Saddle thy PEGASUS at once-ride post: Lo! ere though start'ft, a thousand things are loft + !' The concluding Canto of the LOUSIAD is alfo come to our hands; of which farther notice will be taken in our next Review. Art. 50. The Welch Heiress: a Comedy. 8vo. 25. R. White. 1795. In antient as well as in modern times, the great difficulty of the drama has been to construct and manage the fable. The happy choice of a fubject, its artful developement, its paffionate growth, and its probable conclufion, are obftacles which have been rarely overcome. A play without a plot is a non-entity; or at beft has an inanimate exiftence. Wit has no point, unless it be darted by paffion. Of this Congreve was generally well aware; and, when he chanced to forget it, even Congreve's wit grew tedious. Of the truth of thefe old maxims the Welsh Heiress is a ftriking inftance. Metaphor, fimile, fatire, all the choiceft leers and wiles of Thalia, have been profufely lavished on this her fpoiled child; whofe whims at first amufe, but on repetition pall, and at last offend. It is diftinguished by another peculiarity. The little intereft that is excited is all in favour of Mifs Plinlimmon. The Lord whom she is going to marry difgufts by his neglect of her, and by the duplicity of his conduct; and his final refufal of her, inftead of gratifying our feelings, feems almoft contrived to affront and fhock them. The author, Mr. Jerningham, has probably been misled by the prejudices of that fashionable world with which he is familiar: yet even this class of fociety has for centuries found little difficulty in defcending a step to intermarry with wit, wealth, and beauty. Notwithstanding the faftidious exceptions taken by the Lord and fine Lady of the drama, Mifs Plinlimmon's remarks and fatirical points are far the keeneft; and as for her felf-detraction, of having crooked legs, it ftands the author in little ftead; it being equally incongruous and offenfive. Neither must we overlook Lady Plinlimmon. Her loves of the plants, and fimilar touches of indecent allufion, are highly reprehenfible, and can delight neither reader nor fpectator." To afford proof that this comedy abounds, as we have said, in the fports and wiles of fatiric imagery, we present our readers with the following scene: SCENE-The Saloon. Lady Plinlimmon, Mifs Plinlimmon. Lady Plin. I beg you will put on your best looks, and fit patiently to the painter, that Lord Melcourt may have a good resemblance of you. Mifs Plin. What does he want my picture for? will he not fee me morning, noon, and night? 'tis not likely he fhould forget my face: or is it to hang me in effigy, in case I should run away from him? ་ Lady Plin. It is ufual for the bride to prefent her portrait to the bridegroom, fo I beg you will make no difficulty about it. + Were fimilar advice given to Peter himself, and were a critical vacancy of the laurel to happen, we should be curious to know what this eccentric bard would say to it. • Enter Lord MELCOURT and Mr. FANCY. Mr. Fancy. I hope I do not intrude upon your Ladyship? Mr. Fancy. This is the hour your Ladyship appointed, and I confefs I am impatient to commence the flattering task, but to do juftice to the charms of that young lady, no pencil can have the prefumption. Mifs Plin. The painter, I find, mamma, fays finer things than the lover. Lord Mel. It is part of his profeffion to talk the language of bombaft, and inordinate adulation: it becomes my fituation to fhew respect, a delicate referve, a genuine but not an importunate attachment, a calm not a tempeftuous folicitude; in one word a filent ado ration. Mifs Plin. Silent enough! egad I believe your adoration has a lock jaw. Lady Plin. Fie child! don't talk fo ridiculously; pray Mr. Fancy in what coftume fhall my daughter be drawn? Mr. Fancy. Perhaps Mifs Plinlimmon will point out herself what character fhe prefers. Mifs Plin. I hope Mr. Fancy will give my face a good character, for it has done no harm. Mr. Fancy. I ask your pardon, it has done a great deal of harm; but if my opinion was confulted, I should recommend to Mifs Plinlimmon to be painted in the attitude of reading. Mifs Plin. 1 fhould like to be drawn reading, for I know I have a pretty down-cast look. Lady Plin. I must not forget to inform you that all the females of the Plinlimmon's have had a family mole, a little above the left eye, for these two centuries; Now Ifabella's is too complicated with the eye-brow; perchance you can make fome flight alteration. Mr. Fancy. By the omnipotence of the pencil we can raise the beauty spot, and place it in view. Lord Mel. But is not that departing from reality? is it not a deceit a kind of pencil lie? Mr. Fancy. It is only changing the local refemblance, it is at the worft a fkilful and elegant inaccuracy; the beauty-fpot is there, I make no addition to what nature