room, that they may hear my declaration to you. With great earnestness you invited me to this task; you took ample time to deliberate on the merits of what I produced you; and we had settled a convention that I am convinced would have been a mutual convenience to us. It was the duty of your people, according to my conception, to receive their instructions, and implicitly to observe them. For my part; had any person represented to me, in reasonable language, that any particular alteration was necessary either for his or her convenience, or the advantage of the piece, I should with willing pleasure have paid such observations every attention they could possibly merit; but, sir, evidently by your connivance, I have sustained affronts from many of your people, who, poor wretches, mean me no ill-will, by doing that which your frequent permission has stampt into a duty. Your drift then appears to lower me to the abject, contemptible humiliation of those authors and musicians, who depend on you, and who administering to your ignorance and caprice, insult the public with nonsense and barbarism, to the disgrace of letters, and the total perversion of science. Keep these at your beck and call and welcome, but let me warn you not to expect again that you can with impunity make a tool of any man who has ground to think

worthily of himfelf, and virtue enough to be independant, lest an exposition of your arcana rouse the offended public to support the cause of injured merit, and oblige you to restore those men of talents, for whose encouragement your theatre was given you in trust. Others may be roused; for my part, I shall content myself with smiling on you with contempt.'

So saying, he walked out of the house, no one attempting to interfere; for the performers looked on one another in astonishment, to see an author who refused to be a foot ball, and the manager, who saw it would be to no purpose to detain our hero at present, was meditating how he might keep both the piece and the author at his own disposal.


As soon as our hero got home, he sent for his piece. Instead of it, however, he received the following letter.

Your warmth this morning prevented you from seeing how much I wish to do you every justice. I think some of the performers were right in their objections. The piece wants cutting, and really I think it would be of use to you to admit a few Italian songs. You know those capital women will give themselves airs. Upon the whole