The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-01 00:00:00

FRASER'S MAGAZINE.

The "Great .Reformation of the Sixteenth Cen-
tury" is by no means an ill-written paper, but the
field of discussion revecting this , great religious
movement Irs4 been so 'carefully reaped, that there is
scarcely an idea. left for even the most diligent gleaner:
to pick up.' . Lives of Luther, and 'essays on Luther ;
histories, some. in abuse, and the, majority in praise of
h's reforms, have of late been singularly . prolific ;
and; as if this were not enough, a poem' has
appeared within the last feW months on the sub-
ject, which haS had the effect' of - quite weary-
ing the . public. Nevertheless,. there are some to
whom the grandeur of the theme will ever render it
attractive,' and these—the select 'few, by-the-bye—
will peruse the present essay with interest. • " De Re
'Vehiculari" is the continuation of a paper, the - first
portion,of which appeared a month or two back in this
periodical. It abounds in quaint scraps of learning,
ingenious hypotheses, and agreeable translations from
certain old-and obscure Latin writers in prose as well as
verse; and isj ust the sort ofdes ultory, ranibl ing,omn um-
gatherum affair to please Magazine readers. ‘,` Some
.Notices-of the Shakspearian Drama, and its Commen-
tators" takes Pope severely to task- for his occasional,
ill-concealed, - contemptuous references to the great
dramatist. The author of the '`` Rape of the Lock"
—the unrivalled master of the conventional and artifi-
cial 'in literature—should certainly never .have at-
tempted to edit the works of one who was in every
respect his antipodes ; and late in life he felt
this, and was exceedingly annoyed if any one
ever made mention of his still-born edition of, Shak-
speare: . We are pleased with. these . passing remarks
on 'comedy :—" There is very little natural comedy
among the dignified of the earth. It requires an ad-
mixture of the...acid of r=igorous plebeianism with the
soda.of aristocracy, to render forth the 'effervescence ,
of comedy." Afoliere would have made but dull
work of it, if he had confined his wit and humour
solely to aristocratic subjects. " Fitz-Boodle's
Professions " is - lively' and ingenious article,
wherein the author propoes_that unoccupied noblemen
should take up the trade of auctioneer, as being a
vocation every way suited to their capacity. Possibly
they. might make something of it, but they could never
hope to rival the: illustrious George' Robins.--the very
IT?elliosthenes of auction orators, Who 'can 'be " as fine
on a riband as on a Raphael," and, nobly disdainful
Idat' the ignoble trammel's' :of -syntax, can pour forth a
flood -of unmanacled elOquence,• such as—to quote his,
own refreshing phraseologp----it is "easier to- imagine
than describe.''' " Hoirterid Ballads" are cleverly ren-
dered, as usual, by'Dr. Maginn. "Precious Minute!,
or Past Half-H-Ours,'.! is an amusing paper,.and gives
a tolerably graphic sketch of the state of Charles the
Tenth'S Court, at the break'ng out of the Revolution in
1830. The writer, however, is wrong in saying that this
royal bloCkhead and bigot was never "intimidated." His ,
dastardly conduct :in 1790, when he headed the flight
of the Ii rench-Noblesse to Coblentz, and left his So-
vereign and hrother to shift for him Self, clearly proves
that fear was .no. stranger to his breast. " Damned.
Tragedies" explains the causes of the fitilures on the
stage' 'of " Alartinuzzi" and " Plighted Troth."
The writer hunts about him for their :causes,
when he might find them without the slightest
troub'e, for they lie under hi, .pose. The, truth is,
the plays in question failed, because ..they were essen-
tially- undramatic. ' They .wanted . action, and, what
was still more against them, ..they wanted probability.
From' a Memoir of " Richard Brinsley Sheridan," we
quote the following extract :
There..is a public-house in Tavistock-row, Covent.gar-
: den, called the -Queen's. Head,' which at that time was
kept by. a widow lady familiarly called." Mother But-
ler," from the kindness of her manner and attention to
her guests. The title of hostess in England sug
vests the idea of good cheer, and good cheer is natur-
- ally, favourable to the growth of flesh. In the person
of 'the hostess of. Tavistock-row,' a stranger might
therefore expect to rind a stout, jolly woman,
with red gills, and a loud, shrill, cracked voice.
Oa the-sight of " Mother Butler," he 'would be disap-
pointed. She was a little, thin, quiet-locking, old
woman. A fallen leaf, whirled about by the wind
during a fortnight, or a strip of brown paper that had
tie. the • same space of time opposed its entrance
through a broken pane otklass in a window, may afford
an idea of the .coiour of her complexion. In the long
course of Sheridan's connection with Drury-lane theatre,
commencing from. the death of Garrick, his business
there tus a manager and a proprietor often detained him-
until a late lionr, and it was not necessary that he should
be a:very thirsty soul to require some refreshment on
such occasions. Chance brought him to " Mother But-
ler's,".and he'iiked the accommodation so well that he
became a visitor. In process of time the house became,
under the auspices. of Sheridan, a revival of the Boar's
head in 'Easteheap, in the youthful and frolic-
some days'. of Henry V., when Prince 'of Wales. Its
fame 'acitiA tie ttri?Aity off-tlfe- Idsc pon6sor -of that
loyal 'rafili'Mnd title, after Wards George IV., whom
Sheridan,-then a ColiStaht and' favourite companion in
his revels, introduced to " Mother Butler's." The visit
of his-Royal Highness could not fail to induce several
others of the same coterie to fellow the example. Here
were to be seen the Earl of Barrymore, a big, burly,
good-humoured-looking man; Major .George Hanger,
looking quite the reverse, with his dark visage
in perfect sympathy with the article in which he sub-
sequently became a dealer.: There was also Sir John
Ladd, " the observed of, all observers," the Jehu of his
day. unrivalled in handling the ribands with four-in-hand
, in Hyde-park,_ and there cutting a. figure of eight with
all the precision with which his visitor surprised Archi
merles in- the cypher-cut• with piece'of chalk on a slate,
in the absence of that celebrated mathematician and ma-
chinist.. Colonel M‘Mahon, too, the Secretary of the
Prince, could 'not' refrain from following the example;
but his visits were few and far between, and he seemeu to
'cautiously avoid ObservatiOn. Other " Corinthians and
lads of metal" now flocked to " Mother Butler's." In-
crease of custom brought with it increase of profit, and
for this the hostess felt indebted to Sheridan. The latter
was no braggart,'but he had the rich, racy humour of
FuLtulf ; all his love and talent for his joke and jest, and
the same. devotion to A glass of good wine which the fat
'knight paid to his "cup of sack." He had also his Nytn,
his Bardolph, and other 'followers In his train; to whom
might-be added, during_ his contest for Westminster, his
Mouldy, his Bullca(f, his Feeble, and. his Shadow. These
latter, not indeed as recruits on their march into York-
shire to meet the rebels, but dry and hungry electors on
their way to tho• hustings to vote for Mr. Sheridan,