Mrs. Centlivre, who wrote this comedy, and of whose life a short account has been given in the remarks upon her play of "The Busy Body," ranks in the first class of our comic dramatists: for though she does not possess the repartee of Congreve or Wycherly, and her dialogue, in general, is not equal even to Farquhar's, yet she discovers such happy invention in her plots, incidents, and characters; such skill in conducting the intrigues of a comedy; such art in exciting the curiosity, the anxiety, or the mirth of her auditors, that she foils both the scholar and the wit when the comparison is limited to theatrical effect.

Congreve abandoned his occupation as a dramatist in violent anger, because his "Way of the World" appeared, and was totally neglected, at the very time that a comedy by Mrs. Centlivre was brought forth, and attracted, for thirteen nights successively, a crowded theatre.²

Merely as writers, the author of "The Way of the World," and the authoress of "The Wonder," hold distinct places among the literati; but as plays are productions that depend on action, and requireb 2[Page 4] talents of a nature, in which writing has, perhaps, the smallest share, Mrs. Centlivre has, from the time she commenced dramatic author to the present day, through all the vicissitudes of taste which have, in that period, intervened, still been more attractive on the stage than the great poet whom her success offended.

This comedy is by far her best work. In excellence of fable, strength of character, and intricacy of occurrence, it forms one of the most entertaining exhibitions the theatre can boast.

Garrick thought Don Felix³ worthy his most powerful exertions, in describing the passion of jealousy; and this character was upon the list with the favourite parts he performed.

Though the scene is in Spain,⁴ and all the manners particularly adapted to that country, "The Wonder" shows the various passions and sensations of all mankind. The very servants are objects of attention and curiosity; nor is the humour they produce ever so degraded and ludicrous, as to diminish the effect of the more refined comedy of the higher personages.⁵

Most comic writers of the present time accomplish the tedious labour of a five act drama by having recourse, alternately, to sentiment and drollery: here a long play is sustained with excursions to either; and yet, its consistency in adhering to one fixed point of entertainment, never creates satiety, nor shows a languor of invention in the author, which for a moment leaves the expectation of the auditor[Page 5] unemployed, or leaves that expectation in one single instance disappointed.

Violante, in keeping a secret, is a heroine of the very first quality. To kill a tyrant, or to kill herself, is the common furious deed of a common stage virago: but for a female to hold her tongue, is a cool act of deliberate fortitude; and nothing but the improbability of the occurrence, can lessen its value with the most severe critic.⁶

Mrs. Centlivre has somewhere said, that—"The muses, like most females, are least liberal to their own sex."⁷ She was ungrateful if she did not acknowledge her obligations to them in the composition of this work; for they presided, with no niggardly influence, over the whole production.