in some of their judgments
and in some of their dates, are nevertheless the authorities for the
early history of the American Theatre, try their best to take away from
the credit due Tyler as an American dramatist. They both contend that
"The Contrast," though it was repeated several times in succession--and
this repetition of a native drama before audiences more accustomed to
the English product must have been a sign of its acceptance,--was
scarcely what they would consider a success. As evidence, Seilhamer
claims that, just as soon as Royall Tyler handed over the copyright of
his play to Wignell, the latter advertised the printed edition whenever
the subscribers' list was sufficiently large to warrant the publication.
It was not, however, until several years after this advertisement, that
the play was actually published, the subscribers being headed by the
name of President George Washington, and including many of Washington's
first cabinet, four signers of the Declaration of Independence, and
several Revolutionary soldiers. According to Seilhamer, the American
dramatists of those days were very eager to follow the work of their
contemporary craftsmen, and, in the list of subscribers, we find the
names of Dunlap, Peter Markoe, who wrote "The Patriot Chief" (1783),
Samuel Low, author of "The Politician Out-witted" (1789), and Colonel
David Humphreys, who translated from the French "The Widow of Malabar;
or, The Tyranny of Custom" (1790).

We are told by some authorities that Royall Tyler was on friendly terms
with the actors of this period, a fact accentuated all the more because
his brother, Col. John S. Tyler, had become manager of the Boston
Theatre. In many ways he was a great innovator, if, on one hand, he
broke through the New England prejudices against the theatre, and if, on
the other hand, during his long career as lawyer and as judge of the
Supreme Court of Vermont, he broke through the traditional manner of
conducting trials, as is evidenced by many human, amusing anecdotes,
illustrative of his wit and quick repartee. He was married to Mary
Palmer, in 1794, and brought up a family of eleven children, a number of
whom won distinction in the ministry, but none of whom followed their
father's taste for playwriting. He mingled with the most intellectual
society of the time, being on intimate terms with the Adams family, the
Quincys and Cranchs, and identifying himself very closely with the
literary history of th