CHARACTERS. 



sol 



son, since thedeatbof Mr. Garrick, 

 was so able to superintend the en- 

 tcrtaiumeiUs of the stage as the 

 subject of this account. 



To sagacity in discovering the ta- 

 lents of his performers,, he joined 

 the inclination and ability to display 

 them with every advantage. To 

 him Mr. Henderson, Miss Farren, 

 Mrs. Bannister, Miss George, Mrs. 

 Wells, and, in some measure, Mr. 

 Edwin, (whose comic powers had 

 been buried a whole season under 

 Mr. Foote's management) besides 

 lome others, owedtheirintroduction 

 to a London audience; and thegrcat 

 improvements made by?,Ir. Palmer, 

 Mr. Parsons, &c. testify the judg- 

 ment and industry of their director. 



Mr. Colman's attention to the 

 theatre did not make him entirely 

 neglect his classical studies. He 

 gave the public a new translation 

 and commentary on Horace's Art of 

 Poetry, in which he pioduced a 

 new system to explain this very dif- 

 ficult poem. In opposition to Dr. 

 Hurd, he supposes, " that one of 

 " the sons of Piso, undoubtedly the 

 *' elder, had either written or me- 

 '* ditated a poetical work, most 

 " probably a tragedy ; and that he 

 *' had, with the knowledge of the 

 " family, communicated his piece 

 " or intention to Horace; but Ko- 

 *' race either disapproving of the 

 " work, or doubting of the poetical 

 " faculties of the elder Piso, or 

 " both, vvished to dissuade from all 

 •* thoughts of publication. With 

 'this view he formed the design 

 " of writing this epistle, addressing 

 " it with a courtliiiess and delicacy 

 " perfectly agreeable to his acknow- 

 " ledged character, indifferently to 

 " the whole family, the father at;d 

 *' his two sons, P.p'islola ad Phones 

 " Jt arte Pvctka." This hypothesis 



is supported with much learning, 

 ingenuity, and modesty; and if not 

 fully established, is at least as well 

 entitled to applause as that adopted 

 by the bishop of Worcester. 



On the publication of the Horace, 

 the bishop said to Dr. Douglas, 



" Give my compliments to C , 



" and thank him for the handsome 

 " manner in which he has treated 

 " me, and tell him, that / think he 

 " is right." 



Besides the dramatic works of 

 Mr. Colman, and those we have 

 already mentioned, he was the au- 

 thor of a preface to the last edition 

 of Beaumont and Fletcher, a dis- 

 sertation prefixed to Massinger, a 

 series of papers in the St. James's 

 Chronicle, under the title of the 

 Genius, and many other fugitivs 

 pieces. 



At the close of the theatrical sea- 

 son of 178.5, Mr. Colman was seized 

 at Margate with the palsy ; and at 

 the beginning of the season of 

 lysg, he first shewed symptoms of 

 derangement of his mind, which 

 increasing gradually, left him in a 

 state of idiotism. On this occasioa 

 the concluding lines of his friend 

 Churcliill's i'.pistle to Hogarth, will 

 naturally intrude themselves on our 

 reader's at tendon : 



" Sure 'tis a cvnse which angry fates im 

 pose 



To mortify man's arrogance, that those 



Vv'lio'rc fashionM of some better sort of 

 clay, 



Ma<;h sooner than the comtnou herd de- 

 cay. 



What biiter pangs must humbled geniua 

 feci. 



In their last hour to view a Sv.'ift and 

 Stf^cle ! 



llow must ill-bodins horrors fill her 

 breast, 



Vfhen s.hc bchuli? n-,en mark"<i .ilsve the 



ICU: 



Foe 



