NOTES.

Richard Eadnell, of the Inner Temple, Gent., solicitor to Steele and Scurlock, made oath on the 27th October, that on Wednesday the 20th October he applied to Castleman, treasurer at the old playhouse in Drury Lane, on behalf of the complainants, and told him that he had occasion to look in the books of accounts kept for Steele and the defendants, and that he, the deponent, would wait on Castleman for that purpose when convenient. But Castleman said he could show no books or give anyinformation without an order to do so from the other defendants. And on the 21st Eadnell applied to Wilks, Cibber, and Booth, but they utterly refused to give an order to Castleman, saying that no one should inspect the books or papers save Steele himself. Notice was subsequently given to the defendants' solicitor that the Court would be asked to make an order that these books could be examined by Steele or his solicitor;[164]and the order was duly granted. On the 2nd February 1726 Eadnell made oath that by virtue of this order he had looked over the books, and by them it appeared that Wilks, Cibber, and Booth had each received of Castleman £480 10s. (sic) for clear profits from the beginning of that season till Saturday, 15th January last, and Castleman had received the like sum of £487 10s. for the use of Steele, out of which he had paid £200 to Woolley, as arranged; but Castleman refused to pay Eadnell the remaining £287 10s. without the consent of Wilks, Cibber, and Booth. Eadnell thereupon applied to them, and gave them a copy of a letter of attorney duly executed by Steele and Scurlock, empowering him to receive and give discharges for such money as should become due to them from the theatre; but Wilks, Cibber, and Booth absolutely refused to direct Castleman to pay Eadnell, unless Eadnell would give them discharges for £30 which they received weekly on pretence of acting exclusive of Steele, and which was now in dispute in that Court. Wilks, Cibber, and Booth had received this £10 apiece weekly over and above the £487 10s. since the commencement of the winter season, and still intended to receive the same, as they informed Eadnell, notwithstanding the same was in dispute. And it appeared that over and above the £487 10s. and the £30 weekly, the sum of £30 a week was kept in the hands of the treasurer under the name of contingencies, in case there should be occasion to advance any moneyat any time on account of any new performances or otherwise.[165]

The defendants having put in their answer, Steele's counsel obtained leave, on the 12th February, to amend the complainants' bill.[166]The answer of Wilks, Cibber, and Booth to this amended bill is dated 15th June 1726. The defendants said they never refused to disclose to Steele the expenses incurred for scenes, clothes, &c.; those charges were entered in books which Steele could examine, and which they had reason to believe he had often inspected. In accordance with the order of the Court of the 28th October last, Eadnell had often examined the books, and was never denied the same. They submitted, therefore, whether they need do more than refer to the books as regards the particular sums laid out in clothes, scenes, &c. They never denied that Steele might controvert the accounts, but they apprehended he had no reason to do so, for the allowances they demanded were reasonable, and were for the daily and extraordinary labour and expenses in acting their several parts not otherwise charged for. If they had not taken upon themselves to look after and manage the theatre, they and Steele, instead of being gainers, would have lost by it; and if Steele had been as active on his part in the management as they (which he ought to have been by their Agreement), the same would have been an addition to the clear profits of the theatre, at least one fourth part.

In the meantime, Wilks, Cibber, and Booth had commenced a cross action against Steele.[167]In their bill, dated 11th January 1725-26, they said that Swiney and Collier had both constantly attended the business of the theatre, and much benefit had resulted therefrom; Colliersolicited persons of quality, and drew audiences to the theatre. When Steele was invited to come into partnership, he faithfully promised to attend the meetings and consultations of the Company, and to write plays and other performances, and to use his utmost endeavour to support the interest thereof; and he did continue to attend the business of the Company until 28th January 1719-20, since when he had altogether absented himself. From that date they had each taken to their own use £1 13s. 4d. a day, and Steele was so conscious that they deserved a much greater sum that he allowed the accounts wherein the same was charged. The scope of this cross bill, therefore, was that Wilks, Cibber, and Booth might be quieted in receiving the said £1 13s. 4d. apiece exclusive of Steele, and might have such allowance as the Court should think reasonable for the expense they were at in clothes, periwigs, laces, and linen, and for their trouble in instructing the actors and overseeing artificers, &c., and might be indemnified in paying the £1200 and interest to Woolley, and be relieved.

