very coolly to the ball, fhe told the story to Monfieur, who obtained her pardon. After other adventures, she went to Bruffels, and there became the mistrefs of the elector of Bavaria. This prince quitting her for the countess of Arcos, fent her by the count, husband of that lady, a purfe of 40,000 livres, with an order to quit Bruffels. This extraordinary heroine threw the purfe at

the count's head, telling him, it was a recompence worthy of fuch a fcoundrel and as himself. After this, the returned to the opera ftage, which the quitted in 1705. Being at length feized with a fit of devotion, fhe recalled her husband, who had remained in Provence, and paffed with him the last years of her life in a very pious manner, dying in 1707, at the age of thirty-four."

TH

HOMAS Auguftine Arne was the fon of Arne the celebrated upholdfterer, of Kingftreet, Covent-garden, at whofe houfe the Indian Kings lodged in the reign of Queen Anne, as mentioned in the Spectator, No. 50. Arne had a good school education, having been fent to Eton by his father, who intended him for the law. But I have been affured by feveral of his fchool-fellows, that his love for mufic operated upon him too powerfully, even while he was Eton, for his own peace or that of his companions; for with a miferable cracked common-flute, he used to torment them night and day, when not obliged to attend the school. And he told me himself, that when he left Eton, fuch was his paffion for mufic, that he ufed to avail himself of the privilege of a fervant, by borrowing a livery and going into the upper gallery of the opera, which was then appropriated to domeftics. At home he had contrived to fecrete a fpinet in his room, upon which, after muffling the ftrings with a handkerchief, he uíed to practife in the night while the reft of the family were afleep; for had his father difcovered how he spent his time, he would, probably, have

thrown the inftrument out of the window, if not the player. This young votary of Apo lo was at length obliged to ferve a three years clerkfhip to the law, without ever intending to make it his profeffion; but even during this fervitude, he dedicated every moment he could obtain fairly, or otherwife, to the ftudy of mufic. Befides practifing on the fpinet and studying compofition, by himself, he contrived, during his clerkship, to acquire fome inftructions on the violin, of Fefting, upon which inftrument he had made fo confiderable a progrefs, that foon after he had quitted his legal mafter, his father accidentally calling at a gentleman's houfe in the neighbour hood, upon business, found him engaged with company; but fending in his name, he was invited up ftairs, where there was a large company and a concert, in which, to his great aftonishment, he caught his fon in the very act of playing the first fiddle! Finding him more admired for his musical talents than his know. ledge in the law, he was foon prevailed upon to forgive his unruly paffion, and to let him try to turni it to fome account. No fooner was the young musician able to practice

aloud

aloud in his father's houfe, than he bewitched the whole family. In difcovering that his fifter was not only fone of mufic, but had a very fweettoned and touching voice, he gave her fuch inftructions as foon enabled her to fing for Lampe, in his opera of Amelia. And finding her fo well received in that performance, he foon prepared a new character for her, by fetting Addifon's opera of Rofamond, in which he employed his younger brother likewife in he character of the Page. This mufical drama was first performed March 7th, 173, at Lincoln's-Inn Fields, where Mis. Barbier performed the part of the King; Leveridge, Sir Trufty; Page, Mafter Arne, who had never appeared in public; Meffenger, Mr. Corfe; Queen, Mrs. Jones; Grideline, Mifs Chambers, and the part of Rofamond by Mifs Arne. The opera was performed ten nights fucceffively, and with great applaufe; the last time, for the benefit of Mr. Arne, jun. the compofer. Having fucceeded fo well in a ferious opera, our young musician fried his powers at a burletta, and fixed upon Fielding's Tom Thumb for that purpofe, which, under the title of the Tragedy of Tragedies having met with great fuccefs in 1731, he now got it transferred into the Opera of Operas, and fetting it to mufic" after the Italian manner,' had it performed, May gift, at the New Theatre in the Hay-market; the part of Tom Thumb by M.after Arne, his brother. Friacefs Amelia and the Duke of Cumberland hooured the fecond reprefentation with their prefence; the prince of Wales, the fixth; the youngest princeffes, the eighth; and after

wards it had a confiderable run.

"

"In 1738, Arne established his reputation asa lyric compofer, by the admirable manner in which he fet

Milton's Comus. In this mafque he introduced a light, airy, original, and pleafing melody, wholly different from that of Purcell or Handel, whom all English compofers had hitherto either pillaged or imitated. Indeed, the melody of Arne at this time, and of his Vauxhall fongs afterwards, forms an ara in English mufic; it was fo eafy, natural, and agreeable, to the whole kingdom, that it had an effect upon our national tafte; and till a more modern Italian style was introduced in the pafticcio Englifh operas of Meffis. Bickerstaff and Cumberland, it was the standard of all perfection at our theatres and public gardens.'

