416 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



C2»* S. No »., Not. 21. 'M. 



of Wales, with all their Court, being present), a new 

 Masque of Two Acts, taken from the various Fortunes of 

 Alfred the Great by Mr. Thomson ; and perform'd by Mr. 

 Quin, Mr. Milward, Mrs. Horton, and others from both 

 Theatres ; also a Masque of Musick, call'd ' The Judg- 

 ment of Paris, writ by Mr. Dryden * ; and concluded with 

 several Scenes out of Mr. Rich's Pantomime Entertain- 

 ments perform'd by himself, and others of his appointing, 

 particularly The Skeleton Scene in Merlin's Cave, and 

 The Dwarf in Orpheus and Eur3'dice. Also 



" The famous Signora La Barberini (newly arrived with 

 Mr. Rich from Paris), performed several Dances, and so 

 much to the Satisfaction of their Royal Highnesses, that 

 his Royal Highness was pleased to make her a very hand- 

 some present, And the whole was conducted with the ut- 

 most Magnificence and Decorum." 



And on Tuesday, August 5, 1740, the same 

 paper gave the following farther account of the 

 performance, and of a repetition of Alfred on 

 August 2 : — 



" On Friday last was perform'd at Cliefden (by Come- 

 dians from both Theatres), before their Royal Highnesses 

 the Prince and Princess of Wales, and a great Number of 

 Nobility and other^, a Dramatic Masque call'd Alfred, 

 written by Mr. Thomson ; in which was introduc'd 

 variety of Dancing, very much to the Satisfaction of their 

 Royal Highnesses and the rest of the Spectators, especi- 

 ally the performance of Signora Barbarini (lately arriv'd 

 from Paris), whose Grace, Beauty, and surprising Agility 

 exceeded their Expectations. Also was perform'd a Mu- 

 sical Masque call'd The Contending Deities, by Mr. Sal- 

 way, Mrs. Arne, Mrs. Lampe, Miss Young and others; 

 and the humorous Pantomimical Scene of The Skeleton, 

 taken from the Entertainment of Merlin's Cave, bj^ Mr. 

 Rich and Mr. Lalauze. The whole was exhibited upon a 

 Theatre in the Garden compos'd of Vegetables, and deco- 

 rated with Festoons of Flowers, at the End of which was 

 erected a Favillion for their Royal Highnesses the Prince 

 and Princess of Wales, Prince George, and Princess Au- 

 gusta. The whole concluded with Fireworks made by 

 Dr. Desaguliers, which were equal in their kind to the 

 rest of the Performance. Their Royal Highnesses were 

 so well pleased with the whole Entertainment, that he 

 [sic] commanded the same to be perform'd on Saturday 

 fast, with the addition of some favourite Pantomime 

 Scenes from Mr. Rich's Entertainments, which was ac- 

 cordingl}' began, but the rain falling very heavy, oblig'd 

 them to break off before it was half over ; upon which his 

 Royal Highness commanded them to finish the Masque 

 of Alfred in the House." 



A fortnight afterwards (August 19), A. Millar, 

 the booksellei", advertised the publication, (on that 

 day,) of 



" Alfred, a Masque, As it was represented at Cliefden 

 before their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of 

 Wales, on the 1st and 2nd of this Month. By Mr. 

 Thompson and Mr. Mallet." 



I have examined this copy of Alfred, and find 

 that "Rule Britannia" is contained in it, and was 

 sung by " a Bai'd." 



It will be observed that as yet there is no men- 

 tion of the composer of the music, the newspaper 

 accounts of the performances and the printed copy 

 of the masque, being equally silent on the subject, 



^ * An error : " The Judgment of Paris " waa the produc- 

 tion of Congreve. 



and it remains, therefore, to be shown that the 

 music was furnished by no other than Arne. This 

 I now proceed to do. 



In The General Advertiser of Wednesday, 

 March 20, 1745, I find the following advertise- 

 ment : — 



" For the Benefit of Mrs. Arne. At the Theatre Royal 

 in Drury Lane, this Day, will be perform'd an Historical 

 Musical Drama, call'd Alfred the Great, King of Eng- 

 land. The ]\fusick was composed by Command of his 

 Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and never perform'd 

 in England, but at his Royal Highuess's Palace at Clief- 

 den. The Poem vim written by Mr. Thompson and Mr. 

 Mallet. The Musick by Mr. Arne. To conclude with a 

 celebrated Ode in Honour of Great Britain, in imitation 

 of those formerlj' sung at the Banquets of Kings and 

 Heroes. 



" Boxes, 6s. ; Pit, 4s. ; First Gallery, 2s. %d. ; Upper 

 Gallery, Is. 6d. The above day is fix'd on to avoid inter- 

 fering with Mr. Handel.* Mrs. Arne humbly hopes the 

 Town will not be offended at this small Advance of the 

 Price, this Performance being exhibited at an extraordin- 

 !x\y Expence, with regard to the Number of Hands, Chorus 

 Singers, building the Stage, and erecting an Organ ; be- 

 sides all other incidents as usual. The Ladies are desir'd 

 to send their Servants by Four o'Clock. * ^* Tickets to 

 be had of Mrs. Arne, next door to the Crown in Great 

 Queen Street, by Lincolns Inn Fields, and Places taken 

 of Mr. Hobson at the Stage Door of the Theatre, with 

 whom Tickets are left." 



Here we have a distinct statement by Arne 

 that his music for the piece produced for his wife's 

 benefit was the same as that produced at Cliefden 

 in 1740, and in addition to this, Millar makes a 

 statement to the same eflfect in his advertisement 

 in the Daily Post on the same March 20, 1745, 

 of the publication of the altered play. 



"This Afternoon, at Four o'Clock, will be publish'd 

 (Price One Shilling) Alfred, an Opera, as it is to be acted 

 this Evening at Drury Lane. Alter'd from the Play 

 written bj' Mr. Thomson and Mr. Mallett in Honour of 

 the Birth-Day of her Royal Highness the young Princess 

 Augusta. The Musick was compos'd by Mr. Arne, and 

 perform'd with the Play at Clifden in Buckinghamshire, 

 at the Special Command of his Royal Highness Frederic 

 Prince of Wales." 



A second performance of the piece in its altered 

 form took place at Drury Lane on Wednesday, 

 April 3, 1745, when it was announced that 



" Mr. Arne, being inform'd that some persons have ob- 

 jected to the small addition of Prices, will (notwithstand- 

 ing he performs at above 70Z. expence), oblige the Town 

 with this Performance at the usual Benefit Prices." 



I have, unfortunately, not been able to discover 

 a copy of the altered play, so as to ascertain posi- 

 tively that " Rule Britannia " is contained in it, 

 but that is of little moment, as Arne's advertise- 

 ment leaves no doubt of the fact ; for it states that 

 the piece will conclude with "a celebrated Ode in 

 Honour of Great Britain," and that this was no 

 other than " Rule Britannia," is, I think, clearly 



* This refers to a performance of Handel's Oratorio, 

 Joseph, which was fixed for Thursday, March 21, at the 

 King's Theatre in the Haymarket. 



