"The Distrest Wife," another of the posthumous plays, was a poor thing, and Swift was much annoyed that it was staged. "As to our poor friend, I think the Duke of Queensberry has acted a very noble and generous part," Swift wrote to Pope, March 31st, 1734. "But before he did it, I wish there had been so much cunning used as to have let the sisters know that he expected they would let him dispose of Mr. Gay's writings as himself and other friends should advise. And I heartily wish his Grace had entirely stifled that comedy, if it were possible, than do an injury to our friend's reputation, only to get a hundred or two pounds to a couple of, perhaps, insignificant women. It has been printed here, and I am grieved to say it is a very poor performance. I have often chid Mr. Gay for not varying his schemes, but still adhering to those he had exhausted; and I much doubt whether the posthumous Fables will prove equal to the first. I think it is incumbent upon you to see that nothing more be published of his that will lessen his reputation for the sake of adding a few pounds to his sisters, who have already got so much by his death." "The Distrest Wife" was produced at Covent Garden Theatre on March 5th, 1734,[17] and the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry were present at the performance. "To-morrow will be acted a new play of our friend Mr. Gay's; we stay on purpose now for that," the Duchess wrote to Swift on the previous day.[18] The play was published in 1743, and a second edition was issued in 1750. It was revived at Covent Garden, in 1772, with some alteration.[19]

In a humorous piece, "The Rehearsal at Goatham," published in 1754, which was written probably about 1729, Gay ventilated his grievance against Walpole and the rest, a propos of the suppression of "Polly." This was Gay's King Charles's Head, and he never forgave the Minister for this, or for not finding him a place. He made an attack on him, obvious to all, in "The Vulture, the Sparrow, and Other Birds," which was included in his second series of "Fables"[20] that appeared posthumously in 1738.

* * * * *

The devotion of Gay's friends survived his death, and they vied with one another in paying tribute to his memory. "As to himself, he knew the world too well to regret leaving it; and the world in general knew him too little to value him as they ought,"[21] the Duchess of Queensberry wrote to Swift on February 21st, 1733; and, later, she addressed herself to Lady Suffolk from Amesbury, on September 28th, 1734: "I often want poor Mr. Gay, and on this occasion extremely. Nothing evaporates sooner than joy untold, or even told, unless to one so entirely in your interest as he was, who bore at least an equal share in every satisfaction or dissatisfaction which attended us. I am not in the spleen, though I write thus; on the contrary, it is a sort of pleasure to think over his good qualities: his loss was really great, but it is a satisfaction to have once known so good a man." Her affection endured until the end. Although she was then a very old woman, when "Polly" was produced at the Haymarket Theatre on June 19th, 1777, nothing would content her but she must be present. Within a few weeks, on the following July 17th, she passed away.

Lord Bathurst, too, deplored the loss of Gay; he of whom the poet had written in "Mr. Pope's Welcome from Greece":—

Bathurst impetuous, hastens to the coast. Whom you and I strive who shall love the most.

"Poor John Gay!" he wrote to Swift on March 29th, 1733. "We shall see him no more; but he will always be remembered by those who knew him, with a tender concern." Arbuthnot, who also had had tribute paid him in "Mr. Pope's Welcome from Greece":—

Arbuthnot there I see, in physic's art, As Galen learned or famed Hippocrate; Whose company drives sorrow from the heart As all disease his medicines dissipate.

knew him well and loved him deeply. "We have all had another loss of our worthy and dear friend, Mr. Gay," he wrote to Swift on January 13th, 1733. "It was some alleviation of my grief to see him so universally lamented by almost everybody, even by those who knew him only by reputation. He was interred at Westminster Abbey, as if he had been a peer of the realm; and the good Duke of Queensberry, who lamented him as a brother, will set up a handsome monument upon him. These are little affronts put upon vice and injustice, and is all that remains in our power. I believe 'The Beggar's Opera,' and what he had to come upon the stage, will make the sum of the diversions of the town for some time to come."[22]

By virtue of their fame, towering high above the rest of the select band of Gay's dearest friends, were Pope and Swift:—

Blest be the great! for those they take away, And those they left me; for they left me Gay,

Pope had written in the "Epistle to Arbuthnot"; and Gay, as has been said, had more than once entered the lists and broken a lance on his brother poet's behalf, as when he parodied Ambrose Philips in "The Shepherd's Week." His "Mr. Pope's Welcome from Greece," written when Pope had finished his translation of the "Iliad," was a fine panegyric, in which he had a sly dig at the rival editor:—

Tickell, whose skiff (in partnership they say) Set forth for Greece, but founder'd on the way.

and in his "Epistle to the Right Honourable Paul Methuen, Esq.," he pilloried one of his friend's most violent critics:—

Had Pope with grovelling numbers fill'd his page, Dennis had never kindled into rage. 'Tis the sublime that hurt the critic's ease; Write nonsense, and he reads and sleeps in peace.

