diff options
Diffstat (limited to '15857.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 15857.txt | 1187 |
1 files changed, 1187 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/15857.txt b/15857.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d614229 --- /dev/null +++ b/15857.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1187 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of +Elvira, Written by Mr. David Malloch (1763), by James Boswell, Andrew Erskine and George Dempster + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira, Written by Mr. David Malloch (1763) + +Author: James Boswell, Andrew Erskine and George Dempster + +Release Date: May 18, 2005 [EBook #15857] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRITICAL STRICTURES *** + + + + +Produced by David Starner, Clare Boothby and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + The Augustan Reprint Society + +JAMES BOSWELL, ANDREW ERSKINE, and GEORGE DEMPSTER + +_Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira, + Written by Mr. David Malloch_ + + (1763) + + + + With an Introduction by Frederick A. Pottle + + + Publication Number 35 + + + + Los Angeles + William Andrews Clark Memorial Library + University of California + 1952 + + + + * * * * * + + +GENERAL EDITORS + + H. RICHARD ARCHER, _Clark Memorial Library_ + RICHARD C. BOYS, _University of Michigan_ + ROBERT S. KINSMAN, _University of California, Los Angeles_ + JOHN LOFTIS, _University of California, Los Angeles_ + +ASSISTANT EDITOR + + W. EARL BRITTON, _University of Michigan_ + +ADVISORY EDITORS + + EMMETT L. AVERY, _State College of Washington_ + BENJAMIN BOYCE, _Duke University_ + LOUIS BREDVOLD, _University of Michigan_ + JAMES L. CLIFFORD, _Columbia University_ + ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, _University of Chicago_ + EDWARD NILES HOOKER, _University of California, Los Angeles_ + LOUIS A. LANDA, _Princeton University_ + SAMUEL H. MONK, _University of Minnesota_ + ERNEST MOSSNER, _University of Texas_ + JAMES SUTHERLAND, _University College, London_ + H.T. SWEDENBERG, JR., _University of California, Los Angeles_ + +CORRESPONDING SECRETARY + + EDNA C. DAVIS, _Clark Memorial Library_ + + + * * * * * + + +INTRODUCTION + +"WEDNESDAY 19 JANUARY [1763]. This was a day eagerly expected by Dempster, +Erskine, and I, as it was fixed as the period of our gratifying a whim +proposed by me: which was that on the first day of the new Tragedy called +_Elvira's_ being acted, we three should walk from the one end of +London to the other, dine at Dolly's, & be in the Theatre at night; & as +the Play would probably be bad, and as Mr. David Malloch, the Author, who +has changed his name to David Mallet, Esq., was an arrant Puppy, we +determined to exert ourselves in damning it."[1] + +George Dempster, aged thirty, a Scots lawyer who by putting his fortune +under severe strain had been elected Member of Parliament for the Forfar +and Fife burghs, was in London in his official capacity. Andrew Erskine, +aged twenty-two, younger son of an impoverished Scots earl, was waiting in +London till the regiment in which he held a lieutenant's commission should +be "broke," following the Peace. James Boswell, heir to the considerable +estate of Auchinleck in Ayrshire, also aged twenty-two, had come to London +in the previous November in an attempt to secure a commission in the Foot +Guards. Dempster, Erskine, and Boswell had constituted themselves a +triumvirate of wit in Edinburgh as early as the summer of 1761, and had +already made more than one joint appearance in print.[2] + +David Mallet, now in his late fifties, was also a Scotsman. "It was +remarked of him," wrote Dr. Johnson many years later, "that he was the +only Scot whom Scotchmen did not commend."[3] Scotsmen considered him a +renegade. They felt that he had repudiated his country in changing his +distinctively Scots name, perhaps also in learning to speak English so +well that Johnson had never been able to catch him in a Scotch accent. +They would have been willing to forget his humble origins if he had not +shown that he was ashamed of them himself. But when he allowed himself to +assume arrogant manners and to style himself "Esq." (a kind of behavior +especially offensive to genuine men of family, like our trio), they chose +to remember, and to remind the world, that he was the son of a tenant +farmer (a Macgregor, at that), that as a boy he had been willing to run +errands and to deliver legs of mutton, and that for a time in his youth he +had held the menial post of Janitor in the High School of Edinburgh. + +It was not merely the Scots who had their knives out for Mallet. He was +generally unpopular, apparently for adequate reasons. He had accepted a +large sum of money from the Duchess of Marlborough to write a life of the +Duke, of which he never penned a line, though he pretended for years that +he was worn out by his labors in connection with it. He courted Pope, +accepted kindnesses from him, and then attacked him after he was dead. He +published Bolingbroke's posthumous infidelities, causing Johnson to remark +that Bolingbroke had charged "a blunderbuss against religion and morality" +and had "left half a crown to a beggarly Scotchman, to draw the trigger +after his death."