The fuccefs of the Lying Valet and Lethe induced Mr. Garrick to try his fortune once more as a writer; and Mifs in her Teens was the produce of his mule; a farce, in which cowardice and effeminacy are fo happily con trafted, and strongly ridiculed, that it will for a long time main tain its ground in the theatre, This petit-piece was acted a great number of nights. Mr. Quin was called upon to play fome of his characters during its reprefenta

He, complied at first, but foon after repented: he, furlily fwore he would not hold up the tail of any farce. "Nor shall he," faid Mr. Garrick, when he was told what Quin had faid; "I will give him a month's holidays." He picked out of the prompter's lift of plays all fuch as could be acted without Quin, and were not fuppofed to have any internal ftrength to draw company of them felves. To thefe Mifs in her Teens was tacked every night for above a month, cr five weeks. Quin would fometimes, during the run of the farce, pay a visit to the theatre; but on being told that the houfe was crowded, he

Mr. Rich, though he was vifibly acquiring very large property by uch a conftant fucceffion of good houfes, and principally by the means of his actors, did not feem to enjoy or understand the happiness of his fituation. It was imagined, by thofe who knew his humour best, that he would have been better pleased to fee his great comedians fhew away to empty benches, that, he might have had an opportunity to mortify their pride, by bringing out a pantomime, and drawing the town after his raree-fhow.. Often would he take a peep at the house through the curtain, and as often, from difappointment and difgaft, arifing from the view of a full audi

ence,

ence, break out into the following expreffions, "What are you there! Well, much good may it do you."

Though he might have enfily fixed Mr. Garrick in his fervice, long before he had bargained for a fhare of Drury-lane patent, he gave himself no concern, when he was told of a matter fo fatal to his intereft; he rather feemed to confider it as a release from a difagreeable engagement, and confoled himself with mimicking the great actor. It was a ridiculous fight to fee the old man upon his knees, repeating Lear's curfe to his daughter, after Garrick's manner, as he termed it; while fome of the players, who stood round him, gave him loud applaufes; 2nd others, though they were obliged to join in the general approbation, heartily pitied his folly, and defpifed his ignorance.

I am authorifed to affert, that the profits arifing from pays at Covent-garden theatre, from September 1746, to the end of May, 1747, amounted to eight thousand five hundred pounds. And let no man think this an exorbitant fum, which was earned by a Garrick, in conjunction with many excellent comedians, when it can be proved, that in one year, after paying all expences, eleven thousand pounds were the produce of Mr. Middock's (the fraw-man's) agility, added to the interior talents of the players; at the fame houfe, fome few years afterwards."

His short sketch of an actress so celebrated for beauty of countenance and elegance of form, as well as inerit in her profeflion, as Mrs. Woffington, cannot but be acceptable to our readers.

"Mrs. Margaret Woffington was born at Dublin in 1718. For her education, in the very early part of life, the was indebted to Madame Violante, a French woman of good reputation, and famous for teats of agility. She is occaf finally mentioned in Swift's Defence of Lord Carteret. From her inftructions little Woffington learned that eafy action and graceful deportment, which the afterwards endeavoured, with unremitting application, to improve. When the Beggar's Opera was firft afted at Dublin, it was fo much applauded and admired, that all ranks of people flocked to fee it. A company of children, under the ti tle of Lilliputians, were encouraged to reprefent this favourite piece at the Theatre Rovel; and Mifs Woffington, then in the tenth year of her age, made a very diftinguished figure ainongft thele pigmy comedians.

She appeared, for the first time in London, at the theatre in Covent-garden, in 1738. Her choice of character excited the curiofity of the public: Sir Harry Widair, acted by a woman, was a novelty: this gay, diffipated, good-humoured rake, the reprefented with to much eafe, clegance, and propriety of deport ment, that no male actor has fince equalled her in that part: the acquitted herfelf fo much to the general fat sfaction, that it became fashionable to fee Mrs. Woffngton perionate Sir Harry Wildair. The managers foon found it to be their interest to announce her frequently for that favourite character; it proved

a conftant charm to fill their houses.

6

In

In Dublin fhe tried her powers of acting a tragedy rake, for Lothario is certainly of that caft; but whether she was as greatly accomplished in the manly tread of the bufkin'd 1:bertine, as he was in the genteel walk of the gay gentleman in comedy, I know not; but it is certain that he did not meet with the fame approbation in the part of Lothario, as in that of Wildair.

Her chief merit in acting. I think, confifted in the reprefenta. tion of females in high rank, and of dignified elegance, whofe graces in deportment, as well as foibles, fhe understood, and displayed in a very lively and pleafing manner. The fashionable irregularities and fprightly coquetry of a Millamant, a Lady Townly, Lady Betty Modifh, and Maria in the Non-Juror, were exhibited by Woffington with that happy cafe and gaiety, and with fuch powerful attraction, that the exceffes of these characters appeared not only pardonable, but agreeable.

But this actrefs did not confine herself to parts of fuperior elegance; the loved to wanton with ignorance when combined with abfurdity, and to play with petulance and folly, with peevithness and vulgarity: thofe who remember her Lady Pliant in Congreve's *Double Dealer, will recollect with great pleasure her whimsical difcovery of paffion, and her auk wardly affumed prudery in Mrs. Day, in the Committee, he made no fcruple to disguise her beautiful countenance, by drawing on it the lines of deformity, and the wrinkles of old age; and to put on the tawdry habiliments and

vulgar manners of an old hypocritical city vixen.

As, in her profeffion, the aimed at attaining general excellence, the ftudied feveral parts of the most pathetic, as well as lofty clafs in tragedy; and was refolved to perfect herself in the grace and grandeur of the French theatre. With this view the visited Paris ; here he was introduced to Mademoiselle Dumefnil, an actress celebrated for natural elocution and dignified action. Colley Cibber, at the age of feventy, profeffed himself Mrs. Woffing. ton's humble admirer; he thought himself happy to be her Cic:fbeo and inftructor; his great delight was to play Nykin, or Fondlewife in the Old Batchelor, to her Cocky, or Lætitia, in the fame play.

On her return from Paris, fhe acted with approbation fome parts in tragedy, particularly Andromache and Hermione in the Dif treffed Mother, which, to her proficiency, the played alternately; but the never could attain to that happy art of fpeaking, nor reach that skill of touching the paffions, fo juftly admired in Cibber and Pritchard. Old Col. ley, her mafter, was himself a mean actor in tragedy, though he was extremely fond of the buskin; he taught her to recite fo pompoufly, that nature and paflion were not feldom facrificed to a falle glare of eloquence. The teacher infifted upon a particular tone, as he called it, in the declamation of his pupils.

Mr. Garrick's acquaintance with Mrs. Woffington commenced, I believe, in Ireland, when he first

vifited

visited that kingdom, in 1742; he acted Cordelia and Ophelia to his Lear and Hamlet. When he commenced patentee, in 1747, he found her one of the articled comedians of Mr. Lacy; but, as he brought with him from Coventgarden Mrs. Cibber and Mrs. Pritchard, the thought her continuing at Drury-lane would be attended with many difagreeable contentions for characters. Before that time, Clive and Wof fington had claflied on various occafions, which brought forth fquabbles, diverting enough to to their feveral part zins among the actors. Woffington was wellbred, feemingly def affio ate, and at all times mittrefs of herself. Clive was frank, open, and impetuous; what came uppermoft in her mind, the fpoke without referve the other blunted the fha p fpeeches of Clive by her apparently civil, but keen and farcaf tic replies; thus fhe often threw Clive off her guard by an arch feverity, which the warmth of the other could not eafily parry.

No two women of high rank ever hated one another more unrefervedly than thefe great dames of the theatre. But though the paffions of each were as lofty as thofe of a first dutchefs, yet they wanted the courtly art of conceal ing them; and this occafioned now and then a very grotefque fcene in the Green-room.

Mrs. Woffington, after acting a few years with Mr. Rich, engaged herself, in 1751, to Mr. Sheridan, the manager of the Dublin there. Here the continued three years, and was the admiration of the public in a variety of parts, tragic and comic. Her company VOL. XXIII.

was fought after by men of the firft rank and diftinction; perfons of the graveft character, and most eminent for learning, were proud of her acquaintance, and charmed with her converfation. She was, I think, chofen prefident of a felet fociety of beaux éfprits, called the Becf-fteak Club, and was the only woman in the company.

She frankly declared that. fhe preferred the company of men to that of women: the latter, the faid, talked of nothing but filks and fcandal. Whether this parti cular preference of the converfation of males might not take its rife from her not being admitted to vifit certain ladies of quality, I will not take upon me to fay; but the certainly had not that free ac cefs to women of rank and virtue which was permitted to Oldfield and Cibber.

Mrs. Woffington was miftrefs of a good understanding, which was much improved by company and books. She had a most attractive fprightliness in her manner, and dearly loved to pursue the bagatelie of vivacity and humour: the was affable, good-natured, and charitable. When the returned to London, in 1756, the once more engaged herfelf to Mr. Rich; and died, about a year before his death, of a gradual decay."

had rendered themselves fo notorious, as well as obnoxious to the - laws, for acts of violence and robbery, that they were obliged, by an act of parliament, to change the name of Macgregor for another. Our author chose that of Malloch; but after having ufed it fome time, and figned it to a dedication, he thought it founded fo unpolitely and was fo unharmonious, that he afterwards foftened it into Mallet. The first production of his mufe, and when he was very young, was a fweet and plaintive ballad called William and Margaret. Captain Thompfon, the editor of Andrew Marvell's works, declares that he found this poetical nofegay among many other productions of the fame author in a folio MS. of his works, and with feveral poems published by Mr. Addifon in the Spectator.

The English poetry, in Marvell's time, was certainly not arrived at that elegance and harmony fo vifible in the fong of William and Margaret, and the hymns and verfions of pfalms in the Spectator; which latter bear evident marks of their being Mr. Addifon's own compofition. Nor can I prefume to rob Mr. Mallet of the merit of writing William and Margaret, on fo lender a proof as that of its being found in a volume of manufcript poems attributed to Mr. Marvell, a name which deferves to be revered by every fincere lover of his country. Mr. Mallet having diftinguished himself as a man of learning and capacity, was appointed private tutor to his grace the Duke of Montrofe, and his brother Lord George Graham. Soon after, he went abroad with Mr.

Craggs; and after he returned to England, he wrote his tragedy of Eurydice, which was acted at the theatre in Drury-lane in 1731. Aaron Hill wrote the prologue and epilogue, and was enthufiaftically warm in his praifes of the play, though he found great fault with the acting of it. Eurydice is not written to the heart; the language is not original in many places, but borrowed from other plays; nor are the fituations in which the characters are placed interefting, any more than the characters themfelves are juftly or powerfully drawn; Periander and Procles are Tamerlane and Bajazer, only in diffimilar fituations of fortune.

We have in this play rage without producing terror, and grief that

caufes no commiferation. Eurydice was confiderably altered and revived almoft thirty years after its firft reprefentation. The principal characters were perfonated by Mr. Garrick and Mrs. Cibber, but to no effect. The paffions of love and jealousy are, of all others, the moft capable of affecting the minds of the spectators; but all the rage of a Garrick, and pathos of a Cibber, could not extort a tear from the audience. But the author would not take the blame upon himself; he fat in the orchestra, and beflowed his execrations plentifully upon the players, to whom he attributed the cold reception of his tragedy.

Soon after the firft acting of Eurydice he publifhed his poem of Verbal Criticism; a trite fa. tire on pedants and pedantry, compofed of fuch common-place raillery as that with which small