PREFACE. THE year 1724 gave birth to a romance, which for originality of invention, for accuracy of painting, and for utility of purpose, was not exceeded by any of the former. In the story of "Roxana," there are incidents, indeed, that cannot be welcome to a virtuous mind; but the fault is in the subject rather than in the author, whose aim is to describe human nature as it is, for the purpose of contrasting it with what it should be. This fidelity of design will not always admit of an agreeable outline; and it was the humour of De Foe to employ his pen upon those subjects that present the broad features of life in their full deformity. In ordinary cases, this would be considered a mark of bad taste; but De Foe had always some important end to legitimate his choice. He was the last man to administer fuel to a flame that he sought rather to extinguish. He never tells a story for mere amusement, nor does he go out of his way to obtrude reflections for the purpose of correcting it. His facts, however disreputable to virtue, are always subservient to it in the long run: he tells his story for the sake of the moral, which forms a constituent part, and yet so inartificially produced, as to be essential to the narrative. As a correct painter of life and manners, he was under the necessity of taking the world as he found it; as a moralist, he was desirous of leaving it better. He therefore selected those parts from the great drama that he thought most susceptible of improvement, and converted them into sources of instruction, in a form that would be most accessible to the generality of readers. His knowledge of the world had taught him, that those who would not listen to a grave discourse, might be allured by an eventful story; that whilst to the former they gave only the unwilling assent of the judgment, its exemplification would go far towards fixing it upon the heart. Such a result, however, is not to be produced by a forced delineation of the passions, nor by pictures of life that do violence to truth. These, indeed, have been the common resort of novelists, whose aim at effect has betrayed them into a departure from the ordinary operations of nature, and producing a degree of excitement that requires to be kept alive by fresh stimulants; but as the illusion vanishes the mind falls a prey to grief and disappointment. De Foe never attempts the beau ideal of human life. His characters are those of ordinary occur rence, his portraits strictly natural, and his sketches of manners exactly such as existed at the period he describes. "Roxana," like most of De Foe's narratives, has passed through several editions, but the variations in them require some distinct notice. In the second edition, De Foe was persuaded by his friend, Southern, to leave out the whole of the story relating to Roxana's daughter, Susannah; who, suspecting her relationship, contrived various expedients to throw herself in her mother's way, until she at length succeeded, and accomplished her ruin. Southern's objection, certainly a very curious one, rested upon the supposition, that the daughter's history was imaginary, whilst the rest of the story was founded upon fact. Whatever foundation there may be for this tradition, it is certain that most of the subsequent editions of the book contain the story, and it is one of the finest-wrought pictures in the work. There are some points in it that strongly resemble the case of poor Savage, whose prying curiosity was a great annoyance to his unnatural mother, but did not end so successfully. It was upon this part of Roxana's history, that Mr Godwin founded his tragedy of Fawkener, which was acted and printed in December, 1807, with the following prologue by Charles Lamb "An author who has given you all delight, Furnish'd the tale our stage presents to-night; Some of our earliest tears he taught to steal Down our young cheeks, and forced us first to feel. To solitary shores whole years confined, Who has not read how pensive Crusoe pined? The stick, due notch'd, that told each tedious day, Who has not shuddered, where he stands aghast Or joy'd not when his trembling hands unbind His stories, though rough drawn, and framed in haste, His was a various pen that freely roved In some blest interval of party strife, He drew a striking sketch from private life; A real story of domestic woe, That asks no aid from music, verse, or show, But trusts to truth, to nature, and DE FOE." Mr Godwin, in his preface to the play, remarks, "The incident on which my pro duction is founded made a strong impression on my fancy when a boy, and always rendered the book which contains it a favourite with me. The terrors of a guilty mind, haunted with mysterious fear of retribution, have seldom been more fearfully delineated.' The editions of "Roxana" printed since the death of the author, contain some variations in the matter as well as in the title. That of 1735, is called "The Life and Adventures of Roxana, the Fortunate Mistress, or