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THE

Lady's Magazine;

For APRIL 1796.

ACCOUNT of the PLAY of VORTI-
GERN, reprefented at the THEA-
TRE ROYAL, DRURY LANE, on
SATURDAY April 2.

THU

HIS piece was faid to have been found among certain manufcripts in the poffeffion of Mr. Ireland, and fuppofed to have been written by the immortal Shakespeare. The attention of the public could not therefore fail to be greatly excited by the difcovery, and interested in the question of its authenticity. It has at length been left to a British audience, fond even to enthusiasm of their national poet, to decide, from their feelings, whether, as a drama, it was conceived in the energetic fpirit of our Shakespeare,whether it was a pofthumous garland to be hung over his facred grave,or a baftard fcion, which impoflare would fain graft on the flock of credulity.

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Rowena, (Daughter of Hen-
gift)

Fiavia, (Daughter of Vorti-
gern)

The verdict of a numerous and difcriminating audience was decid-Edmunda, (Wife of Vorti

edly against its legitimacy. They heard with candour, and expected with ungratified attention. Their decifion was in the end as abfolute as it must be irrevocable.

Mr. Kemble.

Mr. Benfley.
Mr. Whitfield.
Mr. Trueman,
Mr. C.Kemole.
M. Barrimore.
Vr Cau field.
Mr Ki g.

Mr. Benfon.
Mr.Ph duore.

Mrs. Millar.

Mrs. Jordan.

gern)

Mrs. Powel.

Barons, Attendants, &c.

FABLE!

Conftantius, an aged king of the Britons, weary of the cares of go

Of a production to which the public notice has been long and artif-vernment of his kingdom, in an afcially attracted, it will be expected fembly of the barons, furrenders a

U 2

moiety,

moiety of his crown to Vortigern, of the Britons and Saxons. Hengift one of his favourite chieftains. Voris flain-Rowena poisons herself; tigern, with feigned reluctance, and Vortigern, engaging in fingle yields to his commands. but is no combat with Aurelius, is difarmed, fooner inducted into power, than, and faved by the interpofition of giving a loose to his ambition, he Flavia. Aurelius efpoufes Flavia; refolves on the death of Conftantius, and thus the piece concludes. and employs two wretches to effect his purpofe. Imputing the murder to fome Scots then at court, he causes them to be apprehended, and difpatches meffengers to Aurelius and his brother, then at Rome, urging their return, to eafe him of the anxious task of ruling; fending at the fame time his hired bravoes to affaffinate them on their returna.

From this fketch it will appear, that the writer of the piece, whoever he may be, has used all the licence which Shakespeare himself could claim. The unities of time and place are difregarded; the scene is now in Britain and then at Rome; but the breach of rule is made without atonement. The fcenes are changed, it is true, but all are equalThe adherents of the late king, ly barren.. The writer travels to no violently fufpe&ing Vortigern to purpofe, and is accompanied by no have been guilty of his murder, con- intereft. There is nothing like vey intelligence of this defign to the creative fancy, nothing of fervid two young princes, who land in defcription, nothing of that "lucid Scotland. Their caufe is there warm.order" which the mind of Shakely efpoufed, and a large force fpeare could impart even to the most marched againft Vortigern, who ap-chaotic fcenes. There is nothing, plies to Hengift king of the Saxons. in fact, but what either the infancy Hengift, with a confiderable body or dotage of Shakespeare must have of Saxons, comes to his affiftance. difdained--there is nothing like Aurelius is violently in love with himself.

Flavia, the daughter of Vortigern, We are reminded, it is true, of who, with her brother Pafcentius, the fcenes and language of Shakeefcapes to the Scottish army on the fpeare; but the recollection is exborders. A battle is faught. Vor-cited only by approximate fituations, tigern is victorious.-Hengift con- and by a bald imitation of his diaceives the defign of becoming ma- lect. Thus, Vortigern, in the fter of the kingdom by means of his firft act, and after the murder of the beautiful daughter Rowena, whom king, is no other than Macbeth.-he introduces to Vortigern at a ban- Flavia, her brother, and the fool, quet in celebration of the victory. are taken from "As you like it;" Vortigern becomes violently eua- and Vortigern in the laft act is Richmoured; and though his queen was ard III. itimulated by his conftill living, who had been driven to fcience, and weighed down by his madnefs by his ill treatment, he in- defpair. If every other evidence ftantly declares her queen of Eng-were as ftrongly in favour of this land. This irritates his own fons, as well as the barons: and Vortigern having ordered confiderable largeffes to be given to the foldiers, in the donation of which the latter after a right to have been confulted, they go over to the party of the princes, who are enabled, in their turn, to at

play, as it is decifively against it, we could never believe that Shakespeare could borrow fo vilely from himfelf!-He, who

Exhaufted worlds, and then cre

ated new,"

tack and defeat the combined forces could never have defcended to repro

duce

duce the creatures of his own fancy, not. The age in which he lived under a thin and flimfy difguife.

But it is the defects and not the beauties of Shakespeare, which Have been caught up by the falfe taste of his imitator.-Many a page has been wafted to vindicate the line in Macbeth,

"His filver skin laced with his golden blood."

