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TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
This e-book contains the text of _The Group_, extracted from
Representative Plays by American Dramatists: Vol 1, 1765-1819. Comments
and background to all the plays and the other plays are available at
Project Gutenberg.
Spelling as in the original has been preserved.
THE GROUP
_By_ MRS. MERCY WARREN
[Illustration: MRS. MERCY WARREN]
MRS. MERCY WARREN
(1728-1814)
Most of the literature--orations as well as broadsides--created in
America under the heat of the Revolution, was of a strictly satirical
character. Most of the Revolutionary ballads sung at the time were
bitter with hatred against the Loyalist. When the conflict actually
was in progress, the theatres that regaled the Colonists were closed,
and an order from the Continental Congress declared that theatre-going
was an amusement from which all patriotic people should abstain. These
orders or resolutions were dated October 12, 1778, and October 16.
(Seilhamer, ii, 51.) The playhouses were no sooner closed,
however--much to the regret of Washington--than their doors were
thrown wide open by the British troops stationed in Boston, New York,
and Philadelphia. A complete history of the American stage has to deal
with Howe's players, Clinton's players, and Burgoyne's players.
Of all these Red-Coat Thespians, two demand our attention--one, Major
Andre, a gay, talented actor; the other, General Burgoyne, whose pride
was as much concerned with playwriting as with generalship. The latter
dipped his pen in the satirical inkpot, and wrote a farce, "The
Blockade of Boston." It was this play that drew forth from a woman, an
American playwright, the retort stinging. This lady was Mrs. Mercy
Warren[1] who, although distinguished for being a sister of James
Otis, and the wife of General James Warren, was in her own name a most
important and distinct literary figure during the Revolution.
So few women appear in the early history of American Drama that it is
well here to mention Mrs. Charlotte Ramsay Lennox (1720-1804) and Mrs.
Susanna Rowson (1762-1824). The former has the reputation of being the
first woman, born in America, to have written a play, "The Sister"
(1769). The author moved to London when she was fifteen, and there it
was her piece was produced, with an epilogue by Oliver Goldsmith. She
is referred to in Boswell's Life of Johnson.
Of Susanna Rowson, whose Memoir has been issued by Rev. Elias Nason,
we know that, as a singer and actress, she created sufficient
reputation in London to attract the attention of Wignell, the
comedian. (Clapp. Boston Stage. 1853, p. 41.)
With her husband, she came to this country in 1793, and, apart from
her professional duties on the stage, wrote a farce, "Volunteers"
(1795), dealing with the Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania, "The
Female Patriot" (1794), "Slaves in Algiers; or, A Struggle for
Freedom" (1794), and "Americans in England" (1796). All of these were
produced. Her literary attainments were wide, her most popular novel
being "Charlotte Temple, a Tale of Truth" (1790). She likewise
compiled many educational works. (See Wegelin.)
The picture conjured up in our mind of Mrs. Warren is farthest away
from satire. To judge by the costume she wore when she sat to Copley
for her portrait, she must have been graced with all the feminine
wiles of the period. Behold Mrs. Mercy Warren, satirist, as the
records describe her:
Her head-dress is of white lace, trimmed with white satin
ribbons. Her robe is of dark-green satin, with a pompadour
waist, trimmed with point lace. There is a full plait at the
back, hanging from the shoulders, and her sleeves are also of
point lace. White illusion, trimmed with point lace, and
fastened with a white satin bow, covers her neck. The front of
the skirt and of the sleeves are elaborately trimmed with
puffings of satin.
But however agreeable this picture may be, Mrs. Warren, on reading
Burgoyne's farce, immediately sharpened her pen, and replied by
writing a counter-farce, which she called "The Blockheads; or, the
Affrighted Officers."[2] It was in the prologue to this play that the
poet-dramatist wrote:
Your pardon first I crave for this intrusion.
The topic's such it looks like a delusion;
And next your candour, for I swear and vow,
Such an attempt I never made till now.
But constant laughing at the Desp'rate fate,
The bastard sons of Mars endur'd of late,
Induc'd me thus to minute down the notion,
Which put my risibles in such commotion.
By yankees frighted too! oh, dire to say!
Why yankees sure at red-coats faint away!
Oh, yes--They thought so too--for lack-a-day,
Their gen'ral turned the _blockade_ to a play:
Poor vain poltroons--with justice we'll retort,
And call them _blockheads_ for their idle sport.
