These kind gentlemen address—
What tho' we forgave 'em
Still they must be lost, unless

You lend a hand to save 'em.

A

TABLE OF THE SONGS.

With the NAMES of the several COMPOSERS.

N. B. Those marked thus **, are new, both words and music but those marked thus *, are only

** Hist, soft; let's hear how matters go

Dibdin

THE

HYPOCRITE.

A

COMEDY,

ALTERED FROM C. CIBBER,

BY ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, Esq.

ADAPTED FOR

THEATRICAL REPRESENTATION,

AS PERFORMED AT THE

THEATRES-ROYAL,

DRURY-LANE AND COVENT-GARDEN.

REGULATED FROM THE PROMPT-BOOKS,
By Permission of the Managers.

"The Lines distinguished by inverted Commas, are omitted in the Representation."

LONDON:

Printed for the Proprietors, under the Direction of JOHN BELL, British-Library, STRAND, Bookseller to his Royal Highness the PRINCE of WALES.

M DCC XCII.

PREFACE.

HAD any objections been made to this play, worth taking notice of, I should be under no obligations to answer them, being accountable for none of its faults, as I lay claim to none of its beauties. Cibber's Non-Juror (borrowed from the Tartuffe of Moliere) has ever been reckoned an excellent comedy; but being written to expose a party, it was no longer interesting, because the folly and roguery it designed to ridicule no longer existed it was thought, that it might be rendered agreeable to the present times, by once more having recourse to Moliere; and, with that view, I have endeavoured to substitute his celebrated character of Tartuffe, in the room of Doctor Wolf.

Mr. Garrick determined to do this about two years ago; but, because the consequence of success would be a benefit easily gotten, he kindly put it into my hands, with some hints for the alteration. He did not think it was necessary to have any thing new, besides a short character for that entertaining comedian, Mr. Weston: Maw-worm therefore in this play is written by me, and scarce any thing more. For the rest, the character of Doctor Cantwell, as it here stands, is almost a verbal translation from Moliere, as old Lady Lambert is a counterpart of Madam Pernelle.

All the world knows, that the Tartuffe is reckoned among the Chef des Oeuvres of the French Theatre; I may therefore presume without any vanity, in spite of the ignorance and malevolence of little judges, that the man who takes two such plays as