POSTSCRIPT.
_Referred to in the Preface._
IN WHICH
Several Objections that have been made, as well to the Catastrophe as to different Parts of the preceding History, are briefly considered.
The foregoing Work having been published at three different periods oftime, the Author, in the course of its publication, was favoured withmany anonymous Letters, in which the Writers differently expressed theirwishes with regard to the apprehended catastrophe.
Most of those directed to him by the gentler Sex, turned in favour ofwhat they called a _Fortunate Ending_. Some of the fair writers,enamoured, as they declared, with the character of the Heroine, werewarmly solicitous to have her made happy:"And others, likewise of theirmind, _insisted that Poetical Justice_ required that it should be so.And when, says one ingenious Lady, whose undoubted motive wasgood-nature and humanity, it must be concluded, that it is in anauthor's power to make his piece end as he pleases, why should he notgive pleasure rather than pain to the Reader whom he has interested infavour of his principal characters?
"Others, and some Gentlemen, declared against Tragedies in general, andin favour of Comedies, almost in the words of Lovelace, who wassupported in his taste by all the women at Mrs. Sinclair's, and bySinclair herself. 'I have too much _Feeling_, said he[36]. There isenough in the world to make our hearts sad, without carrying grief intoour diversions, and making the distresses of others our own.'
"And how was this happy ending to be brought about? Why by this veryeasy and trite expedient; to wit, by reforming Lovelace, and marryinghim to Clarissa--Not, however, abating her one of her tryals, nor any ofher sufferings [for the sake of the _sport_ her distresses would give tothe _tender-hearted_ reader as she went along] the last outrageexcepted: That indeed, partly in compliment to Lovelace himself, andpartly for delicacy-sake, they were willing to spare her.
"But whatever were the fate of his work, the Author was resolved to takea different method. He always thought, that _sudden Conversions_, suchespecially, as were left to the candour of the Reader to _suppose_ and_make out_, had neither _Art_, nor _Nature_, nor even _Probability_, inthem; and that they were moreover of very _bad_ example. To have aLovelace for a series of years glory in his wickedness, and think thathe had nothing to do, but as an act of grace and favour to hold out hishand to receive that of the best of women, whenever he pleased, and tohave it thought, that Marriage would be a sufficient amends for all hisenormities to others, as well as to her; he could not bear that. Nor isReformation, as he has shewn in another piece, to be secured by a fineface; by a passion that has sense for its object; nor by the goodness ofa Wife's heart, or even example, if the heart of the Husband be notgraciously touched by the Divine Finger.
"It will be seen by this time, that the Author had a great end in view.He has lived to see Scepticism and Infidelity openly avowed, and evenendeavoured to be propagated from the _Press_: The great doctrines ofthe Gospel brought into question: Those of self-denial andmortification blotted out of the catalogue of christian virtues: And ataste even to wantonness for out-door pleasure and luxury, to thegeneral exclusion of domestic as well as public virtue, industriouslypromoted among all ranks and degrees of people.
"In this general depravity, when even the Pulpit has lost great part ofits weight, and the Clergy are considered as a body of _interested_ men,the Author thought he should be able to answer it to his own heart, bethe success what it would, if he threw in his mite towards introducing aReformation so much wanted: And he imagined, that if in an age given upto diversion and entertainment, he could _steal in_, as may be said, andinvestigate the great doctrines of Christianity under the fashionableguise of an amusement; he should be most likely to serve his purpose;remembring that of the Poet:
"_A verse may find him who a sermon flies, "And turn delight into a sacrifice._
"He was resolved therefore to attempt something that never yet had beendone. He considered, that the Tragic poets have as seldom made theirheroes true objects of pity, as the Comic theirs laudable ones ofimitation: And still more rarely have made them in their deaths lookforward to a _future Hope_. And thus, when they die, they seem totallyto perish. Death, in such instances, must appear terrible. It must beconsidered as the greatest evil. But why is Death set in shockinglights, when it is the universal lot?
"He has indeed thought fit to paint the death of the wicked as terribleas he could paint it. But he has endeavoured to draw that of the good insuch an amiable manner, that the very Balaams of the world should notforbear to wish that their latter end might be like that of the Heroine.
"And after all, what is the _poetical justice_ so much contended for bysome, as the generality of writers have managed it," but another sort ofdispensation than that with which God, by Revelation, teaches us, He hasthought fit to exercise mankind; whom placing here only in a state ofprobation, he hath so intermingled good and evil, as to necessitate usto look forward for a more equal dispensation of both.
