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so much without betraying itself; and, confequently, that these papers can be no other than the production of Shakspeare bimjelf?"

Mr Ireland further informs the public, that (befides the play of Vortigern, now preparing for reprefentation at DruryLane theatre) another, and more interefting hiftorical play, has been discovered amongst the other papers, in the handwriting of Shaktpeare; and that this will, in due time, be laid before the public.

He likewife acquaints them, that "he is in poffeffion of a great part of Shakfpeare's library, in which are many books, with notes in his own hand, and those of a very curious nature. Some of these he most probably will reprint."

ACCOUNT OF VORTIGERN.

tenant!

SINCE the period at which the fame of Garrick was at its zenith, we do not fuppofe public curiofity was ever more excited than on the occafion of the first right's performance of a play, which fome have afcribed to the pen of the immortal Father of the English Drama, faid to have been found among certain ancient papers, the authenticity of which, of courfe, refts upon precifely the fame ground as that of the piece in queftion; a ground that may be faid to have fairly given way, and

To the queftion of difcovery, Mr Ireland replies, that " he received from his fon, Samuel William Henry Ireland, a young man then under 19 years of age, by whom the discovery was accidentally made, at the house of a gentleman of confiderable fortune. Amongst a mafs of family papers, the contracts between Shakespeare, Lowine, and Condelle, and the leafe granted by him and Hemynge to Michael Frafer, which was first found, were difcovered; and, foon afterwards, the deed of gift to William Henry Ire land (defcribed as the friend of Shakef- Good morrow to you, good mafter Lieupeare, in confequence of his having faved his life on the river Thames, when in extreme danger of being drowned) and also the deed of trust to John Hemynge were discovered. In purfuing this fearch, he was fo fortunate as to meet with fome deeds very material to the interefts of this gentleman, and fuch as established, beyond all doubt, his title to a confiderable property; deeds of which this gen tleman was as ignorant, as he was of his having in his poffeflion any of the MSS. of Shakspeare. In return for this fervice, added to the confideration that the young man bore the same name and arms with the fame perfon who faved the life of Shakspeare, this gentleman As we are at a lofs to which to impromifed him every thing relative to the prefent fubject, that had been, or fhould pute, whether an incorrectness of head be, found, either in town, or at his or of heart, the prefumption of the perhoufe in the country. At this houfe, fon who firft prefixed the name of Shakf the principal part of the papers, together peare to this farrago, we shall not vouchwith a great variety of books, contain- fafe him any notice, but fimply proceed to speak of it as we have found it, withing his MS. notes, and three MS. plays, with part of another, were difcovered." out fuffering ourselves to be inclined, Here follows the inquiry. "Who the as the prologue requests, either by fagentleman is from whom these papers vour or prejudice. Dramatis Perfona. have been obtained?" To this Mr Ire. -Vortigern; Conftantius; Vortimerus land answers, that, "when he applied Caragrinus, Pafcentius, (fons of Vortito the original poffeffor of the papers gern;) Aurelius, Uter, (fons of Conftanfor permiflion to print them, it was not tius ;) Fool; Hengift; Horfus, (or as we obtained but under the ftrongeft injunc- apprehend e fhould be called Horfa.) tion that his name fhould not appear. Rowena, (daughter of Hengift ;) FlaThis injunction has, throughout all the via, (daughter of Vortigern ;) Edmunda, fages of this bufinefs, been uniformly (wife of Vortigern.)-Barons, Attendeclared; and as this gentleman has dants, &c. dealt moft liberally with the editor, he can confidently fay, that in his turn, he has, with equal opennefs and candour, conducted himself towards the public, to whom, immediately upon every communication made, every thing has been fubmitted without referve."

This baseless fabric of a vision

Leaves not a wreck behind :

The play commences with a propofal on the part of the old King, Conftantius, who is weary of, and unequal, from his advanced age, to the direction of the government, that Vortigern, in reward for his fervices, fhould share with him his diadem. Vortigern, with

feigned

feigned reluctance, yields to his commands; but is no fooner inducted into power, than giving loose to his ambition, he refolves on the death of Conftantius, and employs two wretches to effect his purpofe. Imputing the murder to fome Scots, then at Court, he caufes them to be apprehended, and dispatches meilengers to Aurelius, and his brother, then at Rome, urging their return, to eafe him of the anxious task of ruling; fending, however, a trufty fervant to affaffinate them. Efcaping the intended danger, they fly to Scotland, and readily raife a formidable army, with which they invade England. Vortigern, to refift the impending torrent, calls in the aid of Hengift the Saxon, and, to ftrengthen their union by a marriage with his daughter Rowena, divorces his wife Edmunda: This act difgufts many of his courtiers; they fly to Aurelius, who, after 1ome engagements, is triumphant; he, however, fpares the life of Vortigern, and marries Flavia, of whom he had been long enamoured.

