N° 5

Tuesday, March 6.

Spectatum admiffi rifum teneatis?-----

Hor. Ars Poet. v. 5.

Admitted to the Sight, wou'd you not laugh?

A

N Opera may be allowed to be extravagantly lavih in its Decorations, as its only Defign is to gratify the Senfes, and keep up an indolent Attention in the Audience. Common Senfe however re quires, that there fhould be nothing in the Scenes and Machines which may appear Childish and Abfurd. How would the Wits of King Charles's Time have laughed to have feen Nicolini exposed to a Tempest in Robes of Ermine, and failing in an open Boat upon a Sea of Pafteboard? What a Field of Rallery would they have been let into, had they been entertained with painted Dragons fpitting Wild-fire, enchanted Chariots drawn by Flanders Mares, and real Cafcades in artificial Landskips? A little Skill in Criticism would inform us, that Shadows and Realities ought not to be mixed together in the fame Piece; and that the Scenes which are defigned as the Reprefentations of Nature fhould be filled with Refemblances, and not with the Things themselves. If one would reprefent a wide Champian Country filled with Herds and Flocks, it would be ridiculous to draw the Country only upon the Scenes, and to crowd feveral Parts of the Stage with Sheep and Oxen. This is joining together Inconfiftencies, and making the Decoration partly real and partly imaginary. I would recommend what I have faid here; to the Directors, as well as to the Admirers of our Modern Opera.

AS I was walking in the Streets about a Fortnight ago, I faw an ordinary Fellow carrying a Cage full of little Birds upon his Shoulders; and, as I was wondering with myself what Ufe he would put them to, he was met very luckily by an Acquaintance, who had the fame

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Curiofity.

Curiofity. Upon his asking him what he had upon his Shoulders, he told him that he had been buying Sparrows for the Opera Sparrows for the Opera, fays his Friend, licking his lips, what, are they to be rofted? No, no, fays the other, they are to enter towards the End of the first Act, and to fly about the Stage.

THIS ftrange Dialogue awakened my Curiosity fo far, that I immediately bought the Opera, by which means I perceived that the Sparrows were to act the part of Singing-Birds in a delightful Grove; though upon a nearer Inquiry I found the Sparrows put the fame Trick upon the Audience, that Sir Martin Mar-all practifed upon his Mistress; for though they flew in fight, the Mufick proceeded from a Confort of Flagelets and Bird-calls which were planted behind the Scenes. At the fame time I made this Difcovery, I found by the Difcourfe of the Actors, that there were great Defigns on foot for the Improvement of the Opera; that it had been proposed to break down a part of the Wall, and to surprise 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 and Water-works. This Project, as I have fince heard, is poftponed till the Summer-Season; when it is thought the Coolness that ́ proceeds from Fountains and Cafcades will be more aceeptable and refreshing to People of Quality. In the mean time, to find out a more agreeable Entertainment for the Winter-Seafon, 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 Danger of being burnt; for there are feveral Engines filled with Water, and ready to play at a Minute's warning, in cafe any fuch Accident should happen. However,

as I have a very great Friendfhip for the Owner of this Theatre, I hope that he has been wife enough to infure his Houfe before he would let this Opera be acted in it.

IT is no wonder, that thofe Scenes fhould be very furprifing, which were contrived by two Poets of different Nations, and raised by two Magicians of different Sexes. Armida (as we are told in the Argu

ment)

ment) was an Amazonian Enchantrefs, and poor Signior Caffani (as we learn from the Perfons reprefented) a Chriftian-Conjurer (Mago Chriftiano). I must confefs I am very much puzzled to find how an Amazon fhould be verfed in the Black Art, or how a good Christian, for such is the Part of the Magician, should deal with the Devil.

