CORIOLANUS. Thine too these golden keys, immortal boy! Or ope the facred fource of sympathetic tears? GRAY, Vignette. Head-piece. THERE is scarce any other play of our author's, so barren of fubjects for engravings, as this tragedy of Coriolanus. Volumnia is much too grofs and mafculine to be any ways interresting; and the modest and amiable Virgilia makes her appearance too feldom to be the fubject of more than one print. Notwithstanding the many fine sentiments scattered throughout this play, we do not meet with many concerns that touch the heart, or that forcibly engage the attention. THE situations in which Coriolanus might be drawn to most advantage, are at the pages 341, 352, 358, 367, 377, 428, 434, 437, 439, 440, 451, 482, 484 and 497. I WOULD wish to select the Head-piece from page 352-and it may be an etching of the portrait of Coriolanus, as he appears in that page, at the moment of faying Pluto and hell!-and though there may be no neceffity to represent him as curfing, yet he should have in his appearances, (with his sword drawn) that animated and feroce passion, which the daftardly shrinking of his foldiers must have given rise to. The fame ornaments might be thrown round this Head-piece, which decorate the Vignette to Bell's last edition. * * His military dress may be taken from the books which treat on the Roman antiquities; from the print in Hanmer; or from the Vignette to Bell's last edition. Scene Scene-Prints. SOME beautiful lines at page 377, will furnish a good picture of Coriolanus, and his wife Virgilia. It is needless to represent the other characters. The lines are these : Cor. My gracious filence, hail ! Would'st thou have laugh'd, had I come coffin'd home, They might be drawn as half-lengths; and his dress may be partly taken from Gravelot's print to Theobald. Her head may be gracefully declining; and her hand closed in his. The expreffion of, my gracious filence (fee the note to this page) sufficiently paints her character. Page 428. : I FIND a difficulty, whether to give this page the preference to the words: There is a world elsewhere-in page 437-or to select the words. Must I go shew them my unbar'd sconce? from this present page 428, for a portrait of Coriolanus, in the style of Mortimer's etchings of heads from Shakespeare. I think he will appear to as much advantage in this present page. He will be drawn in the attitude of addressing himself to the other characters; and must of course bear the marks of that auftere dignity, : and and haughty command, which made him so reluctantly obey the entreaties of his mother and as of one, who had rather follow his enemy in a fiery gulf, than flatter him in a bower. Perhaps he would appear to equal advantage at the words : -To the market place. Page 451. We must not omit adorning this page, with a very spirited representation of the noble Coriolanus disclofing himself to his greatest enemy, Aufidius. We may draw them both as half-lengths; and Coriolanus may be in the moment of saying: If, Tullus, Not yet thou know'st me, and feeing me, doft not I MAY incur the cenfure of presumption, in positively fixing on the above lines, as the most proper moment to represent them; but if this particular passage should not be deemed the most beautiful point to draw them from; the whole scene is very happily so nobly drawn, that many other lines will afford the fullest scope for an artist's pencil. If the above lines are approved of, we may draw them at half-length; and though the tackle of the noble foldier is much torn; yet he must shew himself a noble vessel. He may be in mean apparel-muffled upand his face, during the time of his speaking the above lines, should wear the marks of him, whom all tongues spoke of and to whom the nobles bended, as to fove's statue-but whose usual martial and commanding fierceness may be somewhat softened by a dejection arising from his thankless countrymen. Equal justice should be done to the noble minded Aufidius; and in order to impress us with a veneration for his prefent |