CHARACTERS. 



257 



ttiust, from some circumstances, be 

 between the years 1753 and 1754. 

 In that and the next year, he pub- 

 lished five numbers of a pamphlet 

 which he called " The Tuner," in 

 which, with more humour than he 

 ever shewed afterwards, he ridicu- 

 led the then new plays of " Phi- 

 loclea," " Boadicea," " Cnnstan- 

 tine," " Virginia," &rc. His first 

 employment was in translations from 

 the French and Latin authors ; but 

 though a good scholar in both lan- 

 guages, he wanted that familiarity 

 in his own, which rendered his style 

 stiff and pedantic. He was not al- 

 ways punctual too in his engage- 

 ments, so that, after repeated trials, 

 he was found not to answer the 

 reputation he brought with him 

 from Ireland ; and he was, through 

 necessity, obliged to strike into a 

 new line of authorship. Whilst he 

 was pursuing his studies at Paris 

 and Montpelier, as well as whilst 

 he was in li eland, he amused him- 

 self with writing several things on 

 occasional subjects for the enter- 

 tainment of his friends, and partly, 

 ptniiaps, v/itli a view to keep up 

 that passport to their tallies in which 

 he so much delighted. These, with 

 some others on more general sub- 

 jects, he resolved to publish ; and 

 accordingly, early in the year 1755, 

 he gave them to the world under 

 the title of " Miscellanies in Prose 

 and Verse, . by Paul Hitfernan, 

 M. B." 



These miscellanies are dedicated 

 to the late lord Tyrawlcy, and 

 consist of essays on Taste, Ethics, 

 Character of Polonius, Theory of 

 Acting, Immoderate Drinking, The 

 Virtues of Cock-fighting, A Short 

 ^"iew of the Life and V/ritings 

 of Confuciu';, The Last Day, Lo- 

 gico-Mas!ix, with a Dumber of 



Vol. XXXVL 



poems on occasional subjects. In 

 this melange of odd subjects, there 

 are some foreian anecdotes and re- 

 marks, which distinguish ihescholar 

 and man of observat'on. In his 

 '• Character of Polonius," he par- 

 ticularly rescues that statesman from 

 the imputation of a fool and a dri- 

 veler, and supports his claim to 

 wisdom and sagacity, both from his 

 advice to his son and daughter, as 

 well as from the following character 

 which the king gives of him to La« 

 ertes : 



" The b'ood is not more native to the 



heart. 

 The hand more instrumental to the 



mouth. 

 Than to the throne of Denmark is thjr 



father." 



The opposite character of Polo- 

 nius, however, has been adopted by 

 all the performers we have ever seeti 

 piny this part, except one ; we inean 

 Munden's late performance of it at 

 Covent-Garden Theatre, wiiere, in- 

 deed, the Vv-hole of the representa- 

 tion of Hamlet is got up very cre- 

 ditably to the taste of the manager. 

 Munden shews Polonius free from 

 all those blemishes of buffoonery 

 with which our best actors, who 

 have gone before him, have loaded 

 him ; he is in his hands, though 

 somewhat of a formalist, and at- 

 tached to the modes of a court, a 

 wise, a prudent, and upright states- 

 man ; and this the audience felt, on 

 the first night, to be so much (he 

 real draught of the character, tliat, 

 notwithstanding a'l their former pre- 

 judices, they gave it their universal , 

 applause. 



Plis " Theory on the Art of Act- 

 ing," is only to be remembered for 

 its eccentricity. In describing the 

 mechanical manner of the players 



S generally 



