For now, companion of the rich, born; When in the grove with Amaranthus, And pleafed the tattling flowers all talk, So fick the looks, fo pale, fo faint; The double flowers defpife the fingle; But Nature's bounty vainly flows, So in the Primrose it was feen, ON WISDOM THE folitary bird of night, And quits his time-fhook tow'r; Beneath his ivy bow'r. With joy I hear the folemn found, Fav rite of Pallas! I attend, She loves the cool, the filent eve, Here Folly drops each vain disguise, O Pallas ! queen of ev'ry art With pleasure and surprise ! That breathes no wild defires; To nobler views afpires. Be objects of my prayer: By ftudious thoughts refin'd: In undecaying bloom. By thee protected I defy The coxcomb's fneer, the stupid lie, Of undifcerning wit. From From envy, hurry, noife, and ftrife, In thy retreat I rest, He bade Iliffus' tuneful stream Of perfect, fair, and good: Attentive Athens caught the found, And all her lift'ning fons around, In awful filence stood. Reclaim'd, her wild licentious youth Thy breath inspires the poet's fong, No more to fabled names confin'd, My thoughts direct their flight; Wifdom's thy gift, and all her force From thee deriv'd, Eternal Source Of intellectual light. O! fend her fure, her steady ray foul Thro' life's perplexing road; The mifts of error to controul, And thro' its gloom direct my To happiness and good." Beneath her clear difcerning eye, The vifionary fhadows fly, Of Folly's painted fhow; She fees thro' ev'ry fair difguife, That all but Virtue's folid joys Are Vanity and Woe. SONG. WHEN Win chills the dreary plain, And binds the floods in chrystal chain, If chance a tranfient fun-beam cheer How have I wish'd that gale to be For her who never thinks on me! The morning dew that wets the rose, The trav❜ller on fome mountain's fide, Of her who never thinks of me. When round the youths in transport Ο N Thursday, February 2, a Comic Opera, called THE MAGICIAN NO CONJUROR, was reprefented, for the firft time, at Covent-garden Theatre. It is written by Mr. Merry, author of the tragedy of Lorenzo, Poems by Della Crufca, &c. Confidered as a mere vehicle for mufic, the lyric part has fome pretenfions to praife; but as a dramatic compofition, it muft rank below mediocrity. The fable has neither novelty nor intereft, and the Characters are trite and feebly drawn. The following are the principal Dramatis Perfonæ : Talisman, Mr. Quick; Somerville, Mr. Incledon; Darcall, Mr. Fawcet; Squire Sapling, Mr. Wilfon; Peter, Mr. Blanchard; Grub, Mr. Munden; Terefa, Mrs. Billington; Lydia, Mrs. Webb; Villagers, Mrs. Martyr and Mrs. Mountain. Talifman, the father of Terefa, is addicted to the study of aftrology, and a convert to the modern fcience of animal magnetism. Darcall, a fortune-hunter, introduces himself as a brother magician, with a view of carrying off his daughter, but is detected; and paffing himself for Somerville, the lover of Terefa, intercepts a letter written by Lydia, the antiquated maiden filter of Talifman, and elopes with her. Talifman's necromancy fo much excites the fufpicion and indignation of the villagers, headed by Squire Sapling, that they break into his house and carry him off; but being refcued by Somerville, he confents to his marriage with Terefa, which concludes the opera. The mufic is the compofition of Mazzinghi. The airs and duets allotted to Mrs. Billington and Mr. Incledon were the best, and were admirably performed. The piece was given out for a fecond representation amid a tamult of applause and difapprobation; but after having been reprefented five nights, was withdrawn. On Saturday, February 18, a New Comedy, called, THE ROAD TO RUIN, was performed, for the first time, at Covent-garden Theatre. This comedy is the production of Mr. Holcroft, author of Duplicity, The Noble Peafant, Seduction, The School for Arrogance,' and other dramatic pieces. The Characters were thus reprefented: Mr. Dornton, Mr. Munden; Harry Dornton, Mr. Holman; Sulky, Mr. 9 Wilfon; Goldfinch, Mr. Lewis; Mel ford, Mr. Harley; Silky, Mr. Quick Jacob, Mr. Rees; Widow Warren, Mrs. Jenny, Mrs. Harlowe. Mattocks; Sophia Freelove, Mrs. Merry; The Fable is as follows! Mr. Dornton, a reputable banker, from a fond partiality to his fon, has constantly indulged him through life in every with and from which circumstance he is pictured as having run into all the fashionable vices of the prefent day, among which gambling is not the least attractive; a conftant repetition of loffes is fuppofed to be the na tural confequence of that folly; but being permitted to draw upon the houfe, he continues in his courfe of exceffes, until his extravagance excites a fufpicion, which caufes an unusual run upon the firm, and brings them to the brink of ftopping payment. The fhock this has upon the father, awakens all the feelings in the son, and reflection drives him to the brink of defperation. Almoft frantic with despair, he flies to Silky, an old ufurer, whom he has formerly fupplied with money, and