Steele's answer to this bill was taken by commission by Alexander and Theophilus Scurlock on June 23, 1726. He denied that on entering into the partnership he promised to attend meetings or instruct young actors, not being qualified or required to appear as an actor; but he believed he did in general promise to write plays, and to promote the interests of the theatre, and this he had done to the utmost of his power, as the managers had often admitted; see, for example, Cibber's dedication to him ofXimena. The Conscious Lovers"brought more money to the House than any play was ever known to do;" and he was at that time preparing, as fast as his health would permit, a new Comedy, which, God willing, he hoped to finish by the next season, the plot of which play was formed for the reformation of the theatre, and restoring the credit and good sense of theatrical entertainments,which he was sadly sensible was never more wanted. He had done and was doing as much as his health would permit. He had entered into an agreement on the 4th September 1721, and then or shortly before, when accounting for his share during the time of the pretended suspension by the Lord Chamberlain, the other managers had urged that they had lost much in 1720 in connection with the South Sea scheme, and that Steele had not borne his share of the cost of scenes; and he then, out of pure friendship and good-will, forgave them £1,200, which he believed was due to him. Steele insisted that he was not obliged to make Wilks, Cibber, and Booth any allowance for their managing and acting, as they were by the Articles obliged to do their duty in consideration of the three fourth parts they received; but he denied that he had pretended they ought not to be allowed for clothes, &c., used on the stage, he being willing to allow his share out of the joint stock; and he believed they had frequently taken out of the joint stock for their own private clothes, which they brought to the joint account; all which Steele allowed without objection. He admitted he asked permission to assign his share, and, being refused, assigned his interest without such consent to Scurlock, and he hoped that what he did through the need of satisfying his creditors would not in equity be a breach of his covenant. He did not know of the deduction of £1 13s. 4d. a day till the beginning of 1724[-5], when he brought his bill to be relieved against it; and he hoped that notwithstanding his signing the receipt of the 18th June 1723, he should be at liberty to call the managers to an account touching the said deduction.

The original cause was before the Court several times in August and October 1726.[168]Leave was given to Wilks, Cibber, and Booth to examine Castleman, amaterial witness for their case, and in no way concerned in point of interest in the matters in question; and upon application that Castleman should pay Steele £468 4s., which was found to be his share of the clear profits for 1725, it was ordered, by consent, that Castleman should pay Steele £200, subject to the order which should be made upon the hearing of the cause. In December leave was given to Steele and Scurlock to examine Castleman as a witness for them. The "answer of William Woolley, Esqre., one of the Defendants to the Bill of Complaint" of Steele and Scurlock, was not put in until the 20th October 1726.[169]It contains nothing fresh of importance. Woolley said he had received £600 of the £900 due to him from Steele, and that £300 was still due, besides interest; and he urged that he was entitled to his £200 a year in preference to all other creditors mentioned in Steele's bill. On the 21st November, Wilks, Cibber, and Booth obtained leave to amend their bill in the case in which they were complainants; and Alexander and Theophilus Scurlock were again commissioned to take Steele's answer.[170]In this answer to the amended bill, which was not sworn until the 11th May 1727, Steele said it was true that he had declared that Cibber's zeal for theConscious Loverswas an obliging favour and friendship to him, but he was referring to Cibber's care in instructing the actors, &c. Cibber did make several alterations in the play before it was acted, but to its disadvantage, and therefore he did not pay Cibber anything for his meddling. The piece ran eighteen nights, and brought £2,536 3s. 6d. to the house, but how much was paid for charges and how much to him Steele could not say, save £329 5s. or thereabouts, which he received for three author's benefit nights. He could not setforth particular passages altered by Cibber; if he did, it might run him, in vindication of his own performance, into a sort of criticism very improper, as he apprehended, for the entertainment of that Honourable Court.

