New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-06-03
STEELE'S COMEDIES.
prguApD STEEL Edited. with an Int. Ion
~ ID SD,rs nv Il; 4 Aiken. Pp XXI ~ IN
ported hy Charles Scribner's Sons. cine M''-
maid Ser!"gD

RICHARD STEELE EdtcL wi4 an , III" 90 'i lm
AMI Notes ~ g. a Nh,nrr. sprs frhe Mcr-
maid Ser!esD
Tho g5oi heart q Sir Richard steele sAouh "',p
HI, fame alive even though ne works % his BRAIN
r.,se 20 ie real. Yet the iat'er are S'hl id'''l'
70 a larger number ot people. perhaps man h'' we
,,-,,fre- = orv author save swift Ia tho years o'
Ann. Wr,n anil me first George sIhs'e 900"
,-,rn s,ifrs hand has made bis renown not only
genera, AMI endless bat absolute and universal II
is ,l,n,s, incredible that any ore who can re'H Eng
l.sh shou:l have reached maturity without inAN"N
ia. acquain'luco - I"mucl Gnlliver beIo'' VINO
va ann active IN me time O, Sieee's eary activity
100 49, n. considered here lie rlgh,fully be
i.,,s ., another age Eut next 20 "Guillvcrs Tray
e.. the book from which escape ls dihcui' u ''
,e-,. OF lmpossibiiiy is The Spectator. or some
,c,e.ilon from Il Ike the papers that re'''' the
story % Sir ROGER De Coyerey In these Pip'is
e,cole.s name IL 50 closely united 70 that OF Add'-
s,, INA, whore ono Is remembered the other must
:. Vet COMPARED with his lifelong friend he loses
some ~ the credit which he deserves. Adals'h ge'S
more than his share Of reno~n even from Inc i''-
lor" - which he contributed only forty-t"o NUM-
hers ina, were wholly his own. now AMI men, one
nnls an essay by critic who has Just RISEN
,,o,, "a rcperusal OF The Spectator" lie has prop
oh,v no, read q since h. was boy. ana IN uose
davs the list ot contributors dd not attract MS AZ
,en,on But he somehow carried away vague ho'
ton that II he remembered any clever ah''uo'e :"
rfh
,r,r, Adlison's pen But he has Inspected the
r,,e,s moro thoroughly He knows who wrote each
~ ,hose which Interested him And 50 he writes an
cas,v IN which he puts forward ~ novelty "'
fac, that steele was almost. II not quite as sood
writer a. his friend. This perennial reIlscoverv OF
steele doubtless Keeps his memory green. hut with
the book in hand the occasion for this alienation
he,u,een the chill and the fever OF critical remnis-
ccnce will be obva,cd
II IL worth remembering In an age wh'h p'uSh'S
n, no rubllclty and values i;s literature by names
an t,te-pages and al tho tail OF MAGAZINE articles
that the fame ~ both Stee.e AMI Addison rests now
on writings which were practically anonymous
,.buo the works upon which they rlumed Themselves
have been forgotten. lie ls surely rare man VINO
has road Adllson's tragedy OF cato Tor the love
~ f. or indeed any OF the longer poems ~ that
worthy wit Likewise. ut is as an essayist, rather
than a dramatist that men now think OF steele.
I,u, n. nresence OF hil comedies In form easily
read Will lead many reader 10 compare the huhoF
dspayed IN them with that OF The Spectator
and Tile Taller" Such reader VIII need no critic
IN discover Stee!es pccu,laritics In III" essays Ills
g,ve,v was never al the expense Of others. His
satire is kindly. and II is too general IN It's appca-
,,on /, he felt as "A personal injury by individuals
OF the classes whom 1t attacks. In the days or
patrons and servlle faithfulness to party steele
really came near being Independent. When he wrote
n dedication 10 the King for his play, The con-
scIous Lovers" he kept within the lines Of self
respect unknown to some OF his contemporaries
In fact he wrote little essay on the pleasures
and sorrows OF roynlty which he addressed 10 the
King in the form OF n petition or memorial II
was significant that the play thus dedicated TO
VILLA m III was that Of The Conscious Lovers
in which Steele attacked one OF the strongest prejs
dlccs OF the time. He solder, and he had
not the determination 10 forego utterly the practice
OF duelling IN his own case but after Yielding once
10 the popula feeling he set his face sternly against
the custom That there might be no doubt as to his
meaning he pointed out In the preface that the
whole play was writ for the sake OF the scene
NJ tho Fourth Act wherein Mr.. Bev evades the
ouarrel with his friend" To this was added (but
era sed I'm manuscript. says Mr. Aitkcn) the phrase
"the stupIi and da boca custom ~ duelllng." As
~ In revenge for emitting these plain words Steele
allowed himself 10 add with severity unusual In
him that he hoped the play might have some ef-
feet upon the Cloths and Vandals that frequent the
theatres or a more polite audience may supply their
absence
To the published plays In this volume are added
two fragments, The School OF Action" and "The
Gentleman" both OF which show what world OF
labor there was for Steele between tentative
draft and finished play. Both fragments have
been printed before. In the edition Of Nicho.s 1t
was this editor who gave name 10 the second
fragment Steele thought THE School for Ac
ton 30 well advanced that In l73. encouraged by
the success OF THE Conscious Lovers" he allowed
the newspapers to announce IL as about to be per-
formed. Three and part OF the fourth are
completed, but. Mr.. Aitken says ut would have
required a great deal Of revising before 1t could