THE WORLD OF BOOKS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18237, 22 November 1924, Page 11

THE WORLD OF BOOKS.

HALF HOURS IN A LIBRARY.

(SfICIALLT WSITTES FO3 "TKS PBE88.")

By A. H. Griklikg

XXXXVIII.—OX NELL GWYN, Mr Lewis Melville is an authority on Thackeray ; he is responsible for a handsome two-volume biography of the novelist, besides a book on "The Thackeray Country," and ho edited MacMillan's edition of the novels. His book on "Victorian Novelists" I have frequently found useful for reference, and he has dived deep into the history of the Regency, notably in "The First Gentleman of Europe.' l Mr Melville's latest venture is the story cf the life of Nell Gwyn, "pretty witty Nell" as Pepys calls Jier, and concerning whom the dying utterance of Charles 11., "Do not let poor Nelly starve," has been deemed by some the redeeming feature in the career of the Merry Monarch. Turning the pages of Mr Melville's latest volume, which is quaintly illustrated by Kitty Shannon, I was seized with the idea of pursuing a subject which abounded in literary reference In his introductory chapter Mr Melville says:— Nell Gwvn had charm —which is «» happy accident; but she used it delightfully—which is an art. And her charm has survived her.

"And once Nell Gwyn, a frail young sprite, Look'd kindly when I ni£t lier; I shook my head perhaps —but quite Forgot to quite forget her."

So that most fastidious of writers ot light verse, Frederick Locker-Lampson conjured her up. He thought of her more than onoe, indeed, and introduced her in his "Lines to a Human Skuil :

"It may have held (to aim some random shots), Thy trains, Eliza Pry's, or iJaron Bryen's. The wits of Nelly Gwyn, or Dr. Watts Two quoted bards. Two philanthropic sirens."

The hold which Nell Gwyn, who was born on February 2nd, 1650-1, has had for 250 years upon the popular imagination, is seen in the fact, pointed out by Mr Melville, that to introduce her as a character into a play or a novel, was invariably to secure its success. To mention a comparatively recent instance, who that has seen Nellie Stewart in the title role of ''Sweet Nell of Old Drury,''. will ever forgec the pretty picture, which t.he popular Australian favourite made. The play was the work of Paul Kester, ail American dramatist, and! Ada Rehan starred in ,the part of Nell_ in' the United States, while Julia Neilson introduced it to an English audience. It was Douglas Jerrold who wrote, the first play associated with her ntirae, a capitally constructed piece called "Nell Gwynne in the Prologue," the preface to which places Nell in a correct perspective and enforces her true char-, actor. Douglas Jerrold says:—

.Whilst we . m»y safely regard ee unfounded gossip the stories associated the name of Nell Grwynne, we cannot'refuse belief to the'■various proofs of .iind-heartednesa, liberality and—tajting into consideration her eubsequent power to do harm—absolute goodness of a woman mingling (if we may believe a passage in Pepyfl) from her .earliest years in the most depraved. scenes of a' most dissolute age. The life °f. Nell Gwynne, from' the time of her connexion with. Charles 11. to that of her death, .proved .that error.-had been forced upon her by circumstances'; rather than indulged from, chance. It was under this impression that. the present little comedy was ■undertaken; under this conviction an attempt has been made to show some glimpses of the "silver lining'' of a character, to whose influence over an unprincipled voluptuary we owe a national asylum • for veteran soldiers, and amiable lustre in many actions' of her 'life, and in the last dispersal of her worldly effects. -

Unfortunately for one of Douglas Jerrold's references, careful, research has shown the popular tradition that Nell Gwyn suggested to, Charles 11. • this idea of- founding Chelsea Hospital to be altogether baseless.', Peter Cunningham, in his "Story of Nell Gwyn," first published in 1852. gives currency to "the. report, and' nays: "Charles Lad. his own way, in this life at least of atonirig for nis- misdeeds, and, to one of his best actions he is said to liave been instigated by no less a person than Nell Gwyn. This was the erection of a Royal Hospital at Chelsea, for aged and disabled soldiers, the first stone of which was laid by the King himself in the spring of 1682.. The idea, it is said, originated with Nelly, and .1 see no reason to doubt the tradition, ;• supported »b it is.; by the' known-benevo-lence of her character, her sympathy with the suffering, and the fact that sixty years ago at least Nelly's, share in its foundation was recorded beneath her portrait serving as the sign of a public house adjoining the hospital. The sign remains;'but not the inscription. Yet the tradition is still rife in Chelsea and is not soon likely to die out. Ormond's and Granby s, ana Admiral Vernon's disappear, but Nelly remains, and long may she swing with her favourite lamb on the row or street commemorated for ever in the Chelsea pensioners of Chelsea." The picture of Nell Gwyn, with a lamb, from Valck s engraving after-Lily, appears as one of the illustrations to the 1908 edition of Cunningham's book . edited by H- pWheatley and by Gordon _ Goodwin. Cunningham was notoriously inaccurate in details, and indeed in matters .of fact, and "Wteatley S ays in a note:—