This play, whenfoever, and by whom. foever written, appears to have come from fome schoolboy who had furcharged his mind with the fublimities of Shakspeare, as fuch an one must have done his weak ftomach when fet down for the first time to a table of fuperior dainties, which, though he might affect to relish, he could not digeft; or, in other words, we have here and there fo much an intellectual likeness to fomething Shakfperean, as might be traced locally in the fcattered fragments of his

broken ftatue.

The Vortigern of the piece is an illcombined mixture of the worst parts of Richard and Macbeth: Edmunda is now the Queen Catherine of Henry VIII. and now a feminine Lear, recovering from mental derangement: The fool is a contemptible Touchitone; the murderers, thofe of Clarence; and fo on through the whole Dramatis Perfonæ.-If Shakepeare is at all to be recognized, it is Shakespeare in his dottage, through a paucity of ideas ftealing from himself.

Refpecting the language of the play, it cxactly accords with its general ftructure: Philofophy of the lower form walks hand in hand with fuperannuated morality to the end of the chapter, beguiling the tedioninefs of the way, while labouring under the weight of clumfy metaphor, by now and then an exchange of vulgar witticifm.

The piece, however, was heard without interruption, through the three first acts, excepting frequent laughs at the more tragic paffages might be placed to the fcore of ill-nature, but towards the clofe, the torrent of ridiculous bombast fwelled to fuch a height as to bear down all critical patience. An attempt was made to give it out, but without fuccefs; Meff. Barrymore and Kemble by turns came forward, when the clamour at length fubfided, on the latter fubftituting the School for Scandal.

Thus, to the honour of a British audience, has the name of their darling Shakespeare been vindicated from the obloquy in which an attempt was made to involve it, by fome obfcure feribbler, who, in compliment to Mr Ireland, we will believe has been dead long fince.

The following we give as the most fublime passage in Vortigern.

-"Oh, fovereign death! That haft for thy domain this world immenfe; Church yards and charnel-houses are thy haunts,

And hofpitals thy fumptuous palaces;
And when thou wouldst be merry, thou doft

chufe

The gaudy chamber of a dying King.
Oh! then thou doft ope wide thy boney jaws,
And with rude laughter, and 'fantaftic tricks,
Thou clap'ft thy rattling fingers to thy fides;
With icy hand thou tak ft him by the feet,
And upward fo 'till thou doft reach his heart,
And wrapt him in the cloak of lafting night.”

THE following Prologue to Vortigern received the fullest approbation of the Manager, but was objected to by the Owner of the MSS. as not being strong enough in afferting the authenticity of the play.

BY HENRY JAMES PYE, ESQ. THE caufe with learned litigation fraught, Behold at length to this tribunal brought. No fraud your penetrating eyes can cheat, None here can Shakespear's writing counter

feit.

As well the tapers bafe unluftrous ray
Might try to emulate the orb of day,
As modern bards, whom venal hopes infpire,
Can catch the blaze of his celeftial fire.-

If in our feenes your eyes delighted find
Marks that denote the mighty Master's mind;
If at his words the tears of pity flow,
Your breafts with horror thrill, with rapture
Demand no other proof-you fouls will feel,
glow;
The ftamp of Nature's uncontested feal.-
But if thefe proofs fhould fail;—if in the
Arain

Ye

Ye feek the Drama's awful Sire in vain ;
Should Critics, Heralds, Antiquarians join
To give their fiat to each doubtful line;
Believe them not. -Tho' to the niceft eye.
The coiner imitate the royal dye,
The Touchftone fhall detect the precious
mould,

Nor let bafe metal pass for sterling gold.

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This caufe then in the last refort you try,
From this tribunal no appeal can lie.
Turn from the rigid rules of Critic art
To read the rules of Nature in the heart;
Confult her laws, from partial favour free,
And give, as they decide, your just decree.

REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.

The Whim, A Comedy, in Three Acts. By Lady Wallace. With an Addrefs to the Public upon the arbitrary and unjuft Afperfion of the Licenfer againft its political Sentiments. The fecond Edition. Ordered to be acted for the Benefit of the Hofpital and Poor of the Ifle of Thanet, but refufed the Royal Licence. 8vo. 2S. Reed. THIS Lady, notwithstanding her former want of fuccefs, has come forward again with a piece for the stage. This is a fort of political play, and has been refufed the licence to be exhibited. The following dialogue will perhaps at once difplay the Lady's talents, and fuggeft the reafon why the prohibition, under which our ftage labours, was called forth on the present occafion.

"Fag. Well, furely our old Lord is a whimfical old Genius.

