inghamshire (who was then Mrs. Hobart). These two ladies very often appeared, in the same play; and in no characters were they more justly applauded than in those which move the plot of "The Jealous Wife" Mrs. Damer in Lady Freelove, and Lady Buckinghamshire in Mrs. Oakley. Indeed the acting of the latter lady, in this part, was thought to have very much resembled in judgment and manner the famous Mrs. Pritchard. The lapse of time, and the eventful incidents which burthened every year, considerably changed the Duke of Richmond's plans: he therefore left amusement to those who cared less for the public weal, and closed the doors of his little theatre. Such selfdenial might very well become a man and a senator; but Mrs. Damer had so long been the intimate associate of the comic muse and her graver sister, that she did not attempt to follow the example of her illustrious friend when he shut the gates of his house upon their doves, and prepared to enter, "caparisoned for war," the unfolded porches of the doublefaced Janus. Horace Walpole (Lord Orford), the old friend of her father, participated in all her sentiments. He deemed her friendship one of the highest honours he possessed, and her occasional visits his sweetest gratification. As she was not only a perfect modern scholar, conversant with all the celebrated authors of her own tongue, and intimate with the languages of France and Italy, but also mistress of the poets of ancient Rome in their native strains, she used to to read classical writers with his lordship; and frequently finished the elegant pleasures of the evening with a fine Italian air, sung by her own exquisitelymodulated voice, accompanied with the harp or the piano-forte. Strawberry Hill, a villa built in the Gothic style, by Lord Orford, in the vicinity of Twickenham, was the scene of this charming "feast of reason and the flow of soul" and when his lordship died, he bequeathed the place (which had been rendered doubly delightful to him by her presence) to the amiable promoter of so much happiness. Every The lenient hand of time, which had dried the tears of the widow, also wiped away the drops that bedewed the grave of her venerable friend. Mrs. Damer took possession of her rural palace. chamber and vista in the woods, filled her with a pensive gratitude; a chastened thankfulness of heart, which seemed to hallow the spot to the most pleasing and tender remembrances. Here she drew around her a circle of the most select kind; and to amuse the persons who composed it, she fitted up an elegant little theatre, for the performance of private plays. It was on this miniature stage that the comedy (which has been attributed to the pen of Lord Orford) called "Fashionable Friends" was first represented. Mr. Kemble, who was present during the performance, obtained permission to transplant what he thought so promising a flower to the boards of Drury Lane; but alas! it was a hot-house plant, that that could not bear the rude blasts which it met in that quarter: it was too much of the modish mimosa class to suit the blunt taste of a public audience. After two representations, it shrunk back into the shade, and has been heard of no more. In fact, the author of the play, whoever he was, in his exhibition of fashionable manners, lifted the curtain too high.-All should not be shewn that exists. Mr. Sheridan describes with a delicate touch the gallantries of high life. The author of "Fashionable Friends" has imitated its amours; and if the gods in the gallery had not, by a lucky prescience, foreseen what was coming, and by a fortunate exertion of their prerogative, commanded the dis-appearance of the masquerade scene, it is difficult to guess what might not have appeared, to heighten the blushes of the ladies in the boxes. However, "Fashionable Friends" withdrew; and, as those of that rank generally deserve, let them be forgotten, while we once more turn our steps from the riotous verdict of a public theatre to the Arcadian groves of Strawberry Hill. The history of this place may not be uninteresting. It was formerly a very lowly habitation, being originally (in the year 1698) the dwelling-house of the Earl of Bradford's coachman. This man furnished it respectably, and let it into lodgings. Colley Cibber was the first that hired it: and there he wrote his comedy of "The Refusal." It was afterwards engaged by different people of fashion, as a summer residence. residence. Mr. Walpole purchased it in the year 1747, and metamorphosed it into what it now is. The approach to the house through a vista of pine trees; the grey walls overgrown with ivy; the Gothic spires, and antique form of the structure; give it the appearance of a monastery, and fill the beholder with a sensation of awe, which reminds him of the "white walls and silver springs" of Paraclete, "its deep solitude, and sacred cells !" The great parlour of the house is adorned with the portraits of Sir Edward Walpole and his daughters, one of which is the present Duchess of Gloucester. The windows are enriched with painted glass, and the furniture of the room is in conformity with the religious air of the building. In other apartments are exhibited the various works of Lady Diana Beauclerk, Miss Agnes Berry, and of Mrs. Damer herself. There are also curiosities highly gratifying to the taste of the antiquary; besides many excellent paintings by old and approved artists, there is a very interesting one of an ancient date, representing the marriage of Henry the Sixth. There is also a fine bust of Henry the Seventh, by Tomegiono; and a picture of the Duchess of Suffolk and her husband Adrian Stokes, by Lucas de Heere. The gallery contains portraits of many famous British characters; among the rest are Sir Francis Walsingham, George Villiers Duke of Buckingham, Anne Duchess of York, Lord Falkland, Charles Duke of Brandon, and a mighty host of foreign nobility; Margaret of Valois, Valois, Duchess of Savoy, Madame de Sevigné, Catharine de Medicis, the Countess de Grammont, Duchess de Mazarine, Duchess de Valiere, Madame de Maintenon, Ninon l'Enclos, and a hundred others. The library is magnificent, and the garden is scarcely excelled even by the boasted beauties of Stowe. It is perfumed with every sort of flower; and encircled by a wood which embosoms a small Gothic temple, adorned with every exertion of art. scene. It is in this delightful retreat, led by the spirit of meditation, and accompanied by the presiding genii of the adjacent fanes of Hampton, Twickenham, and Richmond, that the lovely Damer courts the united inspiration of the Muses. Sometimes a few mortal footsteps disturb the solemn repose of the The charming sisters, the Misses Berry, quit their rose-embowered cottage to seek the fair mistress of Strawberry Hill. Mrs. Siddons, the British Melpomene, loves to commune with the soul of Shakspeare in those shades; and Eve Maria Garrick, the interesting relict of departed greatness, delights to repeat the history of former years of triumph and felicity, when her renowned husband shewed to the world that HE and NATURE Were ONE It is then that the fair recluse looks round upon her illustrious friends; that she mingles the delicious tear of sentiment with theirs ;-it is then that she enjoys the full luxury of her situation: She seems through consecrated walks to rove; Led |