"You say truly," Pope wrote to Swift, on April 2nd, 1733, "that death is only terrible to us as it separates us from those we love; but I really think those have the worst of it who are left by us, if we are true friends. I have felt more (I fancy) in the loss of Mr. Gay, than I shall suffer in the thought of going away myself into a state that none of us can feel this sort of losses. I wished vehemently to have seen him in a condition of living independent, and to have lived in perfect indolence the rest of our days together, the two most idle, most innocent, undesigning poets of our age."[23]

Through the long years Gay was present to the minds of these, his dearest friends. "Dr. Arbuthnot's daughter is like Gay, very idle, very ingenuous, and inflexibly honest,"[24] Pope wrote to Swift, May 17th, 1739; and two years earlier, on July 23rd, 1737, Swift had written to Erasmus Lewis: "I have had my share of affliction in the loss of Dr. Arbuthnot, and poor Gay, and others.[25] Such devotion, from such very different people puts it beyond question that Gay was a very lovable creature. How deeply he returned that devotion it is difficult to say—gratitude he felt, no doubt, but of love ... a man of such weak character, a man so devoted to the fleshpots, probably received more than he could give." Perhaps Swift, whose affections never blinded his intelligence, had some inkling of this when he said in the "Verses on His Own Death,"

Poor Pope will grieve a month, and Gay A week, and Arbuthnot a day.

When Gay, in "Mr. Pope's Welcome from Greece," wrote:—

Thou, too, my Swift, dost breathe Boeotian air, When will thou bring back wit and humour here?

the formal tribute is agreeable, but in this set of verses, while there is much that is complimentary, there is something perfunctory about the tributes he paid. He wrote of Pope and Swift and the rest as witty or humorous or generous or clever or learned or honest of mind: they wrote of the love they bore him. The two great literary giants took him under their wing, bore with his foibles, humoured him, championed him, and to the utmost of their power sought to protect their weaker brother of the pen from the rude buffetings of life.

[Footnote 1: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVII, p. 498.]

[Footnote 2: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVII, p. 502.]

[Footnote 3: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 3.]

[Footnote 4: Probably a reference to the Opera, "Achilles."]

[Footnote 5: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 23.]

[Footnote 6: S. Poyntz, Governor to the Duke of Cumberland. He married a niece of Lord Peterborough.]

[Footnote 7: Probably another reference to the Opera "Achilles."]

[Footnote 8: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 51.]

[Footnote 9: Ibid., XVIII, p. 54.]

[Footnote 10: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 53.]

[Footnote 11: Gay's Chair, p. 24.]

[Footnote 12: Swift: Works (ed. Scott). XVIII, p. 84.]

[Footnote 13: Historical MSS. Commission Reports—Carlisle MSS.]

[Footnote 14: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 57.]

[Footnote 15: Historical MSS. Com. Reports—Bath MSS., I, p. 95.]

[Footnote 16: Gentleman's Magazine, 1773, pp. 78, 85.]

[Footnote 17: Genest: History of the Stage, III, p. 428.]

[Footnote 18: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 180.]

[Footnote 19: Biog. Dram., II, p. 168.]

[Footnote 20: The "Advertisement" to the volume was as follows: "These Fables were finished by Mr. Gay, and intended for the Press, a short time before his death, when they were left, with his other papers, to the care of his noble friend and patron, the Duke of Queensberry. His Grace has accordingly permitted them to the Press, and they are here printed from the originals in the author's handwriting. We hope they will please equally with his former Fables, though mostly on subjects of a graver and more political turn. They will certainly show him to have been (what he esteemed the best character) a man of true honest heart, and a sincere lover of his country."]

[Footnote 21: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 82.]

[Footnote 22: Swift: Works (ed. Scott), XVIII, p. 95.]

[Footnote 23: Swift: Works (ed. Hill), XVIII, p. 96.]

[Footnote 24: Ibid., XIX, p. 200.]

[Footnote 25: Ibid., XIX, p. 92.]



APPENDIX

I. NOTES ON THE SOURCES OF THE TUNES OF "THE BEGGAR'S OPERA," BY W.H. GRATTAN FLOOD, Mus.D.

II. A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN GAY

III. PROGRAMME OF THE REVIVAL OF "THE BEGGAR'S OPERA," LYRIC THEATRE, HAMMERSMITH, JUNE 7TH, 1920



I

NOTES ON THE SOURCES OF THE TUNES OF "THE BEGGAR'S OPERA," BY W.H. GRATTAN FLOOD, Mus.D.

Air VI. VIRGINS ARE LIKE THE FAIR FLOWER— Was written by Sir Chas. Hanbury Williams.

Air XXIV. GAMESTERS AND LAWYERS— Was written by Mr. Fortescue, Master of the Rolls.

Air XXX. WHEN YOU CENSURE THE AGE— Was written by Dean Swift.

Airs I and XLIV. THROUGH ALL THE EMPLOYMENTS OF LIFE—and THE MODES OF THE COURT— Were written by Lord Chesterfield.

All the songs, except I, VI, XXIV, XXX, and XLIV were written by Gay.



SOURCES OF THE TUNES.

I. AN OLD WOMAN CLOTHED IN GRAY. Old English air first published in 1665.

II. THE BONNY GRAY-EY'D MORN. Composed by Jeremiah Clarke in 1695.

III. COLD AND RAW. Old Irish air, 1600. "The Irish Ho Hoane" cir. 1610.

IV. WHY IS YOUR FAITHFUL SLAVE DISDAIN'D? Composed by Bononcini. Published in Playford's Banquet. 1688

V. OF ALL THE SIMPLE THINGS WE DO. Old Irish air, 1660. Introduced by Doggett into his Country Wake, 1696; also known as "The Mouse Trap," 1719.

VI. WHAT SHALL I DO TO SHOW HOW MUCH I LOVE HER? Composed by Henry Purcell. Bonduca in 1695.

VII. OH! LONDON IS A FINE TOWN, Old English. Published by Playford in 1665.

VIII. GRIM KING OF THE GHOSTS. Old Irish. Adapted by Henry Purcell to "Hail to the Myrtle Shades," in Theodosius, 1680. Also adapted to "Rosalind's Complaint," by Mr. Baker, in 1727.

