A LETTER TO
R—B—
Esq
AUTHOR of the NEW COMEDY CALLED THE WISHES: Now in Rehearsal at the Theatre Royal in
Drury-Lane.
LONDON: Printed for M. COOPER in Pater-noster-Row. 1761.
[Price Six Pence.]
A LETTER TO
R—B—
Esq
SIR,
IT was not many Days ago that I wrote you a Letter upon the Subject of your Comedy now upon the point of being acted at
Drury-lane
Theatre. As I had Reasons for not disclosing myself, I did not subscribe my Name to it; my Counsel of course was despised. However, I am not one of those anonymous Letter-Writers, who are to be discouraged by one Rebuff; for as my Motive, contrary to the Usage of my Fraternity, was a good one, and had your Benefit in view, I shall for your sake persist in it, and address you now in a more earnest and more public manner, than in my last.
Your Piece was last Winter put into my Hands by a Friend, without any Account whence he came by it. I read it through more than once, and it was upon my own Knowledge of it that I gave you my Advice not to produce it at our Summer Theatre; at the same time wishing you to reserve it till the Winter, when it might be secure of a better Representation. This I said, not in the least doubting but that the Manager of either Theatre would accept it gladly and without Hesitation. Since then to my inconceivable Surprize I have been informed that it was offered and refused at both Theatres. This accounts for the manner in which I got a sight of it; for it is plain, while it ought to have been in the Hands of its respectable Judges Mr. * * * and Mr. * * * it migrated into those of other People, who have no manner of Connection with them.
I confess to you, Sir, I was never more surprized in my Life than when I heard this Account. My Surprize however carried an Exception to it in the Person of Mr. * * *; for I might have considered that as he has long been in possession of the first Name for those agile Performances in which our mute Harlequin excells, it was not at all likely he should countenance any Invasion upon his Merit. The dangerous Tendency of this Innovation might justly alarm him, lest all that illustrious Collection of Birds and Beasts, Witches and Wire-Dancers, of which he enjoys the inestimable Possession, might be rendered useless and contemptible; and in the end the Performances of the Head (contrary to all Custom and Usage) be made of more Dignity than the Operations of the Heels. This Inversion of things I might have thought that experienced Practitioner could never approve of; and indeed how you or your Friends could think of tendering a Piece to him of such a Nature I can't well conceive.
But that any one who professes himself a man of Taste, a Lover of the Belles Lettres, a sovereign Critic in Dramatic Performances, and one who is himself a Dabbler in the Business, should so far forget himself, as to reject a Work of so much Wit and Ingenuity, so much Novelty, and such inimitable Raillery, staggered me beyond measure, and I was led almost to think I had mistaken its Merit, and formed too favorable an Opinion of it. While I was thus wavering, and almost upon the Point of receding from my Opinion; I received such a Confirmation of my Judgment, by the Reception it had met with from some of the most celebrated Wits of the Age, as put an End to my Doubts at once, and left me at a loss what Motive to ascribe its Rejection to. That it should spring from Want of Taste and Discernment I was loth to believe; that Jealousy or Want of Candor was the Cause, I was still inclined to think; especially when I recollected what halfformed mishapen Productions, that Gentleman had of late too frequently gave Birth to, with a Compliance, which although it carried the Appearance of Good Nature with it, certainly did no Credit to his Judgment. This Easiness of Temper to Authors of less Merit, led me to believe that there could be no Obstacle to your Success; and though I knew him absolute in his Decisions, I flattered myself he would be just. The Event convinced me of my Mistake, and the Conclusions I draw from it are such, as I never admit without Regret.
The Persons, Sir, whom you have had the good Fortune to please, are such, I understand, whose Names do honour not only to every one under their Protection, but to the Country to which they belong—nay, (if I am not mis-informed) I may add a Name to the List, a truly Royal one, whose Approbation I dare believe you esteem above any earthly Favour or Enjoyment whatsoever; this Approbation I am told was accompanied with a Liberality peculiar to himself, which though it could scarce enhance your Happiness, I make no doubt increased his own. Thus distinguished by the Applause as well as Bounty of your Sovereign, it would be ridiculous to suppose you any longer regret the Rejection you met with in your Application to the Theatre. If you received any thing like Mortification on that Occasion, it is now reflected back upon him who occasioned it, and who had not Taste to discern that Merit, which your Sovereign was pleased to reward. The happy Aera is now commenced, which if any one alive has cause to regret, it can be he only whose Decrees are no longer absolute, and whose Decisions are now made liable to be reversed; his Monopoly is destroyed: Men of Wit and Genius have now a new Channel open to their Productions, and he who was before the supreme Censor of their Works, will now be reduced to his proper Profession, and become the subservient Instrument in the Representation of them.
The Complaint that there are no Comedies wrote in this Age, does not in my Opinion reflect upon our Writers, but is the Consequence of our Manners. There are no longer any glaring Characters amongst us; modern Refinements have polished away all those humourous Peculiarities which supplied Topics of Ridicule to the Pens of
Shakespear, Johnson
and
Fletcher;
even
Cibber
's Beau no longer exists. Our Cotemporaries think they have conjured up a fresh Spirit of Humour in the Passion of Jealousy; it may be so; but it is no Mark of the Times; no body is jealous now-a-days; Thanks to the Wives of this Age, they prevent all that painful and excruciating Uncertainty which a more guarded Behaviour might occasion. The Comic Writer is now left without Materials: even the Court, his never-failing Resource for Invective, is now so formed, as to afford no Employment for his Pen, unless he steps out of his Office, and commences Panegyrist. In this Dearth of Characters I think great Praise is due to you, Sir, who have attempted to introduce amongst us these whimsical Recruits, and to transplant the Wit of
Italy
into your native Climate. I will not venture to say your Attempt will succeed, and for these Reasons, First, because Improvement is as hard to introduce in this Country, as Prejudice is found difficult to remove. Secondly, our English Harlequin being in general as great a Favourite with the Mob, as our English Punchinello is, I conclude that every Man who can jump through a Hoop himself, or who delights to see another do it, will set his Face against your Interloper. Thirdly, there being no Feats of Agility in your Piece, by which your Performers are put in manifest Danger of their Lives, I cannot see how it is possible the Galleries can set it out. Fourthly, and lastly; from its being admired by all People who have Taste, and the Opposition it has received from those who have none, I conclude it will be damned by a very great Majority.
If in reply to these Suggestions of mine you remind me of the very powerful Protection under which you are sheltered, I must acquaint you that for that very Reason every free-born Englishman who loves to disappoint and insult his Betters, will be your declared Enemy and Opposer. If you object to this, that your End is answered, that happy in the Approbation you have already obtained, you are above the Censure of the Vulgar and indifferent to their Praise, I think you judge right; and am,
SIR,
Your's, &c.
THE END.