The National Register. — London, England, 1816-06-16 00:00:00

~;;t DR.4.11.411(' REGISTER. ENO I.lsl ()VERA. This Theatre, rebuilt during the short period that has elapsed since last season, its a style of elegance and splen dour which delights the taste and the eye, was thrown open isiir the first time last night to the public. The audience was both fashionable and numerous, and ex pressed its admiration of the Hutce by repeated rounds of applause. God :tire he King was then sung in a most impressive manner by the new company, whose num bers filled the vast capacity of the stage. Miss KELLY afterwards made her appearance to speak the opening Address . , an I was received wish bursts of applause, re rated fir several minutes. Powerfully atli:cted with these enthusiastic marks of the favour which she justly en;. iys with the public, she nevertheless spoke the Address with admirable spirit, and gave all the painted allusions made in the beginning to the opposition who It the Proprietors of the new Theatre have eneountered i - the completion of their undertaking, with the most powerful effect. Every line was seized with eurresponding spirit by the public, and gave birth to tumults of applause. The Address being . over, the Opera of Up all Night, or The Smug tees Care, began; and besides the old favourites, Miss ELLA', Mrs. Onamn, Miss L. KELLY, Mr. BARTLEY, end Mr. Bans mit:tour, introduced several valuable per formers to the public. At this late hour of the night, our account of their merits must necessarily be brief. Mr. SHORT, from the Dub lin Theatre, displayed in Young Ilearbrell considerable sweetness of voice, purity of taste, and elegance of execu tion, with no small portion of just animation in his acting. Mr. Russet, front Edinburgh, gave a faithfill picture of the blunt, honest sailor, and sung with great spirit; and Mr. Isaacs, in Harry Blunt, gave proofs of an excellent bass voice. All these gentlemen, as well as Mr. BROADHURST, had the honour of being encored. The Opera closed in the midst of general applause. The management of the scenery had evinced a little of the hurry always attendant on a first opening ; and Mr. BARTLEY, the manager, in announcing the same per flrmanee for Monday next, thought proper to apologise • for the little inaccuracies which had taken place; an apolo!,ey, which, though extremely well received, the good sense of the audience had rendered unnecessary. The Musical Farce of The Boarding House thllowed. In it we were glad to see Miss POOLE, who gave to Caroline Hearn!, her usual sweetness and melody.- --We were equally pleased with the re-appearance of Mr. WRENCH, who most ably re-placed OXBERRY in the part of Young Contract. The new performers in this piece were pretty numerous. Among the most emi nent were, Mr. CHATTERLEY, of the Bath Theatre, who played Peter Fidget with much spirit and humour, and executed his songs with great success; Mr. HERRING, who gave all the fire of the old admiral ; Mr. JONES, who displayed in the little he had to sing a strong,' harmonious, and very promising voice; and Mr. WILKIN SON, who in Splatterelask sometimes reminded us of the eacellencics of KNIGHT. The whole performance closed rather at a late hour, but to the full satisfaction ()fa nu merous and judicious audience. We have scarcely any room to enter into a description of the house; which, besides its elegance and splendour, 17ossesses this great qualification, that in every part the public may see and hear perfectly. The Orchestra may very properly he called one large instru. went ; the flooring being composed of several sminding-boards, with two arrangements of iron bars to admit the vibration of the instromeuts composing the hand. The ceiling is composed of several smiadine hoards, to give better effect to the musical performances. It is supported by a series of grand arches, decorated with numerons mirrors to multiply the lights by re &Turin. The Lmilditig is upon a smaller settle than the Winter Theatres. The form of the Theatre in the interior is that of a lyre. and the decorations of the Boxes and Proscenium are all Indic:dive of its being appropriated to music : the Inner circle displays a series of subjects in Basso Itelievo, from Classical designs. The principal Box entrance is in