The author of the History (or rather Dramatic Narrative) of Clarissa, istherefore well justified by the _Christian System_, in deferring toextricate suffering Virtue to the time in which it will meet with the_Completion_ of its Reward.
But not absolutely to shelter the conduct observed in it under thesanction of Religion [an authority perhaps not of the greatest weightwith some of our modern critics] it must be observed, that the author isjustified in its Catastrophe by the greatest master of reason, and thebest judge of composition, that ever lived. The learned Reader knows wemust mean ARISTOTLE; whose sentiments in this matter we shall beg leaveto deliver in the words of a very amiable writer of our own Country.
'The English writers of Tragedy, _says Mr. Addison_[37], are possessedwith a notion, that when they represent a virtuous or innocent person indistress, they ought not to leave him till they have delivered him outof his troubles, or made him triumph over his enemies.
'This _error_ they have been led into by a _ridiculous_ doctrine in_Modern Criticism_, that they are obliged to an _equal distribution_ of_rewards_ and _punishments_, and an impartial execution of _poeticaljustice_.
'Who were the first that established this rule, I know not; but I amsure it has no foundation in NATURE, in REASON, or in the PRACTICE OFTHE ANTIENTS.
'We find, that good and evil happen alike unto ALL MEN on this side thegrave: And as the principal design of Tragedy is to raise commiserationand terror in the minds of the audience, we shall defeat this great end,if we always make Virtue and Innocence happy and successful.
'Whatever crosses and disappointments a good man suffers in the _Body_of the Tragedy, they will make but small impression on our minds, whenwe know, that, in the _last Act_, he is to arrive at the end of hiswishes and desires.
'When we see him engaged in the depth of his afflictions, we are apt tocomfort ourselves, because we are sure he will find his way out of them,and that his grief, how great soever it may be at present, will soonterminate in gladness.
'For this reason, the antient Writers of Tragedy treated men in their_Plays_, as they are dealt with in the _World_, by making Virtuesometimes happy and sometimes miserable, as they found it in the Fablewhich they made choice of, or as it might affect their Audience in themost agreeable manner.
'Aristotle considers the Tragedies that were written in either of thosekinds; and observes, that those which ended unhappily had always pleasedthe people, and carried away the Prize, in the public disputes of theStage, from those that ended happily.
'Terror and Commiseration leave a _pleasing anguish_ in the mind, andfix the Audience in such a serious composure of thought, as is much morelasting and delightful, than any little transient Starts of Joy andSatisfaction.
'Accordingly we find, that more of our English Tragedies have succeeded,in which the Favourites of the Audience sink under their calamities,than those in which they recover themselves out of them.
'The best Plays of this kind are _The Orphan_, _Venice Preserved_,_Alexander t
he Great_, _Theodosius_, _All for Love_, _Oedipus_,_Oroonoko_, _Othello_, &c.
'King _Lear_ is an admirable Tragedy of the same kind, as Shakespearewrote it: But as it is reformed according to the _chimerical notion_ ofPOETICAL JUSTICE, in my humble opinion it has lost half its beauty.
'At the same time I must allow, that there are very noble Tragedies,which have been framed upon the other Plan, and have ended happily; asindeed most of the good Tragedies which have been written since thestarting of the above-mentioned Criticism, have taken this turn: As _TheMourning Bride_, _Tamerlane_[38], _Ulysses_, _Phaedra and Hippolytus_,with most of Mr. Dryden's. I must also allow, that many ofShakespeare's, and several of the celebrated Tragedies of Antiquity, arecast in the same form. I do not therefore dispute against this way ofwriting Tragedies; but against the Criticism that would establish Thisas the _only_ method; and by that means would very much cramp theEnglish Tragedy, and perhaps give a wrong bent to the genius of ourwriters.'
'This subject is further considered in a Letter to the Spectator[39].
"I find your opinion, says the author of it, concerning the_late-invented_ term called _Poetical Justice_, is controverted by someeminent critics. I have drawn up some additional arguments to strengthenthe opinion which you have there delivered; having endeavoured to go tothe bottom of that matter....
