Thomas Shadwell

“ This state of things is pictured in Shadwell’s comedy. Sir William Rant, Wildfire, and Tope, are noted scowrers, well known in the town, whose fame has excited emulation in men of less distinction in their way, Whachum, “a city wit and scowrer, imitator of sir William,” and “two scoundrells,” his companions, Bluster and Dingboy. Great enmity arises between the two parties of rival scowrers. The more serious characters in the play are Mr. Rant, sir William Rant’s father, and sir Richard Maggot, “a foolish Jacobite alderman” (it must be remembered that we are now in the reign of king William) . ”

“ Liberty, Pt. IV. J. THOMSON.
Minds that have nothing to confer
Find little to perceive.
Yes! Thou art fair. WORDSWORTH.
Cried, "'T is resolved, for Nature pleads that he
Should only rule who most resembles me.
Shadwell alone my perfect image bears,
Mature in dulness from his tender years;
Shadwell alone of all my sons is he
Who stands confirmed in full stupidity.
The rest to some faint meaning make pretence,
But Shadwell never deviates into sense.
Some beams of wit on other souls may fall,
Strike through and make a lucid interval ”

“ After leaving Cambridge, he took up his abode in London, and, if Shadwell is to be trusted, was in very needy circumstances; lived in a lodging that had a window "no bigger than a pocket looking-glass, and dined at a threepenny ordinary, enough to starve a vacation tailor." He was, according to the account of a contemporary, very simply clad; and one of his sources of income was to write prefaces for Herringman, the bookseller. ”

“ There his wit recommended him to the King, won for him the hatred of small minds, and elicited the praise of noble spirits, who were witty themselves, and loved the manifestation of wit in others. "I have heard," says honest, brilliant, and much-abused Shadwell, "I have heard Sedley speak more wit at a supper than all my adversaries, putting their heads together, could write in a year." This testimony was rendered by a man whose own reputation as a wit has the stamp and the warrant of Rochester. ”

“ He was corpulent and unwieldy in person, addicted to sensual indulgence, a boon companion, and a clever conversationalist. Lord Rochester said that "if Shadwell had burnt all he wrote, and printed all he spoke, he would have had more wit and humour than any other poet." His plays denote much observation of life, quickness in perceiving foibles, and skill in depicting them, the characters are well sustained, and they will even now amuse in the perusal. ”

“ But I tell you also that, once having sworn allegiance to the King’s service, we will not turn traitors and betray his side to the enemy. His officers will fight on until a chance comes to withdraw honourably—we are not turncoats like Andrew Shadwell.”
“You are a good lad and a loyal soldier,” said Stephen, holding out his hand to clasp his cousin’s heartily. “A brave heart is a brave heart on whichever side it stands.”
“Had you ever had to do with Andrew Shadwell before?” inquired Clotilde, for she noticed his tone of extreme bitterness when he spoke of their Tory neighbour. ”

“ He thinks, too, yet upbraids himself for so thinking, that Miss Massereene must see that Philip Shadwell, heir to Herst and twenty thousand pounds a year, is a better catch than Teddy Luttrell, with only his great love for her, and a paltry six hundred pounds a year.
Is it not selfish of him to seek to keep her from what is so evidently to her advantage? Perhaps he ought to throw up his engagement, and, passing out of her life, leave her to reap the "good the gods provide." ”

“ Much, however, depends on an author's habit of composition. Some writers put on paper every thought as it originates; others, without any mechanical aid, select and combine in their own minds, and there compose the independent whole; so that the act of writing is the mere transcription of what has already been carefully elaborated.
"Epsom Wells," a comedy, was printed in London in 1676, and dedicated to the Duke of Newcastle. This play won the praise of St. Evremont, and Shadwell tells us he was more fond of it than of any he ever wrote. ”

“ In Shadwell's Sullen Lovers (1669) is a Lady Vaine who calls herself a "Virtuosa" and is learned in medicaments. She boasts of her serviceableness with her "Flos Unguentorum, Paracelsian, and Green-salve," and praises the Album Grecum as a salve of her own concoction.
Of much more interest is Shadwell's Bury-Fair (1689) . The chief characters are Lady Fantast, Mrs. Fantast, and Lady Fantast's stepdaughter, Gertrude Oldwit, and their attendant cavaliers. ”

