The Toy Shop (1735) The King and the Miller of Mansfield (1737)Dodsley, Robert
Philosophy
The Toy Shop (1735) The King and the Miller of Mansfield (1737)
Dodsley, Robert
English drama -- 18th century
_Dick._ No, no, they never trouble their Heads to think, whether we eat
at all or not. I have now dangled after his Lordship several Years,
tantaliz'd with Hopes and Expectations; this Year promised one Place,
the next another, and the third, in sure and certain Hope of----a
Disappointment. One falls, and it was promis'd before; another, and I
am just Half an Hour too late; a third, and it stops the Mouth of a
Creditor; a fourth, and it pays the Hire of a Flatterer; a fifth, and
it bribes a Vote; and the sixth, I am promis'd still. But having thus
slept away some Years, I awoke from my Dream: My Lord, I found, was so
far from having it in his Power to get a Place for me, that he had been
all this while seeking after one for himself.
_Mil._ Poor _Dick_! And is plain Honesty then a Recommendation to no
Place at Court?
_Dick._ It may recommend you to be a Footman, perhaps, but nothing
further, nothing further, indeed. If you look higher, you must furnish
yourself with other Qualifications: You must learn to say Ay, or No; to
run, or stand; to fetch, or carry, or leap over a Stick at the Word of
Command. You must be Master of the Arts of Flattery, Insinuation,
Dissimulation, Application, and [_Pointing to his Palm_] right
Application too, if you hope to succeed.
_King._ You don't consider I am a Courtier, methinks.
_Dick._ Not I, indeed; 'tis no Concern of mine what you are. If, in
general, my Character of the Court is true, 'tis not my Fault if it's
disagreable to your Worship. There are particular Exceptions I own, and
I hope you may be one.
_King._ Nay, I don't want to be flatter'd, so let that pass. Here's
better Success to you the next Time you come to _London_.
_Dick._ I thank ye; but I don't design to see it again in haste.
_Mil._ No, no, _Dick_; instead of depending upon Lords Promises, depend
upon the Labour of thine own Hands; expect nothing but what thou can'st
earn, and then thou wilt not be disappointed. But come, I want a
Description of _London_; thou hast told us nothing thou hast seen yet.
_Dick._ O! 'tis a fine Place! I have seen large Houses with small
Hospitality; great Men do little Actions; and fine Ladies do----nothing
at all. I have seen the honest Lawyers of _Westminster-Hall_, and the
virtuous Inhabitants of _'Change-Alley_. The politick Mad-men of
Coffee-Houses, and the wise Statesmen of _Bedlam_. I have seen merry
Tragedies, and sad Comedies; Devotion at an Opera, and Mirth at a
Sermon; I have seen fine Cloaths at _St. James_'s, and long Bills at
_Ludgate-Hill_. I have seen poor Grandeur, and rich Poverty; high
Honours, and low Flattery, great Pride, and no Merit. In short, I have
seen a Fool with a Title, a Knave with a Pension, and an honest Man
with a Thread-bare Coat. Pray how do you like _London_?
_Mil._ And is this the best Description thou can'st give of it?
_Dick._ Yes.
_King._ Why, _Richard_, you are a Satirist, I find.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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