Commiffary: pears, that the honeft attorney, knowing Mrs. Mechlin's abilities to find provision and employment for both sexes, has brought Loveit for her assistance, which she promises, and immediately points out the means, a rich widow, of fixty, who wants a husband; this proposition proving agreeable to all, the young adventurer and Harpy go off, to make room for the Commissary and his riding-master, who now advance upon us-Fungus, full of his matrimonial transaction, and no doubt to give Mr. Bridoun a more exalted idea of his approaching confequence, questions Mrs. Mechlin, in a whimsical manner, about his intended bride, whom he touches up with ladyship in every short sentence; having promised to improve his dress, after a short lesson, he and Mr. Bridoun proceed to business. His ambition of riding a long-tail'd horfe in Hyde Park, or in clouds of fummer-dust on the King's Road, his asking if the carpenters have brought home his new horse, his fuggeftion of natural-born gentlemen, and the introduction of his palfrey, are a fund of fatiric drollery; his preparation for mounting, taking his position, and falling off, are extravagantly laughable; it has been objected by some over-nice critics, that this scene is too pantomimical for comedy, but we think not; if every man, as Tristram Shandy obferves, has his natural hobbyhorse, why should a wooden-headed Commissary be denied his artificial one? besides, the whinı is not at all inconsistent with other parts of the character, which keep within the bounds of probability -Mrs. Rr2 Gommiffary -Mrs. Mechlin's announcing the approach of Lady Sacharifsa, terminates this scene, and makes room for the amorous widow, who comes to know how her matrimonial expectations are likely to fucceed, when she receives intelligence, much to her fatisfaction; this short interview is not without confiderable pleasantry. Dolly, as Lady Sacharissa, and Jenny the maid, have a short tete-a-tete previous to Fungus's entrance, in which the latter folicits employment, as servant to the former, when married, but is refused on account of their knowing each other too well; this repulfe suggests a resentment, which Jenny hints just as the Commissary appears new rigged. The following scene of courtship is excellently wrought up, the lady's Caledonian precision, Fungus's aukward servility, his studied address, and the artful conduct of Mrs. Mechlin, all co-operate, like lights and shades in painting, to render the picture expreffive and pleasing: when our Commif sary's grand nuptial concern is fettled, young Loveit comes according to appointment, and prepares to encounter his gilded unknown bride-but lo, to dash their mutual hopes, his mother steps forward; he sustains the shock with some pleasantry, but the old lady diffolves into tears; a circumstance which furprizes Mrs. Mechlin, and occafions fome confufion, till the match-making lady promises to settle matters some other way; for this purpose, when Fungus and Dolly appear, she attributes Mrs. Loveit's Commiffary. veit's agitation of spirits to the ill behaviour of her fon. Matters being brought now to the grand crisis, unluckily, both for Mrs. Mechlin and her neice, Dr. Catgut comes in abruptly, accosts his intimate acquaintance Dolly, with great freedom; at which, Fungus naturally pricks up his ears, but with great confidence still afferts his lady's nobility of blood, and richness of pedigree, till the Doctor's perseverance, and his brother Ifaac's appearance more awaken him, and neceffitate Mrs. Mechlin to acknowledge the imposture, which she does with more assurance, having Zachary bound in a penal obligation to confummate the proposed marriage; this occafions him to make a sharp reflection upon her harpy-like disposition, which she answers with a fatirical stroke of great keenness and general tendency; intimating-we wish the rhimes had been omitted that she only preys on the follies of mankind, while the Commissary tribe devour the vitals of a whole nation with unrelenting rapacity. Ariftotle himself, could not have defired a stricter preservation of time and place than is maintained in this comedy; the plot is regular, and the scenes intermingled well; but we think there is a lapse of poetical justice at the catastrophe, in suffering such a woman as Mrs. Mechlin to go off triumphant, though at the expence of a fool: Ifaac Fungus might have been furnished with fome discovery relative to her, that might have given him an opportunity of retaliation; we think also, that making the Commiffary Commissary. missary himself renounce his childish pursuits, would have sustained the part better at last, and shewn a conclufive effect from the dilemma he has escaped, and the penalty he has brought himself under. We do not remember to have perused or heard any dramatic author, whose dialogue shews a greater degree of spontaneous, entertaining spirit than Mr. Foote's; if it is not enriched with absolute wit, there are nevertheless many peculiar emanations of fentiments, and much pregnancy of expreffion; his characters are always alive, his incidents nouvelle, his fatire poignant, and all his scenes free from that languor which most writers occasionally fall into; his personages, at least the striking ones, are all drawn from life, and with such a happy degree of execution that they are not more generally seen than known; and this, we are bold to affirm, is the true way to make the stage a falutary school of manners. Zachary Fungus and his brother, are moft excellently contrafted; the one a dupe to extravagant notions of gay life, the other pent up in the narrow compass of mechanical ideas; the former a coxcomical fool, the latter a rational, though unpolished trader-Mr. Foote's performers being as tranfient as fwallows, who appear only in fummer, and almost every year change their station, we cannot pretend to enquire into the merit of any but those most known. The author of this piece has not a greater flow of imagination in writing, than he has of force and rapidity : Commissary. pidity in representation; as no man can compose, so no performer can act in his stile, except by very faint and inadequate imitation; his features and utterance are equally well calculated to tickle the livelier, sportive feelings; which is evident from the laughable effect he works upon numbers of spectators, who frequently cannot comprehend the allusive meaning couched in what he says; but admire it, as Boniface does Greek, for the facility with which it is spoken. In the Commissary he manifests indescribable ease and vivacity; literally obferving Shakespeare's rule of fuiting the action to the word, the word to the action; particularly in the riding scene, where it is hard to say which excels most, his gesture, his looks, or his utterance; in short, though chiefly confin'd to his own productions at present, we will venture to affert, that if natural disposition had not bent this gentleman to write in a peculiar manner, and to support that peculiarity by his own performance, he would have done many characters much more justice than they have met from other hands; as it is, both as author and actor, he may justly cry out with Ri. chard, though upon a far more comfortable principle, " I am myself alone." Ifaac Fungus, it is true, requires no very material talents in representation; however, Mr. SowDON deserves praise for fupporting him in a characteristic manner; and of this gentleman we must add, that when in Drury Lane theatre, as well as on the Dublin stage, he sustained many characters of capital importanee, much better than the present poffeffors of them do in any of the houses. Mr. |