She had a statue of
him in ivory, which went by clockwork, and was daily seated at her table;
and another wax-doll imitation, whose feet she caused to be blistered and
anointed by physicians, as the poet's gouty extremities had been.
Congreve was not ashamed to vindicate the drama, licentious as it was. In
the year 1698, Jeremy Collier, a distinguished nonjuring clergyman,
published _A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English
Stage_; a very vigorous and severe criticism, containing a great deal of
wholesome but bitter truth. Congreve came to the defence of the stage, and
his example was followed by his brother dramatists. But Collier was too
strong for his enemies, and the defences were very weak. There yet existed
in England that leaven of purity which has steadily since been making its
influence felt.
VANBRUGH.--Sir John Vanbrugh (born in 1666, died in 1726) was an architect
as well as a dramatist, but not great in either role. His principal dramas
are _The Provoked Wife_, _The City Wives' Confederacy_, and _The Journey
to London_ (finished by Colley Cibber).
Pages:
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390