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one, to grieve a parent hitherto fo indulgent.-I will not put any thing in competition with your peace; and long for the hour when the errors of the lover will be absorbed in the merits of the husband.

Cec. No, Woodville! that was, when innocent, as far above my hopes, as it is now beyond my wishes.-I love you too fincerely to reap any advantage from fo generous an error; yet you at once flatter and wound my heart, in allowing me worthy fuch a diftinction: but love cannot fubfift without efteem; and how fhould I poffefs yours, when I have loft even my own?

• Wood. It is impoffible you should ever lofe either, while fo deferving both.-I fhall not be fo eafily denied hereafter, but am bound by the caprices of others at prefent.-I am obliged to return directly, but will haften to you the very first moment; when we meet again, it must be with a fmile, remember.

Cec. It will, when we meet again.-Oh how those words op. prefs me! (afide) but do not regulate your conduct by mine, nor make me an argument with yourself, for disobeying my Lord; for here I folemnly fwear, never to accept you without the joint-confent of both our fathers; and that I confider as an eternal abjuration :but, may the favoured woman you are to make happy, have all my love without my weakness!

[Exit in tears.

The candid Reader, we imagine, will agree with us, that Mifs Lee has here managed a very nice circumftance with much addrefs and delicacy. The third act rifes in intereft, and is indeed peculiarly excellent, moft ftrictly verifying the promise in the Prologue of

a mixt intent;

Paffion and humour-low and fentiment.

The Prologue contains a hand fome compliment to the memory of Goldsmith, and some shrewd ftrictures on commonplace theatrical commentators, with which, though ourselves profeffed critics, we are not difpleafed. To the following lines we are moft partial:

Critics in vain declaim, and write, and rail:
Nature, eternal Nature! will prevail.

Give me the bard, who makes me laugh and cry,
Diverts and moves, and all, I scarce know why!
Untaught by commentators, French or Dutch,
Paffion ftill anfwers to the electric touch.
Reason, like Falstaff, claims, when all is done,
The honours of the field already won.

The Preface abounds with expreffions of gratitude to Mr. Colman, and of refentment to Mr. Harris. Some acrimonious expreffions relative to the laft-mentioned gentleman, as well as to a certain judge, had in our opinion have been better omitted.

Genus irritabile vatum!

ART.

ין

ART. X. Davies's Life of Garrick, CONCLUDED.

N our Review for Auguft, we gave, from the fources of information now before us, confirmed by our personal knowledge of the man, a general view of Mr. Garrick's amiable private character. Our Readers there faw generofity and benevolence combined with prudence and wifdom; gaiety unmixed with folly; and pleafantry, that added much to the happiness of many, without giving pain to any individual-as wit too often does, when it meets with objects for the exercise of its talents-the push of its fharp point, and the stroke of its keen edge.

In the Review for September, we fet out with our Hero on the great journey of Life; we accompanied him from the place of his birth to the metropolis of the kingdom; where we obferved him balancing in his mind the means of his future fortune, and at length, under the guidance of Nature herself, ftriking into that peculiar path by which alone, perhaps, he could be led to fuccefs, and to the enjoyment of as great a share of continued profperity as man can hope to meet with, in this empire of viciffitude.'

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To follow Mr. Garrick in the high career of his profeffional progrefs, and to point out the various fteps by which he attained the fummit of theatrical glory, were not only fuperfluous, but improper, in a Review of his History, wherein brevity must be chiefly confulted. It only, therefore, remains for us to apprize our Readers, in few words, of the variety of entertainment which they will meet with in the volumes before us-ex-. clufive of those incidents, obfervations, and criticisms, which immediately relate to the life, the character, and the inimitable performances of the British Rofcius. For,

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This work is not merely the biography of David Garrick; it is likewife, as the title-page honeftly fets forth, the hiftory of his theatrical contemporaries, interfperfed with characters and anecdotes,' and forming, in the whole, a hiftory of the stage,' including a period of thirty-fix years:an hiftory that, with all due deference to the merit of Mr. Victor's Collections, was wanting, as a continuation of Colley Cibber's very entertaining performance which he, with unufual modefty, entitled, an Apology for his own Life. Nor would, in our opinion, the good tafte of Mr. Cibber (were he still living) be at all offended by the ftyle or the remarks of his prefent continuator,

