Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A43744
|
The wary widdow, or, Sir Noisy Parrat a comedy : as it is acted at the Theatre Royal by Their Majesties servants / written by Henry Higden ...
|
Higden, Henry.
|
1693
(1693)
|
Wing H1945; ESTC R34463
|
59,061
|
72
|
THE Wary Widdow OR Sir Noisy Parrat A COMEDY As it is Acted at the THEATRE ROYAL By their MAJESTIES Servants Written by Henry Higden Esq Lectori Credere mallem Quam Spectatoris fastidia ferre Superbi LONDON Printed for Abell Roper at the Mitre near Temple-Bar and Tho. Rainy Bookseller in Doncaster M.DC.XCIII Dramatis Personae SIr Wordly Fox An Oliverian Colonel a cunning griping Sharper a Widdower but privately keeps a Mistress Franck Fox His Son a noble generous Person who unknowingly has for some time converst with his Fathers Mistress under a false Name Sir Noisy Parrat A prating whimsical Fool a great admirer of the Town Two Sparks of the Town return'd from Land Jack Scaredevil a Bravo Sea Tom Fulham a Gamester Plot. A Servant to Sir Worldly but privatly a Freind to Franck with whom he holds intelligence and is bound with him for his Debts Freindly An honest honourable Gentleman a Freind and Relation to Franck and in love with Clarinda WOMEN Lady Wary. A Young rich discrete Widdow and Sister to Freindly bred up with Clarinda Clarinda Daughter to Sir Worldly Fox Leonora A Mistress kept by Sir Worldly having for some time had an Intrigue with Franck under a false Name Her Aunt Who brought up Leonora and for Avarice expos'd her to Sir Worldly yet forced by Leonora to conceale her Intrigue with Franck. Lady Wary's Maid Clarinda's Maid and Nurse A Woman Servant to Sir Wordly A Leiutenant Seamen their Wives Fidlers c. To the right Honourable the Earl of Dorset and Middlesex Lord Chamberlain of their Majesties Houshold and Knight of the most Honourable Order of the Garter My LORD WHen I had the Honour to present this COMEDY to your Lordships perusall I designed it as an acknowledgment or rather as my first Fruits in the Dramatic way for the many Favours your Lordship had conferr'd upon me But now it is forced to beg your Protection from the malice and severe usage it receiv'd from some of my Ill natured Freinds who with a Justice peculiar to themselves passed sentence upon it unseen or heard and at the representation made it their business to persecute it with a barbarous variety of Noise and Tumult that many of the well meaning Spectatours for I am sure it had very few Hearers must conclude it a very Criminall performance As I should never have been vaine enough to have valued my self upon the opinion of such weake Judges so I am not much mortified at my falling under their Indignation But tho' I can easily forgive such an ungenerous way of proceedure in relation to my self who never expected to subsist by the Stage Yet it is a precedent of dangerous consequence and may happen to fall very severely upon those Gentlemen whose ill fortune or Genius shall lead them to attempt this sort of writing An unrighteous Faction may be formed against the Jastest and most regular Composition and no man is safe if these Gentlemen whom we must allow good Criticks in dressing shall assume to vent their ill grounded Fury and spet their venome upon every Authour that endeavours to divert them At the same time 't is my comfort that better Plays have met with the like fate from unthinking imcompetent Judges And without vanity several of a meaner Caracter have found a reception they never merited 'T is this Reflexion has somewhat releiv'd me under the late miscarryage of my Play and is a sensible satisfaction to me that your Lordship who is acknowledg'd by all Parties for the most correct and Judicious writer the truest Judge and the most disinterested Partron to be the delight the ornament and support of our Age has been pleased to peruse and approve it Your single Suffrage weighs more with me and the thinking part of mankind then the repeated acclamations of a numerous assembly My LORD Should I vainly presume to discribe every inherent and particular Grace that shines in the constellation of your Lordships Virtue or enumerate those rare qualifications that have rendred your Lordship so universally Esteemed belov'd and admir'd both at home and abroad I should loose my self in the Rapture and Contemplation But your Lordship has already receiv'd incense from happyer hands but from none that has a profounder honour for your Lordship then My LORD Your Lordships most humble most Obedient and most Faithful Servant Henry Higden THE