Play, by Robert Wilson (in conjunction with Dekker and Drayton). Acted 1598. Not printed. 20. THE HISTORY OF MADOR KING OF BRITAIN. By Francis Beaumont. Entered on the book of the Stationers' Company, June 29, 1660; but not printed. 21. MADRIGAL AND TRULLETTA. A Mock Tragedy. Svo. 1758. This piece was written by Mr. Reed. It was performed at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, one night only (July 6), under the direction of Theoph. Cibber. It is intended as a ridicule upon some of the later performances of the buskin, and is executed with much humour; but was, says the author, inhumanly butchered in "the representation." 22. A MAD WORLD MY MASTERS. Com. by Thomas Middleton. Acted by the children of Paul's. 4to. 1608; 4to. 1640; D. C. 1780. This is a very good play, and has been since borrowed from by many writers; particularly by Mrs. Behn, in her City Heiress; and by C. Johnson, in his Country Lasses. 23. THE MAGIC BANNER. See ALFRED. 24. THE MAGIC CAVERN; or, Virtue's Triumph. Pant. by Mr. Wewitzer. This splendid and entertaining piece was first acted at Covent Garden, Dec. 27, 1784, and had a very successful run. 8vo. 1795. 25. THE MAGIC FLUTE. Pant. by J. C. Cross. 1800. 26. THE MAGIC GIRDLE. Burletta, by George Savile Carey. Acted at Marybone Gardens. 4to. 1770. 27. THE MAGIC OAK; or, Harlequin Woodcutter. Pantom. Acted at Covent Garden. Songs. &c. only printed, Svo. 1799. 28. THE MAGIC PICTURE, Play. Acted at Covent Garden. 8vo. 1783. This was an alteration of Massinger's Picture, by the Rev. Henry Bate. The alterer has given a new turn to the drama, by making the changes of the picture the effects of Eugenius's jealousy, instead of the magic art of Baptista; by which, however, though the improbability of the fable is lessened, the interest is also in some measure diminished. 29. THE MAGICIAN; or, The Bottle Conjuror. Historico-HeroiSatiri-Comic Drama. Acted at the Star and Garter Tavern, 1749. Not printed. 30. THE MAGICIAN NO CONJUROR. Comic Opera, by Robert Merry. Acted at Covent Garden, 1792. Not printed. It was performed only four nights, but possessed a considerable portion of humour. 31. THE MAGICIAN OF THE MOUNTAIN. Pantomime. Acted at Drury Lane, 1763. The good sense of the audience condemned this piece to oblivion, after, we think, two representations. 32. THE MAGNET. Musical Entertainment. Performed at Marybone Gardens. 8vo. 1771.This magnet has little attraction without the aid of its music. 33. THE MAGNETICK LADY; or, Humours reconcil'd. Com. by Ben Jonson. Fol. 1640; 8vo. 1756. This play is in general esteemed a good one, yet did not escape the censure of some critics of that time: particularly Mr. Gill, master of St. Paul's school, or his son, wrote a satire against it; part of which (the whole being too long) we shall transcribe: "But to advise thee, Ben, in this strict MAG "Thou better know'st a groundsil for to And better canst direct to cap a chim- Than to converse with Clio, or Polyhimny. "Fall then to work in thy old age agen, "Take up thy trug and trowel, gentle Ben, "Let plays alone: or if thou needs will write, "And thrust thy feeble muse into the light, "Let Lowin cease, and Taylor scorn to touch "The loathed stage, for thou hast made it such." But, to show how fiercely Ben could repartee on any one that had abused him, we present the reader with his answer. "Shall the prosperity of a pardon still Gill, "At libelling? Shall no Star-Chamber peers, "Pillory, nor whip, nor want of ears, "All which thou hast incurr'd deservedly, MAG folio pages in the black letter, must have taken up a considerable time in the representation, and was printed by Rastell in about 1533. It begins with a dialogue between Felicite and Lyberte: Fylycite. Al thyngys contryvyd by mannys reason, The world envyrenyd of hygh and low estate, Be it erly or late welth hath a season; The substance of the allegory, says wanting) is briefly this: Magnificence becomes a dupe to twe servants and favourites, Fansy, Counterfet Countenance, Crafty Conveyance, Clockyd Colusion, Courtly Abusion, and Foly. At length he is seized and robbed by Adversyte, by whom he is given up as a prisoner to Poverte. He is next delivered to Despare and Mischefe, who offer him a knife anda halter. He snatches the knife, to end his miseries by stabbing himself; when Good Hope and Redresse appear, and persuade him to take the rubarbe of repentance, with some gostly gummes, and a few drammes of devocyon. He becomes acquainted with Circumlows their directions, and seeks for speccyon and Perseverance, folhappiness in a state of penitence and contrition. There is some "But tune and noise, the echo of his humour here and there in the dia Nor degradation from the Ministry, "To be the Denis of thy father's school, "Keep in thy bawling wit, thou bawling fool? "Thinking to stir me, thou hast lost thy end; "I'll laugh at thee poor wretched tike; go send "Thy blatant muse abroad, and teach it rather "A tune to drown the ballads of thy father: "For thou hast nought in thee, to cure his fame, shame. "A rogue by statute, censur'd to be logue, but the allusions are com whipt, "Cropt, branded, slit, neck-stockt; go, monly low. Although many moralities were written about this period, Magnificence and The Nigramansir, by Skelton, are the first that bear the name of their author. 