such loud complaints are now made,
and which is so freely charged to the account of the German theatres,
existed on the London stage before any of the German plays were
translated. I have not in my possession at this moment means of deciding
with certainty when the first made its appearance. But from an
examination of a small history of the stage, which now lies before me,
I am inclined to believe that the Stranger was among the earliest of
them, and that its first appearance was in the year 1798. One thing,
however, is absolutely certain, that not one of them was acted previous
to the year 1788: as "Egerton's Theatrical Remembrancer," published in
that year, and containing "a _complete list_ of all the dramatic
performances in the English language," makes no mention of them. If I
prove that this depraved taste existed anterior to 1788, it therefore
finally decides the question.

This, I presume, is tolerably plain and clear. I now proceed to fix a
much earlier origin for those vile slang songs. To O'Keefe they may be
fairly traced. His motley productions contained many of them, and paved
the way for the deluge of them that has since followed; for his
successful example has been too frequently copied since by other
writers.

"The Castle of Andalusia" was performed in 1782, and contains a song[6]
which, I think, fully proves my position. An audience who could not only
tolerate but applaud such rank nonsense and folly as that song, richly
deserves to be regaled even to surfeiting with Tom Gobble, and Jem
Gabble, and ribaldry of the like kind. It would indeed be "throwing
pearls before swine" to offer them such delicate effusions as are to be
found in Love in a Village, Lionel and Clarissa, the Maid of the Mill,
and the Duenna. It is hardly possible for sublimity and elegance to be
relished by persons of so depraved a taste as is necessary to hear such
trash without disgust. Were I to be called upon to make a choice, and
pronounce between O'Keefe's Galloping Dreary Dun, and Alderman Gobble,
I should give a preference to the latter without hesitation: for,
notwithstanding the detestable St. Giles's slang it contains, it has the
merit of containing something of a delineation of a character too
common, I mean that of an epicure. Whereas, "Draggle Tail Dreary Dun"
has no such recommendation to rescue it from universal execration.

DRAMATICUS.

[Footnote 6: That nonsensical song called _Galloping Dreary Dun_.]

D