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In 1783 he noticed a design, either to be carried on or difcontinued, of giving his thoughts on the following fubjects:

ift. A polity for rendering the English nation more beloved and lefs hated abroad than it is at prefent: or an attempt towards perfuading us, that the gofpel maxim of cultivating peace on earth and good will towards men, (intead of infifting that all nations fhall bow down before us and do obeifance at fea,) is the best rule for national politics.

2d. A polity for turning fome millions of the public funds into circulating notes; together with a fcheme for making a beginning towards paying the National Debt, and for advancing the credit of the Stocks without additional taxes.

34. A polity for giving freedom and equality to Commerce, and for removing all monopolies and exclufions both in

ternal and external.

4th. A polity for preventing the frequency of Robberies, and for approaching towards King Alfred's plan for that purpose, as nearly as the circumstances of a commercial nation will permit.

5th. A polity for building cottages on a part of our present wafte lands, and for promoting the growth of timber, hemp, and flax, on other parts of the fame.

6th. A polity for conftituting a Guard Marine on different parts of our coafts, fo as to enable the nation to carry on a defenfive war a confiderable time, without preffing failors, or deranging the operations of commerce.

7th. A polity for encouraging induftrious foreigners who have money in our funds, and can promote the fale of our manufactures in foreign countries, to come and fettle among us

Thefe alfo never appeared. But the molt important in his eftimation was the following, to be published the last of all, if Divine Providence fhould vouchsafe life and health to the Author, viz.

A Revifal of the Common Prayer agreeably to the Principles of Orthodoxy; or an Ellay towards improving our Forms of Public Worship, without injuring or undermining our public established Na tional Religion.

QUIN

[in continuation] HAD many eccentricities of temper, as

is well known, especially one which feems to have escaped all his biographers, and that was an annual excursion he ufed

to make for about two months before the opening of the winter theatres. He called thele his autumnal excursions, and his mode was as follows:

He fele&ted fome lady of eafy virtue amongft his acquaintance, and agreed with her to accompany him on this tour, which was only to laft as far as one bundred pounds would carry them. Quin referved this fum for the occafion; and on this they fet out with little or no pre

meditation but what accident fuggefted. At all the places they stopped at, Quin gave the lady his name, for the better convenience of travelling; and when the money was nearly spent, they took a parting fupper at the Piazzas, Covent Garden, where he paid her regularly the balance of the hundred pounds, and then difmiffed her nearly in the following words: "Madam, for our mutual convenience I have given you the name of Quin for thefe fome weeks paft, to prevent the ftare and impertinent inquiry of the world. There is no reafon for carrying on this farce here: here then let it end and now, Madam, give me leave to unquin you, and you pafs by your own name for the future." Thus the cere

:

mony

mony ended, and with as much fang froid as any of the modern French Divorces.

Quin had been at an auction of pictures fome time before his death, when old General Guife came into the room. "There's General Guife," faid fome body to Quin, "how very ill be looks." Guife! Sir,' fays Quin; you're mistaken; he is dead thefe two years. "Nay; but," fays the other," believe your eyes there he is."At this Quin put on his fpectacles; and, after viewing him from head to foot for fome time, exclaimed, Why yes, Sir, I'm right enough; he has been dead these two years, it's very evident, and has now only gotten a day-rule to fee the pic

tures.'

Quin, through life, fupported his independence of character, perhaps, far better than molt eminent performers. He had not the vicious compliances of Cibber, to gain and preferve the company of the great world; nor the obfequioufnefs of Garrick. He knew the force of his own mind, which at least was on a par with thofe he lived with; and he preferved that power with respect and independence. The common rup of the Great (or, as the late Kitty Clive ufed emphatically to call them, "the damaged Quality") were no objects of his choice; he therefore principally fought companions from the middle orders of life, remarkable for taste, learning, and underftanding; or thofe poffeffed with the milder virtues of the heart. He referved a fortune fufficient for the indulgence of this kind of life; and though he perhaps purfued the fenfual pleasures too far for imitation, both by converfation and enjoyment, he appears on the whole to be a very eminent actor; an accurate obferver upon life and manners; and, in point of integrity and benevolence of heart, a good and praise-worthy man,

MRS. OLDFIELD.