In October and November 1727, publication in the original cause was twice enlarged, upon the petition of the defendants, and on the 3rd February 1728, upon the original cause coming before the Court, the defendants' counsel alleged that the counter action was ready for hearing, but that as Steele lived at Carmarthen the plaintiffs in that action had not had time to serve him with a subpœna to hear judgment; and they said that both causes were proper to be heard together. Whereupon it was ordered that the original cause should stand over to the fourth day of causes after the term, and that judgment should then be pronounced in both causes.[171]The combined suits accordingly came to a hearing before Sir Joseph Jekyll, Master of the Rolls, on Saturday night, the 17th February 1728, at the Rolls Chapel,[172]when Cibber addressed the Court, acting upon the advice of his counsel, who pointed out that he could speak better upon the question of the business of a manager than the most learned lawyer. Two of the counsel for Steele afterwards held the post of Lord Chancellor, and Cibber professes to have almost broken down with nervousness; but he succeeded, with the help of notes, in making a successful speech of an hour's length, which he has printed at length in the sixteenth chapter of hisApology. He maintained that Steele was as much obliged to do theduty and business of a manager as either Wilks, Booth, or Cibber; and the reason why he had ceased to take any part in the management was, that he was annoyed at his fellow-managers, who had often helped him when he was in want of money, but who found it necessary at last to peremptorily refuse to advance another shilling until it was due to him. After that Steele not only absented himself, but made an assignment of his share, without the consent of the others, in breach of their Agreement, thereby exposing them to the chance of trouble and inconvenience. His absence, too, had led to more than proportionate loss, because his rank, and figure in the world, and the ready access which he had at Court, had been of great service; that was, in fact, the very end and consideration of his share in the profits. Cibber proceeded to argue that he, Wilks, and Booth had been justified in charging £1 13s. 4d. a day for their extraordinary labour, in Steele's absence, by graphically describing the multitude of duties and disagreeable tasks which fell to a manager's lot. Steele had not written plays for nothing, and though, said Cibber, in writingThe Conscious Lovers, "he had more assistance from one of the managers than becomes me to enlarge upon, of which evidence has been given upon oath by several of our actors, yet, Sir, he was allowed the full and particular profits of that play as an author, which amounted to three hundred pounds, besides about three hundred more which he received as a joint sharer of the general profits that arose from it." Cibber adds, in another place, that when they told Steele of the salary they meant to take for themselves in future, Steele only remarked that he had no reason to doubt of their doing him justice, and he never complained for nearly three years; indeed it was not until his affairs were put into the hands of lawyers and trustees that his lawyer thought that here was a fair field for an action in Chancery, inwhich, whatever the result might be, his bill would be paid.

After hearing Cibber, and the counsel on both sides,—the proceedings lasted five hours,—the Master of the Rolls declared that he saw no good cause for breaking through the account dated 18th June 1723, or for varying the allowances of £1 13s. 4d. which had been made at that time to each of the defendants, Wilks, Cibber, and Booth. He therefore ordered that the account dated the 18th June 1723 should stand, and that it should be referred to Mr. Bennett to take an account of the profits of the theatre from that time; the defendants were to produce before the said Master upon oath all books of account, &c., and to be examined as the Master should direct; and in taking the account the Master was to make to the defendants all just allowances. His Honour declared he conceived the allowance of £1 which had been already made to each of the defendants for management every night was a reasonable allowance, and that they ought to have this allowance continued to them until Steele should come into the management of the theatre; but the Master must determine what the defendants respectively deserved for their charges for wigs, lace, and linen, for which Steele admitted by his answer that an allowance should be made; and he was also to take an account of what was due to Woolley for principal and interest on his mortgage, and to tax Woolley's costs in this suit. The Master was also to ascertain what would be coming to Steele for his fourth part of the profits on the balance of the account, and from what was certified as due to Steele, Wilks, Cibber, and Booth should pay to Woolley what was reported due to him in the first place for principal, interest, and costs as aforesaid, and should pay the remainder to Scurlock for the uses mentioned in the deed of assignment from Steele to Scurlock, or to whoever Scurlock should authorise to receive the same;and Wilks, Cibber, and Booth were hereby indemnified for so doing; and they were to continue to pay Steele's fourth part of the growing profits, under such allowances as aforesaid, to Steele or to whoever he should authorise to receive the same. And it was further ordered that Steele and Scurlock's bill against Castleman be dismissed out of the court; and that no costs be paid to either of the said parties, except to Woolley.

