lative to the different branches of the arts, both | I am pretty confident that he owed à considein principle and practice. It will include up-rable part of his fortune to an uncle, whose wards of three hundred engravings, in pro- name was Brown, a considerable wholesale gressive lessons for copying, studying, &c. dealer in linins in the city of London. Students of the fine arts,' says the Prospectus, who depend on their own exertions for success, will find this to be the only work from which they can derive adequate instruction, and by the assistance of which, they may speedily arrive at proficiency.-Drawing Inasters will find in this work the best and least expensive series of instructions, and examples for copying, which they can lay before their pupils. To schools, whether with or without the instructions of a drawing master, the advantages accruing from this work are incalculable.' It will be completed in ten parts, price five shillings each, a part will be published every month, or oftener, so as to terminate it before the end of 1808. For the convenience of purchasers, it will also be published in fifty numbers, at one shilling each. In page 707 of the number for January last you profess to agree with Mr. Carpenter," in thinking that the appointment of clergymen to the office of magistrate is inconsistent with their sacred character." Though no magistrate myself, I am of a different opinion: and though I have no suspicion of your meaning, yet I fear that under the mask of respect for our sacred character, a wish is sometimes concealed to degrade it, and by keeping us to our desk and pulpit, to make us of little consequence. Many of the clergy are fitted by their education and habits for the magistracy; and they are in general more stationary than the gentry, many of whom live in London during the winter, and at watering places for a considerable part of the summer, and even when they are resident at their country houses, are very much from home in sporting or visiting. In some countries, where gentlemen are plentiful, the services of the clergy might be dis CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE REVIEW DE- pensed with, but in the neighbourhood where PARTMENT. To the Editor of the Literary Panorama. Sir, I have been much gratified by the account which you have given of my old friend, Edward King, Esq. in p. 1041, &c. of the second volume of your truly respectable work. I must say that it does both him and you honour. There is a trifling mistake in it, which I beg leave to correct. It is said, that "in 1748, he was sent to the University of Cambridge, as a fellow commoner of Clare Hall." Now I have the most perfect recollection that Mr. King and I mounted the Cambridge Coach, in the Green Dragon Yard, Bishopsgate Street, at 6 o'clock in the morning of October the 10th 1752. We formed an acquaintance during our journey, and I have the pleasure to say that it ripened into a friendship which continued through life. Mr. King was a year below me, though we commenced our career of study together; for I was admitted previous to the cominencement, whereas he was admitted only when he came into residence. He was at first and for some time a pensioner, as I was; but afterwards he turned fellow commoner, as our phrase is. I may add that he never took any degree, because he had an objection to attest his consent to the 39 articles, as I apprehend, for I never heard him speak a word against them, or any part of the doctrine or discipline of the established church: but he was al ways original in his manner of thinking, and disdained jurare in verba magistri, or to own any master in religion but Jesus Christ. I live, were it not for two clergymen, we In the same number, page 809, &c in your account of Isaac Taylor,* you have *To the account given of this artist ought also to have been added his services as captain of a division of the Holborn Volunteers, after the riot in the year 1780. He received an unanimous vote of thanks from the corps, for his very singular attention to his military duties, and to the honour and welfare of the corps. His family had long been conspicuous for loyalty; and the arms which some of them used when they mounted guard during the rebellion in 1745, were long preserved as honorable memorials in their respective fami lies.