And fought in famous battles, when the peers
Of Europe, by the bold Godfredo led,
Against th' usurping infidel display'd

The blessed cross, and won the Holy Land.
Pleas'd with my admiration, and the fire

His speech struck from me, the old man would shake
His years away, and act his young encounters:
Then, having shew'd his wounds, he'd sit him down,
And all the livelong day discourse of war.
To help my fancy, in the smooth green turf
He cut the figures of the marshall'd hosts;
Describ'd the motions, and explain'd the use,
Of the deep column, and the lengthen❜d line,
The square, the crescent, and the phalanx firm:
For all that Saracen or Christian knew

Of war's vast art, was to this hermit known."

After this, he described the hermit's quarrel with "A rude and boist'rous captain of the sea."

And then disclosed the catastrophe with peculiar effect:

"Fierce they fought;

The stranger fell, and with his dying breath
Declar'd his name and lineage. Mighty Pow'r!
The soldier cried, My brother! oh, my brother!"

In his interview with his mother too, the interesting passages were distinctly marked, and the pathos well preserved. Something was doubtless still wanting, something that was impossible to be acquired; for the samllness of the figure, the un formed voice, and the extreme youth of the actor, were not calculated to realize the scene, and justify the exclamation,

"The blood of Douglas will protect itself!"

And

And again:

"Some in your cause will arm; I ask but few

To drive these spoilers from my father's house." He now increased his list of characters to fourteen or fifteen, and by appearing, in turns, as Romeo, Frederick, Octavian, Hamlet, Tancred, Osman, Achmet,* and Richard, has proved that his powers

* Mr. Smith, formerly of Drury Lane, came to town on purpose to witness the performance of Master Betty, and after seeing him in the characters of Achmet and Douglas, presented him with a cornelian seal set in gold, in which was engraved a beautiful and correct impression of the head of Garrick. The subjoined addresses, in poetry and prose, accompanied this very flattering token of approbation from a veteran actor, and one of the few remaining disciples of the Old School.

TO MASTER BETTY.

"ROSCIUS, the boast of Rome's dramatic story,
Left undisputed trophies of his glory;
Not more illustrious by his scenic art,

Than by the social VIRTUES of his heart.
"Our BRITISH ROSCIUS, great and good,
When on the summit of applause he stood,
Melpomene and gay Thalia joined

To grace his talents with a taste refin'd;
Whilst these immortaliz'd his splendid name,
His virtues consecrated all his fame.

"May'st thou, young genius of the present hour,
Whose bud anticipates so rare a flower,
Spreading thy blossoms to a ripen'd age,
Prove a third Roscius to th' admiring stage;

And like these stars of Britain and of Rome,

Bear thy unfaded laurels to the tomb."

The following letter, while it reflects no mean credit on Master Betty, confers great honour on the writer:

"Young

are general, and his talents various. If much on one hand remains to be accomplished, much also, on the other, appears to have been achieved; and it is allowed by all, that so early a display of excellence was never before witnessed in a British theatre.

Premature knowledge in some other arts has indeed been frequently obtained. In drawing, which may be considered as a refinement of the sense of sight aided by the pliability of the fingers, some infant pupils have exhibited great taste. But it is in music that real wonders have been achieved. Samuel Wesley was a composer before he could write, ac

"Young Gentleman,

"The fame of your talents has drawn an old fellow-labourer in the theatric vineyard from his retirement at a considerable distance, in a very advanced age, and he feels himself well rewarded for his trouble.

"May your success continue, and may you live to be an honour to the stage, and to your country.

"Let me recommend to you strict attention to the moral duties, and to the cultivation of your mind, by the arts and belles lettres; without which little improvement can be gained your profession, much less in society.

"Accept from me a strong likeness of your great predecessor Garrick. When you are acquainted with his character, keep his virtues in your mind, and imitate his professional talents as far as possible.

"Could'st thou in this engraved pebble trace
The living likeness of his plastic face;
Whilst thy.congenial spirit caught its fire,
His magic eye would thy whole soul inspire.

"I am yours, &c.

"W. SMITH."

cording

cording to the testimony of Dr. Burney. Frederical Wynne, when six years old, executed the lessons of Scarlatti with precision. Mozart, at the age of four, was not only capable of executing lessons on the harpsicord, but actually composed some in an easy style and taste.* But William Crouch, born at Norwich, July 5, 1775, is perhaps the most celebrated instance of early proficiency; he having of his own accord, and without any previous instruction, played a popular tune† on an organ constructed by his father, when only two years and three weeks old, and a voluntary in about a month after.

But it is surely far more difficult to create an actor than a musician. In the latter case it is only necessary to possess one sense in an exquisite degree, and this is not unfrequently obtained at the expence sometimes, perhaps, of the understanding. But to make a great actor, the union of a variety of qualifications becomes absolutely necessary: voice, manner, memory, judgment, person, and mental acquirements. To these are to be added several other requisites, such as dancing and fencing; and to complete the whole, music itself should assuredly be included.

By means of all the necessary accomplishments, added to a free and easy air, young Betty is enabled not only to tread the stage with elegance, but occasionally to engage in combat with a degree of science

Philosophical Transactions, vol. Ix, for 1770.

+ God save the King.

L12

that

that astonishes even an expert swordsman. None of our veteran actors exhibit a greater degree of self-possession: this is requisite in every performer, and in a hero indispensable. He himself also is carried away by the enthusiam of the moment, and appears to feel as if the scene were real;* in short, his powers are so various, that he in some respects resembles the "admirable Crichton."

Such is our description of this new Roscius at the present moment. What he may be hereafter, depends upon his parents and himself. They must be already in possession of affluence from his earnings, which have been beyond example abundant; and whether it be intended that he should retire wholly from the stage, or adopt it as a permanent profession, something should be done on the score of education; for it is evident that more pains have been necessarily taken to cultivate his memory than to instruct his mind, and that he has hitherto become better acquainted with words than with ideas.

The author of this article was behind the scenes, and at his side, when he retired, as Douglas, to inflict the bloody wound on his forehead, by means of a little red paint, and can testify that every muscle of his countenance was agitated by the same passions that were likely to be displayed in real life. In short, he appeared for the time to conceive the whole to be true.

In 1805, young Betty got from fifty to one hundred pounds per night. In 1728, the celebrated Lavinia Fenton, afterwards Duchess of Bolton, for a salary of fifteen shillings deserted the Hay Market for Covent Garden; and deemed herself enriched when, after performing Polly in the Beggar's Opera, she was raised to thirty shillings per week.