contrary, it gives me a juft Indignation to fee a Perfon whofe Action gives new Majefty to Kings, Refolution to Heroes, and Softnefs to Lovers, thus finking from the Greatness of his Behaviour, and degraded into the Character of the London Prentice. I have often wished, that our Tragedians would copy after this great Mafter in Action. Could they make the fame ufe of their Arms and Legs, and inform their Faces with as fignificant Looks and Paffions, how glorious would an English Tragedy appear with that Action, which is capable of giving a Dignity to the forced Thoughts, cold Conceits, and unnatural Expreffions of an Italian Opera. In the mean time, I have related this Combat of the Lion, to shew what are at present the reigning Entertainments of the Politer Part of Great-Britain.

AUDIENCES have often been reproached by Writers for the Coarfeness of their Tafte; but our prefent Grievance does not seem to be the Want of a good Tafte, but of Common Senfe.

N° 14

I

Friday, March 16.

-Teque bis, Infelix, exue monftris.

Ovid. Met. 1. 4. v. 590.

Wretch that thou art! put off this monftrous Shape.

WAS reflecting this Morning upon the Spirit and Humour of the publick Diverfions Five and twenty Years ago,and thofe of the prefent Time; and lamented to myfelf, that, though in thofe Days they neglected their Morality, they kept up their Good Senfe; but that the beau Monde, at prefent, is only grown more childish, not more innocent, than the former. While I was in this Train of Thought, an odd Fellow, whose Face I have often feen at the Play-house, gave me the following Letter with thefe Words, Sir, The Lion prefents bis bumble Service to you, and defired me to give this your own Hands.

From

From my Den in the Hay-Market, March 15.

SIR,

·I

Have read all your Papers, and have ftifled my Refentment against your Reflexions upon Operas, till that of this Day, wherein you plainly infinuate, that Signior Grimaldi and myfelf have a Correfpon⚫dence more friendly than is confiftent with the Valour

of his Character, or the Fiercenefs of mine. I defire < you would for your own Sake forbear fuch Intima<tions for the future; and must say it is a great Piece ⚫ of Ill-nature in you, to fhew fo great an Efteem for a Foreigner, and to difcourage a Lion that is your ⚫own Countryman.

I take notice of your Fable of the Lion and Man, but am fo equally concerned in that Matter, that I 'fhall not be offended to which foever of the Animals the Superiority is given. You have mifreprefented me, in faying that I am a Country-Gentleman, who act only for my Diverfion; whereas, had I ftill the fame • Woods to range in which I once had when I was a • Fox-hunter, I fhould not refign my Manhood for a Maintenance; and affure you, as low as my Cir⚫ cumftances are at prefent, I am fo much a Man of • Honour, that I would fcorn to be any Beaft for Bread ⚫ but a Lion.

Yours, &c.

I had no fooner ended this, than one of my Landlady's Children brought me in several others, with fome of which I fhall make up my prefent Paper, they all having a Tendency to the fame Subject, viz. the Elegance of our prefent Diverfions.

SIR,

Covent-Garden, March 13.

Have been for twenty Years Under-Sexton of this Parish of St. Paul's Covent-Garden, and have not 'miffed tolling in to Prayers fix Times in all those Years; which Office I have performed to my great Satisfaction, till this Fortnight laft paft, during which Time I 'find my Congregation take the Warning of my Bell, ་ Morning

• Morning and Evening, to go to a Puppet-Show fet forth by one Powell under the Piazzas. By this means 'I have not only loft my two Cuftomers, whom I used to place for Six-pence apiece over-againft Mrs. Rachel Eye-bright, but Mrs. Rachel herself is gone thither alfo. • There now appear among us none but a few ordinary People, who come to Church only to fay their Prayers, fo that I have no Work worth speaking of but on Sundays. I have placed my Son at the Piazzas, to acquaint the Ladies that the Bell rings for Church, and that it ⚫ ftands on the other Side of the Garden; but they only laugh at the Child.

I defire you would lay this before all the World, ⚫ that I may not be made fuch a Tool for the future, ⚫ and that Punchinello may choofe Hours lefs canonical. As Things are now, Mr. Powell has a full Congrega⚫tion, while we have a very thin Houfe; which if you ⚫ can remedy, you will very much oblige,

SIR,

Yours, &c.

THE following Epifle I find is from the Undertaker of the Mafkerade.

