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 THE 
 
 Roman and EngTiJb 
 
 COM E D Y 
 
 Considered and Compar'd. 
 
 with R E M A R K s on the 
 
 SUSPICIOUS HUSBAND. 
 
 AND 
 
 An Exam EN into the Merit of the prefent 
 COMIC ACTORS. 
 
 By S. F o o T E, Efq-, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for T. Waller, in Eeei-ftreet, 1747.^ 
 [ Price Om Shilling, } 
 
 50430
 
 (3) 
 
 fl3r 
 
 THE 
 
 Roman and Englijb 
 
 COMEDY 
 
 Consider'd and Compar'd. 
 
 ROM the Indulgence fliewn to 
 my Treatife on the Paffions, in 
 whieh I have confider'd the Merit 
 of the Tragic A dors only, I have 
 been encouraged to extend that Dcfign ; and 
 now venture to prefent the Pubhc with my 
 Judgment on fuch of their Theatrical Ser- 
 vants, as have diftinguiflied themfclves in 
 G>medy. 
 
 A 2 But
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 But In order to eftablifh my Credit with the 
 Reader, it may not be amifs previoufly to ob- 
 viate an Objedion or two, that have been made 
 to my Criticifm on the Charadler of Lear, 
 
 I have been condemned for impeaching Mr. 
 Garrkk*s Manner of clofing the Curfe, at the 
 End of the firft A61, with Tears ; and that 
 becaufc Shakefpear (who bed knows his own 
 Meaning) has by the following Expreffioh 
 dilated fuch a Behaviour to the A6tor, 
 
 / am ajham^df 
 - ^at thou had Power tojhake my Manhood thus, 
 'ithat thefe hot Tearfy which break from me 
 perforce, &c. 
 
 This Obfervation, prima facie, has, I muft 
 own, a tolerable Afpedt ; but if thefe Critics 
 had been a litde more minute in their Enqui- 
 ries, they would foon have difcovered, that 
 thefe Words have no Relation to any Part of 
 the Anathema, but allude to a Paflage that im- 
 mediately fucceeds it : 
 
 Go, go, my People, " 
 
 The poor old King, enfeebled by Age, and his 
 
 Spirits
 
 (s) 
 
 Spirits almofl: exhaufted by the Rage and Vio- 
 lence of the preceding Paffion, in attempting 
 to recover from the Pofture of Kneeling, flag- 
 gers, and is ready to fall 5 at that Jundure, re- 
 ceiving the Affiftance of his Attendants, it oc- 
 curs to his Mind, that he is foon to be depri- 
 ved of their Service, and they of his Protedlion, 
 either of which Refledlions are fufficient to 
 alter the Mode of the Mind, render the Tran- 
 fition from Rage to Tendernefs natural, and 
 account for the Faffage that has occafioned this 
 Difpute. , ' 
 
 This Queftion being (I flatter myftlf^ pretty 
 well fettled, I am at Liberty to purfue the 
 Defign of the prefent Treatife, which is to 
 draw a Comparifon between, Antient and Mo- 
 dern Gomedy, and determine to which the 
 Preference is due : To this I {hall add fomc 
 Obfervations on the Comic A<flors of theprefenc 
 Age. , ; 
 
 The firft Defign of Dramatic Poetry, was 
 to amend the HeaM, improve the Underltand- 
 ing, and, at the fame Time, pleafe the Imagi- 
 nation. To Tragedy, one Species of the 
 Drama was allotted, the Defcription of thofe 
 Paflions, which, when loofe and ungovcrned, 
 re productive of the moft terrible Confe- 
 
 quences
 
 (6) 
 
 quences on the one Hand ; but if, on the o- 
 ther, th y are kept within proper Limits, and 
 chufe Realon for their Guide and Direflor, 
 they become highly conducive to the Happi- 
 nefs of Mankind. To Comedy was afligned 
 the Corredion of Vices and Follies of an inferior 
 fort. 
 
 In the firfl Inftance, we are taught, by a 
 Collcdion of fatal Events, to avoid Ruin and 
 Mifery ; in the laft, by a Reprefentation of 
 fafhionable Foibles, and particular extrava- 
 gant Humours, to (bun Ridicule and Abfur- 
 dity. 
 
 Sir Richard Steele has apologized for his 
 Mixture of the Tragic with the Comic, by 
 faying, that there is a fort of Diftrefs too mean 
 for Tragedy, and which fas it would be cruel 
 to deprive the Werld of fuch ufeful Leflbns) 
 ought to have a Place in Comedy. 
 
 Did Tragedy owe its Effence to the Adven- 
 tures and Misfortunes of People in High Life 
 only. Sir i??V)&Ws Argument might have fome 
 "Weight : But it is the Dfftrefles, not the Si- 
 tuations of Mankind, that are its Objedls : If 
 the Incidents are truly interefting, and the 
 
 Story
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 Story afFeding the Rank and Quality of theP<?r- 
 fon^e are of no great Confequence. 
 
 Suffer me now to direfb your Obfervatlon to 
 thofe amongfl: the Ancients, who are moft 
 diftinguifhed for their Skill and Excellence in 
 Dramatic Poetry. As Sophocles^ Euripides, and 
 Seneca, are the Chiefs of the Epic, To are 4ri' 
 fiophanes, Mcenander, Plant us, and Terence, a- 
 mongft the Comic. 
 
 It was the Pradbice of the Comic Poets, till 
 the Time of Mcenander, to cxpofe on the Stage, 
 by real Names, fuch of their Fellow- Cirizc;ns 
 as had diftinguifhed themfelves for any emi- 
 nent Vice or Folty : But the univerfai Cor- 
 niption and Degeneracy of fubfequent Ages, 
 having rendered that Cuftom both ufelefs and 
 dangerous, Mcenander introduced the Method 
 of expofing real Vices by the Afliftancc of 
 feigned Charafters. But as the Works of this 
 Author have fallen a Sacrifice to Barbarifm and 
 Ignorance, we are obliged to the Confeflion of 
 Terence, and the Obfervations of Cafar, for all 
 the Knowledge we have of his Excellence. And 
 if the Judgment of the latter may be relied 
 on, Mcenander was happy in the Poffeffion of 
 every Requifite that can delight and improve 
 an Age. 
 
 Terence
 
 (8) 
 
 'Terence has been faid to be but a fervile 
 Copier of this Greek Writer ; but as the Co- 
 medies of the latter are loft, we have a R'ght 
 to treat the former as an Original, efpecially as 
 he is propofed by our own Critics, who defpifc 
 and decry all modern Produflions. 
 