Her forte was in thofe parts of comedy which required vivacity and high-bred manners; and in thefe, Macklin has often faid he never faw her equalled. He was prefent at her firft reprefentation of Lady Townly in 1728: and though the whole of that pleafant and fentible comedy was received with the most unbounded applaufe, Mrs. Oldfield formed the centre of admiration-from her looks, her drefs, and her admirable performance, Moft of the performers who have

played this part fince her time, he complained had too much tameness in their manner, under an idea of its being more eafy and well bred; but Mrs. Oldfield, who was trained in the part by the Author, gave it all the rage of fashion and vivacity-She rubed upon the stage with the full confcioufnefs of youth, beauty, and attraction; and answered all her Lord's queftions with fuch a lively indifference, as to mark the contrast as much in their manner of fpeaking as of thinking: but when she came to defcribe the fuperior privileges of a married above a fingle woman, the repeated the whole of that lively fpeech with a rapidity and gaieté de cœur that electrified the whole houfe. Their applause was so unbounded, that when Wilks, who played Lord Townly, anfwers" Prodigious!" the audience applied that word as a compliment to the actrefs, and again gave her the fhouts of their approbation.

He confirmed what Cibber fays of her in his preface to The Provoked Husband, "that her natural good fenfe and lively turn of conversation made her way fo eafy to ladies of the highest rank, that it is lefs a wonder if on the stage she sometimes was, what might have become the fineft woman in real life to have fupported." Macklin has often seen her at Windfor and at Richmond, of a summer's morning, walking arm in arm with Ducheffes, Counteffes, and women of the first fituation, calling one another by their Chriftian names (as was the fashion of thofe times) in the moft familiar manner. "The women then, Sir," faid the Veteran, "talked louder, laughed louder, and fhewed all their natural paffions more than the fine ladies of the prefent day."

Though Mrs. Oldfield, as is well known, had her intrigues, they were those of paffion more than intereft. Previous to her connection with Mr. Mainwaring, fhe was much fought after and folicited by the then Duke of Bedford. Her affection, however, was fo much in favour of the former, that she was on the point of furrendering, when the Duke called upon her one morning, and not finding her at home, left a paper on her dreffing table, including a fettlement on her for life of fix hundred pounds a year when Mr. Mainwaring next called, and preffed a confummation of his happiness, the candidly confefled her regards for him, but told him, "he was an unlucky fellow, for that fomething had happened the day

before,

before, which muft poftpone their intended happiness." He preffed her to know the caute, but he would not tell him till fome days afterwards, when he had returned the fettlement to the Duke, and acquitted herself in all points which trenched on her independence.

MRS. PORTER.

He complained that Cibber, in his Apology for his Life, did not notice Mrs. Porter with that degree of praise which her merits juftly entitled her to. Though plain in her perfon, with not much sweetness in her voice from nature; yet, from great affiduity in her profeffion, with an excellent understanding and a good ear, he acquired an elevated digity in her mien, a full tore, and a fpirited propriety in all characters of heroic rage in the pathetic parts of tragedy the was no lefs eminent, as the performed the parts of Hermione and Belvidera for many years with great applaufe.

The power of mellowing the voice from conftant affiduity and attention, though it appears difficult, and to many at a first blush almoft impoffible, has often been attended with fuccefs, as appears from the study of the Grecian and Roman actors, as well as from our own obfervation on fome modern performers. When Macklin firft faw Mrs. Dancer (afterwards the celebrated Mrs. Barry, and now Mrs. Crawford,) appear upon the York ftage, her tones were fo brill and difcordant, that even fo experienced a judge as he was, thought he would never make an aftrefs; yet fuch was the progrefs of her improvement under the tuition of the filver-toned Barry, that her Lady Randolph, Belvidera, Grecian Daughter, &c. &c. exhibited some of the Einelt notes of the tender and pathetic.

Of Mrs. Porter's Lady Macbeth, Macklin ufed to dwell with particular pleasure: he said it was better than Mrs. Pritchard's; and when I fay that," added the Veteran, "I fay a bold word; but flie had more conscioufnels of what he was about than Pritchard, and looked more like a Queen" And Davies informs us, that he had been told of an unfuccessful experiment once made to introduce Lady Macbeth's furprife and

fainting Scene; which Garrick thought fo favourite an actress as Mrs. Pritchard could not attempt. Macklin agreed about the inability of Pritchard; but was clearly of opinion that Mrs. Porter could have credit with an audience to induce them to endure the hypocrify of fuch a fcene.

TOM WALKER,

as he was conftantly called (the fo much celebrated original Mackheath in The Beggar's Opera), was well known to Macklin both on and off the ftage. He was a young man, rather rifing in the mediocre parts of comedy, when the following accident brought him out in Mackheath;-Quin was first designed for this part, who barely fung well enough to give a convivial fong in company, which, at that time of day, was an almost indifpenfable claim on every performer; and on this account, perhaps, did not much relish the business: the high repu tation of Gay, however, and the critical

junto who fupported him, made him drudge through two rehearsals. On the clofe of the laft, Walker was obferved humming fome of the fongs behind the fcenes in a tone and liveliness of manner which attracted all their notice; Quin laid hold of this circumftance to get rid of the part, and exclaimed, “Aye, there's a man who is much more qualified to do you justice than I am." Walker was called on to make the experiment, and Gay, who inftantly faw the difference, accepted him as the hero of his piece.

Whilft on the subject of The Beggar's Opera, any little circumftance relative to this celebrated piece, we truft, cannot but be entertaining to the amateurs of the drama; and as fuch, we infert them in this place.

Macklin ufed often to fay he was prefent at the first reprefentation of The Beggar's Opera, and confirmed what has been often reported, that its fuccefs was doubtful till the opening of the second act, when after the chorus fong of “ Let us take the road," the applaute was univerfal as unbounded. The orchestra at that time was in a box over where the King's box now Itands, and only confilted of three or four fiddies, a hautboy,

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and

and an occafional drum: the King's box #tood in the front of the houfe: the lights on the ftage were fufpended from the top in four equal rows-two before the curtain, and two behind it. The lights confifted of candles fet round in a hoop of tin fockets, and candle-fnuffer was an ordinary officer on the theatrical eftablishment. This laft cuftom continued till Mr. Garrick's return from Italy in 1765; when, with other improvements, he introduced the fide lights at prefent used, and which are found to be much more convenient.

To this Opera there was no mufic originally intended to accompany the fongs, till Rich the Manager fuggetted it on the fecond last rehearfal. The junto of wits, who regularly attended, one and all objected to it; and it was given up till the Duchefs of Queensbury (Gay's staunch patronefs), accidentally hearing of it, attended hertelf the next rehearsal, when it was tried, and univerfally approved of.

The first fong, "The Modes of the Court," was written by Lord ChetterfieldVirgins are like the fair flower in its luftre," by Sir Charles Hanbury Williams; "When you cenfure the age," by Swift; and "Gamefters and Lawyers are jugglers alike," fupposed to be written by Mr. Fortelcue, then Mafter

of the Rolls.*.

The reception this celebrated Opera met with in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, is too well known to need recital. In London, nothing ftopped its progrefs through the courie of the feafon, but the benent nights of the performers; and even on one of these nights, when a performer was fuddenly taken fick, and they were obliged to give out another play or dimits, the audience would not fuffer any other play to be fubitituted but The Beggars' Opera, though it was then in the 36th night of its un; and the performers were obliged to play it, though contrary to all rule, or the audience would not have staid. See Gay's Letter to Swift, March 20, 1728.

By the fuccefs of this Opera, we are like vite confirmed in the cultom of Authors telling tickets on their benefit nights (a cuitom which modern vanity feems to have banished from the tage fince the exhibition of Philoclea, written

by McNamara Morgann, Efq. in 1753); as in a letter of Gay to Swift, dated Feb. 15, 1727-8, he fays, "lo-night is the 15th time of acting The Beggars'. Opera, and it is thought it will run a fortnight longer. I made no intereft either for approbation or money, nor bath any budy been prefed to take tickets for my benefit, notwithstanding which, I fhall make an addition to my fortune of between fix and seven hundred pounds."

When Walker was performing Mack. heath the feventy-fecond night, he happened to be a little imperfect in the part, which Rich obferving, called out to him on his return from the stage, "Holloa! Mifter-I think your memory ought to be pretty good by this time." And fo it is,' faid Walker, but, Z--ds, Sir, my memory is not to last for ever.".

NAT. CLARKE

was the original Filch in this Opera, who lived above fifty years after its firtt reprefentation. His caft was principally in the under parts of tragedy and comedy, and in moit had reputation. His Filch was perhaps the beft fince his time; being much affifted by a meagre countenance, a fhambling gait, and a thorough knowledge of the flang language.

His chief employment laterally was (on account of his near refemblance to Rich in fize and figure) that of an Under HarJequin,, to relieve his mafter in fuch fituations of the pantomime as were leatt interefting. He was always happy when the audience, from fimilarity of form, were furprifed into a clap by miftaking the man for the mafter; and the fubftitute was fo very like the original, that Rich one night paid feverely for the re femblance:

One of the actors having had fome words with Clarke during the reprefentation of a pantomime, waited till he should find an opportunity to fhew his relentin the way of the angry perion as he ment. Unluckily, Rich threw himfelf came off the ftage, and received fuch a blow on the breast, as for fome time deprived him of the power of breathing. The man, perceiving his mistake, implored the Manager's pardon, protesting that he thought he ftruck Nat. Clarke.'

And pray,' faid Rich, what provocation could Clarke give you to merit fuch a blow !'

VOL. XXXVII, JAN. 1800.

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