Thus encouraged, he promptly composed a sequel to “The Beggar’s Opera,” which he called by the name of the heroine of that piece, that is to say, “Polly.”  The best summary of “Polly” has been given by Mr. Paull, in his interesting paper on Gay[6]:—­

“Macheath has been transported across the herring-pond ...  He succeeds in escaping from the plantations, and has become the leader of a band of pirates, under an assumed name, and disguised as a black man.  Jenny Driver is now his mistress (presumably he has forgotten her treachery in ’The Beggar’s Opera’).  Polly sails across the ocean to find him, but is entrapped by Mrs. Trapes, a procuress, who sells her to Ducat, a rich merchant.  Mrs. Ducat, who is jealous, helps Polly to escape; she assumes a boy’s dress and continues her search for Macheath.  She is captured by the pirates, and she and Macheath meet, neither recognising the other.  The pirates are attacking the English settlement; the Indians are helping the settlers.  At first the pirates are successful, and the young Indian Prince is captured, but ultimately they are defeated, Polly herself capturing Macheath, who is condemned to death by the Indian Prince.  Then she learns from Jenny Driver who the pirate chief is, and his life is promised her as her reward; but his execution has already taken place, and she has to console herself with the hand of the Indian Prince, who has fallen in love with her.  Even this skeleton will show that the novelty and unity of design which counted for so much in ’The Beggar’s Opera’ are changed for intricacy of plot.  There is no cohesion in the story:  there is no reason why the catastrophe should be brought about in one way rather than another; what interest there is turns on an improbable story rather than on the development of character.  Evidently Gay reckoned largely on the opportunities he had afforded himself for satire on the Court, and for contrasting the noble and untutored savage with the man tainted by the vices of civilisation.”

“Polly” was accepted for production by Rich at the theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields:  the subsequent proceedings are but told by the author himself in his Preface, dated March 25th, 1729, to the printed version of the book of the opera:—­

“After Mr. Rich and I were agreed upon terms and conditions for bringing this piece on the stage, and that everything was ready for a rehearsal, the Lord Chamberlain sent an order from the country to prohibit Mr. Rich to suffer any play to be rehearsed upon his stage till it has been first of all supervised by his Grace.  As soon as Mr. Rich came from his Grace’s secretary (who had sent for him to receive the before-mentioned order) he came to my lodgings and acquainted me with the orders he had received.

“Upon the Lord Chamberlain’s coming to town I was confined by sickness, but in four or five days I went abroad on purpose to wait upon his Grace, with a faithful and genuine copy of this piece, excepting the errata of the transcriber.