the Strand. A large flight of stairs leads to the dress circle; from which smother stairma vonducts to a vestibule. communicating with the first circle and with the saloon, which is dedicated by inscription to rain/it British composers. The other entrances arc from Ear terplace and Eseter street. The very ha g introdoetory Annutss, spoken by Mies Kelly, we eitendeel to has 4' inserted ; but it was received so late, and re quired so tone h room, that our necessary arraugerveats feu dered it absolutely impracticable. COVENT-GARDEN. A i t est crowded audience was attracted to this Thea tre en Saturday night, by the advertisement of the l'ra- Tcdy of Maebeth, in which Mrs. SIDDONS was to per firm Ladu .31arbeth at "the express command of the I'rincess Charlotte of Wales and the Prince of Saxe Co bourg." In the evening, however, bills were placarded and Circulated, stating that her Royal I fighness still re- Inained so indisposed as to be unable to come to the Thea tre ; of which notice had been received in the morning► from Camelthrd-house. The Managers, considering the number of places taken, and the want of sufficient time to give information to the public of the disappointment, cpresented the matter to Mrs. SIDDONS, who, therefore, &greed to play Lady -Vadcth, though her Royal Patrons (mid not be present. ft is almost superfluous to say, Eder the Vey recent exhibition of her powers in Queen II 14 erine, that she swtained the character with all her t X iei e X.OllOOCe. Lad!, 31acluilz is a character in which *,„ t i l os 1a! Tat so will illustrated 2te pat us ears. fir NATTONM. RPGISTEn. Sinooma has. All the workings ttf the passions of tin ambitious tamale ; her art, her wickedness, her pride, and her dignity, she pourtrays with matchle, , s skill and transcendent effect. She was received with tl:e greatest applause. Nor were the tributes of approba tion wanting to Mr. Knial.r., who displayed all Lis tragic talents in the delineation of the Scottish Usurper. The audience of the preceding evening having been disappointed at Mr. Jovns's benefit, by the ontis , ion of the Venetian Carnival, and the shower of " bun ho s e," whirl' had been promised them, and Mr. FAWCETT hay . tug enguri that the cause of the disappointment should he explained, Mr. Josr.s male his appearance at the ronrlusion, of the Trag:stly for the porpoatt, and ad olro7.sed them as follows : o• and l ieill lessteti,- —I appear before you for the first time in toy life to make an Ilipoiroc Y. I bad prep. re all enters ' fawns - Ist for my ',tomtit, which Idattered myself would be of considerable ationsetomot to me friends anol the piddle at lal get at which, performers from all the lainolon 'llleatry4 bad pro mised me their assistance. I (Old theist that they v oulol not be wanted until eleven ; the play of The Lord of the Ma nor, and the hoiden:l of T Thumb, never having been over before that hour; loot ta , l inzlit, fr some a traotrtlinary cir cumstance, they had finished ht ten oo'cloock. Mier that, the audience became imp:int:at far my nets perboron nice to com mence. and the manager also urged me to Itolll, ilthua,L I es plaineol to him that I was totallN tootprelo..reol, ons ft Ovoids nut 113Vitil arrived from the other Th. ittres ; and at lenoli I was obliged to begin in an inn.' 'leo' slat,. I . llt . 411 hence evpressed their di s approbation. and the curtain dropped amidst a 1.1131 V of elllitihololl. 1 rllOll . I out Of the Theatre, and dial not ',hors till this rimming that I load 1114'11 rated upon last night tot ap pear before the public. I bad arranged tile entertainment at a great eApenee, ttltich the receipts of the Theatre are nod equal to Inert. I older these eill'11111.1:11111 , , 1 trust, Ladies and Geis tleinen, this explanation of the olisappoOtt ono tot emocrienced by nay friends will he deemed .1 stillicieot apology." 