P L A 
Refources of Great Britain, 1796. 14. Statiftical Tables, 
exhibiting a View of all the States of Europe, 4to. 1800. 
15. Proofs relative to the Falfification, by the French, of 
the intercepted Letters found on-board the Admiral 
Aplio Eaft Indiaman, 8vo. 1804. 16. Enquiry into the 
Caufes of the Decline and Fall of wealthy and powerful 
Nations, 4to. 1805. 17. Smith’s Wealth of Nations, 
with Notes, fupplementary chapters, &c. nth edition, 3 
vols. Svo. 1806. 18. Statiftical Account of the United 
States of America, tranflated from the French, 8vo. 1807. 
19. Plan for Eftablifhing the Balance of Power in Europe, 
8vo. 1813. 20. Britifli Family Antiquity, 9 vols. 4to. 
21. Addrefs to the Nobility, on the Advantages of He¬ 
reditary Rank, 8vo. 22.- Second Addrefs to ditto. 23. 
On the Trade of India, by P. O’Hara. 24. Ecce Iterum. 
25. Letter to Lords and Commons in Support of the Ap¬ 
prentice Laws. 26. Early Friends of the Prince Regent. 
27. Vindication of the Reign of George Ill. 28. A Let¬ 
ter to the Prince Regent, on the ultimate Tendency of 
the Roman Catholic Claims} containing alfo a clear 
Statement of the Operation of the Sinking Fund, &c. 
29. Buonaparte’s Journey to Mofcow, in the Manner of 
John Gilpin, 1813. 30. Statement to Earl Bathurft on 
the Efcape of Napoleon from Elba, &c. 31. Letters to 
Earl Bathurft, Meflrs. Abercromby, and Morier. 32. An- 
fwer to the Calumniators of Louis XVIII. 1815. 33. 
Political Portraits in this New Era, 2 vols. 1814. 34. Sup¬ 
plement to Political Portraits. 35. France as it is, not 
Lady Morgan’s France. 36. On Emigration to France. 
37. On Agricultural Diftrefs. 38. The Tomahawk, a pe¬ 
riodical, publiftied daily at 2d. during the feftion of 1795. 
Of this work, Mr. Playfair was joint proprietor and edi¬ 
tor with the late Dr. Arnold. Mr. Playfair wrote the 
leading article ; and fome of our living dramatifts contri¬ 
buted towards the poetical department, 39. Anticipa¬ 
tion ; a weekly paper, which was for fome time honoured 
with the patronage of the late Mr. Wyndham. It was, 
we believe, publiftied about the year 1808; but did not 
reach more than twenty or thirty numbers. 40. Monte- 
fiore on the Bankrupt Laws. 41. European Commerce, 
by Jephfon Ody, efq. Thefe two works, though pub¬ 
liftied under the names of the gentlemen laft mentioned, 
were written by Mr. Playfair. Of the whole of thefe 
publications, the “ Hiftory of Jacobinifm,” and the “ En¬ 
quiry into the Caufes of the Decline and Fall of wealthy 
and powerful Nations,” are perhaps the belt, though the 
Statiftical Breviary and Atlas difplay great ingenuity in 
fimplifying ftatiftical details, by means of geometrical 
lines and figures. Thefe works were the means of intro¬ 
ducing Mr. Playfair to the friendlhip of the late Marquis 
of Lanfdown, and feveral diftinguilhed members of the 
legiflature. The notes to Adam Smith’s “ Wealth of 
Nations,” difplay confiderable knowledge of political 
economy. 
In private life Mr. Playfair was amiable and firm in his 
friendlhip, as he was loyal in his principles. With a 
thoughtleffnefs that is too frequently allied to genius, he ne¬ 
glected to fecure that provifion for his family, which, from 
his talents, they were jollified to ,expect ; and, although 
he laboured ardently and abundantly for his country, yet 
he found it ungrateful, and he was left in age and infir¬ 
mity to regret that he had neglected his own interefts to 
promote thofe of the Britilh government. His mental 
energies continued unimpaired, while for many months 
his phyfical ftrength was exhaufting. He died on the nth 
of February, 1823, leaving a widow and four children. 
One of his fons was a lieutenant in the 104th regiment, 
who, on its being difbanded in Canada, turned his atten¬ 
tion to mechanics, and fuperintended the confirmation of 
a faw-mill. Mr. Playfair left two daughters, one of whom 
is blind. Literary Cfironicle. 