SI, R,

I

Have obferved the Rules of my Mafk fo carefully, (in not inquiring into Perfons) that I cannot ⚫ tell whether you were one of the Company or not last Tuesday, but if you were not, and ftill defign to come, I defire you would, for your own Entertainment, please to admonish the Town, that all Perfons indifferently are not fit for this fort of Diverfion. I could wish, Sir, you could make them understand, that it is a kind of Acting to go in Maskerade, and a Man fhould be able to fay or do Things proper for the Drefs, in which he appears. We have now and then Rakes in the Habit of Roman Senators, and grave Politicians in the Drefs of Rakes. The Misfortune of the Thing is, that People ⚫ dress themselves in what they have a mind to be, and not what they are fit for. There is not a Girl in the Town, but let her have her Will in going to a Mafk,

• and

⚫ and the shall drefs as a Shepherdess. But let me beg ' of them to read the Arcadia, or fome other good Romance, before they appear in any fuch Character at my Houfe. The laft Day we prefented, every Body was fo rafhly habited, that when they came to speak to each other, a Nymph with a Crook had not a Word to fay but in the pert Stile of the Pit Bawdry; and a • Man in the Habit of a Philofopher was speechless, till ⚫an Occafion offered of expreffing himself in the Refuse

of the Tyring-Rooms. We had a Judge that danced a • Minuet, with a Quaker for his Partner, while half a ⚫ dozen Harlequins ftood by as Spectators: A Turk drank me off two Bottles of Wine, and a few eat me up ◄ half a Ham of Bacon. If I can bring my Design to ⚫ bear, and make the Maskers preferve their Charac⚫ters in my Affemblies, I hope you will allow there is a • Foundation laid for more elegant and improving Galantries than any the Town at prefent affords; and confequently, that you will give your Approbation to the Endeavours of,

SIR,

Your moft obedient humble Servant. I am very glad the following Epiftle obliges me to mention Mr. Powell a fecond Time in the fame Paper; for indeed there cannot be too great Encouragement given to his Skill in Motions, provided he is under proper Restrictions.

SIR,

T'

HE Opera at the Hay-Market, and that under the little Piazza in Covent-Garden, being at prefent the two leading Diverfions of the Town, and Mr. Pawell profeffing in his Advertisements to set up Whittington and Dis Cat againft Rinaldo and Armida, my Curiofity led me the Beginning of last Week to view both thefe Performances, and make my Obfer⚫vations upon them.

FIRST therefore, I cannot but observe that • Mr. Powell wifely forbearing to give his Company a • Bill of Fare beforehand, every Scene is new and unexpected; whereas it is certain, that the Undertakers

of

of the Hay-Market, having raifed too great an Expectation in their printed Opera, very much disappoint ⚫ their Audience on the Stage.

THE King of Jerufalem is obliged to come from the City on Foot, instead of being drawn in a trium•phant Chariot by white Horses, as my Opera-Book had promifed me; and thus while I expected Armida's Dragons fhould rush forward towards Argentes, I found ⚫ the Hero was obliged to go to Armida, and hand her ⚫ out of her Coach. We had also but a very short Al⚫lowance of Thunder and Lightning; tho' I cannot in ⚫ this Place omit doing Juftice to the Boy who had the • Direction of the two painted Dragons, and made them fpit Fire and Smoke: He flash'd out his Rofin in fuch juft Proportions and in fuch due Time, that I could not forbear conceiving Hopes of his being one Day a most excellent Player. I faw indeed but Two Things wanting to render his whole Action complete, I mean the keeping his Head a little lower, and hiding his • Candle.

• I obferve that Mr. Powell and the Undertakers had both the fame Thought, and I think much about the fame time, of introducing Animals on their feveral Stages, tho' indeed with very different Succefs. The Sparrows and Chaffinches at the Hay-Market fly as yet ⚫ very irregularly over the Stage; and inftead of perching on the Trees, and performing their Parts, these young Actors either get into the Galleries, or put out the Candles, whereas Mr. Powell has fo well difciplined his Pig, that in the firft Scene he and Punch dance a • Minuet together. I am informed however, that Mr. • Powell refolves to excel his Adverfaries in their own • Way; and introduce Larks in his next Opera of Su'fanna, or Innocence betrayed, which will be exhibited next Week with a Pair of new Elders.

THE Moral of Mr. Powell's Drama is violated, I confefs, by Punch's national Reflexions on the French, and King Harry's laying his Leg upon the Queen's Lap. ⚫ in too ludicrous a Manner before fo great an Affembly.

AS to the Mechanifm and Scenary, every thing in⚫ deed was uniform and of a piece, and the Scenes were managed very dextroufly; which calls on me to take

⚫ notice,