The Way of the World

Mrs. Bracegirdle. S. Harding, delin., James Stow, sculp. London: James Stow, 1770.

Anne Bracegirdle was adopted by Thomas Betterton and his wife Mary. She grew up in this theatrical family and went on to play Semernia in The Widdow Ranter, Millamant in The Way of the World, and a variety of breeches roles. Folger: ART File B796 no. 1.

From The Way of the World

A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage

Full text of A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage together with a sense of antiquity upon this argument. Jeremy Collier. London: S. Keble, R. Sare, H. Hindmarsh, 1698.

Behn (1640?–1689) was a prolific and highly successful playwright, author of The Widdow Ranter, included in this volume, and a contributor to the novel in its earliest English forms, most famously Oroonoko, or, the Royal Slave, which was adapted by Thomas Southerne into a play that was performed long into the eighteenth century. She was also well known for her poetry.

This online edition of the work, hosted by the University of Michigan, has been transcribed by the Early English Books Text Creation Partnership.

From The Way of the World

Suckling, “I prithee spare me gentle boy”

SONG

by Sir John Suckling

1
I PRITHEE spare me, gentle boy;
Press me no more for that slight toy,
That foolish trifle of an heart:
I swear it will not do its part,
Though thou dost thine, employ'st thy power and art.

From The Way of the World