Execution of y® Commission, and was highly pleas'd with your sending your own matters to him gratis— it pleas'd me much— I have not seen a S l James's Chronicle since y® End of J a n y — if I have them I wish you w d desire George to keep them for me to rummage over when I come to England— M r Baldwin I hear is no friend to our house— a propos— I am very angry with Powell for playing that detestable part of Alexander— 2 Every Genius must despise it, because that, & such fustian-like Stuff, is y® bane of true merit— If a Man can act it well, I mean to please y® People, he has something in him that a good actor shd not have— he might have serv'd M r a Pritchard, & himself too, in some good natural character: I hate your Roarers— Delane was once a fine Alexander— damn y® Part— I fear 'twill hurt him— but this among ourselves— I was told by a Gentleman who is just come from Sterne, that he is in a very bad w a y — I hope Becket has stood my Friend in regard to what he ought to have receiv'd for me, some time ago— I had a draught upon him from Sterne for 20 p ds Ever since he went abroad— pray hint this to him, but let him not be ungentle w t h Sterne— 3 I have sent the plan of a fine Scene & colour'd, among some small things in a little Box of M r Stanley's of y® Custom-house— 4 it is in several parts & wrote

412

To George Colman ye

Ist

upon back which is 2 d & c — I will send a further explanation of it, but any Italian & our Saunderson will understand i t — they sh d go upon it directly, it will have a fine Effect. M a n y thanks to you for y r attendance on y e P a n t o m i m e — 5 I am sure they wanted h e l p — no more humour than Brickbats— I am affraid that Love in humourous matters carries too much G u t to be Spirited— flip flaps, & great changes without meaning may distil from the head, whose Eyes are half asleep; but humour, my dear Coley, & scenes that shall be all alive alive ho, can only proceed from men of small stature, whose Eyes are Either quite asleep, or quite a w a k e — in short, from M e n w h o laugh heartily, & have small scars at y e Ends of their noses— I am surpriz'd about Murphy, & want to know how he [got o f f ] 6 from M r L a c y — 7 poor Lloyd! & yet I was p r e p a r ' d — the death of any one we like don't shock us so much when we have seen them long in a lingring d e c a y — 8 Where is y e bold Churchill ? — W h a t a Noble r u i n ! — when he is quite undone, you shall send him here, & he shall be shewn among y e great fragments of R o m a n G e n i u s — Magnificent in R u i n ! — I have wrote this on purpose to tell you that Voltaire in his Additions a l'Histoire Generale, at page 183 under Usages du Seizieme Siecle, says something about translating Plautus into Verse that will be of use in y r preface to T e r e n c e — 9 Speed y r Plow my d r friend, have you thought of the Clandestine M[arriage] ? I am at i t — I must desire you to write to me once more & direct a Mons r Mons r G Gentilhomme Anglais chez Monsieur Dutens a Turin, & I shall get it by hook or by crook Pray send me all kind of n e w s — a Letter from you will comfort me in bad roads, & thro plague & f a m i n e — so write I beg as soon as you receive t h i s — desire George to speak to M r Stanley about my things in his b o x — m y Love to all the Schömbergs, Townleys, Kings, Hogarths, Churchills, Huberts & c . & c Y r s most affectionately Ever D G D a v d Garrick Remember me kindly at h o m e — A Monsieur Monsieur Garrick chez Monsieur Dutens a Turin Address: A Monsieur, Monsieur Colman in the new Square Lincolns-Inn, London. Inghilterra. Seal. Postmark: M A 5. Source: Berg Collection; Colman, pp. 253-257. i. Presumably Timothy Caswall (d. 1802), of Sacombe Park, Hertfordshire, captain in the Coldstream Guards stationed in and about London, 1756-1760. Three companies

