A LETTER TO Mr.
ROWE
Concerning the NON-JUROR.
(Price Six-pence.)
A CLUE To the COMEDY of the Non-Juror.
WITH SOME Hints of Consequence Relating to that PLAY.
IN A LETTER TO
N. ROWE,
Esq
Poet Laureat to His Majesty.
Quo Musa tendis? desine pervicax
Referre Sermones Deorum—
Hor.
LONDON:
Printed for
E. Curll,
in
Fleet-street.
1718.
A CLUE to the COMEDY OF THE NON-JUROR, With some Hints of Consequence relating to that PLAY.
Dear Mr.
Rowe,
I Entirely agree with you, That there has not of late appear'd in Publick, a more
exquisite Piece of Satire,
than the Comedy call'd the
Non-juror;
or that better deserv'd the Distinction that was shown it, not only by your Self, as His Majesty's Laureat, but by all the Loyal Party in general. I also agree with you, that perhaps there never was a Piece of fine
Drama-Theological Satire,
the true Scope of which has been less understood. I am at a Loss which to admire most, the noble, free Spirit of our Friend the Author; the insensibility of those whom the Satire is
really Aim'd at,
or the ignorant Rage of those
dissaffected Jacobite Wretches
who cry out when they are not hurt. You were pleas'd to desire me, when we met last, to put upon Paper the few Hints I dropt to you in Conversation upon this Subject, and which, I doubt not, are sufficient to make any unprejudic'd Rē ader of your and my Opinion; namely,
That Dissaffection to the Government is the smallest Immorality which is pointed at by this Play; and which indeed is only introduced to hide a far
deeper Design,
and far
more useful Satire.
In order to set this in it's true Light, I will but barely
point
at the several Figures of the Comedy, and make some short Remarks upon their Attitudes, without the Ill-manners of naming any particular Person, but leaving the free and impartial Reader to draw his own Inferences. Two general Observations only, are necessary to be premised, because every common Judge is not so sensible of them, as we who have been Writers all our Lives.
The
First
is, That when we
Rebuke our Superiours,
the Fable ought to be so coucn'd, as to make the Criminal give Judgment against himself before he is aware: (an Art as ancient at least as the Days of
Nathan)
But if the Scene of Action be laid in a Subject not only quite
foreign,
but seemingly
opposite
to the principal Aim of the Satire, the Address will be still the more refined; because by this Method the Author introduceth
Facts
and
Personages
which the guilty will be sure to Condemn; not only from
natural Equity,
but
natural Aversion.
Thus, for Example, To engage a
Tory
to condemn a Piece of Iniquity in the Abstract, one need only lay the Scene among
Whigs,
and so on the contrary. And
Secondly,
I would put the Reader in mind that in Fables of this Nature, it is usual to represent
whole Parties of Men by single Personages.
This premised, let us observe the principal Figure thar presents it self to our View; I mean Dr.
Wolf;
whose Character answers to
Moliere
's
Tartuffe,
who is known to have represented a
certain puritanical Bishop in France.
We next are to take Notice, That
Wolf
in the Stile of
Ecclesiastical Allegory
constantly signifies the
Presbyterian Party:
You know it is thus in the
Hind
and
Panther,
and most other Pieces of Controversial Divinity or Poetry. So Dr.
Wolf
is a
Presbyterian.
Dr.
Wolf
expects for his Services in
Betraying the Church,
great
Ecclesiastical Preferment,
(as Sir
John
expresseth it)
Nonjuror, pag. 18.
an Office for Life, which, on whatsoever Pretence of Misbehaviour, no Civil Government can deprive him of.
This is Ironically represented afterwards by the
See of Thetford.
So, in short, Dr.
Wolf
is a Bishop.
This
Presbyterian
Bishop has wrote something about the
Case of Schism;
and the
Colonel
tells his Father,
That he
pag. 3.
has read enough of him in the
Daily Courant. What Bishop has publish'd in the
Daily Courant,
is
lippis et tonsoribus notum.
This Bishop protests great Zeal for the
Church,
at the same Time that he is betraying it: On which the
Colonel
tells Sir
John, Tho'
pag. 3.
I have always honour'd your Concern for the Church, I little thought it was for a Church that is Establish'd no where.
(i. e.)
No visible Church.
This Bishop is mark'd with another strong Characteristick, managing a Dispute with
Heartly
about
the Nature of Prayer.
That it ought not to be
Tedious;
pag. 13.
outward Expression not so absolutely necessary, since Heaven knew the true Intention of the Heart.
pag. 12.
And then he talks of his own
Manual of Devotions.
This Bishop also pretends a mighty Regard to
tender Consciences.
He tell's
Heartly,
That we
pag. 13.
ought to allure them to what is Good by the gentlest, easiest Means we can,
nor give the least colour of Offence to tender Consciences.
