of Lord Stanhope, treasurer to James I. that the
customary sum paid for the performance of a play at court, was 20
nobles, or 6l. 12s. 4d.[1] Alleyn was likewise proprietor of the
Blackfriars' Theatre, near what is still called Playhouse Yard. However
he might have gathered laurels on the stage, he must have gained his
fortune by other means. He was keeper of the King's Bear Garden and
Menagerie, which were frequented by thousands, and produced Alleyn, the
then great sum of 500_l_. per annum. He was also thrice married, and
received portions with his two first wives; and we need not insist upon
the turn which matrimony gives to a man's fortune.
[1] The nightly expenses of Drury Lane and Covent Garden Theatres
in these days, are upwards of 200_l_.
Among the theatrico-antiquarian gossip of _The Fortune_ is, that it was
once the nursery for Henry VIII.'s children--but "no scandal about
the"--we hope.
* * * * *
FINE ARTS
* * * * *
EXHIBITION OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY.
All men are critics, in a greater or less degree. They can generalize
upon the merits and defects of a picture, although they cannot point out
the details of the defects, or in what the beauty of a picture consists;
and to prove this, only let the reader visit the Exhibition at Somerset
House, and watch the little critical _coteries_ that collect round the
most attractive paintings.
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