The Master's Report is dated July 10, 1728.[173]Mr. Bennett said that the plaintiffs' solicitors having allowed Wilks, Cibber, and Booth 13s. 4d. apiece for every day a play was acted, from the 18th June 1723, as the same had been allowed up to that time, he had taken an account of Steele's fourth part of the profits from the said 18th June to the present time, and found that that fourth part amounted to £2,692 3s. 3d., in discharge whereof he found that the said defendants had paid to Steele or order several sums, amounting to £1,601 3s. 3d., leaving due to Steele £1,091. And the clerk in court for Woolley had admitted that Woolley had been already paid off and discharged all the principal and interest due to him on Steele's account; and the Master had already, by his Report of the 5th instant, taxed Woolley's bill of costs at £29 2s. 10d., which sum he appointed Wilks, Cibber, and Booth to pay Woolley out of the said sum of £1,091 in their hands, and the residue, £1,061 17s. 2d., they were to pay to Scurlock, as directed by the order of the 17th February. On the following day, July 11, 1728, upon motion made by the counsel for the defendants in the original cause, this Report and all contained therein was confirmed by order and decree of the Court.[174]

[1]Readers desirous of knowing more about Steele may be referred to Forster's Essay, first printed in theQuarterly Reviewfor 1855; to Mr. Dobson's "Richard Steele," 1886, in theEnglish Worthiesseries; and to theLife of Richard Steele, 2 vols., 1889, by the present writer. From the last-mentioned work I have occasionally borrowed a phrase or sentence in this Introduction.

[2]SeeAppendix.

[3]This is not true. The second edition was corrected and enlarged.

[4]SeeAppendix.

[5]Athenæum, Sep. 20, 1884, article by the present writer.

[6]Public Record Office, Chancery Decrees, 1709 B. p. 320, "Steele v. Rich."

[7]See a paper by the present writer in theAthenæumfor Dec. 27, 1890, and theLife of Steele, ii. 72-3.

[8]Tonson paid for the copyright £40, "and other valuable considerations"; and he had to institute proceedings to prevent the play being pirated (Athenæum, Dec. 5, 1891). As early as March 1, 1772, Lintot has agreed to give Tonson £70 for a half share of Steele's comedy that was to be published.

[9]"Hired mourners at a funeral say and doA little more than they whose grief is true;'Tis just so here: false flattery displaysMore show of sympathy than honest praise."Conington.

[9]

"Hired mourners at a funeral say and doA little more than they whose grief is true;'Tis just so here: false flattery displaysMore show of sympathy than honest praise."Conington.

[10]Isabella, second daughter of the Lord of St. Gravemoer, General of the Forces to the States General, and wife of Arnold Joost van Keppel, Earl of Albemarle, and Colonel of the first troop of Horse Guards.

[11]William Cavendish, fourth Earl of Devonshire; created in 1694 Marquis of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire. The Duke was a Knight of the Garter, and Lord Steward of the Household. He married Mary, second daughter of the first Duke of Ormond, and he died in 1707.

[12]Perhaps the reference is to Charles Montagu, Lord Halifax, who, as Pope says, was "fed with dedications."

