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It was his music to ' Rule Britannia' that had been one great cause of the success, and every-body knew that the ode had been written by Thomson, who gave the words to Arne to set to music, and many thousands of copies had been printed within the ten or eleven years that had elapsed. In the meantime Mallet had received a commission to write the life of t h e great Duke of Marlborough, for which he had received ;£i,ooo from the Duchess, and an annuity from the Duke to expedite his labours. How he carried out his contract is thus told in the ' Bio-graphia Dramatica,' 1812, and elsewhere.
"No. 143, 'Alfred,' a masque by David Mallet, acted at Drury Lane, 8vo, 1751. This is the play of Messrs. Thomson and Mallet, entirely new modelled by the latter; no part of the first being retained except a few lines. Though excellently performed, it was not very successful. The prologue was written by the Earl of Cork. It has been said that Mallet procured 'Alfred' to be performed at Drury Lane by insinuating to Garrick that in his intended life of the Duke of Marlborough he should, by an ingenious device, find a niche for the Roscius of the age. ' My dear friend,' said Garrick, 'have you left off writing for the stage ?' The hint was taken, and ' Alfred' was
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