The National Register. — London, England, 1814-01-30 00:00:00

JAN. 30. K E MBLE formed a part of the re(rular company, and certaitily was c oo , idered At the leader et the Company, and Mr. YouxG ranked we his second : But, since Mr. K.'s secession, Mr. Y. has undonbt cdly been regarded a.; first in rank and in merit, and had the play of creo beta performed iW that interval, he would eertainly have sus tained- the principal character. Mr. KEMBLE'S return is not to be considered as that of a member of the Company, but only as an ceauional engagement. It might, therefore, during such tirgagc went, perhaps, be thought a degradation to Mr. YouNG to oblige him to perfinm second to Mr. K. in so very inferior a degree, as Prins is to Cato. Ilie interest iof the Drama would un doubtedly he mock advanced, were the best performers cast in every p'ay, and when there were characters equal to their merit, were they to give Unwonted lustre to those which are beneath them. inien the. family of the KLMBLIiii came over to Covent Gaidm, they foimil Mr. CooKE the undisputed so; vcreign of the Drama at that Theatre. A compromise was made : where tl:ere or..nre equally promimant characters, they performed to getter any scenic degradation to either, as Othello and logo, B vcrLy and Stukley, King Henry and Cardinal ll'othey, Ilntypur and fal,laff, ..fiftfirr xud Pierre, &c. ;--but where such egos;ity did not rsi..t, ti,:sy alternately factiticed their claim to pre & 'clic , . Mr. KGet St.E stooped to perform Antonio and Richmond, to Mr. CeeexEs Shylock and Richard; while Mr. Cootiat personated the Ghost and Marduff, to the llt i ;tltt and Macbeth c.f Ar. KEMBLE. It it theiclute, that in the degradation (if it may he so calle!1; of one out of two equal, or licarly equal performers, that de gradation should be reciprocal. A 'cw words relative to the btqineas, of , the scene, and I have dom.. i , the mit:Mal, Cato (lit (As the Senate, einaccompanic el, :aid Marcus a'tet wards enters to aononnee tie art ival of Deems. As it is vow pee fotmed, Cato is accompanied by his two .sons, who tike their stations during the debates on each side of their father's chair. This arrangement has, undoubtedly a good effret, but it militates against the text, as Porcius, when he quits Sanpro nius in the first act, informs him ' straieht a•xay, And while the Pothers of the Senate meet, In clese debate to weigh tie events of war animate tlee soldiers' drooping courage, Sec. Scc." The circumstance, however, of scenic arrangement which was most derogatory to propriety, and could scarcely have been ex wiled in the most classical theatre in the kingdom, was this :—the tt‘o c of tk insurrection under Seinproniso, Messrs. KING aLli DUIZUSET, are accompanied by tour others. who, when they yield, are ordered to be impaled alive, and they are removed for exe• colon : in the next act, however, who should attend the dead body of Marcls but these same men, in the same dresses, without any cl auge! And again, after Cato has fallen on his sward, who should be the weeping attendants of his chamber, but the same four find tared men ! Apt rson unacquainted with theatrical affairs, would suppnse that Cabo was of so forgiving a disposition, that he had rardested the conspirators Lgainst his lift'; and not only so, but had taken them to he his domestic servants, and had placed sufficient eutitidence in their supposed Fenitene , .., as even to admit them as the near attendants of his peri o n. Much arrangement destroy. the illusion of the scene : it may, and must be. tolerated in a county theatre, but at Covent Garden " La it be reformed altogether." HISTRIONICUS. THE OLYMPIC THEATRE. This Theatre during the week has been exceedingly well attended, and nothing cnn be conceived more flattering than the liberal ap plause bestowed on Young SAUNDERS and his sister on the tight rope and slack-wire. We are pleased to see they are engaged for another week. Mr. PE.►nhtAN, who joined the company on Mon day last, is no inconsiderable acquisition ; l►e has a pretty voice, and sings with great taste and feeling. So attractive have the whole of the performances been, that they will bo )(peaty(' next week, and in addition the beautifully pathetic tale of" Mary the Maid of the bin," will be spoken by Mi , s Sydocy. No. 2111, drawn yesterday a Prize of t 0,0901. wag sold in Shares by t!ORNSBY and Co. in One Quarter, One Eighth, and Ten S xteet.ths ; also No. 3 6'40, a Prize of 1,0001. ; 8,211, a Prize of 2001.; No. 1,1201. a Prize of 1,0001. and entitled to 10,0001.; and in the last Lottery, No. VII, a Prize of 20,0001. ; 3,934, a Prize of 10 0001. in Sharks. The Fortunate! 11-Iders may receive their money itnmediatel . :.-. 26, Coruhill, Jan, THE NATIONAL 'MONTER. RELIEF of the SUFFEREicV at LEIPSIC. 