adroit Spaniard, at the fame moment, avoids his ftroke, hangs the light veil on his horns, and perces him in the fide with a fharp javelin. fionate princess was occupied folely in reftaining the too incautious courage of her husband. Jealous of the fame of the renowned Alman zor, the glory and defence of Gra-Wounded immediately, by the lances nada, Alphonfo loudly teftified his with to try his ftrength against him. His trembling confort dared not diffuade him from it, but a gloomy prefentiment caufed her tears to flow in fecret, and the name of Almanzor awakened in her a mortal dread. In the midst of the camp was a fpacious circus, furrounded by a great number of feats. Here the august queen frequently gave to her warriors the exhibition moft admired by the Spanish nation. The youthful chiefs, without a cuirafs, mounted on fleet courfers, clothed in a filken robe, and arthed only with a lance, attack and conquer wild bulls. Combatants on foot, with their hair rolled close, hold in one hand a purple veil, and in the other, tharp javelins. An alcaide proclaims that no one is to expect fuccour, nor be allowed other arms than the lance to attack, and a purple veil for defence. The fovereigns, furrounded by their court, prefide at thefe fanguinary games; and the whole army, filling the immenfe amphitheatre, teflified by fhouts of joy and tranfports of delight, their infatiable fondness for thele antique combatants. The fignal is given, the barrier removed, and the bull rushes into the midst of the circus; but at the found of the trumpets, at the fhouts and fight of the fpectators, he ftops with wild furprize; his notir is foam, and his ardent eyes wander over the amphitheatre. He appears equally agitated by difmay and rage. On a fudden, he rushes on a horfemian, who wounds him, and pafles with fpeed to the other extremity of the circus. The bull, enraged, purfues him clofely, fhikes the earth with redoubled blows, and spends his fury on the fhining vel, which a combatant on foot prefents. The of all the combatants, the animal bounds over the ground, indicates his feelings by horrible roarings, fakes from him the javelins thrust into his body, tears up the earth which he mingles with blood and foam, and falls at length exhauled with pain and rage. In was in one of thefe combats, that the rafh Cortez had nearly ter minated a life defined to fuch high atchievements. Ardent to signalize himself in the prefence of the beauteous Mendoza, who had long pl feffed his heart; he wounded a fu rious bull, and fled. Notwithstanding the danger with which he was threatened, the gallant youth stilk kept his eyes fixed on the beauty his foul adored, when he faw the orange-flower fhe wore in her bolom fall within the circus. Cortez haftily difmounted, and ran to take up the flower: the bull inftantly flew towards him, and was preparing to ftrike, when the cries of Seraphina informed him of his danger. With out quitting the flower, he thrust his lance into the breaft of the animal, and extended him dead on the fand. The whole amphitheatre rang withr fhouts of applaufe. Ifabella wifhed to crown Cortez, but he refused the crown, fhewing the precious flower which he had nearly purchafed with his life. He kiffed it a thousand timer, preffed it to his heart, brɔke his lance, and left the circus. Thus paffed the day; and when night had hung the heavens with ftars, a thouf nd flambeaux, ref.&ed in chryilai, enlightened on every fide the fuperb tents of the queen. The e, all the beauties of the court, refplendent with precious ftones, their heads uncovered, and only adorned with their long and floating hair, furround a wide space, to Among thefe negroes, there hap pened to be two who had always lived together, and contracted an intimate friendship, which went on for feveral years in an uninterrupted courfe. Their joys and their griefs were mutual; their confidence in each other was entire; distrust and fufpicion were paffions they had no notion of. The one was a bachelor, the other married to a flave of his own complexion, by whom he had whien the hautbois and timbrels call the youthful heroes. They make their appearance, in feftival dreffes. covered with a rich and fhort cloak, gracefully faftened with a golden clafp. On their large hats, they wore plumes of red feathers which resembled a cluster of diamonds; their hair fell in ringlets on their Juffs of dazzling whitenefs; and the ebon down which they fuffered to grow on their upper lips, feemed to give new charms to their counte-feveral children. It happened that nances equally mild and warlike. ful * the head of this fall family, rofe early one morning, on a leisure day, to go far into the woods a hunting Each of thefe prefented his hand to her whom his heart preferred; the inftruments gave the fignal, and, in order to entertain his wife and a noble and measured, dance, of which children at night with fome provithe gravity did not render it lets fions better than ordinary. The pleafing, nor the decency lefs grace-bachelor flave, it feems, had for a each pair of lovers attracted long time entertained a pafion for all eyes which ere fixed on them his friend's wife; which, from the alone. Soon after, more rapid airs fequel of the ftory, he had ca. gave a fpring to their agility; they deavoured to ftifle, but in vain intermingled, joined, quitted each The impatience of his defires prompt other, and precipitately returned to ed him to take this opportuairy-of the place they had left: they