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Forrest add to the obscurity of the following intractable passage of Macbeth by following John Kemble's unintelligible reading.

If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly; if the assassination, &c.

Mr. Forrest reads as follows

If it were done! When 'tis done then 'twere well. It were done quickly if the assassination, &c. This reading cannot be understood, and the actor consequently places himself in the awkward predicament of talking nonsense, which Shakspeare certainly was not in the habit of doing.

It is impossible to read the plays of him who may be justly called the father of the British stage, without lamenting that such a man, the poet of all time, should have been so utterly unmindful of his own future reputation, as to have permitted those scandalous mutilations of his writings, by which they have unquestionably come down to posterity so different from what they were originally produced. These mutilations, it is true, are found for the most part in the subordinate portions of the plays; they, nevertheless, to a certain degree, pervade every portion; and some of the dramas are so defaced by barbarous interpolations, as to render it still a question whether they are really the productions of Shakspeare; though, as Dr. Johnson has justly asked, if they are not Shakspeare's, to whom can we attribute them? for they bear the stamp of his hand, however the impression may have been partially effaced by the presumptuous application of a ruder touch.

The low estimation in which the drama was held in the sixteenth century may be presumed from the price given for a play,

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thirteen shillings and four pence sterling. The drama, when printed, was sold for sixpence a copy, and the usual present obtained for the dedication was forty shillings. The plays of Shakspeare were represented under all the disadvantages of inadequate scenery; two or three menials armed with swords and bucklers forming an army, and the scenic changes being almost entirely left to the imagination of the audience. "Thus scanty and meagre," says Mr. Malone, were the apparatus and accommodations of our ancient theatres, on which those dramas were first exhibited, which have engaged the attention of so many men and delighted so many thousand spectators. Yet even then, we are told by a writer of that age *, poesy was so lively expressed and represented on the public stages and theatres of this city, as Rome in the auge of her pomp and glory never saw it better performed, in respect of the action and art, not of the cost and sumptuousness."

'dramatic

With all the want of "appliances and means to boot," could any thing but the wonderful inherent merit of those immortal dramas have secured for them the first place, not only upon the stage, but in the closet? It is not too much to say of them that they are still read with delight by millions, and are the subjects of national veneration. Every Englishman is proud to be able to say that Shakspeare was of the same country with himself, and of all the great men which this island has produced, the bard of Avon is the most universally venerated. To withhold our admiration from his works would be deemed nothing short of literary heresy.

*Sir George Buc, who wrote a treatise on the

which was thirty nobles, or six pounds English stage.

LINES WRITTEN BY SIR KENELM DIGBY IN THE TOWER.

When on my little babes I think, as I do oft,

I cannot choose, but then let fall some tears.

Methinks I hear the little prattlers, with words soft,
Ask where is father that did promise pears,

And other knacks, which I did never see

Nor father neither when he promised me.

GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR OF LADY AUGUSTA WENTWORTH.

LADY AUGUSTA WENTWORTH is the second daughter of the present Marquis of Aylesbury, and the wife of Thomas Vernon Wentworth, Esq., of Wentworth Castle, in the county of York.

The house of BRUCE, that of her ladyship, is of royal descent; it springs paternally from the ducal house of Montagu, and by the mother's side from Robert Bruce, king of Scotland.

Thomas Bruce, first Earl of Elgin, in the peerage of Scotland, was created a peer of England, by Charles I., on 1st of August, 1641, as Baron Bruce of Whorlton, in the county of York. His Lordship married, first, Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Chicester, of Raleigh, in the county of Devon, Knight, by whom he had an only son, Robert, his successor. He espoused, secondly, Anne, daughter and co-heir of William Lord Burghley, and widow of Henry de Vere, Earl of Oxford, but had no other issue: he died in 1663, and was succeeded by his son,

