imperfect in the part, which Rich observing, called out to him, on his return from the stage, "Holloa, Mister-I think your, pretty good by this time." Walker; "but, z-ds, Sir, last for ever."

memory ought to be "And so it is," said my memory is not to

Nor age, nor time, have been able to stale the character of this celebrated Opera! Every species of performers have attempted it, from the Theatres Royal to Barns and Puppet-shows. Not longer ago than the year 1790, it was played at Barnstaple in Devonshire, when Macheath had but one eye; Polly but one arm; the songs supported in the orchestra by a man who whistled to the tunes, whilst the Manager could not read.

Mrs. Pritchard, in one of her summer rambles, went with a large party to see "The Beggar's Opera" at a remote country town, where it was so mangled as to render it almost impossible to resist laughing at some of the passages. Mrs. Pritchard, perhaps, might have indulged in this too much, considering one of her profession; however, she escaped unnoticed till after the end of the performance. It was then necessary for her and her company to cross the stage to go to their carriages -The only Musician who filled the orchestra happened to be the Manager, and having no other

way of shewing his revenge, he immediately struck up the opening tune

"Through all the employments of life,

"Each neighbour abuses his brother."

This had such an effect on Mrs. Pritchard, that she felt the rebuke, and threw Crowdero a crown for his wit, as well as a tribute of her own humiliation.

Much as has been said of "The Beggar's Opera," (and it is one of those lucky hits which cannot be too much praised,) we fear the representation of it has done infinitely more harm than good. It is difficult to make men of wit, and a refined way of thinking, agree to this, because they see the jut of it clearly, and therefore imagine, that as a satire, it has its effect upon the follies and corruptions of the times; but they will not at the same time ask themselves, How do the lower classes, which compose an audience, feel it? Why, they see nothing but the splendour and gallantry of Macheath, and the vices of a prison, &c. which are all rendered so familiar as to wear away the real deformity: hence, the petty thief comes home from the Opera generally with having his ambition whetted to rise in a superior style-he longs for his Covent Garden ladies, and the diversions of the town, as well as the Captain; but

then

then he must work up to that situation first, and hence his industry becomes his ruin.

But in questions of this sort, facts best speak for themselves: the late Sir John Fielding, whose judgment must be decisive in these matters, once told the late Hugh Kelly, on a successful run of "The Beggar's Opera," "that he expected a fresh cargo of highwaymen in consequence at his office;" and, upon Kelly's being surprised at this, Sir John assured him, "that ever since the first representation of this piece, there had been, on every successful run, a proportionate number of highwaymen brought to the office, as he would shew him by the books any morning he took the trouble to look over them." Kelly had the curiosity, and found the observation to be strictly

true.

Perhaps the only practical good this Opera may have produced, is the refinement of highwaymen. Macheath is not a man of blood, nor do we find his imitators have been so savage in their depredations as before this production. The above is partly an observation of the late Mr. Gibbon, the Historian, and we believe well founded.

Swift attributes "the unprecedented, and almost incredible, success of this Opera to a peculiar merit in the writing, wherein what we call

the

the point of humour is exactly hit; a point (he observes) which, whoever can rightly touch, will never fail of pleasing a great majority; and which, in its perfection, is allowed to be much preferable to wit, if it be not the most useful and agreeable species of it."

We cannot close our observations on this Opera, without noticing a criticism of Dr. Johnson's, in answer to the two opinions that were formed of it at that time. The one, "that it placed all kinds of vice in the strongest and most odious light;" and the other, "as giving encouragement not only to vice, but to crimes, by making the highwayman the hero, and dismissing him at last unpunished."

"Both these decisions (says Johnson) are surely exaggerated. The play, like many others, was plainly written only to divert, without any moral purpose, and is therefore not likely to do good; nor can it be conceived, without more speculation than life requires or admits, to be productive of much evil. Highwaymen and housebreakers seldom frequent the playhouse, or mingle in any elegant diversion; nor is it possible for any one to imagine that he may rob with safety because he sees Macheath reprieved upon the stage."

With great deference to Dr. Johnson's general merits, we believe there never was so inconsiderate a criticism

F

a criticism dropt from the pen of a great man. That Gay wrote this Opera to satirize the courtiers through the medium of ordinary characters, both the songs, as well as the dialogue, evidently tell; and the accounts we have of contemporary audiences applauding and applying particular passages to particular persons, are additional proofs of it: nay, the Court itself was so sensible of the satire, that they would not suffer the Opera of" Polly" to be represented, (supposed to be a counter-part to The Beggar's Opera,) because they dreaded similar effects.

"That highwaymen and housebreakers seldom frequent the Theatres," is another error, equally gross as the former, as none are more fond of amusements and dissipations than people of this description: they fly to them as reliefs from thinking; and such an opera as this must doubly excite their attention, from their being better judges of its merits.

In respect to Dr. Johnson's last observation, "that a highwayman will not be induced to rob because he sees Macheath reprieved on the stage,' we so far agree with him; as nothing but the grossest ignorance can suppose, that a dramatic reprieve is equal to that issuing from the Crown: but the character of Macheath in general, produces little less bad effect, as his gay, sprightly

manners,