Town, might intimate to us, their Defire of seeing him oftener: But as he acted only to do a particular Favour, the Menagers ow'd him no Compliment for it, beyond Common Civilities. And, as that might not be all he propofed by it, his farther Views (if he had any) came to nothing. For after this Attempt, he never returned to the Stage.

To speak of him, as an Actor: He was the most an Original, and the ftricteft Obferver of Nature, of all his Contemporaries. He borrow'd from none of them: His Manner was his own: He was a Pattern to others, whofe greatest Merit was, that they had fometimes tolerably imitated him. In dreffing a Character to the greatest Exactness, he was remarkably skilful; the leaft Article of whatever Habit he wore, feem'd in fome degree to speak and mark the different Humour he prefented; a neceffary Care in a Comedian, in which many have been too remifs, or ignorant. He could be extremely ridiculous, without ftepping into the leaft Impropriety, to make him fo. His greateft Succefs was in Characters of lower Life, which he improv'd, from the Delight he took, in his Obfervations of that Kind, in the real World. In Songs, and particular Dances too, of Humour, he had no Competitor. Congreve was a great Admirer of him, and found his Account, in the Characters he exprefly wrote for him. In those of Fondlewife, in his Old Batchelor; and Ben, in Love for Love, no Author, and Actor could be more

obliged

obliged to their mutual masterly Performances. He was very acceptable to feveral Persons of high Rank and Tafte: Tho' he feldom car'd to be the Comedian, but among his more intimate Acquaintance.

And now, let me ask the World a Question. When Men have any valuable Qualities, why are the generality of our modern Wits fo fond of expofing their Failings only, which the wifeft of Mankind will never wholly be free from? Is it of more ufe to the Publick, to know their Errors, than their Perfections? Why is the Account of Life to be fo unequally stated? Though a Man may be fometimes Debtor to Senfe, or Morality, is it not doing him Wrong, not to let the World fee, at the fame time, how far he may be Creditor to both? Are Defects and Disproportions, to be the only labour'd Features in a Portrait? But perhaps fuch Authors may know how to please the World better than I do, and may naturally fuppofe, that what is delightful to themselves, may not be disagreeable to others. For my own part, I confefs myself a little touch'd in Confcience, at what I have, juft now, obferv'd to the Disadvantage of my other Brother-Menager.

If therefore, in difcovering the true Cause of the Publick's lofing fo valuable an Actor, as Dogget, I have been obliged to fhew the Temper of Wilks, in its natural Complexion, ought I not, in amends, and Balance of his Imperfections, to fay at the fame time of him, Dd 4

That

That if he was not the moft Correct, or Judicious, yet (as Hamlet fays of the King his Father) Take him for All, in All, &c. he was certainly the moft diligent, moft laborious, and moft ufeful Actor, that I have feen upon the Stage in Fifty Years.

CHAP. XV.

Sir Richard Steele fucceeds Collier, in the Theatre-Royal. Lincoln's-Inn-Fields Houfe rebuilt. The Patent reftored. Eight Actors at once defert, from the King's Company. Why. A new Patent obtain'd, by Sir Richard Steele, and affign'd in Shares, to the me naging Actors of Drury-Lane. Of modern Patomimes. The Rife of them. Vanity invin ible, and afham'd. The Non-juror acted. The Author, not forgiven; and rewarded for it.

U

PON the Death of the Queen, Plays (as they always had been on the like Occafions) were filenc'd for fix Weeks. But this happening on the first of August, in the long Vacation of the Theatre, the Observance of that Ceremony, which at another Juncture would have fallen like wet Weather upon their Harvest, did them now no particular Damage. Their License however being of course to be renewed, that Vacation gave the Menagers Time to caft about, for the bet

ter

ter Alteration of it: And fince they knew the Penfion of seven hundred a Year, which had been levied upon them for Collier, muft ftill be paid to fomebody, they imagined the Merit of a Whig might now have as good a Chance for getting into it, as that of a Tory had for being continued in it: Having no Obligations, therefore, to Collier, who had made the laft Penny of them; they apply'd themselves to Sir Richard Steele, who had diftinguished himself, by his Zeal for the House of Hanover, and had been expell'd the Houfe of Commons, for carrying it (as was judg'd at a certain Crisis) into a Reproach of the Government. This we knew was his Pretenfion to that Favour, in which he now ftood, at Court: We knew too, the Obligations the Stage had to his Writings; there being scarce a Comedian of Merit, in our whole Company, whom his Tatlers had not made better, by his publick Recommendation of them. And many Days had our House been particularly fill'd, by the Influence and Credit of his Pen. Obligations of this kind from a Gentleman, with whom they all had the Pleasure of a perfonal Intimacy, the Menagers thought could not be more juftly return'd, than by fhewing him fome warm Inftance of their Defire, to have him, at the Head of them. We therefore beg'd him to use his Intereft, for the Renewal of our License, and that he would do us the Honour of getting our Names to ftand with His, in the fame Commiffion. This, we told him,

would

would put it ftill farther into his Power of fupporting the Stage, in that Reputation, to which his Lucubrations had already fo much contributed; and that therefore we thought no Man had better Pretences to partake of its Succefs.

Though it may be no Addition to the favourable Part of this Gentleman's Character, to say with what Pleasure he receiv'd this Mark of our Inclination to him, yet my Vanity longs to tell you, that it furpriz'd him into an Acknowledgment, that People, who are fhy of Obligations, are cautious of confeffing. His Spirits took fuch a lively turn upon it, that had we been all his own Sons, no unexpected Act of filial Duty could have more endear'd us to him.

It must be observ'd, then, that as Collier had no Share, in any Part of our Property, no Difficulties from that Quarter, could obftruct this Propofal. And the usual Time of our beginning to act for the Winter-Season, now drawing near, we prefs'd him not to lofe any Time in his Solicitation of this new License. Accordingly Sir Richard apply'd himself to the Duke of Marlborough, the Hero of his Heart, who, upon the first mention of it, obtain'd it of his Majefty, for Sir Richard, and the former Menagers, who were Actors. Collier we heard no more of.

The Court, and Town, being crowded very early, in the Winter-Seafon, upon the critical Turn of Affairs, so much expected from the

Hano