The Toy Shop (1735) The King and the Miller of Mansfield (1737)

The volume gathers two short theatrical afterpieces that moralize for popular audiences: one stages sales of toys and trinkets whose attributes are turned into pithy moral allegories through witty, extemporized commentary, favoring satiric observation over sustained plot; the other reshapes familiar material into a sentimental, didactic entertainment that emphasizes feeling and social instruction. Both pieces were designed as brief complements to full-length plays, employ contrasting theatrical techniques, and were widely received in performance and print during their period.