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To hear they've feveral pieces to perufe, And when I call, all answer they refuse. But fay, is't fit that mine be laid afide, To gratify their pretent author's pride? Who comes with nature, and fuch idle ftuff As please my friends above there well enough[the galleries. When 1 more bold and daring, quit all rules, [In the pompous burlesque of Tragedy.

And fcorn to draw from Clafics and the
Schools;

But bid the dreadful furges form a grave
To fink the merchant in the bankrupt

wave:"

Or when I long for fair Aurora's light,
"I am witch-ridden by the hag of night :"
Thus always keep fublimity in eye,
And fometimes lead in hand-fimplicity;
New troops, new paffages for ever raife,
With ftarts and attitudes to gain your praife;
Try every incident of trick and art,

To mend, at once, the drama and the heart, Such is my ftyle, and fuch each nervous line,

Which all my friends who read pronounce divine:

And yet thefe hoftile doors their barriers keep,

And all my labours-in my pockets fleep.
[Pointing to them.
Revenge my caute, affert each critic right,
And damn with me the author of to-night,
Whole play, tho' yet unknown, untried, unfeen,
Has felt in paragraphs an author's spleen.
But hark!-I'll tell you a fecret-'twas I
Who 'drew the thaft, and forg'd th' envenom'd
lie;

To crufh this fimple nature which he boafts, Drawn from the manners of the northern coals;

For fhould bis hope your generous plaudits mect,

I fhall be found aboard

-the Lighter feet. [dvances forward and kneels. Then hear a naletelor in blank venic, Nor be led captive, by us Gothick Erte, But urge my vengeance in the cat-call's

curie.

[Going flops, and looks around the bouje. Yet hold, methinks my words item loit in air,

And miles of candour for the hard declare;
For no o fecret influence e'er was known,
But en trumplis in berfelf alone;
As a who know ye, muft in this agree,
A bruin audience var will be free.

EPILO G U E.
By the SAM E.

Spoken by Mrs. SIDDONS,

AT length our Bark has reach'd the with'dfor more,

The winds are budi'd—but is all danger o'er ?

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If there be chance t' escape, there comes a fquall

From Lloyd's, St. James's, London or Whiteball;

Here Chronicle, like Scylla, guards the coaft, There foams Charybdis- -in the Morning Peft. Mark how they break his rudder, cut its cable,

Tear up plan, diction, fentiment and fable; Their order is an order they enjoy,

To feize, to burn, to tink, and to destroy. What wond'rous chance our author fhould furvive,

That in fuch boift'rous feas his bark's alive?
But fond ambition led the bard along,
And Syren Mules tempted with a fong;
Fame like another Circe beck'ning itood,
Way'd her fair hand, and bad hini brave the
flood.

Who could refift, when thus fhe fhew'd her charms,

Sooth'd his fond hopes, and woo'd him to her arms?

Half-rigg d-half mann'd, half leaky, yet you find,

He trick'd his frigate out, and brav'd the wind,

Your partial favour still may fwell bis fails, And fill his vellel with propitious gates: Though pepper'd with mall-fhut, and tem peft-tofs'd,

You ftill may land him on this golden coaft: Convi.c'd that thofe the futeft path puitue, Who truft their all to candour and to you.

IT. The Concious Lovers was acted at Covent Garden; Young Bevil and Indians, for the fint time, by M. Holman and Mis. Warren. Mr. Hoiman has not yet acquired eafe iuficient to perform Comedy at all, and on this occation be wa ftiff and unnatural. Mrs. Warren's erformance was above mec.. ocrity. Mrs. bington in Phillis, and M., Lewis in Tom, did great juttice to their cha

racters.

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14. Werter, a Tragedy, by Mr. Reyholds, was acted at Covent Garden for Mifs Brunton's benefit. The characters were as follow:

Werter

Sebaftian

Leuthorp

Albert

Laura

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Mifs Stuart. Charlotte Mifs Brunton. The scene lies at Walheim, where Sebaftian arrives in search of Werter. He there learns the ftory of his unfortunate attachment for Charlotte, who is betrothed to Albert.Werter, on Sebastian's remonstrances, determines to return with him to Manheim. On the night of their departure, he goes distracted, and Sebastian, to affuage him, confents to remain till the next day. In this intermediate time, Werter refolves on fuicide. Charlotte difcovers his intention, and communicates it to Sebaftian, who flies to fave his friend. Werter deceives him, and, left to himself, finishes his defign. On his death he shews the deepest remorse for his rafh action, and Charlotte goes mad.-Albert, who had reproved Charlotte for infidelity-is convinced of the falsehood of his fufpicions, and only laments he did not refign her to Wer

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This opera has for its bafis Marmontel's tale of L'amitié à l'épreuve; with this difference, that the Nelfon of the story is the Belville of the Drama, and Lady Juliet Albury, the prototype of Clara.-All the dialogue in which Belville, Blandford, Coraly and Clara, are fentimentally concerned, holds a faithful adherence to the original; or rather the tranflation; for the latter seems the most ftrictly attended to. The heroine of the tale, instead of being an Afiatic Indian, is made a native of Peru. The other characters which help to fill up this opera, are EUROP, MAG.

from the author's own invention; and in the perfons of Sir Gregory Craveall, Cripplegait, and Dry, an attempt is made to relieve the moral doctrine of Marmontel by bumour. We cannot say that the best fuccefs has attended this effort. Sir Gregory Craveall, being the half brother of Justice Greedy, is in love with a charming woman; and Dry is a character somewhat too trifling to be pourtrayed by Edwin, but which was much indebted to burlesque powers of fong.

