Event Comment: A Comparison Between the Two Stages (1702), commenting upon
Betterton's success with
I Henry IV (see 9 Jan. 1699@1700) pictures Betterton entering his Closet and praying to
Shakespeare for further assistance (p. 25), with the result that "tho' some of those Plays that
Batterton Acted were Historical, and consequently highly irregular, yet they never fail'd to please" (p. 26).
Sullen adds: Well, this lucky hit of Batterton's put
D. Lane in a non-plus! Shakespear's Ghost was rais'd at the New-house, and he seem'd to inhabit it for ever: What's to be done then? Oh, says Rich I'll pray as well as he-What? Shall a Heathen Player have more Religion than a Lawyer? No, it shall never be said--with that
Mr R@@ goes up to the Garret (a pair of Stairs higher than his own Apartment) and taking
Ben Johnson's Picture with him, he implores. This work implies that Betterton presented
Henry VIII in addition to
I Henry IV and that
Rich revived
Volpone,
The Alchymist, and
The Silent Woman, which had, according to the author of this work, lain unacted for twenty years (p. 26)