ART. XI. A Parody on Gray's Elegy. By an Oxonian, 15. 4to. Wheble.

Although we take Parody to be one of the eaficit, and therefore least meritorious, kinds of writing, we fometimes, meet with an aptnefs of allufion and pertinence of expreffion, in exercises of this nature; which induce us to give the paradift credit for more than the merit of a mere imitator. Our readers will judge, from the following fpecimen, whether the author of the piece before us lays any rightful claim to fuch distinction,

For ther, who, mindful of thy lov'd compeers,

Dofl in theje lines their artiefs tale relate;
If chance, with prying fearch, in future years,
Some antiquarian fhou'dinquire thy fate,
Haply fome friend may shake his hoary head,
And fay; Each mornunchill'd by frofts he ran,
With hole ungarter'd, o'er yon turfy bed,

J

To reach the chapeliere the pfalms began:
There, in the armis of that lethargic chair,
Which rears its old, moth-eaten back fo high;
At noon he quafi'd three gladles to the fair,
And por'd upon the news with curious eye.
Now by the fire engag'd in ferious talk,
Or mirthful converte, wou'd he loit'ring ftand,
Now in the garden chufe a funny walk,.....

Or launch the polifa'd bowl with steady hand.
One morn we mifs'd him, at the hour of pray`r,
And in the hall, and on the fav'rite green;
Another came nor yet within the chair,

Nor yet at bowls, nor chapel was he fees.

"The next, we heard that, in a neigh bring town,
(That day to church he led a willing bride,
Whofe worth and beauty all his wishes crown,
Boaft of his youth, and glory of his pride.
Now by his patron's bounteous care removid,
He lives with beauty bleft, and true content;
Yet, ever mindful of the place he lov'd,
Read, here, the letter which he lately fent.”

THE

LETT ER.

In rural innocence secure I dwell,

Alike to fortune and to fame unknown;
Approving confcience chears my humble cell,
And focial blifs has mark'd me for her own.
Next to the bleflings of religious truth,
Two gifts mine endless gratitude engage;
A wife, the dear companion of my youth,
A fon, to be the comfort of my age.

Seek

Beek not to draw me from the blest retreat,
In loftier fpheres unfit, untaught to 'move;
Content with calm domeftic life, where meet
The fmiles of friendship and the fweets of love.

PLAY S.

ART. XII. The Runaway, a Comedy: As is acted at the TheatreRoyal in Drury-Lane. 8vo. 1s 6d. Dodfley.

The Runaway, to use the theatrical term, as well; in other words, the actors topped their parts in the reprefentation and the town received the piece with applaufe. In the bibliopolift's phrafe, however, it does not read fo well; the dialogue being neither fufficiently characteristic nor colloquial, for Comedy. The characters of the piece are, alfo rather ketches taken from pictures, than pictures taken from the life. The coftume, or manners of the piece, will as little ftand the teft of criticiim. In a word the gentlemen and ladies figure very well as the heroes and heroines of a modern novel, which might make no contemptible appearance in a circukating library; but they are not fuch as we meet with in real life; or in the works of our best dramatic writers.-There is something pretty, nevertheless, in the plot, fuch as it is, and yet though fimple, it is fo merely artificial and the jeu de theatre to very palpable that it by no means looks like the first effay of a writer, practically unacquainted with the ftage. It is faid, nevertheless, to be the first production of a female dramatift; who, if what is faid be true, will probably, improve on the prefent attempt and, in future, produce fomething ftill more worthy of approbation, At least this is what the promifes, in her dedication to Mr. Garrick, whom fbe addreffes on this occafion in a ftile of adulation, that rather befpeaks the gratitude of her heart than the goodness of her head.

"Unpatronized by any name, fays fhe, I prefented myself to you, obfcure and unknown. You perceived dawnings in my Comedy, which you nourish'd and improved. With attention, and follicitade, you embellifhd, and prefented it to the world--that world, which has emulated your generofity, and received it with an applaufe, which fills my heart with most lively gratitude. I perceive how much of this applaufe I owe to my fex.-The RUNAWAY has a thousand faults, which, if written by a man, would have incurred the fevereft lash of criticifm-but the gallantry of the English nation is equal to its wifdom-they beheld a woman tracing with feeble steps the borders of the Parnaffian Mount-pitying her difficulties (for 'tis a thorny path) they gave their hands for her fupport, and placed her high above her level.

All this, Sir, and whatever may be its confequences, I owe to you. Had you rejected me, when I prefented my little RUNAWAY, depreffed by the refufal, and all confidence in myself deftroyed, İ hould never have prefumed to dip my pen again. It is now my

taik

talk to convince You and the World, that a general allowance for al young Writer's faults, is the best encouragement to Genius-'tis a kindly Soil, in which weak Groundlings are nourifn'd, and from which the lottieft Trees draw their ftrength and their beauty."

We shall not difpute, with our Authorefs, whether indulgence of severity be the best method of encouraging genius; as that may depend on the degree of confidence the former may infpire. But, we will venture to fay that, if the be as indulgent in the nursery, (where, the tells us this Comedy was written,) as the town has been to her piece on the ftage, fhe may find a little wholefome feverity very foon neceffary to check the confidence of the little geniuses, rifing under the tuition of fo hopeful a mama ;

66

"Till time mature them for important follies.”

ART. XIII. Valentine's Day: A Mufical Drama. In tewo Alts. 'As it is Performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. 8vo. is. Lownde ADVERTISEMENT.

