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"son [Steele], in The Spectator, "anathematized this play, he for"got that it was rather a satire on "the manners of the court, than "an apology for them. Less li"centious conversation would not "have painted the age." Lord Orford's Works, vol. ii. p. 315.

98. THE MAN OF NEWMARKET. Comedy, by the Hon. Edward Howard. Acted at the Theatre Royal. 4to. 1678. Scene, London. 99. THE MAN OF PARTS; or, A Trip to London. Farce, by Isaac Jackman. 12mo. 1795, Dublin. This miserable piece was acted in Crow Street Theatre.

100. THE MAN OF QUALITY. Farce, by Mr. Lee. Acted at Drury Lane. 8vo. 1776. A poor alteration of Vanbrugh's Relapse. 101. THE MAN OF REASON. Com. by Hugh Kelly. Performed at Covent Garden. 1776. This was acted only one night, and is not printed. The author of Mr. Kelly's Life says, "it must be " acknowledged that it was in"ferior to his other works, and "was supposed to have suffered "greatly by the misconception of "the actor (Mr. Woodward) who "performed the principal charac"ter in it."

102. THE MAN OF TASTE. Comedy, by James Miller. 8vo. 1735. This play was acted at Drury Lane, with considerable success. The plot of it is borrowed partly from the Ecole des Maris, and partly from the Precieuses Ridicules, of Moliere.

103. THE MAN OF TASTE. Com. As it is acted by a summer company, near Twickenham. 8vo. 1733. Such is the title-page; but the running-title is quite different; being THE POETICAL FOP; or, The Modes of the Court. In this piece Mr. Pope is ridiculed, under

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the name of Mr. Alexander Taste, a poet, who, in spite of defor"mity, imagines every woman "he sees in love with him," &c. It had been previously published in 1732, under the title of MR. TASTE, THE POETICAL FOP, &c. which see.

104. THE MAN OF TASTE. Farce, Anonymous, 1752. This piece was performed at Drury Lane, but is nothing more than Miller's piece cut into a farce by throwing out that part of the plot which is taken from the Ecole des Maris, and retaining only that which is borrowed from the Precieuses Ridicules.

105. THE MAN OF TEN THOU SAND. Com. by Thomas Holcroft. Acted at Drury Lane, without success. 8vo. 1796. Political prejudices certainly operated strongly to condemn this piece, which was acted but seven nights.

106. THE MAN OF THE MILL. Burlesque Tragic Opera. The music compiled and the words written by Signor Squallini. Svo. 1765. A poor parody on The Maid of the Mill.

107. THE MAN OF THE WORld. Com. by Charles Macklin. Acted with great success at Covent Garden, 1781. 4to. 1793. This play, which in respect to originality, force of mind, and well-adapted satire, may dispute the palm with any dramatic piece that has appeared within the compass of half a century, was received with the loudest acclamations, in Ireland, about seventeen years before, under the title of The True-born Scotchman, in three acts. In London, however, an official leave for its exhibition was repeatedly denied; and our audiences are indebted for the pleasure they have since derived from it, to the death of

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This

Mr. Capell, the late sub-licenser of the Theatres Royal. scrupulous petty placeman had long preferred what he conceived to be the bias of a court, to the innocent gratification of the public. His sagacity on a former occasion, also, should not be forgotten. He once prohibited the rehearsal of an opera, because he thought the situation of Pharnaces too nearly resembled that of the Young Pretender; nor, till a minister of state interposed his authority, would our guardian eunuch of the stage indulge the lovers of music with this favourite entertainment.-Peace to his ashes! He has consigned the care of his own works to the publisher as well as ostensible author of Mr. George H-ge's Letter to himself. Provident dulness could have dug no deeper grave for its literary remains.

But to resume our subject. The reception afforded to Mr. Macklin's comedy, as well as to his own astonishing performance of the principal part in it, must have gratified his warmest expecta

ions. Before the conclusion of

his epilogue had reminded us how much our fathers [our grandfathers might very well have been added] were delighted by the efforts of his youth, we felt no weak propension to reward the Labours of his age. The Man of the World, indeed, began its career during the last weeks of an expiring season (May 10, 1781); but the length and vigour of its course were reserved for the following winter. The actors, in general, were fortunate in the characters they attempted: but if words, proportioned to the exertions of Miss Younge, were at command, she should receive more distinct applause:

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"Her worth demands it all, "Pure and unmix'd on her the sacred drops should fall.”

Her modes of pleasing, diversified with endless variety, seemed to have reached their highest point; and, on this occasion, were invigorated by ardent zeal for the success of the meritorious veteran.

