acknowledgment a very lame and insufficient apology. "It is my twenty-first production," says he; "and after having written upwards of forty thousand verses, it is not very easy to find any thing new, without going out of the high road of nature to search for such ideas as are excited by extraordinary objects."-For such a genius as Corneille this is pitiful, and indeed amounts to a confession which may well be suspected of being too true, that he had tired down his muse, and, by extorting too much from it, had exhausted his mind so far that it required to lie fallow for some time to regain its fertility: for, going on further. he admits that the play is destitute of tenderness and the passions, "which," says he, "are the very soul of tragedy; nothing but grandeur and courage are to be found here such grandeur and courage as have no other support than that love of virtue which is imprinted in the heart of nations."

Great as the reverence was with which the French people regarded the talents of Corneille, the Nicomede would have had very little success, had it not contained several passages which applied with force and spirit to some great popular event. Yet, destitute as it was of attraction-wanting, as he confessed it did, the very soul of every tragedy (tenderness and passion) and being moreover faulty in many respects, the great author was so idolized by the people, that when the French Roscius, BARON, who was also a favourite, and permitted to do almost any thing he pleased, attempted to alter some passages in the Nicomede in a way which he thought would better suit the public taste, the house repelled the attempt, unanimously insisted that the diction of Corneille. should not be violated, and made the presumptuous actor speak the words exactly as they had been originally written.

The next production of Corneille, which came out in the suc ceeding year, gave still stronger proofs of a temporary descendency in his talents; it was intitled Pertharite, and was indeed so bad that, maugre all their respect for the author, the audience most unanimously and emphatically damned it: on which Corneille immediately retired from the stage, declaring that he would never return. He adhered to this resolution for six years; at the end of which a particular coincidence of circumstances conspiring with natural inclination brought him back again to the stage, with his talents renovated by a total suspension of their accustomed exercise. (To be continued.) K

VOL. IV.

74

BIOGRAPHY.

LIFE OF DAVID GARRICK, ESQ.

[Continued from page 18.]

Ar length the objectors to Mr. Garrick's management of the theatre began to complain that he had conducted himself with too strict an attention to economy in the ornamental and decorative parts of theatrical exhibitions; and that he seemed determined to regulate the entertainments of the stage with an eye only to his own advantage, and without any regard to the satisfaction of the public. These murmurs had continued some time, when, at last, Mr. Garrick determined at once to endeavour to meet the wishes of his friends, and to silence the discontents of his enemies. How he succeeded we shall relate in Mr. Davies's words:

"In the summer of 1754, Mr. Garrick invited the celebrated Mr. Noverre to enter into an engagement with him for the ensuing winter; and to compose such dances as would surprise and captivate all ranks of people.

"Noverre's compositions, in all the varieties of graceful movement, had long been admired and applauded by the connoisseurs, in all the courts of Europe; and, to convince the world he understood dancing scientifically, he published a very learned and philosophical treatise upon that subject. In October, 1754, he composed that accumulation of multifarious figures, called the Chinese Festival: a spectacle in which the dresses and customs of the Chinese were exhibited in almost innumerable shapes and characters. That nothing might be wanting to render this entertainment as perfect as possible, the most skilful dancers in Europe were hired at a considerable price.

"But between the planning of this public diversion, and the representing of it, hostilities commenced between England and France; and, as if we had at the same time declared war against ingenuity and the polite arts, the uninformed part of the people, stimulated by others, whose envy of superior merit and good fortune is ever disguised with the specious show of public spirit, denounced vengeance against the managers, and particularly Mr. Garrick, for employing such a large number of Frenchmen in

an English theatre, at a time of open war with their countrymen. Nothing could justify this unexpected attack but an exclusion of the English in preference of foreigners; but that was not the case, for all England and Ireland were ransacked to fill up the various figures projected by the composer of the Chinese Festival.

"The prejudices of the people were so violent, and so openly divulged against this entertainment, that the king was prevailed upon to give a kind of sanction to it by a royal command, on the first night of representation;* but the presence of a crowned head was not sufficient to curb that ill-placed zeal against papists and Frenchmen, which had seized many well-meaning people. The good old king, when he was told the cause of the uproar, seemed to enjoy the folly of the hour, and laughed very heartily.

"Had this entertainment been a spectacle of moderate expense to the managers, Mr. Garrick's judgment would have prompted him to give up a contest which was so very hazardous; but as very large sums had been expended on this novelty, he was in hopes that the audience would relent, and permit him to reimburse himself at least. But all endeavours to bring the enemies of France to temper were in vain: the struggle lasted five days,† during which time our Roscius acted several of his most striking characters, with a view to soften the resentment of the public; but he always met with very significant marks of their displeasure.

