fpeak, even from the abdomen, that gives a force and tone to the voice, even in the decrepitude of age, that cannot by any artifice be well counterfeited. Mr. G. therefore prudently declined the part; and this was the more prudent in him, as the ftage was in poffeffion of a Quin. The merit of the actor, who, without poffeffing the above requifite, by nature, can do it even tolerably, is very great: and this merít has Mr. Henderfon. We wifh, however, to ease him of part of the burthen he now bears, as being greater than he has any occafion for. Falstaff. though a fat man, was by no means fuch a monster of obefity as he is ufually reprefented on the ftage. His companions, indeed, having no other way to retaliate his farcafins, attempt to be witty on him by exaggerating his corpulency. Into this, however, as into almost every other, Falftaff facetioufly gives himself; being as well pleafed to make a jeft of his own faults and infirmities as of thofe of others -Is it poffible otherwife to reconcile his defcription of himself, as wanting levers to lift him up again being down, at a time, when he is faid seriously by the Prince of Wales, to be capable of running and carrying his guts away nimbly?—The Prince, indeed, calls him elfewhere, and that rather seriously, wellfack, and plays upon him frequently in jeft with the like exaggeration; but even Falstaff himself, while he is lamenting the difadvantages of his bulk, confeffes he fhould not be a mountain of mummy, till he fhould be enormously fwolen. It is by no means neceffary therefore, for Mr. H. to ftuff his doublet out of all proportion to his natural fize and figure, in order to perfonate Sir John Falftaff. This is the more unneceffarily out of character as Mr. H. is poffeffed of all that fpirit and activity (we had almost faid agility) fo neceffary to render its reprefentation pleafing. Moft of the actors, we have feen in this part, feem to have thought it fufficient that they had made themselves fo unwieldy as to be fcarce able to move; as if they conceived fat to be as heavy as lead, or were determined to make it appear fo. Not fo Sir John; he knew he needed no

more weight than his own bowels," and therefore "prayed "heaven to keep lead out of him." Moft of his reprefentations, on the other hand, put us in mind of the artificial cocks, thrown at by boys on Shrove-tuesdays, their backs being ftuffed with wool, and their bellies loaded with lead. As to the tone of voice, the rebuke of the Lord Chief Justice, in the fecond part of Henry IV. may countenance Mr. H's affecting the feeble, tremulating tone, and fqueaking treble, which he fo much affects; but, fetting afide the confideration, that the three plays of Shakespeare reprefent this character at different times of life, we conceive that the actor, will find his account in

aiming at the fuller tone, which may be gained in a great meafure by practice. As to the general conception of the character, Mr. H. does not, in our idea, come up to it.

He

makes Falftaff frequently ferious; which he never is, for a fingle moment; but is ever playing, even while he is moralizing, either upon himself or others. One would think, from Mr. H's peremptory manner of fpeaking, when Falftaff maintained that he killed Hotspur, that he actually thought he could impofe on the Prince; who, he knew, had himself killed him. A prepoftuous conception! A joke was all that Falftaft intended, and that he knew the Prince would like the better for its extravagant impofition on others. We could point out many other paffages, in which more obviously the fenfe of the dialogue feems to deceive this ingenious actor; for want of his fufficiently attending to the covert meaning, and to the characteristic jocularity of Falftaff; which will not permit him, even when he is moft highly provoked, either to relate the caufe of provocation, or to exprefs his refentment, but in terms of the pureft pleafantry. Never let Mr. H. therefore, deform his face with a frown, while playing Falftaff. As little should he diftort it with the fymptoms of fear, from the vulgar notion of the Knight's rank cowardice. The mummery Mr. H. practifes on this fcore, may be well enough calculated for the entertainment of the galleries; but can only give difguit to the judicious part of the audience. Falftaff is no Parolies, nor does Shakespeare ever reprefent him as fuch. He is at worft a coward on principle; knowing that "the better part of valour "is difcretion." He is no braggart, except for the fake of the jeft. His ferious avowal is frank, neither boafting courage nor admitting the charge of cowardice. "I am not John of "Gaunt your grandfather, Hal, yet, no coward." The vice of lying, indeed, is a ftrong infinuation that cowardice enters into the spirit of his conftitution; but then even his lies are told for the fake of the jeft too; while they are fo loosely laid together as if he intended they fhould elcape detection only for the moment of laughter.-But we wave this point, as it has been lately most ably debated by a very mafterly critic.Another defect, in Mr. Henderfon's Falftaff, is his want of dignity of demeanour. Falftaff never forgets his perfonal importance, and, tho' in his convivial moments, he will permit the Prince and Poins to call him plain Jack, he is always Sir John Falftaff, Knight, to all Europe befide. I his confideration fhould ever be prefent to the actor; as many of the fituations, in which this character is exhibited, are fo very low and ludicrous, that he would degenerate into a mere vulgar buffoon,

were

1

were not his dirty difafters qualified by his conftantly adverting to the dignity of his perfon, and the importance of his rank

and station.