June ι, 1764

413

in particular were assigned to the neighborhood of Drury Lane and Covent Garden (David Mackinnon, Origins and Services of the Coldstream Guards, 1833, I, 402, I I , 436, 486). 2. In Nathaniel Lee's tragedy, The Rival Queens, revived after twenty years for Mrs. Pritchard's benefit on March 20. Owing to Powell's popularity in his part, the play was repeated several times. 3. Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) had been abroad since 1762; his illness in Paris delayed his departure for London until the end of May. The money had been lent him in J a n . 1762. Owing to the miscarriage of letters between him and Garrick, there had been a misunderstanding (Wilbur L . Cross, Life and Times of Laurence Sterne, New Haven, 1929, pp. 268f., 350). 4. Presumably Edward Stanley (d. 1789), Secretary to the Commissioners of the Customs. 5. The Rites of Hecate ? 6. The words in brackets are added, presumably by Colman the Younger, in the Harvard Theatre Collection copy of Colman's Posthumous Letters. 7. Probably because Murphy, whose affiliations had heretofore been with Drury Lane, had produced two comedies at Covent Garden. These were Mo One's Enemy But His Own, and What We Must All Come To, both performed on J a n . 9, 1764. 8. Garrick had been misled by a paragraph in the Public Advertiser (Oct. 29, 1763) regarding the death of a " M r . Lloyd of Crown Street, Westminster." This was not his friend Robert Lloyd, who died in Dec. 1764 while confined for debt in the Fleet. 9. Colman took advantage of this suggestion (see Comedies of Terence, 1765, p. viii).

330

To Lady Spencer1

Madam. June i 8 t 1764 The Old saying that No Man can Master his own Mind was never so truly verify'd as in Your humble Servant: if Ever I was bent upon one thing more than another, it was, to obey Lady Spencer's & the Marquise of Ligneville's 2 commands: and yet, tho I have seen Y r Lady p ' s frowns, & have felt y e reproaches of my own Conscience for some time past, tho No Man ever took more shame to himself, than I have done, & tho I have not yet been able to keep my Word, I flatter myself that there is something to be offer'd in my vindication. The Poem of Which I had written a part, & in Which I had introduc'd the Character of Count Firmian had possess'd me so much when I had the honour of conversing with the Marquise of Ligneville, that I could not doubt of being able to finish the Picture I had begun, in a few days— but whether the Subject was too Much for Me, or my fears of not ansewring the Marquise's expectations had taken too strong hold upon Me, I cannot tell, but I have not yet been able with all the Struggles I have had with my froward Mind to perform my promise— all I have to plead in my own defence

414

7 o George Garrick

is, that my heart was too warm in a Service, which my peevish Muse, out of a little Spite & contradiction would not agree t o — and what is still more provoking, all the triffles I have hitherto produc'd, have been as quickly executed, as they have been lightly written, so I can only say, with poor Capt n Bobadil in the Play, (who was a Braggadocio of another kind) that I am planet-struck: 3 if Your Ladyship will step between M e & the Marquise's displeasure, Y o u will do me a most signal Service, & if I can out live my Shame, I will not rest till I have laid Myself & M y Muse at her feet, as very proper Subjects to exert her Mercy upon; and in the mean time, I beg leave to produce Montaigne in mitigation of her Anger, who says— That Every Promise breaker should be hang'd, except he be, a Poet or a Madman. I am Your Ladyship's most humble & most Obedient Servant D : Garrick Address: T o M y Lady Spencer.

Source: F C ; Boaden, I, 17if.

1. Fourteen of Lady Spencer's letters to Garrick (1770-1778) are printed in Boaden. 2. Anne Marguerite (d. 1772), wife of Pierre Eugfene Fran£ois de Ligniville (17261778), marquis de Ligniville, an amateur composer of music. 3. Every Man in His Humour, I V , ii.

331

To George Garrick

Venice M y Dear George June 6 t h 1764 Here we are still, and indeed very much against my mind; but that the Physicians here all advise me to return to Padua, in order to try an application of the mud of some Mineral Spring at Abano near that city, which they say is a specific for the Rheumatism and Sciatica: 1 M y Wife's lameness has been rather worse here, perhaps owing to the watery situation of this place, but I am much out of spirits about it, and would give the world I was at h o m e — God knows whether she may not be crippled all her life, and therefore nobody must blame me for trying every thing for her cure: we go to Padua in a Day or two and shall see what effect the mud will have in three or four days, if a good one we imagine a fortnight will

