this T. is unexceptionable, but the language is poor —in the 3d act there is a good song by D'UrfeyMrs. Pix is very loyal, and makes Amurat say, that if the Sultan should send the bowstring, he would fall on his obedient knees and die blessing him—in the preface she says that she has made a mistake, and that Ibrahim was the 12th Emperour.

=

=

Lost Lover, or the Jealous Husband. Wilmore = Verbruggen Wildman Horden : Sir Amorous Courtall Powell: Smyrna Cibber: Sir Rustick Good-Heart Johnson: Knowlittle (a fortuneteller) Haines: Dr. Pulse Penkethman: Belira Mrs. Knight: Lady Younglove = Mrs. Kent: Olivia (Smyrna's Wife) = Mrs. Verbruggen: Marina Mrs. Rogers: Orinda (an affected poetess) = Mrs. Cibber: -Wilmore pretends to be on the point of marriage with old Lady Younglove, but is in reality attached to her daughter Marina-Smyrna is very jealous of his wife-she likes Wildman, but is virtuous-this is an indifferent C.—it appears from the preface that it was unsuccessful-Mrs. Manley was very imprudent in allowing a play to be acted, which she says she wrote in 7 days.

=

=

Pausanias the Betrayer of his Country. Pausanias=Verbruggen: Argilius (a noble youth bred up by Pausanias) Powell: Artabazus (the Persian Embassadour) = Cibber: Polæmon (one of the Ephori) Pinkethman: Anchilthea (mother to Pausanius) = Mrs. Rogers: Pandora (a Persian lady, mistress to Pausanias, but in love with Argilius) = Mrs. Knight Demetria - Mrs. Verbruggen: Mawkine (her daughter) = Mrs. Lucas :--for the history on which this play is founded see Diodorus Siculus

=

book 11th-Pausanias is in league with the Persiansin all his letters to Xerxes, he had desired him to kill the bearers of them for fear of a discovery--as Pausanias has a regard for Argilius, he is with difficulty persuaded by Artabazus to give him letters to be carried into Persia-Anchilthea snatches the letters from Argilius-Argilius takes refuge in the temple of Neptune-Pausanius enters to him-the Ephori overhear their conversation-they advance with guards-Pausanias kills Argilius-and forces his way through the guards a messenger says Pausanias is fled to the temple of Minerva-Anchilthea gives orders that the temple gates should be dammed up-in reality the mother of Pausanias neither said nor did any thing, except that after her son had taken refuge in the temple, she brought a brick and placed it at the entrance-the Lacedemonians followed her example-and Pausanias was starved to death-the Tragic and Comic scenes of this play are but indifferent, the author has followed history with sufficient exactness, but he has made use of several improper expressions, as Piazza, Forum, Miss Mawkine &c.-Demetria is described in the D. P. as a rich Spartan Widow-in the time of Pausanias no Spartan was rich or poor

-this T. is said to have been written by Norton, and brought on the stage by Southerne.

=

=

Mock Marriage. Willmot Powell: Fairly= Horden: Belfont = Verbruggen: Sir Simon Barter =Johnson: Sir Arthur Stately M. Leigh: Lord Goodland = Disney: Clarinda Mrs. Verbruggen : Lady Barter Mrs. Knight: Marina Mrs. Rogers: Flavia Mrs. Finch: Landlady Mr. Bullock :— Willmot is honourably in love with Clarinda--but this

=

=

=

does not prevent him from having a design on Flavia -nor from keeping up his intimacy with Lady Barter --in the 4th act, there are two Mock Marriages, that is two marriages by a sham parson-this C. was written by Scott, and brought out at D. G.-Gildon says it was damned, but he seems to say this of every play that was not acted above 3 times.

