Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted
these 12 years. [See 24 Jan. 1758.]
Prologue written by
Paul Whitehead. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. First Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. Places for
the Boxes to be taken of
Mr Sarjant (only) at
the Stage-Door. No persons can be admitted behind scenes, nor any Money returned after curtain is drawn up. To begin exactly at 6 o'clock. [Customary note in succeeding bills.] Receipps: #190 14s. (Account Book). @
The New Occasional Prologue@As when
the merchant to increase his store@For Dubious seas, advent'rous quits
the shore;@Still anxious for his freight, he trembling sees@Rocks in each buoy, and tempest in each breeze@
The curling wave to mountain billow swells,@And every cloud a fancied storm fortells:@Thus rashly launch'd on this
Theatric main,@Our All on board, each phantom gives Us pain;@
The Aatcall's note seems thunder in our ears,@And every Hiss a hurricane appears;@In Journal Squibs we lightning's blast espy,@And meteors blaze in every Critic's eye.@Spite of
these terrors, still come hopes we view,@Hopes, ne'er can fail us--since
they're plac'd--in you.@Your breath
the gale, our voyage is secure,@And safe
the venture which your smiles insure;@Though weak his skill, th' adventurer must succeed,@Where Candour takes th' endeavor for
the deed.@For Brentford's state,
two kings could once suffice;@In ours, behold! four kings of Brentford rise;@All smelling to one nosegay's od'rous savor@
The balmy nosegay of--
the Public favor.@From hence alone, our royal funds we draw,@Your pleasure our support, your will our law.@While such our government, we hope you'll own us;@But should we ever Tyrant prove--dethrone us.@Like Bro
ther Monarchs, who, to coax
the nation@Began
their reign, with some fair proclamation,@We too should talk at least--of reformation;@Declare that during our imperial sway,@No bard shall mourn his long-neglected Play;@But
then
the play must have some wit, some spirit,@And We allow'd sole umpires of its merit.@For those deep sages of
the judging Pit,@Whose taste is too refin'd for modern wit,@From Rome's great
Theatre we'll cull
the piece,@And plant on Britain's stage
the flow'rs of Greece.@If some
there are, our British Bards can please,@Who taste
the ancient wit of ancient days,@Be our's to save, from Time's devouring womb,@
Their works, and snatch
their laurels from
the tomb.@For you, ye Fair, who sprightlier scenes may chuse,@Where Music decks in all her airs
the Muse,@Gay Opera shall all its charms dispense,@Yet boast no tuneful triumph over sense;@
The nobler Bard shall still assert his right,@Nor Handel rob a Shakespear of his night,@To greet
the mortal brethren of our skies [upper galleries]@Here all
the Gods of Pantomime shall rise:@Yet midst
the pomp and magic of machines,@Some plot may mark
the meaning of our scenes;@Scenes which were held, in good King Rich's days,@By sages, no bad epilogues to plays.@If terms like
these your suffrage can engage,@To fix our mimic empire of
the stage;@Confirm our title in your fair opinions,@And crowd each night to people our dominions.@--(
Poems and Miscelaneous Compositions, Ed.
Capt. Edward Thompson, 1777)
Covent Garden opened with
the Rehearsal with alterations. I was in
the Pit.
Powell, from
Drury Lane, one of
the new managers who have bought
the patent from
Rich's heirs, spoke an occasional
Prologue.
Shuter did
Bayes pretty much to my liking, adding many crochets of his own.... Entertainment
The Mock Doctor,...
Young Jasper pretty well by one
Massey, being his first appearance on that stage (
Neville MS Diary)