ders, they rise into a kind of comparative impor

tance.

But, alas! where shall we look for the foundation of Macklin's authorship? We have already sketched his education, which, taken at its supposable extremity, could amount to no more than a capacity for reading some of the commonest English school-books, with scarcely any knowledge of the habits of civilized life. Thrown upon the world, therefore, with this scantiness of information, aided by a vigorous constitution, and strong desires to fill some niche in society, the odds were greatly against him, that he would have run rapidly down the stream of vulgar vice, and be no more heard of; but Nature seems to have kept something in store for him, in order to turn these circumstances to his advantage. With an ardent desire to emerge from his low circumstances, and do something for himself, he took care that this something should not be wrong, or at least not sufficiently so as to hurt his moral character. It is true, when he first entered himself as a performer on the Stage, he was, from his eccentricities, called the "Mad Irishman;" yet no man attended the duties of his profession more than he did, or laid in more observation and remark: so that, though he indulged his passions, in general, his passion for improvement always seemed to claim his principal attention.

What

What could have at first induced him to commence author, it is difficult to say: if we might venture a conjecture, we should think it might arise from the atmosphere of Trinity College, of which he was for some time a badge-man, or porter: for though he became an author many years after he left this place, and after passing through a great variety of life, yet the seeds, though unknown to himself, might be laid here. In a college, learning is the general traffic of the students; by it the spirit of emulation is excited, and by it the degrees of honour are obtained. Macklin saw all this; and though he saw it at an humble distance, it might have roused some wishes to be entitled to those advantages, which, though his subsequent habits of scrambling for a livelihood might have for a time blown off, were not totally eradicated.

What share Macklin had in the alteration of Lord Lansdowne's play of "The Jew of Venice," and restoring it to the Stage about the year 1740, we do not exactly know; he never claimed any further merit himself, than some suggestions, and the arrangement of his own part of Shylock in point of dress, with other little particulars: he therefore can scarcely be said to have commenced his authorship here: though he did that of an established Actor; for in Shylock his merit was such, that, whilst ever the English Stage preserves its character, his name will be remembered, as the original, in its fullest extent of praise.

The

The first evident proof we have of his being an author, then, we are to fix in the year 1746, when he brought out the historical play of "Henry the Seventh, or, The Popish Impostor," at Drury Lane Theatre. Though this Tragedy, in the title of Popish Impostor, carries a nominal absurdity on the face of it, (Protestantism at that point of time not being known in the country,) and though it was the hasty sketch of a six weeks writing, those who have seen it, have spoken of it with respect, and, in many passages, report they discovered a more than ordinary mind. It, however, met with general disapprobation on the Stage; and he had good sense enough to abide by that determination; though, in most other respects, fully attached to the offspring of his own brain.

He was more successful in his next attempt, which was a Farce, entitled, "A Will or No Will; or, a Bone for the Lawyers." This was very favourably received at that time, and continued to be so for many years afterwards, being acted occasionally at his benefits, but never printed.

The Farce of "The Suspicious Husband Criticised; or, the Plague of Envy," followed next; the idea of which was taken up on the liberal ground of defending the celebrated Comedy of "The Suspicious Husband;" which, like the choicest fruit, tempted some critic flies of

that

that day to peck at. successfully against those Zoilusses, and had the honour of being aided by the juvenile pen of the late Right Hon. John Hely Hutchinson, (father of the present celebrated Lord Hutchinson,) then a student of the Middle Temple, who wrote the prologue.

Macklin raised the laugh

To these succeeded the Farce of "The Fortune Hunters," &c. &c. all of which, though they might be, at that time, of service to him as an Actor, did not raise his reputation as a comic writer; insomuch, that if he had stopped here, his pieces would have only borne their titles in the Dramatical Register, along with the long list of forgotten things that are recorded there; and the still longer list which modern play-makers are daily preparing for this literary mausoleum.

Macklin seemed to be the first to feel his insufficiency in these pieces, and very prudently never printed them, (except Henry the VIIth,) to stand on a future day as recorded vouchers against him: he therefore lay fallow for a certain time, in order to correct his former mistakes, and enlarge the circle of his experience. His next attempt at Authorship was not till the year 1760, when he produced his Farce of "Love a la Mode; a dramatic morceau, which, though it had many enemies to combat with, from personal prejudices,

has

has long since surmounted them, and given to the author the merited rank of an able comic writer.

Having now produced a piece which would stand the test of time, he was ambitious of producing a Comedy which would carry the same seeds of longevity; and for this purpose, without consulting books, which are very often but the multiplied copies of fanciful originals, he sought his principal characters from his own long experience of life, and of the Stage; and with these aids produced a Comedy, which, considered for regularity of plot, strength of character, and knowledge of the world, will remain a favourite on the stock list, whilst there are performers found capable of supporting so arduous and discriminating a part as that of Sir Pertinax Mac Sycophant.

To the praises of this Comedy, the time of life he produced it in should not be forgotten, (near or above fourscore;) an age when the great generality of mankind have long ceased from their labours, and which, if they survive, possess no minds capable of deep reflection and combination: but Macklin's mind seemed to have grown like the oak, long maturing, and long flourishing; as, during the time of his writing it, he wrote with all the ardour and love of fame incident to a young