"The most perfect man has vices enough to draw down punishments upon hishead, and to justify Providence in regard to any miseries that may befalhim. For this reason I cannot think but that the instruction and moralare much finer, where a man who is virtuous in the main of his characterfalls into distress, and sinks under the blows of fortune, at the end ofa Tragedy, than when he is represented as happy and triumphant. Such anexample corrects the insolence of human nature, softens the mind of thebeholder with sentiments of pity and compassion, comforts him under hisown private affliction, and teaches him not to judge of mens virtues bytheir successes[40]. I cannot think of one real hero in all antiquity sofar raised above human infirmities, that he might not be very naturallyrepresented in a Tragedy as plunged in misfortunes and calamities. ThePoet may still find out some prevailing passion or indiscretion in hischaracter, and shew it in such a manner as will sufficiently acquitProvidence of any injustice in his sufferings: For, as Horace observes,the best man is faulty, tho' not in so great a degree as those whom wegenerally call vicious men[41].
"If such a strict _Poetical Justice_ (_proceeds the Letter-writer_), assome gentlemen insist upon, were to be observed in this art, there is nomanner of reason why it should not extend to heroic Poetry, as well asTragedy. But we find it so little observed in Homer, that his Achillesis placed in the greatest point of glory and success, tho' his Characteris morally vicious, and only _poetically_ good, if I may use the phraseof our modern Critics. The _AEneid_ is filled with innocent unhappypersons. Nisus and Euryalus, Lausus and Pallas, come all to unfortunateends. The Poet takes notice in particular, that, in the sacking of Troy,Ripheus fell, who was the most just man among the Trojans:
"----_Cadit & Ripheus justissimus unus Qui fuit in Teucris, & servantissimus aequi. Diis aliter visum est.----_
"The gods thought fit.--So blameless Ripheus fell, Who lov'd fair Justice, and observ'd it well.
"And that Pantheus could neither be preserved by his transcendent piety,nor by the holy fillets of Apollo, whose priest he was:
"----_Nec te tua plurima, Pantheu, Labentem pietas, nec Apollinis infula texit._ AEn. II.
"Nor could thy piety thee, Pantheus, save, Nor ev'n thy priesthood, from an early grave.
"I might here mention the practice of antient Tragic Poets, both Greekand Latin; but as this particular is touched upon in the Paperabove-mentioned, I shall pass it over in silence. I could producepassages out of Aristotle in favour of my opinion: And if in one placehe says, that an absolutely virtuous man should not be represented asunhappy, this does not justify any one who shall think fit to bring inan absolutely virtuous man upon the stage. Those who are acquainted withthat author's way of writing, know very well, that to take the wholeextent of his subject into his divisions of it, he often makes use ofsuch cases as are imaginary, and not reducible to practice....
"I shall conclude, _says this gentleman_, with observing, that tho' the_Spectator_ above-mentioned is so far against the rule of _PoeticalJustice_, as to affirm, that good men may meet with an unhappyCatastrophe in Tragedy, it does not say, that ill men may go offunpunished. The reason for this distinction is very plain; namely,because the best of men [as is said above] have faults enough to justifyProvidence for any misfortunes and afflictions which may befal them; butthere are many men so criminal, that they can have no claim or pretenceto happiness. The _best_ of men may deserve punishment; but the _worst_of men cannot deserve happiness."
Mr. Addison, as we have seen above, tells us, that Aristotle, inconsidering the Tragedies that were written in either of the kinds,observes, that those which ended unhappily had always pleased thepeople, and carried away the prize, in the public disputes of the Stage,from those that ended happily. And we shall take leave to add, that thispreference was given at a time when the entertainments of the Stage werecommitted to the care of the magistrates; when the prizes contended forwere given by the State; when, of consequence, the emulation amongwriters was ardent; and when learning was at the highest pitch of gloryin that renowned commonwealth.
It cannot be supposed, that the Athenians, in this their highest age oftaste and politeness, were less humane, less tender-hearted, than we ofthe present. But they were not _afraid_ of being moved, nor _ashamed_ ofshewing themselves to be so, at the distresses they saw well painted andrepresented. In short, they were of the opinion, with the wisest of men,_That it was better to go to the house of mourning than to the house ofmirth_; and had fortitude enough to trust themselves with their owngenerous grief, because they found their hearts mended by it.