ROBERT, Second Earl of Elgin, Baron Bruce, of Kinloss, and Baron Bruce, of Whorlton. This loyal nobleman did good service to the cause of monarchy, in the civil war. He was a stanch adherent

of Charles I., and an active promoter of the Restoration. On the 18th March, 1663-4, he was created Baron Bruce, of Skelton, in the county of York, Viscount Bruce, of Ampthill, in the county of Bedford, and Earl of Aylesbury, in the county of Bucks. At the coronation of James II., 23d April, 1685, the Earl of Aylesbury was one of the Lords who bore St. Edward's staff, and the July ensuing he was appointed Lord Chamberlain of the house

hold. His Lordship married Diana, daughter of Henry Grey, first Earl of Stamford, and dying 20th October, 1685, was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS, Second Earl of Aylesbury. This nobleman was among the first to invite the Prince of Orange into England, as a mediator between the Crown and the people, but peremptorily refused to sanction his advancement to the throne, or to swear allegiance to the government of the Revolution. His Lordship married, first, 13th August, 1676, Elizabeth, only surviving daughter of Henry, Lord Beauchamp, son of William, second Duke of Somerset, who at the death of her brother, William, third Duke of Somerset, became sole heiress of Tottenham Park, and divers other estates in the county of Wilts. By her his Lordship had issue,

CHARLES, his successor.

Elizabeth, married to George, third Earl of Cardigan, by whom she had, with other issue, THOMAS BRUDENELL, who succeeded his uncle, the Earl of Aylesbury, in the Barony of Tottenham. In 1691, during the absence of King William in Ireland, Queen Mary issued a proclamation for the apprehension of the Earl of Aylesbury, with other suspected persons, but he was not then imprisoned; in a few years afterwards, however, being accused of attending meetings, at the old King's Head Tavern, in Leadenhall-street, for the restoration of King James, he was committed to the Tower, which so affected his Countess, that she died in childbed, 12th Jan., 1697. The Earl was admitted to bail on the 12th of February

following. His Lordship subsequently obtained leave, from King William, to reside at Brussels, where he married Charlotte, Countess of Sannu, of the ancient and noble house of Argentau, in the duchy of Brabant, and by her, who died 23d July, 1710, he had an only daughter, Charlotte Maria, married to the Prince of Horne. His Lordship died in Nov. 1741, and was succeeded by his only surviving son,

CHARLES, third Earl of Aylesbury, who married, first, Anne, eldest daughter and co-heir of William, Marquess of Halifax; and secondly, Juliana, second daughter of Charles, Earl of Burlington; and thirdly, Caroline, only daughter of John, Duke of Argyll. In consequence of the failure of male issue, his Lordship obtained, 17th April, 1746, by patent, the Barony of Bruce, of Tottenham, in the county of Wilts, with remainder to his nephew, the Hon. Thomas Brudenell, and dying the 10th Feb., 1747, the earldom of Aylesbury, &c., became extinct. The Scottish titles devolved upon Charles, ninth Earl of Kincardine, and the Barony of Bruce, created as above, descended to his nephew,

The HON. THOMAS BRUDENELL, second Baron, who thereupon assumed the name and arms of Bruce, in addition to those of his own family. On the 8th June, 1776, his Lordship was created Earl of Aylesbury. He married, first, 17th Feb., 1761, Susanna, daughter of Henry Hoare, Esq., of Stourhead, in the county of Wilts, and relict of Viscount Dungarvon, by whom he had, with two daughters, Charles, the present Marquis. His Lordship married, secondly, Anne, eldest daughter of John, first Earl of Moira. He died 19th April, 1814, and was succeeded by his only son,

Count de Montreville, Colonel of the late Royal Garde-du-Corps, and a Knight of St. Louis. AUGUSTA FREDERICA LOUISA. Mary Anne Jemima.

Elizabeth, married to Count Christian Danneskiold Samsoe.

His Lordship married, secondly, in 1833, Maria, youngest daughter of the Hon. Charles Tollemache, and has a son.

His Lordship's second daughter, the LADY AUGUSTA BRUDENELL BRUCE, the lady whose portrait forms this month's illustration, was married, the 23d May 1826, to Frederick William Thomas Vernon Wentworth, Esq., of Wentworth Castle, in the county of York, and has issue,

Thomas Frederick Charles, born 20th
October, 1831.

Louisa Mary Hamilton.

