"Merchant of Venice. no fcruple of placing her fecond upon the whole; nay, in fome particular places, we think her equal. in Mifs MACKLIN undoubtedly fpeaks the part an unexceptionable manner, but we deem her rather too petit in perfon and expreffion; Mrs. CLIVE, who obtained no small fhare of applaufe, was a ludicrous burlesque on the character, every feature and limb contrafted the idea SHAKESPEARE gives us of Portia; in the fpirited scene she was clumfy, and fpoke them in the fame ftrain of chambermaid delicacy fhe did Lappet or Flippanta; in the grave part--fure never was fuch a female put into breech、es before!—she was aukwardly diffonant; and, as if confcious fhe could not get through without the aid of trick, flew to the pitiful refource of taking off the peculiarity of fome judge, or noted lawyer; from which wife ftroke, fhe created laughter in a scene where the deepest attention should be preserved, till Gratiano's retorts upon the Jew, work a contrary effect. Mrs. YATES, with an amazing degree of condefcenfion, has lately vouchfafed to perform Portia, for that night only-that night only, the phrafe is fo modest, that we repeat it-if she can do the part better than any body elfe, the public in general, and the managers in particular, have a right to expect her in it whenever the play is done; if she is not fo capable as the perfon in poffeffion of it, why should fhe impose upon her friends, even for one night; this is one out of many low, theatrical fineffes, thrown out as baits to catch gudgeons; however, if this laVOL. I. dy dy thinks criticism has any cause to languish for a repetition of her Portia, fhe is utterly mistaken; fince it is certain that, deducting her great name, and fome merit in the fourth act, fhe has fhewn nothing more than that capital talents may occafionally dwindle into very middling execution. Merchant of Venice: very Neriffa, as a mere foil to Portia, is of fo little consequence, that we shall only mention the horrid impropriety of managerical conduct at Covent Garden, to push on Mrs. VINCENT for her; a lady fo much advanced in years, and who, in the bloom of life, was but ill calculated for representing any thing in boy's cloaths-fhame, where is thy blushFrom a critical retrofpect we may affert, that our author has not only well chofen, but also well fupported the several characters in this piece; that the incidents are affecting, many of the fentiments fublime, and the verfification worthy of SHAKESPEARE; fome of the profe dialogue finks into the word catching, so fashionable in his day, and which, according to our apprehenfion, he meant to ridicule; there is an alteration of this play, called the Jew of Venice, by Lord Landfdown, who has taken pains to preserve regularity; yet in fo doing, like other alterers, has greatly enervated the piece he meant to improve: our author has as few fuperfluities, or cenfurable paffages, in his MERCHANT of VENICE, as any piece he ever wrote; and, if it is not among the most powerful efforts of his genius, it certainly yields precedence to very few, either in the study or theatre. The The COMMISSAR Y. A COMEDY by Mr. FOOTE. CRiticisms upon authors or performers who have paid the debt of nature, are apt to be confidered by many perfons as the effect of prejudice, good naturedly weak, or enviously fevere; those upon living perfons, of either character, are generally fuppofed as the offspring of interested views, perfonal attachment, or partial antipathy: however, as we have heitherto endeavoured, and we hope fuccefsfully, to hold the ballance with an unbiaffed hand; as we disclaim all connections with, or personal influence from the pieces or actors confidered; as we have indifcriminately praised the fame authors and performers in one place, whom we have cenfured in another, it is ardently hoped we fhall ftand, through our whole undertaking, unimpeached with fervile flattery, or illiberal cenfure; and that what we offer will be received as real, though often, perhaps, very fallible opinion; we have already fhared the common fate of all fimilar productions; that is, being deemed too mild by fome, too tart by others; as it is impoffible to please all, we shall still steer a fteady medium course, and prove ourselves ftrict friends of the drama, though fome of its fons and profelytes fhould look upon us with indignant eyes. If to laugh vice and folly out of countenance, is a more certain, as well as more pleasant method of 892 reforming Commiffary. reforming national conduct into prudence and virtue, than dry declamation, or brow-beating authority; if to fhoot folly as it flies, and to catch living manners, be the grand taste of merit in comic writings, we must examine how far the gentleman now before us, has, in the piece we are going to confider, anfwered those valuable purposes. Some perfons of low extraction, low capacities for any thing but gain, low fortunes and lower principles, having accumulated princely fortunes by plunder from their bleeding country, and those hardy fons of war who were fighting for the common liberies of Europe, became fo extravagantly vain of their fudden ill gotten pelf, that they wanted to fhine forth what nature never defigned them for, and art could not make them accomplished gentlemen; one particularly, though in the vale of years, aimed as ignorantly at cutting a figure in the gay and great world; unbounded riches fecure fuch reptiles from legal punishment; who then can be fitter game for dramatic fatire to hunt with her keen lafh through the mazes of ridicule ? Availing himself moft happily of fuch a luxuriant fubject, the author of the COMMISSARY has titled his piece from the very station in which fome of the rapacious blood-fuckers moved, and lays the fcene of it in the house of a lady, Mrs. Mechlin, for whom, if we are rightly informed, there is an infamous living original; her handmaid Jenny remarks, upon loud knocking at the door, that the Commiffary's lodging in their houfe, occafions business enough for a porter; Commiary. a porter; upon her letting in Simon, who enquires for her mistress, a conversation enfues; by which we learn, that the good gentlewoman of the house has fummoned him in an earnest manner; being as appears, a practifed and useful agent for her underhand iniquitous purposes: upon expreffing himself rather difagreeably, the maid gives a warm rhapfodical account of her miftrefs's character and confequence, which he adds fpirits to, by timely interruptions of a fneering, ironical nature; at length, when fhe has run herself out of both words and wind, he, in the self-fame manner, reverses the picture she has drawn, while fhe fupports the force and vivacity of his defcription as he did hers; this is a very pleafing pit pat, and judicious manner of revealing Mrs. Mechlin's, or any other character, infinitely beyond the dull narrative mode adopted by many dramatic writers. Simon's ftriking portrait enflames Jenny, who on hearing her mistress at the door, puts him into an apprehenfion that she'll reveal his fentiments; however, the gives the matter a whimfical turn, and brings him off-nothing can be more naturally characteristic than Mrs. Mechlin's importance, difplayed in weariness and fretful breaks; the coachman is alfo furnished with expreffions highly fuitable, and though, the craving, extortionate difpofition of fuch fellows, may be deemed a trifling, it is yet a juft object of expofition, and is here placed in a very laughable point of view. What |