-Editors not mentioned some plates which he did for me in a work which I published in conjunction with a friend in the year 1773. It was a translation of the Antiquities of Herculaneum. Plates 29 and 30 were executed by Isaac Taylor: the rest (50 in all) by Grignion, Lamborn, Bannerman and Miller. The work never proceeded beyond the first volume. I am, Sir, your obedient humble Servant, Pertenhall near Kimbolton, DIDASCALIA. DRURY-LANE THEATRE. Lady Bloomfield, a dashing widow-Mrs. Jordan. Mrs. Barclay, the mother of Cheviot, by Davenant, before marriage; and, after, of Miss Barclay by Mr. Barclay-Mrs. Powell. Eleanor Barclay, her daughter-Miss Boyce. Having thus detailed the characters in the old fashioned way, we trust our readers will excuse us from relating the whole of the plot; it principally hinges upon the adven tures of Echo and Cheviot. The former having been educated in the country, on coming to London endeavours on every occasion to become, and to be thought fashionable; the latter is drawn as a previously dissipated young man, but now a distressed poet, with the highest ideas of independance though in extreme poverty; in short, he is the picture of the poet Savage, who has Blest be the Bastard's birth! thro' wondrous ways, been thus dramatized without his dreadful He shines eccentric like a comet's blaze! These were the lines that occurred to our tecollection (notwithstanding the author quoted part of them) on the first representation of THE WORLD, a new comedy written by Mr. Kenny, and performed on March 31-of which the following is a catalogue raisonné of the Dramatis Personæ. Cheviot, a bastard, a petulant, independent poet-Mr. Elliston. Echo, an imitator of every fashionable fool and knave-Mr. Bannister. Withers, the disguised father of Cheviot; his real name is Davenant, the seducer and neglecter of Mrs. Barclay-Mr. Wroughton. Index, a kind-hearted old batchelor, who knows every thing and every body, an animal of absolute ubiquity-Mr.Mathews. Subtle, a great speculating merchant-Mr. Wewitzer. Social, a retired merchant-Mr. Purser. Loiter, a knavish pretended fashionable— Mr. De Camp. Dauntless, companion to the preceding ad venturer-Mr. Palmer. Author-Mr. Russel. Margin, a bookseller-Mr. Maddocks. enormities. He quickly reminded us of him, "who," as Dr. Johnson observes, "in confidence of superior capacities or attainments, disregarded the common maxims of life, and evinced that nothing will supply the want of prudence; and that negligence and irregularity long continued, will make kuowledge useless, wit ridiculous, and genius contemptible." Elliston gave the character its full effect, insomuch that those who were present, knowing Savage's history, could not for a moment forget that, "the insolence and resentment of which he was accused, were not easily to be avoided by a great mind irritated by perpetual hardships, and constrained hourly to return the spurns of contempt, and repress the insolence of prosperity; and vanity may surely readily be pardoned in him, to whom life afforded no other comforts than barren praises, and the consciousness of deserving them." Notwithstanding the merit of this piece, which is by far the best comedy produced this season, and though we admire the intentiou of the author in "admonishing all not to let the laugh of the world make them act contrary to the upright dictates of their hearts," yet we strongly object to such characters as Withers, alias Davenant, and Mrs.. Barclay being exhibited on the stage; par ticularly too, as, in this instance, the seducer Davenant, does not by any means appear sufficiently repentant of the atrocity of his conduct till the winding up of the plot. From the introductory impressive manner of Wroughton, we did expect more from this character, which ought to have been the most prominent in the piece," as affording a powerful instance of misery and remorse of conscience, caused by his desertion of an amiable woman, and producing à stronger suffering than at present appears. Mrs. Barclay is the third character of the tion of the manners of the rising generation, by the authority of those who received their patents for far different purposes; a hint from the police office would oblige the, managers to end these vociferations of cursers and damners (of the theatres royal) within the hearing, we had almost said, of the justices themselves. kind we have had within this last year. On this subject our readers will compare Panorama, Vol. II. p. 539, and Vol. III. p. 766, for observations relative to the characters of Adelgitha and Countess Orsini, the effusions of Messrs. Monk Lewis and Godwin. All the three characters having been personated by the same actress, certainly aided us in retra--To these general observations we add with cing the disgusting similarity of their adven tures to our memory. Oh! memory! thou soul of joy and pain! SAVAGE. Mr. Kenny has evinced considerable_improvement since the new opera of False Alarms which was one of his last productions; it is to his credit that he has not debased his powers by the introduction of contemptible clap traps only fit for the lowest of the weak to applaud-the judicious to despise. We wish we could