panion obferved, and humanely afked why I travelled in fo weak a ftate.-"You are not, furely, (faid he) going to London!" acquaintance for her houfe, which is fituated about a mile from the public road.-The good folks exert themselves to amufe me, and I think "I am fearful (replied 1) that II am much better than I could have fhall not be able to go farther than expected to be, after the fatigue both this ftage; and I with I could gain of mind and body, which I have readmittance into fome decent fami- cently experienced.-Could I only ly, for a few weeks, to recover my hear that all was well at the Priory, health." that Merioneth was restored to his friends, and lady Derwent fatisfied of my rectitude, I think I could be refigned to whatever ftate provi→ dence fhould think fit to allot me. "I think (faid he) I can ferve you:-I have a fifter within a few hiles of this place :-they are farmers, but though homely, they are honeft folks. If you approve of it, I will go to them and propofe it." I thanked him from the inmoft receffes of my heart, and gratefully accepted his propofal. On our arrival at the inh, he procured me a room to which I gladly retired; ordered fome whey, and went to bed. Though finking under fatigue, both of body and mind, a numerous train of ideas prevented the repofe I fo greatly needed.-I arofe unrefreshed, ordered my breakfaft in my room, for fear there should be any perfon near that might notice my appearance. Before I had finished my folitary meal, my kind friend returned, accompanied by his fifter.-All pecuniary matters were foon adjusted, and the referred me for her character to the mistress of the inn. My inquiries proved quite fatis factory, and I fimply told them that I was unfortunately taken ill on the road, in my way to London; that, owing to fome domestic misfortunes, I fhould be obliged to conceal the place of my retreat; and entreated them all, (fhould they hear any inquiries made after me) on no account to betray me. Oh! lady Laura, what a fituation was mine!-thus to be thrown on the mercy of ftrangers. They all affured me I might rely upon them; and, after taking leave of my good friend, and fettling with my hoftefs, I departed with my new VOL. XXVII. I make no apology for thefe long letters; I know my friend will excufe their prolixity.--Should nothing particular intervene, I intend remaining here till I hear from your ladyfhip.-I will not injure your principles by a doubt of your fecrecy; you can, you will, enter into every particular of my fituation.-Continue to favour me with your friend. fhip: and, fhould Merioneth call at Twickenham,-fhould he be anxious to know the fate of Ellen, or inclined to feek me, tell him the fearch is fruitless; tell him I love him too well to accept of his hand without the approbation of his family; tell him he is dearer to me than life; and that, to promote his intereft, I would facrifice my own. Adieu, my dear friend! Were we differently fituated, I would ask for your protection; but, as it is, your ladyfhip's affinity to the family at the Priory places that happiness beyond the reach of Your affectionate ELLEN RUTLAND. (To be continued.) which it derives its name. The town is populous, well-built, and has confiderable trade. It ftands between two hills, and has a castle on one, and a handfome church on the other, on the gates of which are the arms of the Miltons and Humfrevilles, Lucies, and Percies. The town is divided by the Cocker into two parts, which have a communica tion by two ftone bridges, from Whitehaven, twenty from Carlifle, and three hundred and one from London. ACCOUNT of the new TRAGEDY, called THE CONSPIRACY, performed, for the first time, at the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The church, which was anciently the production of Mr. JephHE plot of this piece, which is a chapel of eafe to Bridgeham, a village about a mile off, though now diftinct from it, with two finall chapels of its own, was first built in the reign of king Edward III. and rebuilt entirely from the ground, except the tower, in the year 1711, by virtue of a brief. About two miles diftant, the ruins of Pap caftie may be difcovered, which appears to have been poffeffed by the Romans. A large open veffel of green stone, like a font, was found here, curioufly engraved with images, particularly of a priest dipping a child in the water, which was the primitive mode of baptifm, and a Danish infeription on it in Runic characters, fignifying that Eckard, one of their chieftains, was baptifed here, whofe example was followed by the reit. The town ftands about twelve miles from the