Event Comment: At the New Wells, Shepherds Market, May Fair. Daily Advertiser, 3 Jan. 1749: The House being so crowded on Thursday last, Tickets that could not be taken will be admitted on Thursday next

Event Comment: Mainpiece: By Particular Desire. Receipts: #150 13s. 6d. Paid Ledley for 20 dozen Wax Candles #31; Paid Mr Richards for painting the Slaughter House, Ox &c. [See The Fair, 10 Dec. 1759] #10 10s

Event Comment: Benefit for Beard. Mainpiece: By Particular Desire; Last time of performing it this season. Afterpiece: Not acted these two years. Pit and Boxes laid together at 5s. First Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. Stage 5s. Those who have places either in the Boxes or the Pit are requested to come thro the Box-Lobby, as at an Oratorio; and to send their servants to keep places by 3 o'clock. Tickets to be had of Mr Beard, at his house next Old Slaughter's, St Martin's Lane; and of Mr Sarjant at the Stage Door where places for the Boxes may be taken. Receipts: #129 1s. plus #246 from tickets (Boxes and Pit 984). Total income #375 1s. Charges #63. [Beard found his own wax candles]

Event Comment: Benefit for Charles Sarjant, (house keeper). Tickets deliver'd for the Wonder will be taken. Receipts: #69 2s. 6d. plus #73 2s. from tickets (Box 125; Pit 223; Gallery 84) (Account Book). Charges:#80 (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Sparks. Tickets to be had of Mrs Sparks, at her house in Crown Court. Tickets deliver'd out for the Distress'd Mother will be taken. N.B. Mr Sparks having been very long indisposed and rendered incapable of attending the theatre, with the greatest deference persuades himself that Circumstance will readily plead his Apology, and induce his friends to dispense with his personal appearance, and favor him with their commands; and that they will excuse the changing of his play, to which he is oblig'd by the illness of a principal performer; of which and his former obligations, he shall always retain the most gratful sense. [Sparks had been ill since 14 Jan. when Hull took over his part of Buckingham in King Richard III.

Event Comment: MMrs Love play'd Mrs Peachum very bad. Her fit seem'd a very Aukward Imitation of Mrs Pritchard in the Jealous Wife (Hopkins). Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. No money received at the Stage Door. None returned after the curtain is up. Play to begin exactly at 6 o'clock. Places may be had of Mr Johnston at the Stage Door. Vivat Rex et Regina. [Customary notice, which will not be repeated here, Sept. 15 David Garrick & his Lady set out for Italy from his house in Southampton St. Covent Garden (Winston MS 9). Winston also refers to a Sept. 9 Letter from T. Davies, cg, to the poet Charles Churchill begging he would not introduce so unimportant a person as himself in his Smithfield Rosciad.] Receipts: #248 9s. (Cross Diary)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mortimer, Tomlinson, West, Lings. House charges #84. [Deficit to actors #60 4s.] Received Mr Evans and Miss Roger's deficiency #28 18s. 6d. Paid Ann Collett for a gold brocaided silk #10 10s. (Treasurer's Book). Receipts: #23 16s. (Treasurer's Book). Went into ye Pit...Vernon is an excellent MacHeath. I don't like Yates as Peachum so well as Shuter, and Parsons is not so good a Filch as Holborn. Bransby ye Lockit and Mrs Abington Lucy pretty well...Polly-$Mrs Vincent, who is now too old for ye character, and I think wants feeling...One Tomlinson, who had a 4th of the Benefit, spoke an Epilogue in the character of a Beggar, but by one party hissing and a greater clapping, could not hear it.--At Covent Garden a Hurdy-Gurdy man and girl play in the whore's scene, and as the Highwaymen march out, one returns and kisses MacHeath, and Shuter says some things Yates did not, but perhaps they are additions of his own (Neville MS Diary)

