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Article THE LIFE OF THE LATE MR. JOHN PALMER, ← Page 3 of 8 →
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The Life Of The Late Mr. John Palmer,
ivere so much exasperated at his conduct , that he thought it adviseable not to play there . He took his wife with him to London , where he applied to Mr . Garrick , without effect ; and at last resolved to attempt Lectures in the country . Stevens ' s Lecture upon Heads being just published , Mr . Palmer resolved on trying his fortune in the delivery of it . He began at Hampstead and Plighgate , with great eclat , and proceeded'to St .
Albans , Wooburn , Newport , Bedford , Northampton , Leicester , and Nottingham ; in all of which places he received great applause and emolument . From the last mentioned town he journeyed on to Derby , where his scheme was checked by hearing that there had been a Lecturer there before , whose profound erudition , humorous satire , and happy delivery , were so execrable , as to procure him the salutary exercise of a tossing in a blanket . Mr . Palmer , on this intelligence , was easily prevailed upon to relinquish his design .
He now joined a strolling company for a short time : and in the April following , he arrived in London , where he was engaged for the Haymarket Theatre ; but the accident of Foote ' s breaking his leg prevented the theatre from opening until Mr . Barry , and Mrs . Dancer ( now Mrs . Crawford ) , could be brought from Dublin to supply the loss occasioned by the Manager ' s necessary absence . Mr . Barry being to make his first appearance in Othellothe part of Iago
, was given to Palmer , who at rehearsal was so much intimidated by the disparity between the Irish Roscius and himself , that for a tinf : his powers of utterance were suspended . Although Mr . Barry encouraged him with great affability , he was obliged to pronounce at last , ' that it would not do : he was therefore compelled to represent Montana in the same play .
In the course of the season , however , Mr . Palmer displayed more genius than it was supposed he possessed . He gained the esteem of Mr . Bany , and profited by his instructions : indeed he copied that gentleman in his manners and conduct in private life . Mr . Barry offered to eneage him for the following- winter for Dublin , and
through the medium of Mr . Shuter , he was at the same time offered an engagement with Mr . Beard , at Covent-Garden ; but what p leased him most was , that Garrick had been observed to applaud him , and desired he would call upon him next morning in Southampton-Street . Our adventurer , whose heart always was with this immortal little man , was punctual to the invitation ; and Garrick was pleased to compliment
his abilities , and prevail upon him to relinquish all other offers for those of Diury-Lane , where he promised he should be handsomely treated . His first appearance at this winter-house was in Sir Harry Beagle . His mortification was extreme , when , the first Saturday he went to receive his salary , he found it to be only twenty-five shillings 1 He
immediately waited upon Mr . Garrick , and observed , that he expected his salary would at least have been equal to that offered by-Mr . Beard , which was three pounds per week ; he was dismissed with a promise that his salary should be increased next week ; and so it was—by five shillings ! Disgusted at this treatment , he had nearly
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of The Late Mr. John Palmer,
ivere so much exasperated at his conduct , that he thought it adviseable not to play there . He took his wife with him to London , where he applied to Mr . Garrick , without effect ; and at last resolved to attempt Lectures in the country . Stevens ' s Lecture upon Heads being just published , Mr . Palmer resolved on trying his fortune in the delivery of it . He began at Hampstead and Plighgate , with great eclat , and proceeded'to St .
Albans , Wooburn , Newport , Bedford , Northampton , Leicester , and Nottingham ; in all of which places he received great applause and emolument . From the last mentioned town he journeyed on to Derby , where his scheme was checked by hearing that there had been a Lecturer there before , whose profound erudition , humorous satire , and happy delivery , were so execrable , as to procure him the salutary exercise of a tossing in a blanket . Mr . Palmer , on this intelligence , was easily prevailed upon to relinquish his design .
He now joined a strolling company for a short time : and in the April following , he arrived in London , where he was engaged for the Haymarket Theatre ; but the accident of Foote ' s breaking his leg prevented the theatre from opening until Mr . Barry , and Mrs . Dancer ( now Mrs . Crawford ) , could be brought from Dublin to supply the loss occasioned by the Manager ' s necessary absence . Mr . Barry being to make his first appearance in Othellothe part of Iago
, was given to Palmer , who at rehearsal was so much intimidated by the disparity between the Irish Roscius and himself , that for a tinf : his powers of utterance were suspended . Although Mr . Barry encouraged him with great affability , he was obliged to pronounce at last , ' that it would not do : he was therefore compelled to represent Montana in the same play .
In the course of the season , however , Mr . Palmer displayed more genius than it was supposed he possessed . He gained the esteem of Mr . Bany , and profited by his instructions : indeed he copied that gentleman in his manners and conduct in private life . Mr . Barry offered to eneage him for the following- winter for Dublin , and
through the medium of Mr . Shuter , he was at the same time offered an engagement with Mr . Beard , at Covent-Garden ; but what p leased him most was , that Garrick had been observed to applaud him , and desired he would call upon him next morning in Southampton-Street . Our adventurer , whose heart always was with this immortal little man , was punctual to the invitation ; and Garrick was pleased to compliment
his abilities , and prevail upon him to relinquish all other offers for those of Diury-Lane , where he promised he should be handsomely treated . His first appearance at this winter-house was in Sir Harry Beagle . His mortification was extreme , when , the first Saturday he went to receive his salary , he found it to be only twenty-five shillings 1 He
immediately waited upon Mr . Garrick , and observed , that he expected his salary would at least have been equal to that offered by-Mr . Beard , which was three pounds per week ; he was dismissed with a promise that his salary should be increased next week ; and so it was—by five shillings ! Disgusted at this treatment , he had nearly