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DU MOULIN.

The following Note is faithfully copied from Du MOULIN's Book; the first five blank leaves of which were written with his own hand, and contain what is here copied. Du MOULIN was a Prebendary of Canterbury Cathedral.

OUR

UR gracious King and now glorious Martyr Charles the Firft, finding that his rebellious fubjectts, not content to make warre against him in his kingdom, affaulted him with another warre out of his kingdom with their tongues and pens; he fet out a Declaration to inuite all his loving fubjects and friends that could use the tongues of the neighbouring States, to reprefent with their pers the justice of his caufe, efpecially to Proteftant Churches abroad. That Declaration fmote my heart, as particularly adreft unto me; and I tooke it as a command layd upon me by God himfelfe. Whereupon I made a folemne vow to God that as farre as Latin and French could gce in the world, I would make the juftice of the Kings and the Churches caule to be knowne, especially to the Proteftants of France and the Low Countries, whom the Kings enemies did chiefely labour to feduce and mitinforme.

To pay my yow I first made this booke; which was begun at York during the liege, in a roome whole chimney was beaten downe by the cannon while I was at my work; and after the fiege and my expulsion from my rectory at Wheldrake, it was finifht in an under-ground cellar where I lay hid to auoyd warrants that were out againit me from Committees to apprehend me and carry me pritoner to Hull.

Hauing finiht the book, I fent it to be printed in Holland by the meanes of an othcer of the Matter of the Pottes at London, Mr. Pompeo Calandrini, who was doing great and good feruices to the King in that place. But the King being dead, and the face of publique busineffes altered, I tent for my manuscript out of Holland, and reformed it for the new King's feruice. And it was printed, but very negligently, by Samuel Browne at the Haghe.

The title of the book then was as I have let it downe in a page by itself, Much about the fame time I fet out my Latin Poeme Ecclefiæ Gemitus with a

VOL. XXXVII, APRIL 1800.

long Epistle to all Chriftians in the defenfe of the King and the Church of England; and two yeares after Clamor Regii fanguinis ad Cœlumn.

God bleffed thefe books and gaue them the intended effect, the difabufing of many misinformed perfons. And it was fo well reflented by his Majesty, then at Breda, that, being fhewed my fifter Mary among a great company of ladies, he brake the crowd to falute her, and tell her that he was very fenfible of his obligations to her brother, and that if ever God fettled him in his kingdom he would make him know that he was a grateful Prince.

This French book was translated into

English by fome ingenious traueller, who yet hath fhewed fufficiently that he had not the genius of the French tongue; and he changed the title, and intituled it, History of the Presbyterians, although fuch an history was not treated or intended in the book, but occasionally.

About eleuen yeares after this French book was printed, it came into the hands who carried it to the King, then at of the Reuerend Doctor Cofins in Paris, Colomb neere Paris. Hauing read before him fome pages of it, he fayd to his Majefty, "Sir, you fhall neuer doe enough for the author of this book;" and aduifed him by all meanes to get it reprinted, as mott conducible to the prefent polture of his affaires. His Majesty, though thort of money, gaue him fixteene Lewiles to reprint it, which was done in Paris by that Doctor's care, who altered and inferted feneral things in it, in point of history, wherein he, liuing in France in the time of the rebellion, was not fo well informed as I, who then liued in England.

Howfoever, this was the edition print. ed in Paris by the King's command, and

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ANECDOTES OF THE LATE MR. CHARLES MACKLIN, COMEDIAN:

TOGETHER WITH

MANY OF HIS OBSERVATIONS ON THE DRAMA, AND GENERAL MANNERS OF HIS TIME.

(As principally related by Himself, and never before published.)

[Continued from Page 198.]

ACKLIN being freed from all peManager, he found himfelf more at liberty to look after the theatrical concerns of the Company, which at this time Fleetwood entirely committed to his care. In this purfuit he did not neglect his own reputation. He very properly confidered he was then in a fituation, which, by affiduity and enterprife, might add fomething to his rifing fame as an actor, which at no other time of his life before he had fuch an opportunity of attempting; and that "there was no lucky minute after the first opportunity." He therefore cast about in his mind what new part he fhould adopt, and to this purpofe carefully looked over the ftock lift, as well as feveral obfolete plays, to find out one which he thought appropriate to his own powers and conception.

