venient and troublesome, and always a page behind to hear the lover's fecrets, and keep the train in graceful decorum. If two princeffes met on the stage, with the frequent stage-crolling, then practifed, it would now feem truly entertaining to behold a page dangling at the tail of each heroine ; and I have seen a young lady, not of the most delicate form, who fuftained that office frequently--a Mifs Mullart ;-they are now difmiffed, as judged unneceffary and fuperfluous-but luckily they were pages of honour, and as truly to be depended upon as Edinburgh caddies, as I have never heard of any mildemeanor brought into court by their impeachment:-Yet theatrical kings and queens, like their brethren mortals, fometimes have been frail;, but they were family fecrets, and ought not to be mentioned again... I have feen Mrs. Woffington, dreffed in high tafte for Mrs. Phillis, for then all ladies' companions or gentlewomens' gentlewomen, actually appeared in that style of dress; nay, even the comical Clive dreffed her Chambermaids, Lappet, Lettice, &c. in the fame manner, authorised from what cuftom had warranted when they were in their younger days; and in my remembrance, not a first fervant maid, or unfortunate female, that ufurped a right of Strand walk, which she termed her own trodden ground, from St. Mary-le-Strand

to Exeter Change, but what fwaggered in her large banging hoop, to the terror of any young novice who dared ufurp a footing of those territories:-In short, a large hoop was a requifite and indifpenfable mode of drefs. Strict propriety of habiliment not any manager has yet arrived at, even in London; and though it is fo highly improved these last twenty years, yet the achievement not even money will ever be able to obtain, that is, while the stage is honoured with pretty women, as I fincerely hope it ever will be ;-for common fenfe, reafon, perfuafion, nor intreaty, will ever perfuade handsome women to appear in a farmer's daughter, or a witch, or a fervant maid, but with the head dreffed in full fashion, and the feet deckin fatin fhoes; yet I think they would be gainers by trying dear variety: For what will attract more than the fimple Quaker, or the truly neat chambermaid? and it is not every man that wishes for a duchefs: befides what an advantage to be feen in a gaudy attire one night, and another arrayed in pure fimplicity, and be viewed with propriety in a green stuff gown, &c. and not as Madge in Love in a Village, or Betfy Bloffom, with a Frenchhead, white filk stockings, and white fatin fhoes; by fuch contradictions Nature is as diftant from the ftage now as she was an hundred years ago; and stuff

fhoes and clean cotton flockings would look not only as well, but better, by the preservation of character:-Nay, the plain woman (if such there be) would not be behind hand, as fhe would, I' fear, keep equal pace in abfurdity, and relinquish all pretenfions to propriety, by being as fantastical as the most beautiful young one. And thefe contradictions of dress and manner of behaviour are often beheld off the ftage by chance obfervers, and are very properly introduced and ridiculed on, and receive the rod of correction from the comic Mufe, as proper objects for the poet's fatire and the public mirth. Not any plays throughout were ever dreffed as they are now-there the public enjoy a fplendor indeed fuperior to their forefathers. Alfo in the magnificence of theatres, the fcenery and lighting are now beyond compare; but it is, evident our grannies had an idea of what they did not poffefs, as may be proved by the orders for scenery in Sir William Davenant's plays, Dryden's Tempest, King Arthur, Lee's Conftantine, Cyrus the Great, &c. &c. Except in Mr. Rich's pantomimes, the public then had feldom any scenery that proved of advantage, fo as to allure the eye: -But now frequently we have new scenery to almost every piece. It was very uncommon formerly for new plays to

have more than what we term stock scenery :There is one scene at Covent Garden used from 1747 to this day in the Fop's Fortune, &c. which has wings and flat, of Spanish figures at full length, and two folding doors in the middle :-I never fee those wings flide on but I feel as if seeing my very old acquaintance unexpectedly. The advantage of the now eftablished theatres is another useful alteration for thefe times; tho' the Opera Houfe, when first finished, must have been noble, as we are told by Colley Cibber it. was fo large they could not be heard till the cieling was lowered and the house leffened. The Little Theatre in the Hay Market, as it was called twenty-fix years ago, till it was beautified an put into its present form by Mr. Foote and Mr. Colman, would now cut a very contemptible figure in moft towns of England, and not fit to enter, after feeing Bath, Edinburgh, Bristol, Liverpool, York, and many other theatres. By this progrefs and embellishment of regular, handfome,. well-ornamented theatres, with good fcenery, wardrobe, and band, (at York in particular the latter) we may be affured that these theatres are fuperior to thofe wherein Booth, Betterton, and Cibber acted; for though Drury Lane was larger than the most of our prefent country theatres, yet forty years ago the audience part.

of thofe London theatres were very crazy, inconvenient, and not pleafing to the eye and at present the ftair-cafe to the upper boxes at Drury Lane is fo narrow, that should an alarm of fire happen, the perfons in the two upper tier of boxes would be thrown into fuch confufion, fhould they open at the fame time the different doors, the paffage is fo ftrait and they would fo effectually block up each other, that not one fingle foul could efcape, and their increafing fears would cause the fituation to be alarming and dreadful to a degree. Indeed Covent Garden is not fo complete in that department (at least it was. not fo when I faw that theatre before the late aiterations). The upper boxes at Edinburgh are far preferable to thole at London for seeing, and indeed, in that respect, are better than any theatre I know; and it has an advantage (like SmockAlley) by the audience part being formed in a well-finished circle. Drury Lane, like LondonBridge, has been much trittered and patched at very great expence; and, after all, the only way to repair will be to pull it down, and erect a new one: -which I understand is to be done, and I wish for health to fee it finished. In proper-built convenient theatres. I am told, Paris has within thefe few years taken the lead, though fome time ago it was greatly inferior: If they are like the plates.