 Non quia Crajfe illepideve putetur 
 Sed quia nuper^ 
 
 as the Standard of Dramatic Perfedion : But 
 as I have not all that Veneration for" Antiquity, 
 I Ihall take the Liberty to examine his Works 
 with the fame Freedom, as if he had lived but 
 in the Diys of Bryden ; and if upon Enquiry I 
 can difcover, that any Writer of our own Time 
 has excelled him, I (hall , pay him the fame 
 Honour, as if he and Homer had been Cotem- 
 poraries. Were I not apprifed of the ridicu- 
 lous Methods made ufe of by thofe who are 
 appointed to inftrufl the Youth of this Nation 
 in the Dead Languages, I fhould be aftonifhed 
 at the abfurd Prc-pofleflions and Prejudices that 
 moft Men entertain in Favour of the antient 
 Writers. 
 
 A Claffic is read only to be admired, a Mo- 
 dern Writer only to be condemned. I believe 
 
 I
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 1 have more reafon to blame this unaccountable 
 Partiality, than mod Men ; for to it I owe two 
 Corredions in one Day, in the Morning I was 
 jerk*d for reading a Comedy of Congreve*s, and 
 in the Afternoon was again turn'd up for not 
 being prepared in a bawdy Scene, between the 
 two Maids in the Eunuch of Terence. If then 
 In my Enquiry into the Reafbns, why what 
 is wrong in one Writer, (hould be fanclified in 
 another, I betray any Bitternefs or Ill-nature, 
 I hope the Reader will lay the Defeat of my 
 Brain to the Fault of my B , for I 
 
 Cannot but remember fuch things were^ 
 And, were maft grievous to me. 
 
 But to our Purpofe. 
 
 Terence (as I have before obferved) is faid 
 to have pirated all his Plots and Charadlers from 
 Mcenander ; nor has Plautus lefs Oblig:.tion to 
 N the Greek Writers than Terence *, but as their 
 Geniufes were different, they have been fuccefs- 
 ful in different Imitations. 
 
 Plautus, from the luxuriant Pleafantry of 
 his Imagination, has been moil happy in hit- 
 ting the Humour, or vis comica^ of his Mafter. 
 Terence, from the Corrednefs of his Judgment, 
 B and
 
 ( 10 ) 
 
 and Chaftlty of his Manner; molt fortunate 
 in the Condufl of his Plot, and Purity of his 
 Dialogue. But as this Gentleman is the cri- 
 tical Bell-weather, let us be a little .more mi- 
 nute in our Enquiries after him. ' And firft for 
 his Fable. 
 
 There is fuch a tirefome Samenefs in the 
 Plots and Incidents of Terence, that the Man 
 'who has read his firft Comedy, maybe fairly 
 faid to have read them ail. 
 
 Nor is he lefs barren in his Charafters. Two 
 doating old Fools have a "Brace of fenfelefs 
 Cubs for their Sons ; the latter have a fmart 
 Servant allowed them, who has Wit enough to 
 gull the old Gentlemen, and dire6t the young 
 ones ; A Girl, who oftentimes exifts in Name 
 only, is the Objed of young Mafters Affedi- 
 ons ; but coming from the Lord knows where, 
 and being the Lord knows who, why the 
 Marriage is either impeded, or elfe great Per- 
 plexity and Diftradion refults from it ; but, 
 however, it turns out at laft, by the Means of 
 a Nurfe, that Mifs is a Citizen, a Friend's 
 Daughter, perhaps ; fo the Cafket and Trin- 
 kets are produc'd, and all Matters made eafy. 
 This is the general Plan and Plot : And as 
 to what is called Humour in Comedy, the 
 
 beft
 
 (II) 
 
 beft Half of Mcenander^ I can only fay with 
 Cajar, - ' 
 
 JJtimm ut a^iunia. 
 
 And here it may not be improper to exa- 
 mine, what is, or ought to be meant, by the 
 Words Cbara^ers of Humours. 
 
 There is fcarce a Play-follower, or Dabler 
 in Criticifm, but has that Expreflion conitantly 
 in his Mouth ; and yet not one in five hundred 
 of them, has a determinate Idea of what it 
 means j fome mi (lake Wit for it, others Buf- 
 foonry, ^c. t^c. Perhaps my Judgment may 
 be as wrong as theirs,^ but as it will affift my 
 prefent Enquiries, give me Leave to be abfo- 
 lute in my Definition of, and Diilindion be- 
 tween, the Humourill, and M.ui of Hu- 
 mour. 
 
 In my Senfe, then, thefe Charaders fhould 
 be never feparated : The fir ft: is the Perfon to 
 be expofed, and that by the Means and Afiift- 
 ance of the lafl: ; the latter we laugh witli, .but 
 at the former. ^ 
 
 The Humourift is a Man, who, from fom^ 
 
 Extravagance, or 'Difeafe of the Mind, is al- 
 
 B 2 ways
 
 ( 12 )' 
 
 Ways faying or doing fomething abfurd and ri* 
 diculous -, but at the fame Time is firmly per- 
 fuaded, that his Actions and ExprcfTions are 
 exaflly proper and right. And fo abfolutely 
 requifite is this laft Circumftance, to the Con- 
 ftitution of a Humourift, that a very elegant 
 and judicious Writer, has made it the Marie by 
 which you are to diftinguiih him ; as Ridicule 
 (fays he) is the Teft of Truth, lb is Gravity of 
 Humour. , 
 
 The Man of Humour, on the other Hand 
 is always joyous and pleafantj the Humourift 
 is his Food -, like the Carrion and Crow, they 
 are never afunder ; it is to the Labour and 
 Pleafiintry of the former, that you are in- 
 debted for all the Entertainment you meet with 
 in the latter. 
 
 That this Hypothecs may not appear [alto- 
 gether groundlefs, caft yout Eye on Lappet and 
 the Mijer, on Gnatho and ^hrafo^ almoft the 
 only Charafter of Humour in the Author be- 
 fore us, and then tell me, whether you are not 
 obliged for your Knotvledge of, and Laughter 
 at, the Curmudgeon and Miles Gloriofus, to 
 the Addrefs and Skill of the pert Chamber- 
 maid, and obfequious artful Condu<5l of the 
 Flatterer, 
 
 If.
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 If, then, this be an accurate Account of the 
 Charaders in queftion, you mail be content to 
 go without them in all the Plays of Terence ^ 
 except the Eunuch and Heaiitoniimoruvmios^ and 
 depend on Plot, Incident, and Language, for 
 your Entertainment. 
 
 Our next Search muft muft be into Tthe Ex* 
 cellence of Terence's Dialogue ^ and here, I 
 believe, we muft agree with C^far, that 
 he is, 
 
 Puri fermonis omatQr ^ 
 
 tliat is, that he is elegant in his Didlion, chafte 
 in his Expreffion, and, if it be any Merit in 
 the Writer of a living Language, gramatically 
 juft. 
 
 I don't know whether this Oblervation or 
 Objedion (call it which you will j be juft, but 
 I can't help thinking, that we Moderns have 
 improved on this chief Excellence of the Latin 
 Poet. Pray can you diftinguifli any great 
 Difference in his Dialogue ? Is not the Lan- 
 guage of the. one, the Language of all ? If 
 there be any Difference, the polite Side is in 
 Favour of the Servant : However, as Terence 
 
 him-
 
 ( 14) 
 
 himfclf was but a Libertus, this Partiality may 
 be pardonable. 
 