The
Colonel
here urges the
Constitution
against him, and the force of the Laws; and desires him to explain himself; to which this Bishop Answers
pag. 13
Sir,
I shall not explain my Self: But make your best of what I've said—But Power perhaps may change it's Hands, and you e're long as little dare to speak your mind, as I do;
viz.
That there may come a Time when this Constitution you talk so much of, may be overturned.
Sir
John
is fully satisfy'd that the
Doctor
is all this while a
pag. 18.
true stanch Member of the
English
Catholick Church;
mark, that is, such a Church as
comprehends all Sects and Parties whatsoever.
But lest these Lines shou'd not be strong enough, the Author gives the finishing Stroke.
This Bishop is at last discover'd to be a
Jesuit
in Disguise, By whom? By one of his
School-Boys
in whom he had distilled. some of his
Jesuitical Principles
And most remarkable it is what the
Colonel
says on this Occasion. That
pag. 47.
Charles
begs
he will not insist upon the Discovery, 'till his Circumstances will allow it:
Almost in the very Stile of some
Letters
that passed, upon a parallel Occasion, between a
Master of a School,
and a
Reverend Doctor.
At last
Substantial Affadavits
are produced, to prove Dr.
Wolf
to have been Educated a
Jesuit;
by which (as it is usual in Allegorical Writers)
the close Conjunction of a Reverend
Prelate
and a certain
Jesuit, is most injuriously and scandalously insinuated.
So here is a
Prelate
and a
Jesuit
and his
Gang,
got into the Family of Sir
John!
Let us next see what they are to do there. Why, they contrive the
Ruin
of his Family, and the
disinheriting
and
expulsion
of his
Children
with so great an Assurance of Success, that the
Doctor
talks of Sir
John
in this manner:
pag. 68.
Poor Man! he knows not his own Weakness; he is moulded into any Shape, if you but gently stroke his Humour. I intend to Morrow, to perswade him 'tis for the Interest of our Cause it should be so; and then I have him sure.
Poor Sir
John
indeed!
I must here put you in mind of my second Observation, that by the single Person of Dr.
Wolf,
without any forced Construction, may be understood a whole Sett or Party of Men. To proceed then,
The Play Opens with a Dispute between Sir
John
and his
Daughter,
about the Formality of
Christening,
and Sir
John
is at it again,
(pag
63) being extremely rejoyced that
Heartly
is
Christ'ned
according to the
Right Form.
There is also mention made of
Searching the Register,
&c.
Next we see Dr.
Wolf
insulting Sir
John'
s
Son
and
Daughter;
he breaks into the
Daughter's
Bedchamber before she is quite
Up;
and when
she resents it,
he tell's her
pag. 15.
Compose your Transport, Madam: I came by your
Father's Desire;
for what I have done, Madam, I had your
Father's Authority,
and shall leave him to answer you.
The
Daughter
replies,
Ibid.
It is false, he gave you no Authority to insult me: What is it you presume upon? your Function! does that exempt you from the Manners of a Gentleman?
At last his foul Behaviour provokes the
Son
to that degree, that he call's him
pag. 14.
Villain,
and
Rascal.
Sir
John
is nettled at this; he tells his
Son
and
Daughter,
pag. 44.
I see your Aim: Your Malice on your own vile Head: To me it but the more endears him: Either submit and
ask his Pardon
for this Wrong,—or this Instant
leave my Sight,
my
House,
my
Family
for ever.
The
Son
answers,
pag. 45.
Tho' I would hazard Life to save you from the Ruin he misleads you to, could Die to Reconcile my Duty to your Favour; yet on the Terms that Villain offers, 'tis Merit to refuse it. I Glory in the Disgrace your Errors give me.
In short, Sir
John
's Attachment to Dr.
Wolf
was so great, that there appear'd but small Hopes of ever opening Sir
John
's Eyes: And remarkable is the Lamentation of the
Son
upon that Occasion;
pag. 16.
What horrid Hands is this poor Family fall'n into? How little is my Father like himself, by Nature Open, Just, and Generous? but this vile Hypocrite drives his weak Passions like the Wind; and I foresee, at last, will dash him on his Ruin.
When Dr.
Wolf
had wrought up the Passion of Sir
John
to this degree, as to turn his
Children out of Doors;
then he interposeth his good Offices, and proposeth a
Reconciliation.
I beg the Reader to observe the
Terms
of it.
That his Child should be at the sole Disposal of Dr.
Wolf, and do nothing without
his Consent.
It must here be observ'd that the Daughter had a Fortune of
her own, independent on the Father,
upon which she seems to value her Self.
pag. 5.
Have not I
5000l.
in my own hands? have not I had the full Swing of my own Airs and humours these four years?
