Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A75906
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The adventures of Covent-Garden in imitation of Scarron's City romance.
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Farquhar, George, 1677?-1707.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing A604; ESTC R204315
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17,976
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71
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M in Drury-lane who upon the Oath of the Porters Wife and some of her creditable Neighbours drew his Mittimus in order for Newgate Worse and worse what must poor Buff do he must now discover himself to his Friends for Bail and so be made the Jest of the whole Town he call'd the Justice aside and told him the whole story The Magistrate answered unless the Porter could be found that the Law would oblige him to his Tryal at the Old-Bayly and that he must be bound over to answer at the next Sessions and accordingly he was so Peregrine losing a very good Jest by his ignorance in this affair goes next Evening to the Play where meeting some of his ingenious acquaintance viz. Mr. W Mr. H Mr. M with others of that Club there arose a discourse concerning the Battel between the Church and the Stage with relation to the Champions that mantained the parties the result upon the matter was this that Mr. Collier showed to much Malice and rancour for a Church-man and his Adversaries too little wit for the Character of Poets that their faults transversed would show much better Dulness being more familiar with those of Mr. Collier's Function as Malice and ill nature is more adapted to the Professorâ— of wit That the best way of answering Mr. Collier was not to have replyed at all for there was so much Fire in his Book had not his Adversaries thrown in Fuel it would have fed upon it self and so have gone out in a Blaze As to his respondents that Captain Va wrote too like a Gentleman to be esteemed a good Casuist that Mr. C 's passion in this business had blinded his reason which had shone so fair in his other Writings that Mr. S le wanted the wit of Captain Va as much as he did Mr. Settle's gravity That the two Answers to Mr. C have done his Book too much honour but themselves too great an Injury In short upon the whole matter that whoever gained the Victory the Stage must lose by it being so long the seat of the War And unless Mr. Dryden or Mr. Wicherly remove the combustion into the Enemies Country the Theatre must down And the end of this War will be attended by cashicring the Poets as the last Peace was by disbanding the Army Their discourse continued till the Play began when Peregrine spying his Mistress Selinda in a front Box was obliged to leave his Friends to entertain her This Lady had a great share of Sense and was mightily pleased with what the Fair Sex call fine things which that Play being the Indian Emperour was plentifully stored with Peregrine was so much a Courtier as to Joyn with her in the Applause but being of a critical humour he could not forbear making some severe remarks on the Dramma and inconsistencies of Plots You Criticks said Selinda make a mighty sputter about exactness of Plot unity of time place and I know not what which I can never find do any Play the least good Peregrine smild at her Female ignorance But she continued I have one thing to offer in this dispute which I think sufficient to convince you I suppose the chief design of Plays is to please the People and get the Play-House and Poet a Livelyhood You must pardon me Madam replyed Peregrine Instruction is the business of Plays Sir said the Lady make it the business of the Audience First to be pleas'd with Instruction aud then I shall allow you it to be the chief end of Plays But suppose Madam said he that I grant what you lay down Then Sir answered she you must allow that what ever Plays most exactly Answer this aforesaid end are the most exact Plays Now I can instance you many Plays as all those by Shakespear and Johnson and the most of Mr. Dryden's which you Criticks quarrel at as irregular which nevertheless still continue to please the Audience and are a continual support to the Theatre there 's very little of your Vnity of time or place in any of them yet they never fail to Answer the proposed end very succesfully Besides Sir I have heard your self say that Poetry is purely an imitation of Nature what business then can Art pretend in the affair O Madam Answered Peregrine this Art is only the improvement or perfection of Nature and is us'd in Poetry as Geometrical Lines in Painting do delineate the peice to an exact Model or Form Then certainly replyed the Lady these rules are ill understood or our Nature has changed since they were made for we find they have no such effects now as they had formerly For Instance I am told the Double Dealer and Plot and no Plot are two very exact Plays as you call them yet all their Vnity of Time Place and Action neither pleased the Audience nor got the Poets Money A late Play too call'd Beauty in Distress in which the Author no doubt sweat as much in confining the whole Play to one Scene as the Scene-Drawers should were it to be changed a hundred times this Play had indeed a commendatory Copy from Mr. Dryden but I think he had better have altered the Scene and pleased the Audience in short had these Plays been a little more exact as you call it they had all been exactly Damn'd Peregrine would have answered but a pluck by the Sleeve obliged him to turn from Selinda to entertain a Lady Mask'd who had given him the Nudg he presently knew her to be Emilia who whisperd him in the Ear I find Sir what Guyomar said just now is very true That Love which first took Root will first Decay That of a fresher date will longer stay Peregrine tho surprised was pleased with her pretty Reprimand being delivered without any Anger but in murmuring complaining Accents which never fail to move insomuch that he could not forbear demonstrating his satisfaction in such Terms and Behaviour as rendered him remarkable to all about him he quite forgot Selinda and his Argument And she endeavour'd to forget him by remembring this Action of his and tho many slips occasioned by Passion are pardonable yet when Love causes Offences against it self in default of good Manners towards the Fair 't is unexcusable Had he used Emilia with that freedom and carelesness which Masks generally meet with in the Pit Selinda would have imagined her familiarity with Peregrine to have only proceeded from a Pert and Impudent Behaviour which such Creatures use with all Gentlemen but he used something of a Fawning and Amorous respect to her which raised Selinda's Jealousy to the highest pitch But this was not all the Mischief occasioned by the Interview for my Lord C had that very Evening made an Assignation with Emilia at the Play whether she came early she beheld Peregrine with Indifference whilst he taulked among his Friends nor had she the least Motion to discover her self to him but spying him addressing a fine Lady in the Box whom she perceived to