Athens, Macbeth, and The Tempeft, were the only plays of our author that were exhibited at the theatre in Dorfet Gardens; and the three latter were not represented in their original ftate, but as altered by D'Avenant and Shadwell. Between 1682 and 1695, when Mr. Congreve, Mr. Betterton, Mrs. Barry, and Mrs. Bracegirdle, obtained

"Jo, being vexed at the flight Mr. Hart had put upon him, found out this method of being revenged on him. He gets a Scaramouch dress, a large full ruff, makes himself whiskers from ear to ear, puts on his head a long Merry Andrew's cap, a fhort pipe in his mouth, a little three-legged ftool in his hand; and in this manner follows Mr. Hart on the stage, sets himself down behind him, and begins to fmoke his pipe, laugh, and point at him. Which comical figure put all the houfe in an uproar, fome laughing, fome clapping, and fome hollaing. Now Mr. Hart, as thofe who knew him can aver, was a man of that exactness and grandeur on the ftage, that let what would happen, he'd never discompofe himself, or mind any thing but what he then reprefented; and had a scene fallen behind him, he would not at that time look back, to have feen what was the matter; which Jo knowing, remained still fmoaking the audience continued laughing, Mr. Hart acting, and wondering at this unufual occafion of their mirth; fometimes thinking it fome difturbance in the houfe, again that it might be fomething amifs in his drefs: at laft turning himself toward the fcenes, he difcovered Jo in the aforefaid pofture; whereupon he immediately goes off the ftage, fwearing he would never fet foot on it again, unless Jo was immediately turned out of doors, which was no fooner fpoke, but put in practice."

8 The tragedy of Macbeth, altered by Sir William D'Avenant, being dreft in all its finery, as new cloaths, new fcenes, machines, as flyings for the witches, with all the finging and dancing in it, (the firit compofed by Mr. Lock, the other by Mr. Channel and Mr. Jofeph Prieft,) it being all excellently performed, being in the nature of an opera, it recompenced double the expence: it proves ftill a lafting play." Rofcius Anglicanus, p. 33. 8vo. 1708.

"In 1673, The Tempeft or the Inchanted Island, made into an opera by Mr. Shadwell, having all new in it, as fcenes, machines; one fcene painted with myriads of aerial fpirits, and another flying away, with a table furnished out with fruits, fweatmeats, and all forts of viands, juft when duke Trinculo and his company were going to dinner; all things were performed in it fo admirably well, that not any fucceeding opera got more money," Ibidem, p. 34•

a licence to open a new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Othello, A Midfummer Night's Dream, and The Taming of the Shrew, are the only plays of Shakspeare which Downes the prompter mentions, as having been performed by the united companies: A Midfummer Night's Dream was transformed into an opera, and The Taming of the Shrew was exhibited as altered by Lacy. Dryden's Troilus and Creffida, however, the two parts of King Henry IV. Twelfth Night, Macbeth, King Henry VIII. Julius Cæfar, and Hamlet, were without doubt fometimes reprefented in the fame period: and Tate and Durfey furnished the scene with miferable alterations of Coriolanus, King Richard II. King Lear, and Cymbeline. Otway's Caius Marius, which was produced in 1680, ufurped the place of our poet's Romeo and Juliet for near feventy years, and Lord Lanfdown's Jew of Venice kept poffeffion of the ftage from the time of its firft exhibition in 1701, to the year 1741. Dryden's All for Love, from 1678 to 1759, was performed inftead of our author's Antony and Cleopatra; and D'Avenant's alteration of Macbeth in like manner was preferred to our author's tragedy, from its firft exhibition in 1663, for near eighty years.

In the year 1700 Cibber produced his alteration. of King Richard III. I do not find that this play, which was fo popular in Shakspeare's time, was performed from the time of the Restoration to the end of the last century. The play with Cibber's alterations was once performed at Drury Lane in

King Richard II. and King Lear were produced by Tate in 1681, before the union of the two companies; and Coriolanus, under the title of The Ingratitude of a Common wealth, in 1682. In the fame year appeared Durfey's alteration of Cymbeline, under the title of The Injured Princefs.

1703, and lay dormant from that time to the 28th of Jan. 1710, when it was revived at the Opera House in the Haymarket; fince which time it has been reprefented, I believe, more frequently than any of our author's dramas, except Hamlet.

