The National Register. — London, England, 1808-01-24 00:00:00

♦:L,- :a -* s THE THEA'IRES. DR1:111 - The performances of the last week have been : Mo . Castle- Spectre w ith the new pantornime er Fttrebond. Tv rsn 4 v,.... A Trip to Scarhorrugh, with the pantdmime. W roN ViD kf , The Cabinet, w ith the pantomime. T lit RID k v Th e ,ti o neo Mowi, with the pantomime. kt: ID v,..... sever acted, Nonief king to Dtli with thf panto- mime. 7'he Siege of Belgrade, with the pantomime. In the Castle Spectre Nita. Lyre, the wife an Gentleman who hoWs a respect:de situation in . Drurv-lane Theatre), played Angela, without either delighting or ()Wending us: Her person is not particularly beautiful, nor her conceptions exceedingly forcible; but her deportment appears unaffected, and her yoke. though not pots erful, is pleasing. We understand she WlFlies to engage herself for a secondary line of character, and, as far us e have had an opportunity of judzing, we think her well qualified for such a situation. Itut, if we have been rightly informed as to the modesty of her expectations, we cahnot help conceiying that she would have done more wisely in selecting for her first appearance a character of less importance, in the re presematioa of which something less would, of eourse, have been expected. On ednesday. the 20th, a Mr. Smith appeared as T.nrenzo in the Cabinet. The character W:V4 written chiefly for the intro duction of music; and as far as music is concerned, it was very well performed by Ala t4raith. II is voice is a counter-tenor; its compass is not great, anti the lower toms are neither strong nor agreeable, but the upper notes are of. a very superior quality. We now proceed to the rriacipati object of our theatrical notice. We critics are obliged to take the gond and the bad together. Other people may wait to hear the general opinion on a new piece, before they trouble themselves to see it; but we, as tasters for the tuna, most witness every new performance on the Tint night, atui, like the Persian ewp-hearers, if there be poison in the draught, we are the first who suffer. Most heavily, in deed, we did sutler on Friday last, from the representation of a new Comedy, called Something to no. This title seams to con (ern, en: :tic author, but the audience ; for to sit still through live such acts as those of Friday night, is indeed sum: thin; In do for a spectator, bat to have composed five-and-twenty such acts w have been nothing to do fiw any writer. A part of the play was take', fram a French piece, called 1.4 Diti4ence tie. Joigns: and the rest of it might be either translated or oriainal, for aught we could discover. If it Was translated, we should advise the author to use more care in his next selection : if it was oriainal we should advise him never to attempt dramatic compatition again. The principal cha racter i- a sutiag counsellor, eagerly hunt* for the first tee : alit! in search of that fee he is contented to be barrister, attorney, conveyancer :Lad war. Now, ti.atugh the )ast uf these titles is a:laterally supposed to avroe very well with any of the three faemer. yet the three fanner are seldom united in any society bar. the society that is painted in thaw comedies. There was a equag officer desirous of marrying an heiress—that character. yve believe, is quite in nature. We had an Irishman too, with all the propensities that are usually aalibed to the natives of tae Siiter kingdom; but then he was always puffing himself: and though at e may admit the propriety of painting an Irish man, brave ao4 geacrous, ardent and honourable, we are a little astonished aril we see hint comina forward. to be the only publisher of his oats, praises. There were two old gent le melt, stingy and knavish, and our acquaintance with them did ,o' lea.i ta to dtaire any further knosslydv of the family; but at a ere intioduced per force to two y oung gentlelmen, their r epheas. One was a male creature of that character which is serretimes found in school-girls who have imbibed their minds ata German novels ; and he talked in the genuine style of the tratimental 4btuni. The other was a ,jockey prodigal, the eaact rounterpartaf Gol6:finch in Mr. Holcroft's Road to Ruin. The ladies in this piav appear to have been introduced as a rirantatic ilin;tratiaa of Pope it famous aphorism. Most women have nu characters at all. Anti the women of this play had not oely no characters, hut, with the exception of the heroine- alone, no business neither. And even the heroine seemed to be a very namby-pamhy personate, walking about a vod deal, Lut seeming to know as little whist she meant to do, as the spectators them4elves. However, if we may venture. a peat at the intratiaa of the author as to this part, we shall sa; JAN. 24... that the young lady must have been intended for a girl of Aenti silent and gaiety mixed. So mach for character.