Event Comment: Paid Hull the balance of his night of The Royal Merchant the 16th Inst....#38 14s. Paid also the Extra Charge and allowed again for the same night...#3 10s. (Account Book). [Hull seems to have protested the charge of candles, drum & chorus in addition to the high house charge of #84, and seems to have succeeded.] Receipts: #141 13s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: HHull's second Night. House charges #84. Balance to Hull #52 16s. and in addition #1 13s. from disposal of 3 Box and 6 Pit tickets. Paid Mr Buzaglio in full for use of a warming machine #15 15s. (Account Book). Receipts: #136 16s. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Third Day. For the Author. House charges and Candles #64 5s. Balance to Bickerstaffe #155 11s. 6d. (Account Book). This month were published Harris and Rutherford's Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Disputes subsisting between the Patentees of Covent Garden Theatre, and Colman's True State of The Differences subsisting....Both were reviewed in the Gentleman's Magazine. Receipts: #219 16s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Miss Stede, Mrs Heard, Mrs Willems, Abbott and Furkins. Tickets deliver'd by Wilkinson, Wooley, Pilfold, T. Ansell, Mrs Hitchcock, Widow Trott, Sherrat, Bassin, Whatley, Doe and Mrs Paddick will be taken. Charges o. [House received in addition to the ready receipts half the value of each beneficiary's tickets.] @Tickets Box Pit Gallery Value Half Value@Miss Stede 28 57 61 #21 13s. #10 16s. 6d.@Mrs Heard 19 34 .. #9 17s. #4 18s. 6d.@Mrs Williams .. 24 21 #5 14s. #2 17s.@Mr Abbott 18 95 75 #26 5s. #13 2s. 6d.@Furkins 22 37 26 #13 13s. #6 16s. 6d.@Wilkinson 28 27 20 #13 1s. #6 10s. 6d.@Wooley 9 42 79 #16 9s. #8 4s. 6d.@Pilfold 37 227 74 50 14s. #25 7s.@T. Ansell 9 66 64 #18 11s. #9 5s. 6d.@Mrs Hitchcock 27 15 45 #13 10s. #6 15s.@Widow Trott 24 4 8 #7 8s. #3 14s.@Sharratt 1 12 19 #3 19s. #1 19s. 6d.@Bassan .. .. .. .. ..@Whatley 5 18 57 #9 13s. #4 16s. 6d.@Doe 2 22 44 #8 4s. #4 2s.@Mrs Paddick 1 14 14 #3 15s. #1 17s. 6d.@Total 230 694 607 #222 6s. #111 3s.@ Receipts: #19 9s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Miss Bassan and Abbott. Tickets delivered by Furkins, Longley, Robson, Flight, Curteen, Paddick, Stephenson, as well as those delivered for the Inconstant and Love for Love will be taken. [No charges. House received ready money receipts plus half-value of tickets]: @Tickets Box Pit Gallery Value Half Value@Miss Bassan 22 38 43 #15 10s. #7 15s.@Abbott 18 52 72 #19 10s. #9 15s.@Furkins 27 42 19 #14 19s. #7 9s. 6d.@Longley 22 206 82 #44 12s. #22 6s.@Robson 13 107 42 #23 10s. #11 15s.@Flight .. 72 62 #17 #8 10s.@Curteen 24 57 55 #20 1s. #10 6d.@Mrs Paddick 7 30 13 #7 11s. #3 15s. 6d.@Stephenson 3 21 85 #12 8s. #6 4s.@Total 136 625 473 #175 1s. #87 10s. 6d.@ Paid Nichols (gilder) 1s. 6d., McMillen (shoemaker) #4 3s.; D. Almaine (embroiderer) #3 3s.; Morris (painter) #7 7s.; Rowson (gunsmith) #6 11s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: By Particular Desire. Benefit for Symonds, Norbury, Francis. Tickets deliver'd by Perry, Roberts, Wooley, Stevenson, Singleton, Shuter, Miller, Walker, and Real as well as those deliver'd for The Recruiting Officer will be Taken. [No charges. House rec'd the ready money receipts plus half-value of the tickets deliver'd:] @Tickets Box Pit Gallery Value Half Value@Symonds 27 50 107 #27 16s. #13 18s.@Norbury 23 33 31 #13 14s. #6 17s.@Francis 13 36 17 #9 8s. #4 14s.@Perry 4 14 25 #6 3s. #3 1s. 6d.@Roberts 9 80 191 #38 18s. #19 9s.@Wooley 3 24 3 #3 12s. #1 16s.@Stephenson 14 107 64 #23 16s. #11 18s.@Singleton 3 48 10 #7 1s. #3 10s. 6d.@Shuter 11 39 86 #19 11s. #9 15s. 6d.@Miller 8 74 49 #16 #8@Walker .. 95 19 #12 7s. #6 3s. 6d.@Read 7 65 21 #11 8s. #5 14s.@Total 122 665 618 #189 14s. #94 13s.@ Paid Symonds for performing 5 nights in The Fair to 13 Nov. last 5s., and for 25 nights in The Sylphs to the 4th of April #1 5s. Receipts: #57 15s. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Woodman, late of Covent Garden, left a Widow with five Children. By Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. To begin at 6:00 p.m. [Public Advertiser, 21 Feb., contained a long letter concerning the small attendance on this occasion: "One of the finest Female Singers this Country has for many years produced is now, through a Series of Misfortunes as unavoidable as unforeseen, in a State of Wretchedness scarcely credible. [Her husband, a schoolteacher, died.] Alas! she had five helpless innocent to drink of the same bitter Cup, to harrow up all the Heartstrings of a Mother, and to tear her Soul unavailingly for that Support, of which she herself was depriv'd by the Death of their Father. [The expenses of the benefit performance exceeded the receipts of the house.] Calamity became heaped upon Calamity, and she is now weeping in a Prison, over her unhappy little ones, for a Sum not exceeding #50." Appeal is made for gifts to relieve her. On 23 May, Mrs Woodman released from prison, gave a Benefit Concert at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, concluding with an Occasional Musical Address to the Town called The Grateful Acknowledgment, written and the music compiled from a most eminent Master by Adam Smith, sung by Mrs Woodman.