fepa, the hufband's abfence, to practife upon the weakness of the woman; rated anew, again to unite, and expreffed by their emotions, the tranf-which accordingly he did, and was ports, the tender furprifes, and the Tweet languifhment of love f. fo unfortunate as to fucceed in his attempt. The hunter, who found his prey much nearer home than ufual, returned fome hours fooner than was expected, laden with the fpoils of the day, and full of the pleafing thoughts of feasting and re joicing with his family, over the fruits of his labour. Upon his entering his shed, the first object that truck his eyes were his wife and friend afleep in the embraces of each other. A man acquainted with the paffions of human nature, will eafily conceive the astonishment, the rage, and the defpair that overpowered the poor Indian at once; his cries and broken accents awakened the guilty couple, whofe fhame and confufen were equal to the agonies of the injured hufband. After a confiderable paufe on both fides, he expoftulated with his friend in terms like thefe ; My wrongs are greater than Iam able able to exprefs; and far too great for me to bear. My wife! but I blame not her.-After a long and lafting friendship, exercifed under all the feverities of a moft irksome captivity; after mutual repeated inftances of affection and fidelity; could I fufpect my friend, my bofom friend fhould prove a traitor? I thought myfelf happy, even in bondage, in the enjoyment of fuch a friend and fuch a wife; but cannot bear the thoughts of life with liberty, af er having been fo bafely betrayed by both. You both are loft to me, and 1 to you; I foon fhall be at rest; live and enjoy your crime. Adi u." Having faid this, he turned away and went out with a refolution to die immediately. The guilty negro followed him, touched with the quickeft fenfe of remorfe for his treachery: Tis I alone (faid he) that am guilty; and I alone am not fit to live. Let me intreat you to forgive your wife, who was overcome by my importunities. I promife never to give either of you the leaft difquiet for the future: live and be happy together, and think of me no more. Bear with me but for this night, and to-morrow you fhall be fatis fied." Here they both wept and parted. When the husband went out in the morning to his work, the first thing he faw was his friend hanging upon the bough of a tree before the cabin-door. HE father of Floranthe had THE addrefs of Octavian, but a more ad- This piece is taken from the two tales of Cervantes, entitled "Zora. da," and the "Captives." The tury is embellished by Mr. Colman, in the manner of his other pieces, where ufing all the licence of Shakefpear, and and making a melage of tragedy, of comedy and fong, be amply repays the licence which he aflumes, by the entertainment which he furnishes. The Surrender of Calais, is a proof how happy an imitator Mr. Colman can be of the manner of our immortal bard. In wielding this Ulyffean bow, however, the efforts, even of the fame perfon, cannot be uniformly fuccessful, In that inftance, to continue the metaphor, our author certainly drew his arrow much nearer to the head, than on the prefent occafion. gether to a very confiderable fam. I have lately launched out inconfiderately, to a fhameful elegance of living. Not only the fplendor of a town-house, but the incumbrance of a country-retirement, and the expence of a phacton, have drawn me into fuch a labyrinth of difficulties, that I find it will be impoffible for me punctually to answer your de mands, and a bankruptcy I shudder at the thought of. Spare me two years to retrieve myself. I will immediately throw off my country. houfe, my phaeton, and retrench the number of my fervants; by doing which I fhall confine myfelf to a mode of living more fuitable to the character of a tradefiman." In the Mountaincers, there are paffages which approach to the true fublime of Shakespear: and traits of character which must prove univerfelly friking from their originality. But there are fcenes which languifh from their length; and parts where the story is not either fufficiently connected, or not clearly explained. The general effect must undoubt-fuit his convenience. edly be heightened by judicious compretfion. The piece, which was given out for repetition without a diffenting voice, was aided by the scenery and music, and admirably fuftained by the performers. Of the latter it would be an injuftice not to mention Mr. Kemble, who appeared for the first time at this theatre; his Octavip, the Cardenio of Cervantes, was fearcely inferior in picture or in paffion, to his performance of Corio lanus. A fingular ACT of PRUDENCE. Tradefman of fome refpectability in the city, finding that By the extravagant vanity of his wife, he was approaching to a fiate of bankruptcy, called together his creditors, and addreffed them fub"Genftantially in these words: rlemen, many of you are holders of bills that fhortly you will call upon me to difcharge. They amount to The creditors were fo ftruck and charmed with this frank and uncom mon mark of integrity, that they not only chearfully acceded to his propofal, but defired that he would ANECDOTE. HE attendant black-boy in Plate If. of the Harlot's Progrefs, gave the foundation of an ill-natured remark by Quin, when Garrick once atempted the part of Othello. "He pretend to play Othello!" faid the forly fatyrill, "He pretend to play Othello he wants nothing but the tea kettle and the lamp to quality him for Ho. garth's Pompey." |