= = Mrs. Watchet Mrs. Davenport: Miss Nancy (her niece) Mrs. Mathews:-acted 35 times--Bradford and Buskin have been living at Tap's for some time-they have run up a long bill Sir Walter tells Tap, that he will spend a week at his house, if he can have proper attendance-Tap is at a loss what to do, as he has few or no servants-Buskin undertakes to personate all the attendants that Sir Walter may want-he assumes the characters of the boot-cleaner- a waiter — a hair-dresser - and the cook-Tap has promised his sister to Apollo Belvi, whom he has never seen-Buskin wishes to prevent the match-when Belvi arrives, he tells him that Fanny has had a child-Belvi wants to be off from his agreement-Buskin advises him to kill himself, that is as they do on the stage, where Killing is no Murder-Belvi dresses himself in mourning, and announces his own death-at the conclusion, Buskin and Bradford marry Fanny and Nancy-this is a good F. by Hook-its success was greatly owing to Mathews and Liston. Hook says in his preface-" On the evening pre"vious to the performance of Killing no Murder,' "I was much surprised to hear that it could not be 66 66 produced, because Mr. Larpent, the reader of plays (as he is termed) had refused to grant his license " for it when I waited on him at his house, " he told me, with a chilling look, that the 2d act of 66 my farce was the most indecent and shameful "attack on a very religious and harmless set of 66 66 people (he meant the Methodists) and that my piece altogether was an infamous persecution of "the sectaries'-out came the murder-the charac 66 * "ter of a methodist preacher, written for Liston's incomparable talents, with the hope of turning "into ridicule the ignorance and impudence of the "self-elected pastors, who infest every part of the kingdom, met with the reprehension of the licenser " he asserted, in answer to a question I put to him, "that Government did not wish the Methodists to "be ridiculed he told me that I had intro"duced a clergyman to ridicule him-I said, ' not "a clergyman, a methodist preacher' it is exactly "the same' was his reply I was a little "startled at Mr. Larpent's assertions, till I left his "house, when to my utter surprise I found, that he "is not only a rigid methodist himself, but, as I "am informed, has even built a little tabernacle of "his own--it was in vain I adduced Mother Cole in "the Minor, and half a dozen other parts-the "licenser shook his head as if there was something "in it,' and told me that Lord Dartmouth had the piece, if he did not object, it might still be played, "but if his lordship concurred with him, not a line "should be performed-I took my leave, fully con"vinced how proper a person Mr. Larpent was to "receive £400 per annum, besides perquisites,* for reading plays, the bare and simple performance of "which, by his creed, is the acme of sin and unrighteousness-his even looking at them is conta"mination-but £400 a year-a sop for Cerberus * Notwithstanding this enormous salary for doing next to nothing, a fee of Two Guineas is exacted for every play that is licensed. "what will it not make a man do?-the piece was "returned in a day or two with the objectionable parts, which I have published, marked for erasure 66 66 -I altered them and sent it back to the licenser, "with a speech inserted on purpose to ridicule him"self, which, as it touched not on politics or religion, " he could not expunge, and I have had the gratifi"cation of hearing the audience every night apply "it properly and not only laugh at his expense, but 'pointedly, by their applause, show their detestation "of his arbitrary and strained prerogative "if Mr. Larpent is allowed to suppress a Methodist's "character, because he is one himself, no author "while he is in place, for a similar reason, will be "suffered to introduce on the stage the part of "a conceited consequential old man- -Now in de"fence of the part of Apollo Belvi, as originally " written, I consider it necessary to speak-it is a "notorious fact, that the methodists, not content "with following their own fashions in religion, en"deavour hourly to overturn the established church by all means open and covert the more "illiterate the preacher, the more infatuated the "flock; and there is less danger in the specious in"sinuations of a refined mind, than the open and "violent expressions of inspired tailors and illumi"nated cobblers-it was to ridicule such monstrous incongruities, that, without any claim to originality, "I sketched the part of Belvi, in the following farce "I conceived by blending the most flippant and "ridiculous of all callings, except a man milliner's (I mean a dancing master's) with the grave and important character of a preacher, I should, with 66 "out touching indelicately on the subject, have "raised a laugh against the absurd union of spiritual "and secular avocations, which so decidedly marks "the character of the methodist To prove "how fit Mr. Larpent is for his office, it may not "be amiss to state, that, at that stye of mud and corruption, Rowland Hill's Chapel, the congrega"tion were congratulated from the pulpit on the "destruction of C. G. theatre-and the annihilation "of a score of firemen was noticed as a singular 66 proof of the wisdom of Providence in these words "Great news, my brethren, great news, a great triumph has taken place over the devil and the "stage players-a fire in one of their houses-oh 66 may there be one consumed every year!—it is my "fervent prayer. In an advertisement Hook adds, that he was eventually much indebted to Mr. Larpent and Lord Dartmouth, who, by their refusal of the license created an interest for his Farce, and were as good as a dozen newspaper paragraphs to him. To the end of the piece he has annexed the scene which was suppressed. Apollo Belvi. I ordained myself and preached in a field, but I could'nt get a living by it— Buskin. You a preacher !— A. B. Yes and a teacher-now-I'll tell you how it was-over against my master's office-right opposite -lived an old dissenting gentleman-by trade a tailor, and by calling a minister-dear man he used to discourse delightfully to be sure-and he -he Mr. Buskin-had a daughter-so to get favor in her eyes, I turned to and fell a preaching like any thing myself. Buskin. What a queer gig you must have looked in a pulpit A. B. A tub-as I hope to be saved it was no better so I preached and preached-la, how I did preach! till at last I preached myself plump into the heart of my young saint, &c. 66 The rest of the scene does not differ materially from that which is acted-Apollo Belvi now says"at last we got into a sad scrape, for having adver"tised the farce of the Devil to Pay,' old Justice Carpat, who between you and I was a bit of a "shoemaker hearing as how it contained some personal reflections on the coblering professionstopped the performance and threatened to send "us all to the stocks"this was the cut on Mr. Larpent. 66 66 Tho' the Act of Parliament, by which arbitrary power has been given to the Lord Chamberlain and his Deputy, has not received any amendment, yet it is some consolation to find, that the exercise of this power has been considerably checked by the spirit of the times—Mr. Larpent did not venture to refuse his License, without giving his reason for so doing -this was not the case when the act was first passed - Macklin by his strong remonstrance no doubt did good-and if every person, who may be aggrieved by the Licenser, would, like Hook, bring the circumstances of the case before the public, it might possibly bring that petty tyrant to reason. July 4. Soldier's Daughter, Governor Heartall = |