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judges that he would be a confiderable acquifition to the Stage.

Her fecond character was Jane Shore, wherein the marked the feveral traits of that unfortunate female with great pathos and precision; and it is with a melan choly pleasure we remember her speaking the concluding lines of the first act, and the juft and merited applaufe which followed them. It may be worthy of remark, that Mr. Barry and his wife, the Haltings and Alicia of the evening, having unhandfomely exprelled fome reluctance to perform with the new actress, Mr. Garrick, on the fecond night's performance, to fhew his opinion of her merit, affumed the part of Haftings himfelf, and immediately afterwards entruited her with the part of Ovifa, the principal character in Colonel Dow's "Zingis," first performed at Drury-lane 17th Dec. 1768.

It would be as difficult as it would be unneceffary to travel through the several characters which Mifs Younge performed this featon at Drury-lane. It will be fufficient to say, they were generally capital parts; and, as a proof how he filled them, the Manager, who was allowed to know the value of money full as well as theatrical merit, voluntarily raifed her falary, after the third night, from forty fillings to three pounds, and towards the clofe of that feafon, or the beginning of the next, placed her on the lit at five pounds per week.

Her rifing merits, and Mr. Garrick's recommendation, introduced her to Mr. Love, then a confiderable performer at the fame Theatre, and Manager of the Richmond Company, who engaged her, during the fummer feafon, as his heroine; and here, as in all country companies, there being a greater fcope given to the performers, in the line of trying a greater variety of characters, Mifs Younge's abilities were oftener called out, and the performed most of the principal parts of Tragedy and Comedy with a reputation which accompanied her return to Drury-lane with an increased eclat.

The period of Mifs Younge's appear ance at Drury-lane, confidering the ftate of the Stage, was not fo favourable for her. Mrs. Pritchard had, in the beginning of the fame year, left her profeffion, before the decline of her powers, accompanied with all that fame which was fo justly attached to her private as well as public character. Kitty Clive ftill maintained her ground, after delighting fuc

ceeding audiences for near forty years, and occupied fome parts with unrivalled excellence. Mrs. Yates had just gained, after many years of progreffive industry, the top of her profeffion; and Mrs. Barry (fince Crawford), who had fhewn fuch talents at the King's Theatre, Hay-, market, during the fummer of 1766, was foon after engaged by Mr. Garrick, as a perfon of whom he had the greateft ex-. pectation; fhe had likewise the addition of her husband, the late Spranger Barry, to fupport her in most of her principal parts; and, with such an actor, who could. poffefs any powers and not exert them to their fulleft extent?

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To ipeak of Barry now (particularly to the rifing generation) appears to be almoft as obfolete as quoting the charac ters of the old fchool from "Cibber's Apology;" but it is impoffible for thole who remembered this great actor in the meridian of his powers, ever to forget him his fine and coinimanding figure, that overlooked in point of dignity as well as height all who furrounded himhis tones, which now spoke the language of terror and command, and now the gentleft notes of love-his exquifite feelings, which electrified the whole sweep of his audience-and, above all, that mafterly difplay of the mixed and contending paflions which he exhibited in Othello, Oreftes, Varanes, &c. &c. gave him fuch a decided fuperiority on the Stage, and rendered him fo much the object of popular attachment, that although these talents were on the wane at this period of his engagement, yet they were ftill "majestic in decay," and occafionally blazed out in all the splendour of their original brightness.