been the means of making his fortune, but in his hopes of return, he experiences a difappointment, the old man being full of profeffions, but declines rendering any affiftance. In this dilemma, he refolves, as his laft refource, to marry the widow Warren (who has given him reafon to fufpect her partiality) notwithstanding his affections are firmly fixed on her daughter Sophia. This lady is the widow of an alderman, who left a confiderable fortune, in the full poffeffion of which the remains unmolested, although he left a natural fon, Melford, to whom the refufes all kind of favour. Mr. Sulky, as well as a partner to the Dorntons, is an executor to the late alderman, whom he receives advice had left another will abroad; this latter will, which gives away the greatest part of the estate from the widow, provided the marries again, is by the fimilarity of the names delivered to Silky; this he refolves to make some advantage of, and therefore propofes to Goldfinch, a firft rate genius of the turf, who applies to him for a loan of money to fecure him the widow, upon a condition of giving his bond for 50,000l. one-third of her eftate, and for which he pledges himfelf to force her to give her confent; to this Goldfinch readily accedes, having already paid his addresses to her, as without a wealthy marriage he must be ruined. Silky Silky waits upon the widow, and acquaints her with the contents of the will, and the determination he had to destroy it upon condition of her marrying Gold finch, but which he treats with contempt, from the hopes of having young Dornton, who comes to her in his tortured ftate of mind and offers to marry her immediately; profeffing at the faine time that he is driven to that expedient through want of her fortune. She not only confents, but fupa plies him immediately with 6,000l. At the moment he is paying his gratitude upon his knees, Sophia comes into the room and upbraids him with his falfehood; her appearance totally difconcerts him; he avows his love for her, and leaves them more diftracted than ever. Learning that his friend Melford was in a lock-up houfe, he determines to vifit and relieve him; where behaving in a strange manner, and Melford having been arrefted by old Dornton, he speaks fo difrefpectfully of him as to fire the fon, who firft difcharges the debt, and then fends him a challenge, The defign of the fon to marry the widow coming to the father's knowledge, and their affairs not being in fo bad a ftate as was fufpected, he refolves to prevent it; for which purpose he goes to her houfe, and meeting young Dornton, returns the money; on the mention of Mel ford's name, he recollects his challenge, and haftens to Hyde Park, whither he is followed by his father, but instead of meeting an oppoffent, receives an apology. The widow, rather than mifs a huf band, yields to the proposals of Goldfinch, and goes with him to Silky's houfe to fign the bond. Melford having a hint of the bufinefs from Goldfinch, goes there alfo with Mr. Sulky, and by concealing themfelves in a clofet, hear the whole bufinefs, and obtain the will, to the disappointment of the defigning parties; and the piece concludes with a promife of reform in young Dornton, and his marriage with Sophia. This comedy is the moft fuccefsful effort of Mr. Holcroft's pen. The fable is well wrought up, and the characters, though not entirely new, are drawn with a masterly hand, and well fupported. On the whole, the public are highly indebted to Mr. Holcroft for the production of the ROAD TO RUIN. At a time when diffipation is carried to fo extravagant a height by every clafs of mankind, we hope the comedy may prove a falutary check to it. The piece is a picture of life, as we daily fee it in the middle rank of mankind, is extremely pleasant, very interefting, and highly moral. HISTORICAL CHRONICLE. FEBRUARY 1. INtelligence was received at Vienna, on the 27th ult. that the definitive treaty of peace between Ruffia and Turkey was figned, at Jaffy, the 9th of the fame month, in conformity to the preliminaries fettled af Galatz. FEBRUARY 2. An inquifition was lately taken before the coroner at Hefton, near Hounflow, on the body of Edward Bradshaw, a poor old man; and the following circumftances, difgraceful to a civilifed country, appeared in evidence. In his pocket was found a pafs, figned by one of the magiftrates for the city of London, to pass him from the parish of St. Lawrence Jewry, to his own parish at Briftol. On Thurfday the 12th ult. when put into the pafs cart to be conveyed to Bristol, he was fo very weak, that it was evident his life could only be faved by warmth, care, and proper nourifhment; yet, on that day, one of the coldeft ever felt in this country, with fcarcely a rag to cover his exhausted body, he was put into the cart with four or five wretches of the fame defcription. The confequence was, he languifhed till he came to the end of Hounflow town, and there expired. The illegal dealings in the