Haye appeared more frequently in propor tion as the darkness of ignorance has been more grofs; but it cannot be fhewn that the brightest gleams of knowledge have at any time been fufficient to drive them: out of the world.. In the reign of king James, in which this tragedy was writ ten, many circumstances concurred to propagate and confirm this opinion. The king, who was much celebrated for his knowledge, had, before his arrival in England, not only examined in perfon a woman accused of witchcraft, but had given a very formal account of the practices and illufions of evil fpirits, &c. in his Dialogues of Dæmonologie. Thus the doctrine of witchcraft was very powerfully inculcated; and as the greatest part of mankind have no other reafons for their opinions than that they are in fashion, it cannot be doubted but this perfuafion made made a rapid progrefs, fince vanity and credulity co-operated in its favour, and it had a tendency to free cowardice from reproach. Upon this general infatuation Shakespear might be easily allowed. to found a play, especially as he has followed, with great exactness, fuch hiftories as were then thought true; nor can it be doubted that the scenes of enchantment, however they may now be ridiculed, were both by himself and his audience thought awful and affecting." The curioufness of these observations will, I hope, pardon the length of the quotation, especially as it tends to answer an objection which has oftentimes been made to this admirable tragedy. Othello is another of thefe celebrated: plays, the fable of which is more regular than even that of Macbeth, which by some fome is reckoned the mafter-piece of Shakespear. The fable is taken from a novel of Giraldi Cinthio, with fome few alterations, which are made generally for the better. The Italian Cinthio, who composed a large volume of novels, had a most luxuriant and poetic imagination, a fruitful invention, and there is a delicacy of compofition in his romances that renders them very pleafing and entertaining. Shakespear borrowed the fables of several of his plays from this original. The jealoufy of Othello, which is the paffion predominant in this piece,. is worked up by the poet to fuch a height as to form a fubject truly tragic in its confequences.. In spite of all the great and glaring faults which we fee in Hamlet, that tragedy, if altered by a man of genius, the fuper fuperfluous scenes left out, and the piece in general rendered more regular, might be made much fuperior to what it is at prefent. I know it will be objected to this, that it is needlefs to alter a tragedy, which at prefent is one of the fineft on our theatre: but the fuccefs which Hamlet meets with now, is owing to those beauties which might be preferved when altered: I would only propose to curtail its abfurdities. The ground plot is truly tragic, and there are a multitude of ftrokes in it which are infinitely great. "The Electra of Sophocles, in many refpects, is not very unlike the Hamlet of Shakespear. Ægyfthus and Clytemneftra, having murdered. the former king, were in poffeffion of the crown, when Oreftes returned from Phocis, where he had been privately fent by his fifter Electra. These two con trive, and foon after effect, the punishment of the murderers. Electra is a Grecian woman, of a mafculine and generous difpofition of mind; fhe had been a witnefs of the wickedness of those two mifcreants, who had barbarously plotted the death of her father, the renowned Agamemnon: his ghoft called for juf tice, and the herfelf, rather than they fhall efcape, will be the inftrument of vengeance. Thus when Clytemnestra calls out to Orestes, -Oh! fon, oh! fon, have mercy on thy mother. Electra replies, [from within. For thee she felt no mercy, or thy father. Clyt. Oh! I'm wounded. Elect. Double the blow, Oreftes. [from within. Soon after Oreftes kills Egyfthus; and, that this piece of juftice may be a greater expiation to the manes of the murdered |