 I think I can difcern in the Englifh Poets a 
 Unity of Dialogue, unattended to by the An- 
 tients. I cannot conceive that you may ex- 
 change one fingle Word in the humourous 
 Charader of Vanburgh, for a better : Each Man 
 has a Language peculiar to himfelf, and what 
 indeed is the Language of that Charadler in the 
 World, 
 
 I can*t fay, the Manners of our Comedies 
 are altogether fo chafte as thofe of lennce-^ 
 but this may, in a great Meafure, depend on 
 the different Taftes of different Ages ; and 
 though I own a Poet's Views ihould not be con- 
 fined to the narrow Limits of his own Time or 
 Country j yet as it has been generally the MiC- 
 fortune of thefe Gentlemen to want fomething 
 more fubftantial than Applaufe, their Poverty 
 muft be their Apology. 
 
 Of even this Circumftance do different Ages 
 judge differently. A young Lady fquawling 
 out behind the Scenes, in the extreme Pangs of 
 I,abour, did not Ihock the Delicacy of the 
 Roman Matrons, but was a modern Poet to in- 
 troduce a 
 
 Jum
 
 ( 15) 
 
 Juno Lucina fer opem, 
 
 I very much doubt, whether that fingle In- 
 cident would not damn his whole Piece. 
 
 I think I can raife , an Objedion or two 
 to the extreme Chaftity of this Writer : 
 The 
 
 ' 
 
 ^id turn fatue, 
 
 after the Defcription of the fuppofed Eunucb*i 
 preparing to commit a Rape, is very near as 
 exprefllve, as the Relation itfelf would have 
 been ; at lead the Imagination has a pretty 
 good Subjedt to work upon : A double En- 
 tendre may be negledled, but that Mind muft 
 be phlegmatic indeed, that does not proceed 
 beyond the turn, and guefi at the fubfequent 
 Bc^haviour of the lufty foever. And, pray, 
 what is your Judgment of the Chambermaid's 
 Nihil Pojfe, in her Defcription of a Eu- 
 nuch. 
 
 But, however, as it was abfolutely neceflary 
 that the Audience fliould be acquainted with 
 the feveral Circumftances that compofe the a- 
 bove Scene, I believe few Writers would have 
 
 expreflcd
 
 ( i6 ) 
 
 cxpreffed the fame Thcraghts, with the fame 
 Diilicacy ; therefore let lerence enjoy a Reputa- 
 tion which our modern Poets fby their Prac 
 ticc) don't envy him. 
 
 But before I quit this Author,' I ought, in 
 common Juftice, to take notice of a Charadt- 
 cr, which though not abfolutely complete, yet 
 is pofleflcd of fome Qualities, that were it c- 
 riginal, would give the Writer a Rank, which 
 his Cotemporaries have thought fit to deny 
 him. 
 
 The Charader I mean, is the Thrafo of the 
 Eunuch. The Out-lines of this Charafler are 
 the fame with the Miles Gloriofus of Plauius, 
 and the Bully-Back of Congreve : And though 
 I muft confefs, in the general Condudl of the 
 Charadlers. he is excelled by both his Rivals, 
 yet in one Inftance, he is at leaft equal to ei- 
 ther of them. 
 
 Tkrafo, in Confequence of a Prefent made 
 to a Courtefan, called Ihais^ was, by Corn- 
 pad, entitled to the fole and undifturbed Poflef- 
 fion of that Lady for three Days. 
 
 PhcsJria^ the fine Gentleman of the Comedy, 
 had poffeffed the Perfon, and ftiil preferved the 
 
 AfFedion
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 AflTedion of Thais. At his Requeft the Cap- 
 tain was excKided before the expiration of his 
 Term ; in order to revenge this Infult, Tbrafa 
 martials all his Donieftics, from Gnatho to the 
 Scullion, and leads them to attack the Manfion 
 of Thaisy from whom he intends, by Force, to 
 recover the Girl he had given her. 
 
 Bat as from a Recital of this P-iflage, we can 
 fcapce do Juftice to the Merit of the Author, 
 and I don't recoiled, that the Spirit of 
 this Scene has been preferved by any of his 
 Tranflators, I Ihall takj the Liberty to prefent 
 you with my Conception of the whole Inci- 
 dent. 
 
 ACT IV. SCENE VII. 
 
 Enter Ihrafo, as General -, Gnatho^ Lieute- 
 nant-General ; with Grooms, Cooks, Scullions, 
 C5?f . ^c, &c. for private Men. 
 
 Tbra. What! and (hall I pocket fo grofs an 
 Indignity ? hey ! Gnatho ? No, e're that be 
 faid, welcome grim Death. Simalio, Donan, 
 Syrifius^ follow your Leader ; I will firft ftorm 
 her Citadel. 
 
 Gna. Right. 
 
 Tbra. Then feize upon my Captive. 
 
 C Gna.
 
 ( i8 ) 
 
 Gfta. By all Means, 
 
 ^ra. And as to the Harlot herfctf, her 
 Punifhment fhall be proportioned to her 
 Crime. 
 
 Ga. Equitable. 
 
 Tbra. Domn, to your Direflion I commit 
 the Van : You, SimaliOj are to command the 
 Left Wing ; and you, SyrifcuSy the Right. But 
 where's Lieutenant Sanga ? 
 
 Sang. Here I be. 
 
 Thra. What's that thou Iqueezefl in thy 
 Paw, a Difliclout? Death, Daftard, doftthott 
 think we fight with Dilhclouts ? 
 
 Sang. Being convinced of your Honour's 
 Valour, and the Courage of your Soldiers, I 
 gueffed that this Affair would not end without 
 BloodQied, fo I brought this Difliclout to wafh 
 their Wounds. 
 
 7hra. Where are the Remainder of my 
 Troops ? 
 
 Sang. Troops ! the Devil of any body li 
 at home, but old Sannioy to take Care of the 
 Houfe. 
 
 ^bra^ Do you, Sanga, draw up the Forces, 
 whilfl: I retire to the Rear, from whence my 
 Orders fhall be ifTued. 
 
 Gna. There's a mafterly Stroke ; confcious 
 that the Succefs of an Army depends on the 
 Security of the General, he curbs his Valour, 
 
 and.
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 and, for the fake of his Soldiers, retires to a 
 Place of Safety. 
 
 Tbra. In this I condefcend to imitate the 
 great Pirrhus. 
 
