Afford no extraordinary gaze; Such, as is bent on fun-like majefty, When it shines feldom in admiring eyes; But rather drowz'd, and hung their eye-lids down, Slept in his face, and rendred such aspect As cloudy men ufe to their adverfaries, Being with his presence glutted, gorg'd and full, But is a-weary of thy common fight, Save mine, which hath defir'd to fee thee more: Our author is fo little under the difcipline of Art, that we are apt to afcribe his happieft fucceffes, as well as his most unfortunate failings, to Chance. But I cannot help thinking, there is more of contrivance and care in his execution of this play, than in almost any he has written. It is a more regular drama than his other historical plays, lefs charged with abfurdities, and lefs involved in confufion. It is indeed liable to thofe those objections, which are made to Tragicomedy. But if the pedantry of learning could ever recede from its dogmatical rules, I think that this play, instead of being condemned for being of that fpecies, would obtain favour for the fpecies itself, though perhaps correct tafte may be offended with the tranfitions from grave and important, to light and ludicrous fubjects: and more ftill with those from great and illustrious, to low and mean perfons. Foreigners, unused to these compofitions, will be much disgusted at them. The vulgar call all animals that are not natives of their own country, monfters, however beautiful they may be in their form, or wifely adapted to their climate, and natural destination. The prejudices of Pride are as violent and unreafonable, as the fuperftition's of Ignorance. On the French Parnaffus, a tragi-comedy of this kind will be deemed a monfter fitter to be fhewn to the people at a fair, than exhibited to circles of the learned and polite. From fome peculiar circumstances relating to the characters in this piece, we may, perhaps, find a fort of apology for the motley mixture thrown into it. We cannot but fuppofe, that at the time it was written, many ftories yet fubfifted of the wild adventures of this Prince of Wales, and his idle A companions. His fubfequent reformation, and his conquefts in France, rendered him a very popular character. It was a delicate affair to expose the follies of Henry V, before a people proud of his victories, and tender of his fame, at the fame time fo informed of the extravagancies, and exceffes of his youth, that he could not appear divested of them with any degree of hiftorical probability. Their enormity would have been greatly heightened, if they had appeared in a piece entirely serious, and full of dignity and decorum. How happily therefore was the character of Falstaffe introduced, whose wit and feftivity in fome measure excuse the Prince for admitting him into his familiarity, and fuffering himself to be led by him into fome irregularities. There is hardly a young young Hero, full of gaiety and fpirit, who, if he had once fallen into the fociety of fo pleasant a companion, could have the severity to discard him, or would not say, as the Prince does, He could better fpare a better man. How fkilfully does our author follow the tradition of the Prince's having been engaged in a robbery, yet make his part in it a mere frolic to play on the cowardly and braggart temper of Falstaffe! The whole conduct of that incident is very artful; he rejects the propofal of the Robbery, and only complies with the playing a trick on the Robbers; and care is taken to inform you, that the money is returned to its owners. There is great propriety likewife in the behaviour of Prince Henry, when he fuppofes Falftaffe to lie dead before him: to have expreffed no concern, would have peared unfeeling; to have lamented fuch a companion too feriously, ungraceful: with a fuitable mixture of tenderness and contempt he thus addreffes the body; G 4 ap What What! o acquaintance! could not all this flesh The Prince feems always diverted, rather than feduced by Falftaffe; he despises his Vices while he is entertained by his Humour; and though Falstaffe is for a while a stain upon his character, yet it is of a kind with thofe colours, which are used for a disguise in fport, being of fuch a nature as are easily washed out, without leaving any bad tincture. And we fee Henry, as foon as he is called to the high and serious duties of a King, come forth at once with unblemished majefty. The difpofition of the Hero is made to pierce through the idle frolics of the Boy, throughout the whole piece; for his refor mation is not effected in the last scene of the last act, as is usual in our Comedies, but is prepared from the very beginning of the play. The scene between the Prince and Francis, is low and ridiculous, and seems one of the greatest indecorums of the piece; at the fame time the attentive Spectator will find the purpose of it is to fhew him, that Henry was |