Glen Collection of printed music > Printed text > Companion to the play-house, or, An historical account of all the dramatic writers (and their works) that have appeared in Great Britain and Ireland, from the commencement of our theatrical exhibitions, down to the present year 1764 > Volume 2

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time clofe Prifoner to Cmces Caf-
tle, and in the enfuing Year was
fcnt up to the Toiver of Londov,
in Order to take his Trial before
the High Court of Juftice.
During his Confinement, his
Life was for a long Time kept in
the utmoft Snfpenceand Danger ;
yet what is very remarkable, it
had fo little Effe£l: on his natural
Vivacity and Eafinefs of Difpo-
iition, that he ftill with great
Affiduity purfued his Poem of
Gondibert, two Books of which
he had written while in France,
—By what Means he efcaped this
impending Storm is not ablolute-
Jy apparent. — Some have attri-
buted it to the Interpofition of
two Aldermen of York, to whom
he had fliewn fome peculiar Ci-
vilities when they had been taken
Prifoners in the North by the
Earl of Nervcafileh Forces j and
others afcribe his Safety to the
Mediation of the great Milton.— ^
Iho' the former of thefe Parti-
culars may have fome Founda-
tion, and might be a concurrent
Circumftance in his Prefervation,
yet I cannot help thinking the
latter rnoir likely to have been
the pnncipallnftrument in itj as
the immortal Bard w^as a Man
whofe Intereft was moft potent at
that Time j as it is. reafonable to
imagine a fympathetic Regard
for a Perfon of Sir M-'illlaras poe-
tical Abilitie?, muft plead flrohg-
ly in his Favour in fo humane a
Breaft as that of. Miltoti, anl
point out to him that true Geni: s
ought to be confider'd of no Par-
ty, but claims the Proteftion of
eU i And what feems to confirm
this is, that we find ten Years
afterwards, when the latter was
exaftly in the farre Predicament,
he frood indebted for the fame
Protetlion to Sir William, to
TiTjUem th?iefore Maijkin.4 ou^ht
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to confider themfelves as undep
double Obligations, fince, but for
his Intercefiion for the Life of
Milton, it is more than probable
the World would never have been
enriched with the nobleft Poem
in it.
■ Be this however as it will, be
was at length admitted to his Li-
berty as a Prifoner at large 5 yet
his Circumftances being now con-
fiderably reduced, he made a bold
Effort towards at once redref-
fing them, and redeeming the
Public from that cynical and au-
fiere Gloom which had long hung
over ,it, occafioned by the Sup-
preffion of theatrical Amufe-
ments, He well knew that a
Theatre, if conduced with Skill
and Addrefs, would ftill find a
fufficient Number of Partizans to
fupport it ; and having obtained
the Countenance of Lord VFhii'^
locke, Sir John Maynard, and 0-
ther Perfons of Rank, who were
in Reality no Friends to the Cant
and Hypocrify which then To
ftrongly prevailed, he got Pef-
miffion to open a Sort of Theatre
at RutlandlAoxx^z in Charter -Ec-i^c
Yard, where he began with a
Reprefentation which he called
an Opera, but wsis in Reality
quite a different Thing. — This
ineeting v/ith Encouragement, he
ftill proceeded, till at length
growing bolder by Succefs, he
wrote, and caufed to be aded,
feveral regular Plays, which, by
the great Profits arifing from
them, perfeftly anfwer'd the more
important Part of his Defign,
that of amending his Fortunes. —
Immediately after the Reftora-
tion of King Charles IL however,
v^hich brought with it that of
the Britip Stage in a State of
unreftrained Liberty, Sir V/ilUam
D''Avenant obtained a Patent for
the Reprefentation of dramatic
Piecesj