Mr. Ireland, or Mr. Ireland's journeyman, improves on the falfehood and abfurdity of this metaphor. When Vortigern hands his fword to his friend, and orders him to plunge it in his heart, a fituation inftantly taken from that of Antony and Ventidius, the latter replies in terms like the following:

"Were every drop to fall a gem, And every jewel to belong to meI could not do the deed!"

"When we comment on fome other abftract paffages in this play, we do it with full recollection of an ingenious critique which appeared fome years fince on Othello, uppofing it to be produced as a modern play. It intimates, that the burft of indignation, "Oh damn her! damn her!" would outweigh and fink the other merits of that piece. But however plausible this fuppofition may be--and though the falfe refinement of this day may reject what is in nature, and therefore admiffible at all times-there is a line to be drawn between the vulgar and the abfurd. The former is as variable as tafte;—the latter is as determinable as truth.

As inftances of the vulgar, it is poffible that Shakespeare might have Taid that his hero "would not budge" or that he would not die in-a-doors full ftomach'd" or even defire his enemies to follow him to bell."-This Shakespeare might have done, though he certainly did

might have borne fuch coarfenefs..
His imitator has ventured what
the taste of his prototype avoided.
Of the abfurd, the inftances are such
trafh, as of "a bellowing trumpet"-
of "brains travelling on a pilgrim-
age" and of "death, with his icy
bands, feizing a king by the feet.
-The laft inftance occurs in what
has been quoted as the finest paffage
in the play. We here give it memori-
ter to our readers.

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fides; With icy band thou tak't him by the And upwards fo 'till thou doft reach [night.”" his heart, And wrap him in the cloak of lafting

The "modernisms," if fo they may be termed, are innumerable. The word crifis" occurs more than once,-a word, we will boldly affirm, never ufed by Shakespeare.

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The phrafe of liquid forrows" is not lefs evidently of the modera fchool. It would be endless to recite the anachronifins of this defcription.

The play had every aid from actThere were ing and decoration. fongs to relieve the dreadful tedium of the fcene, by Mrs. Jordan and Mifs Leake. But the contempt and ridicule of the audience was fo ftrongly manifefted during the two laft acts, that Mr. Kemble was compelled to come forward and beg an hearing to the end. The hearing was given, and the piece almoft unaniinoufly condemned. An attempt was made to announce it for

Monday

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Monday evening. This was refifta ftrong tower at each end; and 5

ed; and after a long ftruggle, the
School for Scandal was given out by
Mr. Kemble.

The prologue was an appeal to
the candour of the audience. The
epilogue would have won, if any
thing could, the grace and favour
of the auditory. It was exquifitely
delivered by Mrs. Jordan, but with-
out fuccefs!

DESCRIPTION of the CITY
PRAGUE.

(With a View elegantly engraved.)

ftatues on each side.

The old town

is fituated near the Muldaw, and is very populous; the houses are high, old palace, where the ancient kings and the streets narrow. Here is the part is the univerfity. The jefuits refided. The fineft ornament of this have a magnificent college here, and here the Jews refide, and have nine fynagogues. Their number amounted to 90,000 perfons, till they offended the late king of Pruffia, who of drove them all from the town. The new town is the best built part of Prague it has fpacious streets, with gardens and vineyards, and is feparated from the old town, by a

PRAGUE is a handfome, large, ditch, into which they can let water.

town or city,

Germany; the capital of the kingdom of Bohemia. It comprehends three towns, viz. the old, the new, and the little town. It is one of the largest cities in Europe, being almoft fifteen miles in circumference, and, next to London, Paris, and Conftantinople, the most populous. It contains 100 churches, befides 9 Jewish fynagogues, and a celebrated univerfity, which ftands in the old town, and was founded in 13:8, by the emperor Charles IV. being the only one in Bohemia, and commonly having in it at prefent 1400 ftudents. But when John 'Hufs was rector there in 103, it is faid to have had no less than 44,000; and afterwards when the emperor Charles V. would have retrenched the privileges of the ftudents 24,000 of them are faid to have left it in one week, and 16,000 more foon after.

This city alfo contains feveral

monafteries.

Prague is built upon feven mountains: the river Moldaw, or Muldaw, runs through the town, and feparates the old from the new. There is a handfome bridge over it, built with free ftone, and fupported with 18 arches. It is 1770 feet in length, and 35 in breadth, having

the Muldaw, and joined to the old The little town is on the weft fide of arches, 1700 feet long, and about one by a bridge of twenty four thirty-five in breadth. This town was built on the fpot where there tree yet ftanding, which they afwas a foreft, and there is a poplar firm has grown there about 1009 years.

fchin-hill, is Upper Prague, where On a ring ground, called Radfrom which the Bohemian tates is a manificent palace of the emperor, flung three Auftrian deputies out of the window, three ftories high, in 1618, without their receiving much hurt. Here alfo is the cathedral of St. Veit, and in it are the bodies of Nepomuc, the latter being in very St. Wenceslaus, and St. John de high veneration among the Bohemians, and his thrine much reforted

to.

The brafs flatue of him, as big as life, is erected on the bridge, whence he was caft into the river.

This city contains 52 palaces of the nobility; but many of them fuffered greatly during the feven The principal buildings are the royal years war, which began in 1756. Caftle, the Radfchin, and the StrawBavaria received the homage of the houfe in the first the elector of

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