In a paper delivered by Sir Henry Herbert to Lord Clarendon and the Lord Chamberlain, July 11, fo that fhares fell much fhort of what they were formerly. Thereupon Mr. Dryden complaining to the company of his want of proffit, the company was fo kind to him that they not only did not preffe him for the playes which he fo engaged to write for them, and for which he was paid beforehand, but they did also at his earnest request give him a third day for his laft new play called All for Love; and at the receipt of the money of the faid third day, he acknowledged it as a guift, and a particular kindneffe of the company. Yet notwithstanding this kind proceeding, Mr. Dryden has now, jointly with Mr. Lee, (who was in penfion with us to the laft day of our playing, and fhall continue,) written a play called Oedipus, and given it to the Duke's company, contrary to his faid agreement, his promife, and all gratitude, to the great prejudice and almoft undoing of the company, they being the only poets remaining to us. Mr. Crowne, being under the like agreement with the duke's houfe, writt a play called The Deftruction of Jeru falem, and being forced by their refufall of it, to bring it to us, the faid company compelled us, after the ftudying of it, and a vaft expence in fcenes and cloathes, to buy off their clayme, by paying all the penfion he had received from them, amounting to one hundred and twelve pounds paid by the king's company, befides near forty pounds he the faid Mr. Crowne paid out of his owne pocket. 66 These things confidered, if notwithstanding Mr. Dryden's faid agreement, promife, and moneys freely given him for his faid laft new play, and the many titles we have to his writings, this play be judged away from us, we must submit. (Signed) Charles Killigrew. Rich. Burt. It has been thought very extraordinary that Dryden should enter into a contract to produce three new plays every year; and undoubtedly that any poet fhould formally ftipulate that his genius fhould be thus productive, is extraordinary. But the exertion itfelf was in the laft age not uncommon. In ten years, from the death of Beaumont in 1615 to the year 1625, I have good reason to believe that Fletcher produced near thirty plays. Matfinger between 1623 and 1638 brought out nearly the fame number; and Shirley in fifteen years furnished various theatres with forty plays. Thomas Heywood was ftill more prolifick. 1662, which will be found in a fubfequent page, he states the emolument which Mr. Thomas Killigrew then derived (from his two fhares and three quarters,) at 19l. 6s. od. per week; according to which statement each fhare in the king's company produced but two hundred and ten pounds ten fhillings a year. In Sir William D'Avenant's company, from the time their new theatre was opened in Portugal-row, near Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, (April 1662,) the total receipt (after deducting the nightly charges of "men hirelings and other cuftomary expences,") was divided into fifteen fhares, of which it was agreed by articles previously entered into, that ten fhould belong to D'Avenant; viz. two" towards the houfe-rent, buildings, fcaffolding, and making of frames for fcenes; one for a provifion of habits, properties, and scenes, for a fupplement of the faid theatre; and feven to maintain all the women that are to perform or reprefent women's parts, in tragedies, comedies, &c. and in confideration of erecting and establishing his actors to be a company, and his pains and expences for that purpose for many years." The other five fhares were divided in various proportions among the rest of the troop. In the paper above referred to it is ftated by Sir Henry Herbert, that D'Avenant " drew from these ten fhares two hundred pounds a week;" and if that statement was correct, each fhare in his playhoufe then produced annually fix hundred pounds, fuppofing the acting feafon to have then lafted for thirty weeks. Such were the emoluments of the theatre foon after the Reftoration; which I have ftated here, from authentick documents, because they may affift * These articles will be found in a fubfequent page. us in our conjectures concerning the profits derived from ftage-exhibitions at a more remote and darker period. From the prices of admiffion into our ancient theatres in the time of Shakspeare, which have been already noticed, I formerly conjectured that about twenty pounds was a confiderable receipt at the Blackfriars and Globe theatre, on any one day; and my conjecture is now confirmed by indifputable evidence. In Sir Henry Herbert's Office-book I find the following curious notices on this fubject, under the year 1628: "The kinges company with a generall confent and alacritye have given mee the benefitt of too dayes in the yeare, the one in fummer, thother in winter, to bee taken out of the fecond daye of a revived playe, att my owne choyfe. The housekeepers have likewyfe given their fhares, their dayly charge only deducted, which comes to fome 21. 5s. this 25 May, 1628. "The benefitt of the firft day, being a very unseasonable one in refpect of the weather. comes but unto £.4. 