Life And Letters Of John Gay (1685-1732), Author of "The Beggar's Opera"

by Lewis Melville

[pg 162]

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

[pg 163]

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][pg 164]
• • "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];[pg 165]
  • 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]
• [pg 166]
• 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]
• [pg 167]
• 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]