 The Cowardice and Vanity of this Behaviour 
 and Expreflion, are as llrong and delicate 
 Marks of Charafber, as can be met with in any 
 Writer i to which if you add the bluftering 
 Behaviour of Thrafi before the Entrance of 
 Tbais^ and the Pufillanimity and Cowardice of 
 his fubfequent Conduft, I believe that you will 
 confefs, that the whole Scene is fupported with 
 great Spirit, Propriety, and Humour. 
 
 rhave now finilhed my Obfervations on Tif- 
 rence, and Ihall haflen to an Examination of 
 thofe Writers of this Nation, who are fuppofed 
 capable of contending for the Palm with this 
 Hero of Antiquity. With which then (hall I 
 begin, with Sbakejpear, Jobn/on, or thofe of 
 later Date .? Or fuppofe, as our 'Comic Genii 
 ^re fo various, we were firft to enumerate the 
 feveral Rules required in a Comedy, and op- 
 pofe (occafionally) our own Writers to each o- 
 ther, and all to the Antients. 
 
 To begin then with the Unities of Ariji^ky 
 
 which regard Time, Place, and Action , to 
 
 C 2 which
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 which we have added another, difregar^ed by 
 the Writers of other Countries, Unity of Cha- 
 rafler. 
 
 The Rules prefcribed by thefe Unities are, 
 that your Time be limited to a natural Day ; 
 your Place unchanged ^ and your Aclion finglc. 
 The fourth Unity requires, that your Charader 
 be preferved to the End in every Circumftance i 
 and that he neither fay, or do, any thing that- 
 might as well have been faid, or done, by any 
 other Perfon of the Play. 
 
 As to the Unities of Time, Place, and Adion, 
 I cannot fay that we have ftridly attended to 
 them, unlefs in fome particular Inftances j fuch 
 as the Alchymifi^ and moft of the Plays of 
 Johnfon, Sbakefpear*s Merry Wives of Windfor j 
 to which I might add fome others ; but, in ge- 
 neral, thefe Bonds do not hit the Tafte and 
 Genius of the free-born luxuriant Inhabitants of 
 this Ifle : They will no more bear, a Yoike ii^ 
 Poetry than Religion. 
 
 No political nor critical Monarch lliall give 
 Laws to them : They have indeed fometimes 
 given Proofs, that they do not defpife thefe 
 Mandates of Arijiotle, becaufe it is not in their 
 Capacity to comply with them, but becaufe 
 
 they
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 they will not be indebted to any other Country 
 for what they can obtain witiiout its Aflitl- 
 ance. 
 
 I dp not believe, that it ever was in the 
 Power of Man, to famifli out a more elegant, 
 pleafing, and intereftmg Entertainment, than 
 ^bake/pear has, in many Inftances, given us, 
 without obferving any oie Unity, but that of 
 Charader ; his adhering to that alone, with tliQ 
 Variety of his Incidents, the Propriety of his 
 Sentiments, the Luxu^iancy of his Fancy, and 
 the Purity and Strength of his Dialogue, have 
 produced, in one Inftance alone, more Matter for 
 Delight and Inftruftion, than can be colL-v^ed 
 from all tlie flarv'd, ftrait-lac'd Brats, that e^. 
 very other Bard has producM. Can then our 
 Contempt and Refentment be too ftrongly ex* 
 'prcflfed againft that iniblent French Panegyrift^ 
 who firil denies Shakefpear ajmoft every Dra- 
 matic Excellence, and then, in his next Play, 
 pilfers from him almoft every capital Scene. 
 I ,et thofe who want to be informed of this 
 Man, and this Truth, read the Mahomet of 
 Voltaire i and compare it with the Mackbetb of 
 Shakefpear^ to this a4d Cif you have Patience) 
 a Perufal of his Letters, you will then have, at 
 one View, the Zoilus and the Plagiary, the 
 
 carping
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 carping fuperficial Critic, and the low paltry 
 Thief. But to proceed : 
 
 The next Requifite, to an Obfervation of 
 the Unities, Cif we allow it a Requifitej is the 
 fim qua non^ the Eflfence of Comedy, Hu- 
 mour i and in this Particular we ftand un- 
 rivalM ; no Nation has more Comedies, no Co- 
 medies more diverfified humourous Charaflers. 
 
 This may indeed, in a great Meafure, be 
 owing to the Nature of our Conftitution, and 
 the Completion of our Inhabitants. 
 
 In France^ one Coxcomb is the Reprefenta- 
 tion of the whole Kingdom. In England fcarce 
 any two are alike. I don* t know but this Va- 
 riety of Humour may, in a great Meafure, de- 
 rive its Source from Vanity. Property, with 
 us, is fo equally difFufed, that the Difiihdlions 
 arifing from it are very trifling. In order 
 then to procure a Pre-eminence, we have re- 
 courfe to particular Singularities, v/hich, though 
 at firft affedled, are at laft by Habit fo clofely 
 rivited to the Mind, as to make it impofllbla 
 for the PolTeflbr ever to diveft himfelf of 
 it. 
 
 No
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 No Writer more abounds with Charaflers of 
 this Caft, than Congreeve ; and had his Execu- 
 tion been equal to his Imagination, he would 
 have had a juft Title to be rank'd with the 
 foremoft of our Comic Poets. All his Hu- 
 mourifts are well fketch'd, and generally well 
 begun, but ill conduced. The Author, from 
 an Impatience to fhow his own Wit, throws it 
 into the Mouths of Charaders, who are not, 
 in Propriety, entitled to an Atom. 
 
 And this is, indeed, the Failing of all young 
 Writers : They jump at the Shadow, and lofe 
 the Subftance : The main Article is neglected, 
 and their Purfuit directed after Point, An- 
 tithelis, and, what is called, fine Wri^ 
 ting. 
 
 Wit is not what it has been by many ima- 
 gined to be, the Eflence of Comedy; fo far 
 from it, that it is of no Ufe, but as it is fub- 
 fervient to Charafter. 
 
 And from this Miftake it happens, that the 
 Quality which chiefly recommends the Works 
 of Mr. Congreeve, to the Obfervation of the 
 Million, is the very Circumftance that di- 
 
 minifhes
 
 minilhes his Excellence with the Judici- 
 ous;. 
 
 Onr next Enquiry muft be directed after the 
 Plots and Incidents of the Moderns : And in 
 thtfe Indances we are as various as in our Cha- 
 radicrs. 
 
 There feems to have been always a Trial of 
 Skill amongft the Anticnts, which fliould write 
 beft on the fame Subjedt. The Story of Me- 
 dea, Hercules, &c. are the Objefts of all their- 
 Tragedies. Their Want of Variety in Comedy 
 I have before objeded to. 
 
 That the Antients were more chafte in the 
 Conduft of their Plots, I fhall readily allow. 
 Immoralities of all kinds have met with a 
 favourable a Reception on the Englijh Stage, 
 Collier*^ Complaint was but too juft. The 
 Want of Decency, both of Expreflion and 
 A6lion, is an Objedtion that may with Juftice 
 be made to even our beft Comedies. There 
 are fome kinds of Vice that it is impro- 
 per to exhibit, though with a View of punifh- 
 ing. What kind of Apology then can be 
 made for thofe Writers, who have not only 
 been fo imprudent as to introduce it, but, at the 
 fame time, have dared to reward it. 
 