Thus also Horace, and the politest Romans in the Augustan age, wished tobe affected:
_Ac ne forte putes me, quae facere ipse recusem, Cum recte tractant alii, laudare maligne; Ille per extentum funem mihi posse videtur Ire poeta, meum qui pectus inaniter angit, Irritat, mulcet; falsis terroribus implet, Ut magus; & modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis_.
Thus Englished by Mr. Pope:
Yet, lest you think I railly more than teach, Or praise malignly _Arts_ I cannot reach, Let me, for once, presume t'instruct the times To know the _Poet_ from the _Man of Rhymes_. 'Tis He who gives my breast a thousand pains, Can make me _feel_ each passion that he feigns; Enrage--compose--with more than magic art, With _pity_ and with _terror_ tear my heart; And snatch me o'er the earth, or thro' the air, To Thebes, to Athens, when he will, and where.
Our fair readers are also desired to attend to what a celebratedCritic[42] of a neighbouring nation says on the nature and design ofTragedy, from the rules laid down by the same great Antient.
'Tragedy, says he, makes man _modest_, by representing the great mastersof the earth humbled; and it makes him _tender_ and _merciful_, byshewing him the _strange accidents of life_, and the _unforeseendisgraces_ to which the most important persons are subject.
'But because Man is naturally timorous and compassionate, he may fallinto other extremes. Too much fear may shake his constancy of mind, andtoo much compassion may enfeeble his equity. 'Tis the business ofTragedy to regulate these two weaknesses. It prepares and arms himagainst _disgraces_, by shewing them so frequent in the mostconsiderable persons; and he will cease to fear extraordinary accidents,when he sees them happen to the _highest_ part of Mankind. And stillmore efficacious, we may add, the example will be, when he sees themhappen to the _best_.
'But as the end of Tragedy is to teach men not to fear too weakly_common misfortunes_, it proposes also to teach them to spare theircompassion for objects that _deserve it_. For there is an _injustice_ inbeing moved at the afflictions of those who _deserve to be miserable_.We may see, without pity, Clytemnestra slain by her son Orestes inAEschyl
us, because she had murdered Agamemnon her husband; yet we cannotsee Hippolytus die by the plot of his Stepmother Phaedra, in Euripides,without compassion, because he died not, but for being chaste andvirtuous.'
'These are the great authorities so favourable to the stories that endunhappily. And we beg leave to reinforce this inference from them, Thatif the temporary sufferings of the Virtuous and the Good can beaccounted for and justified on Pagan principles, many more andinfinitely stronger reasons will occur to a Christian Reader in behalfof what are called unhappy Catastrophes from the consideration of thedoctrine of _future rewards_; which is every-where strongly inforced inthe History of Clarissa.
'Of this (to give but one instance) an ingenious Modern, distinguishedby his rank, but much more for his excellent defence of some of the mostimportant doctrines of Christianity, appears convinced in the conclusionof a pathetic _Monody_, lately published; in which, after he haddeplored, as a man _without hope_, (expressing ourselves in theScripture phrase) the loss of an excellent Wife; he thus consoleshimself:
'_Yet, O my soul! thy rising murmurs stay, Nor dare th' All-wise Disposer to arraign, Or against his supreme decree With impious grief complain. That all thy full-blown joys at once should fade, Was his most righteous Will: And be that Will obey'd._
'_Would thy fond love his grace to her controul, And in these low abodes of sin and pain Her pure, exalted soul, Unjustly, for thy partial good, detain? No--rather strive thy groveling mind to raise Up to that unclouded blaze, That heav'nly radiance of eternal light, In which enthroned she now with pity sees How frail, how insecure, how slight Is ev'ry mortal bliss._
'But of infinitely greater weight than all that has been above producedon this subject, are the words of the Psalmist.
"As for me, says he[43], my feet were almost gone, my step had well-nighslipt: For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity ofthe wicked. For their strength is firm: They are not in trouble as othermen; neither are they plagued like other men--Their eyes stand out withfatness: They have more than their heart could wish--Verily I havecleansed mine heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence; for allthe day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. When Ithought to know this, it was too painful for me. Until I went into thesanctuary of God; then understood I their end--Thou shalt guide me withthy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.'
'This is the Psalmist's comfort and dependence. And shall man, presumingto alter the common course of nature, and, so far as he is able, toelude the tenure by which frail mortality indispensibly holds, imagine,that he can make a better dispensation; and by calling it _PoeticalJustice_, indirectly reflect on the _Divine_?