The airs were too numerous, there being no less than thirty in the course of the performance. Most of them were new; but fome were from the Vauxhall collections in former days; among these were "I winna marry any man," &c. and a glee which terminated the fecond act, the best we ever heard of Mr. Hook's compofition. The air of " O fhe's a dainty widow," written about twenty-five years fince on a celebrated beauty of high rank, was alfo introduced; and a duet, which we cannot confider as original, because we have heard fomething too like it, in the Strangers at Home. The new airs

were in

pleafing ftile, but did not poffefs force, or any strong marks of originality. The only air which had pathetic character "O can't thou then behold unmov'd ! was, This, as well as the other airs given to Mrs. Billington, met the fulleft proofs of approbation. From this performer's abilities, more than the merits of the piece, was it attended to with avidity, and received nemine contradicente applaufe, and upon being given out, was received with pleasure.

PROLOGUE

To Captain Topham's Farce of the FOOL. Spoken by Mr. LEWIS. Written by MILES PETER ANDREWS, Efg.

IN early times, when wit was rare indeed, And few could write, as very few could

read;

Then, but to pen a couplet was to fhine,
And poetafters all were dubb'd divine;
Then Whittington and Cat went glibly down,
And Margaret's grimly Ghost secur'd renown ;
A fing-fong fcribbler, then, in want of food,
Might feast upon the Children of the Wood :
The Drama likewife fhar'd an equal, chance,
And found its fafety in its ignorance;
In number too as moderate as in worth,
One feafon hardly brought one bantling forth.
Far different now-dramatic plenty reigns;
Each threatening week teems with prolific

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While the throng'd lobby as each drama ends,

Swarms with the circling croud of critic friends.

"Well-our friend's play may do! Why, "faith, I've known

"Things rather worse than this fometimes "go down.

"Hah! Lady Fuz! now for a little chat. "How do? who's here? who's there? what's "this? what's that?"

A fine man, who but newly ris'n from diner, pops

His head in careless, as the curtain drops, And hearing only the laft fpeech or two, Boldly afferts," all this will never do;"

"We must all come to croud the Author's Then flies to Brookes's, and in half a minute

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Paints the whole piece, and fwears there's nothing in it.

Thus are the writers of our time While they, not their productions

run:

For fpite of all their store of G grammar,

If you're vociferous, echoing duns will cla

mour.

Far other patrons then the bard must court:.. The great green-grocer must his muse support; Taylors and tallow-chandlers too unite, Thofe to re-drefs him, these to lend new light.

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Such is the general fate! Our luckier bard Plays the fame game, but holds a furer card; He from fuch grand alliance feeks no fortune, His taylor's bill, perhaps, is but a fhort one; His farce too has been partly feen before; If dull at first, he adds a little more. Let then this court be merciful as strong & Our author's scenes, if languid, are not long ; Scanty of wit, to weary you he's loth, So cuts his coat according to his cloth.

THE DEATH OF PRINCE LEOPOLD OF BRUNSWICK.

THE

[Illuftrated by an ELEGANT ENGRAVING.]

HE heroic atchievements of Warriors have too long been the objects celebrated by painters and poets. The milder virtues of private life, the nobler acts of humanity, compaffion, tenderness, and benevolence, have been too much neglected. In the annexed Plate we have given a reprefentation of an event which will tranfmit the name of LEOPOLD to posterity with the admiration of mankind. On the 27th of April, 1785, he loft his life in endeavouring to relieve the inhabitants of a Village that was overflowed at Frankfort on the Oder.

The Leiden Gazette gives the following account of this unfortunate event: "We have within these few days experienced the greatest calamities by the overflowing of the Oder, which burft its banks in feveral places, and carried away houfes, bridges, and every thing that oppofed its courfe. Numbers of people have loft their lives in this rapid inundation; but of all the accidents arifing from it, none is fo generally lamented as the death of the good Prince Leopold of Brunfwick this amiable prince ftanding at the fide of the river, a woman threw herfelf at

his feet, befeeching him to give orders for fome perfons to go to the rescue of her children, whom, bewildered by the fudden danger, she had left behind her in the house: fome foldiers, who were alfo in the fame place, were crying out for help. The Duke endeavoured to procure a flat-bottomed boaty. but no one could be found to venture acros the river, even though the Duke offered large fums of money, and promifed to fhare the danger.. At laft, moved by the cries of the unfortunate inhabitants of the faburb, and being led by the fenfibility of his own benevolent heart, he took the refolation of going to their affistance himself: those who: were about him endeavoured to diffuade him from this hazardous enterprise: but touched to the foul by the diftrefs of the miferable people, he replied in the following words, which fo nobly picture his character: "What am I more than either you or they? I am a man like yourselves, and nothing ought to be attended to here but the voice of humanity." Unfhaken, therefore, in his refolution, he immediately embarked with three watermen in a small boat, and croffed

the

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