On April 23, 1704, The Merry Wives of Windfor, by command of the Queen, was performed at St. James's, by the actors of both houses, and afterwards publickly reprefented at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, May 18, in the fame year, by Mr. Betterton's company; but although the whole force of his company was exerted in the reprefentation, the piece had fo little fuccefs, that it was not repeated till Nov. 3, 1720, when it was again revived at the fame theatre, and afterwards frequently performed.

From 1709, when Mr. Rowe published his edition of Shakspeare, the exhibition of his plays became much more frequent than before. Between that time and 1740, our poet's Hamlet, Julius Cafar, King Henry VIII. Othello, King Richard III. King Lear, and the two parts of King Henry IV. were very frequently exhibited. Still, however, fuch was the wretched tafte of the audiences of those days, that in many inftances the contemptible alterations of his pieces were preferred to the originals. Durfey's Injured Princess, which had not been acted from 1697, was again revived at Drury Lane, October 5, 1717, and afterwards often reprefented. Even Ravenscroft's Titus Andronicus, in which all the faults of the original are greatly aggravated, took its turn on the fcene, and after an intermiffion of fifteen years was revived at Drury Lane in August 1717, and afterwards frequently performed both at that theatre and the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, where it was exhibited for the first time, Dec. 21, 1720. Coriolanus, which

had not been acted for twenty years, was revived at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Dec. 13, 1718; and in Dec. 1719, King Richard II. was revived at the fame theatre: but probably neither of these plays was then reprefented as originally written by Shakspeare.' Meafure for Meafure, which had not been acted, I imagine, from the time of the fuppreffion of the theatres in 1642,' was revived at the fame theatre, Dec. 8, 1720, for the purpose of producing Mr. Quin in the character of the Duke, which he frequently performed with fuccefs in that and the following years. Much Ado about Nothing, which had not been acted for thirty years, was revived at Lincoln's Inn Fields, Feb. 9, 1721; but after two reprefentations, on that and the following evening, was laid afide. In Dec, 1723, King Henry V. was announced for reprefentation, Shakspeare's foundation," and performed at Drury Lane fix times in that month; after which we hear of it no more: and on Feb. 26, 1737, King John was revived at Covent Garden. Neither of thefe plays, I believe, had been exhibited from the time of the downfall of the ftage. At the fame theatre our poet's fecond part of King Henry IV. which had for fifty years been driven from the fcene by the play which Mr. Betterton fubftituted in its place, refumed its ftation, being produced at Covent Garden, Feb. 16, 1738; and on the 23d of the fame month Shakspeare's K. Henry V. was performed there as originally written, after an interval, if the theatrical advertisement be

on

2 In the theatrical advertisement, Feb. 6, 1738, King Richard II. (which was then produced at Covent Garden,) was faid not to have been acted for forty years.

3 On the revival of this play in 1720, it was announced as not having been acted for twenty years; but the piece which had been performed in the year 1700, was not Shakspeare's, but Gildon's.

correct, of forty years. In the following March the fame company once exhibited the First Part of King Henry VI. for the first time, as they afferted, for fifty years. As you like it was announced for representation at Drury Lane, December 20, 1740, as not having been acted for forty years, and reprefented twenty-fix times in that feafon. At Goodman's Fields, Jan. 15, 1741, The Winter's Tale was announced, as not having been acted for one hundred years; but was not equally fuccefsful, being only performed nine times. At Drury Lane, Feb. 14, 1741, The Merchant of Venice, which, I believe, had not been acted for one hundred years, was once more reftored to the scene by Mr. Macklin, who on that night first reprefented Shylock; a part which for near fifty years he has performed with unrivalled fuccefs. In the following month the company at Goodman's Fields endeavoured to make a stand against him by producing All's well that ends well, which, they afferted, " had not been acted fince Shakspeare's time." But the great theatrical event of this year was the appearance of Mr. Garrick at the theatre in Goodman's Fields, Oct. 19, 1741; whofe good tafte led him to ftudy the plays of Shakspeare with more affiduity than any of his predeceffors. Since that time, in confequence of Mr. Garrick's admirable performance of many of his principal characters, the frequent representation of his plays in nearly their original ftate, and above all, the various researches which have been made for the purpofe of explaining and illuftrating his works, our poet's reputation has been yearly increafing, and is now fixed upon a

4 King Henry VI. altered from Shak fpeare by Theophilus Cibber, was performed by a fummer company at Drury Lane, July 5, 1723; but it met with no fuccefs, being reprefented only once.