New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-09-16
GOSSE'S CONGREVE.
THE pRAMATIsrs OF THE RESTORATION.

LIFE OF WILLIAM CONGRENE by hpn ~,
COSsE Nj. A 12mo. PIP 1eS London; "ai'el N'''
Mr. Gossc undertook an unusually dhlcut V'sN
in writing life of Congrcye: first, because DO
graphical material in this case is suiP"s'"sS
mearrc: second, because many eminent NV"
~ letters had treated the subject before hi"'
Tho cleaner who enters this originally oai'o"
6eld after Lamb Ilazlitt. Hunt, Macauay anu
TbacLeray requires uncommon confluence anu
sbould be supported by uncommon cap"ciS' VI q"
amount and quality of fresh information J"'"i'7
,osurvev of the drama of the RESTORATION MI
Gosse is fortified by no new evidence i mo
been able 20 penetrate no deeper IMAM HIS p-0"0
cessors into the obscure record OF the poc' "no''
standing among his contemporaries was so high as
10 demonstrate the impreSsvenesS OF ms ch'r"o'r'
whose dramatic productions prove the possession
~ IN almost uncyampled bTilhancy and wit; yet
concerning whose intimate life scarce anytime
has come down 10 US. One presumption indeeo
Mr. Gosse has gone far TO establish; the presulnle
tim namely. that Congrevc was at no time 'he
man of wealth all his former biographers have as
sumcd him 10 be. 1hackeray represents MN d.
child of fortune, the petted protege oil hanlHN'
The lifelong puralst, the favorite OF succeSsNV
adninis,rotjons The facts about which tins
legend centres are two. Congreve was an once
holder for many years; and dying he iei9 tne 'n'n
considerable fortune of $4,000
Drt NJ Gosse shows that the office he hcld
LONGEST returned very narrow income ui'v 'o-
wears he must have had difficulty IN maN"g o0'"
ends meet: and that he did not receive Iuc''-
i've appointment until some time after ne III"
,o,ired from active life had ceased TO write Tor
the stage. and was broken in health III, r''E"
was short one. though remarkably brliIah''
Coming 10 town young man OF tweh'y-'"'
with his first play, The Old Bachelor IN MS
,ocl,n. he was taken up at once by DRYDEN VINO
,yas tho first living man of letters, and VINO mani
festcd a ouick appreciation Of and admiratoh lor
the bright and handsome youth. Scoring @re"v
success at the opening OF his literary ana S"cl"l
career: the darling of great ladies' the ol"c" u
the coGee-houses the fayorte Of the iirst dr''nao
artists-the praise and dattery he encountered
might well have turned his head But III uneSe
general evidences of his popularity ana OF 'he
esteom in which his powers and accomplishments
were held by his contemporaries there muSu Ut
recognized conclusive proof Of the reality OF Con-
greve's distinction. The man whom John Dryden
publicly named as his successor; the man WHOSE
renius Jonathan Swift admired; the man 20 whom
pone dedicated his translation of the llad
The man who numbered among his friends Addison
Steele Tichell and al the most eminent poets
prose-writcrs and intellectual PRODUCERS OF the
time, must have been person of Interesting ana
attractive traits. Lady Mary Wortley Montague
said Concreye was the wittiest man she had ever
known. and that was an intelligent estimate for
She had met all the wits of the day both at nome
and abroad and she was a thoroughly competent
critic In fact however, everybody seems 10 nave
liked the poet and only once in MS career do any
unfriendly feelings toward him b tray themselves
II is perhaps. significant that old Dennis the
Tbcrsites of his age, never quarrelled with Con-
creve. never ceased 10 be excellent terms with
him Conrreve too never discarded friend
because of this friends enmities. lie could enter
tain Pope one minute and Dennis the next Con-
grevc indeed once cndcavored TO reconcile these
two bitter foes and nearly Succ cded
How il happened that he retained his reputation
and literary standing so long after be had ceased
10 write and had withdrawn from active life Mr.
Gossc endeavors to explain by suggesting that ms
very retirement took him out Of that competitive
contest with his contemporaries which cngenders
nntipathcs and rvalrcs, and this IS plausible
view. lie was aloof from the madding crowd, and
as he seldom took sides his views and judgments
were received complacenty and deferred 10. There
was another reason for his endurin- fame however
lie wa, Of good old family Mr.. GOSsc, by the
way his family took its name from a village
II NAV re So but we should like some better evil
demo what on its face looks so doubtful. Many
VILLAGES have taken their names from people, but
not many people owe their patronymics to villages
BE that as il may the Congrcves were OF ancient
blood, and cavaliers, and the young poet may be
said 10 have inherited with his name the Restora-
ton ethics which found expression in his plays.
What the society which produced this fine
flower Of dramatic genius Macaulay has related
Then came those days." he writes, never to be
recalled without blush-the days Of servitude
without loyalty, and srnsuality without love, Of
dwurish talents and gigantic vices, the paradise OF
cold hearts and narrow minds. the golden az Of the
coward, the bigot, and the slave" This Is what
paved the way for the dramatists Of the RestOra
ton and for nearly half century made the Eng
lish stage the mirror Of vices which were aSsuredy
not indigenous, however acclmatea, and which had
been nursed into vigor and strengthened for trans
plantation at the court of that great French mon
arch whose glorious and protracted reign ruined
his own country and at the same time poisoned the
fountains of morality in half Europe.
English writers upon the Dramatists Of the
Restoration have without exception confined their
analysis to that part Of the subject which lay i'm
mediately under their hands The influence Of
French profigacy upon English morals at this
period is however, a most pertinent and even
necessary consideration. and regret that Mr.
GosSe should have neglected the opportunity to
push his researches across the Channel, and show
the intimacy of the connection between the in
,ellcctual, ethical and even social conditions Of
the two nations, at the period referred TO- The
truth is that it is impossible 10 comprehend the
extraordinary outburst Of Intellectual depfayity
which lasted until Jeremy Golfers laundering
broadside awoke the conscience Of the English
PEOPLE. without careful study Of French contempt
rsry history. In the French mcmoir-wnters' and
especially in the VOlumlnOus annals OF SAINT mon'
are TO be found the ccws 10 much that is pcrpl'N-
ing in English affairs. II would be grave mis-
take TO suppcse that the English people al any time
fell into the state described by Consreyc, Wy
cherly, Vanbrugh and Farquhar. Charles Lambs
ingenious defence Of the Restoration drama IS, III
deed not to be received seriously. IT was not an
imaginary world which the playwriehtS exhibited
9. l. l. L. I..Gr