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CRITICAL
STRICTURES, &c.

In our Strictures on the Tragedy of Elvira, we shall not hasten all at once into the midst of Things, according to the Rules of Epic Poetry; Heroic Poems and Remarks on New Plays, are things so essentially different, that they ought not to be written by the same Rules.  Had Mr. Malloch been aware of these Distinctions in writing, which surely are not very nice, he probably would have discovered that Scenes admirably adapted for forming a Burlesque Tragedy, would never succeed in forming a serious Drama.  In the Prologue the Author informs us, that the Preliminaries of Peace are signed, and the War now over and he humbly hopes, as we have spared the French, we will spare his Tragedy.  But as the Principles of Restitution seem at present strong in this Nation, before we extend our Mercy to him, we insist that in imitation of his Superiors, he shall restore every thing valuable he has plunder’d from the French during the Course of his sad and tedious Composition.

In the first Scene of this Tragedy a Gentleman who has been abroad, during the Wars, requests his Friend to acquaint him with what has past at Court in the time of his Absence.  We were equally surprized and delighted with this new Method of informing the Spectators of the Transactions prior to the Commencement of the Play; nothing can be more natural, for we imagine the Art of conveying Letters by Post was at that time undiscovered.  We must indeed acknowledge, that during the time of the Roman Empire Letters were transmitted with the utmost Celerity from one Part to another of those immense Dominions; but we also know, that after the Subversion of that State by the Incursions of the Goths and Vandals, the first Act of Cruelty committed by these Barbarians was murdering all the Post-Boys in cold Blood:  In like manner as our inhuman Edward upon his compleating the Conquest of Wales ordered all the Bards to be put to Death, amongst the Number of which had Mr. Malloch been included we had not now been tortured with his execrable Tragedy.  Novelty of the same kind with this we have mentioned runs thro’ the whole Play, almost every Scene being an Interview and a tete a tete.  The King wants to see his Son, the Queen wants to see Elvira, Elvira wants to see the King, and so on thro’ the Five Acts.

No new Thoughts or Sentiments are to be found in this Performance, we meet only with old ones absurdly expressed. Dryden said that Ben Johnson was every where to be traced in the Snow of the Ancients.  We may say that Malloch is every where to be traced in the Puddle of the Moderns.  Instead of selecting the Beauties, he has pick’d out whatever is despicable in Shakespeare, Otway, Dryden, and Rowe, like a Pick-Pocket who dives for Handkerchiefs, not for Gold; and contents