June 6, 1764

415

do, and then we Shall set forward for England as fast as we can, unless I am prevented by a letter from you at Ausburgh,2 which I hope you have written, and I shall receive very soon— I have prepar'd a great deal of Music for our Use, I am about engaging some Dancers (a Man and Woman) and will endeavour to send you over a good Violin from Rome, an excellent one— If you should have any thing more to say to me, or if any new occurrence has happen'd, you may write to me at Mess™ Selwyn and Foley at Paris and I will direct them how to send it forward to me: If you write don't be longer than a few days after you have receiv'd this— I have drawn upon Clutterbuck this day for one hundred pounds in favour of our consul here M r Udney— pray my Love to Clutterbuck and tell him this, or my friend Stammer, in his absence. I have had notice of the Florence Wine ship'd from Leghorn in the Raven Captn Alexr Scott, and some essences for Mrs Garrick; pray take care when they come, to pay freight and duty and lodge them ready for our arrival— perhaps we may be there as soon as the wine— according to my bills of lading you must pay four shillings sterling for freight— I'll send you the bills by a gentleman next Saturday— Captn Butler is here, and has given me the Ghost and the farces—3 I think to send a few books by him he sets out from hence next Saturday. My Love to all friends, and let me hear from you to Mess18 Selwyn and Foley— I shan't go to Paris unless you have sent me other News to Ausburgh; in the mean time our Love to you and yours and believe me most truly and Affectionately Your's D. Garrick. No News from Cibber ? What of Yates ?— Last Monday I saw the finest sight my eyes ever beheld, it was the Regate in honour of the King's birth-day,4 and appear'd to be a dream or a fairy tale realiz'd. I am grown fat, and sleep half the day in a Gondola. Address: A Monsieur, Monsieur George Garrick in Somerset Stable Y a r d near the Strand, London (Inghilterra). Source: F C , copy; Hedgcock, pp.

180-182.

1. "Here is also a bagno difango, or a muddy bath, where very obstinate arthritic disorders have been cured by means of the warm slime" (John G. Keysler, Travels through Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, and Lorrain, 1760, III, 421). 2. Garrick repeats this spelling in subsequent references to Augsburg. For an interesting commentary on Mrs. Garrick's illness and Garrick's purchase of books, see Baretti's two letters to Garrick in Boaden (I, 172fr.).

4i6

To George Colman

3. These were probably the printed volumes of Colman's The Deuce is in Him (1763) and Samuel Foote's The Mayor of Garratt (1763). 4. George Ill's. On June 4, as a part of the ceremonies marking the visit of the Duke of York, the Venetians presented a regatta memorable even in Venetian annals (LC, vol. X V , June 1764, p. 601 f.; Storia documenta di Veruzia, Venice, 1859, V I I I , I47f.).

332

To George Colman

Venice Dear Colman June 12 th 1764 I shall leave this Place to morrow & return to Padua in order to be near the famous Mud of Abano, which the Physicians here tell us, will certainly restore M r e Garrick She is not worse, but she continues lame & the Continuance is very allarming— I fret to be at home, I dread the Italian Suns, & I am affraid that my presence is necessary to make a Plan for y e next Winter— If I can be at home a Month before y e opening of ye house, I shall think that I have done wonders— I shall try all my might to compass it— this Venice is y e most particular Place in y e whole world— it glares upon you at first, & inchants You, but living a Month here (like y e honey moon) brings you to a temperate consideration of things, & you long for y r terra firma liberty again!— I am tir'd to death; tho I have seen here such sights I had no conception of but in Fairy land, & have seen the Visions of the Arabian Night realiz'd by the Venetian Regate; This Show was given y e 4 t h of this Month in honour of our King & to Entertain the Duke. I shall be a Week in telling you all I saw & felt that Day Such Elegant luxury! which plainly shew'd, that the Contrivers were as little formidable in war & Politicks, as they were superiour to all y e World as Managers of a Puppet-Shew— I have taken my Evening walks of Meditation on the Rialto, & have fancy'd myself waiting for my friend Pierre, 1 but the whole Idea has vanish'd at the Sight of a Venetian Noble, who can give you no Idea in look & in dress but that of an Apparitor to a Spiritual Court in the Country— but then their Courts of Justice! & their Lawyers! If there is any thing more particularly ridiculous than another, it is one of their Pleadings— It was some Minutes before I recover'd my Senses, & when I found I was really awake & in a Court of Justice, I was ready to burst w t h laughter— it is inconceivably strange, & more whimsical & outree than the