It waa Sir Stephen Fox, paymaster of the force, who inspired. Charles 11. with the idea of the erection, of a -Royal Hospital "for demented soldiers" and Fox gave munificently to the hospital "aa became lam ■who had gotten so vast an estate by the soldiers." 'The facW connected with the history of the foundation are forth bv Evelyn in his Diary. He maies no reference to Nell Ciwyn having had any cotfeern in the matter# * ,

Mr Melville says: legends resounding to her credit ha sprung up around Nell Gwyn. bhe is S U tong BUffiStei to Charles 11. the idea, of Ho&pital for old soldiers, and though the. official historian of that 'nstit^? n could find no evidence to confirm thiSj the tradition is still widely acceptedExamining into the evidence for ancl against, Mr Melville records the ftflowing: "Nell Gwyn," says Leigh Huntin "The Town," "issuggested to her royal lover the. buJaini of Chelsea Hospital and to have made hini a present rf tl» gourid for it," Thornbury in the History or London," retails the story that one dav «, wounded and destitute soldier hobbled up to her coach-window to ask alms, and that so pained her to see a man who had fought; for h'swuntry beg ring bread in the street that she prevailed upon Charles 11. to establish at Chelsea a permanent home, for military invalids. "This " says Mr Mel\dlle, "is very pretty but it is not confirmed by fact- _ AritMie goes on to quote from ' The Early Hwtorv of Hospital at. Chelsea in * which ' General Hutt, the ofticial historian, says:

A sentimental -tradition' haa often ascribed the foundation of the establishment of Chelsea Hospital to .the charitable intercession of Neil Gwyn, buV though.Jk» story has been often repeated. th& most careful inspection into the records of the period fails any way to authenticate its \ewcourt author of a history of t"he "Diocese of' London (of which he" was TicarGeneral),' ft most accurate writer, who lived

a* tlie tiice and who mentions the hcspital never m any s way alludes to the etorv. Evelyn, from whose journal niuch. valuable information is derived and by whose aid many details conueeted with the sale and purchase of the early hospital lands "have be«n accurately traced, is equally silent on this point.- Stow and Pennant make no mention oz it, while Lysons treats the anecdote as one oi very doubtful able .that the story had its origin in the practice of the time of lavishing* on every Court favourit-e the flattery, for which tho founding of Chelsea Hospital afforded a good opportunity. Part oi the tradition can be proved, to bo fallacious and historical truth seems to reqniip that the whole shall be relegated to tho list of so many exploited legends.

"The origin of Eleanor Gwyn. is obscure in every sense," says Mr Melville ; and there is - a dispute as t° Nell's re.il name.- Research into the old ledgers of the firm of Child and Rogers, with whom she banked, reveal that, her cheques and receipts are variously signed "Ellen Gwyn," "Ellin Gwyn," "Ellen Gwynne," "Ellen Gwin," "Eleanor Gwyn," and "Eleanor -Gwynne." Her will begins "I. Ellen Gwynne," bub there is. a tradit'on referred to by John Doran, tliat her real name was Margaret Svmcott. In Macmillan's list of publications for the autumn of this year there is announcement of a book entitled "Nell Gv.'ynno 1650-1687. Her Life's Story from St. Giles's to St. James's. With an account of Whitehall in the "Reign of Charles the Secondi," by Arthur Irwin Dasent, but both Cunningham and Melville adhere to "Gwyn," and the late Cecil Chesterton in 1911 published a new "Story of Nell Gwyn." Aphra Behn dedicated her play, "Hie Feign'd Curtezan; or a Night's Intrigue," which was produced at the Duke's Theatre, Dorset Garden, in 1*679, to "Mrs Ellen Gwin," a dedication so eulogistic that it caused Dr. Johnson to exclaim that in the meanness and servility of hyperbolical adulation Dryden had never been equalled, except by Aphra Behn in an address to Eleanor Gwyn. The tone of the dedication, which is printed in full in the six-vohrmed! edition. of "The Works of Aphra Behn," edited by Mr Montague Summers, may be gathered from the following extract:—

to the ' utmost Limits of the tTniverse your mighty Conquests are made known: And who can doubt the Power of that Illustrious Beauty, the Charms of that tongue and the greatness of that reinde, who - has subdu'd the most powerfiill and Glorious Monarch of the world.

