he therefore extended his plan, and included a general View of the Stage, in the ftate it then appeared. This naturally led him to touch upon the difficulties and difcouragements attending it as a profeffion, to which unwary youth, with little or no profpect of fuccefs, by contemplating its allurements, and viewing it through a false medium, are often feduced. The sketch, tho' flight and hastily thrown together, is, nevertheless, faithful; the refult of obfervation, and verified by experience. Some general rules for acting are occafionally interspersed; not with a view to form actors; for that, the Writer takes leave to reiterate, was no part of his intention; but the direct contrary. The didactic part is calculated to excite reflection, by fhowing our dramatic Phaetons, in the strongest point of light, the labour they must undergo; the obftacles they have to encounter, and the hazards they inevitably run; which should diffuade reasonable creatures from the purfuit. But as the power of infatuation cannot be at all times counteracted, an attention to the rules may, in fome measure, prevent their being utterly ridiculous, and, inftead of pleafing, difgufting their auditors; a cafe which unfortunately too often happens. If it deter but an individual from mifapplying his talents; if it prove, in any. degree, the means of reconciling a useful member of fociety to a more eligible vocation, for which his

qualifications

qualifications and abilities are better calculated, he shall think he has done a fervice to the community, and that his time was not unworthily employed. The performance, with all its demerits, muft now answer for itself. To efcape the feverity of cenfure is all the Writer's hopes afpire to.

N. B. EXTRACTS, alluded or referred to in the preceding Pages, inferted after the Notes at the End.

Those who are converfant in Printing, need not be told that errors of the prefs are almoft unavoidable, and sometimes escape the most vigilant experience. On closely scrutinizing this work a few inaccuracies have been discovered, and tho' upon the whole inconfiderable, and fuch for the most part as might poffibly pass "ünobferved, the Editor, not to infinuate an idea of perfection on the merit of concealment, folicits the candour of the reader to excufe the following

We have likewife to regret that, in a very few inftances also,

uniformity of Orthography has not been strictly preferved.

also of the THEATRE, by way of ARGUMENT; with Additions ; drawn up for the Editor's own ufe, which may answer the Reader's convenience as an INDEX. ORIGIN of the Poem.-Reasons for publishing.-Apology for Digreffion.-India Affairs.-Occafional Imitation.-Authors all borrowers.-Inftances: Pope, Addison, Waller, Dryden, Milton, Parnell, Gray.-Elegy in a Country Church-yard-remarkable Anecdote concerning it. Peter Pindar and others concur in its not being originally the Production of Gray.-Thoughts apparently taken from Waller, Thomson, and Parnell.Curfory observations on Thomson, Mafon, Sterne, Swift, La Fontaine, Ovid, Virgil, and Horace.-The Arabian Nights.Grecian Mythology.-The Greeks a Nation of Plagiarists.-Pythagoras,—Pythagorean or Copernican System.—(Sir Isaac NEWTON.)-Plato.-Hefiod.-Homer.-MIRACLES.- Maho

met.-VESPASIAN.-Hume, &c.-Conftantine.-Thundering Legion, of which in ancient records are many exemplars.

[Might have borrowed from the Scriptures; fee 1 Sam. ch. vii. v. 10. Pfalm xviii. v. 13, 14; and had a precedent in Homer Il. viii. v. 75, &c.]-Principle of Imitation.-Epigrams on Milton. -Converfion of the English.-Dryden's Epigram.—Juvenal.— Imitators in Arts and Sciences.-Gunpowder.-Schwartz.Friar Bacon.-BALLOON. Adam Walker of Manchester had been in the practice of fending up fmall Globes inflated with Gas long before Montgolfier or the French aëronauts made their attempts.-The FIRST BALLOON in IRELAND was let off from the Play Ground of the Academy, Grafton-fireet, Dublin, by the EDITOR of the prefent Work, then a School-Boy.-[The Art of augmenting the effects and diminishing the expence of Fire, lately adopted as C. Rumford's Invention, had been long known: aTreatife on that fubject, containing, among other things, a description of a Chimney for the purpose, appeared in German at Leipfick, Anno 1669. The Sieur Gauger published his La Mechanique

Mechanique du Feu, precisely on the fame principle, in 1709, which was given in English with confiderable improvement by Dr. Defaguliers, May 3d, 1715. Count Rumford had also the advantage of Dr. Franklin's Treatise on the subject, printed Anno 1768.Holder.- -TELEGRAPHE. -Names of the Months, &c.-Johnson's Dictionary.-Analysis of the Alphabet. Sheridan-Dr. K. and others- OUR AUTHOR's contrivance for afcertaining the powers of the Letters.Intention of the POEM: a MIRROUR for Youth addicted to the THEATRO-MANIA.

