To the honour of Mr. Addison, it should be remembered, that he first discontinued the ancient, but humiliating, practice of diftributing tickets, and foliciting company to attend at the theatre, on the poet's nights."

When an author fold his piece to the fharers or proprietors of a theatre, it could not be performed by any other company, and remained for feveral

9 Southerne, by this practice, is faid to have gained feven hundred pounds by one play.

2" Whereas William Biefton, gent. governor of the kings and queenes young company of players at the Cockpit in Drury Lane, has reprefented unto his majefty, that the feverall playes hereafter mentioned, viz. Wit without Money: The Nighi-Walkers: The Knight of the Burning Peftle: Fathers owne Sonne: Cupids Revenge: The Bondman: The Renegado: A new Way to pay Debts: The great Duke of Florence: The Maid of Honour: The Traytor: The Example: The Young Admiral: The Opportunity: A witty fayre One: Loves Cruelty: The Wedding: The Maids Revenge: The Lady of Pleasure: The Schoole of Complement: The grateful Servant: The Coronation: Hide Parke: Philip Chabot, Admiral of France: A Mad Couple well met: All's loft by Luft: The Changeling: A fayre Quarrel: The Spanish Gipfie: The World: The Sunnes Darling: Loves Sacrifice: 'Tis pity he's a Whore: George a Greene: Loves Miftrefs: The Cunning Lovers: The Rape of Lucrece: A Trick to cheat the Divell: A Foole and her Maydenhead foone parted: King John and Matilda: A City Night-cap: The Bloody Banquet: Cupids Revenge: The conceited Duke and Appius and Virginia, doe all and every of them properly and of right belong to the fayd houfe, and confequently that they are all in his propriety. And to the end that any other companies of actors in or about London fhall not prefume to act any of them to the prejudice of him the fayd William Bieston and his company, his majesty hath signified his royal pleasure unto mee, thereby requiring mee to declare foe much to all other companies of actors hereby concernable, that they are not any wayes to intermeddle with or act any of the above-mentioned playes. Whereof I require all mafters and governours of playhoufes, and all others whom it may concerne, to take notice, and to forbeare to impeach the fayd William Biefton in the premises, as they tender his majesties difpleafure, and will answer the contempt. Given, &c. Aug. 10, 1639." MS. in the Lord Chamberlain's office, entitled in the margin, Cockpitt playes appropried.

years unpublished; but, when that was not the cafe, he printed it for fale, to which many feem to

3 Sometimes, however, an author, after having fold his piece to the theatre, either published it, or fuffered it to be printed; but this appears to have been confidered as difhoneft. See the preface to Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1638: "I had rather fubfcribe in that to their weak cenfure, than, by feeking to avoid the imputation of weakness, to incur a great fufpicion of honefty; for though fome have used a double fale of their labours, firft to the ftage, and after to the preffe," &c.

How careful the proprietors were to guard against the publication of the plays which they had purchased, appears from the following admonition, directed to the Stationers' Company in the year 1637, by Philip earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, then Lord Cham berlain.

"After my hearty commendations.-Whereas complaint was heretofore prefented to my dear brother and predeceffor, by his majefties fervants, the players, that fome of the company of printers and ftationers had procured, published, and printed, diverse of their books of comedyes and tragedyes, chronicle hiftoryes, and the like, which they had (for the fpecial fervice of his majeftye and for their own ufe bought and provided at very dear and high rates. By means whereof, not only they themfelves had much prejudice, but the books much corruption, to the injury and difgrace of the authors. And thereupon the mafter and wardens of the company of printers and ftationers were advised by my brother to take notice thereof, and to take order for the stay of any further impreffion of any of the playes or interludes of his majesties fervants without their confents; which being a caution given with fuch refpect, and grounded on fuch weighty reafons, both for his majetties fervice and the particular intereft of the players, and foe agreeable to common juftice and that indifferent measure which every man would look for in his own particular, it might have been prefumed that they would have needed no further order or direction in the bufinefs, notwithstanding which, I am informed that fome copies of playes belonging to the king and queenes fervants, the players, and purchased by them at dear rates, having been lately ftollen or gotten from them by indirect means, are now attempted to be printed, and that fome of them are at the prefs, and ready to be printed; which, if it thould be fuffered, would directly tend to their apparent detriment and great prejudice, and to the dif enalling them to do their majefties fervice: for prevention and redreife whereof, it is defired that order be given and entered by the mafter and wardens of the company of printers and stationers, that if any

have been induced from an apprehenfion that an imperfect copy might be iffued from the prefs without their confent. The customary price of the copy of a play, in the time of Shakspeare, appears to have been twenty nobles, or fix pounds thirteen fhillings and four-pence. The play when

playes be already entered, or fhall hereafter be brought unto the hall to be entered for printing, that notice thereof be given to the king and queenes fervants, the players, and an enquiry made of them to whom they do belong; and that none bee fuffered to be printed until the affent of their majefties' faid fervants be made appear to the Mafter and Wardens of the company of printers and ftationers, by fome certificate in writing under the hands of John Lowen, and Jofeph Taylor, for the kings fervants, and of Christopher Beefton for the king and queenes young company, or of fuch other perfons as fhall from time to time have the direction of these companies; which is a courfe that can be hurtfull unto none but fuch as are about unjustly to peravayle themfelves of others' goods, without refpect of order or good governement; which I am confident you will be careful to avoyd, and therefore I recommend it to your fpecial care. And if you shall have need of any further authority or power either from his majestye or the counfell-table, the better to enable you in the execution thereof, upon notice given to mee either by yourselves or the players, I will endeavour to apply that further remedy thereto, which fhall be requifite. And foe I bidd you very heartily farewell, and rest

"Your very loving friend,

June 10, 1637. P. and M. "To the Mafter and Wardens of the Company of Printers and Stationers."

