The club of spendthrifts, the rapacious bar
Of words, not arms, support the bloodless war.
Let Spain Gibraltar get, our islands France,
So Siddons acts, or Vestris leads the dance.
Run on, mad nation! pleasure’s frantic round;
For acting, fiddling, dancing be renown’d!
Soon foreign fleets shall rule the Western main;
George fill no throne but that of Drury Lane.
Merlin.
George III. admired her, he said, “for her repose,” adding, “Garrick could never stand still; he was a great fidget.” The Queen told her, in broken English, that the only resource was to turn away from the stage; the acting was, indeed, too “disagreeable.” She was frequently summoned to read at the Palace, and to give lessons in elocution to the young Princesses.