Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 02.djvu/395

Baddeley acquainted with the daughter of Samuel Wesley, the master of the Tiverton school and elder brother of John Wesley. The letters and anecdotes which he obtained from her were transmitted by him to the 'Westminster Magazine' in 1774. A subsequent account, based on her statements, of the Wesley family, provoked a correspondence with John Wesley; this biography was printed in the 'Bibl. Topog. Britt. iii. pp. xli-xlviii, and reprinted, with the letters which it occasioned, in Nichols's 'Lit. Anecdotes,' v. 217-42. Several letters from Wesley which Badcock gave to Priestley were published by the latter in 1791 under the title of 'Original Letters by Rev. John Wesley and his Friends.' A sermon which Badcock preached at the Octagon Chapel, Bath, for the benefit of the General Infirmary, 23 Dec. 1787, was printed for private distribution. Rose, in his 'Biographical Dictionary,' says that he wrote in 1781 a poem called the 'Hermitage,' and Watt states that an assize sermon preached by him at St. Peter's, Exeter, in 1788, was published in 1795; but neither of these works can be found at the British Museum. After Badcock's death, his friend. Rev. R. B. Gabriel, D.D., alleged that he was the virtual author of Dr. Joseph White's Bampton lectures on the effects of Christianity and Mahometanism. A fierce war of words raged in the papers. Dr. Gabriel published 'Facts relating to the Rev. Dr. White's Bampton lectures,' and the lecturer rejoined with 'A Statement of Dr. White's Literary Obligations to the late Rev. Mr. Samuel Badcock and the Rev. Samuel Parr, LL.D.' (1790). From this acrimonious controversy it appeared beyond doubt that Dr. White had received considerable assistance, though not to the extent which his assailants asserted, from Badcock. The papers which William Chapple had collected for an improved edition of Risdon's 'Survey of Devon,' were entrusted to Badcock's care for arrangement and revision, and from this he was induced to contemplate the preparation of a complete history of that county. Several letters on this matter are printed in Rev. R. Polwhele's 'Reminiscences,' i. 44-77, but the prosecution of the work was stopped by Badcock's death. As a reviewer, Badcock ranks among the best known names of the last century.

[Chalmers; Gent. Mag. 1788 and 1789; Priestley's Life and Correspondence (1831); Polwhele's Traditions and Recollections, i. 184, 240-2.]  BADDELEY, ROBERT (1733–1794), comedian, is said to have been born in 1733, When first heard of he is cook in the establishment of Foote, where he is supposed to have contracted a taste for the stage. Subsequently, as valet to a gentleman whose name has not been preserved, he travelled for three years on what was then called 'the grand tour,' acquiring in so doing a smattering of foreign languages which stood him subsequently in good stead. In 1761 he appeared at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, the first part he played being Gomez, a not unimportant role 'created' by Nokes in Dryden's 'Spanish Friar.' He must have acted previously, as he was announced as of Drury Lane theatre. Two years later he was an established member of Drury Lane company, playing low comedy parts, and winning some reputation as an exponent of foreign footmen. His chief claim to distinction consists in having been the original Moses in the 'School for Scandal.' While dressing for this character on 19 Nov. 1794 he fell back ill. The next day he expired. His life with Mrs. Baddeley was unhappy [see Baddeley, Sophia, 1745-1786], her loose conduct involving him in many difficulties, among which must be counted a bloodless duel with George Garrick, a brother of David. Baddeley is best remembered by his will, in which he left the reversion of his house at Moulsey, in Surrey, to found an asylum for decayed actors, adding a provision that when the value of the property reached 350l. per annum, pensions were to be granted to the inmates. He also bequeathed the interest of 100l. to provide the actors at Drury Lane Theatre with wine and cake in the green room on Twelfth Night. This custom is still observed. Baddeley was the subject, during his life, of many gross charges. Michael Kelly speaks of him as a worthy man, and in Jews and Frenchmen a very good actor. Baddeley is buried in St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden.

[Genest's Account of the English Stage; Reminiscences of Michael Kelly; Hitchcock's Historical View of the Irish Stage; Theatrical Biography, 1772; Gilliland's Dramatic Mirror; Thespian Dictionary.]  BADDELEY, SOPHIA (1745–1786), actress and vocalist, was the subject of a biography by a woman who was her companion, and claims to have been her friend. This so-called life has the air of having been written for the purpose of extorting money from the men of rank implicated in the adventures it describes. The name of Mrs, Elizabeth Steele is advanced as that of the author; but the discredit of the publication has been assigned to Alexander Bicknell, the writer of a life of Alfred the Great. According to this work Sophia Snow was born in 1745 in