ards claim to have been specially composed
for their regiment by Handel before its inclusion in the opera. The
Guards are very proud of their march, and the band still plays it
under the title of the 'Royal Guards March.'

During the whole of this time, however, Handel's enemies never ceased
their opposition, and, despite successes, it was soon apparent that
the rival parties were bent on destroying each other. The enormous
cost incurred in producing operatic works, added to the losses
occasioned by quarrels and dissensions amongst the singers, many of
whom deserted Handel to join his enemies, at length brought the Royal
Academy to the end of its resources. In 1727, when the society was
tottering to its fall, the rival theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields
brought out the famous work called 'The Beggar's Opera,' written by
John Gay, which formed the first English ballad opera. Its success was
stupendous; London was taken completely by storm, and everybody was
soon singing and humming its catching airs. Fickle as the public taste
had hitherto shown itself to be in regard to musical productions, it
now became fixed on the new work, and opera in the 'Italian style' was
completely deserted. What was the secret of this wonderful success?
Simply this: a poet seized upon a number of the most entrancing airs
which the musical genius of England and Scotland had produced, many of
them belonging to ancient times, together with the favourite melodies
of the day, and he set them to words which were utterly unworthy of
the sentiment inspired by these beautiful compositions. The richest
stores of ballad music were pillaged for this degrading work; the
march in Handel's 'Rinaldo' was stolen to form a robber's chorus,
whilst the exploits of Captain Macheath and his highwaymen companions
were held up as models of daring and gallantry when performed to the
most captivating of airs. The public hailed the piece with delight;
the ladies modelled their dresses on the stage costume of 'Polly,' the
heroine, and decorated their fans with the words of her songs, and for
sixty-two nights the walls of the Lincoln's Inn Fields theatre shook
with thunders of applause from gallery, pit, and stalls. In thus
speaking of a work which not only held London captive for so long, but
was afterwards performed in every part of the kingdom, we must not
forget that its remarkable popularity was due in some measure to the
brightness of its dialogue; to its witty sayings