at the level of Lord Chamberlain. Plays of Jack Sheppard and Oliver Twist had been closed while running. As a censor, Donne was openly hostile to French drama and its influence. His approach was later criticised (in 1886) by William Archer, who found it "alternately tyrannical and futile". The parliamentary enquiry in fact supported the line taken in censorship at the time, and suggested it might be extended. Archer claimed that John Hollingshead and Tom Taylor as witnesses had dissented; but they did not oppose censorship as such. One of the firm lines Donne took was against stage representation of Bible stories, and discussion of theology. He defended, to the parliamentary enquiry, the permission granted to perform certain operas, considered "unsuitable", on the grounds that the words were not very audible, and in a foreign language. It has been found surprising that he did not object to the song The Wearing of the Green, in a Dion Boucicault play set during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. In fact Donne cited the play, Arrah-na-Pogue, in a short list of contemporary works he thought were likely to last, along with others by Edward Bulwer, Sheridan Knowles, John Westland Marston, Thomas Noon Talfourd, and Tom Taylor. Donne licensed in the range of 5,000 to 6,000 plays while in post. He kept careful records of the blue pencil, showing passages excised as a condition of licensing. These are extant. Death and views Donne died on 20 June 1882. He was a liberal in politics, supported the repeal of the corn laws, and spoke on behalf of Lajos Kossuth. Works Donne's writings were mainly in the periodicals of the day. He became a contributor to the leading reviews, including the Edinburgh Review, Quarterly Review, Fraser's Magazine, and the British and Foreign Review, of which Kemble was editor. He was a frequent contributor to the Saturday Review. He also wrote some articles in Bentley's Quarterly Review (1859–60), when it was edited by Robert Cecil. A classical scholar, Donne published in 1852 Old Roads and New Roads, involving classical literature and modern history. His Essays on the Drama, collected from periodicals, were published in 1858, and reached a second edition in 1863. He wrote the volumes Euripides and Tacitus for the series Ancient Classics for English Readers (William Blackwood and Sons). As a theatre critic, Donne expressed reservation about contemporary trends, in the direction of historical accuracy,