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Article " HISTORY OF THE THEATRES OF LONDON, ← Page 4 of 6 →
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" History Of The Theatres Of London,
Taught the soft ball more meltingly to roll , And drew out every feature into soul ; Then have I seen the censor who cou'dfind No glance whatever vivified with mind , Lost in a storm of unaffected woe , Till pitying nature bid the torrent flow ; Reliev'd the tortur'd bosom thro' the eye , And gave his sentence publicly the lye . —
Yet high soever as the poet rates The well known worth and excellence of Yates , He cannot give perfection to her share , Nor say she ' s wholly faultless as a player . — Sometimes her sense , too vehemently strong , . By needless Force will deviate into wrong ; And sometimes too , to throw the fault aside , She blends too little tenderness with pride ;
What need Calista , entering on the stage , Exclaim , "Be dumb for ever , " in a rage ! Her faithful woman gives her woes relief , And Justice calls for temper , tho' . for grief . — Again , when Modely stands reveaj'd to view , And comes all suppliant to a last adieu , What need that cold indiff ' rence of air . That stiff unbending haughtiness of stare ;
'Tis true , the wretch deserves our utmost scorn- — Yet her resentment is but newly born ; And we should read distinctly iu her eyes , That still she loves , howe ' er she may despise-Where women once a passion have profess'd , They may resent , but never can detest ; Nor , where the basest fav ' rite they discard , Conceal all marks of pity and regard . " —
On Mr . Powell ' s becoming Manager of Covent-Garden , Mr . and Mrs . Yates were engaged by that gentleman , the former at 10 I . a week , and a benefit , and the latter at 500 I . forthe season anda benefit . In 1768 a difference arose between Mrs . Bellamy and our heroine , as appears by the following letters : MRS . ' YATES TO MRS . BELLAMY .
" MADAM , " Upon seeing my name advertised for the part of Herinione in the Dislrest Mother , for your benefit , a part which did not belong to me , but done merely to prevent confusion last season , I immediately acquainted Mr . Younger , that as I had refused playing it for the managers , I could not with propriety do it for any performer ; therefore desired he would acquaint you , that you might not be disappointed ; but as you still continue advertising the same play , hope youwill not take it amiss ( lest any mistake should have happened between yon and Mr . Younger )
that if you rely on me forthe part , youwill be disappointed , as it will be impossible for me to play two such fatiguing parts as Hermione and Medea two nights successively—beg you'll not attribute it to any want of inclination to oblige , but really the want of ability . I am , Madam , your humble servant ,
M . A . YATES . MRS . BELLAMY ' S ANSWER . " MADAM , . " I am very sorry I did not know your resolution before my tickets were printed , and many of them dispersed . " Could I have supposed any performer had a right to refuse a part they had done in the company , I certainly should not have fixed upon the play , as I would on no account have an obligation to a performer .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
" History Of The Theatres Of London,
Taught the soft ball more meltingly to roll , And drew out every feature into soul ; Then have I seen the censor who cou'dfind No glance whatever vivified with mind , Lost in a storm of unaffected woe , Till pitying nature bid the torrent flow ; Reliev'd the tortur'd bosom thro' the eye , And gave his sentence publicly the lye . —
Yet high soever as the poet rates The well known worth and excellence of Yates , He cannot give perfection to her share , Nor say she ' s wholly faultless as a player . — Sometimes her sense , too vehemently strong , . By needless Force will deviate into wrong ; And sometimes too , to throw the fault aside , She blends too little tenderness with pride ;
What need Calista , entering on the stage , Exclaim , "Be dumb for ever , " in a rage ! Her faithful woman gives her woes relief , And Justice calls for temper , tho' . for grief . — Again , when Modely stands reveaj'd to view , And comes all suppliant to a last adieu , What need that cold indiff ' rence of air . That stiff unbending haughtiness of stare ;
'Tis true , the wretch deserves our utmost scorn- — Yet her resentment is but newly born ; And we should read distinctly iu her eyes , That still she loves , howe ' er she may despise-Where women once a passion have profess'd , They may resent , but never can detest ; Nor , where the basest fav ' rite they discard , Conceal all marks of pity and regard . " —
On Mr . Powell ' s becoming Manager of Covent-Garden , Mr . and Mrs . Yates were engaged by that gentleman , the former at 10 I . a week , and a benefit , and the latter at 500 I . forthe season anda benefit . In 1768 a difference arose between Mrs . Bellamy and our heroine , as appears by the following letters : MRS . ' YATES TO MRS . BELLAMY .
" MADAM , " Upon seeing my name advertised for the part of Herinione in the Dislrest Mother , for your benefit , a part which did not belong to me , but done merely to prevent confusion last season , I immediately acquainted Mr . Younger , that as I had refused playing it for the managers , I could not with propriety do it for any performer ; therefore desired he would acquaint you , that you might not be disappointed ; but as you still continue advertising the same play , hope youwill not take it amiss ( lest any mistake should have happened between yon and Mr . Younger )
that if you rely on me forthe part , youwill be disappointed , as it will be impossible for me to play two such fatiguing parts as Hermione and Medea two nights successively—beg you'll not attribute it to any want of inclination to oblige , but really the want of ability . I am , Madam , your humble servant ,
M . A . YATES . MRS . BELLAMY ' S ANSWER . " MADAM , . " I am very sorry I did not know your resolution before my tickets were printed , and many of them dispersed . " Could I have supposed any performer had a right to refuse a part they had done in the company , I certainly should not have fixed upon the play , as I would on no account have an obligation to a performer .