compofitions after they were written, are frequently full of wildnefs and nonfenfe, how evident is it that a young romantic girl of that country, violently in love for the first time, fhould utter almost the language of frenzy! And how faithful to Nature, and to Truth is the painter who has given us her portrait ! How Shakspeare came to be well ac quainted with the Italian women, whether by knowing fome of them in Londen, or by feizing their characters in the Italian Novels, with the fame pene-tration with which he feized those of Brutus and Coriolanus from reading Plutarch, I cannot tell. But no man shall perfuade me that Juliet and Rofalind, under the influence of the fame paffion, fhall fhall utter fuch different fentiments in fuch different language, and that all that difference is purely accidental. It is fome meteor which the fun exhales may be defended on this ground. I have not dared to praife either of these paffages, I have only faid I think they may be defended.. LETTER VI, UBENS ought to have been born in Italy; and Galileo in a country of freedom. But if Nature miftook in giving one to Antwerp, and the other to Florence, fhe did not mistake in giving Shakspeare to England, and Voltaire to France. The graceful elegance, the fprightly brilliancy of the one were happily fuited to the taste of a lively and polished people, as the nervous fense and fublime fentiments of the other feem peculiarly calculated to please a nation, which has ever been distinguished for folid thinking and elevated feelings. The The great fecret in the commerce of life is to ferve to every man the dish. that pleases his palate. These two authors poffeffed this fecret. They both, wrote for the theatre, where the fuccefs, or fall of a compofition is moft rapid; where the dangers run are greateft; and where the laurels won are moft glorious, A dramatic writer is obliged to face a whole nation collected together. He must please the great, the middling, and the low. To please a palate, one muft ftudy that palate; and Voltaire and Shakspeare ftudied moft minutely the tastes of their refpective countrymen ; which is one principal caufe of their having fucceeded fo eminently with them. Lord Lord Shaftesbury fays pleafantly e-nough, that authors are profeffed masters of understanding to their age. I, however, do not prefume to think myself capable of teaching my reader any thing. I do not even aim at giving him thoughts. I aim only to make him think. I throw out an idea: if the game started be worth following, he will have more pleasure and profit in running it down himself, than if I did it for him. If it is not worthy his attention, I'do him a favour in not preff. ing him into the purfuit. I fhall therefore bring those two poets together for an inftant. This poffibly may not be thought uninterefting as a literary fubject, and as it throws fome lights upon certain |