herds and flocks, it would be ridiculous to draw the country only upon the scenes, and to crowd several parts of the stage with sheep and oxen. This is joining together inconsistencies, and making the decoration partly real and partly imaginary. I would recommend what I have here said, to the Directors, 5 as well as to the Admirers of our modern Opera.

As I was walking in the streets about a fortnight ago, I saw an ordinary Fellow carrying a Cage full of little birds upon his shoulder; and, as I was wondering with my self what use he would put them to, he was met very luckily by an acquaintance, who had the same curiosity. Upon his asking him what he had upon his shoulder, he told him, that he had been buying Sparrows for the Opera. Sparrows for the Opera, says his friend, licking his lips, what are they to be roasted? No, no, says the other, they are to enter towards the end of the first Act, and to fly about the stage.

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This strange dialogue awakened my curiosity so far, that I immediately bought the Opera, by which means I perceived the Sparrows were to act the part of singing birds in a delightful grove; though upon a nearer enquiry I found the Sparrows put the same trick upon the audience, that Sir Martin Mar-all · practised upon his Mistress; for though they flew in sight, the musick proceeded from a consort of Flageolets and Bird-calls which were planted behind the scenes. At the same time I made this discovery, I found by the discourse of the Actors, 25* that there were great designs on foot for the improvement of the Opera; that it had been proposed to break down a part of the wall, and to surprize the audience with a party of an hundred horse, and that there was actually a project of bringing the New-River into the house, to be employed in jetteaus 30 and water-works. This project, as I have since heard, is post-poned 'till the summer-season; when it is thought the coolness that proceeds from fountains and cascades will be more acceptable and refreshing to people of Quality. In the

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mean time, to find out a more agreeable entertainment for the winter-season, the Opera of Rinaldo is filled with thunder and lightning, illuminations and fireworks; which the audience may look upon without catching cold, and indeed without much 5 danger of being burnt; for there are several Engines filled with water, and ready to play at a minute's warning, in case any such accident should happen. However, as I have a very great friendship for the owner of this Theatre, I hope that he has been wise enough to insure his house before he would let this Opera be acted in it.

It is no wonder, that those scenes should be very surprizing, which were contrived by two Poets of different nations, and raised by two Magicians of different sexes. Armida (as we are told in the argument) was an Amazonian Enchantress, 15 and poor Signior Cassani (as we learn from the Persons represented) a Christian Conjurer (Mago Christiano.) I must confess I am very much puzzled to find how an Amazon should be versed in the Black art, or how a good Christian, for such is the part of the Magician, should deal with the Devil.

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To consider the Poets after the Conjurers, I shall give you a taste of the Italian from the first lines of his preface. Eccoti, benigno Lettore; un Parto di poche Sere, che se ben nato di Notte, non è però aborto di Tenebre, mà si farà conoscere 25 Figliolo d'Apollo con qualche Raggio di Parnasse. Behold, gentle reader, the birth of a few evenings, which though it be the offspring of the night, is not the abortive of darkness, but will make it self known to be the Son of Apollo, with a certain ray of Parnassus. He afterwards proceeds to call Minheer 30 Hendel the Orpheus of our age, and to acquaint us, in the same sublimity of stile, that he composed this Opera in a fortnight. Such are the Wits, to whose tastes we so ambitiously conform our selves. The truth of it is, the finest writers among the modern Italians express themselves in such a florid

form of words, and such tedious circumlocutions, as are used by none but Pedants in our own country; and at the same time fill their writings with such poor imaginations and conceits, as our youths are ashamed of before they have been two years at the University. Some may be apt to think that it is the difference of genius which produces this difference in the works of the two nations; but to shew there is nothing in this, if we look into the writings of the old Italians, such as Cicero and Virgil, we shall find that the English writers, in their way of thinking and expressing themselves, resemble those Authors much more than the modern Italians pretend to do. And as for the Poet himself, from whom the dreams of this Opera are taken, I must entirely agree with Monsieur Boileau, that one verse in Virgil is worth all the Clinquant or Tinsel of Tasso.

