Mr. CONGREVE's Laſt Will and Teſtament, WITH CHARACTERS OF HIS WRITINGS.
BY Mr. DRYDEN, Sir RICHARD BLACKMORE, Mr. ADDISON and Major PACK.
To which are added, Two Pieces, viz.
LONDON: Printed for E. CURLL in the Strand, 1729. (Price One Shilling.)
E' Regiſtro Curiae Praerogat. Cantuar. Extract.
THIS is the laſt Will of me William Congreve, of the Pa⯑riſh of St. Clement-Danes, Weſtminſter, in the County of Middleſex, Eſq made [2] the twenty-ſixth Day of February, Anno Dom. 1725; And firſt I deſire, and direct, that my Funeral ſhall be pri⯑vately performed, without the leaſt Oſtentation, and the Place where, I refer to my Executor to appoint.
I give to the ſeveral Perſons here⯑in after named, the reſpective Lega⯑cies following (that is to ſay) To * * * * * * * * * ** my Intention is, that the following Legacies be given to the reſpective Perſons herein named, as if they were inſerted in the blank Space left in this Will for that pur⯑poſe.
IMPRIMIS, I give and bequeath to Anne Jellet, twenty Pounds a Year during her Life.
[3] Item, To William Congreve, Son of Colonel William Congreve of Highgate, and my Godſon, three hundred Pounds.
To Mrs. Anne Congreve, Daughter to my late Kinſman Colonel Ralph Congreve of Clarges-ſtreet, two hun⯑dred Pounds.
To Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle, of How⯑ard-ſtreet, two hundred Pounds.
To Mrs. Francis Porter, fifty Pounds.
Item, To Mrs. Deborah Rooke, one hundred Pounds, with all my Linnen and Apparel; for other leſs Legacies, I leave them as ſpecified in a Codi⯑cil incloſed in the Duplicate of this Will, and left in the Cuſtody of the Dutcheſs of Marlborough * * * * * * **
[4] ALL the Reſt and Reſidue of my Eſtate, the ſame conſiſting in perſonal Things only (not having any Lands, or other real Eſtate) I give and be⯑queath to the Dutcheſs of Marlbo⯑rough, the now Wife of Francis Earl of Godolphin in the County of Corn⯑wall; but not ſo as to veſt in him the ſaid Earl of Godolphin, the equitable Right and Intereſt of ſuch Reſt and Reſidue, but that the ſame and every Part thereof; and the Intereſt, Pro⯑duce, and Benefit thereof; ſhall and may, at all times, from and after my Deceaſe, be had and received by her the ſaid Dutcheſs, namely, Henrietta, Dutcheſs of Marlborough, to her ſole and ſeparate Uſe, and wherewith her ſaid Husband, or any after-taken Huſ⯑band, of her the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marl⯑borough, ſhall not intermeddle, or have [5] any controuling Power over, nor ſhall the ſaid Reſt and Reſidue, or the Inte⯑reſt and Produce thereof, be liable to the Debts and Incumbrances of the ſaid Earl of Godolphin, or of any af⯑ter-taken Husband, of her the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marlborough, in any wiſe; but ſhall be had and received, iſſued and paid, as ſhe the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marlborough, ſhall by writing under her Hand, from time to time direct and appoint; and her own Acquittance ſhall be a ſufficient diſcharge for all, or any Part of the Eſtate ſo given to her as aforeſaid. And in Confidence of the Honeſty and Juſtice of him the ſaid Francis Earl of Godolphin, I do hereby conſtitute and appoint him, the ſole Executor of this my Will, in Truſt, for his ſaid Wife, as aforeſaid. [6] In Witneſs whereof, I have hereun⯑to ſubſcribed my Name, and ſet my Seal, the Day and Year aforeſaid.
THIS is the laſt Will of me William Congreve, of the Pa⯑riſh of St. Clement-Danes, Weſtminſter, in the County of Middleſex, Eſq made the twenty-ſixth of February, Anno Dom. 1725. And firſt I deſire and direct, that my Funeral ſhall be pri⯑vately performed without the leaſt O⯑ſtentation, and the Place where, I re⯑fer to my Executor to appoint. I give to the ſeveral Perſons herein af⯑ter-named, the reſpective Legacies fol⯑lowing (that is to ſay) To * * * * * * * * **
[8] Legacies intended to be inſerted in the blank Space of this Will, and which I deſire may be paid, tho' any Thing ſhould prevent my inſerting them with my own Hand, in Man⯑ner as I have filled up the other Blanks in the ſame.