[13]"Whether he trains for pleading, or essaysTo practice law, or frame some graceful lays."(Conington'sHorace,Ep. I. iii. 23-4, adapted to suit Steele's modification of the original.)

[13]

"Whether he trains for pleading, or essaysTo practice law, or frame some graceful lays."

(Conington'sHorace,Ep. I. iii. 23-4, adapted to suit Steele's modification of the original.)

[14]Wilks wasCampley. In theTatler(No. 182), Steele says: "To beseech gracefully, to approach respectfully, to pity, to mourn, to love, are the places wherein Wilks may be said to shine with the utmost beauty!" He had "a singular talent in representing the graces of nature" and "the easy frankness of a gentleman."

[15]Contemporary writers loudly complained of the neglect of ordinary plays at this time, owing to the importation of French tumblers and rope-dancers, performing animals, and Italian singers. "The town ran mad," says Gildon (Comparison between the two Stages), after some of these entertainments. The theatres in Drury Lane and Lincoln's Inn Fields tried to outdo each other in every new attempt made by either of them. The "Celebrated Virgin," in a machine, shining in a full zodiac, and "Harlequin and Scaramouch," with plenty of grimaces and table-jumping, were favourite amusements. The cleverest plays would rarely secure a reasonable audience unless they were accompanied by dances, songs, and clowns. Colley Cibber (Apology, chap. x), says that Rich paid "extraordinary prices to singers, dancers, and other exotic performers, which were as constantly deducted out of the sinking salaries of his actors." The majority of the people "could more easily apprehend anything theysaw, than the daintiest things that could be said to them." Rich was only prevented bringing an elephant on to the stage by "the jealousy which so formidable a rival had raised in his dancers," and by the bricklayers assuring him that the safety of the building would be imperilled. The complaint that what pleases is "the skill of carpenter, not player," is exactly what we hear continually at the present day.

[16]An Order of the Lord Chamberlain to the Managers of the Haymarket and Drury Lane Theatres, dated 24 Dec., 1709, directed that all agreements with actors, &c., were to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain; that all players were to be sworn in; that all new plays, &c., were to be re-licensed by the Master of the Revels; and "that from and after the first day of January next no new Representations be brought upon the Stage which are not Necessary to the better performance of Comedy or Opera, such as ladder-dancing, antic postures, &c., without my leave and approbation first had." (Lord Chamberlain's Records, Warrant Book No. 22, end). SeeTatler, Nos. 12, 99. The author of a book calledThe Antient and Modern Stages surveyed(1699), attributed to Dr. James Drake, and written in reply to Collier'sShort View, says (p. 99): "As for the dancing, which he calls bold, it may in one sense be allowed him; for it must be granted that he that ventures his neck to dance upon the top of a ladder is a very bold fellow."

[17]Pother.

[18]In a letter written in August, 1710, to her future husband, Mr. E. Wortley Montagu, Lady Mary Pierrepoint says: "People talk of being in love just as widows do of affliction. Mr. Steele has observed in one of his plays, 'the most passionate among them have always calmness enough to drive a hard bargain with the upholders.' I never knew a lover that would not willingly secure his interest as well as his mistress; or, if one must be abandoned, had not the prudence (among all his distractions) to consider that a woman was but a woman, and money was a thing of more real merit than the whole sex put together."

[19]See note35.

[20]In the first edition this speech reads, "Oh that Harriot! To fold these arms about the waist of that beauteous struggling—and at last yielding fair!" In theSpectator(No. 51), Steele condemned the passage as an offence to delicacy and modesty.

[21]Tom's Coffee House, 17, Great Russell Street, Covent Garden, on the north side, over against Button's. SeeGuardian, No. 71.

[22]Richard Lucas, D.D. (1648-1715), wrote, among other things,The Enquiry after Happiness, andPractical Christianity. The latter, published in 1700, was afterwards referred to in theGuardian, No. 63, and there are quotations from both works in Steele'sLadies' Library, 1714.

[23]Daniel Purcell composed music for these verses.