 The
 
 ( 2i ) 
 
 The moft blameable of all our Play-writers 
 in this Inftance, are Congreeve and Vanhurgh, 
 Nay, the latter, as if diftrufting his own Ta- 
 lents for the Advancement of Wickednefs, has 
 called in to his AfTiftance, the moft immoral 
 Tlay that ever difgraced the Englijh Stage, the 
 Confederacy of Dancour ; in which all the Men 
 are Rogues, and all the Women as bad. The 
 principal Perfonage is the Son of a Bawd, who 
 after having robbed his Mother, impofed him- 
 felf on the World in a ficlltious Charadter, and 
 committed Adlions which had defervedly doom- 
 ed him to the Gallows, is at laft made happy 
 in the Pofleflion of a great Beauty and For- 
 tune. 
 
 The Moral of this pretty Piece is, then, that 
 be difobedient, difhoneft, or any thing but vir- 
 tuous, and you fliall not fail of being re- 
 warded. 
 
 But thefe Digrefllons have drawn me beyond 
 my purpos'd Length , I (hall therefore cloie 
 my Obfervations with a few general Remarks 
 on the peculiar Excellencies of our principal 
 Comic Writers. 
 
 D ' Ben
 
 (26) 
 
 Ben fohnfon is moft fuccefsful in his Plots, 
 Congreeve in his Charaflers, and Vanburgh in, 
 his Dialogue. The former poflfefled moft Know- 
 ledge and Judgment, the fecond moft Fancy 
 and Fire, the laft moft Propriety, Eafe, and 
 Elegance. The firft, in order to preferve Cor- 
 real nefs, was often flat ; Congree^je, too roving 
 and unconfin'd ; and, Vanburgh, too immoral. 
 Diveft this laft Writer of this Failing, and 
 his Comedies arc unexceptionably the beft in the 
 Language. ^ 
 
 I ought to make ibme Apology for my fi- 
 lence with regard to JVycherly, Olway, Farquar^ 
 and Cibber \ but as thefe Writers poflefs the 
 fame Beauties and Errors in common with thofe 
 already mentioned, it will be iinneceflfary to 
 trouble you with a particular Defcription of 
 their Works ; I fliall therefore clofe this Trea- 
 tife, but not before I have paid my Tribute 
 to the Geuius of an Author, whofe firft Pro- 
 dudion has given him a Claim to be rank*d in 
 the firft Clafs. 
 
 It will (I doubt not) be often mentioned by 
 future Generations, that in the Year 1746, Dr; 
 Hoadley produced a Comedy, called the Sufpicious 
 Hujhand 5 in which he has found Means to give 
 
 the
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 the higheft Delight, without having recourfe 
 to the low ufual Arts of Bawdy and Buf- 
 foonry. 
 
 But that we may not appear tainted with the 
 common Partiality that generally attends No- 
 velty, let us venture at the Difcovery of thofe 
 Qualities in this Piece, which have recommend- 
 ed it to the general Favour of the Public, and 
 have obtained for it our particular Appro- 
 .bation. 
 
 In the firft Place, then, mod of the Cha- 
 racters are real, the Incidents are interefting, 
 the Cataftrophe affeding, and the Language 
 pure, fpirited, and natural. 
 
 The Character of Mr. Slrkkland, (who 
 names the Play) is as well drawn and fupport- 
 ed, as any I have met with : And amongft 
 the Scenes which the Author has defigned to 
 ridicule the Folly and Abfurdiry of Sufpicion, 
 none feems fo well calculated for the Purpofe, 
 as that where Strickland is defirous, and yet a- 
 fraid, of engaging one of his Domeftics in the 
 Service of his Paflion : The Perplexity at 
 which he fhall trufl:, or whether he fhall truft 
 either ; with the Doubts, Refolutions, Hefi- 
 tations, on that Occafion, make up fo natural 
 D 2 and
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 and comic a Defcription of that Difcfafe of the 
 Miijd, that the Play, on this Account only, 
 defer ves the high eft Encomiums. 
 
 Mrs. Sirickland is defcribed as fuch a Wo- 
 man ought to be, in order t6 render the Huf- 
 band's extravagant Humour without Excufe. 
 Her Innocence, joined to her other amiable 
 Qualities, intereft the Audience ftrongly in 
 her Favour, and place the PaiTion of Jealoufy 
 in a more hated and ridiculous Light. 
 
 The two fine Gentlemen of this Comedy, 
 are not ^as I can perceive j different from the 
 fine Gentlemen of other Writers : They 
 laugh, fing, fay good Things, and are in 
 Love. 
 
 The Rake is a lively Portrait of that Cha- 
 racter in Life. His Errors arife from the want 
 of Refle6lion ; a lively Imagination, with a 
 great Flow of Spirits, hurries him into all the 
 fafhionable Follies of the Town *, but throw the 
 leafl: (hadow of Wickednefs or Difhonour on 
 an Aftion, and he avoids it with the fame Care 
 that lie would a Precipice. 
 
 The natural good Qualities of this Youth, 
 obtain for him on the Stage the fame Indul- 
 gence
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 gence that attends him in the World : We are 
 blind to his Foibles, entertained with his Ad- 
 ventures, and wifli to fee (in which, I fuppofe, 
 by the Condufl of the Author, we are , wrong j 
 the wild Rogue reclaim'd. ' 
 
 I fat (the firft. Night this Comedy was ex- 
 hibited) by a plain, honeft, well-meaning Ci- 
 tizen, whofe Imagination was ftrongly pof- 
 fefled by the Incidents of the Play. At drop- 
 ping of the Curtain, I could not help com- 
 plaining to my Neighbour, that I was difpleafed 
 at feeing Ranger go off as he came on. Could 
 not, faid I, the Author throw this Youth, in 
 the Courfe of his Nodurnal Rambles, into 
 feme ridiculous Scene of Diftreft, which might, 
 with Propriety, have reclaim'd him. But, as 
 he now (lands, who knows but the Rogue, af- 
 ter all the Pleafure he has given us, may fpend 
 the Night in a Round-Houfe. By G d ! 
 fays the Cit, if it happens in my Ward, I'll 
 releale him ; for Pm fure he is too honeft a 
 F'cllow to run away from his Biil. 
 
 The amiable Light in which this Cliaradet 
 appears, will, I am afraid, draw many a Tem^ 
 plar into troublefome Scrapes. I have now no 
 lefs than ten Friends, fmce the Appearance of 
 Ranger, who are under Profecutions for ravifh- 
 
 ing
 
 ( 30} 
 
 ing Kinfes from Girls in the Street, and beating 
 the Watch : It is therefore neceflary to let thefc 
 fprightly Boys know, that thefc are not the 
 Particulars of Ranger's Charafler that procure 
 our Regard ; we are only tempted to overlook 
 thefc Blemifhes in his Condud, on the fcore of 
 fome amiable Beauties. 
 
