The Life and Romances of Mrs. Eliza Haywood | Page 4

Time than the Composing 'em took me up...
"This Tragedy was originally writ by Capt. Hurst, and by him deliver'd
to Mr. Rich, to be acted soon after the opening of the New House;[10]
but the Season being a little too far elaps'd for the bringing it on then,
and the Author oblig'd to leave the Kingdom, Mr. Rich became the
Purchaser of it, and the Winter following order'd it into Rehearsal: but
found it so unfit for Representation, that for a long time he laid aside all
thoughts of making any thing of it, till last January he gave me the
History of his Bargain, and made me some Proposals concerning the
new modelling it: but however I was prevail'd upon, I cannot say my
Inclination had much share in my Consent.... On Reading, I found I had
much more to do than I expected; every Character I was oblig'd to find
employment for, introduce one entirely new, without which it had been
impossible to have guessed at the Design of the Play; and in fine,
change the Diction so wholly, that, excepting in the Parts of Alphonso
and Isabella, there remains not twenty lines of the Original."

The plot, which is too involved to be analyzed, centers about the efforts
of Alphonso to redeem his beloved Isabella from, the harem of the
Vizier Mustapha. Spaniards, Turks, keepers and inhabitants of the
harem, and a "young lady disguis'd in the habit of an Eunuch," mingle
in inextricable intrigue. Some of the worst absurdities and the most
bathetic lines occur in the parts of the two lovers for which Mrs.
Haywood disclaims responsibility, but even the best passages of the
play add nothing to the credit of the reviser. Her next dramatic venture
was produced after her novels had gained some vogue with the town, as
the Prologue spoken by Mr. Theophilus Cibber indicates.
"Criticks! be dumb tonight--no Skill display; A dangerous Woman-Poet
wrote the Play: ... Measure her Force, by her known Novels, writ With
manly Vigour, and with Woman's wit. Then tremble, and depend, if ye
beset her, She, who can talk so well, may act yet better."
The fair success achieved by "A Wife to be Lett: A Comedy," acted at
Drury Lane three times, commencing 12 August, 1723,[11] is said to
have been due largely to the curiosity of the public to see the author,
who by reason of the indisposition of an actress performed in person
the part of the wife, Mrs. Graspall, a character well suited to her
romping disposition. It is difficult to imagine how the play could have
succeeded on its own merits, for the intricacies of the plot tax the
attention even of the reader. A certain Ann Minton, however, revived
the piece in the guise of "The Comedy of a Wife to be Lett, or, the
Miser Cured, compressed into Two Acts" (1802).
Apparently the reception of her comedy was not sufficiently
encouraging to induce Mrs. Haywood to continue writing plays, for six
years elapsed before she made a third effort in dramatic writing with a
tragedy entitled, "Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburgh," which
was first produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields on 4 March, 1729,[12] and
shortly afterward published with a dedication to Frederick Lewis,
Prince of Wales. The intention of the dedication was obviously to bid
for royal patronage, but the intended victim was too astute to be caught.
In eulogizing the Emperor Frederick (c. 1400) the author found
abundant opportunity to praise by implication his namesake, but

unfortunately for the success of the play none of the royal family
"vouchsafed to honour it with their Presence." Mrs. Haywood
complains that hers "was the only new Performance this Season, which
had not received a Sanction from some of that illustrious Line," and the
"unthinking Part of the Town" followed the fashion set by royalty.
Unlike "The Fair Captive," which suffered from a plethora of incidents,
Mrs. Haywood's second tragedy contains almost nothing in its five acts
but rant. An analysis of the plot is but a summary of conversations.
Act I. The German princes hail Frederick, recently elected Emperor.
Count Waldec and Ridolpho, in league with the Archbishop of Metz,
conspire against him. Waldec urges his sister Adelaid to marry the
gallant Wirtemberg. Sophia, her woman and confidant, also urges her
to marry, but Adelaid can only reply, "I charge thee Peace, Nor join
such distant Sounds as Joy and Wirtemberg," and during the rest of the
act proclaims the anguish inspired by her unrequited passion for
Frederick, married three years before to a Saxon princess.
Act II. The conspirators plan to kill Frederick. Adelaid reproaches him
for abandoning her. He welcomes his imperial consort, Anna, and takes
occasion to deliver many magnanimous sentiments.
Act III. Adelaid declares that she cannot love