The National Register. — London, England, 1812-07-12 00:00:00

JULY le., SIR-1 shall feel highly gratified if the accompanying translation of a Latin Epistle to Chloe, which appeared in your last week's publication should prove acceptable. It is far inferior to the original, but the distinction between milk and millial,l think, sufficiently marked, the ten being evidently undeistood as an indefinite number, as we sav, units, tens. Yours, respectfully, 11. S. TO CHLOE. Restore the kisses given to thee, If shame, and wounded moth sty, Can eau -e thy mantling cheek to burn; But 1 the Usurer's interest crave, And fir each thousand which I gave, Expect TEN tbousaud in return. (1110THER TRANSLATION.] 'lO CHLORIS. if thy 1'44 chreiis a kiss d;stain, Give them the rus._.s blushing hue ; I'il take the tenuer boon again, But. kuuw, my dear, there's interest due ! A ttionsaird kisses I've my fair one given. Return ►ue thousands, CleLoris, to be even DR-4MATIC REGISTER. COVENT-GA ItDEN.-A TOUCH AT THE TIMES. Ilk is an attractive title. Satire is always welcome, not so much Isecause it is generally deserved, as because man, the proudest being in creation, is also the most foolish, and regmdiess of the discredit or dishonour which the miscon duct of his fellow beings casts upon the whole human race, exults in the exposure of their errors and vices, as though their lots of character yielded him any individual advan tage. It is not our intention here to investigate the causes of this perversion of feeling; it is sufficient for us to know its effect, and to infer from it the predisposition of an audience tr, be satisfied, when it assembles to enjoy its lay:Atria! treat. In the present case, however, the author lrt , been rather unfottunate. lie has awakened expecta tions which he has disappointed. His blows has been well aimed, but through want of force have recoiled on himself. In a woid, whilst attempting, accoreing to the title of his Picce, to give A Touch at the Times," we apprehend he is more likely to find he has inflicted a wound on his own fame. To undertake to delineate the plot of a comedy which possesses nolie, would be mole than vain; it would orgtle wait cf common sense. To enumerate the obief incidents " 4 ) 1 0 occur in the course of five long acts is most easy, as their number is very limited, and it requires no stretch of memory to keep them in mind, as they have long been stored in every man's knowledge by the perusal of former Plays. The most prominent in this comedy consists of an unsuccessful attempt made by a fashionable husband (Mr. ILiaavmoitE), encouraged by the advice of an hones! Wor m!, (Mr. BLANCHARW, and assisted by the thoughtless levity of his lady (Mrs. EGERTON), to redeem his affairs by o , b t.aming - large damages for his wife's supposed infidelity. I liis is unfortunately no novelty, either hi the world or on the stage. We recollect real cases, when husbands after pub licly exposing their wives, on ascertaining that their convicted lilt-amours were totally unable to pay the heavy daniages tound against them, have prosecuted o thers of a richer de scription fur a previous offence of the same nature. We r ecollect too, that FIELDING in his " Modern Husband," has Norton. LITERATURE. TO TIIE EDITOR. 429 L ' I lr "~. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. R. W. brought the same subject, but more at large and with more effect on the stage. It therefore appears, not only that the author of the new comedy has no claim to originality on this point, but that he has selected a deed of infamy for censure, that does not belong particularly to our times, bi 4 seems to have been equally prevalent in former years. Be sides this disgusting display of fashionable life, we are treated with a masquerade, and some unfounded reports of a duel and an elopement, which cause great alarm to the heroines, the one, Melissa (Mrs. H. JOHNSTON`, a wild coquette, who bad hitherto sported with the affections of her serious lover (Mr. BRUNTON and the other, Laura (Miss S. BOOTH), a sentimental girl who kid till then endea voured to conceal her love for a dashing libei tine, Sir Charles Wilding (Mr. JONES', before whom she now iacau tiously vents her passion, whilst thinking he is on his way to cutland with his adulterous prize. To this, if we add the exposure of an hypocritical guardian (Mr. EMERY,, the rejected advise of an honest citizen (Mr. FAWCETT), and the purposedly miseralsle witticisms of a common punster (Mr.Si mom), we shall have the sum total of the contents of the piece. It is evident thst it cannot boast much interest : dialogue without action, however excellent in it , elf, must at last prove tiresome, and as the style of " A Touch at the Times" possesses no superior merit, it cannot %eil tie want of plot which is lamentably felt throughout. An unusual degree of vulgarity marks the languageaaf this piece, espe cially during the two fist acts: and as in this scribbling age all classes attempt to write, and we have lately seen the production of a taylor exposing its want of interest and grammar at a neighbouring theatre, we should not have been much surprised to find, from the nature of the similies employed in it, that this comedy had sprung from the inspired pen of a literary green grocer. " Fields of cabl;ages after a shower," and other delicscies of the same kind are fre quently served up icy a fashionable lady in the course of conversation, and might naturally be taken for the etibrts of an uneducated man at imitating what he is little acquainted with, the language of his betters; whilst the gleams of taste and even of elegance which occasionally . burst forth, might be considered as the charitable contribatiot:s of some patronizing hand. We arc informed, however, that " A Touch at the Times" is the first dramatic attempt of a young gentleman, Mr. dast ESON, a student at the bar, and whilst we congratulate him on the success of his piece, will not Flatter him into a wrong estimation of his abilities. He has, however, no cause to despond. He has not yet retrograded very far from the point from which he started. Ile had ballet to lived unknown to the public, and has now changed his safe obscurity for that Lind of notice which does not tend to bring an author into fame. But there are so many who, at their first public performance, damn themselves completely, that it is not doing little to have not only escaped, but not deserved, utter condemnation. " How is it possible," will some petulant reader exclaim, " that a comedy without any plot, totally bairen of novelty mad interest in its few incidents. and written in language so fre quently vulgar, should not have merited condemnation ? It may have escaped it; but as to its deserts, they are not in creased by its momentary success."—l see, (head Sir, that nothing but censure can gratify your palate. You fancy that critics have, or at least should have, no other object than that of indulging your satirical appetite. You consider them as the cooks of literature, who hash up every kind of novelty for your table; and a word of praise on their part yields the same unpleasant sensation to yew ear, as sugar would to your taste in a dish where you should expect the hottest relish. gut you are mistaken. •We are neither thik NOM m,RMI =I *~, r ... :~.