Chance prefented The Merchant of Venice to his notice, which, however

ftrange now to conceive, was laid upon

room for an alteration from the fame play by Lord Lanfdowne, called The Jew of Venice; in which the celebrated Dogget performed the Jew almoft in the ftyle of broad farce. Macklin faw this part with other eyes; and, very much to the credit of his taste and understanding, as well as a proper eftimation of his own powers, he found he could build a repu tation by reviving the original of Shakfpeare, and playing the character_of Shylock in a different manner. The attempt was arduous, and fubject to many miscarriages, and in particular to public prejudice; but a confcioufnefs of being right will generally give great confidence-Macklin felt this confcioufnefs, and was determined on the trial.

As foon as refolved, he communicated his defign to the Manager, who gave his confent to bringing it out merely as a

revived

revived piece, which might bring money to the treasury. The play was therefore announced to be in preparation; and Macklin, who always loved the character of a Theatrical Drill Serjeant, now entered into it with all his heart and mind, by cafting the parts himself, ordering frequent rehearsals, &c. &c.; but when he came to affix to himself the character of Shylock, and intimated his defign to play it feriously, the laugh was univerfal -his belt friends fhook their heads at the attempt, whilft his rivals chuckled in fecret, and flattered him with ideas of fuccefs, the furer to work out his destruction.

His keen obfervation and fufpicious temper clearly faw the train that was laying for him, which he not only feemingly overlooked, but fo far affilted, that at every rehearsal, whilft he enjoined the reft of the performers to do their beft, he himself played both under his voice and general powers, carefully referving his fire till the night of reprefentation. His fellow performers were by this condu&t completely trapped, infomuch that many of them threw off all referve and publicly faid "That this hot-headed conceited Irishman, who had got fome little reputation in a few parts, had now availed himself of the Manager's favour, to bring himself and the Theatre into difgrace.' Fleetwood heard this, and feriously applied to Macklin to give up the part; but the latter was too confcious of his own excellence to lote Tuch an opportunity-he frankly told his Manager, "that he was deceiving a fet of men who envied him; but that he would pledge his life on the fuccefs of the play, and that, in the end, it would be highly ferviceable to them both."

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The long expected night at laft arrived, and the Houfe was crowded from top to bottom with the first company in The two front rows of the pit, as utual, were full of critics, "who, Sir (laid the Veteran), I eyed through the fit of the curtain, and was glad to fee there, as I wished, in fuch a caufe, to be tried by a special jury. When I made my appearance in the green-room, dreffed for the part, with my red hat on my head, my picqued beard, loose black gown, &c. and with a confidence which I never before affumed, the performers all itared at one another, and evidently with a ftare of difappointment. Well, Sir, hitherto all was right-till the laft bell rung-then, I confefs, my heart began to beat a little; however I mustered

up all the courage I could, and, recommending my caufe to Providence, threw myself boldly on the ftage, and was received by one of the loudeft thunders of applaufe I ever before received.

"The opening fcenes being rather tame and level, I could not expect much applaufe; but I found myself well liftened to-I could hear diftinctly, in the pit, the words Very well-very well, indeed!-this man feems to know what he is about,' &c. &c. Thefe encomiums warmed me, but did not overfet me-I knew where I should have the pull, which was in the third act, and reserved myself accordingly. At this period I threw out all my fire; and, as the contrasted paffions of joy for the Merchant's loffes, and grief for the elopement of Jeffica, open a fine field for an actor's powers, I had the good fortune to pleafe beyond my warmeft expectations - the whole House was in an uproar of applause and I was obliged to paufe between the fpeeches, to give it vent, fo as to be heard. When I went behind the scenes after this act, the Manager met me, and complimented me very highly on my performance, and fignificantly addedMacklin, you was right at laft.' My brethren in the green-room joined in his eulogium, but with different views-he was thinking of the increase of his treafury-they only for faving appearanceswithing at the fame time that I had broke my neck in the attempt. The trial jcene wound up the fullnets of my reputation; here I was fo well listened to, and here I made fuch a filent yet forcible impreffion on my audience, that I retired from this great attempt molt perfectly satisfied.