3lr. Junes then bowed, rod I etirerl Amid very general Oa*. Bits. Thursday the Kir44 . l Theatre, for the performance of ' Italian Operas, held under a lease for many years to come, at a rent of 151;01. per annum, with all the scenes, de corations, dresses, music, &c. was sold by the Master in Chancery to Mr Waters for 41,00(1. It is now, there fore. to be hoped, that as all legal contention will cease, this Theatre, which from the number of subscription sixes, its extent and beauty, as from having the exclusive licence to perform Italian Operas, may be made the most splen did in Europe, will t.stinie a :2haraeter worthy the metro polis of the British Empire. Considering the number of boxes (198), and the immense sum which the building cost, it was thought that it would haw sold fur 100,0001. at least. A SINGULAR CHARACTER. On Tuesday, the 18th of May, died at her house. No. it. Coldbath square, at the very advanced age 01' 116 years, Mrs. Jane Leweeen, commonly called Lady Lewson, from the very eccentric manner of her dress. In recording this instance of unusual longevity, some account of her may not, perhaps, he uniteteresting to our Iteuders. Mr:. Jane Lewson, was born in the year during, the reign of William and Mary, in Essex-street, in the Strand, of ram respectable parent:, of the name of Vaughan, and was married at an early age to a wealthy gentleman of the name of Leer son , then living in the house in which she died. She became a widow at the age of twenty-six. having only one daughter living at the torte. Mrs. l.ewton, being left by her hus band in alarm areumstanees, preferred to continue single, and re mained so, although site had many suitors. When her daughter mar ried, being left alone, she became fond of retirement, and rarely went out. or permitted the visits of any person. For the last 30 years she had kept no servent, except one old temale, who died to years ago: she was sueeStaled by the old woman's grand-daughter, who gut married about three years since; and she was succeeded by an old man, who attended the different houses in the equate to go of errands. clean shoes, &c. Mrs. Lewson took this man into her house, and he acted as her steward, butler, cook, and housemaid, and, with the exception of two old lap-dogs and a eat, he was her only companion. The house she occupied was large, and elegantly furnished, but very ancient ; the beds were kept constantly made, although they had not been slept in for about SO years. Her apartment being only oecasionally swept out, but never washed, the windows were so crusted with dirt, that they hardly admitted a ray of light. A large garden in the rear of her house was the only thing she paid attention to; this was always kept in good order, and here, when the weather permitted, she enjoyed the air, or sometimes sat and read, of which she was particularly fond; or else chatted on tunes past with any of the new remaining acquaintances whose visits she permitted. She seldom visited herself, except at Mr. Jones's, a grocer, in the s9uare, with whom she dealt. She bad for many years survived every individual of her relatives within many de greet of kindred. She was so partial to the fashions that prevailed in her youthful days, that the never changed the manner of her dress from that worn in the reign of George the First. She always wore powder, with a large tete. made of horse-hair, on her head, near half a foot high, over which her hair was turned up; a cap over it which knotted under her chin. and three or four curls hanging down her neck. Shege nerally wore silk gowns, and the train lung, with a deep flounce all round, a very long waist, and very tightly laced up to her neck, round which was a kind of ruff, or frill. The sleeves of her gown came below the elbow, from each of which four or five large cuff. were attached; a large straw bonnet quite flat. highheeled shoes, a large black silk elnak, trimmed round with lace, and a gold-headed cane. completed her every day costume for the last RI years, and in which she walked round the square; on which account she was known by the name of Lady Lewson. her manner of living was so methodical, that she would not drink her tea out of any other Clan a fievourite cup. She was equally particular with respect to her knives, forks, plates. &e. At breakfast she arranged in a particular way the paraPhernalia of the tea table; at dinner she also observed a general rule, and always sat in her favourite chair. She always enjoyed an excellent state of health, assisted in regulating her house, and never had, until a little previous to her decease, an hour's illness. She entertained the greatest aversion to medicine, and what is remarkable