compliment him on his having produced a comedy without the despicable assistance of swearing; for we do not recollect that practice ever carried to such a height as in this play. We reckoned about thirty oaths, which at first we did not accuse the author of; on the contrary, we gave all this praise to those low comedians whose vanity leads them to think they improve their author by this base recurrence. That "fine copyist of nature," Mr. Bannister, in personating the demi-booby Jack Echo, swore three times in about five minutes. We strongly recommend this practice to the notice of the Society for Suppression of Vice, and at the same time inform those very low comedians whose deficiency in acting is supplied by thus entrapping applause from the worthless, dissipated and barren, that by the statute of 1746 any person below the rank of gentleman is obliged to pay 2s. per oath, and every gentleman 5s., and we suppose the actors at Drury-lane-theatre, being titled His Majesty's servants, are set down as gentlemen, although the other patent theatre cannot claim this privilege of being gentlemen on the stage. The perversity of this bad habit, from the silly compliance, or inattention of the audience, is, we understand, so prevalent, that the gentlemen of the theatre arrogantly quote the words of Shakespeare, saying, in their parrot-like stile, that, "when a gentleman is disposed to swear, it is not for any stander-by to curtail his oaths."- -But, we beg these persons to remember that our lexicographers define a swearer as " a wretch, who obtests the great name wantonly and profanely""low, dishonourable," betokening meanness of mind."-Surely the magistrates sitting regret that on reading the printed copy of the World we find that the players are not in this instance the only defaulters, as the author, (who could have done better) has contributed to disseminate off the stage, what the professors of the art do so much for on it ;-we have neither room nor inclination to insert above fifty blots of this kind, but refer our readers to the play itself, where they will find abundance of instances in pages 7, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 52, 56, 57, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, 79, 81, 85. If the Licenser had been anxious for the cause of morality and virtue, we scruple not to say that he would have expunged all the passages here alluded to. We cannot see any reason why he should not prevent such libels on the national character from being recorded in theatrical literature, thus continually subjecting us to the reflexions of foreigners who on this discreditable custom, have been very free with their remarks, as may be seen in Panorama, Vol. IV. p. 289, in an anecdote which we have recorded of our old friend Beaumarchais, the witty author of Le Barbier de Seville, &c. The play was an hour too long on the first representation; judicious curtailment has, we understand, much improved it. The prologue was dull; the epilogue was full of point, and was very ably delivered by Elliston: it wil be found in our POETRY. The performers did ample justice to their respective parts, particu. larly Mathews and Bannister. Though we admire Mrs. Jordan in her own particular line, in which she is inimitable, the genuine daughter of nature, yet we cannot praise her as the representative of Lady Bloomfield; for though she conceives the character, yet her appearance is altogether incompatible with the artificial young lady of fashion. The following will serve our readers as specimens of the author's dialogue and manner. Index narrates " why, of young Cheviot's birth little is kwn-his father was never clearly ascertained; so the less we say of his mother, you know, the better :-how ever this I know, that he was found, one fine morning, by a Mr. Davenant's servants, at the foot of the Cheviot hills, a little chub-“ by brat squalling for breakfast." Respecting, Subtle he says; he is a kind of enterprizing genius on the Stock Exchange. I know all his history. He was born on board a priva Bow-street, midway between the two teer; his mother was frightened at the bes theatres, ought to prevent this nightly corrup-ginning of the action, and little Subtle pop at ped into the world just in time to share the prize money!!"-Cheviot replies to Margin's requesting to be hid; " Why, yes, I believe I can hide you; but, in general, hiding a bookseller behind an author, is like covering a thick folio with a pamphlet.". "thou miserable factor of genius; thou middle man of the crops of Parnassus."-Index "C useful instidescribes the King's Beach, as tution on the other side of the water; where, Cheviot says, he shall be quite happy, as he was sure of enjoying the company of men of genius."