The Adventures of Roderick Random

Earl Sheerwit’s Recommendation to Mr. Marmozet

In conversation with Mr. Marmozet, Melopoyn is astonished and pleased to learn that Earl Sheerwit has spoken very warmly in praise of the tragedy and has even sent Mr. Marmozet the copy, with a message expressing a desire that he act in it the next season. Marmozet, far from being backward, commends the piece in terms so flattering that Melopoyn declines to repeat them, and assures him that he will appear in it, provided he is engaged to play at all during the ensuing season. In the meantime, Marmozet asks leave to peruse it in the country, where he intends to remove the next day, in order to have leisure to consider and mark such alterations as may be necessary for its representation, and takes Melopoyn’s direction so that he may communicate his observations by letter.

Mr. Marmozet’s Evasive Abandonment of the Play

Six weeks elapse, and Melopoyn is at a loss to reconcile Marmozet’s silence with his promise of writing within ten days of his departure. A letter at last arrives, stating that Marmozet has made remarks on the tragedy which he will freely impart at a meeting, and advising him to lose no time in placing the play in the hands of the manager who has the best company, since Marmozet himself is entirely uncertain whether or not he shall be engaged that winter. A friend whom Melopoyn consults interprets this as a plain indication of Marmozet’s wish to escape from his promise: his pretended uncertainty about acting next winter is a scandalous evasion, for he is already engaged, or in terms, with Mr. Vandal, and his design is to disappoint Melopoyn in favour of a new comedy he has purchased from its author and intends to bring upon the stage for his own advantage.

CAPÍTULO LXIII.

Chapter LXIII continues the narrator’s account to Mr. Random of his ill-fated attempt to bring his tragedy to the stage, detailing Mr. Marmozet’s deceptive conduct, the rejections by managers Vandal and Brayer, the eventual ruinous consequences of his literary pursuits, and his present imprisonment.

Harsh Criticism of Mr. Marmozet

A friend of the narrator launches a severe attack on Mr. Marmozet’s moral character, his remarks so harsh that the narrator begins to suspect him of personal prejudice and resolves to guard against his insinuations.

Marmozet’s Contradictory Remarks and Counsel

Upon his return to town, Marmozet treats the narrator with unusual courtesy and shares his objections to the play, which prove more unfavorable than expected; after the narrator answers them, Marmozet expresses high approbation, but contradictorily forgets his earlier statements about Earl Sheerwit’s opinion and admits his influence with Mr. Vandal is too weak alone to stage a new piece, advising the narrator to seek the earl’s recommendation instead.

Deception of Earl Sheerwit by Marmozet

Through the worthy gentlewoman intermediary, the narrator learns that Earl Sheerwit will send a message to the manager provided Vandal is unengaged, but is startled to discover that Marmozet, before advising this application, had already informed the earl that the play was altogether unfit for the stage.

Marmozet’s Misrepresentation to Manager Vandal

Marmozet promises to inquire of Vandal, then tells the narrator that Vandal is free of engagements, has placed the play in his hands, and will receive a message from Earl Sheerwit in its favor, requesting the narrator to call for an answer in three days.

Vandal’s Initial Agreement and Subsequent Rejection of the Play

Vandal acknowledges receiving the manuscript from Marmozet but denies that any mention of Earl Sheerwit was made; after learning the circumstances, he agrees to read the tragedy forthwith, professing he would not reject it against the earl’s opinion, but when the narrator returns at the appointed time, the manager pronounces the play improper for the stage and rejects it with groundless and unintelligible objections.

Narrator’s Growing Suspicion of Marmozet’s Betrayal

Plunged from hope into despondence, the narrator begins to entertain doubts of Marmozet’s integrity upon recollecting and comparing the circumstances of his conduct, a suspicion strengthened by reports that Earl Sheerwit has spoken of Marmozet’s character with contempt and resented his opposing his own taste to his lordship’s concerning the tragedy.