lottery, which have fo long difgraced the police, and defrauded the revenue, are at length almoft totally fuppreffed. The last abjudication of the court of king's bench, and the confequent exertions of the commiffioners of the ftamp duties, have provoked new attempts at evafion, which have been repelled by new and judicious interpofition; particularly on the part of the court of common pleas; Lord Loughborough having lately declared from the bench, that, upon a reprefentation from the board of ftamps, the abufe of the rules of the Fleet prifon fhould be no longer fuffered, but that, in future, every house within the rules, converted to the purpofe of defeating the lottery vagrant act, fhould be excluded from, and deemed to be no part of, the rules. FEBRUARY 3. Laft week, the lords of feffion of Scotland delivered their opinions in the cafe of lord Daer, against the freeholders of the U County county of Wigton and stewartry of Kirkcudbright. Lord Daer had been put upon the roll of freeholders of the itewartry of Kirkcudbright. The determination of the court was, that he had been improperly admitted there. They therefore ordered him to be ftruck off the roll, and found him liable in expences. His lardfhip had not been upon the roll of freeholders of the county of Winton; and, by this decifion, cannot now be admitted there. FEBRUARY 4. Friday it was determined in the court of king's bench, that a limekiln could not be diftrained by the landlord for arrears of rent, because it was affixed to the freehold, except where lime was made in a portable oven, and then it might be confidered as goods and chattels. FEBRUARY 5. On account of the Birmingham riots, actions are commenced and proceffes ferved upon Mr. Thomas Archer, high bailiff, and Mr. Thomas Whateley, chief conftable of that town, as nominal defendants in the caufes.-Meff. Elvins, Greaves, and other refpectable architects of that place, are faid to be employed to estimate the damages of the buildings; and Mell. Warren and Son, the lofles in furniture, apparel, and the other property therein. FEBRUARY 7. Yesterday, the following extraordinary cafe was decided in the court of chancery: A Mrs. Barker had a legacy left her of property to the amount of 30,000l. for her own feparate ufe and difpofal during her husband's life-time. She foon afterward became deranged in her mind, and her husband was obliged to get a perfon to take care of her. But the had frequent lucid intervals, which fometimes continued a whole day. In one of them the duly executed a will, leaving the bulk of her fortune to her relation, the defendant, and fettled 10,000l. upon her hufband for life. The latter died foon after, and very fpeedily a commiflion of lunacy was iffued against Mrs. Barker, who is at this time under the care of commifLoners. The defendant became poffeffed of the, property. The attorney general confidered the property lapfed to the crown for the benefit of all the heirs at law. He filed his bill, and proved the infanity. Defendant repelled it, by ftrong proofs of lucid intervals, and that the will was agreed to, and executed at one of these periods. The lord chancellor ordered an iffue, which was tried in the king's bench, and the verdict was as extraordinary as the. origin of it. It was found by the jurors that the teftatrix was of found mind and memory on the particular day she made and executed the will. The lord chancellor took up the quef-. tion in various points of view, and fhewed the infinite danger which would enfue, by fuffering perfons in the state of mental derangement under which the testatrix laboured, to make a difpofition of property by will. His lordship, therefore, annulled the verdict, by which the will becomes void, and the defendant muft apply to the liberality of the crown for his share of the whole. The court of king's bench have determined that the act of the 32 Geo. II. chap. 28, which enacts, That no perfon arrested or in cuftody, fhall be carried to gaol or prifon within 24 hours from the time of fuch arreft,' does not extend to the cafe of a perfon taken in execution. FEBRUARY 8. The further destination of capt. Bligh, in his majefty's fhip Providence, when the left the Cape of Good Hope, was as follows, viz. to anchor in AdventureBay, Van Diemen's Land, early in October laft; to fail thence the 1st of Decenber following to the Southward of Zealand, and to arrive at Otaheite about the latter end of February, 1792; to fail thence on the 1st of June, and to anchor at Timor the beginning of August, after having paffed between New Holland and New Guinea, and probably touch at Java; to repafs the Cape of Good Hope in December, touch at the Mauritius or Madagascar for water; anchor at St. He lena, and in March 1793, to arrive at St. Vincent's; thence to Jamaica; and having thus completed the great object of the bread-fruit-tree expedition, proceed immediately for England, which he may probably reach in the autumn of the fame year. FEBRUARY 11. |