SPEED THE PLOUGH;
A COMEDY,
IN FIVE ACTS;
AS PERFORMED AT THE
THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT GARDEN.
By THOMAS MORTON, Esq.
PRINTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MANAGERS FROM THE PROMPT BOOK.
WITH REMARKS
BY MRS. INCHBALD.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
SAVAGE AND EASINGWOOD,
PRINTERS, LONDON.
REMARKS.
This comedy excites that sensation, which is the best security for thesuccess of a drama—curiosity. After the two first acts are over, andpleasantly over, with the excellent drawn characters of Ashfield and hiswife, and the very just satire which arises from Sir Abel's propensityto modern improvements—the acts that follow excite deep interest andardent expectation; both of which are so highly gratified at theconclusion of the play, that, from the first night of its performance,it has ranked among the best of the author's productions, and in thefirst class of modern comedies.
The various characters of this play are admirably designed, but not sohappily finished as the author meant them to be—witness, Bob Handy, whobegins a self-conceited coxcomb, and ends a tragedy confidant.
But the good intentions of an author are acceptable: execution will notalways follow conception; and the last may often give as muchinstruction, though not equal delight with the former: as an instance,who does not see the folly of attempting to do every thing in Handy,though he is more the shadow, than the substance of a character.
Notwithstanding there are some parts, not so good as others, in thiscomedy, there is no one character superior to the rest, nor any one inparticular, which makes a forcible impression on the memory:—thisproves, (in consequence of the acknowledged merit of the play) the fableto be a good one, and that a pleasing combination has been studied andeffected by the author, with infinite skill, however incompetent to hisown brilliant imagination.
The plot, and serious characters of this comedy, are said to be takenfrom a play of Kotzebue's, called, "The Duke of Burgundy,"—if they are,Mr. Morton's ingenuity of adapting them to our stage has been equal tothe merit he would have had in conceiving them; for that very playcalled, "The Duke of Burgundy," by some verbal translator,—wascondemned or withdrawn at Covent Garden Theatre, not very long before"Speed the Plough" was received with the highest marks of admiration.
The characters of Sir Philip Blandford, his brother, and his nephew, mayhave been imported from Germany, but surely, all the other personages ofthe drama are of pure English growth.
The reception of this play, when first performed, and the high stationit still holds in the public opinion, should make criticism cautious ofattack—but as works of genuine art alone are held worthy ofinvestigation, and as all examinations tend to produce a degree ofcensure, as well as of praise, "Speed the Plough" is not exempt from thegeneral lot of every favourite production.
An auditor will be much better pleased with this play, than a reader;for though it