ftanding his companions have had ftrength enough over the virtues of his youth to extinguish his sense of duty to an aged and almost helpless parent (and one of the tendereft that ever bore the name), and even to make him forego the endearing fociety of a lady to whom. he was powerfully attached, they had not force of feduction fufficient to eradicate, entirely, the vital principle of nature and conscience, which, at various periods, broke forth in fighs of remorse, and blushes of fhame. The "cunning of the scene" affords many difplays of these, and in the lucid returns of his heavily-fmitten heart, he rescues that very parent, and that very much-loved, though deferted, mistress, from the barbarity and machinations of an elder brother: This brother is, alfo, by his means, (and by the moft equitable laws of human life, as well as of the drama) brought to juft punishment; and, by arrangements no less proper, the father is reftored to the freedom and honours which his eldeft fon had ravished from him, and the young lady is preserved from violation. By fuch means, the parties, long divided by the vices, are brought together by the virtues of this heroic robber. Forgivenefs of the father, and of the mistress, are matters of course, and the reconciliatory scenes, which exhibit these, are as naturally sustained

as

as the incidents by which they are brought about, are artfully contrived. Every thing is in the fairest way of being fettled to the fatisfaction of the characters and of the audience. I never witneffed the denouement of a tragedy more comfortably arranged for the feelings. But the author was of a different opinion, for in the moment that you are about to congratulate this good ending of as bad a beginning, the poet ftarts a difficulty, which I conceive neither nature or reason suggested to him. The almoft converted robber, even while fupported on the one hand by the love of a father, and on the other, by that of an adored miftrefs, finds out, that having worn to live and die with his foreft companions, he cannot violate his oath; and that, even if he could, his delicacy would not fuffer him to carry pollution into the arms of an innocent

.

woman,

Now, if you approve of this froke of delicacy, I could wish to ftop at it; but, as a faithful Gleaner, I muft proceed to inform you, that our delicate hero by no means contents himfelf with this declaration; but while his hand is joined by a parent to that of a mistress, who covers it with tears of joy, and kiffes of love, he literally

"Throws it like a noifome weed away."

obferving

1

obferving that, although he feels it impoffible
to marry the lady himself, he cannot endure
the thought of her living for another. This
new misfortune finks the father to the ground,
upon which he is left to die on one fide of the
ftage, while the lady ftands ftatue-ftruck with
grief on the other. Neither of these objects go
to the heart of our hero.
On the contrary,
he intimates that there is no way left to pacify
his fears on this curious point of delicacy, but
the death of this beloved miftrefs. Hereupon
the poet makes her obligingly take the hint by
throwing herself into an attitude to receive the
blow from the hand of her lover; who, how-
ever, rather hesitates about it, upon which the
lady presents her beautiful bofom (all heroines
you know must be beautiful) to any of the
robbers; none of whom can be found to

"Scar that whiter fkin of her's
"Than monumental alabafter."

when men, who live by pillage and murder, are thus tender-hearted, I am juftified in applying the quotation; though, I fhould confider myfelf as having a fufficient fanction on the determined laws of the drama, to enrol amongst their unities, those of heroifm and personal beauty,

The

upon to

The Ruffians, however, all unfheath their fwords, and might, perhaps, have been wrought cut in twain the filken bonds of humanity, that held them a moment uplifted, had not the hero come forth in all the might of his delicacy, in the fhape of a rant, (loud and vehement as ever pierc'd "the ears of the groundlings)," to affert his fole and exclufive claim to the affaffination. Saying which, and a great deal more, he takes the woman of his heart, gently in his arms, then buries his dagger gently in her breaft, then supports her gently as fhe finks on the earth, where, gently placing her on the fide oppofite that of his dead father, on whose body by the bye, dying or dead, he never beftows a glance, and then gently embracing his robber-friends, he stalks off to kill himself at a more convenient season: and thus concludes this gentle piece of bufinefs: of which if any thing could add to the abfurdity, it would be the circumftance of having juft before found himself wholly incapable of ftabbing his worthlefs brother, because, though ftained with the fouleft offences against his dear father and dearer miftrefs, he was, forfooth, a good for nothing-brother! If this is not refining upon refinement, and out-fentimentizing fentimentality, the deuce is in it! Few of my readers but muft allow this was carrying the

point

point of delicacy a little too far: and, for my part, if this is the German method of fettling the point, I remain a steady admirer of the coarse English fashion of ftabbing any body, and, indeed, almost every body, rather than the woman of one's heart.

But the truth is, this is not the German mode any more than it is ours, as I have fhewn, and fhall ftill fhew, in various inftances. It is the act and deed folely of the author of this drama, who has therein not only put his heroine to death for his own amufement, but has committed an affaffination upon a much greater character, even nature herfelf, and this is one example (out of an hundred) that has made me wifh, gentlemen, who have the life and death of their characters, as dramatick writers, in their hands, would be a little lefs lavish of human, at least of poetical blood, without fhewing caufe in the courts of reafon, nature, and confcience. Not that I mean to attach this ftrain upon dramatic or natural laws, to the productions of the German poets in general. They very frequently write, and act, with the most accurate knowledge of the human heart, and feldom fail to find their way to it, when their purpose is to intereft its affections.