June 2i, 1764

417

Italian theatre— & yet all sober People agree that their decrees are generally just & impartial. I have been buying Pictures & books, & am scarce able to hold my Pen with fatigue— I have no J o y now in thinking on ye Stage, & shall return (if I must) like a Bear to the Stake— and this baiting, my good friend, is no joke after forty— I beg, Sir, that you will ask George in what Manner I have mention'd a certain Lady in my Letters to him— I thought it respectfull that he sha bear my Compts through [tear] — I have to him made my Excuses for forgetting her— my best wishes there I beseech you— pray tell George that I hope he has written me a long letter to Ausburgh w th a full acc1 of what Business is ready for y e Campaign— I have been thinking of it seriously— I am in treaty w th a fine Dancer, & hope to succeed at Padua— pray write me a letter A Monsr Monsr Amman Banquier a Ausburgh, & I shall receive it in my way to England— Send me word what People really say about me, & what you think of our affairs. I have rec'd an obliging letter from Powell—2 his playing himself to rags astonishes me!—What can be y e meaning of it ?— damn Alexander— Ο horrible horrible & c ! — Delane got credit by that Stuff— damn it, I say again— I believe after all that you had better write to me at Calais sometime after you receive this & not to Ausburgh— After that sweating, tedious Journey, a long letter from you will be consolation indeed— Let George write too— I hope ye great Scene, wcl1 Saunders was preparing is getting ready— I have rec'd George's last,— God bless you. Address: Inghilterra, T o George Colman Esq r in the new Square, Lincoln'sInn, London. Seal. Postmark: [ J ] V 29. Source: Berg Collection; Colman, pp. 2 5 8 - 2 6 0 . 1. An allusion to Venice Preserv'd, II, ii, wherein Jaffeir, a character played many times by Garrick, is discovered on the Rialto waiting for Pierre. 2. Dated March 30 (Boaden, I, 169).

333

To Edmund Burke?1

Padua Sir June 21 s t 1764 I shall take it as a great favour if you will please to send the Enclos'd to the Duke of Devonshire, I shd not have given You

4i 8

To the Duke of Devonshire

this trouble, but that my Brother is gone from London into the Country. I am S r Your most Obed 4 humble Serv 4 D : Garrick I have venturd to Enclose too a little Note for M y Brother, & if Y o u will please to send it to his house as soon as possible & as it is directed, I will return Y o u my best Acknowledgments & ask y r pardon for y 6 liberty I have taken when I see you in L o n d o n — When Y o u see M r Hamilton pray present M r a Garrick & my Respects to h i m — I wish him j o y of drawing his Neck out of the Collar. 2 If y l Gentleman has not forgot a foolish friend of his in Italy, & who is waiting now at Padua to try the hot baths and M u d of Abano upon a Rheumatick complaint that M r a Garrick got at Naples, he may make that Friend very happy by writing a letter to him at Nancy in Lorrain, a la poste restante, & he will receive it in his way to England w c h he hopes will be about y e 2 d Week in Aug®4—3 he must write y 0 Next post, if he writes at all, or y e post a f t e r — Source: F S L . ι. The conjectural identification of the recipient is based on the references to Hamilton, to whom at this time Burke was private secretary. As early as 176 t Hamilton was writing to Garrick about Burke (Harry W. Pedicord, " M r . and Mrs. Garrick: Some Unpublished Correspondence," Publications of the Modem Language Association, vol. L X , Sept. 1945, p. 781). a. Upon Northumberland's resignation as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Hamilton was relieved of his secretaryship and returned to England. 3. Owing to Mrs. Garrick's rheumatism, his own subsequent illness at Munich, and then the charms of Parisian society, the Garricks did not return to England until April 1765.

334

To The Duke of Devonshire

Abano near Padua M y Lord. June 25 th 1764 r I had the honour of Y Grace's letter at Venice, where I was Enjoying the magnificent Entertainments which were given by the State to the Duke of York. The Regate they gave him was all a Dream &