The family of Wentworth, originally Winterwade, is one of the oldest in the kingdom; it is said to have derived its designation, in Saxon times, from the Lordship of Winterwade, in the Wapentake of Strafford, and the county of York. In the reign of Henry III., William de Wyntword, of Wyntword, married Emma, daughter and heir of William Wodehous, of Wodehous, by whom he acquired that estate; and taking up his abode there, the family have ever since been denominated the Wentworths, of Wentworth Woodhouse. Of this family, was the great but unfortunate Sir Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who suffered decapitation on the 12th of May, 1641. Thomas Wentworth, a subsequent scion of the same house, and also Earl of Strafford, was an eminent military commander in the time of William III. and Queen Anne, and in the latter reign participated in the victories of Marlborough. Henrietta, youngest daughter of this Earl of Strafford, was married, in 1743. to Henry Vernon, Esq., of Hilton, in, the county of Strafford, whose grandson, the present Mr Vernon, assumed the additional surname and arms of Wentworth, in compliance

CHARLES, who was created, 17th July 1821, Viscount Savernake, Earl of Bruce, and Marquis of Aylesbury. His Lordship married, first, 10th April 1793, Henrietta Maria, daughter of Noel, first Lord Berwick, by whom, who died 2d Jan. 1831, he had issue, George William Frederick, Earl with the testamentary injunction of his Bruce.

Ernest Augustus Charles, M.P., married Louisa, second daughter of Lord Decies.

kinswoman, Augusta Hatfield Kaye, wife of John Hatfield Kaye, Esq., of Hatfield Hall, and sister and heiress of Frederick Thomas Wentworth, third Earl of Straf

Maria Caroline Anne, married to the ford.

WHAT HAPPENED AT NICE.

"THE eagle's nest is far below us now, Charles," said William Moreton to his friend Charles Harland, after a long and difficult ascent to gain the summit of a mountain, the view from which, he affirmed, would amply repay them for their pedestrian exertions.

"Hills rise o'er hills!" replied his wearied companion, "it is five hours since we started from Nice, and three since we left the horses below. We must have climbed in a wrong direction.”

"No," said William, confidently, "I have notes of my last solitary excursion, but they are needless; for memoryBut, hold, stop! There! Look down to the left, through that dark narrow gorge, under yon beetling rock. What see you in the distance?"

"The sea?" replied his friend, hesitating. "Yes. It must be the sea-shore, with a piece of rock disjointed from the land."

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And, on the top of that piece of rock stands the town of Eza!" said William Moreton, in a tone of exultation, almost as though the said town and rock were things of his own creation.

"Beautiful, beautiful!" exclaimed his friend, and fain would he have thrown himself upon the ground to gaze listlessly downward for a while; but William Moreton was an enthusiast, and urged him forward with the promise that another quarter of an hour would bring them to the summit.

So, for that space of time, and mayhap somewhat longer, they continued to ascend; and then, being in advance of his companion, William Moreton suddenly halted and exclaimed, "Now, if you will! Stop to take breath. No; rather to be breathless!" And presently the friends stood, side by side, gazing upon the magnificent scenes around.

Behind them, and far, far away to the northward, rose alps beyond alps, in triple and quadruple range, bounding the horizon with their hoary and irregular summits, below which appeared lesser but yet high and mighty hills, multitudinous and fantastic in form, but unbroken in their con

tinuity, till, sweeping round to the southward and lessening gradually toward the sea, they, as it were, embrace and shield the favoured coast where winter is scarcely known but by its name. Before them lay, or rather seemed to rise, the blue and tideless sea, bounded somewhat on the right by the outstretched coast of France towards Antibes, and beneath them on either side were scattered towns and villages, castles, churches, and monasteries, with their fields, and gardens, and vineyards dwindled into insignificant specks, scarcely breaking the long sweeping lines of verdure formed by the ancient plantations or forests of the evergreen olive. Poor and paltry indeed are the mightiest works of man when brought into comparison with the majesty of nature!

Brief and scarcely audible exclamations were all that passed between the admiring pedestrians, till silent contemplation had wrought its full work, and imprinted on the tablets of memory the glorious and never-to-be-forgotten scene.