she cut two new teeth at the age of 87, and never lost one in her life, nor was she ever troubled with the tooth-ach. Her sight latterly tailed her. She lived in five reigns, and was supposed the must faithful living historian of the age, the events of the year i7iS being fresh in her recollection. A few days previous to her death, an old lady, who was her neighbour, died sud denly, which lead such an effect on her, that she frequently said her time was also conic, and she should soon follow. She enjoyed all her faculties until that period, when she became weak, took to her bed. and refined medical aid; her conduct to her few distant relations wits exceedingly capricious, and she would never set any of them; tend it was not until a few hours before her dissolution that .my alteration was observed in her temper. Site was buried in Dunhill-fields Bury ing gronnel. The funeral procession consisted of a hearee and four, and two mourning carriages, in which were Mr. A tithony, of lled Lion ocrertrCierkenwell, her executor, and mac relations. CHIMNEY SWEEPS. -.Or- • .irNT if. WOriTIP4(III, a very nionerolic ami r.spertitile N!eeting %ra t a held at the Ntantion house, for the purpme of teperieding necessity of elioithing 'toys, its encouraging a method of %Iv ',ep ilog (+Mune% hy maehinery, and for improving the condition of children, and others, at present eim:loyett by ehininey. sweepers. The Lewd Mayor tomk the choir at lair o'clock, and has jog tto tell the 00 et of the mewing, be wan followed by Mr. Tooke. Treasurer to the itedittit 1111 l already established for the purr Dee in itilestimi, who detailed the progrevi they had mode; and f orcibly pointed oat the harm ins that Alin existed to i•opede the great object of humanity they had is view ; llama ly, to re.etie yomig and unprotected children from a life of stately and wreti•lwolites., • it.a% a domestic evil. wan canal, it not more bott;4lo, than ihn slant -trade. - Sir F. Borden, the lion. Nlr. Bennett, the lion. Mr. I) Burrell. Mr. hail, Mr. Fry, Dr. Liethington, Major Cartwright. Mr. Roweroft, 31r. and several other ilittingtoi.hed ettararteis, took 'oat in the debate. -Ti,. retort...tunas ion% to' the Speakers, as well as the Report of the ',onion tee, a catalogue of s soil or dire rowie g ileuiet. attendant ',pia' the wretched situa tion of shove who at an infant age hecitme Ilse .la* CA Of master rhilllllll sweepetx; and stated to the wont:: Ike luanv and sitrees.tnl (.mm0;111111% that had been made of l'oe mode nit only of edeetnally sweeping hot of extinguishing tires in chime ides. It wan further stated, that upon the Continent, with the. exception or 1:rooee. the prat•tice wits seareelv known; and that each, in Scotland, in 99 eaten out Of Mu, the pear :ire of the climbing-boy %%at wholly unknown.— A master chimney sweeper enothiatiul, with no %matt ability. the othji•eti 111 l s of several of the speaker., though he deprecate', the cruelty ex I ereited by some member% of the fraternity ; &lola ing. that in that at well as every other trade there weir good and load members. lie was heard with attention, and conelinted • ha I/0111M teat • .a sir approbation. —veinal It esulm flout were afterwards put and car ried, I ceinumentling the use ' of the machine. and for the pompose tof applying to Parliament tit the subject in question. - Mr. Willierforee, Sir F. Bur dett, Mr. Bennett. and several other Members of Parliament. promised to give the tiiiiieet their most cordial .ii:ot•owt.. - 'l'h inks being voted to tin I,or‘l Mayor and the C the meeting dinailved.--The meeting wits graced by ;.ii im niente number of elegao.t letmlles, and a liberal mitoses lltirq was made at the door. 1.. 111" INTELLIGENCE. SIIERILFI'S' COURT, it n E I I. CAM. CON. COMMODORE SIR I!. W. C. R. OWEII. A.B. r. MCI IBS A PIOTIIEr %IRV. Mr. Gurney opened the pleadings. The declaration staled, that the defendant had seduced. and criminally known, Eta wife of the plaint di. For thi , injury lie had laid his damages at 10,41001. 