Event Comment: Benefit for Mons and Mme Vallouy. Public Advertiser, 3 May: Tickets to be had of Vallouy at his house, No. 2, Berkley-square

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Kennedy. Tickets delivered for Artaxerxes will be taken. Public Advertiser, 6 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Mrs Kennedy at her house in Great Queen-street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. Receipts: #278 7s. 6d. (166/9/6; tickets: 111/18/0) (charge: #105)

Event Comment: Benefit for Jewell, treasurer. Tickets to be had of Jewell at his house, Suffolk-street

Event Comment: "Some Gentlemen very improperly intruded themselves on the audience, by resolutely keeping possession of the very centre of the stage for a considerable time, in defiance of the most clamorus disapprobation from all parts of the House, till they were reduced to a most ludicrous situation by the dropping of the curtain. The Public seem inclined to support any regulation that may be adopted by the Manager on this subject" (Morning Herald, 26 May). And see 27 May

Event Comment: The United Company. This performance is on the L. C. list, 5@149, p. 368: The Queene a Box & a Box for the Maids of Honor at ye Massacre of Paris. See also Nicoll, Restoration Drama, p. 352. The date of the first performance is not knwon, but as it was entered in the Term Catalogues, November 1689, it was probably first acted in early November or in October 1689. A song, Thy Genius lo!, composed by Henry Purcell, is in Orpheus Britannicus, 1698. Possibly it was sung by Bowman. See also The Works of Henry Purcell, Purcell Society, XX (1916), xviii-xix

Event Comment: By Subscription. The Music for The Judgment of Paris set by Mr Weldon

Event Comment: By Subscription. The music for The Judgment of Paris composed by Weldon. [Note that both duRuel and Mrs Mayers are advertised to appear at both theaters this day.

Event Comment: Benefit Mrs Bracegirdle. The music of The Judgment of Paris set by Eccles

Event Comment: Benefit for Arthur and Mrs Vincent. Charges #60. Deficit to the actors #6 12s. 6d. apiece, covered by income from tickets: Arthur #31 9s.; Mrs Vincent #43 4s. [Afterpiece a farce taken from Beaumont & Fletcher. Not Printed. In which was introduced the Judgment of Paris, a musical piece.] Mainpiece: Not acted these 7 years. Tickets to be had of Arthur in Duke's Court, and of Mrs Vincent at the Cock and Turk's Head in Bedford St., Covent Garden. Receipts: #46 15s

Event Comment: Afterpiece: A New Farce Sequel to The Englishman in Paris, by the same Author [Foote]