fea, and veffels of good burden may fafely come up to it; though fome affirm that no veffel can go above Workington. It has no corporation. The chief magiftrate is a bailiff, who is chofen annually by a jury of fixteen burghers, at the duke of Somerfet's courts. It fent members to parliament once in the reign of Edward I. and once in that of Edward III. but not afterwards till 640, fince which time it has fent two. The duke of Somerfet's auditor holds a court here twice a year, and his bailiff has the only apartment habitable in the cattle, with barns and a, ftable. Cockermouth is fituated ten miles TH fon, is a ftory originally adopted by Metaftafio as the fable of one of his moft refplendent operas, La Clemenza di Tito; and certainly the idea is happily chofen to illuftrate the benign and dignified qualities of that good monarch. In a time, therefore, like the prefent, the loyal Mufe of Mr. Jephfon was naturally led to adopt a fable which teaches the important leffon, that no virtues, no clemency in a fovereign, can always protect him from the violenceof the paffions of thofe that furround him, or even the treachery of the deareft objects of his benevolence. This is the purpofe; and with this truly loyal intention he has decorated Titus with all the affecting virtues which he has received from the more durable fame of hiftory; and he places the treache ry to which he had nearly fallen a victim, in a strong but impreffive point of view. Mr. Jephfon stands avowedly at the head of all the courtly poets; and, though the prefent drama cannot rank with his Braganza, nor his Count of Narbonne, yet it has juft pretenfions to praife. The language is always nervous and fimple; he difdains, with becoming tafte, the inflated jargon of that modern club of poets who take their aërostatic flight above the regions of intelligence: his me taphors are not frequent, nor lofty; he flies indeed once to Sirius to account for the fury that rages in the blood; but in general his decorations are recommended by their chaflity and and elegance.-Having reforted to the Italian fchool for his fubject, he has caught the fioramenti of their manner; and we have rather to accufe him of tameness than of exaltation in his dialogue. It is not, however, always devoid of paffion. There are paffages which are animated by quick and powerful emotions. But the foul is not kept long upon the wheel: the intereft is fo broken and divided, that the impreffion melts away; and we find the fingle incident too feeble to attach the heart, and carry on the agitated affections to the catastrophe.It is rather to be regarded, then, as a pretty poem, well conftructed in its defign, and artfully interfperfed with fhining corufcations of paffion, than as a great and powerful tragedy, where the emotions, once roufed, are not fuffered to refume their calm, until they are conducted by the magical illufion of the bard to an affecting and a moral end. It will, therefore, be a work rather defirable in the clofet than on the ftage; fince the charms of the poetry can receive little foreign aid from the perform ance; and there are delicacies of language that will be doubly felt when intimately known. In the performance of Mrs. Siddons we may be faftidious, but we confidered her delivery of the lofty falutation of Cornelia, when, fhe thought her the bride of Titus, as Mr. Kemble never fails to delineate the tranfitions of the foul with fidelity; and, if he does not always move our fympathy it is becaufe his tones do not execute his intentions. Mr. Palmer delivered the exalted fentiments of Titus with a manly and dignified fimplicity, from which he never once departed; and Mrs. Powell never failed but when the ftrove to do too much. In the Epilogue fhe was hurried and unmeaning.-If it had any meaning, it flew to the gods. The following were the characters of the play: Titus, Sextus, Mr. Palmer; SOLUTION of the ENIGMATICAL I. worth all the rest of the character. D In this ftyle, Mr. Siddons, we will prefume to fay, never had her equal on any ftage; and if in the more vehement paffions of the foul the is lefs affecting, it is only because she is lefs intelligible,- it is only because the fulness of her emotion chokes the utterance of her words, and the ftrong emphasis on one part of a fentence is too exhaufting to enable her to articulate clearly the whole. But the dignity of her declamation is beyond the power of defcription in beauty. 7 5. OVE. 2. Lark. 3. Spar- 9. Spital-fquare. 10 ANSWER to the ENIGMATICAL LIST RAPES. 2. Peach. 3. GR Rafpberry. 4. Melon. 5. Apricot. 6. Nectarine. 7. Fig. CANSICUS. ENIG |