Event Comment: Alice Hatton, writing on (possibly) 20 Jan. 1699@1700: I was last night (with
Lady Longuevil and
Lady Arundel) at
ye Princess's, and
Lady Long: was so kind to offer to carry me to ye Oppera to day with her and
Lady Portland; but I was so unfortunate as to be engaged to go to
Lady Denbighs to see ye famous
Mrs Binges dance, or else I should have bin glad to have waited on Lady Long: tho I had seen it before and think it very silly.
Mr Abel is to have a fine musicke meeting to morrow, and ye tickets are guineas a piece, wch is a little to much for me to throw away; so I shall not be there, and I find so many yt can afford it better of my mind, yt I fancy, if he had lower rates, he would have got more (
Hatton Correspondence,
Camden Society, XXIII [1878], 245). It is difficult to assign a proper date to this letter. It is unlikely that it was written on Saturday 20 Jan., as Abell was not likely to offer a concert on Sunday at which admission would be charged. It is possible that the opera referred to is
The Grove, which is known to have been performed on 19 Feb. 1700, but the fact that this opera was unsuccessful makes it unlikely that it had its premiere in mid-January and was played again in mid-February. Perhaps the letter should be dated mid-February