Being animated by this encouragement, in 1668, he brought another comedy
upon the stage, entitled She Would if She Could; which gained him no
less applause, and it was expected, that by the continuance of his
studies, he would polish and enliven the theatrical taste, and be no
less constant in such entertainments, than the most assiduous of his
cotemporaries, but he was too much addicted to pleasure, and being
impelled by no necessity, he neglected the stage, and never writ, till
he was forced to it, by the importunity of his friends. In 1676, his
last comedy called the Man of Mode, or Sir Fopling Flutter, came on the
stage, with the most extravagant success; he was then a servant to
the beautiful duchess of York, of whom Dryden has this very singular
expression, 'that he does not think, that at the general resurrection,
she can be made to look more charming than now.' Sir George dedicates
this play to his Royal Mistress, with the most courtly turns of
compliment. In this play he is said to have drawn, or to use the modern
cant, taken off, some of the cotemporary coxcombs; and Mr. Dryden, in
an Epilogue to it, has endeavoured to remove the suspicion of personal
satire, and says, that the character of Flutter is meant to ridicule
none in particular, but the whole fraternity of finished fops, the
idolaters of new fashions.

His words are,

True fops help nature's work, and go to school,
To file and finish God Almighty's fool:
Yet none Sir Fopling, him, or him, can call,
He's Knight o'th' Shire, and represents you all.

But this industry, to avoid the imputation of personal satire, but
served to heighten it; and the town soon found out originals to his