of the perfonages of the old bard, exhibited by Garrick in the character of Harlequin. Indignant as I was to fee my favourite poet fo degraded, I however produced my ticket, and took my feat. The firft entertainment I found was entitled Harlequin Corfican. After the mufic had played an overture, the favourite actor appeared in the character of Hotspur, with Pierrot habited like Worcester, in the First Part of Henry the Fourth. The old English earl feemed to be foothing his angry nephew in these words: Peace, coufin, fay no more. Hotfpur replied with the most frightful contortions and ridiculous grimaces; By Heaven, methinks it were an easy leap, To pluck bright Honour from the pale-fac'd moon; Where fathom line could never touch the ground, I was told by a critic near me, that the Corfican Harlequin alluded by thefe lines to his plans against the Turkish Crefcent, and probably to the real predominance of the Queen of Night over his heated brain; the latter part feemed to denote the projected invafion, and its probable confequences to himself, which the character he affumed, fo frankly avowed to the English Ambaffador. Shortly after, by a metamorphofis, performed in the twinkling of an eye, Harlequin appeared in the dress of an ancient Scottish Thane; and I heard him repeat the very words of Macbeth: To be thus is nothing; But to be fafely thus:-My fears in Bourbon -They : -They put a barren fceptre in my gripe, my -For Bourbon's iffue have I fill'd mind; The ftage foon afterwards was darkened; but a ftrange fulphurous light dawning gradually over it, a caldron was feen, and the witches dancing round it fhortly after, Macbeth appeared with a bundle of poppy in his hand, which he deliberately fhook over the veffel, and then retired. An odd effect of this appeared in the next fcene; when the first object I perceived was Harlequin like Claudius King of Denmark. He exhibited all the figns of terror which that character displays in the poifoning fcene. I caft my eyes round in fearch of the caufe, with fome anxiety, but no fceptre appeared. In a few minutes, however, I diftinctly heard a hollow voice repeating, in fmall but fullen founds, thefe words: I will find him when he lies afleep, Soon after I heard the fluttering of wings; the ftarling actually made its appearance, and accofted the King with this formidable word, with fo much vociferation and perfeverance, that he fairly drove the royal Dane off the stage. Harlequin next appeared Hamlet himself, driving in Columbine before him, who feemed to have fallen under his princely difpleafure. She appeared in a mixed character, partly dreffed as Queen Gertrude actually appears on the ftage, and partly decorated with drooping lilies, the well-known emblematic B 2 infignia infignia of France. Hamlet approached her, bearing in either hand a picture, and addreffed her in thefe words: Look here upon this picture—and on this. This was your hufband. Here is your husband Look you now what follows! You cannot call it love. Though sense you have, So palpably. -What devil was it, That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind? Or but a fickly part of one true fenfe Could not fo mope. All this while the appeared in great agony, till the Prince difmiffed her with a look of pity and contempt. This exhibition was fucceeded by the mafquerader in the figure of a Roman patrician, with a fingular expreffion of rancour and envy in his countenance. I could not conjecture whom he meant to perfonate, till I fhortly after faw Pierrot like Julius Cafar, with his bald head and laurel crown, obferving the fenator with a fagacious and penetrating eye, and repeating, Yond' Caffius has a lean and hungry look ; Seldom he fmiles; and fmiles in fuch a fort, Such men as he be never at heart's ease, Whiles they behold a greater than themselves. But this high-fpirited Roman, who could not brook a fuperior, was foon degraded into a modern Italian pantaloon. I foon recognifed my old acquaintance the Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet. -Meagre were his looks; Sharp mifery had worn him to the bones; The world was not his friend, nor the world's law. 5 This This was the only difference; "the ftuffed alligator," inftead of being hung up in his fhop, was ftuck under his arm, as if he was in the act of carrying it from Egypt, as a lafting though not a living monument of his exploits there. He was foon, however, by fome invifible means, expanded into the jolly figure of Jack Cade, with his thrum cap and ruftic myrmidons. After dubbing himself an Emperor inftead of a Knight, the mob cried out, "God fave your Majefty!" on which he anfwered, "Thanks, good people. There fhall be no money nor trade. Jack Cade, the clothier, fhall drefs the commonwealth, and fet a new Nap upon it.' it.” On this, Peter the Punfter cried out, "Emperor Nap, Emperor Nap!"-The Ufurper immediately cried, "Knock him down there!" Then he thus continued his a idrefs: "The law fhall proceed out of my mouth; you fhall eat at my coft; and when you bave cat up the land, go dive for herrings." When the Lord Say was brought before him to be fentenced, he feemed to lay a particular emphasis on that part of the arraignment where he is charged with caufing printing to be ufed, against which he expreffed the moft virulent antipathy. But the last change was the moft furprising of all. The ftage exhibited a Weft India fcene. And as I fat admiring the magnificence of nature in the landfcape prefented before me, I could not for fome time conjecture what could be the intent of this unexpected reprefentation. After looking round for fome time, and examining every object as minutely as the distance would allow, I at laft efpied an ant-hill, with fomething lying near it, refemibling a long flender piece of red fealing-wax, and foon obferved the ants clustering on that fhining fubftance, in fuch numbers, that in a fhort time it was entirely covered. This odd phenonienon, as I was told, was the tongue of an ant-bear в 3 (an (an animal I had not before feen), who lays it out thus as a bait for the members of the little induftrious republic. When he found he had got his complete cargo, he immediately drew in the little feductive organ, and fwallowed up a whole colony of curious travellers. This, I was told, alluded to the state of the prifoners in France, who were induced to venture over the Channel by the fallacious appearance of peace. The whole concluded with the reprefentation of a fea-fight, followed by Rule Britannia, played and fung in a full chorus. After which, a fong was given by him who reprefented Peter the Punfter, of which I only remember thefe lines: No mortal we know is His equal in prowess, On all the terraqueous ball.. O Hannibal! Cæfar! And Nebuchadnezzar ! May he prove a dead match for you all! HOW TO ABUSE MINISTERS. MR. EDITOR, THER [From the Morning Herald.] LETTER I. HERE is nothing like candour at first starting. Know then, that I am a general vilifier, in verfe and in profe, of all his Majefty's Minifters, for the time being, of what party or denomination foever they may be. I have nothing to object to the manners, the morals, or the measures of Mr. Addington; hut it is an indispensable duty in the honourable corps to which I belong, to arraign and cenfure thofe publicly, whom, under a confcientious qualm, one might fometimes be induced, perhaps, privately to admire. We are well paid to annoy pre-eminence in the government of the country; and therefore, like Swifs troops, are feldom |