 The Old Debauchees , originally titled The Despairing Debauchee , appeared with The Covent @-@ Garden Tragedy on 1 June 1732 . The play ran for six nights and was later paired with The Mock Doctor . The play was later revived to attack Catholics during the disputes with the Stuarts between 1745 and 1746 . The play alludes to the 1731 trial of Father Girard , a Jesuit tried for using magic during an attempted seduction / rape of a young girl . The nature of the attacks against Catholicism within the play undermines the overall humour of the play . 
