JAMES, a celebrated performer on the English stage, was born at London in 1693. He was intended for the bar; but preferring Shakspeare to the statutes at large, he, on the death of his father, when it became necessary for him to do something for himself, appeared on the stage at Drury Lane. In 1720 he first displayed his comic powers in the character of Falstaff, and soon afterwards appeared to as great advantage in Sir John Brute; but it was upon Booth's quitting the stage that Quin showed to most advantage, in the part of Cato. He continued a favourite performer until the year 1748, when, on some disgust between him and Mr Rich the manager, he retired to Bath, and only came up annually to act for the benefit of his friend Ryan, until the loss of two front teeth spoiled his utterance for the stage. Whilst Mr Quin continued upon the stage, he constantly kept company with the greatest geniuses of the age. He was well known to Pope and Swift; and the Earl of Chesterfield frequently invited him to his table; but there was none for whom he entertained a higher esteem than for the poet Thomson, the author of the Seasons, to whom he made himself known by an act of generosity that does the greatest honour to his character. Mr Quin's judgment in the English language recommended him to Frederick prince of Wales, who appointed him to instruct his children in speaking and reading with a graceful propriety; and Quin being informed of the elegant manner in which his majesty delivered his first speech from the throne, he cried out in a kind of ecstasy, "Ay, I taught the boy to speak." Nor did his majesty forget his old tutor; for, soon after his accession to the throne, he gave orders, without any application being made to him, that a pension should be paid to Mr Quin during his life. Mr Quin, indeed, was not in absolute need of this royal benefaction; for, as he was never married, and had none but distant relations, he sunk L2,000, which was half his fortune, in an annuity, for which he obtained L200 a year, and, with about L2,000 more in the funds, lived in a decent manner during the latter part of his life at Bath, whence he carried on a regular correspondence with Mr Garrick, and generally paid a visit to his friends in the metropolis once a year, when he con-

stantly passed a week or two at Mr Garrick's villa at Hamp-

ton. He died of a fever in 1766.