IX. O JENNY! O JENNY! Old Irish air, 1600. Adapted to "May Fair," 1703.

X. THOMAS, I CANNOT. Sung in Weaver's Perseus and Andromede, 1717. Published in Playford's Dancing Master, in 1719.

XI. A SOLDIER AND A SAILOR. Composed by John Eccles for Congreve's Love for Love, 1696.

XII. NOW PONDER WELL. Old English. "The Children in the Wood." Seventeenth Century.

XIII. LE PRINTEMPS RAPPELLE. Old French chanson.

XIV. PRETTY PARROT, SAY. Old English. Published by Playford in 1719.

XV. PRAY, FAIR ONE, BE KIND. Old English air, 1715.

XVI. OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. Old Irish. Atkinson's MS. in 1694. By Farquhar in his Recruiting Officer, in 1706. Published by Durfey in 1709.

XVII. GIN THOU WERT MINE AWN THING. Old Scotch. Published by Ramsay in 1726, in his "Musick for the Songs in the Tea Table Miscellany."

XVIII. O THE BROOM! Old Irish. Quoted by Bishop Wadding in 1680.

XIX. FILL EVERY GLASS. A French Drinking Song. "Que chacun remplisse son verre"; adapted by Durfey in 1710.

XX. MARCH IN "RINALDO." Composed by Handel. Produced in 1711.

XXI. WOULD YOU HAVE A YOUNG VIRGIN? Old Irish. Published as "Poor Robin's Maggot" in 1652. Adapted by Durfey to a song in Modern Prophets in 1709.

XXII. COTILLON. A French Dance tune. Printed in a Frankfort book of the year 1664, and by Playford as "Tony's Rant," in 1726.

XXIII. ALL IN A MISTY MORNING. Old English. "The Friar and the Nun" (Friar Foxtail). Printed by Playford in 1651. Durfey's Pills, 1719.

XXIV. WHEN ONCE I LAY WITH ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE. Old English. Sung in Durfey's The Wiltshire Maid.

XXV. WHEN FIRST I LAID SIEGE TO MY CHLORIS. Old Irish. Adapted by Durfey in his Pills, 1720.

XXVI. COURTIERS, COURTIERS, THINK IT NO HARM. Old English air, 1720.

XXVII. A LOVELY LASS TO A FRIAR CAME. Old Irish. Printed in 1721.

XXVIII. 'TWAS WHEN THE SEA WAS ROARING. Composed by Handel. Sung in Gay's What d'ye call it (1715).

XXIX. THE SUN HAD LOOS'D HIS WEARY TEAMS. Old English. "The Hemp Dresser." Published by Playford in 1651.

XXX. HOW HAPPY ARE WE. Composed by Dr. Pepusch. 1716.

XXXI. OF A NOBLE RACE WAS SHENKIN. Introduced in Henry Purcell's Richmond Heiress, 1693.

XXXII. No name, but evidently intended for HOW SHOULD I YOUR TRUE LOVE KNOW. Ophelia's song. Published by Playford in 1713.

XXXIII. LONDON LADIES. Old English.

XXXIV. ALL IN THE DOWNS. Composed by Henry Carey. 1720.

XXXV. HAVE YOU HEARD OF A FROLICKSOME DITTY. Old Irish. "Molly Roe." Published as "The Rant" in Apollo's Banquet, in 1690.

XXXVI. IRISH TROT. Old Irish. Printed as "Hyde Park," by Playford, in 1651.

XXXVII. No name given, but evidently CONSTANT BILLY, published in 1726. Sir H. Bishop says that it was composed by Geminiani.

XXXVIII. GOOD-MORROW, GOSSIP JOAN. Old English. Printed in 1705.

XXXIX. IRISH HOWL. Old Irish. Printed as "The Irish Howl," by Playford, in the third volume of his Dancing Master, in 1726.

XL. THE LASS OF PATIE'S MILL. Old Scotch. Printed in Orpheus Caledonius. 1725.

XLI. IF LOVE'S A SWEET PASSION. Composed by Henry Purcell. Fairy Queen (1692).

XLII. SOUTH-SEA BALLAD. Old English. Printed in 1720.

XLIII. PACKINGTON'S POUND. Old English. Melody in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.

XLIV. LILLIBULLERO. Old Irish. Printed in 1688. Adapted by Purcell.

XLV. DOWN IN THE NORTH COUNTRY. Old English.

XLVI. A SHEPHERD KEPT SHEEP. Old English.

XLVII. ONE EVENING, HAVING LOST MY WAY. Printed as "Walpole, or the Happy Clown," in 1719. Words by Birkhead. The tune also occurs in the Overture.

XLVIII. NOW, ROGER, I'LL TELL THEE BECAUSE THOU'RT MY SON. Old English.

XLIX. O BESSY BELL! Old Scotch. Printed by Playford in 1700.

L. WOULD FATE TO ME BELINDA GIVE. Composed by John Wilford. Printed in 1710.

LI. COME, SWEET LASS. The tune was printed as "Greenwich Park," by Playford. 1688. Song from The Compleat Academy (1685). Music composed by Jeremiah Clarke, 1685.

