Selected quad for the lemma: majesty_n
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B22957
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The unnatural brother a tragedy, as it was acted by His Majesty's servants at the theatre in Little Lincolns-Inn-Fields.
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Filmer, Edward, b. ca. 1657.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing F907
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35,641
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62
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THE Vnnatural Brother A TRAGEDY As it was Acted by His MAJESTY's Servants AT THE THEATRE in Little Lincolns-Inn-Fields LONDON Printed by J. Orme for Richard Wilkin at the Kings-Head in St. Paul's-Church-Yard MDCXCVII ADVERTISEMENT There are lately published Ibrahim the XIII Emperor of the Turks A Tragedy and the Spanish Wives a Farce Both Written by Mrs. Mary Pix The Younger Brother Or Amorous Jilt Written by Mrs. A. Behn Printed and Sold by Richard Wellington THE PREFACE NOT many daies after the very cold reception which this Play met with on the Stage as I was walking up and down my Chamber something discontented tho not much mortified neither at the unkindness of the Town I happened to cast my eye on a Book which lay in a Window and that proving to be the first Volume of Mr. Drydens Plays I opened it by meer chance just on a Prologue of his which begins thus Self love which never rightly understood Makes Poets still conclude their Plays are good And malice in all Criticks runs so high That for small Errors they whole Plays decry So that to see this Fondness and that Spite You 'd think that none but Mad-men Judge or Write I was both surprised and pleased with that Chance which had so thrown me on those Verses For whereas before I had for some time tortured my Brain to find out those many imperfections which probably might have occasioned the ill success of this Play I then began to lay aside some part of that care and to think that the Malice and ill Nature of the Critick in catching at every little slip and improving of every inconsiderable fault might perhaps have an equal hand in that misfortune with the weakness or fondness of the Poet. I had no other way to clear this point and find out the truth of the matter but to employ all the Friends and Acquaintance I had about the Town to inquire into those objections which were generally made against this Play They did it and as I have very good reason to believe gave me a faithful account of all And yet all at last came to no more than this That the Play was too grave for the Age That I had made choice of too few Persons and that the Stage was never filled there seldom appearing above two at a time and never above three till the end and winding up of the whole These are the mighty faults that have so intirely Damned this Play and yet if these must be thought faults now in our nicer Age I am sure they were not thought such heretofore by the Antients for they generally made use of but few Persons and never made it any part of their business to fill the Stage Nay we all know that Horace lays it down as a Rule Nec quarta loqui persona laboret Nor were these thought faults by our more modern Criticks about Fifteen or twenty years ago when that excellent Play of the Orphan first appeared on the Stage For that tho liable to all the very same exceptions which hitherto have been made against this yet was received with all the applause imaginable I must confess foreseeing part of what has since happened and meerly to gratifie the Rabble after I had finished this Play I added a Comical part to it Wherein so there were but a smart kind of a hurry and confusion with a Song or two at the end His nam plebecula gaudet I thought it would have passed well enough But the Comedy being altogether independent from the Tragedy and the whole appearing something too long the first time it was acted I easily consented to have it all left out and so threw my self wholly on the Men of sense for my Judges Verum Equitis quoque jam migravit ab aure voluptas Omnis ad incertos oculos gaudia vana For to my cost I find that even our men of Sense have been so long entertained with the gaudy glaring splendor of our Operas that nothing now can please their eyes but what dazels 'em And that their ears have of late been so well belabour'd with Drums Kettle-Drums Trumpets and Hautboys that they are almost become deaf to Sense or any thing else convey'd to 'em in a less Noise than those their darling-Consorts generally are But no more of this which may seem a little tart and to savour strangely of the vanity of a discontented Poet who will be sure to find out any other reason for the miscarriage of his Play than that which was perhaps the only true one I mean the badness of it But I had almost forgot to acquaint the Reader with one objection more against this Play than what I have yet mentioned On the third day there was a certain Lady in one of the Boxes who thought she could not more effectually decry it than by declaring aloud that it was nothing but an old Story taken out of Cassandra And I readily grant it yet can by no means allow that to be a fault Mr. Dryden has said too much in the defence of such an innocent piece of theft and extremely well justified the thing both by his Arguments and Practice All I desire of that Lady by way of amends is that if ever these Papers have the happiness to reach her hands she would be pleased to renew her acquaintance with the story of Alcinoe in that Romance and compare it with this Play And then I dare be bold to affirm she will not think me over-much beholding to it But may perhaps be so charitable as to entertain a more favourable opinion both of the Play and of the Poet. I have but one word more to the Reader and then I shall leave him to the Play either to read it or let it alone which he pleases And that is that he would not charge me with any Errors of the Press The Bookseller in my absence has undertaken the care of inspecting it and therefore he only ought to be accountable for all such faults EDW. FILMER PROLOGUE BLess'd were these happy daies if ever any When Poets flow'd with Wit and you with Money But now both Wit and Money run so low They 're at the poorest Ebb they e're can know This Clipt that dwindled into Farce and Show As for our Coin the Wisdom of the State May stop our ruine and prevent our Fate What will nâ—t pass by Tale may pass by Weight But who can our corrupted Wit restore And make that Currant as it was before O! could we but with equal Balance sit And by the nicest sâ—ruples weigh out Wit How many pieces good and fair to sight Would yet be found by many Grains too light In this great dearth of Wit our Poet here Presumes to treat you with his Country fare Not that he thinks it better than your own Or what you daily meet with in this Town No tho a Poet he is not so vain You are to judge he but to entertain Freedom of Censure he