The plot of the play is briefly this: a crafty subtle Scotchman, friends, and little or no education, thrown upon the world without directs the whole of his observation and assiduity (in both of which he is indefatigable) to the pursuit of fortune and ambition. By his unwearied efforts, and meannesses, he succeeds; but, warned by the defects of his own education, he determines to give his eldest son the best that could be obtained, and for this purpose puts him into the hands of a clerhonour, who, by teaching him gyman of learning, integrity, and good precepts, and showing him the force of good example, makes him the very reverse of what the father intended; viz. not a man educated the better to make his court to the great, and extend the views of false ambition-but to make himself respected, independent, and happy. Thus he defeats the views of his father, who wants to marry him to a lady of rank and fortune, but to whom he cannot direct his affections, and marries the daughter of a poor officer, little better than a dependant on his mother, but who has virtues and accomplishments to adorn any situation. In short, the latter feels the just consequences of an overvaulting ambition; while the son, seeking his own happiness inde pendent of fortune or honours, in the concluding lines, thus avows and rejoices in the principles that he is governed by:

coquet, and fool,

"To thinking minds will prove this

golden rule:

"In all pursuits-but chiefly in a wife, "Not wealth, but morals, make the happy life."

"The voice of party," says Mr. Cooke, "began to bestir itself on "the first night's performance. "Some young Scotchmen thought "ita libel on their countrymen, and "resisted it; but the majority of "the audience carried it through "with applause, and the next "night it had no opponents: the "more temperate of that nation "argued very justly, that the "character of Sir Pertinax should "not hurt the feelings of any good "Scotchman; on the contrary, "that, if it was a true picture, they "should laugh at it, and thus en"courage a representation which "only exposed the artful and de"signing of their countrymen.'

"Some critics, however, start "one objection against this co"medy (and it is the only one we "have ever heard objected against "it); which is, that of the author Imaking his hero a Scotchman, "or of any particular country, so "as to impute national reflections; "but this, in our opinion, is be"ing too fastidious; the principal "character must belong to some "country; and whatever country "that was, it may be equally said to "receive a national insult. But the "universal rule allowed to all sa"tirists and dramatic writers, only "restrains them from not drawing "their characters from too limited "a source, so as to avoid personality "and obscurity; and to say, that "any one nation does not produce "ridiculous or vicious characters "in abundance, is a degree of "patriotism founded more in folly "than in fact. Beside all this,

VOL. III.

"ened by a peculiarity of dialect. "An Irishman would lose half "his humour in committing his "blunders without his brogue, as "a Scotchman would his cunning "without his bur. The drama"tist, then, is at liberty to seek "his characters (subject to the "limitations we have laid down) "wherever he can find them; "and if he can procure stronger "colours in the provinces, he has "a right to transfer them to his "canvass for general representa❝tion.

"Beside the merit of this piece "in plot, character, sentiment, "and diction, it is critically "constructed in respect to the "three unities of time, place, and "action. In respect to time, the "whole continuance of the play "does not take up above eight"and-forty hours; in respect to "place, the scene is never re"moved from the dwelling-house "of Sir Pertinax; and as to the "unity of action, the whole of "the comedy exhibits a chain of "connected facts, of which each "scene makes a link, and each "link accordingly produces some "incident relative to the cata"strophe. If many of our modern "dramatic writers (as they are so

pleased to call themselves) would "consult this comedy as a model, "they would be ashamed of drag"ging so many heterogeneous "characters together so irrelevant "to the general business of the

scene, and which give the stage "more the appearance of a cari"cature-shop, than a faithful re"presentation of life and man"ners."

Macklin told a friend, that he wrote the whole (or at least the greater part) of this play at an inn

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66

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ginal, and have no disagreeable "effect to those who go to a co

dote, respecting this play, we shall give on good authority. The MS. of The True-born Scotchman had lain in the Lord Chamberlain's office near ten years, and Macklin despaired of getting it returned to him; when one day, dining with Sir Fletcher Norton and Mr. Dunning, he begged their opinions, what a man should do to recover property, when he knew by whose hands it was withheld from him. They advised an action of trover. Well," said Macklin, "the case is my own: will you "two undertake my cause?" They agreed, and Macklin explained his particular wrong. The lawyers smiled at the whim of the poet; by personal application they got the MS. restored, but with a refusal to license it under its then title, as a national reflection. Macklin, in consequence, named it The Man of the World.