[4] His behavior towards the memory of his friend and +collaborator Thomson was thought to be less than candid. He had written a +discreditable party pamphlet at the instigation of the Earl of Hardwicke +against the unfortunate Admiral Byng, and had then deserted Hardwicke for +the Earl of Bute, who had found him a sinecure of L300 a year. And even as +early as 1763 people were saying that he was really not the author of the +fine ballad _William and Margaret_ which he had published as his own. + +Boswell, at least, had meditated an attack on Mallet before _Critical +Strictures_ was written. In the large manuscript collection of his +verses preserved in the Bodleian Library are two scraps of an unpublished +satire imitating Churchill's _Rosciad_ (1761), to be entitled _The +Turnspitiad_, a canine contest of which Mallet is the hero: + + If dogg'rel rhimes have aught to do with dog, + If kitchen smoak resembles fog, + If changing sides from Hardwick to Lord B--t + Can with a turnspit's turning humour suit, + If to write verse immeasurably low, + Which Malloch's verse does so compleatly show, + Deserve the preference--Malloch, take the wheel, + Nor quit it till you bring as _gude a Chiel_![5] + +And the decision to damn _Elvira_ was made in advance of the +performance, as we have seen. + +Having failed, in spite of shrill-sounding catcalls, to persuade the +audience at Drury Lane to damn the play, our trio went to supper at the +house of Erskine's sister, Lady Betty Macfarlane, in Leicester Street, and +there found themselves so fertile in sallies of humour, wit, and satire on +Mallet and his play that they determined to meet again and throw their +sallies into order. Accordingly, they dined at Lady Betty's next day (20 +January). After dinner Erskine produced a draft of their observations +thrown into pamphlet size, they all three corrected it, Boswell copied it +out, and they drove immediately in Lady Betty's coach to the shop of +William Flexney, Churchill's publisher, and persuaded him to undertake the +publication. Next day Boswell repented of the scurrility of what they had +written and got Dempster to go with him to retrieve the copy. Erskine at +first was sulky, but finally consented to help revise it again. It went +back to Flexney in a day or two, and was published on 27 January.[6] + +_Elvira_ was essentially a translation or adaptation of Lamotte-Houdar's +French tragedy _Ines de Castro_, a piece published forty years +before, but the English audience of 1763 saw in it a compliment to the +King of Portugal, whose cause against Spain Great Britain had espoused +towards the end of the Seven Years' War. The preliminaries of peace had +already been signed, but the spirit of belligerency had not subsided; so +that the making of the only odious person in the play (the Queen) a +Spaniard, and having it end with a declaration of war against Spain, could +not fail to please a patriotic audience. Since nobody reads _Elvira_ +any more, I shall venture to give an expanded version of Genest's outline +of the plot, in order to make the comments in Critical Strictures more +intelligible: + +Don Pedro [son of Alonzo IV, King of Portugal] and Elvira [maid of honour +to the Queen, who is the King's second wife, and is mother of the King of +Spain] are privately married--the King insists that his son should marry +Almeyda [the Queen's daughter, sister to the King of Spain]--he +acknowledges his love for Elvira--she is committed to the custody of the +Queen--Don Pedro takes up arms to rescue Elvira--he forces his way into +the palace--she blames him for his rashness--the King enters, and Don +Pedro throws away his sword--Don Pedro is first confined to his apartment, +and then condemned to death--Almeyda, who is in love with Don Pedro, does +her utmost to save him--she prevails on the King to give Elvira an +audience--Elvira avows her marriage, and produces her two children--the +King pardons his son--Elvira dies, having been poisoned by the Queen--Don +Pedro offers to kill himself, but is prevented by his father.