Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 10.djvu/365

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'The State of the Case hetween the Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household and Sir Richard Steele as represented by that Knight,' London, 1720 [see Steele, Sir Richard]. 'The State of the Case, &c., restated,' London, 1720, 8vo, a very scarce pamphlet, written in defence of the Duke of Newcastle, ascribes his action to the refusal of the patentees to submit to his authority in the matter of the pieces to be acted. Steele's restoration to office was chronicled in the 'Daily Post' for 2 May 1721. It is said by Dr. Drake to have been owing to the interference of Walpole, who had just been made chancellor of the exchequer. Genest supposes that the silence of Cibber concerning these noteworthy events may have been due to the instrumentality of the Duke of Newcastle in obtaining for him the laureate- ship. In 1726, according to his own statement, Cibber responded personally and successfully before Sir Joseph Jekyll to a bill filed in chancery by the administrators of Sir Richard Steele s estate against a sum of 1l. 13s. 4d. per day each, which Cibber and his remaining associates had voted themselves as a set-off against Steele's taking no part in the management. The 'Craftsman,' No. 86, says that the hearing lasted five hours, and that Cibber, 'we hear, made an excellent speech, and defended his case so well that it went against Sir Richard.' The production some years before this period, namely 6 Nov. 1717, of his comedy, the 'Non-juror,' was largely responsible for the troubles in which Cibber haa been involved, and for the honours in store for him. A strong Hanoverian, as was natural from his origin, Cibber saw his way to adapting the 'Tartuffe' of Moliere to English politics. 'Tartuffe' became accordingly in the 'Non-Juror' an English catholic priest seducing an English gentleman into treasonable practices. Gibber himself played the principal character. Dr. Wolf. The success was complete. The Jacobites, with whom London at that time swarmed, did not dare to manifest their dissatisfaction, but Cibber's future pieces suffered from their resentment, and he became the object of incessant and sufficiently harassing attacks. George I gave him 200l., and Lmtot paid him the large sum of 100l. for the copy-right. Thirteen years later, on the death 27 Sept. 1730) of Eusden, Cibber was appointed laureate. His appointment is dated 3 Dec. 1730. He himself attributes his elevation to his whig principles. The enmity of his opponents, which had not slept, and had almost contrived to wreck the fortunes of the 'Provoked Husband,' a work which, though finished in admirable style by Cibber, was written principally by Vanbrugh, rose to its height upon Cibber's acceptance of the laureateship, to which, it must be owned, his literary productions gave him slight claim. Upon his retirement from the stage accordingly, which took place at the close of 1733, Cibber devoted himself primarily to writing his 'Apology,' and secondly to answering his opponents. On 31 Oct. 1734 he reappeared as Cibber, sen., and played Bayes, and then again retired. It is probable that more than one reappearance of the kind was made. On 15 Feb. 1745 he came once more before the public as Pandulph in 'Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John.' In this wretched version of Shakespeare's 'King John' Cibber won applause ror elegance; his teeth, however, were gone, and his voice, always weak, could not ml the theatre. Times were then ticklish; his opponents held their peace, and the piece, which was in part political in aim, was a success. For twelve years longer Cibber lingered. On 12 Dec. 1757, at 6 a.m., he spoke to his servant, apparently in his usual health; three hours later he was discovered dead. The place of death is uncertain. According to one account, Cibber died in Berkeley Square, where he had for some time resided, naving previously lived (1711-14) near the Bull's Head Tavern in old Spring Gardens at Charing Cross ('The Daily Courant,' 20 Jan. 1703, quoted in Cunningham's London), Another statement is that Cibber died in a house next the Castle Tavern, Islington. He is buried with his father in the vaults of what was formerly the Danish Church, Wellclose Square, Whitechapel, and is now the British and Foreign Sailors' Church. This building was erected by his father. Cibber's claims upon attention are numerous. He was a sparkling and successful dramatist, a comedian of high mark, a singularly capable and judicious manager, upon whom, to a certain extent, Garrick is said to have modelled himself, and an unequalled critic of theatrical performances. It is curious that with these qualifications it should be necessary to defend him from the charge of being a dunce.!) His adversaries, however, political and literary, were stronger men than himself, and the attempts of later days to free him from the ridicule cast upon him by men such as Pope and Fielding have not been very much more successful than were Cibber's own efforts in the same direction. Justice is none the less on the side of Cibber. The hostility of Pope is assigned by Cibber to a not very hurtful gag introduced by him as Bayes in the 'Rehearsal,' in which he bantered the 'Three Hours after Marriage,' the ill-starred comedy in which Gay is believed to have