ABSTRACT
At Drury Lane on Thursday the 28th of last month was performed the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet; the part of Romeo by a young gentleman who never appeared upon any stage before. The humanity and goodnature of the English is in nothing, perhaps, more conspicuously evident than in their reception of a new performer upon the stage: for however the whole audience in a body may be regarded in the light of his Judge, every individual appears to be of his Counsel by the great anxiety they manifest for his success, and the care they take to lay hold of and blazon every little incident that can possibly redound to his advantage. It was amidst the universal acclamations of such an audience as this that the above-mentioned young gentleman made his first entrance; and perhaps there never came any object before the Publick which seemed more eminently to deserve their support, or to stand in greater need of it. Modesty, they say, is the inseparable concomitant of Merit; it is therefore no wonder that Mr Fleetwood should possess a very considerable share of it. To say the truth, it for some time seemed totally to subdue all his other faculties: however, as his confusion wore off, it afterwards turn’d to his advantage by giving an irresistible air to every thing he said and did, and by enforcing those letters of recommendation (as Addison calls them) which were written so legibly in his countenance.