[7] + +The play had a respectable run, in spite of its colliding with the +Half-Price Riots, but contemporary accounts appear to indicate that it +was not highly thought of by the judicious. I extract the following terse +criticism from a letter in the _St. James's Chronicle_ for 20 January, +the day after the play opened: + + _A Brief Criticism on the New Tragedy of Elvira_ + + Act I. Indifferent. + + Act II. Something better. + + Act III. MIDDLING. + + Act IV. Execrable. + + Act V. Very Tolerable. + +Dempeter later regretted his share in _Critical Strictures_ on the +ground that neither he nor his collaborators could have written a +tragedy nearly so good. _The Critical Review_, in which Mallet himself +sometimes wrote, characterized the pamphlet as "the crude efforts of envy, +petulance, and self-conceit." "There being thus three epithets," says +Boswell, "we, the three authours, had a humourous contention how each +should be appropriated."[8] _The Monthly Review_ was hardly less +severe. It conceived the author of _Critical Structures_ to be either +a personal enemy of Mallet's or else a bitter enemy of Mallet's country, +prejudiced against everything Scotch. The reviewer could not but look upon +this author "as a man of more abilities than honesty, as the want of +candour is certainly a species of dishonesty."[9] + +It was natural to infer that _Critical Strictures_ was motivated by +prejudice against Scotland. It appeared in the days of Wilkes's _North +Briton_ and shortly after Charles Churchill's _Prophecy of Famine_, that +is, at the height of the violent anti-Scotch feeling which the opponents +of Bute (a Scotsman by birth) had stirred up and were exploiting in +order to force him out of office. But the critics might have remembered +that the most savage criticism of any Scot generally comes from other +Scots who think he has not remained Scotch enough; as witness, by what +new appears to be retributive justice, the general Scots dislike of +Boswell himself. At any rate, the pamphlet was the production, not of +one Englishman imbued with a hatred of all things Scots, but of three +warmly patriotic Scotsmen. + +_Critical Strictures_ is the merest of trifles, but at least three +reasons can be given for publishing a facsimile of it. Scholars on +occasion need to be able to read all the productions of great authors no +matter how trifling, and this one is excessively rare; so rare, indeed, +that few of Boswell's editors have been able to get a sight of it. It +makes a pleasant and useful footnote to _Boswell's London Journal, +1762-1765_, a work now being widely read, or at least widely circulated. +And it contains a remark or two that should be of interest to historians +of English drama in the middle of the eighteenth century. + +Mr. C. Beecher Hogan has given me expert assistance in writing two of the +notes. + +The copy of _Critical Strictures_ used for making this reproduction +was given to the Library of Yale University by Professor Chauncey B. +Tinker. + +Frederick A. Pottle +Yale University. + + + +NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION + +1. _Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763_, ed. F.A. Pottle, McGraw-Hill +Book Co. (New York), William Heinemann (London), 1950, p. 152, quoted +with permission of the McGraw-Hill Book Co. This edition (which will +hereafter be referred to as LJ) prints the journal in a standardized and +modernized text. In the passage above quoted I have restored the +ampersands and capitals of Boswell's manuscript. + +2. See F.A. Pottle, _The Literary Career of James Boswell_, Clarendon +Press, 1929, pp. 6, 12. + +3. "The Life of Mallet," in _Lives of the Poets_. + +4. James Boswell's _Life of Samuel Johnson_, ed. G.B. Hill and L.F. +Powell, Clarendon Press, 6 vols., 1934-1950, i. 268. (Hereafter referred +to as _Life_.) + +5. Douce MS 193, 93^v, quoted with permission of the Curators of the +Bodleian Library. + +6. LJ, pp. 154-155, 162, 163-164, 172, partly paraphrased, partly quoted. + +7. John Genest, _Some Account of the English Stage from ... 1660 to +1830_, 10 vols., Bath, 1832, v.12-13. + +8. _Life_, i. 409 _n._ 1; _The Critical Review_, xv (Feb. +1763). 160. + +9. _The Monthly Review_. xxviii (Jan. 1763). 68, written by the +editor, Ralph Griffiths (B.C. Nangle, _The Monthly Review, First Series +1749-1789_, Clarendon Press, 1934, p. 84, no. 995). + + + * * * * * + + + CRITICAL + STRICTURES + ON THE + New TRAGEDY + OF + ELVIRA, + WRITTEN BY + Mr. DAVID MALLOCH. + + + LONDON: +Printed for W. FLEXNEY, near Gray's Inn, Holborn. + MDCCLXIII. + + (Price Sixpence.) + + + + * * * * * + + + +Advertisement.