IMPRIMIS, To Anne Jellet, twen⯑ty Pounds a Year for her Life.
Item, To my Godſon William Con⯑greve, Son of Colonel William Con⯑greve of Highgate, three hundred Pounds.
Item, To Anne Congreve, Daughter of the late Colonel Ralph Congreve of Clarges-ſtreet, two hundred Pounds.
[9] Item, To Mrs. Anne Congreve, Her Mother, and to Colonel William Con⯑greve of Highgate, each twenty Pounds.
Item, To Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle of Howard-ſtreet, two hundred Pounds.
Item, To Mrs. Deborah Rook, one hundred Pounds, and all my wearing Apparel and Linnen of all Sorts.
Item, To Mrs. Francis Porter, fifty Pounds.
Item, To Peter Walter, Eſq of St. Margaret Weſtminſter, twenty Pounds.
Item, To Richard Lord Viſcount Cobham, and Richard Lord Viſcount Shannon, twenty Pounds each.
Item, To Charles Mein, Eſq and Mr. [10] Edward Porter, and Mr. Joſhua White, twelve Pounds each.
Item, To her Grace Henrietta Dutcheſs of Newcaſtle, I give and be⯑queath the Dutcheſs of Marlborough's Picture, by Kneller.
Item, To the Lady Mary Godolphin, youngeſt Daughter to the Dutcheſs of Marlborough, I give and bequeath her Mother's Picture Enamelled, in Mi⯑niature, together with my white Bril⯑liant Diamond Ring.
Item, To Colonel Charles Churchill, twenty Pounds, together with my Gold-headed Cane.
Item, To all and each of my Do⯑meſtick Servants, a Year's Wages, and proper Mourning.
[11] Item, To the Poor of the Pariſh, ten Pounds.
ALL the Reſt and Reſidue of my Eſtate, the ſame conſiſting in perſonal Things only (not having any Lands, or other real Eſtate) I give and be⯑queath to Henrietta, Dutcheſs of Marl⯑borough, the now Wife of Francis Earl of Godolphin in the County of Corn⯑wall; but not ſo as to veſt in him the ſaid Earl of Godolphin, the equitable Right and Intereſt of ſuch Reſt and Reſidue, but that the ſame and every Part thereof; and the Intereſt, Pro⯑duce, and Benefit thereof; ſhall and may, at all times, from and after my Deceaſe, be had and received by her the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marlborough, to her ſole and ſeparate Uſe, and where⯑with her ſaid Husband, or any aftertaken [12] Husband, of her the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marlborough, ſhall not in⯑termeddle, or have any controuling Power over, nor ſhall the ſaid Reſt and Reſidue, or the Intereſt and Produce thereof, be liable to the Debts and In⯑cumbrances of the ſaid Earl of Godol⯑phin, or of any after-taken Husband, of her the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marl⯑borough, in any wiſe; but ſhall be had and received, iſſued and paid, as ſhe the ſaid Dutcheſs of Marlborough, ſhall by writing under her Hand, from time to time direct and appoint; and her own Acquittance ſhall be a ſufficient Diſcharge for all, or any Part of the Eſtate ſo given to her as aforeſaid. And in Confidence of the Honeſty and Juſtice of him the ſaid Francis Earl of Godolphin, I do hereby conſti⯑tute and appoint him, the ſole Executor [13] of this my Will in Truſt, for his ſaid Wife as aforeſaid. In Witneſs whereof, I have hereunto ſubſcribed my Name, and ſet my Seal, the Day and Year aforeſaid.
WHEREAS I William Congreve, did by my laſt Will and Teſtament, bearing Date the ſixth Day of Februa⯑ry 1725; affix a Schedule of Lega⯑cies, written in my own Hand, over a blank Space left for that Purpoſe in the ſaid Will; I do hereby revoke and annual thoſe Legacies, excepting ſuch as are bequeathed to Perſons related to me, and bearing my own Hand; as alſo what is therein bequeathed to Mrs. Anne Jellet, and Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle; which ſaid Legacies, I do hereby con⯑firm, and do hereby revoke and annul, all other Legacies therein mentioned, or in the Counter-part of the ſaid Will, more at large ſet down; which Counter-part is by me left in Cuſtody of her Grace, Henrietta, Dutcheſs of Marlborough, my ſole Executrix, as is ſpecified in the ſaid Will and Counter-part [15] thereof; be it underſtood, that my Intention is by this Writing to revoke thoſe Legacies, not herein confirmed as above-mentioned, in ſuch manner only as to leave them abſolutely in the Power and Determination of the above⯑named Henrietta Dutcheſs of Marlbo⯑rough, my ſole Executrix, either to pay, or refuſe to pay to them, to take from them, or add to them, as ſhe ſhall judge the Perſons therein named, eſpeci⯑ally my Domeſtick Servants, therein mentioned, or not mentioned, may have merited of me,
PROBATUM Londini cum quatuor Codicillis ſive ſchedulis teſtamentis, annex: tertio Die Menſis Februarij 1728. Coram venli viro Georgio Paul, legum Doctore ſurrog: &c. Jurato prenobilis, & honli viri Franciſci Comitis: de Godolphin, Extris unici, &c. Cui, &c. De bene & Jurat. Lata prius ſententia definitiva pro valore, & validitate dicti teſtamenti prout, ex actis curiae liquet.