PLAY'FELLOW, /! Cc mp inion in amufement.—This 
was the play at vvl .ch Nero Itaked three thoufand two 
hundred and twenty-nine pounds three {hillings and four- 
Vpl. XX. No. 1398. 
P L A 645 
pence upon every call:; where did he find playfellows ? Ar- 
buthnot. 
Mifchance and forrow go along with you ! 
Heart’s difcontent and four afflidlion 
Be playfellows to keep you company ! S/ialcefpeare. 
PL AY'FERE, f. A playfellow. Obfolete.— He [Hen. 
V.] had palled his youth in wanton paitime and riotous 
miforder, with a forte of mifgoverned mates and unthrif- 
tie playferes. Holinjhed. 
PLAY'FORD (John), born in 1613, was a ftationer 
and mufician, felier of mufical books and inftruments, and 
clerk of the Temple church. In 1655 he publiftied the 
fir ft edition of his “ Introduction to the Skill of Mufic,” 
compiled from Morley, Butler, and other more bulky and 
abftrnfe books, which had fo rapid a fale, that, in 1683, 
ten editions of it had been circulated. The book, in¬ 
deed, contained no late difeoveries or new dodtrines, 
either in the theory or pradtice of the art; yet the form, 
price, and ftyle, were fo fuited to every kind of mufical 
readers, that it feems to have been more generally pur- 
chafed and read than any elementary mufical tradt that 
ever appeared in this or in any other country, 
John Playford feems, by what means is now not known, 
to have laid in a confiderable ftock of mufical knowledge, 
previous to becoming the vender of the chief produdlions 
of the principal compofers of the time. As he was the 
firft, fo he feems the moft intelligent, printer of mufic du¬ 
ring the feventeenth century; and he and his foil Henry 
appear to have acquired the efteem of the firft mailers of 
the art, and, without a fpecial licence or authorized mo¬ 
nopoly, to have had almoft the whole bufinefs of furnifh- 
ing the entire nation with mufical inftruments, nnific- 
books, and mufic-paper, as, during more than the firft 
fifty years of the laft century, Wallh and his fon had 
afterwards. 
In 1655, this diligent editor publiftied, in two feparate 
books, fmall Svo. “ Court Ayres, by Dr. Charles Colman, 
William Lawes, John Jenkins, Simpfon, Child, Cook, 
Rogers, &c.” Thefe coming out at a time when there was 
properly no court, were probably tunes which had been 
ufed in the mafques performed at Whitehall during the 
life of the late king. It was honeft John Playford, alfo, 
who new' ftrung the harp of David ; and publiftied, in 
1671, the firft edition of his “ Pfalms and Hymns in fo- 
lemn Mufick, in foure Parts on the common Tunes to 
Pfalms in Metre ufed in Parifti-churches. Alfo fix Hymns 
for one Voice to the Organ folio. The feveral editions 
of this work publiftied in various forms, at a fmall price, 
rendered its fale very general; and pfalm-finging in parts, 
became a favourite amufement in almoft every village in 
the kingdom. 
Henry Playford, the fecond fon of John, fuc- 
ceeded his father as a mnfic-feller, at firft in his (hep in 
the Temple, but afterwards in the Temple Exchange, 
Fleet-ftreet. The mufic-books advertifed by him were 
but few compared with thofe publiftied by his father. 
Among them were the Orpheus Britanr.icus, and the 
Ten Sonatas and Airs of Purcell. Henry Playford pub¬ 
liftied, in 1701, what he called the fecond book of the 
“Pleafant Mufical Companion, being a choice colleflion 
of catches for three or four voices; publiftied chiefly for 
the encouragement of the mufical focieties which will be 
fpeedily Jet up in the chief cities and towns of England.” 
We know not what effedt this advertifing title-page had 
upon the nation, but beiieve that the publication of Pur¬ 
cell’s catches in two fmall volumes by the elder Waifli in 
queen Anne’s time, was the means of ellabliftiing catch- 
clubs in almoft every town in the kingdom, where to¬ 
bacco, ale, and pfalm-finging, were to be found. It is 
cotijedlured that Henry Playford furvived his father but 
a ftiort time, for we meet with no publication by him 
after 1710. 
PLAY'FUL, adj. Sportive; full of levity.—Heisfcan* 
8 B dalized 
