Allon

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Inab

REMARKS.

>The author of this comedy possessed a mind which delighted every man, and a person which charmed every woman.

Wycherly lived in the cheerful days of Charles the Second; was the companion of the wits of that period, caressed by his sovereign, and, it is said, beloved by his sovereign's mistress, the beautiful Duchess of Cleveland.

As a wife has too often the power to make her husband conceive a friendship for the very man who is the means of his disgrace, such surely may be the power of a mistress; and the singular partiality, which his Majesty showed for the author of this play, might possibly be derived from the same artful source which supplies treachery to the marriage statethough, in the present case, followed by less fatal con

sequences.

In the course of a dangerous illness, which for some time threatened Wycherly's life, the king even condescended to visit him at his lodgings in Bow street, and was graciously pleased to present him with a large sum of money, in order to travel to the south of France for the recovery of his health.-On his return to England, the monarch conferred on him a still higher degree of honour than he had yet done, by entrusting to his care the tuition of a favourite

son, and allowing him a pension of fifteen hundred a year for his guardianship.

The present comedy was greatly admired by the court, and warmly received by the town; which will give the reader no surprise, as its fable, incidents, and dialogue, are all perfectly dramatick, and worthy of high admiration.-Yet, to one, who has seen this play acted of late years, it must appear wonderful how it could ever be performed successfully without Mrs. Jordan.

Mrs. Jordan made her first appearance on the London stage in the character of Peggy. She came with no report in her favour to elevate her above a very moderate salary; or to attract more than a very moderate house when she appeared. But here moderation stopped. She at once displayed such consummate art, with such bewitching nature-such excellent sense, with such innocent simplicity, that her auditors were boundless in their plaudits, and so warm in her praises, when they left the theatre, that their friends at home would not give credit to the extent of their eulogiums.

It is unnecessary to tell the present generation, that not a syllable, that was spoken in Mrs. Jordan's commendation in this character, was extravagant.

Amongst the external gifts, which inspire endearing sensations from one human being to another, the most fascinating, is, perhaps, a melodious voice -not the vocal music of singing, but of speaking. Mrs. Jordan has this gift beyond any woman who speaks in public. As a proof, her pronunciation is imperfect; for most of her words are uttered

with a kind of provincial dialect; yet her tones are enchanting as the softest harmony-" a concord of sweet sounds."

"The Country Girl" was originally called "The Country Wife;" and received its new title from Mr. Garrick, who revived the comedy, when he was manager of Drury Lane, and expunged those parts of it, which probably were thought the most entertaining in the age when it was written, but which an improved taste delicately rejects. The comedy, in its present state, boasts the witty dialogue of former times, blended with the purity, and happy incidents, of modern dramas.

As the catastrophe of all comedies is marriage, marriage was likewise the catastrophe of poor Wycherly's own comick scenes; for he married, and the rest of his life was a deep tragedy. He married the Countess of Drogheda, who was young, rich, and beautiful; but who had not domestic virtues to reward him for the loss of his sovereign's favour, which immediately followed their union. It is said, the king resented the author's not having solicited his consent to the nuptials; but other causes were more likely to have effected his disgrace at court. The slighted Cleveland might be his enemy; or, as Charles the Second was a social spirit, perhaps, like Sparkish in this play, he—“ Could not love a woman, whom other men did not love."-And his majesty might require Wycherly's passion for the Duchess to incite his own; as companions, by seeing others drink, are merrily led to the joys of intoxication.

66

THE

COUNTRY GIRL.

ACT THE FIRST.

SCENE I.

HARCOURT'S Lodgings..

HARCOURT and BELVILLE discovered sitting.

Harc. Ha, ha, ha! and so you are in love, nephew, not reasonably and gallantly, as a young gentleman ought, but sighingly, miserably so-not content to be ankle deep, you have soused over head and ears-ha, Dick?

Belv. I am pretty much in that condition, indeed, uncle. [Sighs. Harc. Nay, never blush at it-when I was of your age I was ashamed too but three years at college, and half a one at Paris, methinks should have cured you of that unfashionable weakness-modesty.

Belo. Could I have released myself from that, I had, perhaps, been at this instant happy in the possession of what I must despair now ever to obtainHeigho!

Harc. Ha, ha, ha! very foolish indeed.

Belv. Don't laugh at me, uncle; I am foolish, I know; but, like other fools, I deserve to be pitied.