"On my return to the green-room, after the play was over, it was crowded with Nobility and Critics, who all complimented me in the warmest and most unbounded manner, and the fituation I felt myself in I must confefs was one of the most flattering and intoxicating of my whole life: no money, no title, could purchafe what I felt; and let no man tell me after this, what Fame will not infpire a man to do, and how far the attainment of it will not remunerate his greatest labours? By G-d, Sir, though I was not worth fifty pounds in the world at that time, yet, let me tell you, I was Charles the Great for that night."

A few days afterwards Macklin received an invitation from Lord Bolingbroke to dine with him at Batteriea he attended the rendezvous, and there found Pope and a felect party, who

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complimented him very highly on the part of Shylock, and questioned him about many little particulars relative to his getting up the play, &c. Pope par ticularly afked him, why he wore a red bat and he answered, because he had read the Jews in Italy, and particularly in Venice, wore hats of that colour and "pray, Mr. Macklin," faid Pope, "do players in general take such pains?" "I do not know, Sir, that they do; but as I had faked my reputation on the character, I was determined to fpare no trouble in getting at the beft information."-Pope nodded, and said, “it was very laudable."

Macklin took this play for his benefit on the 19th night, and had an overflowing audience; feveral Noblemen of the firit diftinction took what is commonly called gold tickets, and Lord Bolingbroke made him a prefent of twenty guineas.

The play had a fuccefsful run through the whole of the teafon, and for many feafons afterwards; it established his reputation as an actor, and not a little added to his difcernment as a critic, in reviving a piece, which perhaps, except for his research, might have been loft to the flage for ever.

And here we cannot help remarking, that although Macklin got and merited the greatest applaufe in Shylock, this very applaufe in his public, often drew from the merit of his private character; as many people, who knew nothing of him but as he appeared on the ftage, and there faw the pallions of revenge and malice to forcibly and naturally difplayed (particularly in the fourth act, where he whets the knife in order to cut off the pound of human flesh), that they judged he must be something like the moniter in private, life which he was upon the stage.

This combination of ideas, though falle in fact, is not very unutual: Cib ber tells an anecdote of Sandford, a performer in his time, who, from a certain deformity of perfon, accompanied with talents in performing the villains and traitors in tragedy, became to frequently caft for thofe parts, that from long habits the audiences expected nothing else from him; and when he once unfortunately performed the character of an boneft ftateman, the audience were fo dilappointed, when they found towards the clofe, that this was his real character, without any difguife or treachery, that they damned the play," as if the actor

had impofed upon them the most frontlefs and incredible abfurdity."

Macklin's acquaintance with Garrick commenced a few years before the latter's public appearance at Goodman's fields. He was then, he faid, "a very sprightly young man, neatly made, an expreffive countenance, and of most agreeable and entertaining manners."-The Stage poffeffed him wholly; he could talk or think of nothing but the Theatre; and as they often dined together in felect parties, Garrick rendered himself the idol of the meeting by his mimickry, anecdotes, &c. He had not long arrived from Lifbon at that period, and, with other funds of information, poffeffed a number of good travelling ftories; "which he ar rated, Sir (added the Veteran), in such a vein of pleasantry and rich humour, as I have feldom feen equalled."

With that love for the Stage which Macklin ever poffeffed, it was natural for him to be pleafed with fuch growing accomplishments as Garrick exhibited: Garrick too, who from the beginning of his public life to the end never neglected the puriuit of any information relative to his art, muft have feen in Macklin talents, experience, and affiduity, which it was his interest to cultivate. They both too loved fociety, wherein they excelled, though in different departments. From all thete circumftances they became very intimate, infomuch, that we have heard Macklin fay, they were scarcely two days atunder, from the commencement of their acquaintance till the quarrel broke out in 1743 when Garrick, receding from his engagement to ftand or fall by the performers till their wrongs were redreffed by the Manager, fo irritated Macklin that he commenced his bitterest eremy; and though they afterwards feemingly made it up, and occafionally lived together in focial and profeflional habits, there was fome leaven left in Macklin's mind, which he never could thoroughly thake off, and which occafionally vented itfelf in raillery, and fometimes in very fharp invectives.

We do not exactly remember whether Macklin accompanied his young friend Garrick to Iptwich when he made his first appearance in Abcan, in the tragedy of Oroonoko, by way of probation for the London boards; but we have often heard him fay, he was one who computed the audience on his first appearance at Goodman's-fields, in the character of Richard III. on the 19th October 1741; and he bore full testimony to the applaufe

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