His 'Short View' was followed by 'A Defence of the
Short View,' a 'Second Defence of the Short View,' 'A Farther Short
View,' and, in short, a number of 'Short Views,' which had been better
merged into one 'Long Sight.' Jeremy grew coarse and bitter; Congreve
coarser and bitterer; and the whole controversy made a pretty chapter
for the 'Quarrels of Authors.' But the Jeremiad triumphed in the long
run, because, if its method was bad, its cause was good, and a
succeeding generation voted Congreve immoral. Enough of Jeremy. We owe
him a tribute for his pluck, and though no one reads him in the present
day, we may be thankful to him for having led the way to a better state
of things.[15]
Congreve defended himself in eight letters addressed to Mr. Moyle, and
we can only say of them, that, if anything, they are yet coarser than
the plays he would excuse.
The works of the young Templar, and his connection with Betterton,
introduced him to all the writers and wits of his day. He and Vanbrugh,
though rivals, were fellow-workers, and our glorious Haymarket Theatre,
which has gone on at times when Drury and Covent Garden have been in
despair, owes its origin to their confederacy.
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