The key-note of'this dedication is to be found in the following sentences: "So natural and so fitted are all your Charms' and Excellencies to one another, so entirely, design'd and created to. make up in you alone the most perfect lovely thing in the world; you never appear but you glad the hearts of all that have the happy fortune to see-you as if you were made on: purpose to put the whole world into good Humour, whenever you look abroad, and; when you speak, men crowd to listen; .. . >Tis this that ought-to make your sex vain enough to despise the malicious world that will allow a woman no wit, and bless ourselves for living in an Age that can produce so wondrous an argument as your undeniable self, to shame these boasting talkers who are Judges of.nothing but faults.". . Aphra Behn and Nell Gwyn may be regarded as the seventeenth century pioneers of the twentieth century woman's movement. Aphra Behn wag the 'first woman in England to earn her . livilig by writing plays, .poems and novels, as Nell Gwyn was one- of the first women to act in public. As a consequence both women were the objects of satire and subjects.for scandal and Aphra'a sympathy with" Nell is self - evident. Mr Montague Summers, who appears for ,the defence, writes: —

In tnith Aphra Behn's life - was not one of' mere pleasure, but a hard struggle against ; overwhelming adversity,. .a continual' iou'rid of work.. "Wo cannot but admire tha: Courage' of this. lonely woinah, who, poor and friendless, was the first-in England to turn-.to'the pen for a livelihood, apd.' not only won herself bread but no mean position in .the world of her day and English literature of all tipie.,.... . . It is a commonplace to say .that her novels are e landmark in the history of fiction. • ■ Even Macaulay allowed : that the best of Defoe was "in no respect ... . beyond the reach of'Aphra Behn" Her lyrics, it has been well said, are' often of "quite .bewildering beauty," but her comedies represent her last work and this is worthy to be ranked with the greatest dramatists of the diay; . .' . That she should ever recover- her pristine, repute tion is, of course, owing to the passing of .time with itß change ;oTmanners,, fashions, thought, and style, impossible. But there, is happily every indication 'that long : neglected * and' hetclcucd- she • will Speedily - vindicate for - herself, as she ia already beginning to do, her rightful claim to a high ■ and honourable place •in our glorious literature... .. „• »

The fact that no woman appeared on the English stage until after the Restoration, and that under the direct patronage, of Charles U., the morals of the time were in a deplorable condition, accounts for much in Nell , Gwyn's career, especially, "when the facts of her parentage and childhood are taken into consideration. A'study of the diary of Pepya ia a revelation in this respect, and it , is to this of a diarist that, the world is indebted for glimpses of Nell's conduct and character.' It is probable: though by no means certain, that Nell Gwyn only trod the boards for .five or six years, from 1665 • to 1670, when she Was'taken under, the protection of, the -King, but' some chroniclers extend the period for seven, or eight years; longer. Cunningham .gives an interesting account of 'the theatre of those days:—

The Sing's Theatre, or "The Theatre," as it was-commonly called, stood in Drury Lape, on the site of the present building, and wa3 the first theatre, as the present is the fourth, erected on the site. It was small, with few pretensions to architectural beauty, and was opened on' the Bth April, 1663, when Nell was a gir! of thirteen. . . The stage was lighted with wax candles, ot brass censers or creisela. The pit lay open to the weather for the sake of light, but was subsequently covered in with a glazed cupola, which, however," only imperfectly protected the audience, so that in stormy weather the house was thrown into disorder, and the people'in the pit were fain to rise.

: The hour, of the performances varied with the season of the year; plays began.at one in Shakespeare's time, at three in Dryderi's, at foiir in Congrove's. In 1696 the hour was four. ''lt was usual, r therefore,''. s»ya Cunningham, to dine beforehand, and when the play was over to adjourn to the Mulberry Garden, to Vauxhall or some other, place of public entertainment. The prices of admission were: Soxes, four shillings; pit, two and sixpence; middle gallery, eighteenpence; upper gallery, one shilling. The ladies in the pit wore'vizards or masks.. The middle gallery was long the favourite resort of Mr and Mrs Pepys. The upper gallery, as at present, was attended by the poorest and the noisiest. Servants in livery were admitted as soon as the fifth act commenced. With the orange girls, who stood in the pit, with-their back to the stage, the beaux about them were accustomed to break their jests and the language employed was not of the most delectable description." Nell Gwyn commenced her career as an orange girl «nd, elevated to ; the" stage, be'eame • the ' mistress' of the King. - She died on the 17th November. 1687, and was buried, at her own request,' in. 'this; Church of St. Martin 's-in-tlie-Fields. - • Dr.- Thomas Tenison, afterwards -Archbishop of Canterbury, preached her funeral sermon, but-what the good Doctor said —except that he'said "much to her one has told us. 4< The •church, was crowded—all the apprentices who could obtain leave from their

(Continued at foot of next. column.}