MANA

BI

For 1778.

By SHAKESPEA

-To hold as 'twere the Mirror up to

Nature; to fhew Virtue, her own Feature.. Scorn, her
own Image; and the very Age, and Body of the Time, his
Form, and Preffure..

HAMLET.

LONDON:

Printed, and fold by D. BROWN, No. 6, Catherine-freet,
Strand; and all the Bookfellers in Town and Country,

M,DCC, LXXVIII,

HE following CHARACTERS are faid to owe

THE

their modern arrangement, to the New Year's Whim that precedes them: but whether they found their way to that universal, and fashionable Register the MORNING POST, by the channel of accident, or defign, the present Compiler will not venture to determine. He deems it fufficient for him to have collected them carefully; to have corre&ed their typographical errors, and present them to the world i with additions from the other Prints who imitated the defign;-thus forming a general Collection of thefe Modern Likenees for the amusement of the Beau Monde, and proving to the world, that the Characters drawn by the pencil of SHAKESPEAR, are ftriking copies from the univerfal School of Nature, and will therefore reprefent the features of every age, down to the lateft pofterity.

March 18, 1778..

THE COMPILER,

NEW YEAR'S FROLIC, for 1778.

Jan. 2, 1778.

A

Convivial circle of Perfons of Distinction affembled yesterday in Grofvenor-fquare, to ufher, in the New Year, where, after dinner, it was difputed for fome time," What Author had drawn "the most numerous and finished likeneffes of man"kind?"-An old fashioned Peer, the noble owner of the hotel, contended for Shakespear; but the whole groupe diffented, by obferving, that his portraits were obfolete, and more of caricatures than characters. Piqued at this extraordinary judgment, the venerable Nobleman went immediately to his library, and returning with a large folio edition of his favourite Poet, informed the company, that a whim had juft ftruck him, which would probably decide the difpute; defiring at the fame time, that each of the party would write the names of their most intimate friends, as well as their own, upon fmall flips of paper, which he further requested might be dropped promiscuously into the volume at the various places he should open; after which he would carefully fee whether the dead Painter of Nature would not be able to hit off a living likeness or two out of the number,-His request being com

plied