LII. THE LAST TIME I WENT O'ER THE MOOR. Old Scotch. Printed in Ramsay's Tea Table Misc. 1726.

LIII. TOM TINKER'S MY TRUE LOVE. Old English. Printed by Playford in 1664.

LIV. I AM A POOR SHEPHERD UNDONE. Old English. Printed by Playford in 1716.

LV. IANTHE THE LOVELY. Composed by John Barret, 1701.

LVI. A COBLER THERE WAS. Old English.

LVII. BONNY DUNDEE. Old Scotch. The melody is in the Skene MS., 1630.

LVIII. HAPPY GROVES. Adapted from "The Pilgrim," composed by J. Barret in 1701.

LIX. OF ALL THE GIRLS THAT ARE SO SMART. Composed by Henry Carey, in 1716. N.B.—The air was superseded by another in 1790.

LX. BRITONS, STRIKE HOME. Composed by Henry Purcell. Bonduca, 1695.

LXI. CHEVY CHASE. Old English. Early Seventeenth century. Printed in 1710.

LXII. TO OLD SIR SIMON THE KING. Old English. Seventeenth century. Printed in 1652.

LXIII. JOY TO GREAT CAESAR. Composed by Frescobaldi (1614). Adapted by Tom Durfey in 1682 or 1683.

LXIV. THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN. Old English. Printed as "Puddings and Pies," by Playford, in 1716.

LXV. DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A GALLANT SAILOR? Old Irish. "Youghal Harbour," in 1720. Also known as "Ned of the Hill" (1700).

LXVI. WHY ARE MINE EYES STILL FLOWING. Old English. Seventeenth century.

LXVII. GREEN SLEEVES. Old English. Sixteenth century.

LXVIII. ALL YOU THAT MUST TAKE A LEAP. Composed by Lewis Ramondon. 1710.

LXIX. LUMPS OF PUDDING. Old Irish. Printed by Playford in 1701. Adapted by Durfey in 1697.

W.H. GRATTAN FLOOD.

June 7th, 1915.



II

A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN GAY.

1712

Binfield, November 13 Alexander Pope to John Gay December 24 Alexander Pope to John Gay

1713

London, January 13 John Gay to Maurice Johnson, junior. April 23, 1713 John Gay to Maurice Johnson, junior. August 23 Alexander Pope to John Gay October 23 Alexander Pope to John Gay

1714

Binfield, May 4 Thomas Parnell and Alexander Pope to John Gay London, June 8 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Hanover, August 16 John Gay to John Arbuthnot September 23 Alexander Pope to John Gay

1715

London, March 3 Alexander Pope and John Gay to John Caryll London, March 18 Alexander Pope and John Gay to Thomas Parnell [March] Alexander Pope and John Gay to John Caryll April 7 Alexander Pope and John Gay to William Congreve London [April] John Gay and Alexander Pope to John Caryll July 8 John Gay to Alexander Pope

1716

Undated John Gay, Jervis, John Arbuthnot (beginning: "I was and Alexander Pope to Thomas Parnell last summer in Devonshire").

1717

Undated John Gay to Alexander Pope (beginning: "Too late to see and confess myself mistaken")

London, November 8 Alexander Pope to John Gay

1719

September 8 John Gay to the Hon. Mrs. Howard

1720

[circa October] John Gay to Jacob Tonson

1722

September 11 Alexander Pope to John Gay [September or October] Alexander Pope to John Gay (beginning: "I think it obliging in you") London, December 22 John Gay to Jonathan Swift

1723

Dublin, January 8 Jonathan Swift to John Gay London, February 3 John Gay to Jonathan Swift July 5 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay July 12 John Gay to the Hon. Mrs. Howard July 13 Alexander Pope to John Gay July 22 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay Tunbridge Wells, August John Gay to the Hon. Mrs. Howard August The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay August 22 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay

1724

Undated John Gay to the Hon. Mrs. Howard (beginning: "Since I came to the Bath")

Saturday night [autumn] John Gay to Alexander Pope

1725

Thursday, 10 at night John Gay to Alexander Pope

1726

London, September 16 John Gay to Jonathan Swift October 15 Jonathan Swift to Alexander Pope and John Gay Whitehall, October 22 John Gay to Jonathan Swift November 17 John Gay and Alexander Pope to Jonathan Swift

1727

Whitehall, February 18 John Gay to Jonathan Swift London, March 3 John Gay to John Caryll [October] (beginning: "I The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay hear you expect and have a mind to have, a letter from me") Twickenham, October 16 Alexander Pope to John Gay October 22 John Gay and Alexander Pope to Jonathan Swift

1728

February 12 John Gay to Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford Whitehall, February 15 John Gay to Jonathan Swift February 26 Jonathan Swift to John Gay March 20 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Dublin, March 28 Jonathan Swift to John Gay Bath, May 16 John Gay to Jonathan Swift June 15 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay Bath, July 6 John Gay to Jonathan Swift August 2 John Gay to Alexander Pope August The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay London, December 2 John Gay to Jonathan Swift [December, 1728 or Alexander Pope to John Gay January 1729] (beginning: "No words can tell you the great concern")

1729

[January] (beginning, "I Alexander Pope to John Gay faithfully assure you") Sunday night [January] Alexander Pope to John Gay [January] (beginning: "I Alexander Pope to John Gay am glad to hear of the progress") [1][February or March] John Gay to Alexander Pope (beginning: "My melancholy increases") From the Duke of John Gay to Jonathan Swift Queensberry's in Burlington Gardens, March 18 Dublin, March 19 Jonathan Swift to John Gay August 9 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to the Hon. Mrs. Howard August 27 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to the Hon. Mrs. Howard Middleton Stoney, John Gay to Jonathan Swift November 9 Dublin, November 20 Jonathan Swift to John Gay

[Footnote 1: The authenticity of this letter is doubtful.]

