fhort, every conftituent principle which 
forms a legitimate dramatic compofition. 
It is in vain that we look for, in this dya- 
matift, unicy of defign, time, o: place.— 
The tame heroes, during the period of re- 
prefentation, are infants, youths, men, 
aged, and deceafed. They travel, like 
vapabonds, from the eaft to the weft, from 
the north to the fouth, as if they were 
borne through the air. In one place they 
fight a battle, in another place they are 
making iove, in another turn friars. Ore 
fcene is in Flanders, another in Italy, an- 
other in Mexico, &c. His ferving-men 
talk ikke courticrs, bis princes lke black- 
guards, and his dames of quality like wo- 
men withcut characier or decency. His 
aGiors ccowd the ftage like fo many bat- 
talions er regiments. In the reprefenta- 
tion of his Baptifmo del Principe de Fex, 
feventy perfons were introduced. His 
worderful facility of writing excited the 
dmiration cf the vulgar, who were by no 
means capable of diltmguifhing the off- 
fpring of genius from the abortions of 
whim and caprice. But let the author 
ipesk for himielf, and as it is his own 
caufe, perhaps his cwn words will beft 
appreciate the merits of ltis own perfor- 
mances. Speaking of thoie who applaud 
ed his comedies, 
Mas ninguno de todos llamar puedo 
Mas barbaro que yo, pues contra el arte 
Me atrevOa dar preceptos, y me dexo 
Llevar de lavulgarcorriento, a donde 
Me llamen ignoranie, Italia y Francia. 
Whilf readers Rill ] have, I’! till compofe, 
And own myfelf no lefs a fool than thofe ; 
All rules of art Pll wantonly defy, 
And fcorn the taunts of France and Italy, &c. 
In another place, Vega is ftill mere 
explicit, in which it appears, that, though 
he was well acquainted with the rules of 
the drama, yet that he neglected them for 
the reafons 2ffigned in the following lines : 
Y efcrivo por el arte, que inventaron 
Los que el vulgar appleufo pretendieren, 
Porque como las paga ei vulgo, es jufto 
Jablarle en necio, para darle gutto. 
To pleafe the vulgar is my boafted art, 
To gain applaufe from crowds my favourite 
part, ; 
And as the people’s money fills my pouch, - 
Tf °tis their tafte, Pll play the fcaramouch, 
To fpeak plain, Vega facrificed the in- 
tereft of learning to his own, and cid in- 
jury to the drama ; yet as there are worle 
{faults in a writer, we may excufe him, as 
it appears that the poetic genivs which 
infpired his pen was no other than that 
On the Population of Bengal. 
[June 15 
which Perfius in his prologue to his Sa= 
tires has deferioea : 
Magifter artis, ingentique largitor 
Venter. 
There were not wanting, indeed, men of 
tafte and learning, of that age, who fe- 
verely condemned the irregularities of 
Vega, ard his uniform and abfoluie ne- 
elect of all dramatic precepts. Cervantes 
aflumed this cfice of cenfor on Vega, 
in his Don Quixote, part sft and chap. 
48.” 
So far are we indebted to the learned; 
Jaboricus, and eandid Welafquez, for an 
account of this predigy in feribbling ; for 
Vega is faid to have written twenty-five 
volumes in folio, each containing twelve: 
plays. That thofe perfons who were un- 
acquainted with the merits of the Spaniflr 
writer, may no longer wonder with a 
fooitth face of praife at the extraordinary 
accounts of fuch a genius, the above aus 
thentic extract is fent, Mr. Editor, for 
your valuable Magazine. — . S: 
—~aSe 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
Oz the POPULATION Of BENGAL. Bya 
GENTLEMAN 
COUNTRY. 
\[N India, no bills of mortality, nor re- 
gilters of births, marriages, and bus 
rials, afford data for calculation. The 
arguments by which we are convinced of 
the great population of Bengal, arife on 
the reiults of various {peculations. . 
The inhabitants of Bengal are certainly 
numerous in preportion to the tihage and 
manufactures which employ their labour. 
Former computations carried the popula- 
tion to eleven millions ; and to thefe a 
late publication feems to allude, in men- 
tioning the number of twenty millions for 
the inaabitants ef our territorial pofief- 
fions in India ; the population of our do- 
minions‘ia the Deccan being eftimated at 
nine millions, ++ 
_ An inquiry, inflicuted in ¥789, requir- 
ing from the ecolleGtors of diftri&ts their 
Opinions on the population of their res 
{pective jurifdi€tions, founded an eftimate 
of twenty-two millions* for Bengal and 
Bahar. Sir William Jones has hinted = 
higher eftimate ; and tneugh he has not 
eationed the grounds of his opinion, it 
may be admitted, that he has not hazard- 
ed a vague and unfounded efitmate.— 
We think with him, that twenty-four 
meee a Spr) vi eh Se eee 
* Quoted from memory. 
millions 
now refiding in that 
r 
« 
ug 
h 