Mr. CONGREVE died about five o'Clock, on Sunday Morning, January the 19th 1728-9, at his Houſe in Surrey-ſtreet in the Strand, in the 57th Year of his Age; and on the Sunday following, January 26th, his Corps lay in State in the Jeruſalem Chamber; from whence, the ſame Evening, be⯑tween the Hours of Nine and Ten, it was carried, with great Decency and Solemnity, into King HENRY the VIIth's Chapel in Weſtminſter-Abbey, and Interred near the late Earl of Godol⯑phin. The PALL was ſupported by, I. the Duke of Bridgewater. II. Earl of Godolphin. III. Lord Cobham. IV. Lord Wilmington. V. The Honourable George Berkeley, Eſq VI. Brigadier⯑General Churchill. And Colonel Con⯑greve followed the Corps as Chief Mourner.
IN the Character which gives Name to this Play, there is excellently re⯑preſented the Reluctance of a battered Debaucheé to come into the Trammels of Order and Decency: He neither languiſhes, nor burns, but frets for Love. The Gentlemen of more regular Behaviour, are drawn with much Spirit and Wit; and the Drama introduced by the Dialogue of the firſt Scene, with uncommon, yet natural Converſation. The Part of Fondlewife is a lively Image of the unſeaſonable Fondneſs of Age and Impotence.
THIS Poem has received, and in my Opinion, very juſtly, uni⯑verſal Applauſe; being look'd on as the moſt perfect Tragedy that has been wrote in this Age. The Fable, as far as I can judge at firſt Sight, is a very artful and maſterly Contrivance; the Characters are well choſen and well [21] delineated; that of ZARA is admi⯑rable. The Paſſions are well touch'd, and skilfully wrought up. The Diction, proper, clear, beautiful, noble, and di⯑verſified agreeably to the Variety of the Subject. Vice, as it ought to be, is puniſh'd; and oppreſſed-Innocence at laſt rewarded. Nature appears very hap⯑pily imitated (excepting one or two doubtful Inſtances) thro' the whole Piece; in which there are no immodeſt Images or Expreſſions; no wild un⯑natural Rants, but (ſome Exceptions being allowed) all Things are chaſte, juſt, and decent.
This Tragedy, as I ſaid before, has mightily obtained, and that without the unnatural and fooliſh Mixture of Force and Buffoonery; without ſo much as a Song, or a Dance, to make it [22] more agreeable. By this it appears, that as a ſufficient Genius can recom⯑mend itſelf, and furniſh out abundant Matter of Pleaſure and Admiration, without the paultry Helps above named; ſo likewiſe, that the Taſte of the Nation is not ſo far deprav'd, but that a regular and chaſte Play will not only be forgiven, but highly ap⯑plauded.
CONGREVE of all the Mo⯑derns, ſeems to me, to have the righteſt Turn for Comedy. In all his Plays there is a great deal of lively and uncommon Humour, and ſuch as yet, for the moſt Part, is a Picture of true Life. Beſides, he hath raiſed the Vein of Ridicule, and made the STAGE, which had been too much proſtituted to the Mob, edifying to Perſons of the [24] firſt Condition. And as his Fable is Diverting, ſo is it wrought accord⯑ing to the ſtricteſt Rules.
The following EPISTLE, Of right⯑ly improving the preſent Time, written to Lord Cobham, is here printed from a Ma⯑nuſcript of the Author, with which I was obliged by a Perſon of the firſt Rank: The Public having been notoriouſly abuſed, by a very erroneous Copy, ſur⯑reptitiouſly obtained, by one LEWIS in Covent-Garden, and vended under the Cover of A. DODD, and E. NUTT.
