The National Register. — London, England, 1809-12-31 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER, Cootie, individually, we have no dislike; we admire his talents, and even feel that to lose him, would produce an hiatus valde defiendus in our Dramatis Person m; this, how ever, is nothing when put in the opposite scale, to public morals; and we must avow, that the general conduct of this actor, has made it more particularly deserving ef re prehension. Shortly after his first appearance on the me tropolitan _boards, it was whispered that the Managers, even at the drawing up of the curtain, were obliged to seek. him in Cyder Cellars, and other places of similar re sort ; nay, the performances have often been delayed un til by strong doses of coffee, and the friendly cooling aid of wet towels, he has been enabled to stagger through his part. Disapprobation was of course loudly expressed ; but as habit, and perhaps, sometimes the potent inspiration of the spirit, enabled him to present some brilliant passages, censure was changed into admiration, and it became custo mary to say, " how well COOKE performed last night, con sidering he was drunk I" Nay, curiosity even had its vo taries, and people who thought not of him when sober, were induced to go to witness this kind of problem in his trionic practice. This tacit species of license for irregu larity, continued for some time, until, as many may recol lect, the audience expressed their anger so loudly, as to displease the actor ; he, therefore, threw down his hat on the stage, and staggered off with the most expressive ges tures of contempt; the audience at length called for him loudly, and actually received him with applause, a kind of conduct which confirmed him more in his disrewa b rd for temporary censure, and encouraged him to the exhibition pf Tuesday evening. It has been said that the private habits of a performer are not fair subjects of public animadversion ; with re spect to certain failings, it may be so, as these little slips cannot well be exhibited in public ; yet if au actress of doubtful character, were to introduce any symptoms of her private avocations on the stage, she would be hooted into decency ; how much more then may we reprobate the man who renders his private vices the matter of public insult It has been humourously said, " that Christmas times formed as excuse." This, however, seriously considered, is actually an aggravation of the offence. The .cpartans were a nation_ of philosophers; they are considered as hav ing been perfectly acquainted with all the workings of the human heart, and with all the operations of the human mind : with them it was a custom to exhibit their -slaves drunk, in order to disgust their children with the vice, and to deter them from similar practices; if then, the mere exhibition of such disgusting objects were in itself sufficient to produce a salutary effect on the tender and pliant mind of youth, how much is it to be . dreaded, that a similar display of the abasement of reason, accompanied by approbation, unattended with reproof, and even sought after us an amusement, may generate effects totally dissi milar, and may even tend to remove the natural as well as moral disgust which every uncontaminated mind must feel at the degradation of tae noblest faculties of man. Well indeed, in such eases. might methodistical and fanatic pu ritan reformers exclaim against the stage 'as a School of immorality, ass destroyer of virtue, and an " encourager both of bodily and of mental - uueleanliness !'' Let us then wipe off such an opprobrium t If Mr. COOKE will not re member the duty he owes to the public. no misplaced for bearance, no mistake's humanity, shouldinduce - tis to over look those crying offences; 'tis a duty the public owe to themselves,, to the rising generation, toliosterity, natio permit a lithe generosity to foster the germs of Vice, and e;tablish 4 charter for public indecorum. On such occa aions as the Present, Is the duty of the Managers to anticipate lira .wishes; aftd to guard the 'parity of the public ; they' ar or ought to . he, not only the "brief chrouicleil of the ' but the censors both of the foibles and or' the • Viet, of mankind ; 'tis in • them,. there fore, wore than a dereliction of duty, to suffer these evils to mew, and-wilftilly4efeetpooia intendment on the nue part, or redress to the other, until the thunders of public censure shall reform the morals behind the curtain, as they have lately iaterfered with morals before it!—" Le Sage entend a demi mot." ACCIDEA AS AND OFTEXCES. EXTRAORDINARY ELOPEMENT.--A young lady of Bath possessed of a very handsome fortune, and about V 6 years of age, lately eloped with her uncle, a little grey headed man, without any personal charms of about 60; he has a wife and two children, of about the same age as the young lady, whom he has deserted at Bath, to cohabit with his niece. The voung• lady's brother and relations having discovered her retreat in Fetter-lane, and not succeeding in prevailing on her to quit the connection of her uncle by mild means, set off to get a constable, leaving the brother-in-law to take care of her; hut in his absence, the uncle and niece left the house, and escaped. On the following morning Adkins, a police officer, engaged to assist the relations, went with them, accompanied by his brother, Harry Adk ins. t o the house in Ble weirs. court, where they learned that the young lady and her uncle had returned there in the evening, had paid thereat, and had taken the greater part of their pro perty away, but not the whole; Adkins stationed his brother to watch the house; and in a short time after a woman came to fetch the remaining part of the properly away ; Harry Adkins watched her to a house in New-street, Shoe-lane, and then gave information to his brother, and the young lady's hawkers ; in a short (line after they all went to the house in New-street, where Adkins SAW the woman who went for the remainder of the property. She proved to he the sister of the uncle, and denied that the parties were in her house, most positively. Adkins at length prevailed upon her to allow him to go up stairs to search for them. On his getting upon the first Mow. he found her husband, who isa tailor, at work ; he saw the garments of a female in an aejoining small room, which he suspected to be long to the lady he was in pursuit of; but not knowing her person, he gave a signal to her brother to come upstairs, which he immediately did, and recognized her to he his sister; be en deavoured to prevail upon her to go with him, without being able to make the least impression upon her. They then began to use force, when the uncle rushed out from a closet upon them, and they both declared the most fervent attachment to each other, and that they never troald be separated. A com plete pulley—aauley battle then ensued ; the youug lady, her uncle, and a niece of the tailor, on one side, and the young lady's brother, and brother-in-law, on the other; thew ifs of the tailor attacked Adkins, and beat him most unmercifully ,shout the head. Snip. the tailor, took no particular part in the affray, except abusing Adkins for not keeping the peace.— At length all the parties were on ,the floor toether, fighting for the young • lady ; they contended for her till nearly all her c lothes were torn of; when her brothers, finding it her deter mined resolution to continue to cohabit with her uncle, left her her own course. VIOLENT ASSAULT. -'A Gentleman er the name of liowtnn was on Friday held to hail at Union Hall, to take his trial for violently striking Mr. Dodd, jun. the engineer in the head, so as to cause n compression on the brain, in a dispute upon the sub ject of the projected Vauxhall Bridge.--It was at first objected to admit him to bail, the life of Mr. Dodd being considered in danger ; but the eviderce of some eminent profes s ional Gentle men not establishing this fact, bail was ordered to be taken. M A It R,I E D. On Monday sennight, at •Woilington, Oxfordshire, Thomas Hambletoth aged 8, to Ann White, zt,ed 60; this happy pair were attended by two friends, in the characters of father and bride's maid, the former of whom is 92, and the latter 69 years old. The ages of the whole party, collectively, amount to 5294 years. DIED. T.ately at Arnheim, in Holland, Matthys T3ademaker, at the greatage of 110 yllears. He worked at his trade, as a shoemaker, until the age of 90. lie was only once married, and had no more than two children, both females. Both of these. however, ha ving marred, the old man died grandfather to 12 persons, and great grottefitther to '2O, the el test of whom was 21 years of age at the time of his decease. lie retained his faculties and healts until within three weeks of his death. When King Louis vii i ted A rnheim, last year, he settled a pension of 400 guilders on him. Fro ,shat time he drank three buinperslof wine a day, itt chicb (.4! I tl not forget the health of his benefactor. mss '" DEC. 31. r =