1730

London, March 3 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Dublin, March 19 Jonathan Swift to John Gay March 31 John Gay to Jonathan Swift May 7 John Gay to the Hon. Mrs. Howard Amesbury, July 4 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Twickenham, July 21 Alexander Pope to John Gay July 31 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay August 18 Alexander Pope to John Gay August 20 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to the Hon. Mrs. Howard August 22 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay September 3 The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay September 11 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to the Hon. Mrs. Howard September 11 Alexander Pope to John Gay October 1 Alexander Pope to John Gay October Alexander Pope to John Gay October 23 Alexander Pope to John Gay Amesbury, November 8 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to Jonathan Swift Dublin, November 10 Jonathan Swift to John Gay Dublin, November 19 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry Amesbury, December 6 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to Jonathan Swift December 17 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to Hon. Mrs. Howard

1731

Dublin, March 13 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry March 20 John Gay to Dean Swift April 21 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensbury to Jonathan Swift Amesbury, April 27 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Dublin, June 29 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensbury June 29 The Countess of Suffolk to John Gay July 8 John Gay to the Countess of Suffolk July 18 The Duchess of Queensbury and John Gay to Jonathan Swift "The Country," August 28 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensbury September 5 The Countess of Suffolk to John Gay [November] John Gay and the Duke of Queensbury to Jonathan Swift December 1 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duke and Duchess of Queensbury December 1 John Gay and Alexander Pope to Jonathan Swift December 16 William Cleland to John Gay

1732

London, January 18 John Gay to Jonathan Swift March 13 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Dublin, May 4 Jonathan Swift to John Gay London, May 16 John Gay to Jonathan Swift Dublin, July 10 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry Amesbury, July 24 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensberry to Jonathan Swift Dublin, August 12 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensbury Amesbury, August 28 John Gay and the Duchess of Queensbury to Jonathan Swift October 2 Alexander Pope to John Gay Dublin, October 3 Jonathan Swift to John Gay and the Duchess of Queensbury October 7 John Gay to Alexander Pope November 16 John Gay to Jonathan Swift

UNDATED.

November 3 (beginning: The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay "I have not been well ")—B.M., Add. MSS., 22626 f. 63 December 7 (beginning: The Hon. Mrs. Howard to John Gay "I write this to quiet your conscience ")—B.M., Add. MSS., 22626 f. 64 (Beginning: "Most John Gay to the Hon. Mrs. Howard honoured Roger ")—B.M., Add. MSS., 22626 f. 59 (Beginning: "You oblige The Countess of Suffolk to John Gay me extremely in giving me")—B.M., Add. MSS., 22626 f. 61 (Beginning: "Pray tell The Countess of Suffolk to John Gay Mr. Pope ")—B.M., Add. MSS.. 22626 f. 62



III

PROGRAMME OF THE REVIVAL OF "THE BEGGAR'S OPERA," LYRIC THEATRE, HAMMERSMITH, JUNE 7TH, 1920.

THE BEGGAR'S OPERA

By MR. GAY

New Settings of the Airs and Additional Music by Frederic Austin.

CAST

PEACHUM.........................FREDERIC AUSTIN LOCKIT..........................ARTHUR WYNN MACHEATH........................FREDERICK RANALOW FILCH...........................ALFRED HEATHER THE BEGGAR......................ARNOLD PILBEAM MRS. PEACHUM....................ELSIE FRENCH POLLY PEACHUM...................SYLVIA NELIS LUCY LOCKIT.....................VIOLET MARQUESITA DIANA TRAPES....................BERYL FREEMAN JENNY DIVER.....................NONNY LOCK

Drawer: DAVID HODDER Turnkey: JACK GIRLING

Members of Macheath's Gang:

ALAN TROTTER, MALCOLM RIGNOLD, JOHN CLIFFORD, EDWARD BARRS, CHARLES STAITE

Women of the Town:

VERA HURST, ELLA MILNE, WINIFRED CHRISTIE, MILDRED WATSON, SYDNEY LEON, EDITH BARTLETT

* * * * *

PERIOD 1728

ACT I. PEACHUM'S HOUSE ACT II. Sc. i. A TAVERN. Near Newgate Sc. ii. NEWGATE ACT III. Sc. i. A STREET Sc. ii. NEWGATE Sc. iii. THE CONDEMN'D HOLD

Scenes and Costumes designed by C. Lovat Fraser.

* * * * * Produced by NIGEL PLAYFAIR



INDEX

"Absence," 5; quoted, 6 "Achilles," 134, 135, 141, 142 "Acis and Galatea," 134 Addison, Joseph, 11, 12, 13-14, 16, 23, 37, 44 Alais, J.D'., 28 Anne, Queen, 24, 33 "Araminta," 20 Arbuthnot, Dr., 22, 23, 24, 29, 34, 41, 42, 44, 51, 58, 66, 94, 95, 105, 109, 146; letters quoted: to Parnell, 39; to Pope, 138; to Swift, 30, 34, 102, 109, 111, 145 Argyll, Duke of, 80 Aston (actor), 142 Atterbury, Francis, Bishop of Rochester, 12, 23