We retrace these particulars partly to fhew the precife fituation Miis Younge ftood in, in refpect to these two powerful heroines, Mrs. Yates and Mrs. Barry, who, at the different Theatres, were both before her in the poffeffion of all the capital parts, and both the acknow ledged favourites of the town; but the had that within which seldom fails to reward its poffeffors, viz. a conscioulness of talent, with a determined vejolution to cultivate it by every alt of alliduous and unremitting attention; her little Manager quickly faw this, and politically took up Mifs Younge to curb the occa fional airs of his great stage heroines, as they were each engaged at his The

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Barry frequently, on the day of performance, used to fend word to the Theatre, that he could not poffibly appear that night, either on account of her own ill. nefs, or that of her husband; and thele eccafional fits of illness almoft periodically happened the night before, or after a Royal Command, when the Manager found it most neceflary to mufter the ftrength of his company. Mrs. Yates had likewife, when the was afterwards at Drury-lane, her excufes in turn-Infomuch, that we have known the Manager (the elder Colman), during the run of a new Play, called out from dinner to be told, that Mrs. Yates wore the would not appear that night on the ftage without the use of a particular petticoat." The ridicule did not stop here-the Manager was obliged to leave his company to fettle this important queftion between the Mistress of the Robes and the Trage dian, left the audience fhould be difappointed of their amusement.

Teazed with thefe and fimilar artifices, Garrick faw in Mifs Younge thofe rifing talents which afterwards ripened into fo much reputation. He therefore took particular care to inftruct her in many little particulars of her profeffion, and had her always (in the language of the Green Room) under-fluded in thofe parts which his other two heroines were caft for: fo that when either of them fent an apology, her name immediately ap. peared in the bills, and the play went on with no great diminution of profit or applaute. Their vanity fupported them in this extravagant conduct for fome time, whilt the zeal which our young heroine felt in treading in the fhoes of thofe great aftrefies, increated her knowledge and her powers, and, by bringing her more forward betere the eve of the Public, gave her an anticipated reputation.

We have often heard it from the mouth of this judicious aftreis (and which he tok with a very becoming modeity, and a grateful recollection of God's good providence to her, which through all the kages of her life the never forgot), "that the owed as much of her fame to this in eident, and to the affiduity with which fhe improved it, as to any little original talents the right po fels." This affiduity was not only or ufe to her then, but grew into a fettied habit through life, which contributed much to her private fatisfaction, and left an example to the Stage very worthy of imitation."

Mr. Carrick's parfimenious habits in his theatrical concerns would not readily

permit him to advance the falaries of his performers at all equal to their merits; and this was the cafe with Mifs Younge, After performing two feafons the claimed a higher ftipend, and was refuted. Piqued at this, the determined to go to Ireland, and accordingly performed the feafon of 1770, 71, at Dublin, where the first reprefented, with unrivalled excellence, the character of Lady Rodolpha, in Macklin's "Man of the World." Mr. Garrick foon felt the want of her performance, and took the earliest opportunity of re-engaging her on her own terms. She therefore returned to London the next feafon, where the remained every fucceeding winter of her life.

From this period Mifs Younge's reputation as an actress took a more eftas blished form; fhe not only filled occafionally the principal characters in the catt of Mrs. Yates and Mrs. Crawford, but often performed in the fame plays with thofe ladies in no difparaging manner. Garrick, befide giving her the best inftructions, wrote fome Epilogues for her, and he was followed by feveral of the dramatic writers of that time.

In 1775 Dr. Hiffernan finished a poft. humous Tragedy of the late Henry Jones, called The Cave of Idra, which he brought out under the title of The Heroine of the Cave, for Mifs Younge's Benefit; in which the spoke the Epilogue and played the principal part: and in March 1777, the prefent Mr. Jerningham, fince fo well known for his elegant talents in poetry, wrote the hiftorical interlude of Margaret of Anjou, likewise for her Benefit: in both of which the confirmed her former reputation.

Many of her principal parts were caft in the fame plays with Garrick, and the had the fatisfaction of performing Cor delia to his Lear the last night but one of this great matter's performance on the Stage; which gave rife to the following little incident:

After the dropping of the curtain, his hand ftill locked in her's (as is the coflum in finishing this play), he led her down to the Green-rcom, where all the per formers had gathered round him; and recollecting, with a figh, that this was the last night but one that he was to ap pear in a profeffion which he fo much ornamented, and which gave him fo much immortality, he exclaimed, "Ah, Bets! this is the latt time of my being your father, therefore you must now look out to be adopted by fomebody else."Why then, Sir," faid Mits Younge

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inftantly falling on her knees before him), profeffion), Mr. Sheridan, fen. introduced to Drury lane Theatre the present justly celebrated Mrs. Siddons, who had performed fome inconfiderable characters about fix years before on the fame Stage, but for fome reafons, hitherto inexplicable, was fo little noticed by Mr. Garrick, that the very spiritedly difiniffed herself from that engagement.