“ The Triumphant Widow; or, the Medley of Humours, a Comedy, acted by his royal highness's servants, Lond. 1677, 4to. which pleased Mr. Shadwell so well, that he transcribed a part of it into his Bury Fair, one of the most taking plays of that poet.
Shadwell says of his grace, that he was the greatest master of wit, the most exact observer of mankind, and the most accurate judge of humour, that ever he knew.
Footnotes:
Dugdale's Baron. vol. 2. Dugdale vol. 2. p. 421. Dugdale, ubi supra. Rushworth's collection, vol. 1. p. 929. Clarendon, p. 283. Life of the D. of Newcastle, p. 56. ”

“ Luttrell's pulses are throbbing wildly, while his heart has almost ceased to beat. Half a minute—that is a long hour—passes thus; a few more words from Philip, an answer from Molly. Oh, that he could hear! And then Shadwell stoops until, from where Luttrell stands, his face seems to grow to hers.
Tedcastle's teeth meet in his lip as he gazes spell-bound. A cold shiver runs through him, as when one learns that all one's dearest, most cherished hopes are trampled in the dust. A faint moisture stands on his brow. It is the bitterness of death! ”

“ You asked me if I liked Lord Chadwick. I was thinking. Somehow it seems to me that I rather like him, though I have no reason to do so. He thinks me crazy, but so do others; I know that my conversation bores him, he always tries to get away from me, yet somehow it seems to me that I do like him.'
'Is he a fast man, father, is he like Lord Chiselhurst?'
'He is much the same as the other men that come here. I don't think he's a bad man—no worse than other men. Is he kind to you, dear; tell me that; do you like him?'
'Yes, father; he and Mr. St. Clare are the men I like best here. ”

“ It is worth recording that this rather high-toned chaplain Smirk, son of Smirk the Tailor, came under the censure and the scissors of the scrupulous Master of the Revels. This delicate official could tolerate the Smirks of Etherege, but when Shadwell exhibited one with something like sincerity dragging after his faults, the whole town, ay, and the court too, cried out shame! The wisdom of our ancestors does not appear to match with the assurance which affects to give warranty of it. ”

“ The question was snapped out at Tom and Ruth as they stood near the shack. A man had come to an abrupt halt as he emerged from the bushes and faced them; something of fear, Tom thought, mingled with anger showing on his face. It was this man whom they had heard approaching, a man clad in ordinary garments, yet with an indefinable foreign air about him—an air that was accentuated by his words and inflection. ”

“ It is hardly within the scope of this work to follow the varying fashions of the reign, so one more extract must suffice. It is from 'The Humours of the Army,' by Charles Shadwell (a son, or nephew, of the Poet Laureate, 1713) : 'But there are some fashionable Creatures at the other End of the Town, that give great Hopes of their being very odd and Whimsical; for their Head dresses are no bigger than the Skull-caps they us'd to wear; their Petticoats are up to their knees; their Stays up to their chins; and their Fans up to their Nostrils ”

“ Boswell ran out. There was a cheer from the float—from the crowds along the river bank.
"Come on, Tom!" cried Joe. "You and your crew are next. Oh, for the love of Randall win that race! Boxer Hall has eight points now—the four and the double. But if we win the eight and the single we'll have twelve, and be the champions."
"Then we'll win!" cried Tom, desperately, as he clasped Ruth's brooch in his hand and raced out. ”

“ Chadwick delights in letters, dearly loves to live in an avalanche of notes and messages, and never loses an opportunity of despatching telegrams. She has a notion that it is chic to be perpetually busy 'with people and things outside her home, and she has succeeded in accreting to herself a number of fussy little intimacies which don't really mean anything--which would smash and go to pieces under the weight of a real trial, a genuine difficulty, either on her own part or on that of the object of any one of them, but which she maintains with scrupulous care. ”

“ I said, "that his affection for you is based on the fact that you are so like his poor old mother. Perhaps while I am waiting at his cottage he may give me further interesting facts about you."
Shadey is an old man with a bent back and curious bright eyes that gleam under a heavy thatch of eyebrow. His wife is the very thinnest old woman that I have ever seen; her cheeks have fallen in and are so very wrinkled that they always remind me of a toy balloon that a child has pricked with a pin. She is always ill and never complaining. ”

