66 66 ar contents. "Thefe,” replied the gentleman, " rhapsodies against the religion of my country.' "And how can you expect to come into my coach "after thus chufing the wrong fide of the queftion ?" Ay, but I am right," replied the other; "and if you give me leave, I fhall in a few minutes ftate the argument." "Right or wrong," faid the coachman, "he who difturbs religion is a blockhead, "and he fhall never travel in a coach of mine." "If "then," faid the gentleman mustering up all his courage, "if I am not to have admittance as an ef"fayift, I hope I fhall not be repulfed as an hiftorian; "the laft volume of my hiftory met with applaufe." Yes," replied the coachman, "but I have heard "only the firft approved at the temple of Fame; "and as I fee you have it about you, enter without "further ceremony." My attention was now diverted to a crowd, who were pushing forward a perfon that feemed more inclined to the stage-coach of riches; but by their means he was driven forward to the fame machine, which he however feemed heartily to defpife. Impelled however by their folicitations, he fteps up, flourishing a voluminous hiftory, and demanding admittance. "Sir, I have formerly heard your name mentioned," fays the coachman," but never as an hiftorian. Is there "no other work upon which you may claim a place?" None," replied the other, "except a romance; but "this is a work of too trifling a nature to claim fu"ture attention." "You mistake," fays the inquifitor, a well-written romance is no fuch easy "task as is generally imagined. I remember for"merly to have carried Cervantes and Segrais, and "if you think fit, you may enter." 66 Upon our three literary travellers coming into the fame coach, I liftened attentively to hear what migh be the converfation that paffed upon this extraordi nary occafion; when, inftead of agreeable or entertaining dialogue, I found them grumbling at each other, and each feemed difcontented with his companions. Strange! thought I to myself, that they who are thus born to enlighten the world, fhould ftill preferve the narrow prejudices of childhood, and by difagreeing make even the highest merit ridiculous. Were the learned and the wife to unite against the dunces of fociety, inftead of fometimes fiding into oppofite parties with them, they might throw a luftre upon each other's reputation, and teach every rank of fubordinate merit, if not to admire, at leaft not to avow diflike. In the midft of thefe reflections, I perceived the coachman, unmindful of me, had now mounted the box. Several were approaching to be taken in, whofe pretenfions I was fenfible were very juft; I therefore defired him to ftop, and take in more paffengers; but he replied, as he had now mounted the box, it would be improper to come down; but that he fhould take them all, one after the other, when he fhould return. So he drove away, and for myfelf, as I could not get in, I mounted behind, in order to hear the converfation on the way. (To be continued.) A WORD OR TWO ON THE LATE FARCE, HIGH LIFE BELOW STAIRS. JUST as I had expected, before I faw this farce, I found it formed on too narrow a plan to afford a pleafing variety. The fameness of the humour in every scene could not butat lait fail of being disagreea ble. ble. The poor, affecting the manners of the rich, might be carried on through one character or two at the moft with great propriety; but to have almoft every perfonage on the fcene almoft of the fame character, and reflecting the follies of each other, was unartful in the poet to the last degree. The fcene was alfo almoft a continuation of the fame abfurdity; and my Lord Duke and Sir Harry (two footmen who affume thefe characters) have nothing else to do but to talk like their mafters, and are only introduced to fpeak, and to fhew themselves. Thus, as there is a fameness of character, there is a barrenness of incident, which, by a very fmall fhare of addrefs, the poet might have eafily avoided. From a conformity to critic rules, which perhaps on the whole have done more harm than good, our author has facrificed all the vivacity of the dialogue to Nature; and though he makes his characters talk like fervants, they are feldom abfurd enough, or lively enough, to make us merry. Though he is always natural, he happens feldom to be hu morous. The fatire was well intended, if we regard it as being mafters ourselves; but probably a philofopher would rejoice in that liberty which Englishmen give their domeftics; and for my own part I cannot avoid being pleased at the happiness of those poor creatures, who in fome meature contribute to mine. The Athenians, the politeft and beft-natured people upon earth, were the kindeft to their flaves; and if a perfon may judge, who has feen the world, our English fervants are the beft treated, be~ cause the generality of our English gentlemen are the politeft under the fun. But not to lift my feeble voice among the pack of critics, who probably have no other occupation but that of cutting up every thing new, I muft own, there are one or two scenes that are fine fatire, and fufficiently humorous; particularly the firft interview between the two footmen, which at once ridicules the manners of the great, and the abfurdity of their imitators. Whatever defects there might be in the compofition, there were none in the action; in this the performers fhewed more humour than I had fancied them capable of. Mr. Palmer and Mr. King_were entirely what they defired to reprefent; and Mrs. Clive (but what need I talk of her, fince without the leaft exaggeration fhe has more true humour than any actor or actress upon the English or any other stage I have feen); fhe, I say, did the part all the juftice it was capable of. And And upon the whole a farce, which has only this to recommend it, that the author took his plan from the volume of Nature, by the fprightly manner in which it was performed, was for one night a tolerable entertainment. Thus much may be faid in its vindication, that people of fashion seemed more pleased in the reprefentation than the fubordinate ranks of people. UPON UNFORTUNATE MERIT. EVERY age feems to have its favourite purfuits, which ferve to amufe the idle, and relieve the attention of the induftrious. Happy the man who is born excellent in the purfuit in vogue, and whofe genius feems adapted to the times in which he lives. How many do we fee, who might have excelled in arts or fciences, and who feem furnished with talents equal to the greatest discoveries, had the road not been already beaten by their predeceffors, and nothing left for for them, except trifles to difcover, while others of very moderate abilities become famous, because happening to be firft in the reigning pursuit! Thus, at the renewal of letters in Europe, the tafte was not to compofe new books, but to comment on the old ones. It was not to be expected that new books fhould be written, when there were fo many of the Antients either not known or not underftood. It was not reafonable to attempt new conquefts, while they had fuch an extenfive region ly ing wafte for want of cultivation. At that period criticism and erudition were the reigning ftudies of the times; and he, who had only an inventive genius, might have languifhed in hopeless obfcurity. When the writers of antiquity were fufficiently explained and known, the learned fet about imitating them : hence proceeded the number of Latin orators, poets and hiftorians in the reigns of Clement the feventh and Alexander the fixth. This paffion for antiquity lafted for many years, to the utter exclufion of every other purfuit, till fome began to find, that those works which were imitated from Nature, were more like the writings of antiquity, than even those written in exprefs imitation. It was then modern language began to be cultivated with affiduity, and our poets and orators poured forth their wonders upon the world. As writers become more numerous, it is natural for readers to become more indolent; whence must neceffarily arife a defire of attaining knowledge with the greateft poffible ease. No fcience or art offers its inftruction and amufement in fo obvious a manner as ftatuary and painting. Hence we fee, that a defire of cultivating thofe arts generally attends the decline of fcience. Thus the finest ftatues and the most beautiful paintings of antiquity preceded but a little the abfolute decay of every other |