THE Lady's Magazine; For AUGUST, 1779. HE poets, the moralifts, the painters, in all their defcriptions, allegories, and pictures, have reprefented love as a foft torment, a bitter fweet, a pleafing pain, or an agreeable diftrefs; and have only expreffed the fame thought in the fame manner. heighten the fatisfactions, and deaden the forrows of it. It is a pity that a paffion which has in it a capacity of making life happy, fhould not be cultivated to the utmost advantage. Reafon, prudence, and good-nature, rightly applied, can thoroughly accomplish this great end, provided they have always a real and constant love to work upon. The following allegory, invented by Plato, is infcribed by him to his admired Socrates, whom he reprefents as difcourfing with his friends, and giving the hiftory of love. At the birth of beauty, fays he, there was a great feaft made, and many guests were invited. Among the reft wa, the god Plenty, who was the fon of the goddefs Prudence, and inherited many of his mother's virtues. After a full entertainment, he retired into the garden of Jupiter, which was hung The joining of pleasure and pain together in fuch defires, feems to me the only pointed thought I ever read which is natural; and it muft have proceeded from its being the univerfal fenfe and experience of mankind, that they have all fpoken of it in the fame manner. It is certain there is no other paf-with a great variety of ambrofial fruits, fion which produces fuch contrary ef- and feems to have been a very proper refects in fo great a degree: but this treat for fuch a gueft. In the meantime may be faid for love, that if you ftrike an unhappy female, called Poverty, it out of the foul, life would be infipid, having heard of this great feaft reand our being but half animated. Hu-paired to it in hopes of finding relief. man nature would fink into deadnefs The firft place the lights upon was Juand lethargy, if not quickened with piter's garden, which generally stands fome active principle; and as for all open to people of all conditions. Poothers, whether ambition, envy, or verty enters, and by chance finds the avarice, which are apt to poffefs the god Plenty afleep in it. She was immind in the abfence of this paffion, it mediately fired with his charms, laid muft be allowed that they have greater herself down by his fide, and managed pains, without the compenfation of matters fo well, that fhe conceived a fuch exquifite pleasures as thofe we child by him. The world was very find in love. The great kill is to much in fufpence upon the occafion, 3 E 2 TA and nefs, though the child fo regarded is as infenfible of the value you put upon it, as it is that it deferves your benevolence. On the other fide, the fages figured Luft in the form of a fatyr; of hape part human, part beftial; to fignify that the followers of it proftitute the reafon of a man, to pursue the appetites of a beaft. This fatyr is made to haunt the paths and coverts of the wood nymphs, and fheperdeffes, to lurk on the banks of rivulets, and watch the purling ftreams, as the reforts of retired virgins; to fhew that lawless defire tends chiefly to prey upon innocence, and has fomething fo unnatural in it, that it hates its own make, and and could not imagine to themfelves what would be the nature of an infant that was to have its original from two fuch parents. At laft the child appears, and who fhould it be but Love? This infant grew up, and proved in all his behaviour what he really was, a compound of oppofite beings. As he is the fon of Plenty, who was the offfpring of Prudence, he is fubtle, intriguing, full of ftratagems and devices; as he is the fon of Poverty, he is fawning, begging, delighting to lie by a threshold, or beneath a window. By the father he is audacious, full of hopes, confcious of merit, and therefore quick of refentment; by the mother, he is doubtful, timorous, mean-fpirit-thuns the object it loved, as foon as it ed, fearful of offending, and abject in has made it like itself. Love, therefubmiffions. In the fame hour you fore, is a child that complains and bemay fee him tranfported with raptures, wails its inability to help itself, and talking of immortal pleafures, and ap-weeps for affiftance, without an imme, pearing fatisfied as a god; and inmediate reflection or knowledge of the diately after, as the mortal mother prevails in his compofition, you behold him pining, languifhing, despairing, dying. The impofition of honeft names and words upon improper fubjects has made fo regular a confufion among us, we are apt to fit down with our errors, well enough fatisfied with the method we are fallen into, without attempting to deliver ourselves from the tyranny under which we are reduced by fuch innovations. that Of all the laudable motives of human life, none have fuffered fo much in this kind as Love, under which reverend name a brutal defire called Luft is frequently concealed and admitted; tho' they differ as much as a matron from a prostitute, or a