Nell. It is a queer whim, I must confefs, for him who is for ever plodding over Greek books as big as himself, and dufting old petrifactions-he who frets to death if a moufe ftirs in the house, to have fuch a buftie all of a fudden.Pray, Fag, is all right in the upper ftory? pointing to her head. Fag. Can't fay, 'pon honor, as I only 1 arrange the outfide; but I rejoice at the turn he has taken, for I was dev'lish tired of living in his humdrum fashion.

Nell. He is forever preaching to my fweet young lady against modern men, and modern manners-fays that ancients lived more decently-that the women in thofe days were employed from morning to night, in housewifery-never interfered in public life, or attempted to rule-and, what was horrible, moft horrible, that they never had lovers after they were married! I was beginning to look out for another place, until he gave a fillip to my spirits by this fete to-day. Fag. I don't think you need have tired

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Fag. Pray, what is his meaning of making the fervants afters for a whole day?

Nell. I heard him tell Mifs Julia, that old folks—in the days of Adam, I fuppose, when mafters were no worfe than their fervants-that to make each contented with their fituation, they had one day's holiday every year, which called the Feast of Satin.

Flag. Satin! Oh, he feafts beft in modern times-he generally feasts with our mafters every day-but he called it to me the Feast of Satin-Alley.

Nell. Aye, that is his name; and a very fenfible worthy fellow he must have been; for he allowed no diftinction of perfons. Knowing that the man is often better than his mafter, he made him mafter for one day; and our Lord is fo madly fond of Old Fashions, that he means to be Mr Satin for to-day.

Fag. Lord! dear Nell, we shall fo enjoy ourfeives-I fhall have a ball and fupper-the very beft wines. I fhall make fo pretty a gentleman! Shan't I, my dear?

Nell. That you will-none of your degenerate withy-wafhy fellows, like our debauche Nobles, but a fine, bold, dafhing fellow

Fag. And you, my dear fweet Nell, what a charming lady you will make! bu then, fhould you be as liberal of your favours as fome of them are—od's heart! I fhall never be so much of the Man of Fafhion as to bear that contentedly!

Nell. I wifh from my heart that this fashion

fashion may take, and be followed by all the Great, and that fervants may have a day to lord it every year.

Fag, Faith, then mafters would have enough in that one day to teach them to feel for the miferies which their caprices and pride caufe to us, poor flaves of indigent fortune.

Nell. But I fancy our Nobles are not fo good as the ancients were.

Fag. 1 fear, indeed, many of them would feel the vengeance of their dependants, for their tyrannical caprices, before the day was over.

Nell. Ha! ha! ha! I cannot help laughing at the forry figure fome of our lubberly great men would cut if thus levelled!

Fag. You may fay that-for to be arrogant-falfe-in debt to tradefmen-to give money only to girls and gamingto defame friends, without truth or humanity, a great man is above minding; but it won't do this for those who have their bread to earn.

Nell. But, Fag, I fear you'll never be able to do this part well-why, you can't even tell a lie with a bold face

Fag. Nor can I, for the foul of me, infult humble worth, fend the needy away from my door, or act with treachery by my friend.

Nell. Poor Fag! you'il cut but a humdrum figure then, as a great man.

Fag. I hope the thing will take it is a new Whim, and like all out-of-the way things, may become the rage with great folks; and who knows, if it does, but that I may one day be a King!

Nell. And I Queen Elinor! Lord, how I fhould change the face of affairs! You know, we females make the beft of Kings.

Fag. What mighty changes would you make, iny beauteous Queen?

Nell. First of all, I'd fee the Defpots at the Devil, before they fhould ever fwindle my people out of a guinea, or a barley-corn.

Fag. Then you'd have no Allics, Nell; for they are ever avaricious or faithlefs. I truft, then, you'd make peace!

Nell. Oh that I would: I should have a fine glorious crop next year; for I'd convert all their fwords into ploughhares.

Fag. Then the French would come and gather it; and I fuppofe, you'd furely untax us?

Nell. No: taxes are neceffary evils.

But I'd tax all luxuries, gaming, menmilliners, men-fervants, dogs, and dollies, fo completely, that every one should be able to pay for bread, even if twice as dear. I'd even do like Queen Anne I'd give all the money I could mufter to relieve my people.

Fag. Bravo, Nell! And here comes Mifs Julia--fo I'm off. [Exit Fag."

To allow no diftinction of perfons, to affert that the man is often better than the master, to tell the great of the miferies which their caprices and pride caufe to the flaves`of indigent fortune, and to talk of levelling, and laughing at the forry figure which fome of our great men would then make, must, in these times of acrimony and ferment be little lefs than high treafon.

An appeal to Impartial Pofterity, by the Female Citizen Roland, wife of the Minifter of the Home Department: Or, a Collection of Pieces written by her during her Confinement in the Prifons of the Abbey and St Pélagie. Parts I. II. and III.