TO confider the Poet after the Conjurer, I fhall give you a Tafte of the Italian from the firft Lines of his Preface. Eccoti, benigno Lettore, un Parto di poche Sere, che fe ben nato di Notte, non è però aborto di Tenebre, mà fi farà conofcere Figlio d'Apollo con qualche Raggio di Parnafjo. Behold, gentle Reader, the Birth of a few Evenings, which, tho' it be the Offspring of the Night, is not the Abortive of Darkness, but will make itself known to be the Son of Apollo, with a certain Ray of Parnaffus. He afterwards proceeds to call Mynheer Handel the Orpheus of our Age, and to acquaint us, in the fame Sublimity of Stile, that he compofed this Opera in a Fortnight. Such are the Wits, to whose Tastes we so ambitiously conform ourselves. The Truth of it is, the fineft Writers among the modern Italians express themselves in fuch a florid Form of Words, and fuch tedious Circumlocutions, as are used by none but Pedants in our own Country; and at the fame time fill their Writings with fuch poor Imaginations and Conceits, as our Youths are ashamed of before they have been two Years at the Univerfity. 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 fhew there is nothing in this, if we look into the Writings of the old Italians, fuch as Cicero and Virgil, we shall find that the English Writers, in their way of thinking and expreffing themfelves, refemble thofe 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 intirely agree with Monfieur Boileau, that one Verfe in Virgil is worth all the Clincant or Tinfel of Tafo.

BUT to return to the Sparrows; there have been so many Flights of them let loofe in this Opera, that it is feared the House will never get rid of them; and that in.

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other

other Plays they may make their Entrance in very wrong and improper Scenes, fo as to be seen flying in a Lady's Bed-Chamber, or pearching upon a King's Throne; befides the Inconveniences which the Heads of the Audience may fometimes fuffer from them. I am credibly informed, that there was once a Defign of cafting 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-houfe, very prudently confider'd that it would be impoffible for the Cat to kill them all, and that confequently the Princes of the Stage might be as much infeted with Mice, as the Prince of the Ifland was before the Cat's Arrival upon it; for which Reafon he would not permit it to be Acted in his Houfe. And indeed I cannot blame him: For, as he faid 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 Mufick, and by that means cleared the Place of those little noxious Animals.

BEFORE I difmifs this Paper, I muft inform my Reader, that I hear there is a Treaty on foot with London and Wife (who will be appointed Gardeners of the Play-houfe) 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 Perfonated by TomTits: The Undertakers being refolved to fpare neither Pains nor Money for the Gratification of the Audience.

C

Wednesday,

No 6

Wednesday, March 7.

Credebant hoc grande Nefas, & Morte piandum,
Si Juvenis Vetulo non affurrexerat.

Juv. Sat. 131. 54.
Tavas impious then (fo much was Age rever'd)
For Youth to keep their Seat, when an old Man appear'd.

Know no Evil under the Sun fo great as the Abuse of the Understanding, and yet there is no one Vice more -common. It has diffufed itself through both Sexes and all Qualities of Mankind, and there is hardly thatPerfon to be found, who is not more concerned for the Reputation of Wit and Senfe, than Honesty and. Virtue. But this unhappy Affectation of being Wife rather than Honeft, Witty than Good-natur'd, is the Source of most of the ill Habits of Life. Such falfe Impreffions are owing to the abandoned Writings of Men of Wit, and the aukward Imitation of the reft of Mankind.

FOR this Reafon Sir ROGER was faying laft Night, That he was of opinion none but Men of fine Parts deserve to be hanged. The Reflexions of fuch Men are fo delicate upon all Occurrences which they are concerned in, that they should be expofed to more than ordinary Infamy and Punishment for offending against fuch quick Admonitions as their own Souls give them, and blunting the fine Edge of their Minds in fuch a Manner, that they are no more shocked at Vice and Folly, than Men of flower Capacities. There is no greater Monster in Being, than a very ill Man of great Parts: He lives like a Man in a Palfy, with one Side of him dead. While perhaps he enjoys the Satisfaction of Luxury, of Wealth, of Ambition, he has loft the Tafte of Good-will, of Friendship, of Innocence. Scarecrow, the Beggar in Lincoln's-InnFields, who difabled himself in his Right Leg, and asks Alms all Day to get himself a warm Supper and a Trull at Night, is not half so despicable a Wretch as fuch a Man of Senfe. The Beggar has no Relish above Sen

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fations;