The more pains have been taken to obviate the objections arising fromthe notion of _Poetical Justice_, as the doctrine built upon it hadobtained general credit among us; and as it must be confessed to havethe appearance of _humanity_ and _good-nature_ for its supports. And yetthe writer of the History of Clarissa is humbly of opinion, that hemight have been excused referring to them for the vindication of _his_Catastrophe, even by those who are advocates for the contrary opinion;since the notion of _Poetical Justice_, founded on the _modern rules_,has hardly ever been more strictly observed in works of this nature,than in the present performance.
For, Is not Mr. Lovelace, who could persevere in his villainous views,against the strongest and most frequent convictions and remorses thatever were sent to awaken and reclaim a wicked man--Is not this great,this _wilful_ transgressor, condignly _punished_; and his punishmentbrought on thro' the intelligence of the very Joseph Leman whom he hadcorrupted[44]; and by means of the very women whom he haddebauched[45]--Is not Mr. Belton, who has an Uncle's _hastened_ death toanswer for[46]--Are not the _whole_ Harlowe-family--Is not the vileTomlinson--Are not the infamous Sinclair, and her _wretchedpartners_--And even the wicked _Servants_, who, with their eyes open,contributed their parts to the carrying on of the vile schemes of theirrespective principals--_Are they not All likewise exemplarily punished?_
On the other hand, Is not Miss HOWE, for her noble friendship to theexalted Lady in her calamities--Is not Mr. HICKMAN, for hisunexceptionable morals, and integrity of life--Is not the repentant andnot ungenerous BELFORD--Is not the worthy NORTON--_made signally happy_?
And who that are in earnest in their profession of Christianity, butwill rather envy than regret the triumphant death of CLARISSA; whosepiety, from her _early childhood_; whose diffusive charity; whose steadyvirtue; whose Christian humility; whose forgiving spirit; whosemeekness, and resignation, HEAVEN _only_ could reward[47]?
"We shall now, according to expectation given in the _Preface_ to thisEdition, proceed to take brief notice of such other objections as havecome to our knowlege: For as is there said, 'This Work being addressedto the Public as an History of _Life_ and _Manners_, those parts of itwhich are proposed to carry with them the force of Example, ought to beas unobjectible as is consistent with the _design of the whole_, andwith _human Nature_.'
"Several persons have censured the Heroine as too cold in her love, toohaughty, and even sometimes provoking. But we may presume to say, thatthis objection has arisen from want of attention to the Story, to theCharacter of Clarissa, and to her particular situation.
"It was not intended that she should be _in Love_, but _in Liking_ only,if that expression may be admitted. It is meant to be every-whereinculcated in the Story, for _Example-sake_, that she never would havemarried Mr. Lovelace, because of his immoralities, had she been left toherself; and that her ruin was principally owing to the persecutions ofher friends.
"What is too generally called _Love_, ought (perhaps _as_ generally) tobe called by another name. _Cupidity_, or a _Paphian Stimulus_, as somewomen, even of condition, have acted, are not words too harsh to besubstituted on the occasion, however grating they may be to delicateears. But take the word _Love_ in the gentlest and most honourablesense, it would have been thought by some highly improbable, thatClarissa should have been able to shew such a command of her passions,as makes so distinguishing a part of her Character, had she been asviolently in Love, as certain warm and fierce spirits would have had herto be. A few Observations are thrown in by way of Note in the presentEdition, at proper places, to obviate this Objection, or rather tobespeak the _Attention_ of hasty Readers to what lies obviously beforethem. For thus the Heroine anticipates this very Objection,expostulating with Miss Howe, on her contemptuous treatment of Mr.Hickman; which [far from being guilty of the same fault herself] she didon all occasions, and declares she would do, whenever Miss Howe forgotherself, altho' she had not a day to live:
"'O my dear, says she, that it had been my Lot (as I was not permittedto live single) to have met with a man, by whom I _could_ have actedgenerously and unreservedly!
"'Mr. Lovelace, it is now plain, in order to have a pretence against me,taxed my behaviour to him with stiffness and distance. You, at one time,thought me guilty of some degree of Prudery. Difficult situations shouldbe allowed for; which often make seeming occasions for censure unavoidable.I deserved not blame from _him_, who made mine difficult. And if I hadhad any other man to deal with than Mr. Lovelace, or had he had but halfthe merit which Mr Hickman has, you, my Dear, should have found, that myDoctrine, on this Subject, should have governed my Practice.' See thiswhole Letter[48]; See also Mr. Lovelace's Letter No lxxvii. Vol. VII.p. 310. _& seq._ where, just before his Death, he entirely acquits herconduct on this head.