THIS pofthumous publication was brought out by Boft, once the friend of the deceased and of her husband.

We are told by the Editor that Madame Roland, while in a private capacity, aimed only at gaining the esteem naturally arifing from the practice of domeftic virtues: that she aspired not to celebrity, and therefore never published any thing: that the exaltation of her husband to a place in the miniftry did not alter her principles, nor inspire her with the vanity of wishing to be known as a woman of letters or as an author: that he was indeed an affiftant to him in his political labours, as he had been before in his fcientific pursuits, but without fuffering her name to appear to any of the productions which e fent forth into the world: and, finally that nothing but a defire to vindicate her reputation as a citizen, and to ftand clear in the eye of impartial posterity, could have induced her to prepare for the prefs a work which should be known, after the was no more, to have come from her pen. Thus it would appear that it was not fo much her object to acquire as not to lofe fame; though either would have been not only blameless, but even meritorious.

M. Roland certainly excels in draw

ing portraits or characters, and the variety of features displayed in thofe fhe paints are truly ftriking. We fhall therefore prefent our readers with a few of the most remarkable of them.

Speaking of the fhocking maffacres in the prifons of Paris, the author gives a trait of Danion, horrible in any man, but infinitely more fo in one who, being at that time at the head of the law department, or minifter of justice, was more peculiarly bound to protect those individuals from whom the law had taken away all means of felf-defence.

"Grandpré, who, by his office, is o. bliged to give an account of the ftate of the prisons to the minister of the homedepartment, had found their fad inmates in the greateft affright, on the morning of the 2d of September. He had taken various measures to procure the liberation of many of them, and had fucceeded with respect to a confiderable number: but the rumours that prevailed, kept those who remained in the great eft confternation. This worthy citizen, having returned to the hotel, waited to fee the minifters at the breaking up of the council. Danton first made his appearance. He went up to him: he told him what he had seen, and related what had been done, the requifitions made to the armed force by the minifter of the home-department, the little regard apparently paid to them, the alarms of the prifoners, and the care which he, being minifter of juftice, ought to take of them. Danton, vexed at this unlucky reprefentation, cried with his bellowing voice, and appropriate geftures: " damn the prifoners! what care I, what becomes of them?" and went on his way in a rage. This was in the second anti-chamber, in the prefence of twenty people, who fhuddered to hear fuch a favage fpeech from the minifter of justice."

GRANGENEUVE

Is the best of mankind, with a countenance of the leaft promife. His understanding is of the common level; his mind, truly great : and he performs noble actions with fimplicity, and not in the least suspecting, what they would coft any other than himself.

In the course of July 1792, the conduct and difpofition of the court indicating hoftile defigns, every one talked of the means of preventing or fruftrating them. On this subject Chabot said, with VOL. LVIII.

the ardour which proceeds from a heated imagination, not from strength of mind, it was to wifhed that the court might attempt the lives of fome of the patriotic deputies; as this would infallibly caufe an infurrection of the people, the only mean of fetting the multitude in motion, and producing a falutary crifis. He grew warm on this head, on which he made a copious harangue. Grangeneuve, who had liftened to him without faying a word, in the little fociety where the difcourfe took place, embraced the firft opportunity of speaking to Chabot in private. "I have been ftruck with your reafons;" faid he: "they are excellent; but the 'court is too fagacious, ever to afford us fuch an expedient. We must make it ourselves. Find you men to ftrike the blow: I will devote myself as the victim."-"What! you will ??? "Certainly. What is there fo ftrange in it? My life is of no great utility: as an individual I am of little importance: I should be very happy to facrifice myself for my country." Ah, my friend, you shall not do it fingly!" exclaimed Chabot, with a look of enthusiasm: "I will share the glory with you."-" As you pleafe: one is enough tavo may be better. there will be no glory in the bufinefs; for it is neceffàry, that it remain a fecret to all the world. Let us think, then, of the means of carrying it into execu tion."

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But

Chabot took upon himself this charge. A few days after, he informed Grangeneuve, that he had found inftruments for the purpose, and all was ready.--

66

Very well: let us appoint the time. We fhall be at the committee to-mor row evening: I will leave it at half after ten: we must go through some street little frequented, in which you must poft your men. They must take care to shoot us dead at once, and not maim us only."-The hour was fixed: the circumftances were fettled. Grangeneuve went to make his will, and arrange fome domeftic affairs, without any buftle; and was faithful to the appointment. Chabot did not yet appear. The hour came; and he did not arrive. Grangeneuve concluded, that he had given up his defign of taking a fhare in the bufinefs: but fuppofing, that it would be carried into execution on himself, he departed, took the road agreed on, traverfed it flowly, met no perfon, repaf

fed

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