In 1825, Mr. Moncrieff published his dramatic version of Tom and Jerry; or, Life in London—which he dedicated to:—
His Royal Highness, Frederick Duke of York,
May it Please Your Highness:—
The distinguished honour conferred by your Royal Highness on this Drama, in commanding and witnessing its performance at the Adelphi Theatre, (an honour unprecedented in the annals of the Minor Stage) and the flattering manner in which your Royal Highness was afterwards graciously pleased to express your high approbation of it, emboldens me, with the most profound respect, to lay it at your Royal Highness’s feet, and under the sanction of your illustrious name, commit it in its present form to the world.
Having no higher pretensions than that of presenting a faithful picture of the various scenes it pourtrays, the favourable opinion of your Royal Highness stamps it with an authority that was alone wanted to crown the success with which it has been received by the Public.
Like the illustrious Haroun al Raschid, your Royal Highness is said to have made yourself acquainted with the many coloured changes of life; presented in the people over whom you may be one day called to preside, by wisely throwing off the restraint of rank, and witnessing nature in its genuine state. That the scenes I have pourtrayed are not caricatured for the sake of dramatic effect, but are actually those which might have been seen by any one choosing to seek them, your Royal Highness can therefore adequately testify; and your Royal Highness’s imprimatur will effectually ward off all the imputations that have been cast upon my motives and veracity, by the bigoted and envious.
I have the honour to be,
With the most profound respect and devotion,
Your Royal Highness’s
Most obedient and very humble Servant,
W. T. Moncrieff.
104, Drury Lane,
Dec. 15, 1825.
Mr. Moncrieff in his Dedication—To His Royal Highness: and in his Preface that follows throws so much true light and shade on public opinion—pro et con—of the period, that we deem it not only desirable but instructive to the present generation to publish the same in extenso.
PREFACE.