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MACKLIN. 401 this time he produced his first play, of “Henry the Seventh; o r , the Popish Impostor;” afterwards, “A Will o r No Will; or, A New Case for the Lawyers,” farce, 1746; “The Suspicious Husband criticised; or, The Plague o f Envy,” ditto, 1747; and “The Fortune Hun ters; or, The Widow Bewitched,” ditto, 1748. I n the spring o f 1748, Sheridan, the then manager o f the Dublin theatre, offered him and his wife 800l. per annum, for two years, which h e accepted, and they soon after landed i n Dublin, t o perform their engagements. But Macklin's disposition t o jealousy and dissatisfaction still prevailed; for scarcely had h e been a month i n Dublin, when h e began t o find out, that the manager chose t o perform tragedies a s well a s comedies a t his theatre; that his name stood i n large characters i n the play-bills; and a variety o f such like grievous matters; not considering that h e and his wife's salary was fixed a t a l l events for two years; and that any reasonable arrangement which the manager might adopt for his own emolument would the more enable him t o perform the contract. But consideration was lost upon a man o f Macklin's temper, when once resolved; h e there fore gave a loose t o his passion, which a t last became s o intolerable, that, according t o the language o f Trinculo, “ though Sheridan was king, Macklin would b e viceroy over him;” which the former not agreeing t o , determined t o shut the doors o f his theatre against both him and his wife. This, however, s o far from bringing him t o reason, provoked his irritabilities the more. He several times presented himself a t the stage door—no admittance. He then sent the manager a n attorney's letter—no answer. He then commenced a chancery suit, and, after waiting the whole winter unemployed, h e returned t o England, with several hundred pounds minus, and a snug law-suit upon his shoulders into the bargain. On his return t o JEngland, h e commenced manager a t Chester for that season; and i n the winter was engaged a t Covent-garden theatre, where h e performed Mercutio during the cele brated run of “Romeo and Juliet” between the two WOL. 11. D D