"It has been thought by some worthy and ingenious persons, that ifLovelace had been drawn an _Infidel_ or _Scoffer_, his Character,according to the Taste of the present worse than Sceptical Age, wouldhave been more natural. It is, however, too well known, that there arevery many persons, of his Cast, whose actions discredit their belief.And are not the very Devils, in Scripture, said to _believe_ and_tremble_?
"But the Reader must have observed, that great, and, it is hoped, goodUse, has been made throughout the Work,
by drawing Lovelace an Infidelonly in _Practice_; and this as well in the arguments of his friendBelford, as in his own frequent Remorses, when touched with temporaryCompunction, and in his last Scenes; which could not have been made, hadeither of them been painted as _sentimental_ Unbelievers. Not to say,that Clarissa, whose great Objection to Mr. Wyerly was, that he was aScoffer, must have been inexcusable had she known Lovelace to be so, andhad given the least attention to his Addresses. On the contrary, thusshe comforts herself, when she thinks she must be his--'This oneconsolation, however, remains: He is not an Infidel, an Unbeliever. Hadhe been an Infidel, there would have been no room at all for hope ofhim; but (priding himself as he does in his fertile invention) he wouldhave been utterly abandoned, irreclaimable, and a Savage[49].' And itmust be observed, that Scoffers are too witty in their own opinion; inother words, value themselves too much upon their profligacy, to aim atconcealing it.
"Besides, had Lovelace added ribbald jests upon Religion, to his otherliberties, the freedoms which would then have passed between him and hisfriend, must have been of a nature truly infernal. And this farther hintwas meant to be given, by way of inference, that the man who allowedhimself in those liberties either of speech or action, which Lovelacethought shameful, was so far a worse man than Lovelace. For this reasonis he every-where made to treat jests on sacred things and subjects,even down to the Mythology of the Pagans, among Pagans, as undoubtedmarks of the ill-breeding of the jesters; obscene images and talk, asliberties too shameful for even Rakes to allow themselves in; andinjustice to creditors, and in matters of _Meum_ and _Tuum_, as what itwas beneath him to be guilty of.
"Some have objected to the meekness, to the tameness, as they will haveit to be, of the character of Mr. Hickman. And yet Lovelace owns, thathe rose upon him with great spirit in the interview between them; once,when he thought a reflection was but implied on _Miss Howe_[50]; andanother time, when he imagined _himself_ treated contemptuously[51].Miss Howe, it must be owned (tho' not to the credit of her owncharacter) treats him ludicrously on several occasions. But so she doesher Mother. And perhaps a Lady of her lively turn would have treated aswhimsically any man but a Lovelace. Mr. Belford speaks of him withhonour and respect[52]. So does Colonel Morden[53]. And so does Clarissaon every occasion. And all that Miss Howe herself says of him, tendsmore to his reputation than discredit[54], as Clarissa indeed tellsher[55].
"And as to Lovelace's treatment of him, the Reader must have observed,that it was his way to treat every man with contempt, partly by way ofself exaltation, and partly to gratify the natural gaiety of hisdisposition. He says himself to Belford[56], 'Thou knowest I love himnot, Jack; and whom we love not, we cannot allow a merit to; perhaps notthe merit they should be granted.' 'Modest and diffident men,' writesBelford, to Lovelace, in praise of Mr. Hickman, 'wear not soon off thoselittle precisenesses, which the confident, if ever they had them,presently get over[57].'
"But, as Miss Howe treats her Mother as freely as she does her Lover; sodoes Mr. Lovelace take still greater liberties with Mr. Belford, than hedoes with Mr. Hickman, with respect to his person, air, and address, asMr. Belford himself hints to Mr. Hickman[58]. And yet he is not soreadily believed to the discredit of Mr. Belford, by the Ladies ingeneral, as he is when he disparages Mr. Hickman. Whence can thispartiality arise?--
"_Mr. Belford had been a Rake: But was in a way of reformation._
"_Mr. Hickman had always been a good man._
"_And Lovelace_ confidently says, _That the women love a man whose regard for them is founded in the knowlege of them_[59].