[A] + +We have followed the Authority of Sir _David Dalrymple_, and Mr. +_Samuel Johnson_, in the Orthography of Mr. _Malloch_'s Name; as +we imagine the Decision of these Gentlemen will have more weight in the +World of Letters, than even that of the said Mr. _Malloch_ himself. + + + * * * * * + + +CRITICAL +STRICTURES, &c. + +In our Strictures on the Tragedy of _Elvira_, we shall not hasten all at +once into the midst of Things, according to the Rules of Epic Poetry; +Heroic Poems and Remarks on New Plays, are things so essentially +different, that they ought not to be written by the same Rules. Had Mr. +_Malloch_ been aware of these Distinctions in writing, which surely are +not very nice, he probably would have discovered that Scenes admirably +adapted for forming a Burlesque Tragedy, would never succeed in forming +a serious Drama. In the Prologue the Author informs us, that the +Preliminaries of Peace are signed, and the War now over and he humbly +hopes, as we have spared the _French_, we will spare his Tragedy. But as +the Principles of Restitution seem at present strong in this Nation, +before we extend our Mercy to him, we insist that in imitation of his +Superiors, he shall restore every thing valuable he has plunder'd from +the _French_ during the Course of his sad and tedious Composition. + +In the first Scene of this Tragedy a Gentleman who has been abroad, +during the Wars, requests his Friend to acquaint him with what has past +at Court in the time of his Absence. We were equally surprized and +delighted with this new Method of informing the Spectators of the +Transactions prior to the Commencement of the Play; nothing can be more +natural, for we imagine the Art of conveying Letters by Post was at that +time undiscovered. We must indeed acknowledge, that during the time of +the Roman Empire Letters were transmitted with the utmost Celerity from +one Part to another of those immense Dominions; but we also know, that +after the Subversion of that State by the Incursions of the _Goths_ and +_Vandals_, the first Act of Cruelty committed by these Barbarians was +murdering all the Post-Boys in cold Blood: In like manner as our inhuman +_Edward_ upon his compleating the Conquest of _Wales_ ordered all the +Bards to be put to Death, amongst the Number of which had Mr. _Malloch_ +been included we had not now been tortured with his execrable Tragedy. +Novelty of the same kind with this we have mentioned runs thro' the +whole Play, almost every Scene being an Interview and a _tete a tete_. +The King wants to see his Son, the Queen wants to see _Elvira_, _Elvira_ +wants to see the King, and so on thro' the Five Acts. + +No new Thoughts or Sentiments are to be found in this Performance, we +meet only with old ones absurdly expressed. _Dryden_ said that _Ben +Johnson_ was every where to be traced in the Snow of the Ancients. We +may say that _Malloch_ is every where to be traced in the Puddle of the +Moderns. Instead of selecting the Beauties, he has pick'd out whatever +is despicable in _Shakespeare_, _Otway_, _Dryden_, and _Rowe_, like a +Pick-Pocket who dives for Handkerchiefs, not for Gold; and contents +himself with what he finds in our Great Coat Pocket, without attempting +our Watch or your Purse. Tho' Mr. _Malloch_ may only mean to borrow, yet +as he possesses no Fund of Original Genius from whence he can pay his +Debts, borrowing, we are afraid is an inadequate Expression, the harsher +one of stealing we must therefore, tho' reluctantly, substitute in its +room. In the Prologue he acknowledges himself a Culprit, but as the Loss +of what he has pilfered is insignificant to the Owners, we shall bring +him in guilty only of Petty Larcenary: We believe he has been driven, +like poor People in this severe Weather by dire Necessity, to such +dishonest Shifts. + +In this Play the Author has introduced a Rebellion unparalleled in +any History, Ancient or Modern. He raises his Rebellions as a skilful +Gardener does his Mushrooms, in a Moment; and like an artful Nurse, +he lulls in a Moment the fretful Child asleep. The Prince enters an +Appartment of the Palace with a drawn Sword; this forms the Rebellion. +The King enters the same Appartment without a drawn Sword. This quashes +the Rebellion. How to credit this Story, or to pardon this poetical +Licence, we are greatly at a Loss; for we know in the Year 1745 three +thousand Mountaineers actually appeared at _Derby_. _Cataline_, we are +credibly informed, had a Gang of at least a Dozen stout Fellows; and it +is pretty certain that _Bedemar_, when going to inslave _Venice_, had +provided Pistols and Battle Powder for more than fifteen fighting Men. +We are almost tempted to think, that Mr. _Malloch_ gets his Rebellions +ready made, like his _Scotch_ Tobacco, cut and dry, at the Sign of the +Valiant Highlander. + +Our great Author possesses, in its utmost Perfection, the happy Art of +uniting rival Ladies, and of setting at Variance a virtuous Father and +Son. How intimate his Acquaintance with Human Nature! How deep his +Knowledge of the Passions! No less exquisite and refined in his Morality, +like a true Disciple of Lord _Bolingbroke_, he unites Vice and Virtue +most lovingly together; witness this memorable Line of the King's, +addressed to _Elvira_; + + _'Midst all your Guilt I must admire your Virtue._ + +Let us invert this Line, + + 'Midst all your Virtue I must abhor your Guilt. + +Let us parody it; + + O Mr. _David Malloch_! 