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ANTIQUITIES.
carried the histrionic art to a higher degree of perfection than they had ever beheld or contemplated ;
and Baron, Le Kain, and Clairon, the ornaments of the French Stage, bowed to the superior genius of their
illustrious friend and contemporary. In private life he was hospitable and splendid: he entertained
princes and peerkall that were eminent in art and science. If his wit set the table in a roar, his
urhanity and good-breeding forbade any thing like offence. Dr. Johnson, who would suffer no one to
abuse Davy but himself! bears ample testimony to the peculiar charm of his manners ; and, what is
infinitely better, to his liberality, pity, and melting charity. By him was the Drury Lane Theatrical
Fund for decayed actors founded, endowed, and incorporated. He cherished its infancy by his muni-
iicence and zeal ; he strengthened its maturer growth by appropriating to it a yearly benefit, on which
he acted himself ; and his last will proves that its prosperity lay near his heart, when contemplating his
final exit from the scene of life. In the bright sun of his reputation there were, doubtless, spots :
transient feelings of jealousy at merit that interfered with his own; arts, that it might be almost necessary
to practise in his daily commerce with dull importunate playwrights, and in the government of that
most discordant of all bodies, a company of actors. His grand mistakes were his rejection of Douglas
and The Good Natured ZlIan ,- and his patronage of the Stay-maker, and the school of sentiment. As an
author, he is entitled to favourable mention: his dramas abound in wit and character; his prologues
and epilogues display endless variety and whim; and his epigrams, for which he had a peculiar turn,
are pointed and bitter. Some things he wrote that do not add to his fame; and among them are The
Frihbleriad, and The Sick Monkey. One of the most favourite amusements of his leisure was in collecting
every thing rare and curious that related to the early drama; hence his matchless collection of old
Plays, which, with Roubilliac’s statue of Shakespeare, he bequeathed to the British Museum: a. noble
gift! worthy of himself and of his country !
The reward of his professional labours exceeded one hundred thousand pounds ; and in the bequest
of this large fortune he was guided by feelings of liberality and justice.
The 10th of June, 1776, was marked by Mr. Garrick’s retirement from the stage. ‘Vith his powers
unimpaired, he wisely resolved (theatrically speaking) to die as he had lived, with all his glory and with all
He might have, indeed, been influenced by a more solemn feeling-
“ Higher duties crave
Some space between the theatre and grave ; ’
That, like the Roman in the Capitol,
I may adjust my mantle, ere I fall."
his fame.
The part be selected upon this memorable occasion was Don Felix, in the Wonder. 'W e could have
wished that, like Kemble, he had retired with Shakespeare upon his lips ; that the glories of the Immortal
had hallowed his closing scene. His address was simple and appropriate-418 felt that he was no longer
an actor,- and when he spoke of the kindness and favours that he had received, his voice faltered, and
he burst into a flood of tears. The most profond silence, the most intense anxiety prevailed, to catch
every word, look, and action, knowing they were to be his last; and the public parted from their idol
with tears for his love, joy for his fortune, admiration for his vast and unconfined powers, and regret
that that night had closed upon them for ever.
Mr. Garrick had long been afllicted with a painful disorder. , In the Christmas of 1778, being on a
visit with Mrs. Garrick at the country seat of Earl Spencer, he had a recurrence of it,
which, after his return to London, increased with such violence, that Dr. Cadogan, conceiving him to
be in imminent danger, advised him, if he had any worldly affairs to settle, to lose no time in
dispatching them. Mr. Garrick replied, “ that nothing of that sort lay on his mind, and that he was
not afraid to die.” And why should he fear? His authority had ever been directed to the reformation,
the good order, and propriety of the Stage; his example had incontestibly proved that the profession of