In "Love for Love" (1695) Sir Sampson Legend has some of the diverting traits of Sir Anthony Absolute; there are unlooked-for glimpses of romance in the assumed madness of his impoverished son Valentine (the sympathetic rake of comedy—the Charles Surface of an earlier day). The sailor son, Ben Legend, is the stock simple sailor, with some gross sense under the breezy manners of the untutored mariner. Foresight, with his rich collection of superstitions, is a "character part" of interest to the folklorist; one scene between two moral sisters who simultaneously detect each other's sins is diverting: the wit of Jeremy the valet, however, does not come within sight of the wit of Molière's Mascarille; and Miss Prue is a tomboy not remarkable for innocence.
The pearl of "The Way of the World" (1700) is the high-hearted Millamant, who, when she at last rewards one of the thousands that sigh for her, makes a very spirited private marriage contract with her adorer. Her song,
If there's delight in love,'tis when I see
That heart, which others bleed for, bleed for me,
is famous among the lyrics of Congreve. We do not often care for Congreve's characters, nor do they try to win our affection, but Millamant conquers all hearts.
Congreve's tragedy in blank verse "The Mourning Bride," holds much the same place in his plays as "Don Garcie de Navarre" does in those of Molière.
After a long, fashionable, and applauded life, Congreve died in 1729, deeply lamented by the Duchess of Marlborough (daughter of the great Duke), and by the once beautiful and delightful actress, Mrs. Bracegirdle. He held rich sinecures under Government, as did other wits while the Tories were in office.
Vanbrugh.
He writes your comedies, draws schemes, and models,
And builds Dukes' houses upon very odd hills
is a contemporary couplet which sums up a few of the accomplishments of Sir John Vanbrugh. His family seem to have been Protestants driven from Ghent in the wars of Alva. He was born in 1666[1] "in a French bastile" he said. He was educated in France; entered the English army; produced his first play, "The Relapse," in 1696, and was the architect of Castle Howard, the Earl of Carlisle's house, in 1701. Carlisle procured for him the herald's post of Clarencieux; as a Whig he was sent to carry the Order of the Garter to the Elector of Hanover (later George I); he built the palace of Blenheim, and, like all who met her, was insulted by Sarah Duchess of Marlborough. He seems to have been friendly with the wits of both parties, being as jovial as versatile. He died on 26 March, 1726.
"The Relapse, or Virtue in Danger," is a kind of continuation of Colley Cibber's "Love's Last Shift"; as Fielding's "Joseph Andrews" continues and burlesques Richardson's "Pamela". From the Preface we learn that, as the second title leads us to think probable, "The Relapse" was accused of obscenity and blasphemy. The Prologue, spoken by Miss Cross on the first night, would, in our delicate age, clear all the women out of the stalls and boxes. The piece opens with a long dialogue in blank verse, between Loveless, a newly married rake, rejoicing in