Provok'd Hufband. Squire Richard is an ill-educated, headstrong, brainless boy, taking advantage of the indulgence which has spoiled him, and following his own wild inclinations, without afking why or wherefore; he cannot complain of his intimacy with Mr. HAMILTON at Covent-garden-but is much better in poffeffion of Mr. WILLIAM PALMER at Drury-lane, who poffeffes confiderably more of the natural vis comica, in such a caft, than any other performer on either stage.

John Moody, a very natural, well drawn ruftic; not without sense, yet poffeffing less than he imagines ; a kind of humourift, fond of his own jokes, which he paffes without referve, from a freedom allowed him by his master; his bluntness is pleasing, and his caricature painting, fhews mafterly though unpolished satire; Mr. DUNSTALL hits off the manner and appearance of this character extremely well, but dialect is wanting in all the John Moody's, as well as Sir Francis's we have feen; Mr. SPARKS makes an Hibernian, and Mr.BURTON, nothing at all of him.

Lady Townly is drawn a female of peculiar fpirit, poffeffing good qualities, which however are all fwallowed up in a vortex of fashionable follies ; yet not abfolutely vicious, though verging close upon vice; a laughable yet melancholy; an entertaining though a pitiable object; mistaking elegance and vivacity for more valuable qualifications; defpifing any conceffion to the authority of a huf band, yet a perfect flave to her own capricious inclinations-Mrs. WOFFINGTON had a moft fuitable appearance, and mode of expreffion; but rather indulged too much coquettish pertnefs in the

latter,

Provok'd Hufband. latter, and fomewhat of affectation in the former; for which reason we must prefer Mrs. PRITCHARD, as preferving the true woman of fashion much better, both of these ladies, however, were remarkably deficient in the tender part of the reconciliation scene: Mrs. CIBBER and Mrs. BELLAMY, each made romantic attempts upon her ladyfhip, being moft infipidly unvariable till the fifth act, where indeed they had both merit-Mrs. CLIVE gave criticism an idea, that lord Townly had married his cook-maid, vulgar in the polite scenes, and diffonant in the pathetic one; Mrs. YATES is a mere fifth act lady; Mrs. ABINGTON all but the fifth; and Mrs. BARRY more confiftent through the whole than any one we have mentioned.

Lady Grace appears a most amiable and pleafing contrast to her volatile fifter; poffeffed of referve without prudery, and folid fense without formality; willing to partake reasonable pleasures, despifing extravagant, pernicious and irrational ones; the delicate ease and modeft fenfibility of this character, were never better reprefented than by Mrs. ELMY, whose merit seemed almost totally confined to her, and Selima in Tamerlane; Mrs. BULKLEY'S very amiable appearance, eafy deportment, and unaffected delivery of her ladyship's inftructive fentiments, have given us, and we doubt not the public, very fingular fatisfaction; as to all others within our knowledge, filence is the greateft favour we can fhew.

Lady Wronghead is a bounce-about, clumsey imitator of polite life, without a fingle requifite for that fphere,

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Provok'd Husband. sphere, ignorant to a degree, yet affuming knowledge fuperior to her important lord and mafter vain, pofitive, and not of very rigid virtue; an impertinent wife, a goffiping companion, and a foolish mother-this odd compound never appeared more diverting, than in the perfon and manner of Mrs. MACKLIN, who exhibited petulant buftling affectation, with infinite humour- Mrs. CLIVE looked and spoke many of the paffages, particularly those where contempt is thrown upon Sir Francis, with a very eminent degree of merit, in which he is closely traced by Mrs. GREEN; nor does Mrs. PITT fall far behind; as to Mrs. HopKINS, fhe wants both spirit and humour.

Mifs Jenny is a very natural fprout from the old ftock already defcribed; talkative, pert, filly 3 fond of herself and credulous to flattery; a moft excellent object for any fmooth-tongued coxcomical, Į fortune-hunting blade to make a prey of; with just wit enough to play unbecomingly on the sufferance of her father, and folly enough to ruin herself; this vacant Hoyden, who certainly should have spoke Yorkshire, as well as her brother, fits with a very pleasant portion of easy humour upon Mifs POPE; Mifs MINORS, fince Mrs. WALKER, was happy in this, as well as the whole girlish caft; but for Mifs WARD!

we heartily wifh fhe was well provided for off the stage; why fuch languid dawnings of merit, especially in the female fex, fhould be plunged into fo precarious and difficult a state of life, is not eafy to be accounted for; efpecially where there is a parent, who knowing the advantages, fees alfo, perhaps feels, the reverse.

To

Provok'd Hufband.

To Mrs. PRITCHARD's great praise be it spoken, fhe never gave her children encouragement to a theatrical station, though fhe had reached eminence fo confpicuously herself, and supported it fo well to the last, that like an evening fun, her fetting,though not fo refplendent, was full as agreeable as her meridian rays of excellence: Mrs. PALMER'S Own ftrong inclination for the drama overcame, not at all unhappily, her mother's prudent prejudice.

This Comedy, if not abfolutely first, yields precedence to very few on the English ftage, whether we confider its language, characters, humour, spirit or moral; and however Mr. POPE, who never could write a play himself, and therefore envied CIBBER, might anatomize that gentleman; we very much doubt whether any play he ever wrote, deplumed. of fancy and harmonious numbers, contains more ufeful inftruction, than this play which the Laureat, with fo much tafte and judgment, fitted for the theatre; upon the whole, we are bold to recommend the Provok'd Husband, as a very entertaining, valuable compofition, both in representation and perufal.

CYRUS

CYR US.

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A TRAGEDY by Mr. HOOLE

THIS piece is the offspring of a virgin modern mufe: the word modern is introduced to apologize previously for any deficiency in the nobler flights of genius which may appear. Public tafte has been impregnated with fuch Gallic frigidity for twenty. years paft, that the glow of a warm imagination would be rejected as too powerful; wherefore moft, if not all the tragedies, within the date mentioned, have been, as Aaron Hill emphatically observes, elaborate efcapes from genius; cold, creeping tales, dragging a plot unaffectingly along, through five tedious fleep-infpiring acts: mere correctness is the poor equivalent for that noble enthusiasm which Shakefpeare in particular, and fome other dramatic authors, treated their fympathizing audiences with, and at present offer to those who are not embarrassed with the enervating falfe delicacy of criticism-yet hold let us not even seem to hint that the play now under notice comes under fuch a charge, but candidly examine, and impartially decide.

Mr. Hoole does not wish to deny fome obligations to that great Italian dramatist Metastasio, how he has availed himself of fuch an original, is not within our plan; fince we only profefs examining and illuftrating pieces as they appear, unless where

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