-Vellum, the bookseller's man, thus describes to his master Margin, the importunities of sundry poor authors. a Vell. There's a young lady, first, with a volume of fugitive poetry-then there's Mrs. Thickenwell, with Horrors upon Horrors," and Mr. Pasquinall, Sir, has brought a new satirical novel, calied, "A Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, at all the Places of fashionable Resort throughout Great-Britain -written by a Gentleman of Rank." Marg. Zounds! Dismiss 'em all. Tell Mrs. Thickenwell that I'd take her Horrors, if she hadn't so often given them to my customers; the little Sappho, that I have already a plentiful stock of poetry called fugitive, that never stirs out of the shop; and Mr. Pasquinall, that I'm very sorry, but his commodity overstocks the market already. The celebrated history of Caractacus has been again dramatized at Drury Lane theatre, and with great effect and splendor. This English history is now rendered a ballet of action by Mr. Degville, a French dancer, who has made a beautiful spectacle. The author has kept in view Mason, and Beaumont and Fletcher, and we wish he had stopped where they did; for, in the latter part, the story decreases in interest, but yet it forms a most magnificent exhibition. The history has been so often before our readers, that we shall not attempt to detail it. We shall only notice, that the third part represents Caractacus as prisoner before Cæsar, accusing Marcus as the principal in his disgrace. The Emperor punishes Marcus, and pays honour and respect to Caractacus, who is seated by his side; and the piece concludes with a grand chorus of priests and virgins. Degville's personation of Caractacus is a fine perform ance. COVENT GARDEN. March 31.-A burlesque melo-drama was performed at this theatre entitled Bonifacio and Bridgetina.-An insult to the understanding and a disgrace to the stage; it completely failed the first night, and was con demned again the second; and yet the managers have had the effrontery to repeat it often, and have announced it daily in their bills, in the true mountebank stile, as having been received with a roar of applause-thus insulting the common sense of the town off the stage as well as on. So much for the judgement, taste and propriety of the directors of our national patent theatres, who are supposed to give the tone to the minor moralists of the times, those strolling "holders up of the mirror of nature, who shew vice her own deformity, folly her own image!!!" Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, has been revived at Covent-Garden; it is revised by Mr. John Kemble, who has judiciously made a few alterations to render it less exceptionable than when in its original state. It has not been acted for many years; but we trust that it will now keep possession of the stage, notwithstanding the disputes with the commentators of Shakespeare relative to its real author, as it forms a It is well got up, pleasing performance. with regard to the scenes, dresses, decorations, music, and acting. Valentine was well supported by Kemble, particularly in the last scene, which he gave with that dignified fervour for which he is so eminent. Although we by no means think the lover a part in general calculated for him. Proteus was performed by Pope; Speed by Blanchard; Lance by Munden, who acquitted himself with great credit, and was, what is not always the case with him, perfectly natural. Liston was the fop Thurio, in which he displayed his talents to advantage. Sylvia was personated by Miss Norton; and the inferior Julia by Miss Smith, who gave sufficient proof of those abilities which we have often pronounced greatly superior to any acting the stage is now in possession of, placing her contemporaries at a very humble distance: indeed, Mrs. Siddons excepted, this lady stands unrivalled; and we trust she will prove an able successor to that admired actress. We cannot conclude without expressing our approbation at the bringing forward this piece, though it certainly is much inferior to Shakespeare's other works. The comedians did not disgrace it by a single oath. However we could have wished that more of Lance's dialogue had been retained: yet it is better to retrench a little, than, with daring innovation, presume to add too much, as was verified in the case of the additions to the Tempest, by Davenant, Dryden and Co.