Unfortunately, we cannot test the comparative value of satire as used
by Burgoyne and Mrs. Warren, because the Burgoyne play is not in
existence. But, undoubtedly, our Revolutionary enthusiast knew how to
wield her pen in anger, and she reflects all of the bitter spirit of
the time. Not only is this apparent in "The Blockheads," but likewise
in "The Group," a piece which holds up to ridicule a number of people
well known to the Boston of that day.
Mrs. Warren was the writer of many plays, as well as being noted for
her "History of the American Revolution" (1805), and for her slim
volume of poems (1790), which follow the conventional sentiments of
the conventionally sentimental English poetry of that time.
In "The Group" we obtain her interesting impressions, in dramatic
form, of North and Gage and, from the standpoint of the library, we
regard with reverence the little copy of the play printed on the day
before the battle of Lexington--a slim brochure, aimed effectively at
Tory politicians.[3]
In fact, mention the name Tory to Mrs. Warren, and her wit was ever
ready to sharpen its shafts against British life in America. That is
probably why so many believe she wrote "The Motley Assembly," a farce,
though some there be who claim that its authorship belongs to J. M.
Sewall. Dr. F. W. Atkinson asserts that this was the first American
play to have in it only American characters.[4]
The satirical farce was a popular dramatic form of the time. Mrs.
Warren was particularly effective in wielding such a polemic note, for
instance, when she deals with the Boston Massacre in her Tragedy, "The
Adulateur" (Boston: Printed and sold at the New Printing-Office,
/Near Concert-Hall./ M,DCC,LXXIII./). On the King's side, however, the
writers were just as effective. Such an example is seen in "The Battle
of Brooklyn, A farce of Two Acts: as it was performed at Long-Island,
on Tuesday, the 27th of August, 1776, By the Representatives of the
Tyrants of America, Assembled at Philadelphia" (Edinburgh: Printed in
the Year M.DCC.LXXVII.), in which the British ridicule all that is
Continental, even Washington. This farce was reprinted in Brooklyn,
1873.
Jonathan Mitchell Sewall's (1748-1808) "A Cure for the Spleen; or,
Amusement for a Winter's Evening" (1775) was another Tory protest,
which carried the following pretentious subtitle: "Being the substance
of a conversation on the Times, over a friendly tankard and pipe,
between Sharp, a country Parson; Bumper, a country Justice; Fillpot,
an inn-keeper; Graveairs, a Deacon; Trim, a Barber; Brim, a Quaker;
Puff, a late Representative. Taken in short-hand by Roger de Coverly."
Mrs. Warren was the intimate friend of many interesting people. It
concerns us, however, that her most significant correspondence of a
literary nature was carried on with John Adams, afterwards President
of the United States. This friendship remained unbroken until such
time as Mrs. Warren found it necessary to picture Adams in her History
of the Revolution; when he objected to the portraiture.
The student of history is beholden to Mr. Adams for many of those
intimate little sketches of Revolutionary and early national life in
America, without which our impressions would be much the poorer. His
admiration for Mrs. Warren was great, and even in his correspondence
with her husband, James Warren, he never allowed an opportunity to
slip for alluding to her work as a literary force in the life of the
time. I note, for example, a letter he wrote on December 22, 1773,
suggesting a theme which would "become" Mrs. Warren's pen, "which has
no equal that I know of in this country."
In 1775, after "The Group" was written, and, according to custom,
submitted by Warren to John Adams for criticism and approval, we find
him praising Mrs. Warren, and quoting from her play. So poignantly
incisive was Mrs. Warren's satire that many people would not credit
her with the pieces she actually wrote, and there were those who
thought it incredible that a woman should use satire so openly and so
flagrantly as she. The consequence is, many of her contemporaries
attributed the writing of "The Group" to masculine hands, and this
attitude drew from Mrs. Warren the following letter written to Mr.
Adams:
My next question, sir, you may deem impertinent. Do you remember
who was the author of a little pamphlet entitled, _The Group?_
To your hand it was committed by the writer. You brought it
forward to the public eye. I will therefore give you my reason
for naming it now. A friend of mine, who lately visited the
Athenaeum [a Boston Library], saw it among a bundle of pamphlets,
with a high encomium of the author, who, he asserted, was Mr.
Samuel Barrett. You can, if you please, give a written testimony
contradictory of the false assertion.