THAT four LADIES, whom the Deponent does not care to Name, repair nightly to a certain con⯑venient Place, near St. James's, to meet their GALLANTS of the firſt Rank; whom your Deponent will not Name, but ſo far deſcribe them, that two [31] of them are Sallow, and two of the ruddy Complexion; and that he verily believes, they were moſt abominably painted.
The LADIES when they begin their Gambols, call their GALLANTS by the fond Nick-names of Hercules, Cupid, Pit, and the Gardiner. After a plentiful Service of the moſt coſtly Fare, they begin their Tricks which they play like the Tumblers in Bartholomew-Fair upon a Carpet, ſtrip is the Word; nay, your Deponent has known them ſtrip a Gentleman who came acci⯑dently into the Houſe. At firſt, they begin pretty courtly, at leaſt in their Expreſſions, as, Madam, by your leave, or ſo; which the LADIES are ſo good as ſeldom to deny. Afterwards, it is ſhameful to deſcribe the Tricks that are play'd by this lewd Pack. By an eſtabliſhed [32] Rule, each Lady has the Choice of her Gallant in her Turn, and ſome have been known ſo unreaſonable, af⯑ter they have had Three, to call for a Fourth. Your Deponent has ſeen a Lady on her Back, a Man o'Top of her, and a Lady o'Top of him; and he avers, it has been known, that a Court Valet has ſtript them all. Sometimes they are thrown on their Backs, ſometimes on their Bellies now higgledy piggledy, and anon, they are all o'Top of one another; and if any one is call'd upon, they are oblig'd to ſhow ALL. Of the ſame Nature is their Diſcourſe, your Deponent has often over-heard them talking of their A—es, with the ſame Familiarity as their Faces; I have a Black one, ſays one, and named the Thing directly; mine is better than yours, ſays the other, [33] and Names her Thing; muſt I be laught at, ſays a Third, becauſe I have a red one. There is one monſtrous Thing that your Deponent is almoſt aſhamed to mention; after Six, a Lady has asked if they could do no more; nay, a certain Lady has been known to play all the Tricks over by her ſelf. Your Deponent likewiſe avers, that he has full Proof, after the LADIES have been tired with their GALLANTS, they have called for freſh ones: In ſhort the aforeſaid LADIES, have not only, ſpent their Pin-Money, but their Husband's Eſtates, upon Hercules, Cupid, Pit, and the Gardiner, and when they want more Money, they commonly Pawn their Jewels, &c.
P.S. The above Information is a faith⯑ful Deſcription of the GAME of QUADRILLE, not to be Litterally, but Allegorically, underſtood.
There is now in the Preſs,
MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS and Familiar Letters. By William Congreve, Eſq To which will be prefix'd, Memoirs of his Life, Wri⯑tings, and Amours. By Charles Wilſon, Eſq
N.B. Notwithſtanding the many Attempts to ſuppreſs ſo learned and curious a Work, there is juſt publiſhed in Two Volumes Octavo. (Price Half a Guinea) the Second Edition of, 1. Dr. BURNET's State of the Dead, and Thoſe that are to riſe. Shewing, 1. That the Soul is an immortal Sub⯑ſtance, diſtinct from the Body and from Matter. 2. Of the future State of the Soul, after the Cor⯑poreal Diſſolution; or, concerning the Middle State of Souls betwixt Death and the Reſurrecti⯑on, as to the Degrees of Happineſs and Miſery. With an Appendix concerning Prayers for the Dead. 3. The Natural State of Souls during the Interval of Death and the Reſurrection, whether [] they are naked and ſeparated from all Manner of Corporeal Subſtance, or are united to an Aerial one, or to ſome other. 4. Of the Supreme Judg⯑ment, its Apparatus, Manner, End, and Effect. 5. Of the Reſurrection of the Dead; the State of the raiſed, and of their Bodies. 6. What Bodies we are to have at the Reſurrection; whether the ſame with our preſent, or different ones there⯑from. 7. Of Heaven and Hell; what is the Hea⯑ven of the Chriſtians, and how far Local; what is Hell, and whether there is a ſubterraneous one or not; or any other Local, corporeal and ex⯑ternal one before the Day of Judgment and the Conflagration of the World. 8. Of the Pains of Hell; whether they are infinite, or finite, or no.
How I have treated Dr. Burnet, I leave to the gene⯑ral Senſe of Mankind; I have tranſlated him faith⯑fully, anſwered him impartially, dealt with him coolly, and ſet him right for publick Reading. M. EARBERY.
Any of theſe may be had ſingle.
The four firſt may be had ſingle, the nine laſt are all in one Volume.
(Price 6s. Bound.)
All ſold by E. Curll.