as I was in the kingdom, and know every particular, gathered partly from inquiries, and partly from observation, to throw some light upon as dark a transaction as was ever practised against innocence and merit. I mean that infamous combination carried on against Mrs. Siddons, which raised that opposition she soon afterwards met in Drury Lane theatre, 1785, to the disgrace of that part of the audience who were deceived into it; who were but few, after all, in comparison with her friends who opposed them, and who, on the second night, silenced them entirely.

"In the summer of 1783, Mrs. Siddons was engaged by Mr. Daly, the Manager, to perform a certain number of nights in Dublin. I believe, twelve. Her terms were half the receipts, the charges of the theatre being first deducted, which charges were called sixty pounds. At the latter end of June she began her career, which was as brilliant here as in London. At

the conclusion she very much wished to perform for the benefit of the Marshalsea prison; but, being pressed for time by her engagements at Cork, and hoping to have that opportunity another season, she sent a sum of money to the conductors of the above prison, and had the thanks of the debtors, as well as an acknowledgment from the managers, in the public Papers; though, by her own wish, the thanks, though full, were not ostentatiously expressed. Thus ended her first season at Dublin.

In the summer of 1784 she engaged herself for twenty nights, at a certain sum each night. The theatre was again crowded, and all things went on prosperously, till about the middle of the engagement, when she was unfortunately seized with a violent fever, which confined her to her bed for a fortnight. This accident began to arouse the venal tribe against our heroine; and rumours were spread that her illness was put on for some improper purpose. She

recovered, however, and went on with her engagement. And now we come to the principal incident which introduced the injured lady into this part of my Memoirs. As she was rehearsing the part of Belvidera, one morning, Digges, as he was standing for the part of Pierre, suddenly sank down. It was no less than a paralytic stroke, which deprived him of the use of one side. He was taken from the theatre, and, I believe, never returned to where he had fretted and strutted so many hours. Mrs. Siddons's engagement was coming to a conclusion; and she was advertised for Cork a few days after. In the meantime, a person came to her, and told her that it would be a charitable action if she would perform in a benefit play for poor Digges. Her answer was, that she was sorry she had but one night to spare, and for that she thought she was engaged in honour to play for the Marshalsea prisoners, as she had intended, in the year before. This, to be sure, was a denial to Digges, though not an uncharitable

refusal and yet, what an artful and fiend-like use was made of it! As will appear. The messenger had not been long gone, when it struck her that it would be more humane to assist this old unfortunate; and immediately she dispatched a person to Drumcondra, where Digges then was, to say that Mrs. Siddons had reconsidered the matter, and would be glad to perform for him. He was thankful, and the night and play were fixed. There was a good house. The next day, while preparing for her journey for Cork, she received a note from Digges, expressing his gratitude. It will be proper to inform my reader, that while she was at Dublin there was a little sparring between her and the Manager. At Cork the misunderstanding was renewed, and I there made my own observations. These little bickerings brought down many paragraphs upon her from the party; and, directly after, a paper war ensued. She was accused of having charged Digges fifty pounds for playing

at his benefit. A very artful letter, written by a Mr. F-y, upon that subject, appeared in a Morning print; and, as it was inserted with a more mischievous intent than any of the rest, so it had a greater effect. It was now predicted, that she was to be driven from the London stage whenever she should appear on it: and, among the rest, appeared a paragraph, calling on any of her profession to come forth, and say if she had ever done a kind action. This was rather an unlucky challenge; for, a few weeks before, even in the city of York, it was a fact, that she had performed three times without any emolument to

herself: once for my benefit; once for that of good

Mr. Aickin, of Covent Garden; and once for the benefit of a poor-house. I should have thought myself base indeed to have remained neutral at such a time; and I immediately published this circumstance in several of the Morning prints. Should not Mr. Digges have done the same? But, though called upon, and