The Works of Aphra Behn Volume I Part 35

I do not like the dulness of your eye: It hath a heavy cast, 'tis upsee Dutch.

p. 101 _Incle._ Linen thread or yarn which was woven into a tape once very much in use.

+Epilogue+

p. 106 _Nokes, or Tony Lee._ James Nokes and Antony Leigh, the two famous actors, were the leading low comedians of the day.

p. 107 _Play of the Novella._ _Novella_ is a good, though intricate, comedy by Brome. 8vo, 1653, but acted 1632.

p. 107 _The famous Virgil._ There is a tale, reported by Donatus, that Vergil once anonymously wrote up on the palace gates a distich in praise of Augustus, which, when n.o.body was found to own it, was claimed by a certain versifier Bathyllus, whom Caesar duly rewarded, A few days later, however, Virgil again set in the same place a quatrain each line of which commenced 'sic vos non vobis...' but was unfinished, and preceeded these by the one hexameter

Hos ego versiculos feci; tulit alter honores.

All were unable to complete the lines satisfactorily save the great poet himself, and by this means the true author of the eulogy was revealed.

Errors and Irregularities: The Rover, Part I

justling him to one side _standard spelling for text_ that d.a.m.n'd virtuous Woman, whom on my Conscience _text reads "Consicience"_ Read here this Postscript.

_text reads "Postcript"_ _Will._ Ha! where?

_Fred._ Ay where!

_printed on a single line_ _Belv._ Ha, ha, ha!

_Will._ Death Man, where is she?

_printed on a single line_ _Enter _Don Pedro_ in Masquerade, follow'd by _Stephano_._ _printed "follow'd _by Stephano_" with "by" in emphatic type_ _Ang._ No matter, I'm not displeas'd ...

_the left edge of this and the following paragraph is damaged, and has been reconstructed as shown in {braces}:_ _Ang._ No matter, I'm not displeas'd with their rallying; th{eir} Wonder feeds my Vanity, and he that wishes to buy, {giv}es me more Pride, than he that gives my Price can {m}ake me Pleasure.

_Brav._ Madam, the last I knew thro all his disguises {t}o be Don _Pedro_, Nephew to the General, and who was {w}ith him in _Pampelona_.

_Pedro._ Ha! _Florinda_! Sure 'tis _Antonio_. [_aside.

_lower-case "aside" in original_ [Gives him the Jewel, which is her Picture, and Ex. He gazes after her.

_text reads "he gazes"_ _Scene changes to another Street. Enter _Florinda_._ _here and below, new scenes are unnumbered_

Critical Notes

V.i p. 101 _Incle_ p. 101 _upse_ _in the body text, the word "upse" occurs before the word "Incle"_

Epilogue p. 107 ... and preceeded these by the one hexameter _spelling "preceeded" unchanged_

THE ROVER; OR,

THE BANISH'D CAVALIERS.

PART II.

[Transcriber's Note:

Entrances and bracketed stage directions were printed in _italics_, with proper names in roman type. The overall _italic_ markup has been omitted for readability.]

ARGUMENT.

The exiled cavaliers, Willmore the Rover, s.h.i.+ft and Hunt, two officers, Ned Blunt and Fetherfool, his friend, have arrived at Madrid, where they are welcomed by Beaumond, nephew to the English Amba.s.sador. Both Willmore and Beaumond are enamoured of La Nuche, a beautiful courtezan, whilst s.h.i.+ft and Hunt are respectively courting a Giantess and a Dwarf, two Mexican Jewesses of immense wealth, newly come to Madrid with an old Hebrew, their uncle and guardian. Beaumond is contracted to Ariadne, who loves Willmore. Whilst the Rover is complimenting La Nuche, some Spaniards, headed by Don Carlo, an aged admirer of the lady, attempt to separate the pair. During the scuffle the ladies enter a church, where they are followed by the gallants. A little later Fetherfool comes to terms with La Nuche's duenna, Petronella, whilst Willmore makes love to Ariadne. s.h.i.+ft next informs Willmore of the arrival of a celebrated mountebank, and the Rover resolves to take the quack's place, which he does in effective disguise. Fetherfool and Blunt visit the pseudo-doctor's house, where the Giantess and Dwarf are lodged to be converted to a reasonable size by his medicaments; covetous of their great fortunes, the c.o.xcombs also begin to court the two Jewesses. La Nuche comes to consult the mountebank and meets Ariadne attired as a boy, and Willmore in his own dress. Ariadne, who has a rendezvous that evening with Willmore, is accidentally antic.i.p.ated by La Nuche, who runs into the garden during a night brawl between Beaumond and the Rover, each of whom is ignorant of his opponent's personality. Both the combatants encounter the courtezan in the garden and are joined by Ariadne. The confusion and mistakes that ensue are augmented by the arrival of Beaumond's page and eventually all disperse in different directions. La Nuche returns to her house, where Fetherfool-- led on by the Duenna-- awaits her. Carlo, however, come thither for the same purpose, enters the chambers, and after they have fallen to fisticuffs, Fetherfool in a fright escapes through a window. Meanwhile La Nuche is engaged with Willmore; Beaumond interrupts, and both leave her in pretended disdain. Ariadne, purposing to meet the Rover, mistakes Beaumond for him in the dark and they hurry away to the quack's house.