108. THE MAN'S BEWITCHED; or, The Devil to do about Her. Com. by Mrs. Centlivre. Acted at the Haymarket. 4to. no date. [1710.] This is by no means one of the best, nor is it the worst, of this lady's dramatic pieces. The language is extremely indifferent, and has a very great deficiency both of wit and sentiment; but the plot is agreeably intricate and busy, and the thought of Faithful's releasing his mistress Laura from her old guardian Sir David Watchum, by pretending to be bewitched, as well as the incident of the imagined ghost in the last act, although they are somewhat too farcical and out of probability,

yet are, as far as I know to the

medy principally with a view of being made to laugh, without entering into too rigid a scrutiny "of the adherence to dramatic "rules."-As to the originality of the piece, Mr. Baker was mistaken. It is little more than a translation of Le Deuil, a French comedy, published under the name of Hauteroche, but generally believed to have been written by Thomas Corneille, in 1672.

109. THE MAN'S THE MASTER. Com. by Sir W. Davenant. 4to. 1669. This was the last play its author wrote, being finished not long before his death, which happened in 1668. The plot of it is borrowed from two plays of M. Scarron, viz. Jodelet, ou Le Maitre Valet, and L'Heritier Ridicule. The scene is laid in Madrid, and throughout the whole in one house. It is esteemed a good comedy, and was often acted with approbation.

110. THE MAN'S THE MASTER, Comedy, altered from Davenant. Acted at Covent Garden (Jodelet by Mr. Woodward, the alterer of the piece). 8vo. 1775. Miss Leeson, who afterwards married Mr. Lewis, of Covent Garden Theatre, made her first appearance in the character of Isabella in this play.

111. THE MAN TOO HARD for THE MASTER. Com. Anonymous. Of this play we know not the author's name, nor any thing more than that it was published since the Restoration; nor do we find it mentioned any where but in the appendix to The British Theatre.

112. THE MAN WITH Two WIVES; or, Wigs for ever! Dram. Fable, by F. G. Waldron. Mr. Oulton mentions this piece with the date of 1798; in which year

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it was probably acted in some provincial theatre. Not printed, we believe.

113. THE MANUSCRIPT. Int. by William Lucas. 12mo. 1809. Never acted. It is subjoined to The Travels of Humanius in Search of the Temple of Happiness: an Allegory.

114. MARCELIA; or, The Treacherous Friend. Tragi-Com. by Mrs. Frances Boothby. Acted at the Theatre Royal. 4to. 1670. The scene lies in France, the plot an invention.

115. MARCELLA. Tragedy, by William Hayley. Acted both at Drury Lane and Covent Garden, 1789. Printed in 4to. 1784. Although not now performed, this play possesses, in a high degree, the two main springs of the tragic drama; i. e. terror and pity. The story of Marcella, though by some considered as too shocking, was recommended to Dr. Young by Mr. Richardson, as a proper subject for tragedy.

116. THE MARCHES DAY. Dr. Ent. of three acts. 8vo. 1771. Printed at Edinburgh. The humour of this piece is both local and temporary. The author informs his readers, that at where the scene of the entertainment is laid, a day is devoted for the burgesses to traverse on horseback the limits of their royalty; this being called the riding of the marches, and hence the marches day. The characters, he adds, were then alive, and the publication intended merely for the subscribers.

117. MARCIANO; or, The Discovery. Edinburgh, 4to. 1663. This piece, we find by the Mercurius Publicus, No. 2, January 15, 1662, was written by Mr. William Clerke, and is said, in the

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title-page, to have been acted with great applause, before His Majesty's High Commissioner, and others of the nobility, at the abbey of Holyrud House (at Edinburgh), on St. John's night, by a company of gentlemen, of which the author was one. The scene of this play is laid in Florence.

118. MARCUS BRUTUS. Trag. by John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham. 4to. 1722. To enrich this very poor play, two of the chorusses were furnished by Mt. Pope; but they had (says the editor of his works) the usual effects of ill-adjusted ornaments, only to make the meanness of the subject the more conspicuous.

119. MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, that famous Roman Orator, his Tragedy. 4to. 1651. It is uncertain whether this play was ever acted or not, but it is written in imitation of Ben Jonson's Catiline. The scene lies at Rome; and for the story, it may be found in Plu tarch's Life of Cicero, &c. Philips and Winstanley ascribe this play to Fulk Greville, Lord Brook; but without authority.

120. MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO. Trag. by Patsall. Who Mr. Patsall was, we know not; but, from a specimen of his tragedy, given in the Oxford Magazine for January 1773, we have not formed a very high notion of his literary talents. The entire play (if it was ever printed entire) we have not

seen.

121. MARFORIO. Theatrical Satire; being a Tragi-comical Farce, called The Critic of Taste; or, A Tale of a Tub. Acted at Covent Garden, 1736. N. P.

122. MARGARET OF ANJOU. Historical Interlude, by Edward Jerningham. Acted at Drury Lane, March 11,1777, for Miss Younge's