Head-piece.

THE HE admired fpeech of Aegeon in the first scene, will furnish a very proper Head-piece. It may reprefent the veffel in a tempestuous sea, at the moment of the obfcured light, conveying to their fearful minds a doubtful warrant of immediate death. The inceffant weepings of the wife, and the plainings of the pretty babes will be the chief paffions to attend to, with the interefting fituation of the husband Aegeon. The failors may be efcaping out of the veffel into their boat. The little children may be disposed of in affecting attitudes, notwithstanding they are fo very young. I was going to obferve, that they might have been painted in the entreating fituation of throwing their little arms out to implore a paffage in the boat-but I recollect the poet fays, they mourned for faflion, ignorant what to fear..

Scene-Prints.

THERE are feveral fituations, where Dromio of Ephefus might be drawn to advantage; but I think he will appear beft in p. 172, at the

words:

Oh,-fixpence, that I had o'Wednesday laft,

In p. 173. If I should pay your Worship those again.

1

In

In p. 224. Why fir, I gave the money for the rope.

Or in p. 225. I would I were fenfeless, fir, that I might not feel your

blows.

AND his brother of Syracufe appears equally to advantage in p. 184, at the words:

I must get a fconce for my head.

Or in p. 205, where he gives the admirable description of the kitchen wench,

Ir may be difficult then, to select the best and most comic fituation for a whole length figure of one of the Dromios. Were I to fix on one, it fhould be at p. 172-and his look fhould be fomewhat fimilar to the very droll one of Tom Wefton's, in a small print of him in Dr. Last, in Smith's fet of dramatic characters.

BELL's first edition, has a print of Dunftall in Dromio, with the rope, which is certainly a very good fituation to draw him in ; but I think his features are not arch enough; nor is the drefs an unexceptionable one. Was he to be drawn as directly faying: Why fir, I gave the money for the rope, and with that look which Edwin would put on, as correfponding to that faucy impertinent fterness of voice, with which (in characters like the prefent) he fo often pleafes-it would (under these advantages) be felected as fuperior perhaps to any of the other fituations.*

A painter will prefer fuch of them, as ftrikes him with most humour on the perufal; and if he has seen some favourite comedian in this character, he will acquire new lights. Tarlton, who lived in Shakespeare's

days,

*THOSE will comprehend my meaning, who have heard Edwin fpeak the following words to the Uncle, in the Maid of the Oaks—“Why did you not tell me you were a gentleman ?-for I'm sure, I never fhould have taken you for one."

days, very probably fhone in this part-for Sir R. Baker tells us--" and to make their comedies complete, Richard Tarlton, for the clown's part, never had his match, nor never will have." The names of Dunstall, Shuter, Woodward, Wefton, Yates, King, Dodd, Parfons, Quick, and Edwin, immediately strike one as the most proper comedians for the character of Dromio. From what I have heard of Mr. Yates, perhaps he may have been the foremost. For the drefs of Shakespeare's clowns, fee Mr. Tollett's conjecture in p. 434, of vol. 5, by Johnson and Steevens.

THIS Comedy was altered for the ftage by Mr. Hull, in 1779, and acted at Covent Garden; and it was again revived in 1785. I have been told that Mr. Hull's Aegeon was respectable and interesting—and that the paffages which procured him a very loud applause from an attentive audience, were, his firft fpeech to the Duke-and:

perhaps my fon,
Thou fham'ft to acknowledge me in mifery.

Page 187.

The perfon next prefented will be Adriana. Throughout every scene fhe is pleafing and interesting; and the appears in a light fo amiable in page 179, and page 187-that it will not be eafy to determine which to fix on. But as this last page will give an opportunity of representing Antipholis of Syracufe (her feeming unkind mate) in the fame plate, I would propofe drawing them at half-length, in the fame ftyle of coloured etching as the woman begging water, in the 2d vol. of the collection of drawings by Rogers.

SHE

SHE may be faying (with that forrowing look of kind embracement fo becoming her character)*

Ah, do not tear away thyfelf from me;

For know, my love, as easy may'st thou fall
A drop of water in the breaking gulph,
And take unmingled thence that drop again,
Without addition, or diminifhing,
As take from me thyfelf, and not me too.

or, the
may be fpeaking the lines which immediately follow the above,
with the alluring foftness of her modeft looks, fomewhat heightened
with that firm consciousness of virtuous dignity, with which that true
and ardent admirer of our poet, Mrs. Yates, fo nobly graces her Shakes-
peare's page.-

'How dearly would it touch thee to the quick,
Should't thou but hear, I were licentious?
And that this body, confecrate to thee,
By ruffian luft should be contaminate?
Wouldst thou not spit at me, and spurn at me,
And hurl the name of husband in my face,
And tear the ftain'd fkin off my harlot-brow,
And from my falfe hand cut the wedding-ring,
And break it with a deep-divorcing vow?

It might add to the effect of this scene were the to clasp him by the hand, in the above expoftulation. Her attitude would gain a firm

and

* Adriana does not seem one of thofe who are only taught "to murder a tune on the harpficord, or guittar, to dance a cotillion, and to chatter a little barbarous French-Nor do Milton's lines apply

to her :

completed to the taste Of luftful appetite, to fing, to dance,

To drefs, to troule the tongue, and roll the eye.