This letter was written long after the Revolution, when she was not
loath to let it be known that she was the creator of this little play,
and is clearly indicative of the general attitude the public had
toward Mrs. Warren as an author. Her appeal instantly called forth a
courteous rejoinder from Mr. Adams, who wrote:
What brain could ever have conceived or suspected Samuel
Barrett, Esquire, to have been the author of "The Group"? The
bishop has neither the natural genius nor the acquired talents,
the knowledge of characters, nor the political principles,
sentiments, or feelings, that could have dictated that pungent
drama. His worthy brother, the Major, might have been as
rationally suspected.
I could take my Bible oath to two propositions, 1st. That Bishop
Barrett, in my opinion, was one of the last literary characters
in the world who ought to have been suspected to have written
"The Group." 2d. That there was but one person in the world,
male or female, who could at that time, in my opinion, have
written it; and that person was Madam Mercy Warren, the
historical, philosophical, poetical, and satirical consort of
the then Colonel, since General, James Warren of Plymouth,
sister of the great, but forgotten, James Otis.
According to Adams, he immediately went to the Boston Athenaeum, where
his nephew, W. S. Shaw, was Librarian. He drew from the shelves a copy
of "The Group", which had been bought from the collection of Governor
Adams of Massachusetts, and forthwith, on looking it over, wrote down
the original names of the people satirized therein.[5] This copy is
still a valuable possession of the library.
While Mrs. Warren was writing "The Group," she sent it piecemeal to
her husband, who was on the field of battle. He, being proud of the
literary attainments of his wife, sent it around to his friends, under
seal of secrecy. And his appeal to these friends was very significant
of the pride he felt in the manuscript. Here is what he wrote to
Adams, on January 15, 1775:
Inclosed are for your amusement two Acts of a dramatic
performance composed at my particular desire. They go to you as
they came out of the hand of the Copier, without pointing or
marking. If you think it worth while to make any other use of
them than a reading, you will prepare them in that way & give
them such other Corrections & Amendments as your good Judgment
shall suggest.
It gradually became known among Warren's friends who the real writer
of the satire was, much to the consternation of Mrs. Mercy Warren. She
was modest to the extreme, usually being thrust into writing on
particular subjects by the enthusiasm of her friends. For example, she
wrote a poem on the Boston Tea Party, and, in sending it to her
husband, she confessed that it was a task
done in consequence of the request of a much respected friend.
It was wrote off with little attention.... I do not think it has
sufficient merit for the public eye.
By the same post, she sent him another scene from "The Group."
Whatever you do with either of them [meaning the manuscripts],
you will doubtless be careful that the author is not exposed,
and hope your particular friends will be convinced of the
propriety of not naming her at present.
Mrs. Warren was the author of several other plays, among them "The
Adulateur" and "The Retreat," which preceded "The Group" in date of
composition, and "The Sack of Rome." The latter was contained in a
volume of poems issued in 1790, in which "The Ladies of Castile" was
dedicated to President Washington, who wrote the author a courteous
note in acknowledgment.
In the preface to this volume, Mrs. Warren gives her impressions of
the stage, which are excellent measure of the regard Americans of this
period had for the moral influence of the playhouse. Thus, she writes:
Theatrical amusements may, sometimes, have been prostituted to
the purposes of vice; yet, in an age of taste and refinement,
lessons of morality, and the consequences of deviation, may,
perhaps, be as successfully enforced from the stage, as by modes
of instruction, less censured by the severe; while, at the same
time, the exhibition of great historical events, opens a field
of contemplation to the reflecting and philosophic mind.
But Mrs. Warren was not entirely given over to the serious occupations
of literary work. We find her on intimate terms with Mrs. Adams, the
two of them in their daily association calling each other _Portia_ and
_Marcia_.
Who actually played in "The Group" when it was given a performance is
not recorded. We know, however, from records, that it was given for the
delectation of the audiences assembled "nigh head quarters, at Amboyne."
This evidence is on the strength of Mrs. Warren's own statement.
Sanction for the statement appears on the title-pages of the New York,
John Anderson, issue of 1775,[6] and the Jamaica-Philadelphia, James
Humphreys, Jr., edition of the same year.