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But to return to the Sparrows; there have been so many flights of them let loose in this Opera, that it is feared the house will never get rid of them; and that in other Plays they may make their entrance in very wrong and improper Scenes, so as to be seen flying in a Lady's bed-chamber, or perching upon a King's throne; besides the inconveniences which the heads of the audience may sometimes suffer from them. I am credibly informed, that there was once a design of casting into an Opera the story of Whittington and his Cat, and that in order to it, there had been got together a great quantity of Mice; but Mr. Rich, the Proprietor of the Play- 25 house, very prudently considered that it would be impossible for the Cat to kill them all, and that consequently the Princes of the stage might be as much infested with Mice, as the Prince of the Island was before the Cat's arrival upon it; for which reason he would not permit it to be acted in his house. And indeed I cannot blame him: for, as he said very well upon that occasion, I do not hear that any of the performers in our Opera pretend to equal the famous Pied Piper, who made all the Mice of a great town in Germany follow his

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musick, and by that means cleared the place of those little noxious animals.

Before I dismiss this paper, I must inform my reader, that I hear there is a treaty on foot with London and Wise (who 5 will be appointed gardeners of the Play-house) to furnish the Opera of Rinaldo and Armida with an orange-grove; and that the next time it is acted, the singing birds will be personated by Tom-tits: The Undertakers being resolved to spare neither pains nor money for the gratification of the audience.

N° 7. Thursday, March 8. [1711.]

Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, Sagas,

Nocturnos lemures, portentaque Thessala rides? Hor.

Going yesterday to dine with an old acquaintance, I had the misfortune to find his whole family very much dejected. Upon asking him the occasion of it, he told me that his wife had dreamt a strange dream the night before, which they were afraid 15 portended some misfortune to themselves or to their children. At her coming into the room I observed a settled melancholy in her countenance, which I should have been troubled for, had I not heard from whence it proceeded. We were no sooner sate down but, after having looked upon me a little while, My dear, (says she, turning to her husband) you may now see the stranger that was in the candle last night. Soon after this, as they began to talk of family affairs, a little boy at the lower end of the table told her, that he was to go into join-hand on Thursday. Thursday? (says she) no child if it please God, you shall not 25 begin upon Childermas-day: tell your writing-master that Friday will be soon enough. I was reflecting with my self on the oddness of her fancy, and wondering that any body would establish it as a rule to lose a day in every week. In the midst of

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these my musings, she desired me to reach her a little salt upon the point of my Knife, which I did in such a trepidation and hurry of obedience, that I let it drop by the way; at which she immediately startled, and said it fell towards her. Upon this I looked very blank; and, observing the concern of the whole table, began to consider my self, with some confusion, as a person that had brought a disaster upon the family. The Lady however recovering her self, after a little space, said to her husband, with a sigh, My Dear, Misfortunes never come single. My friend, I found, acted but an under-part at his table, and being a man of more good-nature than understanding, thinks himself obliged to fall in with all the passions and humours of his Yoke-fellow : Do not you remember, Child, (says she) that the Pigeon-house fell the very afternoon that our careless wench spilt the salt upon the table? Yes, (says he) My Dear, and the next post brought us an account of the battle of Almanza. The reader may guess at the figure I made, after having done all this mischief. I dispatched my dinner as soon as I could, with my usual taciturnity; when, to my utter confusion, the Lady seeing me quitting my Knife and Fork, and laying them across one another upon my plate, desired me that I would humour her so far as to take them out of that figure, and place them side by side. What the absurdity was which I had committed I did not know, but I suppose there was some traditionary superstition in it; and therefore, in obedience to the Lady of the house, I disposed of my Knife and Fork in two parallel lines, which is the figure I shall always lay them in for the future, though I do not know any reason for it.

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It is not difficult for a man to see that a person has conceived an aversion to him. For my own part, I quickly found, 30 by the Lady's looks, that she regarded me as a very odd kind of fellow, with an unfortunate aspect. For which reason I took my leave immediately after dinner, and withdrew to my own lodgings. Upon my return home, I fell into a profound