 But that we may not appear partial to the 
 Produftions of this Author, let us take a View 
 of fuch of his Charaders, as appear liable to 
 Exception. 
 
 That the Critics, then, might not be de- 
 prived of their daily Food, the Poet has thrown 
 them a Couple of Chara<5ters to nibble at, the 
 Coquet, and the Coxcomb. 
 
 The laft is of a Species pretty common a- 
 mongft us, but hitherto negledled. The Im- 
 portation of Fopperies from France, we have 
 laughed at till we are tir'd : Our Author was 
 willing to fee whether Italy could not furnifh us 
 with a Fool, as ridiculous and diverting as her 
 Neighbour ; and had the Charader in Queftion 
 been fupported with the fame Spirit that it is 
 begun, I doubt not but we fhould have been 
 fully fatisfied : But no fooner has this merry 
 Gentleman raifed our Attention, but he flips 
 
 through
 
 ( 31 ) 
 
 through our Fingers like an Eel, and we hear 
 no more of him. Mr. Meggot does, in Truth, 
 furvive the Lofs of his Monkey, but he never 
 forgets his AfFcdtion fo far, as to be tolerable 
 Company after. 
 
 I did indeed flatter myfelf with the Hopes 
 of feeing that Gentleman interefted in the 
 Condu(fl of the Play, and every Minute exped:- 
 ed to find my Friend Ranger very jocofe upon 
 his Foible. 
 
 But whether the Author did not chufe to ex- 
 pofe fo good natur'd a Fellow, or was above 
 being obliged to any Nation but his own, for 
 the Entertainment he was to give us, Jackey 
 Meggot is of very little more Confequence in 
 the Sufpicious Hujhand, than is Lieutenant Story 
 in the Commiitee. 
 
 The next Charadler for the Snarlers to mumble 
 is Clarinda. 
 
 This Lady, at the opening of the Play, 
 would put herfelf upon us for a finifh*d Coquet , 
 but flie does it fo aukardly, that few of us arc 
 impoTed upon j flie is, indeed, at firft a little 
 waggifh with Jacintha^ about giving Eafe, 6ff. 
 'tout this was only a Copy of her Counteaance, 
 ^ 'for
 
 for I dont*t find but (he is as ready to fatisfy the 
 Defircs of her Lover (in an honourable Way) 
 as the other. 
 
 But all this while are not we impofing on our- 
 felves ? How are we fure that Dr. Hoadley in- 
 tended CUrinda for a Coquet ? Indeed fhe fome- 
 times talks like one, but her A6tions are di- 
 reftly oppofite ; and as I, for my own Part, 
 chufe to rely more on the latter, than the for- 
 mer, I fhan't fcruple to pronounce, that this 
 Lady is no more a Coquet than facintha. 
 
 The feveral Obje(5tions at the Perfonages of 
 the Drama being (as far as the Affair will ad- 
 mit of) thus clear'd up, let us attend to a Cavil 
 or two at the Conduft of the Play, 
 
 It is faid, that Frankley^s whole Scheme of. 
 purfuing Clarinda, is borrowed from the Eunuch 
 of Terence ; and that the Expreflion of, this I 
 knoWi wherever Jhe is, Jhe cannot be long unknown^ 
 is a literal Tranflation from the fame Author. 
 Well, and what then ? Why do we take fuch 
 Pains to create an Intimacy with the obfolete 
 Gentry, if they don't help us out now and then 
 at a dead Lift ? The Dodor has been at feme 
 Pains and Expence to fubdue the Meaning of 
 ^ihis Claflic to his own Comprehenfion j and 
 
 has
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 has not he a Right, by the Law of Arms, to 
 enjoy the Fruits of his Vidlory ? Pretty Reafon- 
 ing, truly i and fo I fuppofe you will reckon 
 the Man, who now and then decorates a Pe- 
 riod with a Latin and Greek Quotation, a Pla- 
 giary : Why, who the Devil would trouble 
 himfelf to acquire thofe Languages, if it were 
 not for the Reputation that Pradice procures 
 him ? Oh, fie ! Bcfidcrs, in the prefent Cafe, 
 the Doctor was under a Neceflicy of fhewing 
 his Learning. The little Bits of Latin^ Italian, 
 and French, which are here and there fcattered 
 through the Play, are not introduced becaufe 
 the Poet thought them neceflary, but becaufe 
 the World (hou Id know, that it is not a fmall 
 Matter of Knowledge that is required towards 
 the Conftitution of a Dodor of PhyHc. 
 
 But were we to anfwer all the trifling Re- 
 marks of thefe eternal Cavillers, there would 
 be no End to the Subjed ; therefore I Ihall dif- 
 mifs them with one general Anfwcr, that I de- 
 fy them to produce a Comedy, fince the Year 
 Twenty-fix, that has a Tithe of the Merit of 
 tibe Sufpicious Hujhand. And though we may 
 be deficient as to the vis cotnica, and our Cha- 
 jaders may not be altogether fo highly drawn, 
 as might be wilhed, yet, upon the whole, we 
 are at lead equal to the bed of the R:^m^n Co- 
 E - inic
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 mic Poets, Terence ; and that is Reputatioi^j c- 
 nough to fatisfy our Ambition. 
 
 We have now given thee, Reader, an accu- 
 rate Account of the public and private Judg- 
 ment on the Sufpicious Hujband ; fuppofe we 
 were to prefent thee with our Opinion of the 
 Deportment of the A6tors in this Comedy : 
 But as that would interfere with our general 
 DeCign, I (hall defcend to no farther Particu- 
 lars, thag that they Con this OccafionJ excelled 
 themfelves ; but haften to view the Comic 
 Players of the prefent Age in a more ex- 
 ten five Light. 
 
 Bat before thefe Gentlemen of the Sock are 
 entitled to my Regard, I muft difcharge a Debt 
 due to the Public, and pay their and my Ac- 
 knowledgement to Mrs. Cibber, for the Pleafure 
 fhe has given us in the Bufkin. 
 
 This Lady, though by much the youngeft 
 Aflrefs (I mean in point of Experience) on the 
 Stage, has almoft all her Time reign'd un- 
 rival'd in the Hearts of the People. There is 
 a Delicacy in her Deportment, and a fenfible 
 Innocence in her Countenance, that never faih 
 to prejudice the Speflator in her Favour, even 
 before fhe fpeaks. Nor does Mrs. CMer's fub- 
 
 fequent
 
 (35 ) 
 
 fequent Behaviour eraze thefe firft Impreflions. 
 Her Expreffions of the Pa(|ion of Grief, fur- 
 pafs every thing of the fort that I have feen. 
 There is a mdancholly PJaintivenefs in her 
 Voice, and fuch a D:jv:6lion of Countenance, 
 (without Diftortion,) that I defy any Man, who 
 has the leaft Drop of the Milk of Human Na- 
 ture about him, to fit out the Diftreflls of Mo- 
 nimia and Belvideray when rcprefented by 
 this Lady, without giving the moll tender 
 and afFefting Teftimonies of his Huma- 
 nity. 
 