June 25, 1J64

419

fairy Vision, & more than answer'd our Expectations, tho they were sufficiently rais'd by the various reports; & the great preparations: It is said that this visit of his Royal Highness has cost the State & y® four Noble deputed Venetians, more than a hundred & twenty thousand Sequins. They were very solicitous (indeed too solicitous) to entertain him, for they would have overlaid him with ceremony & their great wigs, had not H e broke from them sometimes to prevent suffocation— His Royal Highness has been most gracious to M e — I am greatly oblig'd to Your Grace for the very delicate manner of excusing Yourself about Pictures & Statues, and I am thoroughly convinc'd that it is owing to Your Grace's want of Money, & not to my want of taste, that I have not an immediate commission. 1 I shall execute that of the Prints to the best of my power. I am at this moment in treaty for no less than two Pictures by Tempesto, two Bassans, a Vandyke, a Rubens, a Paul Veronese &c. 2 I have a little money to throw away, & I don't see why I should not be a little ridiculous as well as M y betters. M r e Garrick & I are retir'd to this Place to try the M u d of y® hot springs upon her very disagreeable & obstinate complaint: She has undergone the operation Eight times, & thinks herself the better for i t — the People here give such an Account of Its Efficacy, that I have withstood the urgent calls of my Brother, & my own impatience to go to England, in hopes of finding some relief for her, if not a Cure. Should we fail here too, our Journey to England will be as Melancholly as it is l o n g — W e are in a very pleasant house, well situated, & built by Palladio— it belongs to a Count Seco, 3 who has most politely lent it to us w t h Every Convenience, but that of getting good beef & Mutton, till y® 15 th of the next month, the imprudent Step of L a d y S. S. has sorely vex'd me; 4 I always thought she had a foolish liking for ye Drama,'& ye dramatis personae, but I could not have imagin'd, y 4 the flesh w a have overpower'd her Spirit, when there was a good understanding to have help'd in the Struggle— 'tis a most deplorable Business indeed! Lord & Lady Spencer left us more than a fortnight ago, & my Pleasures & Spirits are gone w t h them, his LordP has made no great purchases in v i r t u — he is in treaty about y® famous Magdalen of Guido in y e Barberini Palace at Rome, & I believe he will succeed. He has bought two very famous pictures of Salvator Rosa at florence, & gave two hundred pounds less than y® late Lord Leicester 5 once offer'd for them; these & a famous Ring, which was Prince Eugene's, 6 & bought of Count Zanetti 7 at Venice, are all his treasure from Italy: I forgot a woman ? s head by

420

To The Duke of Devonshire

R a p h a e l , as they say, & a very g o o d Sketch of a Picture b y Baroche. 8 W e liv'd in the same house w t h M r H o w a r d & M r L a n g d a l e — 9

I

think it was l u c k y they travell'd t o g e a t h e r — the first is a v e r y w o r t h y g o o d natur'd Y o u n g M a n , & I d o n ' t k n o w a better Sort of M a n t h a n the l a s t — H e is prudent & sensible & w h a t he wants in learning is better s u p p l y ' d b y discretion &

a n U n d e r s t a n d i n g in

Spite of his b i g o t t r y — I ' l l answer for it, that Norfolk House is not mistaken in him. Y o u r Grace's trouble, &

m y Impertinence is at

an E n d — M r e Garrick joins w i t h m e in D u t y to your G r a c e & in Respects to L a d y D o r o t h y & all the Lords. I a m Y o u r Grace's M o s t faithfull h u m b l e Servant D Garrick P S . W e E x p e c t to be in E n g l a n d y e beginning or rather y e 2 d W e e k in A u g u s t — w e shall go b y Ausburgh,

Stratsburgh,

Nancy

&c—

Endorsed by the recipient. Source: Duke of Devonshire. 1. On April 17, 1764, Devonshire had written Garrick: " I am much oblig'd to you for your offer [in Letter 326] of purchasing Pictures & Statues but I have no money. I should however be oblig'd to you if you wou'd get me all the Prints y ' Bartolozzi has engraved as you are such a Connoisseur you must know him I believe he lives at Rome I know they are sold there" (FC). 2. Nothing further is known of these negotiations. 3. Ciro (1687-1768), Count Secco; or, more probably, his nephew Nicolo (17321799) (Vittorio Spreti, Encyclopedia Storico-Nobiliare Italiana, Milan, vol. V I , 1932, p. 232). 4. On April 9 Walpole wrote Mann: " A melancholy affair has happened to Lord Ilchester; his eldest daughter, Lady Susan (Strangways) [1743-1827], a very pleasing girl, though not handsome, married herself two days ago at Covent Garden church, to O'Brien, a handsome actor. Lord Ilchester doated on her, and was the most indulgent of fathers. 'Tis a cruel blow" (ed. Toynbee, V I , 47; see also p. 4gf.). Devonshire, in his letter of April 17, commented: "What a silly thing has L? Susan Strangways done; L d Ilchester thought he had reason'd her out of it & she had desired him to take her into the Country; he is by all accounts most terribly affected with i t " (FC). 5. Thomas Coke (ca. 1695-1759), first Earl of Leicester of the sixth creation (1744). 6. Eugene (1663-1736), Prince of Savoy. 7. Antonio Maria Zanetti (1680-1778). 8. Of the several purchases made or contemplated by Spencer, only the two pictures by Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) are listed in the Catalogue of the Pictures of Althorp House, 1851. 9. This was probably one of the numerous Langdales of Londesburgh, Yorkshire; possibly Marmaduke, later (1771) fifth Baron Langdale. Charles Howard (1746-1815), later (1786) eleventh Duke of Norfolk, received little formal education, and spent much of his young manhood abroad. Both the Langdale and Howard families were Catholic.