"We will talk of our feelings hereafter," said William Moreton, at length. "To ask what you think of this were absurd. But, as our time is limited, and we are now in a position to command far distant objects, observe that little island, beyond the point stretching out to the right. It is called St. Marguerite. Can you discern the horizon beyond? You can. Well, then, over that space on which your eye is now fixed, came Napoleon Bonaparte from Elba. The result is of too recent date to need repetition. Now, follow the line of coast towards us. Along that came the French revolutionary army to take possession of this country, by fire, and sword, and pillage, in the name of liberty. Nearer you see the outskirts of Nice, then the castle of Monalbano, below which, but hidden from us by the hill above them, are the town and port of Villa Franca, before which, while cruising, in the year 1794, an English sixty-four gun ship* took fire and blew up, and the captain with his whole crew perished. These are melan

*The Ardent, Captain Manners Sutton.

like veteran Pellew, the playful, humane unbending, dauntless Exmouth. But for him was reserved a nobler triumph than might have been derived even from conquest over the enemies of his country; to him it was given to beat down in their strong hold and bend the stubborn necks of the foes of the human race, to liberate the captives and break the chains of slavery."

"Yet," observed Charles, with a sigh, "poor Collingwood, worn out and homesick, if not heart-broken, lived not to bear his honours home to his native land. The lamp of his glory flickered and expired upon the face of the deep!"

choly recollections, but nothing when compared with the loss of life in former times inflicted by man upon man, striving for the possession of the fertile hills and vales below us. Of that, however, hereafter. Now, run your eye to the westward; the next object is the small promontory of Fraxinet, the form of which we can here clearly discern, running, like a huge pier, into the sea, protecting the port of Villa Franca by its eastern side, while from the west side you perceive a smaller headland jutting out at a right angle, or spurwise, thus forming a secure and hidden retreat for small vessels. Remark it well. It has a history which we will talk over in our "Not so!" exclaimed William. "His projected boat excursion. The next object glory, his name, his memory remain, 'and is Eza again, and from thence the bold will remain, though his spirit be fledeminences along the coast serve but to where? I know not. I cannot know. Look show where, behind or beneath them, lie not surprised, Charles, I am no unbeliever in Monaco, Mentona, Vintimiglia, Bordighera, a future state, nor will I attempt to account and St. Remo. But far away to the left, metaphysically for the influences which cerin the blue distance, between two sloping tain localities exercise over the mind; but hill tops, you see a hazy promontory. A often amid the sublimities of nature, and whole principality lies between that and particularly when inhaling the pure upper us. Well, it is our last point along shore. air on lofty eminences such as this on There is the town of Oneglia, and there, which we now stand, I feel that my mind, among his thousand daring, gallant deeds, as well as my visual organs, looks down came one day our immortal Nelson in the upon the things of the lower world. Yes; Agamemnon, and, even now the fit is upon me, and were I to abandon myself to its course, soon should I be lost in strange imaginings; and, as in a world of dreams, my spirit would fain expand its wings, hovering to commingle with those of the high and mighty departed."

'Like an eagle in a dovecote, Fluttered the Volscians.'

Yes; he was as the eagle, sailing over that world of waters, for even at the mention of his name and the tidings of his coming, his haughty, vaunting foes cowered and fled away with their mighty ships and thousand guns."

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Yes," exclaimed Charles Harland, excited by the patriotic theme, "and there, away to the right, towards Toulon, and before us, as far as the eye can reach, where methinks I catch a glimpse of Corsica rising from the sea, on that 'ground,' as the seamen call it, long cruised the noble devoted Collingwood, pining away till his heart was sick within him at the long deferred hope of one more glorious day, in which he should again lead the van, again mingle in the joys and direct the thunder of the strife, and end his weary but indefatigable career amid the shouts of victory."

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“You are an enthusiast, William,” observed Charles, smiling, as he drew from the ample pockets of his shooting jacket a flat tin sandwich case, at the mere sight of which his romantic friend felt that the keen upper air had not wrought in his mind a perfect contempt for all " the things of the lower world.”

So, after the guise of everyday sportsmen, they sate down to their unceremonious repast, for which our enthusiast had provided a flask of the red wine of Bellay, and congratulated themselves upon having managed matters without a guide or servants, who cannot help hearing, and often cannot help talking, when least desirable.

Blue and cloudless was the sky, but the sun was declining seaward when our friends commenced their descent, yet they lingered in admiration to watch the ever-changing hues of the distant Alps before them; the "cloudland," tinted ever and anon with purple and many-coloured light by the

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