77 Thorsday a meeting 1001: place at the City of London Tavern' for the purpose O taking into consideration the most effectual means of affording relief to .the startling, inbahitauts of Germany, during the late campaign on the' Coutioent. H. Violation, Esq. took the Chair in the room of the Duke Of Sussex, who was pre vented from indisposition. The Chairman Bull proceeded to state the object of the meeting to be, to afford such relief to the sufferers of Germany, as British benevolence might afford, The committ e e had already of themselves sent. the sum of 40:Yl1. to those districts where the distress was most pressing ; where famine and epidemical diseases had already begun to appear, as would be esident from a memorial that would be read by the Secoetaiy. Mr. Martin then read the memorial, which was addressed by the City of Leipsic to the independent and benevolent British Nation, in behalt of' the sufferers. This document gave an interesting detail of' the events of last October, and of the consequent distresses. It was listened to with notch attention, and the concluding paragraph m Lie a very strong impression on the whole assembly. It was couched in these words:—" All the countries of our Continent have been more or less drained by this destructive war. Whither theae are these poor people, who have such need of assistance, whither arc they to look for relief? Ye free, ye beneficent, ye happy Bri tons, whose generosity is attested by every page of the annals 4+l starving humanity —whose soil has been trodden by no hostile foot —who know not the fillings of him that beholds a foreig n master revelling in his habitation—of you the City of Leipsic imp lores relief for the inhabitants of the. cireumjacent villages and hamlets, ruined by the military events in the past month of October. We therefore entreat our patrons and friends in England to open a subscription iii their behalf. The boon of charity shall be punctually acknowledged in the public papers, and conscientiously distributed, agreeably to the object for which it was designed, by a Committee appointed for the purpose. Those who partake of it will bless their bene factors, and their gratefol payers-for them will aseeod to Ikaven." Mr. Wilberforce addressed the meeting in an eloquent speech, which he concluded by moving., " That it is the opinion of this meeting, that the distress in Ger many is inconceivably great, and calls loudly on the British oathat for the exercise of its accustomed benevolence; that we ought to feel grateful that we had the means in ourpower and that the meet ing had no dafibt, that all would feel it to be their duty to contribute areording to their means, to so laudable an object." This motion was seconded, and carried unanimously. Mr. John Thornton moved a resolution, approving the conduct of a former Committee, appointed in thini, for a similar object ; and 11 r. R. Thornton moved, that the present Committee be empowered to receive subscriptions. Mr. Butterworth, in seconding this resc hnion, said, that before the invasion of Germany by the French, the country was like the Garden of Eden, but now it resembled the de solate wilderness. Never had any country been so cruelly oppressed. A friend of imis, when traveli;n. thyough East Suable, wished to p:v his respects to the Queen of IVortemberg, foemerly Princess Roy:+l of England ; lint it .vas requested by a message from the Queenly , omit waiting mnin her, lest 'lt should offend the French Ambas sador. Mr. Luke Howard said, that the Society of Friends would 'join in• the object of the meeting, because its basis was Christian compassion I and benevolence. This was the ground of his accepting the ofhet: of Assistant Secretary. He trusted that they would feel and act like the good Samaritan, who said to the host of the wounded tra veler, take care of him till I come again. He moved (whiek wa s seconded and carried), that it lie lecommended to the Committee to observe time strictest impartiality in the distribution of the foods. Time Bev. Mr. Clayton, Mr. Kuper, and Mr. Steinkopoff, severally addiessed the meeting,. The Bev. Rowland Hill was of opinion, that the sword had never been taken up in a more necessary cause, than against that wanton cruelty, by which mankind had been harassed for the last twenty years. It might even be termed a t ighteons cause ; but for the bat. • ' tic of Lei psie, instead of ten per cent. we most have.paid twenty. " I have," said the Rev. Gentleman, " a worthy nephew, name is well recorded for homaitity and same ity of mannem not less for valour and heroism in time field of battle, amid who . vices have, with others. relieved a whole people from the ef of human miseries. The mode which Boonaparte pursued • was, of all others, most 'Oust and degrading, and the syst kidnappingikings is only fit fir marte, inspired by the D• (Applause and laughing)—Now he begins to squeak, but tl. reason why we sleinld be'in to pity."—(Lauglung)—ln.l+ towards individuals of the Corporation of Loudon, he recoDectt , whose and o.e ser- reatest there, tent of Ic vil.— .41 . S 110 Loa ing t:i y • • if ~~