I have selected this play, "The Group," as being an excellent example
of the partisan writing done at the time of our American Revolution,
and no one can afford to overlook it, although its actable qualities,
according to our present-day judgment, are doubtful.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Mrs. Warren was born at Barnstable, Mass., September 25, 1728, and
died at Plymouth, Mass., October 19, 1814.
[2] The/Blockheads:/or, the/Affrighted Officers. /A/Farce. /Boston:/
Printed in Queen-Street,/M,DCC,LXXVI./
[3] On the title-page of the Boston edition there appears the
following proem: "As the great business of the polite world is the
eager pursuit of amusement, and as the Public diversions of the season
have been interrupted by the hostile parade in the capital; the
exhibition of a new farce may not be unentertaining."
[4] The /Motley /Assembly, /A /Farce. /Published /For the
/Entertainment /of the / Curious. /Boston: /Printed and Sold by
Nathaniel Coverly, in /Newbury-Street, / M,DCC,LXXIX./
[5] Mrs. Warren's biographer, Alice Brown, quotes the list, as
follows, the persons satirized being in parentheses: Lord Chief
Justice Hazlerod (Oliver); Judge Meagre (E. Hutchinson); Brigadier
Hateall (Ruggles); Hum Humbug, Esq., (Jno. Erving); Sir Sparrow
Spendall (Sir Wm. Pepperell); Hector Mushroom (Col. Murray); Beau
Trumps (Jno. Vassall); Dick, the Publican (Lechmere); Monsieur de
Francois (N. R. Thomas); Crusty Crowbar, Esq. (J. Boutineau);
Dupe,--Secretary of State (T. Flucker); Scriblerius Fribble (Leonard);
Commodore Bateau (Loring). The significance of these names will be
apparent to student of local Colonial history.
[6] The /Group,/ A / Farce: / As lately Acted, and to be Re-acted, to
the Wonder/ of all superior Intelligences; /Nigh Head Quarters, at/
Amboyne. /In Two Acts./ New-York: / Printed by John Anderson,/ at
Beekman's-Slip./ [The Boston edition was printed and sold by Edes and
Gill, in Queen-Street, 1775.]
[Illustration: THE
GROUP,
A
FARCE:
As lately Acted, and to be Re-acted, to the Wonder of all superior
Intelligences;
NIGH HEAD QUARTERS, AT
AMBOYNE.
IN TWO ACTS.
JAMAICA, PRINTED;
_PHILADELPHIA_, RE-PRINTED;
BY JAMES HUMPHREYS, junior, in Front-street.
M,DCC,LXXV.
FAC-SIMILE TITLE-PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION]
The AUTHOR has thought proper to borrow the following spirited lines
from a late celebrated Poet, and offer to the public, by way of
PROLOGUE, which cannot fail of pleasing at this crisis.
PROLOGUE
_WHAT! arm'd for virtue, and not point the pen,
Brand the bold front of shameless guilty men,
Dash the proud gamester from his gilded car,
Bare the mean heart which lurks beneath a star,_
* * *
_Shall I not strip the gilding off a knave,
Unplac'd, unpension'd, no man's heir, or slave?
I will, or perish in the gen'rous cause;
Hear this and tremble, ye who 'scape the laws;
Yes, while I live, no rich or noble knave,
Shall walk the world in credit to his grave;
To virtue only, and her friends, a friend,
The world beside may murmur, or commend._
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
_Lord Chief Justice HAZLEROD_,
_Judge MEAGRE_,
_Brigadier HATEALL_,
_HUM HUMBUG, Esquire_,
_Sir SPARROW SPENDALL_,
_HECTOR MUSHROOM,--Col._
_BEAU TRUMPS_,
_DICK, the Publican_,
_SIMPLE SAPLING, Esquire_,
_Monsieur de FRANCOIS_,
_CRUSTY CROWBAR, Esquire_,
_DUPE,--Secretary of State_,
_SCRIBLERIUS FRIBBLE_,
_Commodore BATEAU_,
_COLLATERALIS,--a new-made Judge_.
Attended by a swarm of court sycophants, hungry harpies, and
unprincipled danglers, collected from the neighbouring villages,
hovering over the stage in the shape of locusts, led by
Massachusettensis in the form of a basilisk; the rear brought up by
Proteus, bearing a torch in one hand, and a powder-flask in the other.
The whole supported by a mighty army and navy, from Blunderland, for
the laudable purpose of enslaving its best friends.
_The_
GROUP
_A_
_Farce_
ACT I.