companion from a buffoon. The figures which the ancient my: thologists and poets putupon Love and Luft in their writings, are very, inftructive. Love is a beauteous blind child, adorned with a quiver and a bow, which he plays with, and shoots around him, without defign or direction; to intimate to us, that the perfon beloved intention to give us the anxieties we meet with, but that the beauties of a worthy object are like the charms of a lovely infant; they cannot but attract your concern and fond has no food it wants. Luft, a watchful thief, which feizes its prey, and lays fnares for its own gratification; and its principal object being innocence, it never robs but it murders at the fame time. (To be continued.) Account of the new Farce called the SONIN-LAW, written by MR. O'KEEFE, and performed at the Hay-market Theatre, for the first Time, on Saturday August 14. Account of the Son in-Law. Cranky, a good-natured, old-fafhioned man, very rich, and very fond of his only child Cecilia, is difcovered with his daughter, who is making grand and expenfive preparations for a private concert, being herfelf ranked in a very high stile amongst the mufical conocenti. Cranky has learnt from his friend Vinegar, a wine-merchant, that Cecilia entertains a paffion for Mr. Bouquet, a hop-merchant, in St. Mary Axe, but who pays very little attention to his bufinefs, and lives in the highest ftile of fashionable amusement. The daughter avows a fondnefs for this fine gentleman, with an easy freedom, which is much too natural a refult of the modern fyftem of female e ducation, and by very warm intreaties, enforced by a languishing air, prevails on her indulgent father to give up every fuggeftion of prudence, and confent to their marriage. He determines to invite Bouquet by letter to his houfe, when he is informed that Mum, the young man recommended to him by Dr. Numfcull is below. Before his appearance, Cranky informs the audience that he is a celebrated orator, who is come to town to give lectures on elocution, or to get into parliament. On the introduction of this youth of high expectation, it appears that he is an aukward lad, who pronounces but one fyllable at a time, and answers every question which is addreffed to him by a yes, or a no, and even in laughing confines himself to a fingle note. After an examination, in which there are fome good political jokes, Cranky determines that Mum is fit neither for an orator nor a parliament man, but that he is a very proper perfon to carry his letter to Mr. Bouquet. As Bouquet lives in an elegant lodging, in Suffolk-Street, at the weft end of the town, where his city connections are unknown, the addition of bop-merchant puzzles the man of the houfe to whom the letter is delivered by orator Mum. After many conjectures, in which he receives no affiftance from Mum, who is confined to a fingle 397 fyllable, and after fome ftrictures on the orthography of the name Bouquet, he determines that it is impoffible the letter can be for fo fine a gentleman, and therefore that it must be addreffed to his neighbour, Mr. Bowki, the dancing-mafter, and that the term hopmabant is meant in ridicule of his profeffion. He therefore returns the letter to Mum, bidding him deliver it to Bowkit, his oppofite neighbour.Bowkit accordingly receives the letter, in which he is invited by Cranky to be his daughter's partner in the temple of Hymen. Bowkit, who conceives the temple of Hymen to be a ball-room, waits on the old gentleman in hopes of a scholar, which produces a very lively and diverting feene of crofs-purposes, in which Cranky is highly offended at Bowkit for propofing to attend his daughter only three hours in a week, and at his attachment to the little angels of the boarding-fchools, whom he declares he cannot, live without. The quique of the hop-merchant also produces a very laughable effect. In this. fcene Mr. Edwin fings the fecond fong in the fubjoined fpecimen, with all that eafy and playful humour for which he is fo defervedly admired as a burletta finger. The entrance of the daughter clears up the mistake, which is faid to be founded on circumstances fomewhat fimilar, which really happened in the course of laft winter. The fecond act contains a kind of duplicate of the fame mistake. Vinegar waits on Cranky, and tells him that Bouquet is in the King's-Bench, and that he (Vinegar) has ftruck up a marriage for Cecilia with a Venetian banker, whofe name he has forgot, but who admires her mufical abilities. This is eagerly accepted by Cranky, and Vinegar retires to fend this new lover. But Signor Arionelli coming foon after to attend Mifs: Cecilia's concert, is fhewn up to the father, who mistaking him for the Italian banker, talks of the marriage with great eagernefs, which the Signor declares he does not understand, and defires Cranky will hear him fing. Here Mr. Mr. Bannister fang "Water parted from the Sea," in a tone and manner fo exceedingly refembling Mr. Tenducci, and that of the principal fingers at