New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-09-16

ton But the very fact that il became the custom
for women in attending these lcentious plays TO
wear masks proves the existence of a pIblc
opinion adverse TO the license exhibited In them.
The viIard-wcarers may have been hypocrites as
Congrevc and others accused them e. being. But
hypocrisy is a homage which vice phys TO virtue.
and homage which is never paid save when
virtue is felt to be the superior in force.
The soundness OF this theory is borne out in
another way. and way which we venture to think
is almost conclusive When the literature of an
age truly represents the dominant tendencies, be
they evil or good, the rise OF opposition TO that
literature is Ineffective. In such periods the en-
deavor to bring about radical changes is futile.
Protest and condemnation fall upon sterile ground.
Reactonary effort is unavaIng. Under the most
favorable conditions the reform movement is n
prolonged desperate and discOuraGing struggle
against overwhelming odds, and it is only after
years OF pcrseverng and ceaSeess activity that it
bears fruit. But when the corrupt Restoration
drama was TO outward appearances in the full
flush Of assured success, nrenched in the approval
of tie leaders of literature and fashion, and secure
in an eVcr-increaslng public patronage IL was SUI
hcicnt for one man, and he prescribed outlaw.
obnoxious to the Government, hostile to the Crown,
an rIcconcilablc nOnconformist and ultra Puritan.
10 make vigorous assault upon the Haunting in
fanny, and at once it became apparent that the
people of England did not support the abuse. The
most striking fact in Jeremy Golfers attack upon
the drama of the Restoration is, not that he struck
ferccly and strongly not ihat he saw the iniquity
clearly, but that the moment lie had spoken it be-
came evident that the time for reform had arrived
IT. may almost be said that no defence was
attempted. Certainly all that was printed il
iudi
expose the weakness of the defendants. Dryden
showed more Judgment on this occasion than at
any time in his life lie refused TO enter the
arena against Collier. BY his silence and later
in terms, he confessed judgment. Congrcve
less prudent lie hesitated some time but at last
yielded to the foolish persistence Of his friends
and satellites and replied to the sturdy old non
juror. Il was strange fasco. The wittiest writer
of his day failed utterly in q contest of wit.
The imperturbabe satiriSt lost his temper The
polished writer became coarse and Vituperative.
Collier retorted upon him savagely, cogently,
crushingly. This might have been borne, per-
haps, but the cause was lost when public opinion
declared openly for Golfers views and the stage
stood condemned and repudiated by its patrons.
There was nothing more TO be said, and to ciinch
the reforms, William who had been waiting to
what the people thought, took prompt advantage
of this evidence Of their temper to set in motion
the laws against indeccncy. Thus the stage ethics
of the Restoration, while undoubtedly rejecting
genuine corruption in a part of the community,
clearly did not with any faithfulness represent the
prevailing morals The principles Of Puritanisn,
in fact, eavened the masses deeply. The ReStora-
zion largely surface change; reaction
against an irrational and quite intolerable extreme
OF austcrity
Moreover, the immortality of the Restoration
was exotic. 1t was French, not English, immoral
ity. We do not assert that English morals had
not at various times been very bad, but they
were Of different character; more brutol coarser
and frankly shameless; more marked by low
sensual Indulgence. perhaps more distinguished by
drunkenness and its concomitans. Yet at their
worst the English had never lost their respect
for the family virtues, for the home influences,
and above all for true and pure love between
man and woman. Now the ethics imported at the
Restoration were wholly foreign and obnoxious
10 English feeling. 1t was not simply their
proligacy which made them offensive; it was
the cold cynical heartlesSneSs which informed the
manners of the Court and those who initiated the
Court The French Court morals of the period
were possibly less fagrantly vicious than those
of the Regency. but love, truth and ruth had
been eliminated from them completely. Bourgeoise
virtues were made only 10 be ridiculed and con-
tavencd. Macaulay has well described the result
uron the Restoration drama. During the forty
years which followed the Restoration" he OBJ
serves the whole body Of the dramatists in
variably represent adultcry--we do not say as a
peccadillo-we do not say error which
the violence of passion may eXcuse-but as the
ca ling of a fine gcnteman-as a grace without
which his character would be imperfect. 1t Is
as essential TO his breeding and to his place in
society that he should make love to the wives
Of bis ncighbors aS that he should know French,
or that hc should have a sword at his side. In
all this there is passion, and scarcely anything
that can De called preference. The hero intrgues.
iust as ne wears a wig; because, il lie did not,
he would be a queer fellow, city pris, per-
haps Puritan" This the dominant note
of the drama Of the Restoration, it was the
dominant note of French society at that time;
as it remains the dominant note Of French fiction
two hundred years later.
The French Revolution. which burned up and
out so many chartered abuses. could not eXtirpatc
that deadly anti-social influence. II has remained
10 plague the nation, to weaken il, 10 retard its
growth and TO cut the wings Of it's aspiration.
But il could not be domcSticated in England. The
sentiment Of the family and tie domestic hearth
was too deeply rooted IN the hearOS OF thf isahucrS
10 Weld to the evil example OF the Restoration.
When Jeremy Golfers Short View appeared,
il wa, instantly responded to by the popular voice.
The dcnunciaton, the people affirmed, was right
cous The stage was an abOminatiOn in these
declining years OF the nineteenth century, the
English literary sense has passed into stage
Of liberation which is not quite SO generally an
indication Of breadth Of view as seems 10 be
thought The dramatstS Of the Restoration are
to-day interpreted ndulgcntly. II is not exactly
Lambs view OF them which prevails. II Is a
view which derive more from the Gallo philoso-
ply Cncfcvc is not, indeed, put next to Shake
spcare, as Dryden ranked him. but much j. for
given him for the sake Of Art, and the realSt
doctrine is awaited Of to justify the peculiar social
theories illustrated by him and his contemporaries.
For brilliant wit and an extraordinarily delicate
manipulation Of language it may be admitted
that the plays OF CongrcVe have no rivals in Eng