'midst all your Dullness I must admire + your Genius. + +We heard it once asserted by _David Hume_, Esq;[B] that Mr. _Malloch_ +was destitute of the Pathetic. In this Observation however we beg leave +to differ with him. In the fourth Act the whole Board of Portuguese +Privy Counsellors are melted into Tears. The Trial of the Prince moves +the Hearts of those Monsters of Iniquity, those Members of Inquisition, +when the less humane Audience are in Danger, from the Tediousness of two +insipid Harangues of falling fast asleep. This majestic Scene is too +exactly copied from a Trial at the _Old Bailey_, to have even the Merit +of Originality. And indeed it is to the Lenity of the King of _Portugal_ +that we owe by far the greater Part of this amazing Play. The good Man +lets his rebellious Subjects out of Prison to chat with him, when a +wiser Monarch would have kept them close confined in _Newgate_. The +incomparable Action of that universal Genius Mr. _Garrick_ alone, saved +this Act from the Damnation it deserved. Had not he, like a second +_AEneas_, carried the old doating and decrepid Father on his Back, he +must have lain by the Way. Tho' we must observe another Character in +this Play seemed better suited to the Impetuosity and Fire of this +Actor. We could not but smile at the Humour of a merry Wag in the Pit, +who at the Conclusion of one of the most tiresome Pleadings, with some +Degree of Impatience and Emotion called out, _Encore, encore_. + +In the fifth Act we were melted with the Sight of two young Children +which the King embraced, which the Prince embraced, which _Elvira_ +embraced. Mr. _Addison_ in the 44th No. of the _Spectator_, has some +Remarks so judicious and lively on the Practice of introducing Children +on the Stage, that we must beg leave to transcribe the Passage. + +"A disconsolate Mother with a Child in her Hand, has frequently drawn +Compassion from the Audience, and has therefore gained a Place in +several Tragedies; a modern Writer who observed how this had taken +in other Plays, being resolved to double the Distress, and melt his +Audience twice as much as those before him had done, brought a Princess +on the Stage with a little Boy in one Hand, and a Girl in the other. A +third Poet being resolved to out-write all his Predecessors, a few Years +ago introduced three Children with great Success; and as I am informed a +young Gentleman who is fully determined to break the most obdurate +Heart, has a Tragedy by him where the first Person that appears on the +Stage is an afflicted Widow, in her mourning Weeds, with half a dozen +fatherless Children attending her, like those that usually hang about +the Figure of Charity. Thus several Incidents that are beautiful in a +good Writer become ridiculous by falling into the Hands of a bad one." + +We would suggest to Mr. _Malloch_ the useful Hint of introducing in +some of his future Productions, the whole Foundling Hospital, which with +a well painted Scene of the Edifice itself would certainly call forth the +warmest Tears of Pity, and the bitterest Emotions of Distress; especially +when we consider that many of the Parents of these unfortunate Babes would +probably be Spectators of this interesting Scene. + +The Conclusion of the Piece is as abrupt as the other Parts of it are +absurd. We should be much at a Loss to guess by whom the Poison is +administered to _Elvira_, were we not aided in our Conjectures by the +shrewd Suspicions which the King, tho' otherwise a very loving Husband, +seems to entertain of his Wife. Upon my regreting that her Majesty, if +guilty, should escape without poetical Justice at least, a Gentleman who +sat behind me, a Friend as I supposed of the Author, assured me her +Punishment was reserved for the Farce, which for that Purpose was, +contrary to Custom, added to the Play.