has already done, I only bring to the eye of admiration, what her Ladyship informs me nature has rather removed from the fight. Lady Plin. I declare, Mr. Fancy, you defend yourself most ingeniously, does he not my Lord? Lord Mel. Moft skilfully indeed! Mr. Fancy. I have taken a much greater licence than this, without feeling any reproach of confcience; for example, when I had the honour of drawing Lady Frizlerump, I broke the immeasurable length of her bald buff forehead, by introducing two moles and a patch, the patch you know is a thing ad libitum, and as I knew Lady Frizlerump had a mole on each fhoulder, I removed them from their native fpot, (they were well worth the carriage,) and I placed them in a more confpicuous fituation; there is no great deceit in this, it is only a kind of tranfplanting, which ought to be as allowable in painting as in gardening. Lord Lord Mel. Well ladies, you perceive how fportfully Mr. Fancy difcourfes, he has a mind to give you a fpecimen of his manner of entertaining his company, when they are fitting to him. Lady Plin. But I think, before we come to any determination about the dress, it would be proper to confult the attic taste of Lady Bellair Mr. Fancy. Moft affuredly, you may fhew her these miniatures which I have lately finished. This is the portrait of Mifs Harelip, gives the miniatures) which attracted the public eye the last exhibition. This is only a profile of Mifs Woolfack, the Judge's daughter. Lady Plin. I will not delay you any longer at prefent. Mr. Fancy. I will wait upon your Lady fhip, whenever you will favour me with your commands. (Exit. Mr. FANCY. Mifs Plin. But why does your Lordship with so much to have my picture, fince I am to live with you? do you want me duplicated? don't you think one Mifs Plinlimmon will be enough for you? Lord Mel. The mutual exchange of pictures, is one of the etiquettes of modern marriages. Lady Plin. Marriage itfelf may be faid to be a mutual exchange of attention, indulgence, and affection. Mifs Plin. In this mutual exchange, pray, my Lord, inform me which of us two will be the gainer? "Lord Mel. If there is any calculation to be made, I am undoubtedly the gainer. Mifs Plin. Give me leave to calculate my loffes; in marrying your Lordship I lofe my name-I lofe the fociety of papa and mamma I fhall, perhaps, lofe my fhape-and perhaps, in time, lofe my reputation. Lady Plin. Peace to that flippant tongue of yours, you are trying his Lordship's patience before the time. As I muft carry these miniatures to Lady Bellair, your Lordship will excufe my leaving youJfabella go to your papa (Exeunt Lady PLIN LIMMON and Miss PLINLIMMON. 'Lord Mel. Heaven and earth! What a family am I going to be connected with! But I must not paufe upon that thought, it would almoft lead me to distraction, (Exit Lord MELCOURT.' Much of the wit of this fcene is lively and pleasant, but not faultdefs. The lockjaw is apt, but inelegant; the down-caft look is pointless; and Lady Frizle-rump, with her moles and bald buff forehead, is coarse and almoft difgufting. The little influence which the fcene has on the plot offends. After the acuteness and fancy displayed by Mifs Plinlimmon, the reader is aftonished at Lord Melcourt's fhort foliloquy. It at once infults the feelings, and violates probability.On the whole, we do not greatly wonder that this play did not fucceed on the stage. Art. 51. The Reftoration of the Jews: a Poem. By the Rev. Francis Wrangham, M. A. Member of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and Curate of Cobham, Surry. 4to. 15. Dilly, &c. Of the numerous votaries of poefy who have fhared the powerful infpiration of Mr. Seaton's legacy, Mr. Wrangham is not one of the Jeaft fuccefsful. In treating his fubject, he has taken a wide compass, commencing with the first exodus of the children of Ifrael from Egypt, and following them through all their wanderings to their final return to Jerufalem. The ftory is narrated in poetical diction and harmo'nious numbers; and the hiftorical allufions, which are numerous, are illuftrated by pertinent notes, chiefly refpecting the accomplishment of the prophecies. In thefe notes, the writer's erudition keeps an equal pace with his poetical talents in the text. Art. 52. A Letter from Dr. Snubdevil in London to his Friend at Bath, 1794. 4to. Is. Bell. 1795. The writer of this tame and feeble fatire on the general vices and follies of the time pleads hafte as an excufe for inaccuracies, and the requeft of a friend [the old ftory] as an apology for publication. Could we discover in the verfes any marks of genius which might encourage us to expect better things when the author is more at leifure to digeft and correct, or which could lead us to presume that his friend has had better reafons for prompting the publication than appear on the face of the performance, we should be difpofed to fuffer the poem to pass uncenfured: but we will not finish the fentence. Art. 53. The Travels of Cyllenius: a Poem. The 38th and 40th Cantos. 