Mark the precise time But she is put in mind by the
Son,
that tho' the Father could not
deprive her of her Fortune, he might abridge
her Equipage; in these words
Ibid.
however a Father's Consent might have clapt a pair of horses more to your Coach.
But at last he applauds her resolution, and tells her she
speaks with the Spirit of a free-born Englishman.
Mark now the modesty of Dr.
Wolf;
he proposes, as the Lowest and
last condition, that she should resign the half of this independent fortune
pag. 54.
Is not two thousand pounds worth two Thousand pounds?
Is not
half
better than
nothing?
Observe next, (good Mr.
Rowe)
how Dr.
Wolf
endeavours to debauch Lady
Woodvill,
and make her Subservient to his Villainous designs: This Lady is described as having a great Ascendant over Sir
John's
Spirit that
She keeps no Assemblys;
that she had been
Poor
and
Beautiful,
while Sir
John
was
Rich
and
Amourous.
This Lady proves honest and trusty; and contributes, in the conclusion, to the discovery of the wicked purposes of Dr.
Wolf.
Pray take notice too of a very odd Episode that seem to contribute very little to the main Action. That is Dr.
Wolf
's endeavouring to Bring Sir
John
into a
Scheme
of
Church Comprehension;
Referring again to his
Case of Schism,
he tells Sir
John
that
pag. 25
differences are not so material as some would represent them. Ah! could we be brought to a Temper, a great many seeming Contradictions might be reconciled.
I allow this is a
Comprehension
of a different kind; but I beg leave to remind you and my Readers of my first observation, that the
Circumstances of a Fable
do not determine the
Satire.
But you, Sir, who are intimate with Mr.
Cibber
may examine and know the Truth of this.
Nothing is so plain as the Catastrophe; when Dr.
Wolf
thought himself sure of his Blow, and had brought Sir
John
to believe that his
pag. 24.
hot brain'd
Son (as he calls him) had a Design to get his Estate; he instantly makes Sir
John
resolve to repay it in kind by disinheriting him.
But at last, there arises a misfortune from a Corner where the
Doctor
least suspected it. Some of his own Party, whom he thought inviolably attach'd to his interests, discover his wicked purposes. This Sett of Men is represented by
Charles
an ingenious Gentleman, a Servant of Sir
John
's, a man of Business, a good
Greek
and
Latin
Scholar &c. This
Charles
(it seems) highly obliged by the Generous treatment of the
Son
and enamour'd of the good Qualities of the
Daughter,
both reveals, and prevents the whole
mystery of Iniquity:
Upon which Dr.
Wolf
seeing his project dissappointed vents his Rage upon this honest Gentleman; and attempts his Life.
Lastly, Mr.
Cibber
(to obviate all possibility of mistaking his meaning) upon the winding up of the whole design, breaks on a sudden into an open discourse of
Politicks;
talks of
embroiling the Nation,
and
ending Publick disputes
and calls upon King
George,
with abundance more good
Morality
very well worth observing.
Thus, Sir, according to your desire, I have given a short Sketch of the
Fable
and
Characters
of this Play; just enough to enable some person of greater
Sagacity
to find out who are meant by every particular Personage of the
Drama.
I am sure I would not presume so much as to guess.
But one Thing I must observe, which I remember we both took particular notice of: It is, that the Author tho' questionless a great master of Stile puts
bad English
into the mouths of most of his Personages: So that indeed scarce any of e'm talk at all like
English Folks;
but perpetually make use of an uncorrect,
Foreign, Jargon.
What his drift is in this I cannot imagine; but the Instances of it are obvious to every Reader; and numerous
in every Page.
I am, Dear Mr.
Rowe,
Your,
&c.
POSTSCRIPT.
Part of an
EPILOGUE,
Written by
N. Rowe,
Esas;q
to a Play call'd,
The Cruel Gift:
Or,
The Royal Resentment;
a
TRAGEDY.
Printed for
E. Curll.
Price 1
s.
THE former Part of this
EPILOGUE
turns upon the Plot of the Play, the latter Part is as follows,
viz,
How many Worthy Gentlemen of (late,
Swore to be true to
Mother-Church
and State;
When their
False Hearts
were secretly maintaining
You trim King
PEPIN
at
Avignon
Reigning?
Shame on the canting Crew of
Soul Insurers,
That
Tyburn-Tribe
of
Speech-Making Non-Jurors.
Who in new fangled Terms, old Truths explaining,
Teach honest
English-men,
damn'd
Double Meaning.
The great
Loyalty
express'd in these Lines, is so apparent, as not to stand in need of the least Comment.
The Conclusion of this
Epilogue
being the Character of an illustrious
PERSONAGE,
I re
er the Reader to the Play abovemention'd for the Satisfaction of his Curiosity.
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