[C] + +Though in general this Tragedy is colder than the most extreme Parts of +_Nova Zembla_,[D] yet we now and then feel a Warmth, but it is such a +Warmth or Glow rather, as is sometimes produced by the Handling of Snow. + +Bad as this Play is, yet will the Author have the Profits of his Three +Nights: Few on the First Night having either Taste or Spirit to express +their Disapprobation. Like the Rascals who plundered _Lisbon_ after +the Earthquake, Mr. _David Malloch_ will extract Guineas out of +Rubbish. + +We shall now give, in a few Words, the Quintessence of this Play. Monarchs +ought to be just. Heroes are bad Men. Husbands ought to die for their +Wives, Wives for their Husbands. We ought to govern our Passions. And the +Sun shines on all alike. A few of these new Remarks form the Sum total of +this contemptible Piece. + +After the Play we were entertained with an Epilogue fraught with Humour, +and spoken with Spirit. There was a Simile of a Bundle of Twigs formed +into a Rod, which seemed to convey a delicate Allusion to Mr. +_Malloch_'s original Profession,[E] and some of the Lines contained an +exquisite and severe Criticism on the Play itself. + +Amidst all the harshness inspired by a real Feeling of the Dulness of the +Composition itself, it would be unjust not to bestow the highest Applause +on the principal Performers, by the Energy of whose Action even Dulness +was sometimes rendered respectable. We were sorry to find such great +Talents so very ill employed. The melting Tones of a _Cibber_ should +make every Eye stream with Tears. _Pritchard_ should always elevate. +_Garrick_ give Strength and Majesty to the Scene. Let us soften at +the keen Distress of a _Belvidera_; let our Souls rise with the +Dignity of an _Elizabeth_; let us tremble at the wild Madness of a +_Lear_;[F] but let us not Yawn at the Stupidity of uninteresting +Characters. + + + _FINIS_ + + + * * * * * + + + +NOTES ON _CRITICAL STRICTURES_ + +[Footnote A: (P. 5) Advertisement. Johnson's dictum first appeared in +the abridgment of his dictionary, 1756, under _Alias_, which he defined +as "A Latin word signifying otherwise; as Mallet _alias_ Mallock; that +is, _otherwise_ Mallock." In four places in his _Memorials and Letters +Relating to the History of Britain in the Reign of James the First_ +(1762) Dalrymple had given Mallet "his real name"; he had repented after +the sheets were printed and had inserted a corrigendum, "For Malloch, r. +Mallet," which only made matters worse. See _The Yale Edition of Horace +Walpole's Correspondence_, iv. 78 _n._ 17. Dalrymple chided the +authors of _Critical Strictures_ gently for using his name, and said +he was sorry for having thus yielded to a private pique (LJ, p. 190 +_n._ 6). But the matter remained of interest to him, for as late as +1783 he sent Johnson a copy of one of Mallet's earliest productions, the +title-page of which bore the name in its original spelling (_Life_, +iv. 216-217; see also _Private Papers of James Boswell ... in the +Collection of ... R.H. Isham_, ed. Geoffrey Scott and F.A. Pottle, 18 +vols., Privately Printed, 1928-1934, xv. 208).] + +[Footnote B: (P. 15) "We heard it once asserted by _David Hume_, Esq." On +4 November 1762, in Hume's house in James's Court, Edinburgh. "Mr. Mallet +has written bad Tragedies because he is deficient in the pathetic, and +hence it is doubted if he is the Author of _William and Margaret_. +Mr. Hume said he knew people who had seen it before Mallet was born. +Erskine gave another proof, viz. that he has written _Edwin and +Emma_, a Ballad in the same stile, not near so good." See _Private +Papers_ (as in the note preceding this), i. 126-127, or the Limited +Edition of _Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763_, McGraw-Hill and +Heinemann, 1951, p. 101. Hume protested vigorously, though with good +humor, at this breach of confidence, and Boswell wrote a flippant reply +(LJ, pp. 206-207, 208-209).] + +[Footnote C: (P. 20) "... her Punishment was reserved for the Farce, which +for that Purpose was, contrary to Custom, added to the Play." Stock plays +were always followed by an afterpiece, but the afterpiece was in most +cases omitted during the first run of a new play. For example, Mrs. +Sheridan's _Discovery_ opened 3 February 1763 and ran for ten nights before +an afterpiece was added. The afterpieces presented with _Elvira_ up to +27 January were as follows: 19 January, _The Male Coquette_ (Garrick); +20 January, _High Life Below Stairs_ (Townley); 21 January, _Old +Maid_ (Murphy); 22 January, _Catharine and Petruchio_ (Garrick's +adaptation of Shakespeare's _Taming of the Shrew_); 24 January, _High +Life Below Stairs_; 26 January, _Catharine and Petruchio_; 27 +January, _Edgar and Emmeline_ (Hawkesworth). But Mrs. Pritchard, who +played the Queen in _Elvira_, seems not to have appeared in any of +these afterpieces, and