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Historical Register for the Year 1736 -Henry Fielding- HISTORICAL REGISTER For the Year 1736 As acted at the NEW THEATRE in the HAYMARKET First Acted in May 1737. P R E F A C E TO THE D E D I C A T I O N. As no man hath a more stern and inflexible hatred to flattery than myself, it hath been usual with me to send most of my performances into the world without the ornament of those epistolary prefaces, commonly called Dedications; a custom however highly censured by my bookseller, who affirms it a most unchristian practice; a patron is, says he, a kind of godfather to a book, and a good author ought as carefully to provide a patron to his works, as a good parent should a godfather to his children: he carries this very far, and draws several resemblances between those two offices (for having, in the course of his trade with dramatick writers, purchased, at a moderate computation, the fee-simple of one hundred thousand similies, he is perhaps the most expert in their application, and most capable of shewing likenesses, in things utterly unlike, of any man living). What, says he, does more service to a book, or raises curiosity in the reader, equal with- Dedicated to his Grace the Duke of -, or the Right Honourable the Earl of-, in an advertisement? I think the patron here may properly be said to give a name to the book- and if he gives a present also; what doth he less than a godfather? Which present, if the author applies to his own use, what doth he other than the parent? He proceeds to show how a bookseller is a kind of dry-nurse to our works, without instances which I shall omit, having already said enough to prove the exact analogy between children and books; which I think affords a sufficient precedent for throwing the following piece on the Publick, it having been usual for several very prudent parents to act by their children in the same manner. DEDICATIONTO THEPUBLICKBUT farther, the very candid reception which you have given these pieces, pleads my excuse. The least civility to an author or his works, hath been held, time immemorial, a just title to a Dedication, which is perhaps no more than an honest return of flattery : and in this light I am certain no one ever had so great (I may call it ) an obligation as myself, seeing that you have honoured this my performance with your presence every night of its exhibition, where you have never failed shewing the greatest delight and approbation : nor am I less oblig'd to you for those elogiums which you have been heard in all place to -- but hold, I am afraid this is an ingenious way which authors have discovered to convey inward flattery to themselves, while outwardly they address it to their patron : wherefore I shall be silent on this head, having more reason to give why I chose you to patronize these pieces : and, FIRST, The design with which they are writ : for tho' all dramatick entertainments are properly calculated for the Publick, yet these, I may affirm, more particularly belong to you : as your diversion is not merely intended by them, their design being to convey some hints, which may, if you please, be of infinite service in the present state of that theatrical world whereof they treat, and which is, I think, as present so far from flourishing as one could wish, that I have with concern observed some steps lately taken, and other too justly apprehended, that may much endanger the constitiution of the British theater : for tho' Mr.----- be a very worthy man, and my very good friend, I cannot help thinking his manner of preceeding somewhat too arbitrary, and his method of buying actors at exorbitant prices to be of very ill consequence : for the town must reimburse him these expences, on which account those advanced prices so much complained of, must be always continued : which though the people in their present flourishing state of trade and riches may very well pay, yet in worse times (if such can be supposed) I am afraid they may fall too heavy, the consequences of which I need not mention. Moreover, should any great genius produce a piece of most exquisite contrivance, and which would be highly relished by the Publick, though perhaps not agreeable to his own taste or private interest : if he should buy off the chief actors, such play, however excellent, must be unavoidaby sunk, and the Publick lose all the benefit thereof. Not to trouble the reader with more inconveniences arising from this Argumentum Argentarium, many of which are obvious enough ----I shall only observe, that corruption has the same influence on all societies, all bodies, which it hath on corporeal bodies, where we see it always produce an entire destruction and total change : for which reason whoever attempteth to introduce corruption into any community, doth much the same thing, and ought to be treated in much the same manner, with him who poisoneth a fountain, in order to disperse a contagion, which he is sure every one will drink of. THE last excuse I shall make for this presumption, is the necessity I have of so potent a patron to defend me from the inquitous surmises of a certain anonymous dialogous author, who in the Gazeteer of the 17th instant has represented The Historical Register as aiming, in conjunction with the Miller of Mansfield, the overthrow of the M------y. If this suggestion had been inserted in The Craftsman or Common Sense, or any of those papers which no body reads, it might have past unanswered; but as it appears in a paper of so general a reception as The Gazetteer, which lies in the window of almost every post-house in England, it behoves me, I think in the most serious manner, to vindicate myself from aspersions of so evil a tendency to my future prospects. And here I must observe that had not mankind been either very blind or very dishonest, I need not have publickly informed them, that The Register is a ministerial pamphlet, calculated to infuse into the minds of the people a great opinion of their ministry, and thereby procure an employment for the author, who has been often promised one, whenever he would write on that side. And, first, Can any thing be plainer than the first stanza of the ode? This is a day, in days of yore, Our fathers never saw before; This is a day 'tis one to ten, Our sons will never see again. Plainly intimating that such times as these never were seen before, nor will ever be seen again; for which the present age are certainly obliged to their ministry. WHAT can be meant by the scene of politicians, but to ridicule the absurd and inadequate notions, persons among us, who have not the honour to know