 Despite Signor Paulo 's success at Sadler 's Wells , Richard Hughes 's widow Lucy , who was a majority shareholder at the theatre , pleaded with Grimaldi to return . He agreed on the conditions that he was sold an eighth share in the theatre , remained the resident Clown and received a salary of 12 guineas a week . She agreed to his terms , and he took the part of <unk> in the 1818 Easter pantomime The Marquis De Carabas ; or , Puss in Boots . The show was a disaster and closed after one night . Grimaldi was booed off the stage after an impromptu joke ( eating a prop mouse ) upset the audience and caused two female audience members to fight in the auditorium . The audience was also angry at Grimaldi 's weak performance ; later he felt that this marked the beginning of his career 's decline . Dibdin left Sadler 's Wells that year ; his fortunes changed rapidly for the worse , and he spent time in a debtors ' prison . Grimaldi 's debut as a theatre proprietor was also a failure . Although Jack Bologna , Mary , JS and Bologna 's wife Louisa were all cast in Grimaldi 's only commissioned pantomime , The Fates ; or , Harlequin 's Holy Day , he had underestimated the amount of work required to run a theatre , and the strain of management hastened the already rapid deterioration in his health . 