PREFACE THis Play had the misfortune to come very unluckily on the Stage where it found very few Freinds Their prejudice had decree'd it should suffer under their Indignation and before it was off the Stocks had predestin'd it to Damnation Their kindness being greater for the preceding Play resolved they would see no sin in their Favourite Jacob but expose their unfortunate Esau to Reprobation without the least hopes of a Blessing The Theatre was by Faction transformed into a Bear-Garden hissing mimicking ridiculing and Cat-calling the Actours could not support themselves against so strong a Currant And if any came with a designe to be diverted they were distracted with the variety of Noyses and continual uproars they could neither hear nor Judge of the matter Had any of the Ancient Romans reviv'd to have been witness to this Interlude this medly of Noises they would certainly conclude the Moon was labouring under some dismal Eclypse and the Pagans of the Pit were endeavouring to recover her out of her Trance with this horrid din. The distracted Players were stunn'd with their clamours and though they had often stood the shock of Thunder and Lightning on the Stage yet now they found themselves confounded in this real Tempest They fancyed the Scene had been Translated into Sicily and the Earth had gaped to swallow these Grumbletonians like the murmuring Israelites of old Some dark Sons of uncertain Fathers infinitely diverted themselves with their melodious Cat-calls these Sons of Zerviah vanquished the Stage back'd with the untuneable brayings of Balaams Asse that joyned in this dismal consort In this distraction we may safely conclude the Audience were wholly strangers to the Plot and conduct of the Play And therefore it will be reasonable they should now read for their money what in the Action they could neither Hear nor Understand I am not Ignorant a just Cause may suffer under the prejudice of an Ignoramus Jury or an unjust Judge may stop his Ears against the voice of the Charmer and harden his heart to the severest Judgment or that an incensed Mob may be wrought up to break thro' all Laws and commit the highest outrages and Barbarities But after the fury of their military Execution is over they may relent of their rigour and have some reserve of compassion for the unfortunate Martyr that suffered their indignities with all constancy and Patience Had our unlucky Authour been worthy to have known they were absolutly bent to damn his Play unsight unseen his caution would have withdrawn him from the Thunder of their displeasure But now we are convinc'd by the surprising
Butchers meat longing for the most delicious Bits and the choicest Wines indulging himself in all voluptiousness present largely to a Mistress As if his small and only stock would hatch and breed in his Breeches like Fortunatus his purse I have seen another beg or borrow halfe a Crown to treat himself with a bon-Christian-Pare though he had not wherewith left to satisfy his hunger at the three-penny Ordinary Another that his left whole stock a Crown as earnest for a Dog-fish went home and pawn'd the rest of his Equipage to furnish out the Treat Costa que Costa I am resolv'd to indulge my self Plot peeps in What makes you here Plot. Plot. I am come to find out my young Master Fox I have a writing for him to Seal and the Parties stay in the next Room I thought he had been here Scar. Plot here 's Sir Noisy's good health Plot. Sir your good health Ah Sir I wish you were provided of so good a fortune as Young Mr. Fox is like to have He is forthwith to marry a rich Merchants Daughter worth Threescore thousand pounds I saw the young Girle she is now about Seventeen But bred up with so much foolish Modesty and Innocence she curtsy'd to the footman carry'd the writings Her Aunt told her he was a Servant she blush'd and reply'd she took him for some noble Person by his Lac'd Coat I was asham'd to see so much Beauty so strangely bred Sir Nois What writings are they Plot. Here young Fox Covenants that in Consideration of her Aunts care and pains in her no breeding her Neice to give her one hundred pounds for her life for which she sells and delivers her said Neice So Subtle Sir Worldly marrys his Son without a Penny expence and it is possible the old Fox will cheat him of his ready money into the Bargain But I must in and wait for his comming Exit Plot. Scar. Sir Noisy It would be a pleasant Jest If you should give over the pursuit of Sir Worldly's Daughter and snap up this rich Prize carry her down into the Country and breed