"Nevertheless, it must be owned, that it was not proposed to draw Mr.Hickman, as the man of whom the Ladies in general were likely to be veryfond. Had it been so, _Goodness of heart_, and _Gentleness of manners_,_great Assiduity_, and _inviolable_ and _modest_ Love, would not ofthemselves have been supposed sufficient recommendations. He would nothave been allowed the least share of _preciseness_ or _formality_,altho' those defects might have been imputed to his reverence for theobject of his passion: But in his character it was designed to shew,that the same man could not be every-thing; and to intimate to Ladies,that in chusing companions for life, they should rather prefer thehonest heart of a Hickman, which would be all their own, than to risquethe chance of sharing, perhaps with scores, (and some of those probablythe most profligate of the Sex) the volatile mischievous one of aLovelace: In short, that they should chuse, if they wished for durablehappiness, for rectitude of mind, and not for speciousness of person oraddress: Nor make a jest of a good man in favour of a bad one, who wouldmake a jest of them and of their whole Sex.
"Two Letters, however, by way of accommodation, are inserted in thisedition, which perhaps will give Mr. Hickman's character someheightening with such Ladies, as love spirit in a man; and had rathersuffer by it, than not meet with it.--
_Women, born to be controul'd, Stoop to the Forward and the Bold,_
Says Waller--And Lovelace too!
"Some have wished that the Story had been told in the usual narrativeway of telling Stories designed to amuse and divert, and not in Letterswritten by the respective persons whose history is given in them. Theauthor thinks he ought not to prescribe to the taste of others; butimagined himself at liberty to follow his own. He perhaps mistrusted histalents for the narrative kind of writing. He had the good fortune tosucceed in the Epistolary way once before. A Story in which so manypersons were concerned either principally or collaterally, and ofcharacters and dispositions so various, carried on with tolerableconnexion and perspicuity, in a series of Letters from differentpersons, without the aid of digressions and episodes foreign to theprincipal end and design, he thought had novelty to be pleaded for it:And that, in the present age, he supposed would not be a slightrecommendation.
"But besides what has been said above, and in the _Preface_, on thishead, the following opinion of an ingenious and candid Foreigner, onthis manner of writing, may not be improperly inserted here.
"'The method which the Author has pursued in the History of Clarissa, isthe same as in the Life of Pamela: Both are related in familiar Lettersby the parties themselves, at the very time in which the eventshappened: And this method has given the author great advantages, whichhe could not have drawn from any other species of narration. The minuteparticulars of events, the sentiments and conversation of the parties,are, upon this plan, exhibited with all the warmth and spirit, that thepassion supposed to be predominant at the very time, could produce, andwith all the distinguishing characteristics which memory can supply in aHistory of recent transactions.
"'Romances in general, and Marivaux's amongst others, are whollyimprobable; because they suppose the History to be written after theseries of events is closed by the catastrophe: A circumstance whichimplies a strength of memory beyond all example and probability in thepersons concerned, enabling them, at the distance of several years, torelate all the particulars of a transient conversation: Or rather, itimplies a yet more improbable confidence and familiarity between allthese persons and the author.
"'There is, however, one difficulty attending the Epistolary method; forit is necessary, that all the characters should have an uncommon tastefor this kind of conversation, and that they should suffer no event, noreven a remarkable conversation, to pass, without immediately committingit to writing. But for the preservation of the Letters _once written_,the author has provided with great judgment, so as to render thiscircumstance highly probable[60].'
"It is presumed that what this gentleman says of the difficultiesattending a Story thus given in the Epistolary manner of writing, willnot be found to reach the History before us. It is very well accountedfor in it, how the two principal Female characters come to take so greata delight in writing. Their subjects are not merely subjects ofamusement; but greatly interesting to both: Yet many Ladies there arewho now laudably correspond, when at distance from each other, onoccasions that far less affect their mutual welfare and friendships,than those treated of by these Ladies. Th
e two principal gentlemen hadmotives of gaiety and vain-glory for their inducements. It willgenerally be found, that persons who have talents for familiar writeing,as these correspondents are presumed to have, will not forbear amusingthemselves with their pens, on less arduous occasions than what offer tothese. These Four (whose Stories have a connexion with each other) outof a great number of characters which are introduced in this History,are only eminent in the Epistolary way: The rest appear but asoccasional writers, and as drawn in rather by necessity than choice,from the different relations in which they stand with the four principalpersons."
