No, don’t, says manager Kemble.
The Morning Chronicle. November, 7, 1809.
During the O.P. riots at Covent Garden Theatre, in 1809, a certain Mr. Henry Clifford was a very conspicuous opponent to the new prices as fixed by John Kemble. Finally the management of the Theatre had to concede nearly all the claims advanced by the O.P. party through their spokesman, Clifford, and the victory was celebrated in the following lines:—
Hal Clifford would once a reforming go,
Heigho! says Clifford;
He swore by the mass, that he’d nonsuit his foe,
And under his jerkin he hid his flambeau;
With his roly, poly, gammon and spinage,
“I’ll do it” roar’d patriot Clifford.
He went to the pit, where he saw a great fray,