most unhappy Wife." The edition of 1742, printed for H. Slater in Clement's lane, 12mo, varies again in the title, but the matter is an exact transcript of the first edition. In 1745, there appeared a new impression in 12mo, with a continuation of Roxana's life from the place where it was broken off by De Foe, until the time of her death, in 1742. It is impossible at this distance of time to say by whom it was written; no light is to be derived on this point from anything in the former part; the style certainly most strongly resembles that of the unquestionable productions of De Foe. These additions amount to about a fourth part of the work, and have been retained in the subsequent editions; but in most of them the work is printed incorrectly, and with the omission of some passages in the first edition. That of 1755, printed for H. Owen, in White Fryars, 12mo, is divided into chapters, and embellished with copper-plates; as is that published by J. Cooke, in 2 vols. 12mo, without a date. There is an edition in crown* octavo, printed uniformly with "Moll Flanders," by C. Sympson, in Stone-cutter street, Fleet Market; and there is another in small quarto, printed uniformly with "Robinson Crusoe," towards the middle of the last century.* "Roxana," in common with the other fictions of De Foe, fell into the merciless grasp of Francis Noble, a bookseller in Holborn, and a wholesale dealer in the trash then published under the name of novels. Like his other works, it was dreadfully mangled in the operation. Besides mutilating it of nearly half its contents, and suppressing some of the finest and most interesting passages, he had recourse to artifice in order to procure a sale for his broken wares. His dealings with "Moll Flanders" have been already noticed; his "Roxana" bore the following title :-" The History of Mademoiselle de Beleau: Or, the New Roxana, the Fortunate Mistress, afterwards Countess of Wintelsheim. Published by Mr Daniel De Foe; and from Papers found since his Decease, it appears was greatly altered by himself; and from the said Papers, the present work is produced. London: printed for F. Noble, &c. 1775." 12mo. As De Foe left no such papers as are here mentioned, it required no small stock of effrontery to publish the falsehood. Yet from these mutilated editions, so imposed upon the public, those which have since appeared, seem to have been chiefly copied. The history of the beautiful Roxana, continues Mr Wilson, in the original dress that De Foe bestowed upon it, is one of those rare efforts of genius that occasionally blaze upon the world, to relieve it from the surrounding dullness. In rich natural painting, combining all the charms of simplicity with the most exquisite pathos, it is surpassed by none of his preceding works, and it is the subject only that renders it less acceptable than "Robinson Crusoe." The genius that inspired the one, has put forth the same eriergies in the other, producing an equally striking effect, and illustrating alike the peculiar talents of the writer. Although the incidents that compose this instructive narrative derive all their interest from the contrivances of the writer, yet we may believe him when he says, "That the foundation is laid in truth of fact." It is not improbable that the original * The latter work has the following imprint: "London: printed for R. Crusoe, Junior, and may be had of all the persons who serve newspapers and subscription books. 1742. It has some rude wood-cuts. of the picture may have had an existence in the gay court of Charles II; but be this as it may, it is certain that the effect is greatly heightened by her being made to tell her own story. In this, indeed, consists its magical influence, persuading the reader that he is conversing with the very person, and receiving from her own lips the recital of her misfortunes. Although "Roxana" has passed under the same ban of proscription as "Moll Flanders," yet there is an essential difference in the character of the two stories. The latter is an epitome of vice in low life, exhibiting the homely features of the class to which she belongs. Roxana, on the contrary, is a high bred courtezan. She is just such a sort of person as may be supposed to have figured in the gay and licentious days of Charles II; when a thorough-bred loyalist, whether in court or city, would have thought it a breach of good manners to be considered better than his prince. It is true, that in the empire of vice, the moralist knows no distinction of ranks. In its personal consequences, the rich and the poor meet upon one common ground, and the more eminent the station, the more baneful is the influence; but it is equally true, that in proportion to the refinements of life, its exhibition will be usually more or less disgusting. In Roxana, we have a portraiture of manners in the upper classes of society; whilst her maid, Amy, who performs a minor part in her adventures, belongs to the same class as Moll Flanders |