them, have of the ministry and their measures: nay, I have put some sentiments into the mouths of these characters, which I was a little apprehensive were too low even for a conversation at an alehouse---------I hope The Gazetteer will not find any resemblance here, as I hope he will not make such a compliment to any m------y , as to suppose that such persons have been ever capable of the assurance of aiming at being at the head of a great people, or to any nation, as to suspect them contentedly living under such an administration. THE eagerness which these gentlemen express at applying all manner of evil characters to their patrons, brings to my mind a story I have somewhere read; as two gentlemen were walking the street together, the one said to the other, upon spying the figure of an ass hung out ----- Bob, Bob, look yonder, some impudent rascal has hung out your picture on a signpost: The grave companion, who had the misfortune to be extremely short-sightted, fell into a violent rage, and calling for the master of the house, threatened to prosecute him from exposing his features in that publick manner: The poor landlord, as you may well conceive, was extremely astonished, and denied the fact; upon which the witty spark, who had just mentioned the resemblance, appeals to the mob now assembled together, who soon smoked the jest, and agreed with him that the sign was the exact picture of the gentleman: At last a good-natur'd man, taking compassion of the poor figure, whom he saw the jest of the multitude, whispered in his ear; Sir, I see your eyes are bad, and that your friend is a rascal and imposes on you; the sign hung out is the sign of an ass, nor will your picture be here unless your draw it yourself. BUT I ask pardon for troubling the reader with an impertinent story, which can be applied only in the above-mentioned instance to my present subject. I proceed in my defence to the scene of the patriots ; a scene which I thought would have made my fortune, seeing that the favourite scheme of turning patriotism into a jest is so industriously pursued, and I will challenge all the ministerial advocates, to shew me, in the whole bundle of their writings, one passage where false patriotism (for I suppose they have not impudence to mean any other) is set in a more contemptible and odious light than in the aforesaid scene. I hope too it will be remarked, that the politicians are represented as a set of blundering blockheads, rather deserving pity than abhorrence, whereas the others are represented as a set of cunning self-interested fellows, who for a little paltry bribe would give up their liberties and properties of their country. Here is the danger, here is the rock on which our constitution must, if ever it does, split. The liberties of a people have been subdued by the conquest of valour and force, and have been betrayed by the subtle and dexterous arts of refined policy, but these are rare instances; for geniuses of this kind are not the growth of every age, whereas, if a general corruption be once introduced, and those, who should be the guardians and bulwarks of our liberty, once find, or think they find, an interest on giving it up, no great capacity will be required to destroy it: On the contrary, the meanest, lowest, dirtiest fellow, if such a one should have ever the assurance in future ages to mimick power, and browbeat his betters, will be as able, as Machiavel himself could have been, to root out the liberties of the bravest people. BUT I am aware I shall be asked, who is this Quidam, that turns the patriots into ridicule, and bribes them out of their honesty? Who but the devil could act such a part? Is not this the light wherein he is every where described in scripture, and the writings of our best divines? Gold hath been always his favourite bait, wherewith he fisheth for sinners; and his laughing at the poor wretches he seduceth, is as diabolical an attribute as any. Indeed it is so plain who is meant by this Quidam, that he who maketh any wrong application for John, or old Nick for old Bob. I THINK I have said enough to assure every impartial person of my innocence, against all malicious insinuations; and farther to convince them that I am a ministerial writer (an honour I am highly ambitious of attaining), I shall proceed now to obviate an opinion entertain'd by too many, that a certain person is sometimes the author, often the corrector of the press, and always the patron of the Gazetteer. To shew the folly of this supposition I shall only insist, that all persons, tho' they should not afford him any extraordinary genius, nor any (the least) taste in polite literature, will grant me this Datum, that the said certain person is a man of an ordinary capacity, and has a moderate share of common-sense: which, if allowed, I think it will follow, that it is impossible he should either write or countenance a paper written, not only without the least glimmering of genius, the least pretension to taste, but in direct opposition to all common sense whatever. If any one should ask me, How then is it carried on? I shall only answer with my politicians, I cannot tell, unless by the assistance of the old gentleman just before mentioned, who would, I think, alone protect or patronize, as I think, indeed, he is the only person who could invent some of the schemes avowed in that paper; which, if it does not immediately disappear, I do intend shortly to attempt conjuring it down, intending to publish a paper in defence of the m----y against the wicked, malicious, and sly insinuations conveyed in the said paper. You will excuse a digression so necessary to take off surmises, which may prove so prejudicial to my fortune; which however, if I should not be able to accomplish, I hope you will make me some amends for what I suffer by endeavouring your entertainment. The very great indulgence you have shewn my performances at the little theatre these two last years, have encouraged me to the proposal of a subscription for carrying on that theatre, for beautifying and enlarging it, and procuring a better company of actors. If you think proper to subscribe to these proposals, I assure you no labour shall be spared on my side, to entertain you in a cheaper and better manner than seems to be the intention of any other. If nature hath given me any talents at ridiculing vice and impostures, I shall not be indolent, nor afraid of exerting them, while the liberty of the press and stage subsits, that is to say, while we have any liberty left among us. I am, to the Publick,
Act I of the Historical Register...
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