[24]Henry Lawes, the friend of Milton, and his associate in the production ofComus, died in 1662.

[25]Slippers.

[26]Gildon suggests that this should be "premises"; but the word was not altered in later editions of the play.

[27]It is interesting to compare the ensuing dialogue with similar scenes in Sheridan'sSchool for Scandal.

[28]Budgell refers to this scene in a paper in theSpectator(No. 506), on happiness in the married state.

[29]Daniel Purcell composed music for this song.

[30]In theLay Monastery, No. 9 (December 4th, 1713), Blackmore dwelt on the fine touches of humanity in the part of Trusty in this play. He said this passage was too well known on the stage to need transcribing: "This is not only nature, but nature of the most beautiful kind; or, to borrow Plautus's own remark, by the representation of such playseven good men may be made better."

[31]These lines are in the spirit of, but are not a quotation from Lee'sRival Queens, or the Death of Alexander the Great.

[32]The object of the Act of 1678 (30 Charles II. c. 3), which obliged the dead to be buried in woollen, was to protect homespun goods against foreign linen."'Odious! in woollen! 'twould a saint provoke,'Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke;'No, let a charming chintz and Brussels laceWrap my cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face;One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead—And—Betty—give this cheek a little red.'"(Pope,Moral Essays,i. 246-251.)Pope here alludes, says Carruthers, to Mrs. Oldfield, who acted Narcissa in Cibber'sLove's Last Shift. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, the corpse being decorated with "a Brussels lace head-dress, a Holland shift, with tucker and double ruffles of the same lace, and a pair of new kid gloves."—See, too,Tatler, No. 118.It is evident that by making a certain payment persons of position could evade the Act; in the Overseers' Rate Books for the Parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, one or two persons in the year are often mentioned as being buried in linen: Thus in the volume for 1702 (p. 147) I found—"Received for persons buried in linen, contrary to Act of Parliament:For ——£2 5 0For the Earl of Macclesfield£2 10 0."Mr. Austin Dobson has pointed out that if Anne Oldfield really gave the orders alleged by Pope she was only elaborating the words of Steele's widow, which she must have often heard on the stage, as she acted the part of Lady Sharlot in this play.

[32]The object of the Act of 1678 (30 Charles II. c. 3), which obliged the dead to be buried in woollen, was to protect homespun goods against foreign linen.

"'Odious! in woollen! 'twould a saint provoke,'Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke;'No, let a charming chintz and Brussels laceWrap my cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face;One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead—And—Betty—give this cheek a little red.'"(Pope,Moral Essays,i. 246-251.)

Pope here alludes, says Carruthers, to Mrs. Oldfield, who acted Narcissa in Cibber'sLove's Last Shift. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, the corpse being decorated with "a Brussels lace head-dress, a Holland shift, with tucker and double ruffles of the same lace, and a pair of new kid gloves."—See, too,Tatler, No. 118.

It is evident that by making a certain payment persons of position could evade the Act; in the Overseers' Rate Books for the Parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, one or two persons in the year are often mentioned as being buried in linen: Thus in the volume for 1702 (p. 147) I found—

"Received for persons buried in linen, contrary to Act of Parliament:

For ——£2 5 0For the Earl of Macclesfield£2 10 0."

Mr. Austin Dobson has pointed out that if Anne Oldfield really gave the orders alleged by Pope she was only elaborating the words of Steele's widow, which she must have often heard on the stage, as she acted the part of Lady Sharlot in this play.

[33]Genest (Account of the English Stage) suggests that the idea of Lady Sharlot's escape was taken from Beaumont and Fletcher'sKnight of the Burning Pestle, Act V., Sc. III.

[34]Eusden, in a complimentary poem "To the Author of theTatler," printed in Nichols'Collection of Poems, iv. 152-4, thus expressed himself:—"O Charlotte! who thy character can read,But soon must languish, sigh, and secret bleed?* * * * *To wealth, to power, I every wish resign,If only that dear Charlotte might be mine."

