lee ae ke : 
WALPOLIANA: 
Or Bons-Mots, Apophthegms, Obfervations on Life and Literature, with 
Extracts from Original Letters Rs 
OF THE LATE HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. 
NUMBER IV. 

LEXI. 
EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS, 
. Farce. 
6 \ A{ R: O’Keete has brought our.au- 
diences to bear with extrava- 
gance: and were there net fuch irrefifti- 
ble humour. in his utmoft daring, it 
would be impoffible to deny that he has 
paffed even beyond the famits of nonfenfe 
—but I confine this approbation to his 
Agreeable Surprife. In his other pieces 
there is much more untempered nonfenfe 
than humour. Even that tavourite per- 
formarice I wondered that Mr. Colman 
dared to produce.” 
Lx. Dramatic Charaers. 
«¢ “Your remark, that a. piece full of 
marked characters would be void of na- 
ture, is moft juit. This is fo ftrongly my 
opinion, that I thought it a great fauit 
in Mifs Burney’s Cecilia, though it has a 
thoufand other beauties, that fhe has la- 
boured far too much to make all her per- 
fonages talk always in chara¢ter. Where- 
as in the prefent refined, or depraved, 
fiate of human nature, moft people en- 
deavour to conceal their real character, 
not to difplay it. A profeflional man, as 
a pedantic Fellow of a College, or a Sea- 
man, has a charatteriftic dialef&t; but 
that is very different from continually 
detting out his ruling paffion.” 
LX. Song-writing. 
«¢ T have no more talent for writing a 
fong, than for writing an ode like Dry- 
den’s or Gray’s. It is a talent per je, 
and given like every other branch of ge- 
niu’, by Nature alone. . Poor Shenftone 
was labouring through his whole life to 
Write a perfect fong—and, in my opinion 
at leaft, never fucceeded—not better than 
Pope did in a’ St. Cecilian ode. I doubt 
not whether we have net gone a_long, 
long, way beyond the’ poflibility. of writ- 
ing a good jong. , All the words in the 
language have been fo often employed on 
ffnple images, (without which afong 
cannot be good;) and fuch reams.of bad 
verfes have been produced in that kind; 
that I queftion whether true fimplicity it. 
felf could pleafe now. At Jeaft we are 
not likely to have any fuch. thing. . Our 
prefent choir of Poctic Virgins write in 
the other extreme. They, colour. their 
compofitions fo hivhly with chcice and 
4 ~ : 
dainty phrafes, that their own dreffes are 
not more fantaftic and romantic. Their 
nightingales make as many divifions as 
Italian fingers.—But this is wandering 
from the fubject: and while I only meant 
to tell you what I coud not do myfelf, 
I am telling you what others do ill.” 
Lxiv. Poetic Epochs. 
<< T will vet hazard one other opinion; 
tho” relative to compofition in general: 
‘There are two periods favourable te poets 
—arude age, when a genius may hazard 
any thing, and when nothing has been 
foreftalled.! The other is when, after ages 
of barbarifm and incorreétion, a matter. 
or two produce models formed by purity 
and tafte. Virgil, Horace, Boileau, Cor 
neille, Racine, Pope, expleded the licen- 
tioufnefs that reigned before them. What 
happened 2, Nobedy dared to write in con- 
tradiétion ¥o the feverity eftablifhed; and . 
very few had the abilities to rival their 
matters. Infipidity enfues: novelty» is 
dangerous: — and bombaft ufurps the 
tarone, which had been debafed by a race 
of Faiueants.” 
LXV. Criticifin. 
<¢ It is prudent to coniult others be- 
fore one ventures on publication—but 
eyery fingle perfon is as lyable to be ‘er- 
roneous as an author. An elderly man, 
as he gains experience, acquires preju- 
dices too: nay old age has generally two 
faults—it is too quick-fighted into the 
faulis of the time being; and too blind 
to the faults that reigned in his: ewn 
youth; which having partaken of, or 
having,admired, though mjudicioufly, he 
regollects with complaifance.” 
Lxvi. Dramatic Compoftion. 
*¢ I coniefs too that there muft be twe 
diftingt views in writers fer thedtage; one 
of which is more allowable to them than 
to other authors. The one is durable 
fente—the other, . peculiar to dramatic 
authors, the view of writing to the prefent: 
tafie, (and perhaps, as yop, fay, te the 
level of the audience.) I do not mean 
for the fake of ‘profit—but> even high 
comedy muft rifk a little of its: immor- 
tality by confulting the ruling tafte, And: 
thence a comedy always.lofes fome of its: 
beauties, the traafient—and fome of its 
inellizibility. Like its harfher fiftery 
Satires ; 