Baller, Anthony (brother-in-law of the poet), 2 Mrs. Anthony, i.e., Gay, Katherine (q. v.) Rev. Joseph (nephew of the poet), 2, 140; his "Gay's Chair," quoted, 4 Barber, Mrs., 127 Bathurst, Lord, 50, 54, 58, 72, 92, 145; letter to Swift, quoted, 145, "Beggar's Opera, The," 41, 75, 78-91; "Notes on the Sources of the Tunes of 'The Beggar's Opera,'" by W.H. Grattan Flood, Mus. D., 150; programme of the revival at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, June, 1920, 162. Bellenden, Madge, 47 Mary, 46, 47, 49 Berkeley, Hon. George, 140 Bicknell, Mrs., 37, 42 Binks, Mrs., 142 Bloodworth, Mr., 131 Blount, Martha, 47, 72, 94, 130, 131 Teresa, 47 Bolingbroke, Viscount, 12, 24, 25, 35, 68, 90, 92 Viscountess, 92 Bolton, Duchess of, see Fenton, Lavinia Bradshaw, Mrs., 55 Bridgeman, 131 British Apollo, 9 Bromley, Mr. Secretary, 29 Buchanan (actor), 142 Buckingham, Lord, 15 Budgell, Eustace, 18 Bullock, H., 80 Burlington, Earl of, 39, 50, 54, 57 Burnett, Thomas, 38 Burton, Lord, 28

Cantrel, Mrs., 142 "Captives, The," 65 Caroline, Queen, 30, 34, 36, 67, 70, 103, 136 Caryll, John, 22 Castlemaine, Viscount, 112 Chandos, Lord, 50 Chapman (actor), 142 Chesterfield, Earl of, 140 Cibber, Colley, 45, 79, 102; his "Apology," quoted, 90 Clarendon, Earl of, 28, 29, 30, 33 Clark (actor), 80 Cobham, Lord, 87 Colman, George, 84, 101 "Comparisons," 5 "Complete Key to 'Three Hours After Marriage'," 44 "Congratulation to a Newly-married Couple," 5 Congreve, William, 15, 23, 58, 68, 79, 92, 94 "Contemplation on Night," 20 Cornbury, Lord, 140 "Court Poems," 40 Courthope, Professor, his "Life of Pope," quoted, 44, 45 Craggs, James, the younger, 52 Cromwell, Henry, 14, 16, 17, 36 Cumberland, Prince William Augustus, Duke of, 67, 70

Delany, Dr., 93 "Devonshire Hill, A," 5 "Distrest Wife, The," 134, 142, 143 Dobson, Austin, his article on Gay in "Dictionary of National Biography," quoted, 7, 28, 42 Dormer, General James, 112, 140 Douglas, Lord Charles, 111, 122 Drelincourt, Mrs., 127 "Dress," 20 Drumlanrig, Earl of, 111, 122

Egleton, Mrs., 80, 142 "Epigrammatical Petition," 9; quoted, 29. "Epistle to the Right Honourable Paul Methuen, Esquire," quoted,146 "Epistle to the Right Honourable the Earl of Burlington," quoted, 39 "Epistle to the Right Honourable William Pulteney, Esquire," 46 Essex, Earl of, 66 Examiner, The, 11, 12

"FABLE," 5 "Fables" (first series), 69-70 "Fables" (second, series), 135, 144 "Fan, The," 20, 21 Fenton,—, 52, 119 Fenton, Lavinia, Duchess of Bolton, 80, 91 Fielding, Sir John, 84 Fitzwilliam, Countess of, 67 Fitzwilliam, Earl of, 67 Flood, W.H. Grattan, Mus. D. See Grattan Flood, W.H. Flying Post, The, 12 Ford, Charles, 22, 29 Fortescue, John (brother-in-law of the poet), 2 Fortescue, Mrs. John, i.e., Gay, Joanna (q. v.) Fortescue, William, 2, 3, 22, 66 Freind, Dr. John, 11, 12