"give me a father's bleffing." Garrick, feeling her fituation, and the impreffive manner in which the spoke, replied with great energy, "God blefs, you." Then railing his eyes to the rest of the performers, he added, God bless you all," and instantly retired."

Juft after Mr. Garrick's death, that is in 1779, Mifs Younge went over to Covent Garden Theatre; and as Mrs. Barry, by an unfortunate fecond marriage, had not a little eftranged her mind from her profeffion, and as Mrs. Yates, from illness, played but a certain number of nights in the feason, our heroine now began to reap the benefits of ber well-earned labours, and to ftand unequivocally the first tragic actress on the Stage. What contributed further to her general character at this time was the production of the Belles Stratagem, a Comedy, from the pen of Mrs. Cowley, in which Mifs Younge played Letitia Hardy; a part, we believe, expressly written to give full fcope to this great actress's powers, and which she sustained with fuch verfatility and propriety of character as ftamped the praife of univerfality on her talents.

But let not genius, however exalted, or however judiciously cultivated, repofe too fecurely on the unchangeableness of its fituation. Surrounding nature, as well as revelation, tell us, "That nothing continueth in one ftay ;" and daily experience further confirms, "That time and chance, or fashion, or even caprice, will make mutations in all the great as well as frivolous departments of lire."

In the winter of 1782, when Mifs Younge was thus bearing all her blushing honours thick about her" (and which, to do her juftice, fhe enjoyed with a moderation rarely the lot of her

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LYCOPHRON'S

This Lady's first appearance, as may be well remembered, was in Isabella, in Southerne's Tragedy of "The Fatal Marriage," and in this character she difplayed fuch genuine and original powers of acting, as to eftablifh her fame with the Critics the first night: her other performances fanctioned this approbation fo much with the town, that Drury-lane foon became the Temple of the Mufes, and Mrs. Siddons the prefiding Goddefs.

In this awful and unexpected crifis, Mifs Younge fteadily kept before her the advice of our immortal Bard—

"In the reproof of chance "Lies the true proof of men." As her temper, her talents, and her affiduities, never forfook her, the supported herself as a refpectable antagonist, doing her duty with an increased zeal, and never once repining either at her ill luck, or detracting from the talents of her great rival. She confidered her merits as before the public, and the committed herself to their patronage and protection. Her conduct was accordingly rewarded; for though the bruit of Mrs. Siddons name carried with it the greater tide of popularity, Mifs Younge kept her rank as an excellent judicious actress, unmatched in many characters, and in powers of equal declamation superior to any one on the Stage.

(To be continued.) CASSANDRA.

L. 144, 145, 146.
Γυναὶ γὰρ δυναςτῆρας ἄμναμοι τριπλαίς
Πήναις κατεκλώσαντο διναιᾶς ἀλὸς,
Νυμφαία πεντάγαμβρα δαίσασθαι γάμων.

CASSANDRA here predicts, that
Helen hall have five hufbands,
"Claude filiæ antiqui maris [Parca]
neverunt triplicibus ftaminibus, maritus
Jiviluros nuptiis nuptialia, quinquies-
fponfalia."

rayaga cannot be right. Æf chylus calls Helen Tv Jogiya Bear.

Ag. 695. But the poet probably wrote πινταγαμβρία, compounded of πεντάκις & gaubia, dwęz û diitra yzucjov. δε γαμβρία, δώρα δείπνα γαμβρον. "The Fates have decreed," fays Catfandra, "that hufbands at the wedding fhall diftribute wya, bridal prefents. The additional word πένταγαμβρία 31

certains

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