The Length of the piece has been objected to by some, who perhaps lookedupon it as a mere _Novel_ or _Romance_; and yet of _these_ there are notwanting works of equal length.
They were of opinion, that the Story moved too slowly, particularly inthe first and second Volumes, which are chiefly taken up with theAltercations between Clarissa and the several persons of her Family.
But is it not true, that those Altercations are the Foundation of thewhole, and therefore a necessary part of the work? The Letters andConversations, where the Story makes the slowest progress, are presumedto be _characteristic_. They give occasion likewise to suggest manyinteresting _Personalities_, in which a good deal of the instructionessential to a work of this nature is conveyed. And it will, moreover,be remembered, that the Author, at his first setting out, apprised theReader, that the Story (interesting as it is generally allowed to be)was to be principally looked upon as the Vehicle to the Instruction.
To all which we may add, that there was frequently a necessity to bevery circumstantial and minute, in order to preserve and maintain thatAir of Probability, which is necessary to be maintained in a Storydesigned to represent real Life; and which is rendered extremely busyand active by the plots and contrivances formed and carried on by one ofthe principal Characters.
'Some there are, and Ladies too! who have supposed that the excellenciesof the Heroine are carried to an improbable, and even to animpracticable height, in this History. But the education of Clarissafrom _early childhood_ ought to be considered, as one of her very greatadvantages; as, indeed, the foundation of _all_ her excellencies: And itis hoped, for the sake of the doctrine designed to be inculcated by it,that it will.
'She had a pious, a well-read, a not meanly descended woman for herNurse, who with her milk, as Mrs. Harlowe says[61], gave her thatnurture which no other Nurse could give her. She was very early happy inthe conversation-visits of her learned and worthy Dr. Lewen, and in hercorrespondencies, not with him only, but with other Divines mentioned inher last Will. Her Mother was, upon the whole, a good woman; who didcredit to her birth and her fortune, and was able to instruct her in herearly youth: Her Father was not a free-living, or free-principled man;in the conversation-visits of her learned and worthy Dr. Lewen, and inher correspondencies, not with him only, but with other Divinesmentioned in her lat Will. Her _Mother_ was, upon the whole, a goodwoman, who did credit to her birth and her fortune; and _both_ delightedin her for those improvements and attainments, which gave her, _and themin her_, a distinction that caused it to be said, that when she was outof the family, it was considered but as a common family[62]. She wasmoreover a Country Lady; and, as we have seen in Miss Howe's characterof her[63], took great delight in rural and houshold employments; tho'qualified to adorn the brightest circle.
'It must be confessed, that we are not to look for _Clarissa's_ amongthe _constant frequenters_ of Ranelagh and Vaux-hall, nor among thosewho may be called _Daughters of the Card-table_. If we do, the characterof our Heroine may then indeed be justly thought not only improbable,but unattainable. But we have neither room in this place, norinclination, to pursue a subject so invidious. We quit it therefore,after we have _repeated_, that we _know_ there are _some_, and we _hope_there are _many_, in the British dominions [or they are hardly any-wherein the European world] who, as far as _occasion_ has called upon them toexert the like _humble_ and _modest_, yet _steady_ and _useful_,virtues, have reached the perfections of a Clarissa.
* * * * *
'Having thus briefly taken notice of the most material objections thathave been made to different parts of this History, it is hoped we may beallowed to add, That had we thought ourselves at liberty to give copiesof some of the many Letters that have been written on the other side ofthe question, that is to say, in approbation of the Catastrophe, and ofthe general Conduct and Execution of the work, by some of the mosteminent judges of composition in every branch of Literature; most ofwhat has been written in this Postscript might have been spared.
'But as the principal objection with many has lain against the length ofthe piece, we shall add to what we have said above on that subject, inthe words of one of those eminent writers: 'That, _If_, in the Historybefore us, it shall be found, that the Spirit is _duly diffusedthroughout_; that the Characters are _various and natural_; _welldistinguished_ and _uniformly supported_ and _maintained_: _If_ there bea _variety of incidents_ sufficient to excite Attention, and those soconducted, as to keep the Reader always awake; the Length then must addproportionably to the pleasure that every Person of Taste receives froma well-drawn Picture of Nature. But where the contrary of all thesequalities shock the understanding, the extravagant performance will bejudged tedious, tho' no longer than a Fairy-Tale.'