'I he defendant had Antlered judgment to go Its de- Cleft ; and the Jury wme now to inquire into, and assess the damages. Mr. seejeant Best stated the ease. Fe lad the honour of atteeding the Court this day, on 1111.11ilici , f Si,' Edward Owen, better known to the Jfirs and to the public by the title el Com nn do t e Owsn, one of tin' 1110111 I nterprising, gallant, and jun:i dols °Teets that I.e:wi t ted to th.q most valnable service, 11:e Navy. This escellent Oliver came before the Court to c - plain of one of the most giievolis injuries that c ould b e eon . ceived—he meant the slain( ton of Isis wile's at? ..lions. They ninscrecollect him commanding a squadron on Boultigne--•and, when leis services were no longer required there, he WO called to an equally how - stable and arduous duty, on the Lakes Canada. ti Mist the plaintiff was on this last station, the de fendant, who acted as apothecary to the family, as ail. 41 him self of the opportunity which Sir Edward On en's absence al- Carded. to seduce the affections of his hitherto virtuous and ho nourable wife. Sir Edward Owen commanded a squadron off Boulogne in the year Itsot. He was in the habit of coming to I /over mid Dial. The' lady was the daughter of a respectable member of the legal profession, who had, in lso2, retired, anti was liviug privately at Deal. In the course of Sir Edward Owen's skit. , to that town, he became acquainted w ith the lady and her father. She was extremely beautiful, and was pos. messed of every accomplishment. Sir E. ()wen intid his ad dresses to her, 3111 , 1 a marriage was the ceuwgnruce. Sir Ed ward was then 31 years of age, and his bride was just turned 31 —so that no disparity of age could be alledged as a cause for unhappiness. Th. y list d together, dean to the moment when the seduction took place, in the inost affectionate manner.— The attentions of the plaintiff to flit lady w ere marked by the almost kindness, and she retina.. d them istectionati ly. The Jury would find that while Sir Edward ()Well was absent, in the sery ire of his country, Lady Owen manifested the most auxions desire for his return—that species ef feeling which a beloved wife might be expected to whew, when the object of her affections was abroad, es.pomal to every description of peril. When the Boultame flotilla was put an end to, sir Edward was sent to serve his country on the Lakes of Canada; bilk? Owes seas i n consolable on that occasion.—During the period of Si• Edward's akence, Lady Owen's slate of health was t'Mst'l it !ugly bad. Site was attended. in till' first place, by the father of the defendant, who was an apothecary in the neighbour. hood of Oval, and afterwards by the defendant hilescif. The visits of the defendant were extremely it tyre:: ; so flinch so, as to excite a suspicion, that he was not alt. the lady fur the purpose of re.estrild.shing het health. but was engaged is warping her mitad and seducing her atieetions front her hus band. ": a donbt could rest on the minds of .lie Jury, and the under Sheriff would state to them, from the eireurrodance of judgment having gone by default, that the act of allithery was committed. But in order to slim the atrocity of the a us( , he would clearly prove that the crime ....as of white Sir Ed ward was absent on the Lakes cf Canada. On his return, he was informed by some friends that his Lady bad conducted her. self improperly with the defendant during his absence. Sir Edward helms 4.d like a man of firmness on this trying occasion. He selected two friends, who were the relatives of his Lady, and directed them tot titer into an investir aof the circum stances. After they had looked into all the information which they had heen able to collect, they reportcd, that the running of Lady Owen's imprencr courbiet was without Confutation. There WAS not a liar !tier tau in the world titan Sir Edward when the innocence of his Lady was communicated to him. He returned with redoubled pi , .I.llle to his wife. He fettnd her in an ill state of health—and, imagining that her indisposi tion arose from the catumnittus manta - aliich had occasioned the inquiry having made u del p impression on her mind, he felt est:entely anxious for her sdnation, furl immediately took the best means for the restoration of her health. Ile proceed ed with her to London, and placed I.er under the care of 1)r. Pemberton, agt ntlensan eminent fur his skill. That respecta ble eeuth tan he would this day•call on its a witness, and the Jury would learn fruto hint the manner to which Sir Ealnusit