4to. 1s. each. R. White. Of this political fquib, thrown out at random among the multitude, we cannot fay whence it comes, or whither it tends. As the author begins at the 38th canto, he probably means to publish backwards. Ifia, we may perhaps difcover more of his drift, when we shall have arrived at the first line of the poem. In the mean time, it may be fufficient to inform our readers that the poet places his hero on the continent, to deplore the miseries of anarchy and the horrors of war, and brings him back to England, to witnefs the power of a British Minister's prefence in the great fenate of the nation; where, after rebounding doors and turgid rhapsodies,' Through all the ranks a death-like calm fucceeds, When, fraught with public cares and glorious deeds, In the fubfequent rhimes, the Minifter fpeaks out fo plainly in juftification of corruption, and against reforms, that we are rather inclined to think the poet means to lampoon administration: but we fhall probably know more of the matter hereafter, if this attempt at fomething like fatire fhould be continued. Art. 54. The Cap. A Satiric Poem. Including most of the Dramatic Writers of the prefent Day; with Notes, &c. By Peter Pindar, Efq. Dedicated to Richard Brinfley Sheridan, Efq. 4to, 25. Ridgway, &c. This fatirit may boaft his art, if not his genius. He judged perhaps, fhrewdly enough, that his Caps might fell under the notion that they came from the manufactory of the renowned Peter Pindar, but not if fairly brought to market under the real name of the maker.The defign is, FOLLY offering her cap and bells as a PRIZE to fuch Tuch of her votaries as fhould fhew themselves beft qualified to obtain and wear it :—a hacknied and worn out device!-- The prefent race of dramatic poets, with fome others, are the candidates; and, in the cap-make's abufe of them and their works, by way of difplaying their pretenfions to the favour of the goddess, confifts the ill natured fatire of a writer, in comparison with whom (if we rightly conjecture) the meanest object of his abuse may be confidered as PINDAR himself! Art. 55. The Comic Adventures of Satan and Peter Pindar, in Epistles from Aunt Rachel to Aurt Trebitha. Dedicated to the worthy Inhabitants of Cornwall. By an Ex-ETONIAN. 8vo. IS. AL len and Co. 1795. The ingenious author, belike, taking the Cornish Pindar for the king of fatirifts, deemed it fair to treat him as he treats other fovereigos. Such hoftile notices of P. P. are, of late, become very common but his affailants are by no means equipped for the task. They have the inclination to abufe, and they have the ribaldry: but where is the bumour-where is the POETRY?-Peter cannot fay, with Shakspeare's fat knight, that he not only has wit himself, but is the cause of it in other men. NOVELS. Art. 56. Memoirs of Madame de Barneveldt. Tranflated from the The natural partiality of an author will often induce him to ufher into the world performances that are unworthy of meeting the public eye, but which, as the productions of his own genius, he is not capable of eftimating according to their real value. As this bias, however, cannot operate in favour of the work of another, it may reasonably be expected that no book should be tranflated, which does rot poffels confiderable intrinfic merit; yet it has happened that the depravity of public tafte, or the defective judgment of individuals, has confiderably augmented our native ftock of indifferent performances, by importations of foreign works which feldom prove to be valuable acquifitions, even to the circulating libraries. On the production before us we fhall leave the reader to form his own opinion, in fome measure, by a brief outline of the general ftory. Madame de Barneveldt, the heroine of the tale, begins by informing the reader that fhe was born in the foreft of Ardennes, and educated by a hermit, but in fuch a way that at the age of twelve the remained ignorant of fexual diftinétions; from this period the hermit employed. himself in ftoring the mind of his pupil with the knowlege of manners, politics, and in short all the tranfactions of civil fociety. When the reached the age of eighteen years, her preceptor died, and from the wilds of the foreft our heroine emerged into civilized life: alone and unprotected as she was, the affumed for fecurity the drefs of a man, went to refide in Flanders, and is engaged in a variety of intrigues with the women; till, tired of this way of life, fhe goes to Paris, ftill retaining her mafculine garb. At Paris, fhe becomes acquainted with Signora Florina, an Italian lady; a mutual attachment takes place, when, the Signora proving to be the Count Rofino, they quit |