and characters render it impoffible to be ever revived with any probability of fuccefs. To underftand Jonfon's comedies perfectly, we should have before us a fatirical hiftory of the age in which he lived. I question whether the diligence of Mr. Steevens and Mr. Malone could dig up a very complete explanation of this author's allufions. Mr. Colman, after all the pains and fkill he could bestow on this comedy, found that it was labɔur loft; there was no reviving the dead. The audience were as much difgufted with Jonfon's old ruffs and bands, as the wits of James I. were with Hyeronimo's old cloak and the Spanish tragedy. It must yet be confeffed, that the gentlemen of this comedy, though perhaps too learned for the prefent day, converfe with an eafy gaiety and liberal familiarity, fuperior to any of this writer's productions. In the first act there is a fonnet, which, for the vivacity and elegance of its tuim of thought, I cannot forbear tranfcribing: Still to be neat, ftill to be drefs'd Though art's hid causes are not found That strike my eyes, but not my heart The The author, agreeably to his old cuftom, has made very free with the ancients: he has borrowed from Juvenal, Ovid de Arte Amandi, and Plautus's Aulularia. We are told, that the Fox was conceived and brought forth in fix weeks. But Jonfon's dramatic mufe lay fallow for four years; for Volpone was acted in 1605, and the Silent Woman not till the year 1609. Some new quarrel with the established comedians, I fuppofe, caufed him to have recourse again to his children of the Revels, though he had loft his favourite boy, Sal. Pavy, whofe hiftrionical abilities, and wonderful skill in reprefenting old men, though not arrived to his fourteenth year, he celebrated in a copy of verfea to his memory. Such was the authority of Jonfon's name, that the king's comedians, established at the Reftora. tion, claiming a prior right of choice to the Duke of York's players, feized upon Ben Jonson's three most esteemed comedies and his two tragedies. Cartwright, who was a bookseller as well as an actor, played Morofe. He is mentioned by name in the Rehearsal.- -Major Mohun was celebrated for True-Wit. The famous Lacy acted Captain Otter. About fifty or fixty years fince, great refpect was paid to this comedy; for Booth, Wilks, the elder Mills, and Colley Cibber, acted the Dauphin, True-Wit, Clerimont, and Sir John Daw. Such an exhibition of comic diftrefs, in old Ben Jonfon's Morofe, I have hardly ever feen in any other actor. He and Weton are the only co medians I can remember, that, in all the they reprefented, abfolutely forget them I have seen very great players, nay, fuperior, in fome refpects, to them, at least in the art of colouring and high finishing, when on the stage laugh at a blunder of a performer or fome accidental impropriety of the scene: but thefe men were fo truly abforbed in character, that they never loft fight of it. Jonfon ftayed on the ftage to the laft, till within about two years of eighty; but his very dregs were refpectable. He died in 1742; and, a few months before his death, was out of humour, that the agent of the Dublin theatre, who came over on purpose to engage Mr. Garrick for the fummer-months, had not made overtures to him. Otter was well acted by Shepherd, and Sir Amorous La Foole with vivacity by Theophi lus Cibber. The Alchemist was Ben Jonfon's last comedy of merit, for afterwards he produced nothing very eftimable. This play is, I think, equal to any of this author's, in plot, character, and comic fatire. The catastrophe is furely a bad one; a gentleman of fortune joining with his knavith fervant, to cheat a parcel of bubbles of their money and goods, is equally mean and immoral. This play kept poffeffion of the ftage long after the imposture it was written to dete& had cealed. It is worked up with amazing art; and, as its foundation is laid in avarice and impofition, it affords a groupe of comic characters and variety of ftage-bufinefs. However, it must be owned, that, for these last forty years, it has been fupported by the action of a favourite Abel Drugger. Mr. Garrick freed the stage from the falle fpirit, ridiculous fquinting, and vile grimace, which, in Theophilus Cibber, had captivated the public for feveral years, by introducing a more natural natural manner of difplaying the abfurdities of a foolish tobacconist. At the fame time, justice calls upon us to allow, that the fimplicity of Weston almost exceeded the fine art of a Garrick, whofe numberless excellences may spare a tribute of praise to this genuine child of nature. I cannot omit, in this place, to observe, that Mr. Garrick, by his own authority, intrenched upon the part of Kastril, acted incomparably by Mr. Yates, in the 4th act of the play; for the challenging of Surly, and driving him off the ftage, belongs properly to the angry boy, and not to Abel, who, instead of being an auxiliary, took the field to himself. Colley Cibber I have feen a&t Subtle with great art; the elder Mills at the fame time played Face with much fhrewd fpirit and ready impudence. The two Palmers have fucceffively acted Face with much archness and folid characteristic bronze. Ben Griffin and Ben Jonson were much admired for their just reprefentation of the canting puritanical preacher and his folemn deacon the botcher; there was an affected foftness in the former which was finely contrafted by the fanatical fury of the other.Griffin's features feemed ready to be relaxed into a fmile, while the stiff muscles and fierce eye of the other admitted of no fupplenefs or compliance. There is ftill to be feen a fine print of them in these characters, from a painting of Vanbleek they are very ftriking resemblances of both comedians. It has been faid, that Sir Epicure Mammon was drawn to imitate or outdo Falftaff. I confefs I fee very little, if any, refemblance. Sir Epicure is a fine portrait of a man learned in the art art of luxury, gulled by his extreme rapacity and high relifh for extravagant pleasure. I have never feen an adequate reprefenter of Sir Epicure, from Harper down to Love. The firft feemed to have been taught by one who had jufter conceptions of what was to be done in the part than the player could execute. The outline was well drawn by Love; but there was a deficiency of glowing and warm tints which fuch a rich dupe in folly required, and the character amply afforded. Love's conceptions of the part were juft, but his want of power to execute his meaning rendered his acting imperfect. The original actor of Sir Epicure, Lowin, was faid to have reprefented it in a moft perfe&t ftyle of playing. Doll Common fell into Mrs. Clive's hands about fifty years ago. How the came afterwards into the poffeffion of Mrs. Pritchard, while her friend was ftill in the company, I know not. If I remember rightly, the former, by leffening the vulgarity of the prostitute, did not give fo juft an idea of her as the latter. Mrs. Pritchard, by giving a full scope to her fancy as well as judgment, produced a complete refemblance of the practifed and coarfe harlot in Madam Doll. * Dr. Johnfon was the first who ventured to attack Jonson's infallibility in the following excellent lines: Then Jonion came, inftructed from the fchool, For those who durft not cenfure, fcarce could praife, Macbeth |