--As to story, 1,0 could gat hr r :.one ; for the Author; aware perhaps of the difficulty ts au dience must ha%e in listenin4 to his dialogue, oas unwilling - to fatigue their attentinn still further by requiring them to IrmMle themselves with plot. The Irishman made some hulls by N% ay 11: points ; but they were as remote from nitrate as were the jukes of the other characters from wit, The Nay was treated with the greatest fairness. The fir,t Act, and a part of the second, %Scot off evtreinely ell. in the third; the disapprohation of the audience evidently shelved itself. In the fourth, discontent AV:V; for a littlewbileallsaved by a song from Ails. Wand ; but when she h.td disappeared, the tempest revived. The beginning of the fifth Act was greet ed with coughing and hissing and then the stage discovered a court, where on a sudden a Judge appeared. But the audience by this time were determined to judge fur themselves : and the sacred olliccrs of .justice were so overwhelmed by the rage of the multitude, that lawverl themselves forgot their impodeoce, and the curtain fell amid one universal uproar. After the Epi logue., which was terribly hold and patriotic. All.. Decamp announced The Sieger of lielgrade for the following night. The condemnation of a play if, not often undeserved; but it r frequently hap pun that the hissing begins sooner than justice demands, On this occazion the author can lay no rot h "Hat `s terioz unction to his soul ; 4 ' for the sentence of iitA night was pronounced by .one of the fairest and must impartial audi ences we ever hebekl, The unhappy poet has not declared him -self; and us the piece came forward from darkness, so it has proceeded to oblivion. cot - nn r CA MD E The performances of the week have been : MoN DA IC .. The .iffouninineere, with the new pantomime of Harlequin in hie Elentrnt.. TUESDAY..... The ,Vanderer, with the pot,tomitile. WEDNT.SD A V, The Wanderer, with the pantomime. Tuvttso&Y,.. The Wanderer, with the pantomime. Ps IDA V,. Thr• Wanderir,w ith the pantomime. . Th.? Wanderer, with the pantomime. cram. CON. The conduct of it dashing' female, the wife a a distinguished officer of considerable rank, will arord another opportunity for the display of eloquence amongst the lawyers in Westminster hatl and it N ill also disclose some curious particulars, relative to the conduct of the lady, for the last three verti, and that of her paramour, who is a Start( Estsire. The husband of the lady had been absent for three months previous to the •lt)tlt inst. on hi- duty as an officer, and his lady occupied apartments in Wigmorr-street. By the vigilance of an old servant, who had served in the army SU years, ht had strong grounds to swpect that the conduct of his lady amounted to adultery with the squire ; and some incidents having given hint a full cons ictitm of that fact, he made his Master acquainted with his saspicions. Some plait; were laid out for tire• purpose of proving the lady's conduct, and it is reported that one of these proved her in constancy to her husband, whom she dishonoured, at an inn on the Western road, but a few miles from London, on Monday last. We are in pose- ion of the names of the pariies, ts hich 5% C most decline, at present, even hinting at ; su:hice• it to say, that the old servant, and the waiter and chambermaid at the inn, are the witnesses to prove the act of adultery. The lady has out child, and site nuts lives apart from her husband. OLD B.X ILLY. No trial of importance °ream d either on Monday or 'Tuesday. w 1:1)7 , 1 DA Y , J.t%. ¶O. RING DnorriszG.—Edward Owen, a decent looking man, of the age of tiS years, was indicted for stealing a gold watch and a 5!. bank note, the property of .lane Croucher. The pro secutrix in this case was a very old lady, and was defrauled by the stale trick of the prisoner's pretending to find a diamond cross. She stated the trawzoction as follows :—that on the 4th of December, she was walking down Piccadilly:, vs hen the pri soner accosted her. Ile looked like an honest country farnwr, • and among other things he said, he had not been in London for .even years before, and that he would not live in such a .-lirty place if they mould give him a house for nothing. As th,- . p proached the Park Cate, lie stooped down, aLI »~ ~. . THE NATIONAL REGISTER. INIPMEIMIN