no one of them contains a queen (Dougald MacMillan, +_Drury Lane Calendar_, 1747-1776, Clarendon Press, 1938, pp. 94, 217, +239, 260, 282, 297). Furthermore, if the jest could be understood only +with reference to a particular farce, that farce would surely have been +named. This is no doubt a case where less is meant than meets the ear. +The authors are merely saying that Mallet's play is badly constructed, +and is so ridiculous generally that no one will know when the tragedy +ends and the farce begins.] + +[Footnote D: (P. 21) "Though in general this Tragedy is colder than the +most extreme Parts of _Nova Zembla_ ..." This is perhaps the only passage +in _Critical Strictures_ that can be attributed with certainty to one of +the three authors. The remark is Dempster's, and had been made some time +before Elvira was presented; in fact, he had applied it originally to +Johnson's _Irene_. See LJ, pp. 69, 306.] + +[Footnote E: (P. 22) "... a Simile of a Bundle of Twigs formed into a +Rod ... Mr. _Malloch_'s original Profession ..." Garrick's epilogue to +_Elvira_ contains the following lines: + + A single critick will not frown, look big, + Harmless and pliant as a single twig, + But crouded _here_ they change, and 'tis not odd, + For twigs when bundled up, become a rod. + +One of Mallet's duties, when he was janitor of the High School of +Edinburgh, had been to assist in the floggings, either by applying the +instrument of punishment himself (see LJ, p. 209) or by lifting the boys +up on his back at the command of _tollatur_ and exposing the proper +portion of their anatomy to the master's birch (John Ramsay, _Scotland +and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth Century_, Blackwood, Edinburgh and +London, 1888, i. 24 _n_.)] + +[Footnote F: (Pp. 23-24) "... keen Distress of a _Belvidera_,... Dignity +of an _Elizabeth_;... wild Madness of a _Lear_." The authors are listing +what they conceive to be the most impressive tragic roles of Mrs. Cibber, +Mrs. Pritchard, and Garrick, who played respectively Elvira, the Queen, +and the King in _Elvira_. Belvidera in Otway's _Venice Preserved_ +was by all accounts one of Mrs. Cibber's best parts. It had been +assigned to her in the majority of the Drury Lane performances since 1747, +and she had appeared in it as recently as 16 November 1762. Mrs. Pritchard +had played Queen Elizabeth in all the Drury Lane performances (1755-1760) +of _The Earl of Essex_ by Henry Jones and of the play of the same +name by Henry Brooke (1761-), but had appeared in neither role more +recently than 30 December 1761. A role of Elizabeth which she had +presented more recently (18 December 1762) and had been appearing +regularly in since 1748 was the Queen Elizabeth of Shakespeare's +_Richard III_ as altered by Cibber. It is probably this last named +Elizabeth that the authors of _Critical Strictures_ had in mind. The +choice is unusual, critics generally having considered Lady Macbeth to +be her finest tragic role. Garrick had played Lear on 31 December 1762 +(_Drury Lane Calendar_, as above, pp. 237-238, 268, 313-315, 338).] + + + * * * * * + + + +PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY + + +FIRST YEAR (1946-47) + +Numbers 1-4 out of print. + +5. Samuel Wesley's _Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry_ (1700) and +_Essay on Heroic Poetry_ (1693). + +6. _Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage_ (1704) +and _Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage_ (1704). + + +SECOND YEAR (1947-1948) + +7. John Gay's _The Present State of Wit_ (1711); and a section on Wit +from _The English Theophrastus_ (1702). + +8. Rapin's _De Carmine Pastorali_, translated by Creech (1684). + +9. T. Hanmer's (?) _Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet_ (1736). + +10. Corbyn Morris' _Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, +etc._ (1744). + +11. Thomas Purney's _Discourse on the Pastoral_ (1717). + +12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood +Krutch. + + +THIRD YEAR (1948-1949) + +13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), _The Theatre_ (1720). + +14. Edward Moore's _The Gamester_ (1753). + +15. John Oldmixon's _Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to Harley_ +(1712); and Arthur Mainwaring's _The British Academy_ (1712). + +16. Nevil Payne's _Fatal Jealousy_(1673). + +17. Nicholas Rowe's _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William +Shakespeare_ (1709). + +18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); +and Aaron Hill's Preface to _The Creation_ (1720). + + +FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950) + +19. Susanna Centlivre's _The Busie