her up to your own likeing Sir Nois I should say more if I were secure of her fortune Scar. Plot 's your Creature he can tell you all But if he joyns with you he must run the risk of being turn'd out of Sir Worldlys Service if you make him your Steward he will have no cause to repent 'T is all one to the Aunt who has her so she may be secure of the hundred pounds a year 't is but altering the name Plot will bring it about Sir Nois But that may breed ill blood between Frank and me Scar. If you clap it up of a sudden none will concern himself for a Woman that you have already enjoy'd besides you may say it was Plots device and you know nothing of his concern in the matter Sir Nois Well I 'le in and consult with Plot if I find it feasible I 'le Squeese wax in Fox's place and go through stitch Exit Scar. This Fool will be bubbl'd in spite of our teeth and therefore it is reasonable we should share in the purchase Ful. Our last Job past cleverly upon him and I fancy he thinks he really lost his money Scar. I know I could easily perswade him Exeunt Lady meeting Clarinda in her Apartment La. Welcome my dearest and my bosome friend Our breeding and our Constant Education Has form'd our love and humour to the same Like two kind Twins each others Counterpart Clar. Few know the Joy and comfort of a friend Dividing Greif that it is scarce perceiv'd And makes the floods of Joy come double on us Washing away all Sorrow We were adopted Sisters from our Childhood Till riper years united us to friendship La. A secret Sympathy appear'd in both As if one Soul inform'd our several Bodies We writ we speak we thought like one another Endeavouring to improve each others fancys Clar. Your riper Genius had the mastring Power On whom mine waited as a weak desciple And like an eccho made a faint return Like our two Lutes tun'd to an equall pitch When yours was struck mine made a trembling motion And gave a dumb consent When cruell Fate did for some time divorce us We kept the Vestall fire of love alive Like a Recluse I sat and mus'd alone And on your bright Idea did Contemplate Our hearts th' Epitomy of natures Book In which we read all with a running look To Cultivate mans wit they plant and Toyl Which of their accord shoot in your happyer Soyl. La. Madam your kindness puts to great a value Upon that Spirit I but Coppy from you Your witty Letters of the Town affairs Mixt with Remark of other serious note Has rais'd your worth and Canoniz'd your fame Above the admir'd Sibells of this age Among that Troop my Brother does admire Your Wit your Beauty and your manly Sense Vowing had he liv'd in the Infant world When Dowry and Portion never had a name But men by Constant Service prov'd their Love His Faith and Duty had or'e come all Rivalls And tho' as yet he 's made no formall tender His heart being full of love ore flows the bounds Clar. My life and friendship are bound up with yours Like the firm Union of the Steel and Loadstone Which move incline meet and embrace each other While none discern whence comes the attractive Power La. I blush to praise my Brother to my Friend Whose long acquaintance needs no information Clar. Your Brother's Virtue claims respect from all Whose Native Gallantry in every action Distinguishes his Judgment But if my mind stood more indifferent to him Your sole Command should allways Sway the Ballance La. I thank you for this Grace Our faithfull friendship Is like a league made by our selves defensive Excluding man would proudly make us Slaves And of a gracious Lord would prove a Tyrant Like Salvage Turks exclude us heavenly bliss To make our Bodies servil to their Pleasures But we must stand on our prerogative And make them find we still command the reignes And steere them as we please Should the Brute Annimall once know his strength In vain we would restrain his head-strong will While haughty men tamely Submit and wait Upon our Pomp and Ceremonious State Present Lye Flatter Weep to make us Sport While we at last consent to what we else must Court. Enter Frank and Plot. Fra. Plot. I thank you for your Care and vigilence otherwise my Dad might have disturb'd and Turmoyl'd the whole affair he must remain in Limbo till the Marriage with Sir Noisy is fixt and then redeem him Plot. Sir Noisy has concluded and sealed to the Aunt and is mustering up his Coach and Equipage to pay his first Visit if he like her person hee will instantly marry her Fra. 'T will not be reasonable for me to appear till the Ceremony is past then t will be time enough to give them Joy Exeunt Enter Sir Noisy Fulham