teen (his elder son) Pinkerman: Welborn

=

Younger Brother, or the Amorous Jilt. George Marteen Powell: Prince Frederick Verbruggen Sir Rowland Marteen Johnson: Sir Merlin MarHorden: Sir Morgan Blunder Bullock : Mirtilla Mrs. Knight: Olivia Mrs. Verbruggen: Teresia = Mrs. Temple: Lady Youthly Mrs. Harris: Lady Blunder (Sir Morgan's mother) Mrs. Powell: Mrs. Manage Mrs. Willis :-Mirtilla, the Amorous Jilt, had been first attached to George Marteen, the Younger Brother-she then married Sir Morgan Blunder for a convenience-Prince Frederick had seen her in Flanders, and had fallen in love with her -he follows her to England-they meet accidentally -she promises him a private interview-George Marteen had recommended a page to Mirtilla-the Page is his sister Olivia in disguise-Mirtilla falls in love with Olivia-in the 3d act, the house where Mirtilla lodges is on fire-George Marteen, knowing that his friend Prince Frederick is with Mirtilla in her chamber, procures a ladder with some danger to himself—they make their escape from the windowthe Prince carries Mirtilla to his own lodgings-she pretends to be ill with the fatigues of the night, and requests the Prince to leave her to her repose-this is done with a view of entertaining her supposed

Page on the approach of the Prince, she hides Olivia under the train of her gown-Olivia gets off unseen and Mirtilla retires with the Prince—in the 5th act, Mirtilla again makes love to Olivia—the Prince discovers that Mirtilla is a jilt-but is reconciled to herOlivia had been promised by her father to Welborn whom she had never seen-on seeing Welborn she falls in love with him, without knowing who he is he falls in love with her, but without knowing her name-the Prince lives at Welborn's house-Olivia attends Mirtilla thither in the 4th act, Welborn, supposing Olivia to be really Mirtilla's page, offers her half of his bed-she is in manner forced to accept of it-she gets up before day—and leaves a letter for Welborn, in which she informs him, that she is the lady whom he had seen in the Mall-a similar scene occurs in the Royalist -but Mrs. Behn has managed the matter better than D'Urfey-Welford's self-reproach, on reading the letter, is exquisitely comic-at the conclusion they are married-this play was written by Mrs. Behn-it is on the whole a very good C.-but it appears from the dedication that it met with brutal teatment on the first performance-it was brought on the stage by Gildon-tho' not acted till 1696, it was probably written several years sooner, as Gildon says, that he had removed the old bustle about Whig and Tory, which Mrs. Behn had introduced in the 1st act-Mrs. Behn, in her history of Oronooko, mentions Col. Martin, with whom she was acquainted at Surinam-she adds-" he was a "man of great gallantry, wit, and goodness, and I "have celebrated him in a character of my new Co

ས

medy, by his own name, in memory of so brave

Mrs. Behn died April 16 1689-her name was really Aphra-Langbaine calls her Mrs. Astræa Behn, but that was only her poetical name-she deserves a very high rank among dramatic writers-all her comic scenes are good, and many of them excellent-Mrs. Centlivre, Mrs. Cowley, Mrs. Inchbald and other females have distinguished themselves by their plays, but no female is to be put in competition with Mrs. Behn-Langbaine says, "Most of her comedies had "the good fortune to please, and tho' it must be "confessed she has borrowed very much, yet it is "to her commendation that she improved whatever "she borrowed."

Granger by mistake tells us that Mrs. Behn's father resided at Surinam-he adds-" She gave "Charles the 2d so good an account of that colony, " that he sent her to Antwerp during the Dutch war "-here she entered with her usual spirit, into various "intrigues of love and politics-she penetrated the

design of the Dutch to sail up the Thames, and "transmitted her intelligence to the King-but it was slighted, and even laughed at"-Sir Richard Steele tells us that she understood the practic part of love better than the speculative.

Brutus of Alba, or Augusta's Triumph-there are no performers' names to the D. P.-Brutus is absent in the Gallic war he had left Arsaracus as the guardian of his kingdom, and of Amarante who is contracted to Locrinus the son of Brutus-Arsaracus makes love to Amarante-she rejects himCoreb, an evil spirit, offers Arsaracus his assistance