Event Comment: Benefit
Estcourt. At the Desire of several Persons of Quality.
London in 1710 (pp. 138-39): On this occasion the actors represented a prodigiously satirical Interscenium, which was not to be found in the printed copy of the play....In this interlude a troop of soldiers came on, singing at the top of their voices an
English song which had been made by the army in
Flanders about the
Duke of Marlborough. In it
Prince Eugene is praised for his open-handedness, while Marlborough, on the other hand, is blamed for his avarice, so that every verse ended: 'but Marlborough not a penny.' The people, who are very bitter against the whole family, even the
Duke himself, laughed prodigiously, and bandied about monstrous insults, although Marlborough's daughter, the
Duchess of Montagu, was herself at the play and was so greatly shamed that she was covered with blushes....When the song was at an end, there was such a clapping and yelling that the actors were unable to proceed for nearly a quarter of an hour
Performances
Mainpiece Title: The Recruiting Officer
Related Works
Related Work: The Recruiting Officer Author(s): George Farquhar
Song: Several Comical Dialogues-Mr Dogget, Mr Leveridge; And other Entertainments of Ballad/Singing after the true English manner. Compos'd by Mr Estcourt-Mr Estcourt, in Honour of the Great and Glorious Successes of her Majesty over her proud French Foes