the fame time, fecured Macklin, Yates, Berry, Beard, Neale, Tafwell, Mrs. Clive, Mrs. Woffington, Mr. and Mrs. Giffard, and others. He appeared fo formidable to Rich, that, by the advice of his counsellors, he immediately entered into a treaty with Mr. Garrick, Mr. Quin, and Mrs. Cibber. Mrs. Pritchard, Meffrs. Woodward, Chapman, Hippifley, and Mrs. Green, he had already bound to himself by articles. It is not, perhaps, more difficult to settle the covenants of a league between mighty monarchs, than to adjust the preliminaries of a treaty in which the high and potent princes and princeffes of a theatre are the parties. Mr. Garrick and Mr. Quin had too much sense and temper to squabble about trifles. After one or two previous and friendly meetings, they felected fuch characters as they intended to act without being obliged to join in the fame play. Some parts were to be acted by them alternately, particularly Richard the Third and Othello. The great difficulty lay in chufing such plays as they might both ap pear pear in to advantage. The following parts they confented, as far as I can recollect, to act together, Lothario and Horatio in the Fair Penitent; in Jane Shore, Haftings and Glofter; in Henry the Fourth, (first part) Hotspur and Falstaff; in the Distres fed Mother, Oreftes, Garrick; Pyrrhus, Quin; and, I believe, Brutus and Caffius in Julius Cæfar. I have feen the character of Caffius accurately delineated in Mr. Garrick's own hand-writing, which he had extracted from Bayle; and it is very probable that he had given his confent to act the part, but, that, on ferious reflection, he had renounced his intention, as the weight of applause, in the much-admired scene between these great men in the fourth act of the play, muft have fallen to the share of Brutus. There was another reason for rejecting Caffius, which, in all probability, had its force with him; he would never willingly put on the Roman habit. Mr. Quin foon found, that his competition with Mr. Garrick, whofe reputation was hourly increasing, whilft his own was on the decline, would foon become ineffectual. His Richard the Third could fcarce draw together a decent appearance of company in the boxes; and he was, with fome difficulty, tolerated in the part, when Garrick acted the fame character to crowded houfes, and with very great applause. The town had often wished to see these great actors fairly matched in two characters of almoft equal importance. The Fair Penitent presented an opportunity to difplay their several merits; though it must be owned, that the balance was as much in favour of Quin, as the advocate of virtue is fuperior in argument to the defender of libertinifm. The fhouts of applause, when Horatio and Lothario met on the ftage together in the second act, were fo loud, and so often repeated, before the audience permitted them to speak, that the combatants seemed to be difconcerted. It was obferved that Quin changed colour, and Garrick feemed to be embarraffed; and, it must be owned, that these actors were never lefs mafters of themselves, themselves, than on the first night of the contest for pre-eminence. Quin was too proud to own his feelings on the occasion; but Mr. Garrick was heard to say, “'Faith, I believe Quin was as much frightened as myself.” The play was repeatedly acted, and with constant applause,' to very brilliant audiences; nor is it to be wondered at; for, besides the novelty of seeing the two rival actors in the same tragedy, the Fair Penitent was admirably played by Mrs. Cibber. Notwithstanding the evident disparity arising from one actor's pleading the cause of truth and virtue, and the other being engaged on the side of licentiousness and profligacy, Mr. Quin was, in the opinion of the best judges, fairly defeated; by striving to do too much, he missed the mark at which he aimed. The character of Horatio is compounded of deliberate courage, warm friendship, and cool contempt of vice. The last Quin had in a superior degree, but could not rise to an equal expression of the other two. The strong emphasis emphasis which he stamped on almost every word in a line, robbed the whole of that eafe and graceful familiarity which should have accompanied the elocution and action of a man who is calmly chastising a vain and audacious boafter. When Lothario gave Horatio the challenge, Quin, instead of accepting it instantaneously, with the determined and unembarrassed brow of fuperior bravery, made a long pause, and dragged out the words, "I'll meet thee there!" in fuch a manner as to make it appear abfolutely ludicrous. He paused so long before he spoke, that somebody, it was said, called out from the gallery Why don't you tell the gentleman whether you will meet him or not? When the fame actors came on the stage in Jane Shore, Haftings is fo visibly superior in every part of excellence to Glofter, who is a kind of baftard Richard the Third, that it would be unfair to infift upon Mr. |