Event Comment: MMr Vernon-Macheath, 1st time; Mr Parsons-Filch, Mrs Parsons-Mrs Peachum (Cross Diary). Mr William Parsons came with Mr James Love from Edinburg, and Made his first appearance on the stage in London this evening; He died of an asthma on Tues. 3 February in the severe winter of 1795, and was buried in the churchyard of Lea-Church near Blackheath in Kent; he was in his 60th year (Macmillan [Hopkins MS Notes]). Afterpiece: Not acted these 2 years. [See 19 Oct. 1759.

Event Comment: With New Habits, Scenes, Decorations and Music. Full Prices. Songs in the Entertainment will be given out at the Theatre. Afterpiece compos'd by Love, perform'd with success (Victor, I, 40). [N.B. In June 1762 the King of the Cherokee Indians arrived with two of his chiefs to pay respects to King George III. On 28 August they appeared at Marylebone Gardens. A dmission Price to see them 6d. (London Chronicle, No 857 & 860).

Event Comment: Benefit for City of London Lying-In Hospital, Aldersgate St. No building on Stage. Tickets to be had at the Hospital, and of Mr Sarjant at the Stage-Door

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Never acted before. Characters new dressed &c. [See Theatrical Review; or, Annals of the Drama, 1763, pp. 67-74: Bless us what a sweet consistent piece of business is a modern Tragedy." See Boswell's account of his attendance that night with two friends, With oaken cudgels in our hands and shrill sounding catcalls in our pockets," ready prepared to damn the play (London Journal), p. 154 ff.).] Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira, published this month (Gentleman's Magazine). I then undressed for the Play. My father and I went to the Rose, in the Passage of the Playhouse, where we found Mallet, with about thirty friends. We dined together, and went from thence into the Pitt, where we took our places in a body, ready to silence all opposition. However, we had no occasion to exert ourselves. Not withstanding the malice of a party, Mallet's nation, connections and indeed imprudence, we heard nothing but applause. I think it was deserved. The play was borrowed from de la Motte, but the details and language have great merit. A fine Vein of dramatick poetry runs thro' the piece. The Scenes between the father and son awaken almost every sensation of the human breast; and the Council would have equally moved, but for the inconvenience unavoidable upon all Theatres, that of entrusting fine Speeches to indifferent Actors. The perplexity of the Catastrophe is much, and I believe justly, critisized. But another defect made a strong impression upon me. When a Poet ventures upon the dreadful situation of a father who condemns his son to death; there is no medium; the father must either be monster or a Hero. His obligations of justice, of the publick good, must be as binding, as apparent as perhaps those of the first Brutus. The cruel necessity consecrates his actions, and leaves no room for repentance. The thought is shocking, if not carried into action. In the execution of Brutus's sons I am sensible of that fatal necessity. Without such an example, the unsettled liberty of Romev would have perished the instant after its birth. But Alonzo might have pardoned his son for a rash attempt, the cause of which was a private injury, and whose consequences could never have disturbed an established government. He might have pardoned such a crime in any other subject; and the laws could exact only a equal rigor for a son; a Vain appetite for glory, and a mad affectation of Heroism, could only influence him to exert an unequal & superior severity (Gibbon's Journal, ed. D. M. Low [New York, n.d.], pp. 202-4)

Event Comment: [This month the periodical, The Beauties of All Magazines Selected (London, 1763) quoted from the Theatrical Review Remarks on that Part of Dramatical Entertainments called Singing," A garrulous article concluding: The millions must be pleased-if audiences were only to be entertained with sensible exhibitions, or if only sensible people composed those audiences, whew! in what a sickly and consumptive state would be two thirds of the first rate salaries in every theatre!' (p. 76). This month publish'd An Appeal to the Publick in behalf of the Manager. Price 1s. Printed for Wilson. Hear all; and then let Justice hold the Scale. Shakespeare. A rather full description of the Fitzpatrick half-price riots, exonerating Garrick and the players. This month (probably) was published Theatrical Disquisitions; or, a Review of the late Riot at Drury Lane Theatre, 25, 26 January 1763, By a Lady (32 pp.). A calm defense of the acting profession, and a scourge of Fitzpatrick as a coward and a great nuisance. She prefers seeing plays to reading them. Holds Garrick blameless for reviving the Chances after failure of Eastward Ho. Comments at length on brilliance of contemporary stage costume in comparison with that earlier in the century.

Event Comment: By Command of their Majesties, an Occasional Oratorio "selected from the most celebrated compositions of the late George Frederick Handel." Pit and Boxes to be put together. No person to be admitted without Tickets which will be deliver'd this day at the Office in the Theatre at half a guinea each. First Gallery 5s. Upper Gallery 3s. 6d. Galleries to be opened at half past Four. Pit and Boxes at Five. To begin at half after Six. This day Publish'd Price 1s. An Occasional Oratorio, as it is to be performed at Covent Garden...J. and R. Tonson. [The most provocative commentary on Oratorios may be found in [Robert Maddison's] An Examination of the Oratorios performed This Season at Covent Garden, (London, 1763) 63 pages, wherein he seeks to define the genre, then judge the performances in terms of his definition.

