The National Register. — London, England, 1814-08-28 00:00:00

AUG 28. TTIT NATIONAL RreGLSTER. DRAMATIC REGIS ER. ravers, and the help of a young lady and an ederly dame the author has contrived to form a series of inciden . s rather complicated perhaps, but highly entertaining. his dialogue, is not without point : it abounds with lively equivoques, and its general character is ease. Upon the whole, though Mr. Jameson' has not raiseo. Hs fame by this pinducttc►n, he has pot Unpaired the little which he had acquired. The performers did ample justice to their parts. and corn_ plete success et owncd their efforts. Lave and Goat has since been repeated with continued approbation, and promises to restore the sinking fortunes of the house in which it is played. Frederick the Great, artd.Harlequiti Max, still niaitrain, at the Lyceum, possessibu of the stage and of the highest de gree of public favour. 'Miss O'Neit, whose tragic abilities have gained general applause and admiration in our sister Island, is, we understand, engaged fur next season at Covent Gatben. Mr. Carnerin, whose arrival in this country we lately an nounced, is preparing an exhibition of his new and superb physical instruments, as well as of the parachute in which ie years ago he descended in the vicinity of this metropolis.. Amongst the curiosities which he has imported fiorn Paris. will also be seen the stag mounted by Mrs. Garnerin in se veral of her aerostatic ascensions. Ile has taken the Great Room at Spring Cardenq, and, in a few days, will, we under stand, be ready to gratify the curiosity of the public. Mr. Sadler, junior, ascended with his Ir:loon on Wednes day, from a field called Kettlewell Orchard, a‘ljoining the the C..thedral, at York. The ascension was a reni a r k a blv tine ove : the weather, which had been very stormy doting the whole of the forenoon, cleared up, and was as calm and favourab!e as could.be wisheol. • The balloon ascended at 21 ruinute; after one, and was seen with the naked eye from the place of ascension, for 45 minutes. From the ascent to the descent 13 miles. His descent was near Craike and Easing wcld, where he was received by the Rev. Dr. Guise. lie was fortunate in near a populous and iu•spitahle noighbourhood had he passed the bleak 'aed desolate hills which W.4S before him, he might have spent the night unas sisted and in distress. Exactly on the same day, 9.8 years ago, Lunardi ascended from the same spot. Mr. Sadler re turned to Yolk safe, at half-past seven o'clock. HAYMARKET. It 11 M 4 SO long been customary . to lament the decrease of dramatic talent among us, and to prononnee every new pro• duction of the Tragic or the Comic Muse a spurious or spring. that such declarations have lost their force. They are not even credited ; and unawed by the repeated cbarge of want of taste, and the declamations of daily, weekly, monthly. quarterly, and annual critics, (for we live in an age of criti• cism) the public bestow the golden meed of their approba tion just where they like. The only manlier in which critics may hope to regain their influence over the popular opi nion,. is, however contradictory it may appear, for a while. to glide with the stream. Absurdity will soon lose its charms . when no longer supported by the spirit of opposition, and after a temporary pause of silence, their voices will be raised with revived and encreased effect. Until such a plan be adopted, however, let all fastidiousness be relinquished, and where we do not meet will) excellence, let us at least tole rate the humble endeavours made to attain it. After such an exordium it cannot be expected we should treat Mr. JAMESON'S new Comedy of Lore and Gout, or .4 rri. Tals and Marria,aes, with severity. If it be not of a superior kind, it possesses the merits of harmlessness, interest and amusement, and that is so much more than is always found in new plays, that in candour it ought not•to be despi s ed. Most of the characters seem written, not so much with a view to copy life, as to suit the powers of the actors by whom they are to be performed. This method, now pretty gene_ . rally adopted, as the surest passport to the honours of repre.' sentation, may be at once one of the causes of the inferiority of modern plays and of their success. They are inferior, be cause their authors do not display that knowledge of human nature, and convey those lessons of morality and mannerly feelitag which it is one of the objects of the drama to imprst and they are successful, because the characters suiting exactly the abilities and peculiarities of their representatives, pro duce a resistless exertion of histrionic excellence, and ac quire an appearance of truth which, in reality, they seldom possess. Should this continue, a new era may open on the stage. Men tur,y income actors without any study of thei r own. AU, the trouble will be on the hands of the authors, who by taking measure of a man's mind, disposition and body, will have it in their power to create Rosa and Gar ricks, as easily as tailors make up fashionable fops. Acting on this principle, and aware of Matthew's excel lence in the representation of age, its infirmities and its fol lies, Mr. Jameson has given him the part of an old N a b o b_ afflicted at once with the gout and with love. To Mr. Terry he has assigned a variation of the same character, and in Sir Solomon Gander, has made him a petty patron of science and literature, who after marrying his cook, amuses hirnseif with rebuking her in the language of her profession. .dupe's is o f course a coxcomb thrust in to enliven the piece : Besse!, a foolish old-fishioned tailor; and fiermerton, an 'rich lawyer, with more pretensions to wit than honest: . . With these cha- DEATH OF COUNT RUMFORD. " Count Rumford," says the Gazette de France of Wednesday tbr " Associate of the French Institute, Menii.er f the Royas y of London, &c. &c died in the ni,.hi Le vveen Su,id:iv and Mon day last, at his country house, at Auteuil. His diso-der was a volts tevzr. This celebrated m.m devet-d his tile to the study lOw Science-;, and never ceased to nilect his pursuit, to the !mom:time (t the interests humanity He has lett many work- w 1.14.11 fAI to render his tnemitry dear to po,terit y. He wie . 60 %ear • (.t a e . tle was intern-41 this morning at Auteuil " Count Rittntotd Wag a native of America. He was well known in this cage try b) the Wane at Sir Benjamin Thompson, bethre his inr,..nious r!iscoyertes al ru ventti.n, procured for hitt; the honour of a foreign title H•s inq vvc menu in the cons• ruction of yrites, and other means of say n;;Wet, i , ll(i preventing the diminution of provisions in cookery, a cookery, has rendat his t -reign distinction tatiiiii4r to most people, hut li chemical re. t,e.riches and general scientific kitoe'led,:e haricier iu tire imation of the learned w..rid, He fn Wiry, at:d w.is at ksqie's shikifou: to iii; the condition et the 10,..er Ele! who havt• slici.vo a frorg r zn" c (Iry iilto sravc, V5llO d:*C A . . ~r~: w,t, (ff,th.yoh , h...ll t•.t . hi, 11,1- ) :dol.t lc the it :c its 4,t impt , .v... ni iteople. Few t har.tcter. hake; ', ;. il t •r the litlyt. es , 01 mankind. • t Vit: a more r pect:6ll intuturi,ti. ir Y. s' 4 0 • , .j ,14 1 ~.il k , • :, -. . .. ; 1 I { l• I A ' • j. St " 1 ' 1 1 1 je a' • • t^