Body_ (1709). + +20. Lewis Theobold's _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734). + +21. _Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela_ +(1754). + +22. Samuel Johnson's _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and Two +_Rambler_ papers (1750). + +23. John Dryden's _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681). + +24. Pierre Nicole's _An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from +Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting +Epigrams_, translated by J.V. Cunningham. + + +FIFTH YEAR (1950-51) + +25. Thomas Baker's _The Fine Lady's Airs_ (1709). + +26. Charles Macklin's _The Man of the World_ (1792). + +27. Frances Reynolds' _An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste, +and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc._ (1785). + +28. John Evelyn's _An Apologie for the Royal Party_ (1659); and _A +Panegyric to Charles the Second_ (1661). + +29. Daniel Defoe's _A Vindication of the Press_ (1718). + +30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper's _Letters Concerning +Taste_, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong's _Miscellanies_ +(1770). + +31. Thomas Gray's _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751); +and _The Eton College Manuscript_. + +32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scudery's Preface to _Ibrahim_ +(1674), etc. + +33. Henry Gally's _A Critical Essay_ on Characteristic-Writings +(1725). + +34. Thomas Tyers' A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1785). + + + * * * * * + + +William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California + +THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY + +_General Editors_ + +H. RICHARD ARCHER + William Andrews Clark Memorial Library +E.N. HOOKER + University of California, Los Angeles +R.C. BOYS + University of Michigan +JOHN LOFTIS + University of California, Los Angeles + +The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually +facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works. +The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As in the past, +the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All income of the +Society is devoted to defraying cost of publication and mailing. + +All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and +Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, +2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California. Correspondence +concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general +editors. The membership fee is $3.00 a year for subscribers in the United +States and Canada and 15/- for subscribers in Great Britain and Europe. +British and European subscribers should address B.H. Blackwell, Broad +Street, Oxford, England. + + * * * * * + +Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952] + +(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be +reprinted.) + +THOMAS GRAY: _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751). +Introduction by George Sherburn. + +JAMES BOSWELL, ANDREW ERSKINE, and GEORGE DEMPSTER: _Critical Strictures +on the New Tragedy of Elvira_ (1763). Introduction by Frederick A. +Pottle. + +_An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_ +(1751). Introduction by James A. Work. + +HENRY GALLY: _A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing_ (1725). +Introduction by Alexander Chorney. + +[JOHN PHILLIPS]: _Satyr Against Hypocrits_ (1655). Introduction by +Leon Howard. + +_Prefaces to Fiction_. Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin +Boyce. + +THOMAS TYERS: _A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson_ ([1785]). +Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer. + +Publications for the first five years (with the exception of NOS. 1-4, +which are out of print) are available at the rate of $3.00 a year. Prices +for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the Society. + + * * * * * + +THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY +_WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY_ +2205 WEST ADAMS BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES 18, CALIFORNIA + +Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF +CALIFORNIA. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy +of Elvira, Written by Mr. David Malloch (1763), by James Boswell, Andrew Erskine and George Dempster + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRITICAL STRICTURES *** + +***** This file should be named 15857.txt or 15857.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/8/5/15857/ + +Produced by David Starner, Clare Boothby and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |