Belonging to her chamber: she starts up
In manifeft diforder, and runs in,
Defiring me to stay, till fhe had feen
What caus'd it; I impatient, follow,
As fearing for her, had it been her father:
My head no fooner was within the room,
But ftrait I fpy'd, behind a curtain shrinking,
A goodly gallant, but not known to me.
Don Jul. Heavens! what can this be?

Fer. You will not think that there, and at that hour,
I ftaid to afk his name; he, ready as I

To make his fword th' expreffer of his mind,
We foon determin'd what we fought; I hurt
But flightly in the arm; he fell as slain,
Run through the body: what Elvira did,
My rage allow'd me not to mark; but strait-
I got away, more wounded to the heart,

Than he I left for dead.

Jul. Prodigious accident! where can it end?
Fer. I got fafe home, where carefully conceal'd,
I fought, by Fabio's diligence, to learn
Who my flain rival was, and what became
Of my unhappy miftrefs, and what course
Don Pedro de Mendoza took, to right
The honour of his houfe.

Don Jul. You long'd not more to know it then, than I
Do now.

Don Fer. All could be learn'd was this: That my rival, Whom I thought dead, was likely to recover,

And that he was a ftranger lately come

Up to the court, to follow fome pretensions;
His name he either learn'd not perfectly,

Or did not well retain. As for Elvira,

That none knew where she was, and that Don Pedro

Had fet a stop to prosecution

In any public way; with what reserves

Was not yet known.

Don Jul. More and more intricate.

Don Fer. I muft now come to that you least would look for.

I had but few days past in my concealment

(Refentment and revenge still boiling in me)

When late one evening, as I buried was
In deepest thought, I fuddenly was rous'd
By a furprizing apparition, Julio,
Elvira in my chamer, fpeaking to me

With rare affurance, thus-Don Fernando,

I come not here to justify myself,
That were below Elvira, towards one
Whofe action in deferting me hath shown
So difobligingly, his rafh judgment of me.
I come to mind you of honour, not of love:
Mine can protection feek from none but yours.
I've hitherto been fhelter'd from the fury
Of my enrag'd father, by my coufin Camilla;
But that's no place, you eafily may judge,
For longer ftay; I do expect from you

To be convey'd, where free from violence,
And from new hazards of my wounded fame,
I may attend my righting from the gods.

Don Jul. Can guilt maintain fuch confidence in a maid ?
Yet how to think her innocent, I know not.

Don Fer. 'Twere loss of time to dwell on circumstances,
Either of my wonder, or reply; in short,
What I found honour dictated, I did;
Within two hours I put her in a coach,

And favour'd by the night, convey'd her safe
Out of Madrid to Ocana, and thence

In three days hither to Valencia,

The only place where, by your generous aid,

I could have hopes to fettle and fecure

Her perfon and her honour. That once done,
Farewel to Spain: I'll to the wars of Milan,
And there foon put a noble end to cares.

It is then agreed between the two noble friends, that till this dark affair can be perfectly cleared up, Elvira fhall be taken into Don Julio's house under a disguised name, and entertained as a waiting-gentlewoman to his fifter Donna Blanca; who, by a ftrange concurrence of circumftances, happens to be fecretly in love with Don Zancho, who, it feems, is the very perfon that had been found in Elvira's chamber at Madrid.

In the mean time, Don Pedro de Mendoza, Elvira's father, and Don Zancho, Blanca's lover, feverally arrive at Valencia. Don Pedro, having letters of recommendation to Don Julio, waits on him to deliver them, and to request his affistance in repairing the honour of his family. Julio however deals with him rather evafively, for the fake of his friend Fernando. During these transactions, Zancho pays a private visit to Donna Blanca, which he is forced to conclude by an escape from a balcony, in order to avoid a difcovery: on which occafion he is feen by a fervant of Fernando, who had been set to watch the motions of Pedro, Elvira's father. Julio alfo, having rea

fon

fon to fufpect an intercourse between some unknown person and his fifter Blanca, it is determined by the two friends to watch the parties clofely. Proper measures are concerted between them, and on Zancho's fecond vifit to Blanca, the house is alarmed; and Zancho running from room to room, in order to escape, at last breaks in upon Elvira; with whom being found by his purfuers, he excufes himself thus:

Know then, Don Julio,

That though I have prefum'd upon your house,

I have not wrong'd your honour; it is the

With whom you find me, that hath brought me hither;
Her I have long ador'd; and having got
Intelligence that she was here conceal'd,
My paffion I confess transported me
Beyond that circumfpection and regard,
Which men of quality ufe, and ought t' obferve
Towards 'one another's dwellings.

The romantic Fernando, on this fuppofed discovery, refolves that Elvira fhall ftill owe her happiness to him, not only by his withdrawing his own addreffes, but by his making Don Zancho marry her. But foon after this refolution, he overhears Zancho defending himself in the following manner, from the fufpi

cions of Donna Blanca :

Don Zan. Madam, 'tis true, that absent at Madrid, The cuftom of the court, and vanity,

Embark'd me lightly in a gallantry

With the most fam'd of beauties there, Elvira ;

Thofe, and no other, the true motives were,

To all my first addreffes, till her scorns,

Which fhould have stopp'd them, had engag'd me more,
And made a love in jeft a point of honour:

I bore all her difdains without transportment,

Till having gain'd her waiting-woman's kindness,

I learn'd from her, that all Elvira's flightings

She would have thought had fprung from fevere maxims,
And preciousness of humour were th' effects

Of deep engagements in another love

With a young gallant, Don Fernando Solis,
With whom the cruel dame was fo far gone,
As to admit him every night

Into her chamber.

Don Fer. Bleft gods, what do I hear?

[Afide.

Don

Don Zang. continuing. I fcarce believing the thing poffible,
Urged my intelligencer to do for me
That which her lady for another did,
And to admit me to her chamber, where
By being eye-witness of her lady's actions,
I might transfer my entire love to herfelf
She granted my requeft, and late one night
Somewhat before the gallant's usual hour,

She brought me a back way up into her chamber,
Within Elvira's; my stay had not been long,

When having found the truth of what she had told me,
Converting rage into appearing kindness

To my informer, and expreffing it
Uncautionfly, we made a fudden noife,
With which, Elvira alarmed, and coming in,
Followed by Don Fernando, that fell out

Which you have heard before.

2

This fact coming to the knowledge of all parties, a general reconciliation is brought about; Elvira is married to Fernando; and Blanca to Don Zancho.

Such is the outline of the old play of Elvira, which has been purfued with little variation, fometimes for the better, and fometimes for the worfe, by the author of the Double Miftake. There is indeed this effential difference between them; Elvira is full of buftle and bufinefs; it is a kind of speaking pantomime, abounding with fhort active fcenes, and incident huddled upon incident. On the contrary, the Double Miftake languishes for want of action; we yawn over uninteresting scenes of family converfation, and the plot marches fo very flowly, that there is scarce any circumftance to engage our attention between the closing of the first act and the opening of the last.

Such a comedy, from the very conftitution of the plot, muft confift of intrigue more than character: but the writer of the new play having omitted or compreffed feveral circumstances of the old one; has left a horrid void in the middle of the piece, in fpite of the faint efforts made to fill these gaps, by the introduction of the old bachelor uncle and maiden aunt: for we cannot think that either the vertù of Mr. Belmont, or the pedantry of Lady Bridget, are tolerably fupported.

All theatrical authors, as well as Mr. Bayes, have thought it fair to make use of helps for it. Shakespeare turned novels into'plays, and Moliere founded many of his pieces on the low farces of the old Italian comedy. This is the fair commerce of literature but if any contraband trade is carried on; if any petty larcenies are committed; it is our duty, as officers of the

:

literary

literary police, to bring the offenders to juftice. It is certainly difingenuous to purloin materials, without acknowledging from whence they are taken; and should we connive at fuch pieces of impofture, we might be in danger of incurring the cenfure included in the old proverb, which fays, The receiver is as bad as the thief.?

IX. The Plain Dealer; a Comedy. As it is acted at the TheatreRoyal in Drury-Lane. Altered from Wycherly. 8vo. Pr. Is. 6d. Lownds.

TH

HE Mifanthrope of Moliere has always been accounted one of the most excellent pieces of that admirable French author; yet the moft candid judges have always thought it de ficient in point of intereft in the fable, and have alfo lamented that the mifanthropy of Alcefte fhould have been left unreformed. Both these defects have been fupplied by our own Wycherly in his Plain Dealer; which, although avowedly founded on the Mifanthrope, has always been confidered, even by the French critics themselves, as poffeffed of great original merit. was indeed, as the prefent editor fays in his preface, one of the most celebrated productions of the last century; and we find in it the happiest combination of wit, humour, character, and incident.'

It

Mr. Bickerstaff therefore, for to him it feems we are obliged, deferves our thanks for having scratched up this diamond from the theatrical dunghill, where it was fuffered to lie buried; but we doubt whether he has not fomewhat diminished the value of the jewel, by endeavouring to give it too high a polish. Rough as it was, it was truly brilliant. To drop the allufion, we think that Wycherly's Plain Dealer wanted little more (at leaft in the three firft acts) than a judicious abridgment, together with the foftening of fome expreffions, not to be hazard ed in thefe times. Wycherly's Manly, though on fome occafions coarfe, is on the whole amiable; and if we should ever allow that he is fometimes rough, even to outrageous bru tality,' we cannot help thinking that the modern Manly is rather unnerved. What the editor means by saying that the characters of Lord Plaufible and Novel did not feem fo welk contrafted as they might be,' we cannot imagine. No contraft was ever intended between them. Lord Plaufible was by Wy cherly palpably drawn in oppofition to Manly; and Novel to Oldfox, which coxcombs (fays the original) keep each other company, to fhew each other, as Novel calls it; or as Oldfox fays