“ And so the merry little party feasted and laughed and softly sang their college songs until the girls protested that they must get back, or Miss Philock—well, various opinions were expressed about that lady.
"Stop that infernal clock!" grunted Tom, a little later, as he lay half asleep on the old sofa in the common room.
"Stop it yourself," murmured Phil, sprawled in one easy chair, while Frank occupied another. Sid had declared himself done up after the race, and had gone to bed. From his room he murmured in a sleepy voice:
"Sounds like Jerry calling—'Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!" doesn't it?" ”

“ Of several we know little more than the names. This is the case with James Chadwell, whose name appears first in the grant, and with Moses Davis, Thomas Rous, Jonathan Parker, Hugh Shirley, Nathaniel Newman and James Vibart.
Two other non-resident grantees were men of influence and in their day made sufficient stir in the world to claim further notice. The first bore the imposing name of Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres. This gentleman is believed to have been a native of Switzerland. He obtained a commission in the English army and served with distinction under Wolfe at the siege of Quebec. ”

“ Tom gave a glance back, and saw Shambler heading for the shore. A fierce wave of anger swept over him, but he said nothing to his chums of the apparent act of cowardice.
“Is she there? Holding on to the ice? Are they both there, girls?” gasped Phil, as he covered the intervening distance between himself and the two frightened girls.
“Oh, boys, hurry!” called Mabel. “They are both holding on to the ice, but they can’t last much longer. It’s cracking all the while. ”

“ Do you imagine that all Moses and the others have to think of is football?" demanded Phil. "I tell you, fellows, this is a serious matter. I'd hate to see old Randall done away with."
"So would we all," declared Kindlings. "But maybe we'll win in court, just as——"
"As we didn't against Fairview, but as we're going to do against Boxer Hall!" interrupted Tom, with energy, and then he saw Ruth beckoning to him, as she stood with her chums, most bewitchingly arrayed in a fur coat. "Come on!" called Tom to his friends, and soon they were escorting the girls home. ”

“ I'm glad it wasn't one of our good ones."
"Good ones!" cried Tom, who had bid in the steamer affair at the auction, much against the wishes of his chums. "Say, this has those other ancient arks beaten a mile," and stooping over he began trying to solve the twisted puzzle of the arms, legs and foot-rest that seemed to have gotten Into an inextricable tangle.
"Oh, I give it up!" he cried, after several unsuccessful efforts. "We'll let one of the janitors play doctor," and he laughed. ”

“ But Thomas Chadwick felt that, having once been a policeman, he was at liberty to interpret the law to suit his own convenience. He caught the Hillport car, and nodded the professional nod to its conductor, asking him a technical question, and generally showing to the other passengers on the platform that he was not as they, and that he had important official privileges. Of course, he travelled free; and of course he stopped the car when, its conductor being inside, two ladies signalled to it at the bottom of Oldcastle Street. ”

“ I'm sick of it."
"Now, say on," invited Tom.
Somewhat mollified, Dutch took an easier position in the creaking chair, thereby raising a cloud of dust, and remarked:
"Well, the freshman dinner will come off to-morrow night. It's just been decided."
"Honest?" cried Sid.
"Sure. Our committee has everything in shape, and we'll fool the sophs this time. Ford Fenton and I have been going around notifying the fellows. You see, we had to keep it quiet, because those sophs will put it on the blink if they can."
"Sure they will," agreed Tom. ”

“ He turned it over to read the address, and uttered a startled cry.
"What's the matter?" demanded Sid, springing to an upright position with such suddenness, that the old sofa creaked and groaned in protest, like a ship in a storm.
"Look!" exclaimed Tom. "This letter—I found it on the floor—it's addressed to Bert Bascome—from someone in the college, evidently, for it hasn't been through the mail, as there's no stamp on it." ”

“ But I’ll chance it. A fellow has to have some fun. Any of you smoke?” and he extended his box of cigarettes.
“It’s bad—when you’re in training,” remarked Phil. “Count us out.”
“You, too, Parsons?” asked Shambler. “Say, by the way,” he went on, “I met a friend of yours the other night. Miss Tyler, of Fairview. At least she said she knew you. Fine girl.”
[164]
“Yes,” half growled Tom, the blood flushing his face. “I’m going to see if there’s any mail,” he added quickly, as he left the room.
“Anything wrong?” asked Shambler of the others. ”