15. 0." This agreement fubfifted for five years and a half, during which time Sir Henry Herbert had ten benefits, the most profitable of which produced feventeen pounds, and ten fhillings, net, on the 22d of Nov. 1628, when Fletcher's Cuftom of the Country was performed at Blackfriars; and the leaft emolument which he received was on the representation of a play which is not named, at the Globe, in the fummer of the year 1632, which produced only the fum of one pound and five fhillings, after deducting from the total receipt in each inftance the nightly charge above mentioned. I fhall give below the receipt taken by him on each of the ten performances; from which is appears that his clear profit at an average on each of his nights, was £.8. 19. 4.3 and the total nightly receipt was at an average-.11. 4. 4. 1629. 1628. May 25, [the play not named,]-.4. 15. 0. 66 The benefitt of the winters day, being the fecond day of an old play called The Custome of the Cuntrye, came to .17. 10. o. this 22 of Nov. 1628. From the Kinges company att the Black fryers. "The benefitt of the fummers day from the kinges company being brought mee by Blagrave, upon the play of The Prophetess, comes to, this 21 of July, 1629,-£.6. 7. 0. "The benefitt of the winters day from the kinges company being brought mee by Blagrave, upon the play of The Moore of Venife, comes, this 22 of Nov. 1629, unto→ £.9. 16. 0. 1630. [No play this fummer on account of the plague.] 1631. 1632. 1633. "Received of Mr. Taylor and Lowins, in the name of their company, for the benefitt of my winter day, upon the fecond day of Ben Jonfon's play of Every man in his humour, this 18 day of February, 1630, [1630-31]£.12. 4. 0. "Received of Mr. Shanke, in the name of the kings company, for the benefitt of their fummer day, upon ye fecond daye of Richard y Seconde, at the Globe, this 12 of June, 1631,-.5. 6. 6. "Received of Mr. Blagrave, in the name of the kings company, for the benefitt of my winter day, taken upon The Alchemifte, this I of Decemb. 1631,-£.13. 0. 0. "Received for the fummer day of the kings company ye 6 Novemb. 1632,—£.1. 5. 0. "Received for the winter day upon The Wild goofe chase, ye fame day,-£.15. 0. 0. "R. of ye kings company, for my fummers day, by Blagrave, the 6 of June 1633, ye fomme of £.4. 10. o. I likewife find the following entry in this book: "Received of Mr. Benfielde, in the name of the kings company, for a gratuity for ther liberty gaind unto them of playinge, upon the ceffation of the plague, this 10 of June, 1631,—£.3. 10. 0.” "This (Sir Henry Herbert adds) was taken upon Pericles at the Globe." In a copy of a play called A Game at Chefs, 1624, which was formerly in poffeffion of Thomas Pearfon, Efq. is the following memorandum in an old hand: "After nine days, wherein I have VOL. II. U On the 30th of October, 1633, the managers of the king's company agreed to pay him the fixed fum of ten pounds every Christmas, and the fame fum at Midfummer, in lieu of his two benefits, which fums they regularly pay'd him from that time till the breaking out of the civil wars. From the receipts on these benefits I am led to believe that the prices were lower at the Globe theatre, and that therefore, though it was much larger than the winter theatre at Blackfriars, it did not produce a greater sum of money on any reprefentation. If we fuppofe twenty pounds, clear of the nightly charges already mentioned, to have been heard fome of the actors fay they took fifteen hundred pounds, the Spanish faction, being prevalent, got it fuppreffed, and the author, Mr. Thomas Middleton, committed to prifon." According to this ftatement, they received above 1661. 12s. on each performance. The foregoing extracts fhew, that there is not even a femblance of truth in this tory. In the year 1685, when the London theatres were much enlarged, and the prices of admiffion greatly increased, Shadwell received by his third day on the reprefentation of The Squire of Alfatia, only 130l. which Downes the prompter says was the greateft receipt had been ever taken at Drury-lane playhouse a fingle prices. Rofcius Anglicanus, P. 41. The ufe of Arabick figures has often occafioned very grofs errors to pafs current in the world. I fuppofe the utmost receipt from the performance of Middleton's play for nine days, (if it was performed fo often,) could not amount to more than one hundred and fifty pounds. To the fum of 150l. which perhaps this old actor had feen as the profit made by this play, his fancy or his negligence added a cipher, and thus made fifteen hundred pounds. The play of Holland's Leaguer was acted fix days fucceffively at Salisbury Court, in December 1631, and yet Sir Henry Herbert received on account of the fix reprefentations but one pound nineteen fillings, in virtue of the ninth fhare which he poffeffed as one of the proprietors of that houfe. Suppofing there were twenty-one fhares divided among the actors, the piece, though performed with fuch extraordinary fuccefs, did not produce more than fix pounds ten fbillings each night, exclufive of the occafional nightly charges already mentioned, |