-Compare Pano-‘ rama, Vol. I. p. 467. · MANNERS OF THE COURT OF FRANCE, UNDER HENRY IV. Those particulars that we gave in our last, of the manners of the Parisians and of the Court of France, at the time of the marriage of Queen Isabella, have been thought extremely amusing. We shall, therefore, introduce an account of the manners of that Court at a later period, as a kind of companion picture to the former. The particularities, by which the taste of the times is strongly marked, need no illustration from any previous notices. We are indebted to Mr. WRAXALL'S "History of France" for this extract. The luxury of dress appears to have been carried to a great height under Henry the Fourth. Bassompierre assures us, that at the baptism of the royal children of France in 1606, when all the nobility and courtiers strove to outvie each other in expense, the dress which he made up for the occasion cost him seven thousand crowns. The cloth of gold, which composed the materials of this superb suit, was embroidered, or rather totally covered with pearls. The fashion of it alone came to three hundred crowns." When I arrived," says he, “at Paris, all the taylors "and embroiderers were so employed, that "no money could procure them. But my "own taylor having informed me, that a "merchant of Antwerp had brought a vast "quantity of pearls, with which I might "make up a dress superior in beauty to every "other in the court, I sent for him. Not "less than fifty pounds weight of pearl were "necessary; and the merchant insisted on re"ceiving two thousand crowns earnest. I had "only about three hundred and fifty in my "purse: nevertheless, I gave orders for it. The birth-day suits of the present age, what ever taste may be displayed in them, shrink on a comparison in expense with those worn near two centuries ago. When Henry IV entered Paris in 1594 by torchlight, and on horseback, he wore, says l'Etoile, a dress of grey **velvet, shot with gold, a grey hat, and a "white feather." But at his nuptials, six years afterwards, we find him habited in white satin, embroidered with gold and "silk, and a black crape." The " toque," or little Italian turban, introduced by Henry the Third, still continued to be worn, ornamented with jewels. "his shoes and stockings white; his cloak". "black, with a border of embroidery, lined' "with cloth of silver; and a bonnet of black. "velvet." He was besides covered with precious stones and pearls. Sully, enumerating the principal articles which constituted elegance of dress in 1590, states them to be, "scarfs, feathers, stuffs,' hats." If, after contemplating the splendor silk-stockings, gloves, belts, and castor of upper life, we wish to see a portrait of or dinary costume" in 1596, we may find it in the same author. They wore ་་ the beard long and forked; a large hat, which almost entirely concealed the face; a long "black cloak, buttoned at the collar; a "sword, and very wide boots." Among men of quality and condition, the beard and hair were cut short. That the same union of finery and dirt, of external show and concealed poverty, with which the French of the present age have been reproached, 'equally evident from an expression of a cotemporary characterized them two hundred years ago, is "Do we not sec," says he, writer, youth of the present time, wear collars and "wristbands of thread-gauze starched, al the though the body of the shirt be composed "of coarse rotten cloth, scarcely stitched shoes, were common, particularly among the "together?" Gallochios, a sort of large ex-students of the university of Paris, who, residing in different quarters of the metropo is, and attending the lectures, were necessitated to avail themselves of this means of wading through the dirt, with which the streets were incommoded." It will not be doubted, that the art of de corating and attiring the female person to the utmost advantage, had been assiduously cultivated, under a prince of the gallant and amo rous complexion which distinguished Henry the Fourth. Ladies appear to have been so oppressed under the weight of their ornaments and precious stones, as to have almost lost the power of motion. When Gabrielle d'Etrées entered Paris with her royal lover in 1594, she was carried," says l'Etoile, "in a magnificent open litter: she had on a robe of black sattin, variegated with white; and she was covered with pearls and jewels "of such lustre, that they dinined the 66 torches." Henry did not disdain to assist at her toilet, to adjust her head-dress, and to place the brilliants in her hair, with his in the church of St. Germain de l'Auxerrois, own hands. At the ceremony of a christening where Gabrielle and the king were present, Great effeminacy characterized the men onslie was so loaded with diamonds and pearls, the article of dress, as we learn from Maithieu. D'Alincourt, the French einbassador at the court of Rome in 1608, on a day of ceremony, was clothed in a silver tissue; Vol. IV. [Lit. Pan. May, 1808.] as to be scarcely able to stand. L'Etoile assures us, that he saw a handkerchief, made by an embroiderer of Paris for Gabrielle, 10 "be worn on the ensuing day, at a ball; the M |