"In 1762, Arne quitted the former ftyle of melody, in which he had fo well fet Comus, and furnished Vauxhall and the whole kingdom with fuch fongs as had improved and polifhed our national tafte; and when he fet the bold tranilation of Metaftafio's opera of Altaferfe, he crouded the airs, particularly in the part of Mandane for Mifs Brent, with all the Italian divifions and difficulties which had ever been heard at the opera. This drama, by the novelty of the music to Englith ears, with the talents of Tenducci, Peretti, and the doctor's fcholar Mifs Brent, had very great fuccefs; and fill continues to be reprefented whenever fingers can be found who are poffeffed of futficient abilities for its performance. But in fetting Artaxerxes, though the melody is lets original than that of Comus, Arne had the merit of fift adapting any of the beft paffages of Italy, which all Europe adhed, to our own language, and of incorpotating them with his own property, and with what was fill in favour of former English compofers.

"The general melody of our countryman,

Countryman, if analized, would perhaps appear to be neither Italian nor English, but an agreeable mixture of Italian, English, and Scots. Many of his ballads, indeed, were profeffed imitations of the Scots ftyle, but in his other fongs he frequently, dropped into it, perhaps, without defign. Arne was never a clofe imitator of Handel, nor thought, by the votaries of that great mufician, to be a found contrapuntift. However, he had an inward and fecret reverence for his abilities, and for thofe of Geminiani, as well as for the science of Pepufch; but, except when he attempted oratorios, theirs was not the merit requifite for him, a popular con pofer who had different performers and different hearers to write for. In the fcience of harmony, though he was chiefly felf-taught, yet being a man of nius, quick parts, and great penetration in his art, he betrayed no ignorance or want of ftudy in his fcores.

ge

"The oratorios he produced were fo unfortunate, that he was always a lofer whenever they were perform ed. And yet it would be unjuft to fay that they did not merit a better fate; for though the chorufes were much inferior in force to thofe of Handel, yet the airs were frequently admirable. But befides the great reputation of Handel with whom he had to contend, Arne never was able to have his music fo well performed; as his competitor had always a more numerous and felect band, a better organ, which he played himfelf, and better fingers.

"None of this ingenious and pleafing compofer's capital productions had full and unequivocal fuc

cefs but Comus and Artaxerxes, at the diftance of 24 years from each other, Rofamond, his first musical drama, had a few fongs in it that were long in favour, and the Judgment of Paris many; but except when his fifter, Mifs Arne, afterwards Mrs. Cibber, fung in them, he never gained any thing by either. Thomas and Sally, indeed, as a farce, with very little mufical merit, was often acted; and previous to that, Eliza was a little while in favour; but the number of his unfortunate pieces for the ftage was prodigious; yet none of them were condemrel or neglected for want of merit in the mufic, but words, of which the the doctor was too frequently guilty of being the author. Upon the whole, though this compofer, who died March 5th, 1778, had formed a new ftyle of his own, there did not appear that fertility of ideas, original grandeur of thought, or those refources upon all occafions which are difcoveral in the works of his predeceffor, Purcell, both for the church and stage; yet, in fecular mufi, he must be allowed to have furpaffed him in ease, grace, and variety; which is no icconfiderable praife, when it is remembered, that from the death of Purcell to that of Arne, a period of more than fourfcore years, no candidate for mufical fame among our countrymen had appeared, who was equally admired by the nation at large.

"Of near a hundred and fifty mu. fical pieces that have been brought on the ftare at our two national theatres within thefe forty years, thirty of them, at leaft, were fet by Arne."

"Notwithstanding the fimplicity of all their temples, they do not fail, particularly the imperial mofques, by their immenfe extent and high. vaulted roofs, to excite admiration. The generality of them are adorned with fplendid columns of porphyry, of green antique, or of marble. The decorations confift only of fmall filver lamps, and of fmall luftres elegantly worked, furrounded by ftill fmaller lamps, and oftriches' eggs, on which paffages from the Cour ann are infcribed in letters of gold. Some of thefe mofques, particularly that of Sultan Ahmed, have alfo golden lames en riched with jewels. The walls are in general ornamented only with incriptions in large golden letters; fuch as the name of God, Allah, thofe of the Prophet, of the four first Khaliphs, and of the Imams

Haffan and Huffeïn, fons of Aly. They exhibit no image, figure, or reprefentation whatever, neither in painting or fculpture; the law is in. this refpect extremely rigorous.

"Three principal objects, if we may use the expreflion, may be faid to characterize all the Mahometan temples; 1. the altar, Mihhrab, which is a concavity or niche of fix or eight feet high, cut out of the wall, at the extremity of the edifice, and which ferves no other purpofse than to fhew the geographical fituation of Mecca; 2. the gallery of the Muezzinns, Mahhfil-Muezzina, al ways on the left of the altar; 3. the pulpit, Kurfy, of the Scheykhs who preach; it is elevated by two or three fteps on the right of the altar. In the principal mofques, where preaching, Khouthbé is allowed at the folemn fervice on Fridays, and on the two feafts of Beyram, there is a fecond pulpit, called Minnber, entirely confecrated to the minifter Khatib, who difcharges that im portant function. portant function. This pulpit, of fifteen, twenty, or twenty-three fteps, in proportion to the height of each mofque, is placed at a certain diftance from the altar, always on the left hand. The imperial mofques, and thofe which the fultan fome