*p1767 12 14 cg The Royal Merchant. Parts by: $Mattocks=, $Shuter=, $Bensley=' $Mahoon=, $Yates=, $Dunstall=, $Gardner=, $Davis=, $Cushing=, $Mrs Mattocks=, and $Mrs Pinto=, Merchants, Boors, Beggars by the rest of the company. Harrol-Mattocks; Clause-Bensley; Wolfort-Gardner; Hubert-Mahoon; Hempskirke-Davis; Vandunk-Shuter; Prig, Frighted Boor-Yates; Higgen-Dunstall; Ferret-Quick; Gertrude-Mrs Mattocks; Jaquelin-Mrs Pinto ($Genest=, V, 188).*d1767 12 14 cg I: <i>A New Comic Dance</i>, ^as17671021^; II: A Grand Ballet <i>The Garland</i>-Fishar, Mrs Bulkley. [^See17651003^.]*c1767 12 14 cg Never Perform'd. Founded on $Beaumont= and $Fletcher=. Music by $Thomas Linley=. A Comic Opera the Music entirely new. [By $Thomas Hull= altered from <i>The Royal Merchant; or the Beggar's Bush</i> (<i>Biographia Dramatica</i>). See 19 Dec. 1767 for further note on Music.] Paid $Mr Horne= for 4 Tambourines #1 10s. (Account Book). Went into the Pit to see the opera founded on Beaumont and Fletcher, performed for the first time....The music may be good, but the piece is trifling and childish, barren of incident and character except that of <i>Clause</i> played by $Bensley= and the <i>frightened peasant</i>. The performers are in the $Flemish= dresses of the times, and do the piece much justice. At the beginning of the 2nd act some fellows in the 2s. Gallery began a disturbance, but were turn'd out and carried before $Sir John Fielding=, where they confessed that they were hired to disturb this performance by a publican, but refused to say whom....Stood in the well (<i>Neville MS Diary</i>). Receipts: #225 1s. (Account Book).