Garrick, David, 84 Garth, Dr., 16 Gay, Anthony, 1 Gilbert le, 1 Rev. James (uncle of the poet), 2 Joanna (sister of the poet), 2, 117 Jonathan (brother of the poet), 2, 7 Johans, 1 John (grandfather of the poet), 1 John (uncle of the poet), 2 John (the poet), ancestors, 1; parentage and family, 1-2; birth, 2; death of parents, 2; lives with his uncle, Thomas Gay, 2; attends Free School at Barr staple, 2-3; apprenticed to a London silk-mercer, 3; in ill-health, 4; returns to Barnstaple, 4; early writings, 4-5; youthful love affair, 5-6; in improved health, 7; returns to London, 7; life in the Metropolis, 7-8; love of food, drink, and dress, 8-9; "Wine," 9-10; "The Present State of Wit," 11-14; makes acquaintance with Henry Cromwell and Pope, 14; "On a Miscellany of Poems to Bernard Lintott," 14-16; becomes intimate with Pope, 17; domestic secretary to the Duchess of Monmouth, 18-19; "Rural Sports," 20; some minor verses, 20; "The Fan," 20-21; "The Wife of Bath," 21, 113, 115-116; his charm, 21-22; Pope as his protector and adviser, 22; "Memoirs of Scriblerus," 23; "The Shepherd's Week," 24-28; appointed Secretary to Lord Clarendon's Mission to Hanover, 1714, 29; letters from Hanover, 29; returns to England on death of Queen Anne, 33; "A Letter to a Lady," 34-35; "The What D'ye Call It," 35, 36-39; recognised as a man of letters, 39; visit to Exeter with the Earl of Burlington, 39; "Trivia," 39-40; "Court Poems," 40; "The Toilet," 41; second visit to Devonshire, 41; "Three Hours After Marriage," 41-45; visits the Continent with Pulteney, 45-46; intimate with the Maids of Honour, 46; and with the Hon. Mrs. Howard, 46-47; again abroad with Pulteney, 48; his literary reputation in 1720, 50; "Poems on Several Occasions," 50; given a present of South Sea stock, and invests his fortune in it, 52; loses his money when the "Bubble" bursts, 53; financial embarrassment, 53; the desire of his friends to aid him, 54; the disappointment affects his health, 55; recuperates at Bath, 55; appointed a Commissioner of the State Lottery and given an apartment in Whitehall, 57; at Tunbridge Wells, 58; correspondence with the Hon. Mrs. Howard, 59-64; "The Captives," 65; dedication to the Princess of Wales, 65; again at Bath, 66, 67; first meeting with Swift, 68; becomes more intimate with the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, 69; "The Fables" (first series), 69; dedication to Prince William Augustus, 69; his expectation of a post at Court, 70; offered appointment of Gentleman Usher to the Princess Louisa, 70; his indignation, 70; refuses the post, 70; the opinions of Pope and Swift on the offer, 71-74; lampooned, 75-77; "The Beggar's Opera," 78-91, 93; at Bath, 92-94; "Polly," 95-101, 108; loses his Commissionship and his apartments in Whitehall, 101; an end of hope of Court preferment, 102; seriously ill, 105; lives with the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, 110; in failing health, 133; "Acis and Galatea," 134; "Achilles," 134, 141, 142; "The Distrest Wife," 134, 142, 143; "The Rehearsal at Goatham," 135, 143; "Fables" (second series), 135, 144; death, 138; buried in Westminster Abbey, 139; his monument, 140; his epitaph written by Pope, 141; posthumous works, 141-144; his friends' devotion, 145-147; letters quoted: to Arbuthnot, 31; to Caryll, 37, 38; to Parnell, 38; to Pope, 42, 93, 106, 137; to the Countess of Suffolk, 48, 59, 61, 66, 111, 117, 120, 121, 124, 129; to Swift, 9, 29, 55, 57, 58, 69, 70, 72, 74, 78, 87, 92, 93, 107, 113, 115, 116, 127, 130, 132, 133, 135, 138; to Tonson, 53. Chronological List of the Correspondence of John Gay, 156. References to his writings will be found under the respective titles. Katherine (sister of the poet), 1, 117 Richard, 1 Richard (uncle of the poet), 2 Thomas (uncle of the poet), 2 William (father of the poet), 1 Mrs. William, i.e., Hanmer, Miss (q.v.) Gaye, John, 1 Richard, 1 George I., 30, 33, 70 II., 36, 100, 103 Gore, Mr., 140 Grafton, Duke of, 95, 97-99, 101 Grattan Flood, W.H., Mus. D.: "Notes on the Sources of the Tunes of 'The Beggar's Opera'" 150 Griffin (actor), 38 Gumley, Anne Maria, 46

Hall (actor), 80, 142 Hamilton, Duchess of, 46, 47 Hanmer, Miss (mother of the poet), 1, 2 Rev. Jonathan (grandfather of the poet), 1 Rev. John (uncle of the poet), 2, 3, 4 Harcourt, Lord, 48 "Hare and Many Friends, The," quoted, 70 Harley, Thomas, 28 Hawkins, Sir John, 85 Henley, Anthony, 12 Herbert, Lord, 118, 120 Miss, 118 Herring, Dr. (Archbishop of Canterbury), 84 Hervey, Lady, 101 Miss, 47 "High German Doctor, The," 38 Hill, Aaron, 3, 9; letter to Savage, quoted, 18 Henry, 10 Hippisley (actor), 80 Hollins, Dr., 109 Horneck, Philip, 38 Howard, The Hon. Mrs., see Suffolk, Countess of Howe, Miss, 48

Irvine, Lady Anne, letter to Lord Carlisle, quoted, 142

Jennings, Mary, 59 Johnson (actor), 42 Samuel, his "Lives of the Poets," quoted, 18, 21, 28, 42, 47, 52, 65, 85

Kent, William, 50 King, Dr. William, 11, 12

"Ladies' Petition to the Honourable the House of Commons," 5 Laguerre (actor), 142 Lepell, Miss, 46, 47, 49 "Letter from a Lady in the City to a Lady in the Country, A," 43 "Letter to a Lady, A" 34; quoted,34-35 "Letter to a Young Lady," 5; quoted, 6 "Letter to John Gay, concerning his late Farce, entitled a Comedy," 44 Leveridge (actor), 142 Lewis, Erasmus, 14, 22, 29, 51, 58 Lincoln, Earl of, 57 Lintott, Bernard, 14, 39, 43, 50, 53, 54 Louisa, Princess, 70 Luck, Rev. Robert, 3

Mainwaring, Arthur, 12 Marlborough, Henrietta, Duchess of, 88, 92, 94, 95, 108 Martin, Mrs., 80 Meadows, Miss, 121 Medley, The, 12 "Memoirs of Scriblerus," 23, 29 Methuen, Sir Paul, 51 Monmouth, Duchess of, 18-19, 29 Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, 40, 47 Monthly Amusement, 12 Motte, Benjamin, 87, 90 Murray, Miss, 47

