"First, with regard to the conveniency of the company—his entertainments being made (as he presumes) so very reasonable, such numbers might probably be induced to flock to it, from this large and populous City (and especially in hot and sultry weather), that it would be impossible to accommodate a great part of them. The consequence of this would be, that as every person had paid a shilling for his ticket, he would expect an equivalent for it; but, as there would be no opportunity of doing this in the great hurry, it might cause such a disturbance as would for ever ruin his entertainment.
"Secondly, with respect to his own security—because counterfeit tickets may be taken by the
servants (who are the first receivers) in a great hurry of business, as has already been found by experience.
"Because of the ill use which his servants (who are very numerous) make of the tickets, by admitting as many persons as they please for nothing, and that in the following manner:
"A person takes a ticket at the door, and pays a shilling for it; he then goes to a servant with whom he is acquainted, who returns the shilling to him, and takes his ticket, for which the master must allow the servant a shilling when he comes to account with him. In this case, it is manifest, the person is admitted for nothing. In the other case, the servant may make a private advantage of the tickets, and that as follows: a person sells his ticket to the servant (suppose for ten pence), here the servant would gain two-pence, which is all the person pays for being admitted; and the master gets nothing, because he must allow the whole shilling to the servant as above.
"As it is obvious from these several considerations, that the company may be vastly incommoded, and the master in danger of being ruined; because servants may be induced to encourage great numbers of the inferior sort to come to the gardens, since this would be so much to their advantage: for these reasons he humbly presumes, that the publick will be fully convinced of the necessity he is under of taking a shilling at the
gate for the future, without giving a ticket for it; and his servants have strict orders to solicit no person to call for any thing, upon pain of being immediately discharged."
Some wags amused the publick with a most solemn exhibition in June 1736, which originated from a call of Serjeants at Law. Those merry gentlemen, well acquainted with classic story, dressed a huge Owl in a coif and band, and placed him on a broom staff over a door opposite Lancaster-court. Minerva's favourite bird was afterwards observed to behave with great gravity, and particularly during the time his learned brethren were passing in procession under him; one flap of his band was inscribed Ecce! the other Fratrem.
The recent amusements afforded by riding asses as ponies, and racing on them, although strong efforts of modern sagacity, were anticipated by our forefathers. An Ass-race attracted vast crowds of people to May-fair in 1736, where there was doubtlessly much good betting.
Fleetwood, the proprietor of Drury-lane Theatre, offered a reward of fifty guineas for the discovery of the author or authors of an incendiary letter sent to him in 1737: