Some Account ef As You Like It. are interchangeably diverfified with merriment and folemnity, but fome of them are very trifling, and rather recard than promote the general Defign. The Unities are repeatedly broken, and the Catastrophe is not very happily produced. The Comic Dialogue (as Dr. Johnfor obferves) is very fprightly, with lefs mixture of low Buffoonery than in fome other of Shakespear's Plays; and the graver Part is elegant and harmoni ous.The Characters of Tuchftone . and Rofalind are Beings of Shakespear's creating, and the Conduct of the Piece is evidently his own; but the Plot, as far as relates to the Character of Oliver, Jaques, Orlando, and Adam, with the Episodes of the Wrestler, and the banished Train, are doubtless taken from Chaucer's Legend of Gamelyn in the Cook's Tale.The Scene lies first near Oliver's houfe; and afterwards, partly at the Court of one of the Dukes of France, and partly in the Forest of Arden. Upon the whole, notwithstanding many faults too obvious to escape critical examination, it is an excellent Play, and never fails of affording the highest fatisfaction in the Reprefentation. It contains innumerable Beauties, amongst which is the juftly admired, Speech on the different Stages of human Life, which we fhall present to our Readers, referring them to the Play for the reft: "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women meerly players; Thy have their exits and their en trances, And one man in his time plays many His acts being feven ages. At first the Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms, And then, the whining fchool-boy And then, Made to his mitrefs' eye-brow. Then 149 Full of ftrange oaths, and bearded like Jealous in honour, fudden, and quick Seeking the bauble reputation And In fair round belly, with good capon With eyes fevere, and beard of formal cut, Full of wife faws, and modern instances, age fhifts Into the lean of flipper'd pantaloon, His youthful hofe well fav'd, a world' For his fhrunk shank; and his big man- Turning again towards childish treble, And whistles in his found. Laft feene That ends this ftrange eventful history, Sans teeth, fans tafte, fans every thing.' In one inftance, this Play is me- The praise the received for her fpirited manner of fpeaking this, gave a new fpirit to all the reft; the was applauded throughout, and for ever after (fays an ingenious Writer) ex eo Corydon, Corydon, eft tempore, and otherwife, perhaps, the best Actress of the British Stage, would have perished in oblivion. The principal Characters in this Play are excellently performed at Drury lane Theatre. Tuchflone was a favourite Character of of Shakespear's, and so it seems to be with Mr. King. We have feen feveral excellent Actors play this Part, but in none were the peculiar requifites for the fupport of it, fo ftrongly united as we obferve them in him; and without doing an injury to the memory of any deceased Actor, or the reputation of any living one, we think we may venture to give him the preference of all we have ever seen play the Part. Mr. Brereton's perfonal appearance is moft happily adapted to the Character of Orlando; but we wish he would labour lefs, and endeavour to give the Part that spirit and ease which it requires, Upon the whole, though he gave us few opportunities to praife him, there were still fewer inftances deferving cenfure. Jaques is a Character well fuited to Mr. Love's capacity; but was he a Dream. little more attentive to deliver the fine flowing Periods in this Part with grace and dignity, he would be intitled to a greater degree of praife. Mr. Moody plays the interefting Part of Adam with great fenfibility. Nothing can equal Mr. Vernon's tafte aad fenfibility of expreffion, in Amien's two Songs, of, Under the Greenwood Tree, and, Blow, blow, then Winter Wind, but the Merit of the Compofer who fet them to mufic. Mrs. Bradshaw, in the Character of Audry, feems to express every thing the Poet could possibly intend. Celia, is a Part not badly calculated for fo young an Actress at Mifs Ro-. gers: And lastly, it would be waiting words to fay more, than that Mrs. Barry has now no equal in the Part of Rofalind, nor do we think the ever had a fuperior. To the EDITOR of the OXFORD MAGAZINE. SIR, over pearance and figure of a man attracted my attention. A dark and hanging eyebrow leaned over a louring eye, and a high and naked cheek-bone indicated famine and fatigue. He had a tall, meagre figure; this was covered with a greyish-coloured coat, which told you, when you examined it, that it had feen better days. As I faw him turn down into one of the alleys behind 'Change, my curiofity led me to follow him. He ftopped at the door of a chophouse, and seized me by the hand as I was paffing by him. "Who are you?" faid I. "Brother, (replied he) I am the Prophet Ezekiel.-Give me fixpence to buy a chop." Hum! (fays I) Ezekiel! 'tis no bad name for a man of your look and stature.-How old are you? "Three thousand years." Then I marvel not that your hairs are grey. But what bufinefs have you upon earth at this time? "To chatlife your fellow-citizens." Do they want chastisement? "Do they want it! By the head of Mofes they do. There's ne'er a mother's fon between this and the Antipodes, who has not called Decency a liar, and turned his heel on the times of old. Take a view of the City as it was in time past compared with the prefent.-Oh! what a mortifying profpect!-Worth, Honour, Wealth, and Glory flourished, and flourished every where. Promises were held facred, and penfions were not honourable. The man of Worth was the man of Honour; and if the rich man was a knave, he was accounted fo. Religion raifed her head to Heaven, and was the favourite of the million; and Morality was fomething more than empty founds, or a pomp of words. It was then the custom for men to be conftant, and for women to be chafte; and if a couple were united in the holy bands of Matrimony, it was for the purpose of living together, not for the pleasure of living divorced from each other. But now, thou miserable City, whofe reputation is low as thy head is high-thou patron of Vice, and thou nourisher of Follies!-thou den A Dream. den where all desperate men flock to gether, where all": Hold, hold, Ezekiel: Doft thou think that Tyre and Zidon are before thee, or that Sodom and Gomorrah are once more to be destroyed by fire? For fhame, Prophet, restrain thy railing, and remember that we have ftill five hundred virtuous men left within our walls. "By the head of Mofes, you have not.-Your merchants, that were once good and honourable men, are now famed only for their riches and their follies. Without principle to be men of Honour, and without parts to be men of Tafte, they commence Gentlemen, and finish Gamblers. They who were once the refpectable among their neighbours, the fupporters of their country, the revered among the earth, are now become the apes of men of Fashion, and the dupes of men lefs principled than even themselves. They who were once free, generous, and independent, are now become contracted, ignoble, and abject: They who ought to triumph over a Court are become its greatest flaves." Enough, enough, Ezekiel"Not yet, my friend-By the head of Mofes, I fhall pinch them till they feel it. Do not their streets fwarm with adulteries, and their back-places with thieves; Does not every man wear a dagger either in his tongue or on his fide? Is there a woman chafte but through fear, or modeft but thro' thame? What is become of their Religion? Their Laymen are corrupted, and their Clergy thew the example. Their churches are empty, while their taverns, their gardens, their fields, are fwarming with myriads. Is any thing fwayed but by interett? In their contracts of honour, as well as in thofe of bufinefs, is not intereft the ruling motive? Do not men fell their virtue, 151 their wives, their daughters-all, for intereft ?" But the times, Ezekiel, require"The times, my friend, require a Prophet. Are they not a pampered people, and, in the midst of all their riches, full of artificial wants? They have forgotten the frugal diet, the fimple taite, the plain ceconomy of their ancestors.-Their tables fioke with danties, and their kitchens fwarm with cooks. They have raised the altar to Luxury, they chaunt the orgie, and they bend the knee. And let the flaves feel the effects of it. There is not a man of them who is not full of poison, which fickens his blood, and burns his bowels. They are thine, O Luxury! Thy fires confume them thy tortures are in their veins. O they have it! they have it! They lived in riot, and they will die in despair." Never was rage fo great as thine, O Ezekiel "Never was caufe fo great.-They are corrupted themselves, and they have corrupted their country. Look at their Patriots :—while they pretend to apply the balm to their country's wounds, to draw the poifon, and pour the oil, they probe her to the quick. Profligate, venal, and vicious, they areby the head of Mofes, they are the dregs of all that is wicked. O hang'em, they are not worth a Charles's puppy.As for you, thou venerable pile (looking to the Exchange) thou court of Opulence, and thou place of Merchandize, foon shall thy glories fade: Soon fhall thy walls be thaken, and thy towers fall to the ground. Thy roofs fhall be uncovered, and thy Royal statues shall be defaced. Thy corrupt owners have ruined themfelves by Luxury, and all their works must follow them." All this was a dream. M. POETICAL ( 152 ) POETICAL The MISER. WHAT fears afflict, what cares The wretched Mifer's breaft; No peace can e'er attend his heart, Or give a moment's rett. His treasure all his thoughts engage, With care, the wretch, to Plutus' fhrine, To cheat his choiceft friends. To aggrandize your store; And ftarve the wretched poor. Should, but 'tis what, I fear, will never be, Precarious fortune ever fmile on me; Grant me, kind Heav'n, this reasonablerequest, To keep Old Gripe for ever from my breaft. Let me the forrows of another know, ESSAY S. To the EDITOR. SIR, Poetical Effays. BY inferting the following in your Ma- R. EVANS. GRIM winter's fecue is now with And beauteous fpring begins to dawn; We'll deck our heads with rifing flow'rs, Short bounds of life are fet to man, A Remonftrance to St. MICHAEL from ECLARE, bright Saint, fo fam'd DECLA Rever'd by ev'ry Chriftian mouth, VOL. 11. 15. Why 'gainst the Geefe fuch violent rags Against the fons of guilt? Has our Republick injur'd you, When Brennus fack'd the Roman walis, And is it thus you treat us? And yet like villains cat us? The VIRTUOUS MAN. Tranquilla per virtutem patet unica vit The only road to happiness is virtue. CHAN I. HANGE now the scene-fee th His thoughts and actions guides! He rightly weighs the Sinners ftate, Which time can ne'er destroy. Vice is to him an unknown gueft, For arin'd with Wifdom's fhield, Scarce worthy of regard The Great Man's frowns he fcorns to fear, V. |