 Nor has Mrs. Cibber lefs Force Cwhen Ihe 
 pk-afes to exert it) in the different Modes of 
 Rage. There is a Wildnefs in her Afpeft, 
 and a Rapidity in her Utterance, that are ad- 
 mirably fuited to the Charaders of Con- 
 fiance^ in King John, and Alicia in Jans 
 Shore, 
 
 That Mrs. Cibber is now and then languid 
 in the Part of Calijla^ may, I am afraid, be 
 attributed to the natural Weaknefs of her Con- 
 ftitution. The Charadler is of an unufual 
 Length, and the Paflions of Rage, Scorn, Grief, 
 and Difappointment, fo frequently and for- 
 cibly repeated, that it requires more than a 
 common ftock of Health and Spirits, to do 
 E 2 equal
 
 (36) 
 
 equal Juflice to the whole Part. I cannot pre- 
 fume, that Mrs. Cibber^s Judgment isdetedivc^ 
 nor is it lefs obvious, that (he is happy in the 
 pofleflion of all the natural Powers required in- 
 this Charadter : To what then can we attribute 
 the little Ufe fhe here makes of thofe Powers, 
 but to the Concioufnefs of weak Lungs, and a 
 bad Conflitution. 
 
 But leafl: the Imitators of Mrs. Cibber fliould 
 miflake this Deportment of hers, for the Ef- 
 fect of her Judgment, it may not be improper 
 to obferve, that itoiv*? him felf has recommend- 
 ed a Behaviour to the Player, and that it is her 
 Duty, as near as fhe can, to anfwer and fupport 
 the Portrait of Calijia^ given to the Audience 
 by Lothario in the fir ft Adt : 
 
 Mad as the Priejlefs of the Delphic God, 
 Enthuftajiic Pajfton fwell*d her Breajl^ 
 Enlarged her Foice, and ruffled all her 
 Form. 
 
 Though it may perhaps be deemed hyper- 
 critical to obferve on trifling Faults, where 
 there are fo many glaring Beauties, yet as thefe 
 Trifles are eafily mended, and are, befides, ap- 
 parent to the moft fuperficial Sped:ator, I hope 
 I (hall have Mrs. Cibber*^ Pardon, if I defire 
 
 her
 
 { 37 ) 
 
 her funlefs Ihe has an ablblute Occafion for it) 
 to put the Handkerchief in her Pocket ; And 
 if fhe would not (hake her Head quite fo much, 
 and pat her Hands together quite fo often, fhe 
 would infinitely oblige me, and many more of 
 her Admirers.. 
 
 I believe I fhall eafily obtain the Reader's 
 Pardon for detaining him a Minute from the 
 Comic Aclors, when I tell him, it is to thank 
 Mrs. Giffard for the Entertainment fhe has, in 
 many parts, given both him and me. To 
 which, if I add, that (he {lands unequaPd in 
 the Character of Mackbeth, I but barely do her 
 Juftice. 
 
 Mrs. Pritcbard too has a Right to our Ob- 
 fervation in this place : But as I am at prefent 
 a good deal confined, fhe mufl be content with 
 the Offerings I fhall make her in her Comic 
 Call. And in this place I muft beg, that thofe 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, whofe Names I may o- 
 mit in this Treatife, would not impute my 
 Negle(5t to the want of a fenfe of their Me- 
 rit : We who write for the Public, are but too 
 often obliged to condefcend to their Prejudices, 
 and are therefore ncceffitated, in order to procure a 
 fale for our Pamphlets, to take up with thofe 
 
 50430 ''^'""'
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 Names, which they are pleafed to recommend 
 to our Obfervation. 
 
 Mr. Neale is generally allowed to do Jun:ice 
 to the Charafter of Launcelot, in the Merchant 
 'of Venice ; and yet I dare believe a Criticifm on 
 IVIr. Garrick in the Part of Scrub, in which 
 neither the Author nor Adlor are very capital, 
 would be much better received, than a Com- 
 ment on Mr. Neale's Excellence in the Jew's 
 Man. This is undoubtedly an Hardfhip both 
 on them and me. But to proceed. 
 
 As there is, Reader, in the writing of Co- 
 medies many different Species, fo is there alfo 
 in the ading of them. 
 
 But, for the fake of Brevity, fuffer me to 
 confine the latter to two, the Comic, and the 
 Comical. And, in order to give you a clear 
 Idea of what I mean by the Diftindlion, caft 
 your Eye on the Abel Drugger of G. and the 
 Abel Drugger of C. I call the fimple, com- 
 pofed, grave Deportment of the former Comic, 
 and the fquint-ey'd grinning Grimace of the 
 latter Comical. The firft obtains your Ap- 
 plaufe, by perfuading you that he is the real 
 Man. The latter indeed opens your Eyes, and 
 gives you to under (land, that he is but per- 
 
 fonating
 
 (39) 
 
 fonating the -Tobacco- Boy : But then to atone 
 for the Lofs of the Deception, you ar/? ready to 
 fplit with Laughter, at the ridiculous Variations 
 of his Mufcles. It may indeed be objefted, 
 that this Conduct deflroys all Diftinftion of Cha- 
 rafters, and may as well become Sir John 
 Daw^ or Sir Amorous La 'tool^ as honeft Nah. 
 "Well, and what then ? Don't Folks come to 
 a Play to laugh ? And if that End be obtained, 
 what matters it how ? Has not he the moft 
 Merit, who pleafes the moft ? Suppofe G. has 
 the Approbation of Twenty or Thirty Judges 
 in the Pit, fhall I give up my Fun, which 
 makes the Inhabitants of both the Gallerys 
 my Friends, for his Humour ? No, hold a lit- 
 tle, that will never do. And to convince the 
 Public, that Mr. C. is not fingle in his Judg- 
 ment, Mr. H y, JV--dd, Mr. T /, 
 
 both approve and purfue his Plan. 
 
 And here fuffer me to caution the young 
 Aftors of both Houfes, that they be not too 
 rafh in the Imitation of Mr. 0%. Manner ; 
 let them firft confulr their Abilities. Few 
 People are happy in the PoJGfeflion of fuCh ';d 
 fett of Features. This Gendeman's are formed 
 with fuch peculiar Pleafantry, that the Spefta- 
 tor at furveying them in their natural ftate 
 only, is (in the Words of the Commentator 
 
 ' ' on
 
 (4) 
 
 on Dr. Middleton) often ftruck with an un- 
 exp.6led Ha, ha ! For what Mr. C. is in- 
 debted to Nature, Mr. H y is obliged to 
 
 Accident. This great Comedian was fo fortu- 
 nate, as in his Infancy to fall in the 'Fire, by 
 which Means the left Corner of his Mouth, and 
 the Extremity of his Chin, became very near 
 Neighbours : how often that lueky Circumftance 
 has recommended him to the Approbation of the 
 Sky-parlour Gentry, I fubmit to the Critics on 
 the Ground Floor. 
 