[34]Eusden, in a complimentary poem "To the Author of theTatler," printed in Nichols'Collection of Poems, iv. 152-4, thus expressed himself:—

"O Charlotte! who thy character can read,But soon must languish, sigh, and secret bleed?* * * * *To wealth, to power, I every wish resign,If only that dear Charlotte might be mine."

[35]A favourite word with Steele. In the first scene of the play Sable says: "There's a what d'ye call, a crisis." In 1714, Steele wrote a famous pamphlet calledThe Crisis. "Plebian Britons," five lines below, reminds us of his four pamphlets,The Plebeian, on the Peerage Bill of 1719.

[36]Steele always maintained in his own political career the honest independent attitude here recommended.

[37]Daniel Purcell, brother of the great musician, Henry Purcell, was appointed organist of Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1686, and of St. Andrew's, Holborn, in 1713. He composed the music for an opera by George Powell, and died in 1717.

[38]"To have known these things is safety to the young."

[39]James, second Duke of Ormond, was in command of the expedition against Spain in 1702, when there were successes at Cadiz, Vigo, etc.; great booty was taken, and many galleons were sunk. Steele alludes below to this "wealth of the Indies." On February 4, 1703, the Duke was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.

[40]James Butler, first Duke of Ormond. Steele's uncle and guardian, Henry Gascoigne, was the Duke's secretary, and had obtained, through his employer, a place upon the foundation of the Charterhouse for Steele. Four years later (1688) the Duke died, and was succeeded by his grandson.

[41]On the 13th of January, 1704, one week before the publication of this play, the Queen issued an Order for the regulation of the playhouses, prohibiting them from acting anything contrary to religion and good manners (Salmon'sChronological Historian).

[42]This line is repeated from Steele'sProcession, 1695.

[43]Cliton.Qu'a de propre la guerre à montrer votre flamme?Dorante.O le beau compliment à charmer une dame,De lui dire d'abord: "J'apporte à vos beautésUn cœur nouveau-venu des universités;Si vous avez besoin de lois et de rubriques,Je sais le Code entier avec les Authentiques,Le Digeste nouveau, le vieux, l'Infortiat,Ce qu'en a dit Jason, Balde, Accurse, Alciat!"Qu'un si riche discours nous rend considerables!Qu'on amollit par là de cœurs inexorables!Qu'un homme à paragraphe est un joli galant!On s'introduit bien mieux à titre de vaillant:Tout le secret ne gît qu'en un peu de grimace,A mentir à propos, jurer de bonne grâce,Étaler force mots qu'elles n'entendent pas;Faire sonner Lamboy, Jean de Vert, et Galas;Nommer quelques châteaux de qui les noms barbares,Plus ils blessent l'oreille, et plus leur semblent rares;Avoir toujours en bouche angles, lignes, fossés,Vedette, contrescarpe, et travaux avancés:Sans ordre et sans raison, n'importe, on les étonne;On leur fait admirer les baies qu'on leur donne:Et tel à la faveur d'un semblable débit,Passe pour homme illustre, et se met en crédit.Le Menteur, Act I. Scene VI.

[43]

Cliton.Qu'a de propre la guerre à montrer votre flamme?

Dorante.O le beau compliment à charmer une dame,De lui dire d'abord: "J'apporte à vos beautésUn cœur nouveau-venu des universités;Si vous avez besoin de lois et de rubriques,Je sais le Code entier avec les Authentiques,Le Digeste nouveau, le vieux, l'Infortiat,Ce qu'en a dit Jason, Balde, Accurse, Alciat!"Qu'un si riche discours nous rend considerables!Qu'on amollit par là de cœurs inexorables!Qu'un homme à paragraphe est un joli galant!On s'introduit bien mieux à titre de vaillant:Tout le secret ne gît qu'en un peu de grimace,A mentir à propos, jurer de bonne grâce,Étaler force mots qu'elles n'entendent pas;Faire sonner Lamboy, Jean de Vert, et Galas;Nommer quelques châteaux de qui les noms barbares,Plus ils blessent l'oreille, et plus leur semblent rares;Avoir toujours en bouche angles, lignes, fossés,Vedette, contrescarpe, et travaux avancés:Sans ordre et sans raison, n'importe, on les étonne;On leur fait admirer les baies qu'on leur donne:Et tel à la faveur d'un semblable débit,Passe pour homme illustre, et se met en crédit.Le Menteur, Act I. Scene VI.

