Sir Robert Howard, patron of John Dryden, director and playwright of the King's Theatre, Auditor of the Receipt of the Exchequer, and member of Parliament for thirty years, was a very important figure in the court of Charles II. It is surprising, therefore, that so little knowledge of his activities has found its way into print. Even Mr. Montague Summers in his recent extensive study of the Restoration theatre, The Playhouse of Pepys, deplores this scarcity. Moreover, he makes a statement or two which proves the inaccuracy of the little which has been printed. Referring to Howard's appointment as Secretary to the Commissioners of the Treasury, he calls the office “a very lucrative Post,” and in proof quotes Pepys, “Howard hath got, they say, £20,000 since the King came in.” I should like to suggest that the £20,000 came from several sources besides the Secretaryship. Wittingly or not, however, Mr. Summers has indicated the keynote of Howard's career. It was money first, last, and always which interested him.