Event Comment: Benefit for the Colleges of Philadelphia and New York. Mainpiece a Sacred Ode written by Dr Brown set to select Airs, Duets and Choruses from Mr Handel, and other Eminent Composers, with the addition of several new songs. Pit and Boxes to be put together. No Persons to be admitted without tickets, which will be deliver'd at the Office of the theatre at 1!2 a Guinea each; and also at the following Coffee House, viz: the Smyrna, Pall Mall; the Mount, Grosvenor St; George's, Temple Bar; the Rainbow, Cornhill, the New York, Sweetings's Alley; and the Pennsylvania, Birchin Lane. First Gallery 5s. Second Gallerp 3s. 6d. Galleries to be opened at half past Four, Pit and Boxes at Five. To begin at 1!2 after Six (playbill). This philanthropic enterprise, of which the theatrical benefit was but a part, seems not to have born much fruit for the respective Colleges. See Letter to the Governors of the Colleges of New York, respecting the Collection that was made in the Kingdom in 1762 and 1763, for the Colleges of Philadelphia and New York, to which are added Explanatory notes and appendix. By Sir James Jay, M. D. (London, 1771). The funds collected seem largely to have been used up in a law suit. The Governor of the College of New York, Rev. Dr Johnson, asked Jay to collect funds, which he did. Alderman Trecothick wrote Dr Johnson that the funds were not safe in Jay's hands. The Governors insulted Jay, and when they found they were wrong refused to apologize. They entered a bill against him in Chancery to gain the funds. It dragged out for four years. When the power of Attorney had been given to Trecothick, he claimed that a sum of #1437 15s. 6d. was unaccounted for by Jay, and was supposed to be in Jay's hands. Jay explained the Governors had not reckoned on reimbursement for his time and expenses for two years.

Event Comment: Benefit for Love. Mr Love Hiss'd in the Scotchman. Dumont by Mr Powell (Hopkins). Characters Dress'd in Habits of Times. Mr Love was hissed very much in the Scotchman, and the Farce hissed at the end (Hopkins Diary-MacMillan). No building on stage. On Saturday Othello with a New Burletta call'd Music A-La-Mode, or Bayes in Chromatics For the Benefit of Vernon. [The principal characters were to have been played by King, Vernon, Packer, Fox, Mrs Mrs Dorman, and Miss Young (Public Advertiser, 13 April). But it was deferred at the last minute and seems never to have been performed. Larpent MS 237 lists the parts: Dr Crochet, Player-Packer; Squire, Justice; Damon; Daphne, Chorus of Shepherds and Nymphs. $J. P. Kemble thought it a burlesque at the expense of Dr Arne (professor of nonharmonic music). The Player wants in it to banish all but four plays (Tamerlane, London Cuckolds, George Barnwell, and Twelfth Night) and fill stage performance with music.] Receipts: #208 14s. 6d. (MacMillan); charges: #64 4s. [Profit to Love: #144 10s. 6d.

Event Comment: Benefit of Miss Mozart of eleven, and Master Mozart of seven Years of Age, Prodigies of Nature. At the Great Room, Spring Garden, St James's Park. Tickets at half a guinea each. By Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. [For Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister. Their father had brought them to visit London in May. See hay 21 Feb. 1765. They remained through July 1765. See also Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, III, p. 539 (3rd edn. New York, 1947).

Event Comment: Benefit for City of London Lying In Hospital, Aldersgate St.

Event Comment: Benefit for Miss Young. Afterpiece: Not acted in 20 years. Music by Dr Arne. [See John Lockman's Reflections concerning Operas, &c." in his introduction to his edition of Rosalinda (London, 1760), p. iv: 'A gentleman, well known for his musical compositions, is of opinion, that the reason why the Opera Rosamond tho' adorned with all the graces of lyric poetry, does not please from the stage, so much as might be expected, is owing to a circumstance that forms a beauty in the drama itself; I mean the suppos'd poisoning of Rosamond at the end of the second act, and her appearing no more upon the stage. Whilst this sheet was at press, I was told that Mr Arne has reduc'd this opera into one act, and set the whole anew; and so managed matters, that Rosamond appears throughout the whole drama. Tis said that the music of this new Rosamond is as delightful as that of another performance of Mr Arne's which now affords the town so agreeable an Entertainment."

Event Comment: Benefit for the City of London Lying-In Hospital for Married Women, in Aldersgate St

Event Comment: A new Comic Opera. The Music composed by several celebrated Composers. All Boxes put together, and no Persons admitted without Tickets, which will be delivered this Day at the Office at Half a Guinea each; First Gallery 5s. Second Gallery 3s. By His Majesties Command no Person whatsoever to be admitted behind the Scenes or into the Orchestra. 6:30 p.m. Vivant Rex et Regina. [Repeated in all bills.] [A pasticchio similar to La Schiava (The Humorists). See Nicoll, III, 361. Advertisement for the company of performers at the Opera had been given in the Public Advertiser three months earlier, 6 August: 'Drummond, Vincent and Gordon,Proprietors and Managers of the Opera at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket beg leave to announce that they have engaged the best Company that could be got in Italy...and are expected in London this month. The company are as follows: Serious-the celebrated Guarducci, first man; Signora Aunuciati, first woman; Savoi, second man; Miss Young, second woman; Grassi, Signora Piatti, third woman. Comic-Lovattini, first man, tenor; Signora Zamperini, first woman; Savoi, first man, serious; Miss Young, first woman; Signor Moriggi (the old man) bass; Signora Piatti, second woman; Zamperini second man; Signora Gibbetti [Gibelli in the Gazetteer] third woman."

Event Comment: A new Serious Opera composed by several celebrated Composers. [From the London Evening Post: The Decoration of the Opera House is very splendid. The Concert Master has 50 Guineas a night, an Englishman. The First Dancer 6 Guineas a night."

Event Comment: [From The London Evening Post: Married: Michael Arne, music composer and son of Dr Arne, to Miss Wright, a celebrated singer of Drury Lane Theatre."] Paid Mr Evans on Wardrobe acct #10 10s. (Treasurer's Book). Receipts: #133 17s. (Treasurer's Book)