STANZAS

Occasioned by the report of Mr. Garrick's quitting the stage, and by seeing his epigram on Quin.

Long had the town her Garrick's absence mourned,
And woo'd fair health with many an anxious prayer;
Till to his breast the blooming nymph return'd,
Borne on the bright wings of Hesperian air.
But, ah! severe the cautious law she gave!
What long reluctant Britain must deplore!
When her lov'd actor's favourite life to save,

She bade him tread the wasting stage no more.
Grave look'd the god of laughter whilst she spoke ;
Of Lear's dim grave wild pity sought the gloom;
The mimic glass the muse of humour broke,

And Shakespeare's genius languished o'er his tomb.
Phoebus was mov'd when Shakespeare's genius sigh'd,
And nought he cried, the god of wit can give ;
No grateful meed thy Garrick is denied :

Then spare the actor, and the bard shall live.

But now, reader, you must prepare yourself to take a long farewell of your facetious acquaintance. During the stay he made at Hampton, he had an eruption on his hand, which the faculty were of opinion would turn to a mortification, and this intimation greatly damped his spirits, as the thought of losing a limb appeared to him more terrible than death itself; he therefore resolved, let what might be the consequence, not to suffer amputation. Whether this perspective so violently affected his spirits as to throw him into a hypochondria, or whether the natural bad habit of his body brought on a fever, this much is certain, that one of the malignant kind succeeded, and when he was out of all danger with respect to his hand, he was carried off by this fatal disorder.

During his illness he had taken such large quantities of bark, as to occasion an incessant drought, which nothing could assuage, and being willing to live as long as he could without pain, he discontinued taking any medicines for upwards of a week before his death, and during this period he was in very good spirits. The day before he died he drank a bottle of claret, and being sensible of his approaching end he said, "He could wish that the last tragic scene were over, though he was in hopes he should be able to go through it with becoming dignity." He was not mistaken, and departed this life on Tuesday, the 21st of January, 1766, about four o'clock in the morning, in the seventy-third year of his age.

The following is an authentic copy of his last Will and Testament:

Mr. James Quin's last Will and Testament.

I JAMES QUIN, now residing in Bath, in the county of Somerset, Gent., being in good health and of sound and perfect mind and memory, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, in manner and form following:

:

That is to say, after my funeral expenses and debts paid, I give and bequeath unto Mr. Thomas Nobbes, Oilman, in the Strand, London, five hundred pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto Mr. Charles Lowth, at the King's Head, in Paternoster Row, London, five hundred pounds. Item. I give and bequeath unto Mr. Thomas James Quin, son of Dr. Henry Quin, Physician, in Dublin, one hundred pounds. Item. I give and bequeath unto Mr. Anthony Pelham, Physician, now living in Southampton Street, Covent Garden, two hundred pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath, as by a very foolish promise, to Daniel Leekie, my gold repeating watch, chain, and seals.

Item. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Penelope Lepage, and to Mrs. Sarah Lepage, single or married, both nieces to the late Mrs. Forrester, fifty pounds each, or the whole hundred to the survivor.

Item. Unto William Grinsill, one of the Arts Masters of Bridewell Hospital, in London, five hundred pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath to Mr. Daniel Rich, of Sunning, near Reading, in the county of Berks., one hundred pounds. Item. I give and bequeath unto Mr. Thomas Gainsborough, Limner, now living at Bath, fifty pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto the wife of Walter Nugent, a first Lieutenant in the Marines, fifty pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto Mr. Jeremiah Pierce, Surgeon, in Bath, my gold-headed crutch cane.

Item. I give and bequeath unto the Honourable Mr. John Needham, of Ivor, near Uxbridge, one hundred pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto Captain Robert Hughes, brother to the Commissioner at Portsmouth, fifty pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto Mrs. Mary Simpson, landlady of the Centre House, in Pierpont Street, in Bath, one hundred pounds; to be paid by my executors into her own hands, independent of all her creditors whatsoever.

Item. I give and bequeath unto Mr. Edward Parker, Wine Merchant, in Bath, twenty guineas.

It is also my will that all the above legacies be paid and discharged within three months after my decease.

It is also my will to be privately interred.