"The inhabitants of the boxes, from the very beginning of the dispute, were inclined to favour the exhibition of the Festival, and very warmly espoused the cause of the managers against the plebeian part of the audience, whom they affected to look down upon with contempt. The pit and galleries became more incensed by this opposition of the people of fashion, and entered into a strong alliance to stand by each other, and to annoy the common enemy. Several gentlemen of rank being determined to conquer the obstinacy of the rioters, they jumped from the boxes into the pit with a view to seize the ringleaders of the fray. The ladies at first were so far from being frightened at this resolution of the gentlemen, that they pointed out the obnoxious persons with great calmness. Swords were mutually drawn, and blood shed. The females

* November 8, 1755. So that it had taken more than eighteen months in preparing.

† Mr. Davies is here mistaken: the piece was performed six nights, viz November 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 18.

at last gave way to their natural timidity, they screamed out loudly and a mighty uproar ensued. The contest between the boxes and the other parts of the house was attended with real distress to the managers; for they knew not now 'which party they could oblige with safety. One would not give way to the other, and they seemed to be pretty equally balanced: at last, after much mutual abuse, loud altercation, and many violent blows and scuffles, the combatants fell upon that which could make no resistance, the materials before them. They demolished the scenes, tore up the benches, broke the lustres and girandoles, and did in a short time so much mischief to the inside of the theatre, that it could scarcely be repaired in several days. During the heat of this ruinous business, Mr. Garrick felt himself in a very odd situation; he thought his life was in danger from the ungovernable rage of the people, who threatened to demolish his house. He, who had been so long the idol of the public, was now openly abused and execrated. He found himself reduced to the necessity of seeking protection from the soldiery. The mob indeed went so far as to break his windows, and to commit other acts of violence."

From this period no event of importance occurs in the annals of Mr. Garrick's life until the year 1761. The business of the theatre went on without interruption; and he continued to acquire both reputation and fortune. In that year, however, he found himself obliged to exert his poetical talents, in order to correct the impertinence of an insignificant individual, a Mr. Fitzpatrick, who, without provocation, and in defiance of decency, carried on a weekly attack against him, in a paper called "The Craftsman." The original cause of the quarrel, we are informed, was grounded on some illiberal reflections which Mr. Fitzpatrick threw out against Mr. Garrick, and which the latter resented with spirit and propriety, though a considerable time had elapsed before he was provoked to take public notice of him. As Mr. Fitzpatrick's writings are now entirely forgotten, the revenge which Mr. Garrick took of him must, from that circumstance alone, be involved in some obscurity. Those, however, who are unacquainted with either persons or facts will receive pleasure in reading Mr. Garrick's admirable satire published on this occasion, intitled The Fribleriad, a poem, which had the honour of being highly commended by Churchill, who has also given a very severe correction to the same person.

However unequal Mr. Fitzpatrick was to the task of contending with Mr. Garrick in a literary warfare, yet the rancor which his defeat had engendered pointed out a new mode to distress his antagonist. It had been customary, on the representation of a new performance, to refuse admittance at any part of the evening, unless the whole price of the entertainment was paid. This had almost invariably been the rule; and it had been hitherto submitted to, as a reasonable demand from the managers, to compensate the extraordinary expense which new dresses and scenes occasioned. To gratify his resentment, Mr. Fitzpatrick seized on this circumstance as a ground to disturb the peace of the theatre, and to involve the managers in a contest with the public. For this purpose handbills were dispersed about the coffee-houses in the neighbourhood of Drury-lane, recommending a peremptory demand to be made, and requiring an absolute promise to be given, that no more than half the usual price should be taken on any evening of performance after the third act, unless at the representation of a new pantomime. A kind of association was entered into by several young men, to obtain a redress of this grievance, as it was called; and Mr. Fitzpatrick put himself at the head of it.-Murphy has so accurately described this affair, that we will now borrow his words. "The malcontents," says he, "thought this a good ground for a riot; they did not consider that the expense attending a new production is often very considerable, and with the addition of the author's benefit nights, amounts to a large sum. This, undoubtedly, was sufficient to justify the managers; but reason with the lovers of tumult is a feather in the scale. In the beginning of January, Shakspeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, with alterations by Benja min Victor at that time treasurer to the house, and a most worthy man, was presented with good success, and no half-price was received. This was deemed a good opportunity for a quarrel, and a party was accordingly formed. On the tenth night of acting this altered play, the malevoli determined to begin their attack. A gentleman of the name of Fitzpatrick, who possessed great taste and learning, put himself at the head of the conspiracy. He had been well acquainted with Mr. Garrick, and for some time professed himself one of his warm admirers. What occasioned a total revolution in his way of thinking never transpired. Whatever was the motive, it kindled a violent spirit of animosity, insomuch, that he, who had been always distinguished by the most placid, manners,