EXTRACTS, &c. [inferted at the end.] from Addison's Cato; Vida; Virgil might have been enlarged from Lucan and others.-Waller's, Go, lovely Rose !—“Eziypaμμà rỡ 1λáтwv☺. The Apple, imitated from the Greek.-Gray's Imitations; referring to Waller, Parnell, &c.-Extracts from Thomson, &c.Simile. Patience, from Shakspeare, &c.-Extracts from Richard II. Story of Le Fevre.-Henry V.-from Swift, Receipt to form a Beauty-from La Fontaine, Madam Fontanges. -From Hefiod, Pandora in Greek; English Version.-Obfervations.-Song from the Guardian.-Madrigal in French.On Imitation; from La Fontaine, French and English.-Lord Rofcommon, Pope, &c. on Poetic Numbers.-Dr. Johnson fupercilioufly oppofes Sheridan.- -The Reafon affigned.[N. B. Page liv. text, line last but one, for, which irritated, &c. read, which, whenever the name of Sheridan was but glanced at, irritated, &c.]-Boswell, partial to Johnson, in like manner unwarrantable in his ftrictures.-Our Author speaks from perfonal intimacy, particularly as to two marked occurrences in which he himfelf was the Agent.-Collins, in his Ode to the Passions, indebted to Mafter Sackvile, his Induction, &c. Sackvile to Danté. -Dryden, Milton, Taffo, &c.-The Ancients.-Extracts from Paradife Loft.-Obfervations.-[page lvii. line 13, for a symbolic. term, used by, &c. read, a fymbolic term, alluding to the equality of Day and Night, used by, &c.]-Citations from the Pentateuch.-Horace.--Patriarch Jofeph.- -Continence of Scipio.Virgilius illuftratus, &c. Op. Fulvii Urfini. -Extract from Hume.- -Voltaire.- -MIRACLES.- -Difquifition on the

two

two imputed to VESPASIAN.-Sheridan's liberality in respect of the Author of Douglas invidiously conftrued by Johnson, &c. REAL HISTORY OF THE MEDAL given to the Author of the Tragedy of DoUGLAS.- -Account of the Floure of the Commaundementes enprpnted bp Wpnkpn de Morde. The Hermpte

in the Black Letter.--Same from Howell.--Parnell's, in every body's hands.

MDCCLXXIX. -The Poem, in conformity to the general fubject and its particular defignation for a Lady, opens with an introductory obfervation on the lofs recently fuftained by the Drama, in being deprived of Mrs. Pritchard and Mrs. Cibber. -Summary Sketch of the present style of acting.-Extravagance, felf-fufficiency and petulance of the modern School.Supercilious contempt of their Predeceffors.-Low ebb to which the Stage is reduced.-A well regulated one important to the community.-Private Plays; a confequence of the disorderly and neglected state of the established Theatres -Poets and Actors in all departments not alike competent.-Curfory review of a Theatrical Corps.-Different modes of Exhibition.-Auditors not alike fufceptible.-Subject to incongruous imprefiions.—Their reprehenfible behaviour, rudeness, mounting the benches, &c.— Beaux, Belles, Would-be-critics; an infufferable tribe.-Their vanity, partial and abfurd prejudices, illiberal strictures, wanton cruelty and unwarrantable abuse.-Miferable condition of an unpopular Actor.-Capricioufnefs of public tafte; always dif. fatisfied, hankering after novelty and prone to cenfure.-Managers and management-an ungrateful fituation-idle clamours againft-difficulty of procuring entertainment-an invidious taskdifhonefty and want of principle a public nuifance.-Bad pay a fource of national as well as domeftic calamity-the evils it produces-Humiliating fituation of diftreffed creditors-weaknefs of fubmitting to it—a flagrant grievance-state reformers fhould oppose it in the first instance.-Powdered fwindlers and fwindling.-Scheme in agitation for developing and remedying the Evil.

-The