Here, however, Fetherfool has already arrived and, finding the Giantess asleep, robs her of a pearl necklace; but he is alarmed by s.h.i.+ft, who takes her off and promptly weds her, whilst Hunt does the same by the Dwarf. Blunt next appears leading Petronella, veiled, who, filching a casket of jewels, has just fled from La Nuche; but the hag is discovered and compelled to disgorge. The Jewish Guardian is reconciled to the marriages of his wards; Beaumond and Ariadne, Willmore and La Nuche arrive, and the various mistakes with regard to ident.i.ty are rectified, Willmore incidentally revealing himself as the sham mountebank. Beaumond and Ariadne agree to marry, whilst La Nuche gives herself to the Rover.

SOURCE.

Induced by the extraordinary success of _The Rover_ in 1677, Mrs. Behn, four years later, turned again to Killigrew's _Thomaso; or, The Wanderer_, and produced a sequel to her play. She had, however, already made good use of the best points of the old comedy, and the remaining material only being that which her judgment first rejected, it is not a matter of surprise to find the second part of _The Rover_ somewhat inferior to the first. This is by no means to say that it is not an amusing comedy full of bustle and humour. The intrigue of Willmore and La Nuche, together with the jocantries of the inimitable Blunt, Nick Fetherfool, and the antique Petronella Elenora, are all alive with the genius of Astrea, although it may be possibly objected that some of the episodes with the two Monsters and the pranks of Harlequin are apt to trench a little too nearly on the realm of farce.

THEATRICAL HISTORY.

_The Second Part of The Rover_ was produced at the Duke's Theatre, Dorset Gardens, in 1681. It is noticeable that Will Smith had so distinguished himself in Willmore, that Betterton, who appeared as Belvile in the first part, did not essay a character in the second. The cast was reinforced, however, by Mrs. Barry, who took the role of La Nuche.

The play was received with great applause; it suffered none the less the fate of most sequels and, being overshadowed by its predecessor, after a few decades disappeared from the boards.

To His ROYAL HIGHNESS the DUKE, &c.

Great Sir,

I dread to appear in this Humble Dedication to Your Royal Highness, as one of those Insolent and Saucy Offenders who take occasion by Your absence to commit ill-mannered indecencies, unpardonable to a Prince of your Ill.u.s.trious Birth and G.o.d-like Goodness, but that in spight of Seditious Scandal You can forgive; and all the World knows You can suffer with a Divine Patience: the proofs You have early and late given of this, have been such, as if Heaven design'd 'em only to give the World an undeniable Testimony of Your n.o.ble Vertues, Your Loyalty and True Obedience (if I may presume to say so,) both to Your Sacred Brother, and the never satisfied People, when either one Commanded, or t'other repin'd, With how chearful and intire a submission You Obey'd?

And tho the Royal Son of a Glorious Father who was render'd unfortunate by the unexemplary ingrat.i.tude of his worst of Subjects; and sacrific'd to the insatiate and cruel Villany of a seeming sanctifi'd Faction, who cou'd never hope to expiate for the unparallell'd sin, but by an intire submission to the Gracious Off-spring of this Royal Martyr: yet You, Great Sir, denying Yourself the Rights and Priviledges the meanest Subject Claims, with a Fort.i.tude worthy Your Adorable Vertues, put Yourself upon a voluntary Exile to appease the causeless murmurs of this again gathering Faction, who make their needless and self-created fears, an occasion to Play the old Game o're again; whil'st the Politick self-interested and malitious few betray the unconsidering Rest, with the delicious sounds of Liberty and Publick Good; that lucky Cant which so few years since so miserably reduc'd all the n.o.ble, Brave and Honest, to the Obedience of the ill-gotten Power, and worse-acted Greatness of the Rabble; so that whil'st they most unjustly cry'd down the oppression of one of the best of Monarchs, and all Kingly Government: all England found itself deplorably inslav'd by the Arbitrary Tyranny of many Pageant Kings. Oh that we shou'd so far forget with what greatness of mind You then shar'd the common Fate, as now and again to force Your Royal Person to new Perils, and new Exiles; but such ingrat.i.tude we are punisht with, and You still suffer for, and still forgive it.

This more than Human Goodness, with the incouragement Your Royal Highness was pleas'd to give the Rover at his first appearance, and the concern You were pleas'd to have for his second, makes me presume to lay him at Your feet; he is a wanderer too, distrest; belov'd, the unfortunate, and ever conscent to Loyalty; were he Legions he should follow and suffer still with so Excellent a Prince and Master. Your Infant worth he knew, and all Your growing Glories; has seen you like young Cesar in the Field, when yet a Youth, exchanging Death for Laurels, and wondred at a Bravery so early, which still made double Conquest, not only by Your Sword, but by Your Vertues, which taught even Your Enemies so intire an Obedience, that asham'd of their Rebel Gallantry, they have resign'd their guilty Commissions, and Vow'd never to Draw Sword more but in the Royal Cause; which Vow Religiously they kept: a n.o.ble Example for the busie and hot Mutineers of this Age misled by Youth, false Ambition and falser Council.

[Sidenote: Some of Oliver's Commanders at Dunkirk]

How careless since Your Glorious Restauration You have been, of Your Life for the service of Your mistaken Country, the whole World knows, and all brave men admire.