+ "One only thing affects me; to think, that fcenes invented merely to be spoken, thould be inforcively published to be read; and that the leaft hurt I can receive, is, to do myfelf the wrong. But fince others otherwife would do me more, the least inconvenience is to be accepted: I have therefore my felf set forth this comedie." Marfton's pref. to The Malecontent, 1604.

5 See The Defence of Coneycatching, 1592: "Mafter R. G. [Robert Greene] would it not make you blush-if you fold Orlands Faris to the queenes players for twenty nobles, and when they were in the country, fold the fame play to Lord Admirals men, for as much more? Was not this plain coneycatching, M. G.?"

printed was fold for fixpence; and the ufual pre

Oldys, in one of his manufcripts, fays, that Shakspeare received but five pounds for his Hamlet; whether from the players who firft acted it, or the printer or book feller who firft published it, is not diftinguished. I do not believe he had any good authority for this

affertion.

In the latter end of the laft century, it fhould feem, an author did not ufually receive more from his book feller for a dramatick performance than 20l. or 251. for, Dryden in a letter to his fon, written about the year 1698, mentions, that the whole emoluments which he expected from a new play that he was about to produce, would not exceed one hundred pounds. Otway and Lee got but that fum by Venice Preferved, The Orphan, Theodofius, and Alexander the Great; as Gildon, their contemporary, informs us. The profits of the third night were probably feventy pounds; the dedication produced either five or ten guineas, according to the munificence of the patron; and the reft arofe from the fale of the copy.

Southerne, however, in confequence of the extraordinary fuccefs of his Fatal Marriage in 1694, fold the copy of that piece for thirty-fix pounds, as appears from a letter which has been kindly communicated to me by my friend, the Right Hon.ble Mr. Windham, and which, as it contains fome new tage anecdotes, I fhall print entire. This letter has been lately found by Mr. Windham among his father's papers, at Felbrigge, in Norfolk; but, the fignature being wanting, by whom it was written has not been afcer

tained:

"Dear Sir,

London, March the 22, 1693-4. "I received but 10 days fince the favour of your obliging letter, dated January the laft, for which I return you a thoufand thanks. I wish my fcribbling could be diverting to you, I should oftner trouble you with my letters; but there is hardly any thing now to make it acceptable to you, but an account of our winter divertions, and chiefly of the new plays which have been the entertainment of the town.

"The first that was acted was Mr. Congreve's, called The Double Dealer. It has fared with that play, as it generally does with beauties officiously cried up; the mighty expectation which was raised of it made it fink, even beneath its own merit. The character of The Double Dealer is artfully writt, but the action being but fingle, and confined within the rules of true comedy, it could not pleafe the generality of our audience, who relifh nothing but variety, and think any thing dull and heavy which does not border upon farce. The criticks were fevere upon this play, which gave the author occafion to lafh 'em in his Epiftle Dedicatory, in fo defying or hectoring a ftyle, that it was counted rude even by his

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fent from a patron, in return for a dedication, was forty fhillings."

best friends; fo that 'tis generally thought he has done his bufinefs, and loft himself: a thing he owes to Mr. Dryden's treacherous friendship, who, being jealous of the applaufe he had gott by his Old Batchelour, deluded him into a foolish imitation of his own way of writing angry prefaces.

"The 2d play is Mr. Dryden's, called Love Triumphant, or Nature will prevail. It is a tragi-comedy, but in my opinion one of the worst he ever writt, if not the very wort; the comical part defcends beneath the ftyle and fhew of a Bartholomew-fair droll. It was damn'd by the universal cry of the town, nemine contradicente, but the conceited poet. He fays in his prologue, that this is the laft the town muft expect from him: he had done himself a kindnefs had he taken his leave before.

"The 3d is Mr. Southern's, calld The Fatal Marriage, or the Innocent Adultery. It is not only the best that author ever writt, but is generally admired for one of the greatest ornaments of the ftage, and the moft entertaining play has appeared upon it these 7 years. The plot is taken from Mrs. Behn's novel, calld The Unhappy Vow-Breaker. I never faw Mrs. Barry act with fo much paffion as fhe does in it; I could not forbear being moved even to tears to fee her act. Never was poet better rewarded or incouraged by the town; for befides an extraordinary full houfe, which brought him about 1401. 50 noblemen, among whom my lord Winchelfea was one, gave him guineas apiece, and the printer 361. for his copy. "This kind ufage will encourage defponding minor poets, and vex huffing Dryden and Congreve to madnefs.

"We had another new play yesterday, called The Ambitious Slave, or a generous Revenge. Elkanah Settle is the author of it, and the fuccefs is anfwerable to his reputation. I never faw a piece fo wretched, nor worfe contrived. He pretends 'tis a Persian story, but not one body in the whole audience could make any thing of it; 'tis a mere babel, and will fink for ever. The poor poet, feeing the houfe would not act it for him, and give him the benefit of the third day, made a prefent of it to the women in the house, who act it, but without profit or incouragement.”

In 1707 the common price of the copy-right of a play was fifty pounds; though in that year Lintot the bookfeller Smith fixty guineas for his Phedra and Hippolytus. gave Edmund

In 1715, Sir Richard Steele fold Mr. Addifon's comedy, called The Drummer, to J. Tonfon for fifty pounds; and in 1721, Dr. Young received the fame price for his tragedy of The Revenge.

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