"The Author of Valentine's-Day, defires to acquaint a Britis Audience, before whofe awful Tribunal his little Drama is going to appear; that the Encouragement of a young Man, tan humble Candidate in the Mufical Department) was his principal Motive for fubmitting this Trifle to the Protection of an unbiafs'd and impartial

Public.'

This trite and hackneyed apology, for what needs no apology at all, feems a proof of the modefty of the writer; and yet, it may be mere mock-modefty too. It is out of our walk, to fay any thing 2bout the bumble Candidate in the mufical department; tho' we may ge nerally obferve the bumble Candidates in that low department are humble only in alt, and that many a fenfible writer has had his goofe quill made a fcandalous tool to a fiddleflick.-In the plot of this lit tle piece there is the lefs to find fault with, as the fault of the piece is to have little or no plot. But, às Sir Andrew Ague-check fays, he who has not an exquifite reafon, may yet have a reafon good enough. So, fo much for the plot.-For fuch flight fketches, the few traits of character are alfo not amifs; and tho' the author appears not to have a great vein of humour, he, has two or three arch ftrokes; while at a Song, we'll pit him, for a cool hundred, against the author of the Syrens, the Blackamoor Wash'd White, or even the Duenna itfelf To be fure Cumberland, Colman, Garrick, Dibdin, and Bickerftaff, beat him.

SPECIMENS.

AIR.

Here Harry, and Thomas, and Richard, and Ned,
What the plague an't you tired of laying a bed;
Thefe lazy dull rafcals will baulk my defign,

Was ever man vex'd with fuch fervants as mine!
The clock has ftruck feven,

Will you fleep till eleven?
This behaviour is past-

O-you're come then at last

[Enter fer vants

How

How like fools you all ftand!
Stay, wait my command!
Go-run for the tonfor,
Not a word, but begone, Sir,
D'ye hear me, you Ned?
Let the fideboard be spread,
With wines of the best-

'Tis you ftand the test;

And Harry my coachman, and Richard come hither,
Adzookers, my heart is as light as a feather.
Adieu to my croffes,

Go-rub down my horfes.

How happy am I, in the choice of a fon!
And now let me fee what's next to be done.

QUARTET TO.
SIR VERITAS.

Neighbours, take notice, you fee how I am treated
By you, my good friends, their project defeated.
If there's juftice or law, O, fee how I'll trounce him,
By the faith of my body and you shall renounce him.
FLORELLA.

The Hawk thus fees wo linnets blest,
Defcends to fieze the hapless prey;

And, while careffing and careft,

He bears the tender mate away!
FREDERICK,

The tender mate, though left to grieve,
Proves conftant to his abfent love;
No other object can relieve.-

He pines and fickens in the grove.
PINNER.

Hufh, hufh, my good mafter; before I'm in bed,
Truft the matter to me, I've a trick in my head,
Will choufe 'em e'er night-

FLORELLA.

FREDERICK.

O, rapture!

Delight!

SIR VERITAS.

Come along, come along, neighbours, take heed.
PIN NER.

As fure as a gun, I think we'll fucceed.
FREDERICK AND FLORELLA.
O fortune direct you, affift and protect you.

AIR.

If e'er you're a knight of the quorum,
You'll make a good hand of the jorum,
And like the reft feem

Quite loft in a dream,

As if they'd no bufinefs before 'em.

Tho

Tho' you don't understand

The laws of the land,.

The news-papers lay on the table;
With a hem and a haw,

Which is juftices' law,

Get through it as well as you're able.

When the culprit appears,
With penitent tears,

Cross-queftion brow-beat him, commit him;
But if he has cash,

Then fpare him the lash,

Find a flaw, and directly acquit him.

As to the lay and laying, instead of lie and lying, it is, doubtlefs, a vulgarifm; but it is a vulgarifm now-a-days adopted both by the great vulgar and the small; witness the advertising GENTLEMAN, who has thirty thousand pounds laying at his banker's, for the ufe of fpendthrifts of both fexes. The old woman, whose hen laid golden eggs, wc fuppofe to have flood in the fame predicament: for, tho' like Shylock, our ufurer may not know whether his monies be sheep and goats or not, he knows he makes them breed as fast.

POLITICS.

ART. XIV. A Letter to Reverend Dr. Richard Price, on his Obfervations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War with America. 8vo. 6d. Evans, Strand.

:

We cannot help thinking ourfelves ill-treated by the author of this Letter which, at his particular defire, and as a proof of our impartiality, we printed in the Correfpondence of our laft Month's Review; the writer advertising it as a feparate pamphlet, with certain additions to the title, too illiberal for us to admit against fo refpectable a character as Dr Price. As he did this, alfo before he had printed it in a separate form; it could not fail to put our publisher to much trouble and inconvenience. We hope no future attempt will he made to take the like unfair advantage of our candour, left we fhould be laid under the neceffity of admitting the productions of no correfpondents who do not favour us with their names at length.

ART. XV. The Rights of Great Britain offerted again the Claims of America: being an Anfower to the Declaration of the General Congress. The eighth Edition. To which is now added a Refutation of Dr. Price's State of the National Debt. 8vo. 2s. Cadell.

This pamphlet, which appears to have been writtten and circulated at the inftance of administration, is not ill-manufactured. At the fame time it contains not only much cogent argument but authentic

infor