Mr. Davies introduces the theatrical part of his Hero's hiftory, with the characters of the most eminent actors in tragedy on the English stage, at the time when Mr. G. commenced player.. Among these were Booth, Wilkes, Cibber, and Quin: for

even Cibber, who has been chiefly celebrated for his comic exhibitions (in the various extent of which, our author observes, he held no equal), was much celebrated for fome parts in tragedy, for Richard III. for Iago, and Cardinal Wolfey. Ryan allo figures in this group; with Walker, the original Macheath, Milward, Delane, Hippifley, &c.

Of Cibber's prejudices in favour of the old modes of acting, which Nature and Garrick confpired to banish from the theatre, Mr. Davies gives us the following pleafant inftance:

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Colley Cibber, from whom more candour might have been ex• pected, after he had feen Garrick's Bays, which the public esteemed a mafter piece of comic humour, faid," Garrick was well enough, but not fuperior to his fon Theophilus, who had little more to recommend him in the part than pertnefs and vivacity."

'Mrs. Bracegirdle, a celebrated actress, who had left the ftage for more than thirty years before Garrick's first appearance, and was visited by many perfons of condition and tafte, thought very differently of this rifing genius. In a converfation which he had with Colley Cibber, who fpoke of him with an affected derogation, the reproved his malignity, and generously faid, "Come, come, Cibber, tell me, if there is not fomething like envy in your character of this young gentleman. The actor who pleases every body must be a man of merit." The old man felt the force of this fenfible rebuke; he took a pinch of fnuff, and frankly replied; " Why faith, Bracey, I believe you are right-The young fellow is clever."

Thus it is, generally, with age! jealous of all innovations, and apt to look upon every new mode, nay, even the greatest improvements, with a jaundiced eye! But Mrs. Bracegirdle, we fee, to her great honour, was not of that autumnal complexion.

Quin was still more piqued at the adoration that was paid to the rifing Sun. He declared," that if the young fellow was right, He, and the reft of the players, had all been wrong."

On being told that Goodman's Fields theatre was crowded every night to fee the new actor, he faid, "That Garrick was a new religion: Whitefield was followed for a time; but they would all come to church again.”

Mr. Garrick, who had a quick and happy talent in turning an epigram, gave this fmart reply to Quin's bon mot :

Pope Quin, who damns all churches but his own,

Complains that herefy corrupts the town

Schifm, he cries, has turn'd the nation's brain;

But eyes will open, and to church again!

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Thou great infallible, forbear to roar,

Thy bulls and errors are rever'd no more;

When doctrines meet with general approbation,

It is not herefy, but reformation.'

Our author has interfperfed throughout his Memoirs, a va riety of anecdotes and entertaining particulars relative to Quin; who, after reigning many years abfolute monarch of the ftage,

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was obliged, reluctantly, to abdicate the throne, and leave "the young fellow" in quiet poffeffion of it; convinced, at length, that Garrick was "right, and that the reft of the players had all been wrong."-Time, however, enabled him to get the better of his chagrin. He even grew fond of "little Davy!" and Davy conceived a very fincere regard for Quin; who, indeed, poffeffed virtues which commanded the efteem of those who intimately knew him.And here it is natural to recollect the epitaph written by Garrick for his great predeceffor, which is engraven on the monument erected to the memory of Mr. Quin, in the abbey-church at Bath: an epitaph which, fubftituting the initials D. G. inftead of James Quin,' would be equally applicable to the writer.

That tongue which fet the table on a roar,

And charm'd the public ear, is heard no more;
Clos'd are thofe eyes, the harbingers of wit,

Which fpake before the tongue what Shakespeare writ:
Cold is that hand, which, living, was ftretch'd forth
At Friendship's call, to fuccour modeft worth.
Here lies James Quin-Deign, reader, to be taught,
Whate'er thy ftrength of body, force of thought;
In Nature's happiell mold however caft,

To this complexion thou must come at last.'