As to the fenfe of the dialogue, M. H. is, for the moft part, particularly happy in marking the meaning of his author: and yet, eft ubi peccat; nor is it a wonder that a young actor fhould miftake paffages, that have puzzled the oldeft and most learned commentators. Not but that our feelings are often, in these cafes, the best interpreters. We fhall juft mention one fentence, therefore, in which we conceive Mr. H. totally mifconceives the author; and at which we fomewhat wonder, as the idea fo palpably counteracts the fenfations, that fhould appear to animate the performer at the time. When the Prince of Wales, after telling Falftaff that Percy was yet alive, leaves him haftily, and with an expreffion of refentiment, at his trifling with him about parting with his piftols; the Knight, looking after him, and admiring his ardor and impetuofity, exclaims. "If Percy be alive, he'll pierce him.-If he do come in my "way, fo; if not, and I go in his willingly, I'll give him leave "to make a carbinado of me."-Now, Mr. Henderson fays, "If Percy be alive, I'll pierce him, &c." making the latter part of the fentence contradict the former: a mode of conftruction, which no fuppofed fudden recollection, or indeed any other expedient that fuggefts itself to us, can juftify.

We have dwelled fo long on this topic, partly out of complacency to our correfpondents, and partly out of respect to the theatrical importance of the fubject: regarding a performer, capable of doing juftice to the part of Falftaff, as one of the greateft acquifitions that can be made by a theatre. We fhould be glad, therefore, to be in anywife inftrumental to the improvement of thofe abilities, which Mr. H. at present poffeffes, and which in time may enable him to give the true colouring to thofe well-traced outlines he already exhibits, of this inimitable portrait. We are not to learn that Mr. Garrick has taken every opportunity to decry this character, as by no means calculated for modern entertainment. We can very rationally impute this, however, to the regret that performer long fince felt, at, perhaps, the only inftance of Mr. Quin's fuperiority in his profeffion. An inftance the more fingularly unlucky to fo devout an adorer of our idol, Shakespeare, as it is univerfally allowed, by the best judges, to be the mafter-piece of that great poet: fo that, had nature beftowed on Mr. G. the requifite abilities to have performed the part, he would have reaped more reputation from playing the character of Sir John Falstaff, than from the performance of any, or all the other characters he has played, put together.

THE
HE

LONDON REVIEW,

FOR DECEMBER,

1777.

Strictures, Critical and Sentimental, on Thomfan's Seafons; with Hints ana Obfervations on Collateral Subjects. By J. More. Richardton and Urquhart.

8vo. 45.

It is well known, that the low ebb, to which criticism was once reduced by pedants and pedag gues, had funk it into a ftate of contempt, from which not even the philologi al acumen of a Bentley or a Warburton could raise it. It is no wonder if, at fuch a time, the anathemas of genius were fulminate a inft fuch dull intruders on literary merit. The bulls of Boileau and Pope were accordingly iffued a rainft the fomenters of verbal criticifm, and the authority of Ariftotle and Horace produced to convict the philological culprit of high treason against the Mufes Like the bulls of other Popes, however, founded on ancient authority, they were little reg rded, as they contained only mere declamation againt fin and denunciations of vengeance, equally equivocal and doubtful. As without law there is no tranfgreffion, fo where the law is unintelligible or inapplicable the tranfgreffor ftands in a fimilar predicam nt. The obicure definiti ns of the fchoolmen and their vague inftructions to the fenolar ftill left undirected Genius at liberty to purfue its own vagaries, and of courte, to wits and poets the privilege of talking and writing as extravagantly as they pleated. For the prefear philo phiting era were referved the rational inveftigation of the powers of genius, and

VOL. VI.

SE

the

the curious and interefting enquiry into the principles of tafte. To the fpiritlefs difquifitions of dull philologifts fucceeded the animated researches of ingenious philofophers: the enlightening effays of Montesquieu, Gerard, Harris, Kaims, Campbell, and others, reducing the hitherto-inexplicable art of literary compofition, into an uniform and regular feience.

This mode of criticiting, however, was by no means calculated for the multitude. To become master of a science, it requires both understanding and attention; an art may be indolently acquired by habit, or hit off without a thought by a knack. Philofophical Criticifm became, confequently, the avourite but of few. The je ne fais quoi of Tafle and the native intuition of Genius, were principles of more ealy recourte : like the occult qualities of the fchools they folved all difficul ties, and accounted, at once, moft unaccountably, for every thing. It is little admirable that expedients, fo very useful, fhould ftand their ground; or that perfons, who poffets not the faculty, or would fave themfelves the trouble, of thinking, fhould abide by them, with the moft tenacious fpirit of adoption. The writer, of courfe, who aimed at popularity and could not fit down with Dennis's motto, paucis contentus leoribus, was reduced to the neceffity of taking other ground. The road of verbal criticism was too much beaten not to be abandoned; it requires, befides, in the walks of philological difquifition, that the inveftigator fhould, at leaft, be mafter of the grammar and idiom of his language: a circumftance in which our modern critics do not always find themselves fituated. But, notwithstanding neither philology nor philofophy afforded a commodious career, in which thefe Runners-in-literature might difplay their abilities, a field flood open, and that a very wide one, for their reception: the field of fentiment! a prettily-enamelled plain of butter-flowers and daifies, and the other wild weeds of Parnaffus! To this romantic fpot reforted the knights of critical chivalry, to difplay their prowels before the ladies, and do deeds of literary bravery. A daring female (for thefe new knights are of a Ruffian order, of either fex) entered firit the lifts, and by virtue of being encafed in a left-off fuit of Shakespeare's armour, came off with tolerable applaufe. Mrs. Griffiths was followed by a Mr. Melmoth, and Mr. M. by the prefent Mr. More

*

*Sce her Morality of Shakespeare's Drama. Rev.

See his Obfervations on Young's Works, and his Sublime and Beautiful of Scripture. Rev.

t Formerly, if we miftake not, Mr. Meir; under which name he published a volume of Sermons, fingularly florid and fentimental. Rev.

performance