35. THE MAGNIFICENT LoVERS. Com. by Ozell. This is only a translation, intended for the nifiques of Moliere. 36. MAGO AND DAGO; or, Harlequin the Hero. Pant. by M. Lonsdale. Acted at Covent Garden, 1794. Not printed. 37. MAHMOUD; or, The Prince of Persia. Op. by Prince Hoare. Acted at Drury Line, 1796 This piece was a compilation of inc dents from The Guardian, The Arabian Nights Entertainments, The Persian Tales, &c. The music (the last that was composed by Storace) first introduced Mr. Braham (formerly of the Royalty) to a Theatre Royal. The piece afforded a good deal of entertainment, and was well received; and Mr. Hoare, we have heard, generously gave up the profits of it to Storace's widow. We have great pleasure in recording such acts as these. Not printed. closet alone, of Les Amans Mag- survive to reap any advantage from it; for, being unable to put the finishing hand to it, he received some assistance in the completing of it. from Dr. John Hoadly. The author died during its run; and, not long after his death, Fleetwood, then manager of Drury Lane Theatre, permitted the widow to attempt the performing of it, at that house, for her benefit; when, notwithstanding the dispute which had been for a long time subsisting between that manager and the town, with regard to the abating the advanced prices on entertainments (and which, as his patent was very near expired, he was by no means anxious to reconcile), had arisen to such an height, as to occasion nightly riots at the house, and a determination on the side of the audience to permit no representation till their proposed reformation was complied with; yet so favourable was the town on this occasion, that not only did the play go off without the least interruption, but the house was so full, as to enable the widow to clear upwards of an hundred pounds by the profits of it. 38. MAHOMET. Play. Acted by Henslowe's Company, Aug. 15, 1594. Perhaps THE TURKISH MAHOMET; which see. 39. MAHOMET. Trag. in the collection of Voltaire's plays translated under the name of Dr.Francklin. 12mo. 40. MAHOMET THE IMPOSTOR. Trag. by James Miller. Acted at Drury Lane. Svo. 1744. This is little more than a tolerable translation of the Mahomet of Voitaire, whose writings indeed breathe such a spirit of liberty, and have contracted such a resemblance to the manners of the English authors, that they seem better adapted to succeed on the English stage without much alteration, than those of any other foreign writer. This play met with moderate success; its merits having fair play, from the ignorance of the prejudiced part of the audience with regard to its author, who unfortunately did not This was also the play which, in the year 1753, was the innocent cause of a considerable revolution in the dramatic world, in another kingdom, viz. that of Ireland; and which finally terminated in the entire abdication of a theatrical monarch, although he had with great labour and assiduity brought his domain into a more flourishing state than any of his predecessors had done: for through the too great warmth of party-zeal in a considerable part of the audience, which insisted on a repetition of certain passages in this play, which appeared to them applicable to some persons then in power, and ΜΑΙ perhaps a too peremptory manner of opposing that zeal on the side of Mr. Sheridan, then manager of the Theatre Royal in Smock Alley, Dublin, a disturbance ensued, in consequence of which, Sheridan was obliged to quit first the house for the security of his person, and afterwards the kingdom for the support of his fortune. The theatre was shut up for the remainder of that season; and the management of it, after divers ineffectual struggles made by Sheridan for some time, partly by deputation, and partly in person, to reinstate himself in the quiet possession of it, at length devolved totally into other hands. This play was revived at Drury Lane, in the year 1765, with some improvements by Garrick, and has since been frequently acted with applause. 41. THE MAIDEN'S HOLYDAY. Comedy, by Christopher Marloe and John Day. Entered on the book of the Stationers' Company, April 8, 1654. It was among those destroyed by Mr. Warbur ton's servant. 42. A MAIDENHEAD WELL LOST. Comedy, by Thomas Heywood. 4to. 1634. Langbaine calls this a pleasant comedy, and says that it was acted in Drury Lane with much applause. 43. THE MAIDEN WHIM; or, The Critical Minute. A Farce, by Dr. Hill. Acted at Drury Lane, April 24, 1756, for the benefit of the author. Not printed. 