All the rest and residue of my Estate, both real and personal, of what nature or kind soever, I give unto the above said Mr. Thomas Nobbes, and Mr. Charles Lowth, to enjoy to their use and behoof, to share alike, half and half. And I do hereby constitute and appoint the abovesaid Thomas Nobbes, Charles Lowth, and Edward Parker, to be the executors of and to this my last Will and Testament, hereby revoking and declaring void all former Wills by me made.

In Witness whereof, I the said James Quin have to this my last Will and Testament, contained in one sheet of paper, and written with my own hand, set my hand and seal this tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five.

JAMES QUIN. (L.S.)

Signed, sealed, published and declared, as and for the last Will and Testament of James Quin, in the presence of us who have hereunto subscribed our names in presence of each other, and in the presence, and at the request of the said James Quin,

HANBURY PETTINGAL,
JOSEPH PHILLOTT.

SUPPLEMENT.

CONTAINING

ORIGINAL FACTS AND ANECDOTES

RELATING TO THE LIFE OF QUIN.

ALSO

THE REMARKABLE TRIAL FOR THE

MURDER OF MR. BOWEN.

COLLECTED AND ARRANGED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES.

We shall now give in the form of an Appendix, some interesting matter respecting this celebrated actor, not included in the preceding work. In certain particulars this will be found to differ somewhat from the foregoing, as for instance, with respect to the fatal duel which involved Quin in such unpleasant consequences, but in the main it may be relied upon as more authentic, the information being drawn from the most reliable authorities; the account of the duel, in fact is taken from an ancient report of the trial at the Old Bailey, now seldom met with.

With regard to Quin's birth and the circumstances of his early life, there is some difference between the statements made by the few writers who have expressed themselves thereupon. The following facts related by accredited writers of various times may be read side by side and compared with the narrative already given.

This celebrated actor was born in King Street, Covent Garden, 24th Feb. 1693. His ancestors were of an ancient family in the kingdom of Ireland. His father, James Quin, was bred at Trinity College, Dublin, from whence he came to England, entered himself of Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar; but his father, Mark Quin, who had been Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1676, dying about that period, leaving him a plentiful estate, he quitted England in 1700, for his native country; taking with him his son, the object of our present attention.

E

The marriage of Mr. Quin's father was attended with circumstances which affected the future interest of his son so materially, as probably to influence his future destination in life. His mother was a reputed widow, who had been married to a person in the mercantile way, and who left her, to pursue some traffic or particular business in the West Indies. He had been absent from her near seven years, without her having received any letter from, or the least information about him. He was even given out to be dead, which report was universally credited; she went into mourning for him; and some time after Mr. Quin's father, who is said to have then possessed an estate of £1000 a year, paid his addresses to her and married her. The consequence of this marriage was Mr. Quin. His parents continued for some time in an undisturbed state of happiness, when the first husband returned, claimed his wife, and had her. Mr. Quin the elder retired with his son, to whom he is said to have left his property. Another, and more probable account, is that the estate was suffered to descend to the heir-at-law, and the illegitimacy of Mr. Quin being proved, he was dispossessed of it, and left to shift for himself.

Mr. Quin received his education at Dublin, under the care of Dr. Jones, until the death of his father in 1710, when the progress of it was interrupted, we may presume, by the litigations which arose about his estate. It is generally admitted that he was deficient in literature; and it has been said, that he laughed at those who read books by way of enquiry after knowledge, saying he read men-that the world was the best book. This account is believed to be founded in truth, and will prove the great strength of his natural understanding which enabled him to establish so considerable a reputation as a man of sense and genius.

Deprived thus of the property he expected and with no profession to support him, though he is said to have been intended for the law, Mr. Quin appears to have arrived at the age of 21 years. He had therefore nothing to rely upon but the exercise of his talents, and with these he soon supplied the deficiencies of fortune. The theatre at Dublin was then struggling for an establishment, and there he made his first essay. The part he performed was Abel in The Committee, in the year 1714; and he represented a few other characters, as Cleon in Timon of Athens, Prince of Tanais in Tamerlane, and others, but all of equal insignificance. After performing one season in Dublin, he was advised by Chetwood not to smother his rising genius in a kingdom where there was no great encouragement for merit.