[44]This dialogue, down to the exit of Latine, is based uponLe Menteur,I. i.

[45]The four following speeches are a free translation fromLe Menteur, I. ii.

[46]FromLe Menteur, I. ii.

[47]The general idea of the ensuing dialogue, down to the exit of the ladies, is taken fromLe Menteur, I. iii.

[48]The dialogue thus far closely followsLe Menteur,I. iv.

[49]This passage, down to the end of Young Bookwit's description of the feast—"twelve dishes to a course"—is a literal translation fromLe Menteur, I. v. The whole scene appears again in slightly varied form in Foote'sLiar.

[50]The rest of the scene with Lovemore and Frederick is fromLe Menteur, I. v.

[51]The ensuing dialogue is an adaptation fromLe Menteur, i, vi., down to Latine's mention of lying. The rest is Steele's.

[52]Pontack's was a French eating-house in Abchurch Lane, where the Royal Society held its annual dinners until 1746. Pontack was son of the President of the Parliament of Bordeaux, and gave the name to a famous French claret. Evelyn refers to him in his diary, 13 July, 1683, and 30 Nov., 1694, and Swift, in his Journal, 16 Aug., 1711: "Pontack told us, although his wine was so good, he sold it cheaper than others; he took but seven shillings a flask. Are not these pretty rates?" See, too, the prologue toLove's Contrivances, 1703, by Mrs. Centlivre:—"At Locket's, Brown's, and at Pontack's enquire,What modish kickshaws the nice beaus desire,What famed ragouts, what new-invented salad,Has best pretensions to regale the palate.If we present you with a medley here,A hodge-podge dish served up in china-ware,We hope 'twill please, 'cause like your bills of fare."Pontack put up a picture of his father's head as a sign (Burn'sDescriptive Catalogue of the London Traders' Tavern, and Coffee-House Tokens, 1855, p. 13). From a tract calledThe Metamorphoses of the Town, dated 1730, we learn that Pontack's was then the resort of extravagant epicures; in the bill of fare of a "guinea ordinary" are "a ragout of fatted snails," and "chickens not two hours from the shell."

"At Locket's, Brown's, and at Pontack's enquire,What modish kickshaws the nice beaus desire,What famed ragouts, what new-invented salad,Has best pretensions to regale the palate.If we present you with a medley here,A hodge-podge dish served up in china-ware,We hope 'twill please, 'cause like your bills of fare."

Pontack put up a picture of his father's head as a sign (Burn'sDescriptive Catalogue of the London Traders' Tavern, and Coffee-House Tokens, 1855, p. 13). From a tract calledThe Metamorphoses of the Town, dated 1730, we learn that Pontack's was then the resort of extravagant epicures; in the bill of fare of a "guinea ordinary" are "a ragout of fatted snails," and "chickens not two hours from the shell."

[53]Geronte.Il vint hier de Poitiers, mais il sent peu l'école;Et, si l'on pouvait croire un père à sa parole,Quelque écolier qu'il soit, je dirais qu'aujourd'huiPeu de nos gens de cour sont mieux taillés que lui.(Le Menteur, II. ii.)

[53]

Geronte.Il vint hier de Poitiers, mais il sent peu l'école;Et, si l'on pouvait croire un père à sa parole,Quelque écolier qu'il soit, je dirais qu'aujourd'huiPeu de nos gens de cour sont mieux taillés que lui.(Le Menteur, II. ii.)

[54]Presents to servants.

Back to Index Next