that stage plays were not, _per se_, unlawful, and it was possible not
only to cite his retraction but also to offer the opinions of the Bishop
of Meux, who was better known to English readers than Father Caffaro.
The anonymous author of the preface to "Maxims and Reflections"
grants that dramatic poetry might, under certain circumstances, be
theoretically permissible, but rather more frankly than Collier he makes
it clear that his real intention is to urge the outlawing of the theater
itself, since all efforts to reform it are foredoomed to failure. "But
if", he writes, "the Reformation of the Stage be no longer practicable,
reason good that the incurable Evil should be cut off". That lets the
cat out of the bag.

Both pieces reprinted here are from copies owned by the University of
Michigan.

Joseph Wood Krutch
Columbia University

* * * * *


The Campaigners:
or, the
_Pleasant Adventures at_ Brussels.

A
COMEDY

As it is Acted at the _Theatre-Royal_.