Norsa, Miss, 142 Nash, Ricard ("Beau"), 94

Oates, Miss, 142 Observer, The, 12 "Ode for the New Year, Written by Colley Cibber, Esq.," quoted, 102, 103 Oldmixon, John, 12 "On a Miscellany of Poems to Bernard Lintott," quoted, 10, 14, 15-16 Otway, Thomas, 37 Oxford, Earl of, 29, 33, 72 Ozell, John, 12

"Panegyrical Epistle to Mr. Thomas Snow, Goldsmith," quoted, 53 "Panthea," 20 Parnell, Thomas, 22, 29 Paull, H.M., his essay on Gay, quoted, 95-96 Pelham, Mrs., 66 Pendarves, Mrs., letter to Mrs. Anne Granville, quoted, 101 Penkethman (actor), 37 Peterborough, Earl of, 63, 64, 94 Philips, Ambrose, 25, 26, 27, 28, 67 John, 10 Playfair, Nigel, 91 note "Poems on Several Occasions," 50 "Polly," 95-101, 108 Pope, Alexander, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 27, 29, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 51, 54, 58, 66, 68, 79, 80, 90, 107, 123, 130, 131, 132, 134, 140, 145, 146; his epitaph on Gay quoted, 141; his "Epistle to Arbuthnot" quoted, 145; his "Farewell to London" quoted, 17; letters quoted: to Martha Blount, 46; to Caryll, 39, 45, 141; to Congreve, 36; to Cromwell, 14, 16; to Gay, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 33, 46, 71, 105, 119, 122, 136; to Parnell, 43; to Swift, 8, 23, 67, 73, 79, 86, 89, 139, 141, 142, 146 "Pope's Welcome from Greece, Mr." quoted, 8, 47-48, 52, 145, 146, 147 Poyntz, S., 136 Pratt, Dr. Benjamin, 29 "Prediction," 5 "Present State of Wit, The," 11; quoted, 9, 12, 13-14 Prior, Matthew, 12, 15 Pulteney, William, 45, 46, 54, 90, 92, 108, 110 Mrs. William, see Gumley, Anne Maria

Queensberry, Duke of, 69, 101, 115, 140, 141, 143 Duchess of, 69, 74, 87, 88, 100, 101, 105, 108, 109, 110, 111, 118, 119, 122, 123, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 136, 140, 143, 144, 145; letters quoted: to the Countess of Suffolk, 120, 121, 134, 144; to Swift, 144. Quin, James, 79, 80, 142

Raynor, William, 3 Redpath, George, 12 "Rehearsal at Goatham, The," 135, 143 "Reproof and Flattery," 20 Rich, John, 79, 90, 95, 96 Rivers, Lord, 28 Roberts, J., 40 Rolt, Mrs., 66 Rooke, George, 41 "Rural Sports" 20; quoted, 8, 20

Salway (actor), 142 Savage, Richard, 18 Scarborough, Lord, 67 Scott, Jane, 5, 6 Scudamore, Miss, 48 Lady, 93, 94 Senesimo, 58 "Shepherd's Week, The," 24, 28, 35, 50; quoted, 9, 24, 25, 27 Shrewsbury, Duke of, 33 Skerrett, Molly, 80 Smith, Miss, 112 Snow, Thomas, 53 Somerville, Lord, 66 Sophia, Electress, 30 Spectator, The, 11 Spence, Joseph, his "Anecdotes of Pope" quoted 43, 44 Stanhope, Lord 46 William, 100 Steele, Sir Richard, 11, 12, 13-14, 21 Swift, Jonathan, 12, 23, 33, 35, 51, 68, 73, 74, 78, 81, 84, 106, 138; his "Libel on the Rev. Mr. Delany and His Excellency Lord Cartaret," quoted, 73; his "Epistle to Mr. Gay," quoted, 73; Verses on his own Death quoted, 147; letters quoted: to Gay, 56, 68, 88, 89, 116, 123, 126, 127, 131, 133; to Erasmus Lewis, 146; to Pope, 41, 67, 68, 69, 73, 78, 86, 93, 107, 143; to the Countess of Suffolk, 68; to Tickell, 68 Suffolk, Henrietta Howard, Countess of, 30, 46, 47, 54, 67, 68, 74, 90, 109, 110, 119, 130; letters to Gay quoted, 59, 60, 63, 64, 74, 94, 122, 128, 130 Earl of, 128

Tatler, The, 11, 12 Thanet, Countess of, 111 "Thought on Eternity, A," 20 "Three Hours After Marriage," 41-42, 43, 44, 50 Tickell, John, 26 "To a Young Lady with some Lamphreys," 8 "To Miss Jane Scott," 5; quoted, 5 "To My Chair," 5 "Toilet, The," 41 Tonson, Jacob, 15, 20, 50, 53, 69 "Trivia," 39, 50 Tutchin, John, 12

Underhill, John, quoted, 5, 25

"Vulture, the Sparrow, and other Birds, The," quoted, 103-104

Walker (actor), 80, 142 Walpole, Sir Robert, 80, 99 Warwick, Earl of, 44, 46 Watts, J., 69 Weekly Review, 12 "What D'ye Call It," 35, 36-39, 43, 50 Whig Examiner, The, 12 "Wife of Bath, The," 21, 50, 113, 115-116 Wilcox, Dr., Bishop of Rochester, 140 William Augustus, Prince. See Cumberland, Duke of "Wine," quoted, 10-11 Woodward, Dr., 41, 42 Wyndham, Sir William, 137

Younger, Miss, 38

THE END