 Mr. ;^/, Mrs. Clivey and Mrs. Pritchard 
 are fo injudicious as to build their Fame on the 
 Comic Foundation. 
 
 I own, I am weak enough to have a Regard 
 for the Judgment of the latter ; and therefore 
 as I have an Averfion to Controverfy, and the 
 Difcovery of Faults is no very defirable Office, 
 I (hall leave the Comical Gentry to the En- 
 joyment of their Opinion, and feek out foit 
 fome Particulars in the Comic Aftors, which 
 may, at lead,, juflify my Partiality for 
 them. 
 
 To begin with Mr. uitt. 
 
 Mr.
 
 (4i) 
 
 Mr. ^/Vs Deportment, through the whole 
 Call: of his Characlers, is natural and unaffcc^l- 
 ed ; his Countenance expreflive, without the 
 AfTiftance of Grimace; and he is indeed in e- 
 very Circumftance fo much, the Pcrfon he re- 
 prefcnts, that it is fcarce poflible for any atten- 
 tive Speftaror to believe that the hypocritical 
 intriguing Mafquell^ the fufpicious fuperan- 
 nua*-ed Rake, the fiarling old Batchelor, ^nd 
 the jolly jocofe Jack Falftaff, are imitated, but 
 real Perlbns. 
 
 And here I wifh I had Room and Abi- 
 lity to point out the fev'^eral mafterly Strokes 
 with which Mr. ^in has often entertained my 
 Imagination, and fatisfied m.y Judgment ; but 
 under my prefent Confinement, I can only re- 
 commend the Man, who wants to fee a Cha- 
 radter perfedly play'd, to Mr. .%/, in the 
 Part of Faljiaff\ and if he does not exprcfs his 
 Defire of fpending an Evening with that merry 
 Mortal, why, I would not fpend one with him, 
 if he would pay my Reckoning. 
 
 Mrs. Clive (i\\t beft Aflrefs in her Walk, 
 that T, or perhaps any Man living, Ijas feen) 
 next claims our Attention. This Lady is pe- 
 culiarly happy in hitting the Hamours ofCha- 
 F . rafters
 
 { 42 ) 
 
 rafters in low Life, The awkard Forwardnefs 
 of a Country Girl, the ridiculous afFeded Airs 
 of a Lady's Woman, or the pert Behaviour of 
 an intriguing Chambermaid. 
 
 Mrs. Clive has been a little unhappy in her 
 Choice of fome Parts. 
 
 There are Chara6lers in Comedy which re- 
 quire a Delicacy of Figure, and an Elegance 
 of B-liaviour , and as both Nature and Habit 
 have denied Mrs. Clive the PofTeflion of thefe 
 Requifites, I would advife her never to think 
 of perfonating a fine Lady of any Kind or 
 Condition, ucilefs the Auuiior (with a View of 
 rendering the Part ridiculous) has endowed it 
 with fome whimfical Peculiarity. 
 
 You have already. Madam, a Caft of Cha- 
 rafbers in which your Adlion will always com- 
 mand the Attention and Applaufe of an Au- 
 dience J don't, therefore, fuffer an idle Am- 
 bition to deftroy that Confequejce , whfch, if 
 you purfue the Bent of your Genius, you have 
 It ftill in your Power to preferve. 
 
 This Lady has now and then perhaps fowing 
 to an Earnednefs for the Succefs of the Bufi- 
 
 nefs^
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 nefs) expreffed herfelf behind the Scenes In too 
 loud and forcible a Manner. 
 
 This Circumftance has CI am afraid) given 
 Ibme part of the Audience not a very favour- 
 able Opinion of her Temper. But when the 
 Public are aflured, that this Vehemence is af- 
 fumed in order to procure a more decent En- 
 tertainment for themfelves, I doubt not but 
 they will convert their Refentment to Appro- 
 bation. 
 
 The laft, though not the lead" ?erfon to be 
 confidered, is Mrs. Priicbard, whofe unblame- 
 able Condud in private Life, joined to her 
 Theatrical Excellence, has juftly recommended 
 her to the Efteem of the Town. 
 
 Mrs. Pritchard is peculiarly happy in a good 
 Voice, a pleafing Figure, and a correct Judg- 
 ment. 
 
 As Mrs. CUve\ Fort confifls in the Imita- 
 tion of the Foibles and extravagant Humours 
 of the Beau Monde ; this Lady*s Talent lies 
 in the Reprefcntation of the graceful and be* 
 coming Parts of their Charaflers. Not but I - 
 have feen Mrs. Pritchard exert herfelf with 
 gre^ Pertnefs, Propriety, and Spirit, in the 
 
 Part
 
 ( 44 ) 
 Part of a waggifh favourite Jbigal; and have 
 obfurvc'd a Deportment, which I thought cx- 
 tftmely engaging in her, when a Lady become 
 extremely ridicnious, when awkardly niimick'd 
 by her as an affcdcd Servant. 
 
 But to fum up Mrs. Priicbard*s Qualities 
 in a few "Words, from the various Caft of her 
 Charaflers, in all of which fhe is pleafing, and 
 the Eafinefs of her Difpofition, I would, were I 
 a Patten tee, rafher have her in my Service, 
 than any Woman in England. 
 
 I believe I fhould with Difficulty obtain the 
 pardon of the Public, if I neglcded to beftow 
 a few Periods on their favourite Servant. 
 
 I have feen, with infinite Satisfafbion, the 
 Pays of my Youth reviv'd in the forward, va- 
 cant, romping School-boy of Mr. Garrick. 
 
 Nor have I received lefs Pleafure from the 
 fimple credulous Condud and Countenance of 
 Ji^el Drugger. 
 
 I have, in fome Inftances, beheld with ex- 
 quifite Delight, the ridicuolus Rapture of the 
 vain felf-approved Poet ; though in others I 
 have mified a Gravity of Countenance, and 
 
 Dig-
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 'Dignity of Deportment, which I have always 
 l(though perhaps falfly^ aflbciated with my Idea 
 lof that folemn and ferious Coxcomb. 
 
 I think Garrick*s Rake a Iprightly, merry, 
 lentertaining Fellow. I can't fay I am fond of 
 iCultivating an Acquaintance with his Gentle- 
 men. And as to his Fops, either lively of 
 grave, I have them in utter Abhorrence. 
 
 As to the Merit of Mr. Rafior^ Mr: 
 C '3, Mr. Collins, with the long Ei 
 
 <steras of both Theatres, they muft be content 
 to have the Celebration of their Perfedlions de- 
 ferred to another Scafon ; and I hope the Pur- 
 chafer won't think that I exaggerate the Ex- 
 cellence of thefe good People, when I (hall rate 
 him for the Whole of it at no more than 
 Three-pence. 
 
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