dicting, in the "Spectator," the established rules of poetical justice; because his own hero, with all his virtues, was to fall before a tyrant. At length," the great, the important day," when Addison was to stand the hazard of the Theatre, arrived. That there might, however, be as little hazard as possible, Steele undertook to pack an audience. This, says Pope, had been tried, for the first time, in favour of the "Distressed Mother," and was now, with more efficacy, practised for " Cato." The danger was soon over; the whole nation was, at that time, on fire with faction. The Whigs applauded every line in which liberty was mentioned, as a satire on the Tories; and the Tories echoed every cheer, to shew that the satire was not felt. Bolingbroke called Booth to his box, and gave him fifty guineas, for defending the cause of liberty against a perpetual Dictator. The play, thus supported by the emulation of factious praise, was acted, night after night, for a longer time than the public had allowed to any preceding drama; and the author displayed, through the whole exhibition, a restless and unappeasable solicitude. The thought with which" Cato" opens, appears to have been borrowed from Lee's "Alexander." "The dawn is overcast, the morning lours, And heavily in clouds brings on the day." CATO. "The morning rises black; the louring sun, ALEXANDER THE GREAT. MR. AND MRS. BARTLEY, AND THE AMERICAN PURITANS. A CURIOUS instance of the laudable spirit which governs some of the Puritans in America occurred at Hertford, (the capital of the state of Connecticut,) during the visit of Mr. and Mrs. Bartley. It happened, as they were going their first journey from New York to Boston, that they halted to breakfast at the principal hotel in Hertford. It was soon known that they were in the city, and before Mr. Bartley had finished his meal, the landlord informed him that several gentlemen were in an adjoining room, and requested to speak with him. Mr. Bartley waited upon them, and they explained to him that the fame which had attended Mrs. Bartley in New York, made them most anxious to have an opportunity of witnessing her talents in Hertford; that they had no Theatre, but a tolerably large Assemblyroom, which they would fill, if she would engage to give readings or recitations. It was soon agreed that she should do so, on her return from Boston. The night was fixed, and the room crowded to excess her readings from Milton and Shakspeare were highly approved of; and she promised to repeat them on her way to Boston, at her next visit. The inhabitants of Hertford apprised themselves of the period of her next engagement at Boston, and wrote to Mr. Bartley, requesting him to lend his quota to the promised evening's entertainment at Hertford. This was acceded to; but, no sooner was the announcement made, than the rigid and puritanical part of the community set up an outcry against these repeated innovations; and Mr. Ebenezer Huntingdon, (the Attorney-General of the State,) resolved to put into execution a dormant act of the legislature, against the performance. In the mean time, Mr. and Mrs. Bartley (wholly unconscious of what had been threatened) arrived, and were received as warmly as ever. The hour of performance having approached, the room was again crowd ed, and all was on the eve of commencement, when a letter, addressed to the landlord of the hotel in which the assembly-room was situated, came from Ebenezer Huntingdon, stating, that if Mr. and Mrs. Bartley proceeded in their unlawful practices, he would prosecute them under the existing laws of the state. The contents of this letter were concealed from Mr. and Mrs. Bartley, and the performances went off with great eclat. Shortly after Mr. and Mrs. Bartley had retired to rest, that night, the myrmidons of Ebenezer came with a writ, to serve it on the unconscious offenders. The singularity of the proceedings, together with the indelicacy of selecting the hour of midnight, as the proper period for the execution of such a process, roused the indignation of several gentlemen, who were still in the hotel, and they gave their personal securities to produce Mr. Bartley the next day, or to answer the consequence; at the same time depositing 500 dollars, to meet the expenses of the suit. A tremendous fall of snow rendered the roads impassable on the following day, and Mr. and Mrs. Bartley were, consequently, detained. Still, the whole transaction was carefully kept from their knowledge; but some legal persons, who inter ested themselves greatly in the matter; and, differing as to the construction of the law from the Attorney-General, put the question in a train of judicial hearing, and were adventurous enough to invite Mr. and Mrs. Bartley to repeat the entertainments that evening, as the weather was so unfavourable to the prosecution of their journey to Boston. They were still unconscious of what had happened; and it was not until after much grave argument in the court of justice, and a decision favourable to the accused, that Mrs. Bartley was made acquainted with all that had occurred, by the gentlemen who had so spiritedly defended the prosecution at their own risk. HARDY, THE FRENCH DRAMATIST. M. HARDY was an author who flourished in the seventeenth century, shedding upon France (his native country) the glories of a Muse prolific and copious almost beyond the powers of belief. It has been said, that he was often heard to declare, with a great deal of pompous self-sufficiency, that he was author of seven hundred pieces. On one occasion, when he was making this foolish and unbecoming boast, a critic, to whom his productions were but too well known, replied, "Sir, VOL. II. G |