He never seems to have wholly forgotten his animosity to the actor, to
whom there are frequent references in _Joseph Andrews_; and, as late as
1749, he is still found harping on "the withered laurel" in a letter to
Lyttelton. Even in his last work, the _Voyage to Lisbon_, Cibber's name
is mentioned. The origin of this protracted feud is obscure; but, apart
from want of sympathy, it must probably be sought for in some early
misunderstanding between the two in their capacities of manager and
author. As regards Theophilus Cibber, his desertion of Highmore was
sufficient reason for the ridicule cast upon him in the _Author's Farce_
and elsewhere. With Mrs. Charke, the Laureate's intractable and
eccentric daughter, Fielding was naturally on better terms. She was, as
already stated, a member of the Great Mogul's Company, and it is worth
noting that some of the sarcasms in _Pasquin_ against her father were
put into the mouth of Lord Place, whose part was taken by this undutiful
child. All things considered, both in this controversy and the later one
with Pope, Cibber did not come off worst. His few hits were personal and
unscrupulous, and they were probably far more deadly in their effects
than any of the ironical attacks which his adversaries, on their part,
directed against his poetical ineptitude or halting "parts of speech."
Despite his superlative coxcombry and egotism, he was, moreover, a man
of no mean abilities. His _Careless Husband_ is a far better acting play
than any of Fielding's, and his _Apology_, which even Johnson allowed to
be "well-done," is valuable in many respects, especially for its account
of the contemporary stage. In describing an actor or actress he had few
equals--witness his skilful portrait of Nokes, and his admirably graphic
vignette of Mrs. Verbruggen as that "finish'd Impertinent," Melantha, in
Dryden's _Marriage a-la-Mode_.

The concluding paper in the collected edition of the _Champion_,
published in 1741, is dated June 19, 1740. On the day following Fielding