44. THE MAID IN THE MILL. Com. by Beaumont and Fletcher. Fol. 1647; 8vo. 1778. This is a very excellent play, and was one of those which, after the Restoration, were revived at the Duke of York's Theatre. The serious part of the plot, viz. that which relates ΜΑΙ to Antonio, Ismenia, and Aminta, is borrowed from a Spanish romance, called, Gerardo; and the comic part, with the affair of Otrante's seizing Florimel, the Miller's supposed daughter, and attempting her chastity, from Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques, tom. i. hist. 12. The scene lies in Spain. 45. THE MAID OF BATH. Com. by Samuel Foote. Acted at the Haymarket in 1771. Printed in 8vo. 1778. A transaction which happened at Bath, in which a person of fortune was said to have treated a young lady, celebrated for her musical talents, in a very censurable manner, afforded the groundwork of this extremely entertaining performance. The delinquent is here held up to ridicule, under the name of Flint; and it will be difficult to point out a character drawn with more truth and accuracy than the present, especially in the second act. The parts of Lady Catherine Coldstream, Sir Christopher Cripple, and Billy Button, are also all highly finished, and render the piece one of the most pleasing of this writer.-Mr. Walter Long, the gentleman to whom Foote is said to have alluded in the character of Flint, died at Bath, February 2, 1807, aged 95, and worth more than two hundred thousand pounds ; the bulk of which he left to Miss Long, only daughter of Sir James Tilney Long, then just entered her 17th year, and who, before this unexpected windfall, was supposed to be the richest heiress in the British dominions. 46. THE MAID OF BRISTOL. Play, in three acts, by James Boaden. Acted at the Haymarket. 8vo. 1803. The dialogue of this piece is neatly written, and there ΜΑΙ is a considerable degree of interest and pathos in it. It was well received. 47. THE MAID OF HONOUR. Tragi-Com. by Phil. Massinger. Acted at the Phoenix, Drury Lane. 4to. 1632; 4to. 1638. This play, which has considerable merit, met with great applause, and has a copy of verses prefixed by Sir Aston Cokain. 48. THE MAID OF HONOUR. Com. Acted at Drury Lane, 1785. This was an alteration of Massinger's play, by J. P. Kemble; but, notwithstanding it was well performed, it was coldly received. Not printed. 49. THE MAID OF KENT. Com. by F. G. Waldron. Svo. 1779. This was originally acted at Drury Lane, 1773, for the author's benefit. The plot of it is built on a story in The Spectator, No. 123. 50. THE MAID OF LOCHLIN. A Lyrical Drama, by William Richardson, M. A. This drama, which is a correct and spirited performance, does great credit to the author. It was published in 1801, in a small 8vo. volume, with some legendary odes and other poems by the same gentleman. Never acted. 51. THE MAID OF MARIENBURG. Drama, in five acts. Translated from the German of Kratter. Svo. 1798. Never acted. It is on the story of Peter the Great marrying a lass in humble life, who became Catharine I. ΜΑΙ from private resentment; whick was not the fact, as it proceeded from pure patriotism. He likewise makes her have two interviews with him, and in the first she avows her loyal principles, and threatens his life; so that it is very improbable that she would be admitted to a second conference. The piece in other respects possesses merit. It was represented on the Dublin stage. 53. THE MAID OF THE MILL, A Play, by J. Fletcher, assisted by Rowley. Acted at the Globe Theatre, 1623. Mr. Malone seems to think this was The Maid's Tragedy; but is it not more likely to be the same as is printed by the title of THE MAID IN THE MILL? 54. THE MAID OF THE MILL; or, The Country Revels. Farce. Taken from Beaumont and Fletcher. Acted at Covent Garden, 1750. N. P. 55. THE MAID OF THE MILL. Com. Opera, by Isaac Bickerstaffe. Acted at Covent Garden. 8vo. 1765. This is taken from Richardson's novel of Pamela, and ran thirty-five nights. In the year 1782, Mr. O'Keeffe added several airs to it, with which it was revived with applause. It has since been reduced to an afterpiece, and performed in that state at Covent Garden. It has been observed, that, "like Pamela, this is one of "those delusions which frequent ly destroy the proper subordina"tion of society. The village "beauty, whose simplicity and in nocence are her native charms, "smitten with the reveries of rank "and splendour, becomes affected "and retired, disdaining her situ"ation and every one about her." 52. THE MAID OF NORMANDY; or, The Death of the Queen of France. Trag. in four acts, by E. J. Eyre. 8vo. 1793; 1794. This piece certainly affords very just grounds for criticism in many respects. The character of the heroine, Charlotte Cordé, the author We do not believe, however, renders less interesting, by making that many instances of this could her assassination of Marat proceed be adduced. |