Clowns -- Great Britain -- Biography; Grimaldi, Joseph, 1779-1837
£ _s._ _d._
Brighton, four nights 100 0 0
Birmingham, six 210 0 0
Worcester, one 50 0 0
Glasgow and Edinburgh, nine 417 0 0
Berwick, two 102 7 0
Liverpool, sixteen 324 14 0
Preston, two 86 0 0
Hereford, two 43 10 0
Worcester, (2nd visit) two 90 8 0
--------------
Total £1423 19 0
The accounts which he received at Sadler's Wells on his return were
unusually bad. They were fully corroborated by Mr. Hughes, who informed
him it had been the very worst season the theatre had ever known.
Having nothing to do at Covent Garden, and entertaining a very pleasant
and lively recollection of the profits of his last trip, Grimaldi
determined on making another excursion, and accepted an offer from
Elliston, to play four nights at Birmingham, by which he cleared
150_l._ From Birmingham he went to Leicester, where Elliston also had a
theatre, and where he played for two nights, being accompanied by Mr.
Brunton, who was Elliston's stage-manager. They were very successful,
Grimaldi's share of the receipts being 70_l._
The morning after his last performance here, Grimaldi took a
post-chaise and started for Chester, where he had undertaken to act
for one week. As the chaise drove up to the White Lion, the London
coach drove up too, and, seated on the outside, he saw, to his great
surprise, his old friend Old Bologna, who, it appeared, had been
engaged expressly to perform with him in "Mother Goose." The unexpected
meeting afforded great pleasure to both, and having ordered a private
sitting room and a good dinner, they sat down together and fell into
conversation; in the course of which Bologna, by various hints and
other slight remarks, gave his friend to understand that his old
characteristic of never being able, without a strong effort, to make up
his mind to spend a penny was by no means impaired by time. The room
was handsomely fitted up; and the dinner, which was speedily placed
before them, consisted of a great variety of expensive delicacies,
the sight of which awakened in Bologna's mind a great many misgivings
concerning the bill, which were not at all lessened by the landlady's
informing them, with a low curtsey, as she placed the first dish on the
table, that she knew who they were, and that she would answer for their
being provided with every luxury and comfort the house would afford.
They were no sooner left alone, than Bologna, with a very dissatisfied
air, informed his friend that he saw it would never do to stay in that
house.
"Why not?" inquired Grimaldi.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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