We fhall now briefly follow our author through the remaining contents of his work; of which we can only note the general heads.

In the first volume, in tracing Mr. Garrick's progrefs to the temple of Fame, and the temple of Plutus, he recites his quitting the theatre in Goodman's Fields; his agreement with the patentee of Drury-Lane houfe; his expedition to Dublin (where his fuccefs on the ftage exceeded all imagination); his return to London; and the great figure he made on the English theatre, Thefe details are accompanied with critical remarks on his principal parts, particularly those highly contrafted characters, Hamlet and Abel Drugger.

In the 9th chapter we have the particulars of Mr. G.'s fecond voyage to Dublin, where, in 1744, he became joint manager with Mr. Sheridan: and here too we have an account of the first acting of Mr. Barry, the great rival of Mr. Garrick, whose merits are juftly appreciated in thefe Memoirs.-On Mr. Garrick's return to England, in 1746, he appeared on the theatre in Covent-Garden, and fhared the profits with Mr. Rich the manager.

Chap. X. gives the hiftory of a great revolution in the thea trical world, Garrick, Quin, Mrs. Cibber, and Mrs. Pritchard, at Covent Garden: what a conftellation! and Barry, Woffington, Macklin, and Clive, at Drury-Lane.-When will a London audience behold the like again? - Our author relates the

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different fuccefs of the theatres, and gives the characters of Fleetwood, Rich, and Lacy, the patentees. He alfo acquaints us with the rife of pantomime entertainments, of which Mr. Rich was the Garrick.

In the next chapter, our hero becoming, with Mr. Lacy, joint patentee of Drury-Lane theatre, Mr. Garrick, at opening the house, fpoke the celebrated prologue, written on this occa fion, by Mr. Samuel Johnfon. This piece naturally finds a place in the chapter before us.

The incidents, the anecdotes, and obfervations, comprehended in this hiftory, now rife in dignity and importance. The competition between the two Theatres-Royal grew warm indeed; but at length the genius and fortune of Garrick prevailed. Poets, as well as actors, of the first reputation, at this time filled the scene; Mr. Johnson's Irene is given to the public; and the famous Mr. Aaron Hill figures both as a dramatic writer and a manager. We have here a particular account of this fingular genius, to whofe refpectable character Mr. Davies seems to have done perfect justice.

The other dramatic writers who are celebrated in this work, befide Mr. Garrick himself, who has juftly acquired confiderable reputation in this walk of literature, are Mallet, Thomson, Browne (the estimator); Murphy, Home, Shirley, Fielding, Smollet, Ralph, Coleman, Whitehead, Cumberland, Kelly, Goldsmith, Mrs. Griffith, Mrs. Hannah More,-and particu larly, though not properly a dramatic poet, Charles Churchill, whose famous fatire the Rofciad could not but, in courfe, introduce him to a confiderable place in thefe Memoirs. The various fuccefs of their feveral productions is particularly related; and the Writer's obfervations on their refpective merits are pertinent and judicious.

Mr. Foote is here likewife celebrated, both as author and actor. He was well known to our stage historian; and the particulars which he relates concerning that graceless fon of humour, and his performances, cannot fail of agreeably gratifying the curiofity of his readers.

Befide the players already mentioned, here are memoirs relating to Meffrs. Dexter, Rofs, Moffop, Havard, Powell, Holland, Wefton, King-Mrs. Yates, Mrs. Abington, &c. &c. -The first volume brings Mr. Garrick's history down to the commencement of the prefent reign.

In the three first chapters of the fecond volume, Mr. Davies continues his narrative of theatrical tranfactions, till the year 1763, toward the clofe of which Mr. Garrick fet out on his journey to Italy; his chief motives for which are thus explained by our author:

Mr. Garrick had long meditated a journey to the continent; and I cannot but fuppofe, that the feveral disagreeable occurrences which attended

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