the opera, as to give equal furprise and pleasure to the audience. The daughter is then propofed to the Signor in plain terms, but Arion. elli informs Cranky that marriage is "not in his way." "" The daughter again enters, and clears up the millake, and the father declares that he has made himself fo ridiculous, he will interfere no farther, and defires her to take the man of her choice. The back fcene then rifes, (by a new kind of manœuvre, as the characters are on the ftage) and discovers the concert-room. Bouquet, who, by a previous contrivance with the daughter, has hid himself in the case of the bass - viol, comes out and claims the hand of Cecilia, agreeable to the father's permiffion, which is immediately granted. The whole farce was evidently got up with great care, and dreffed with propriety. The performance in general deferved the title of excellence.. No author's idea was probably ever more admirably given than by Mr. Bannister in Signor Arionelli, which must add greatly to his reputation as a very masterly actor. -- The mufic, in general, is a policein, but contains fome very pleasing new fongs, which were finely fung by Mifs Harper, &c. AIR. CECILIA. The MISTAKEN LOVER. I found of their fteps, abruptly stopped. [Embellished and illuftrated with a curious Plate, from the Defign of a royal Academician, engraved by an eminent Artift.] SA : APPHIRA and Alicia were friends from the firft dawn of infancy they were educated at the fame fchool, and the houses of their parents were contiguous. Their mornings were spent in reading, their afternoons in needle-work, and their evenings in walking abroad, to refpire the fresh air, to study the volume of nature, and to communicate to each other the knowledge they had acquired from books or from experience. The neighbourhood admired them for the elegance of their forms, the greatnefs of their accomplishments, and the ftrength of their mutual attachment. Whenever they paffed by the lofty manfion of the opulent, or the humble cottage of the poor, the general exclamation was, may we be as friendly, as happy as Sapphira and Alicia!" Thus happy, they knew no other pain but that which refulted from the thought that one day they must be feparated: the day they imagined was that which muft fever the foul from the body. The day of Hymen was never in their thoughts. Altamont chofe this fequestered fcene, that he might fteal from oftentation, and modeftly amufe himself without exciting either envy or applaufe. He was rather impelled to fecrecy, for fear of offending his father, who was apprehenfive that the exercife would impair his health; efpecially as he had but lately recovered from the confumption. Curious to know whom he had been interrupted by, he crept towards the verge of the grove, and efpied the two friends walking arm-in-arm, and difcourfing together. He beheld the elegance of their fhapes with rapture; but as they were with their backs towards him, he could not discover their faces. Latent beauty generally raises more ardent flames than those which are obtruded upon the fight, and rendered familiar to the eye of every beholder. He wished that they would turn afide their heads, confident that their countenances could not have lefs elegance than their fhapes. But they feemed obftinate, as it were, to difappoint him. They continued walking, admiring the beauties of the profpect before them; the glories of the setting fun, the cloud-topt mountain, the enamelled plain, the gurgling rill, and the freshness of the fanning zephyr. Impatient at looking after them, One evening as they were walking Altamont refumed his flute, and foundtowards a grove, their ears were charming an excellent cantata, the female ed with the fweet warblings of a german flute. Their feet were rivetted to the ground by the invifible power of harmony, and they could not ftir 'till the musician ceafed playing. friends turned back, foftly creeping towards the grove, and when he ceased, bleft him with the fight of their faces. Their charms were fo equal that he knew not whom to give the preference to. But wifhed to hear them converfe, that he might be extricated from his embarras by giving the palm to mental merit, which he knew not how to bestow on perfonal. Tho' they were not unskilled in mufic themfalves, they confeffed the fuperior fkill of the incognito, and entertained themselves, as they went along, in applauding the ftranger. At their parting they made an appointment for walking to the fame fpot the fucceeding evening, in hopes of meeting with the fame delight. After tea they trod the fame fteps they had done the former day, and as they approached the grove, they were regaled again by the fame artift, who, on hearing thethan ordinary brilliancy in her eyes: The ladies purfued their course homewards, ftill praifing the unknown harmonift, ftill refolving to revifit the grove which concealed him, Sapphira was fo much delighted with her entertainment, that her father could not help noticing a more and |