It was on the 17th of October, 1785, that Miss Brunton made her first appearance at Covent Garden theatre in the character of Horatia. The public had anxiously looked for her, and the house was crowded to receive her. The venerable Arthur Murphy wrote a prologue for the occasion, in which he displayed his accustomed delicacy and judgment. It was as follows, and was well spoken by Mr. Holman:
The tragic Muse long saw the British stage
Melt with her tears, and kindle with her rage,
She saw her scenes with varied passions glow,
The tyrant’s downfall and the lover’s wo;
’Twas then her Garrick—at that well-known name
Remembrance wakes, and gives him all his fame;
To him great Nature open’d Shakspeare’s store,
“Here learn,” she said, “here learn the sacred lore;”
This fancy realiz’d, the bard shall see,