The National Register. — London, England, 1818-11-01 00:00:00

I NOV 1 THE DR4M.I. COVENT-I 12 DEN. Miss Somerville appeared on Thursday night as the heroine of Lewis's tragedy of.lde/itha ; or, the Fruits sy . a Sine+►le Error, a character well-conceived, though perhaps feeble in some of its details, and afihrding, from the variety and complication of distress which it exhi bits, a severe test of the powers of the performer by w ham it is represented. To fail in all the situations of Adclgitha, would imply the absence of all talent for the tragic drama: to succeed in all, require the perfec tion of that talent. Miss Somerville surprised us by a few passages executed with peculiar felicity; bat her general performance was an appeal to the eve, rather than to the taw or the understanding• : a graceful action, a variety of attitudes approaching to the picturesque and the beautiful, appear to he at her command; these qualities tell admirably to the distant parts of the house, and may even impress on the careless spectator the idea of greatness ; the delusion, however, vanishes on close exatnination. Miss Somerville, we fear, is deficient in feeling, and is perpetually losing sight of that essential quality, consciousness of character; her voice, too, by its deep solemn tones, and want of variety in its inflections, produces by continuance an effect on the ear that is far from being agreeable or exciting, and appears almost to refuse its aid to the expression of acute distress. On the whole, we rejoice in Miss So znerville's accession to the strength of this theatre : the general perfection of the tragic drama will be increased, though its character us regards individual talent will not be exalted by that event; and youth ever leaves us much to hope wherever the improvement of art is in question, and where the understanding is likely to come gradually in aid of the natural powers. The character of Michael-Dacus found a most able representative in Mr. Jlacready ; there are few perthrtners on the stage who produce so much effect without any apparent effort as this gentlemn on. Messrs. Young and C. limbic, in Guiscard and Lolhair, were as judicious and effective usual. Mrs. Faucit played the part of lemma with much feeling; and the whole tragtdy was got up in a manner highly creditable to the theatre. Elliston is fitting up the Olympic Theatre, in New castle-street., in the Strand. We hear that, in the int cr»al decorations only, he is expending from 3 to 4,0001. Report mentions that he has already engaged 1)owton, Pope, Decamp, and other superior performers. —We sincerely wish hi:: success may be equal to his A letter from Rochelle, dated Oct. 17, states the fol lowing singular and melancholy oecurter!e:—A few days since some squeezed grapes, fresh from the wine press, were thrown into n large tub, by an inhabitant of the commune of Marsai, without apprising his vin tagers that they should not tread on them. Unihrtu nately, a youth of 18 years, and two children, went into the vessel. The forme: was killed instantly, by the mortal vapour. The two children, who remained near the edge, were taken out in a state of suffocation, from which they were restored. The body of the youth remained in the midst of the mortal vapour, and no one dared approach it. At length .a man went in hulling a rope, but soon fainted and lost his hold. He wis taken out apparently lifeless, but soon restored The body of the unhappy victim was dragged out with a grappling iron. At the Surrey Adjourned Sessions on Wednesday at Newington, Wm. Palfrey was tried on an indictment preferred by the parish of Camberwell, charging the defendant, a graduate of the University of Cambridge, with having walked in a naked state, in the day, on the banks of the canal, between Peckham and Camberwell, in which he had been bathing.—Mr. Cowley for the defendant, in a Inittant speech, addressA himself to the feelings of the Jury. He conceived that if this squeam ishness of seeing naked figures was listened to, there would soon be an end of our boasted constitution ! The defendant was, however, convicted, and in tainsi &ration or his having already suffered imprisonment, sentenced to pay a flue of Is. and to enter into his own recognizanrc, in the sum of 201. to keep the peace far twelve months. It is now asserted, that the issue of New Crowns has not been stepped : and that the same dies are em ployed without any alteration. The Bell and Lane ister systems of educ•ntion make great prowess in Franco; 900 schools arc opened, and the children press in crowds to then'. The continuance of a separate Stall in the Midland District, as it was termed, having i•eccnne onnecessarv, the Counties of which it cactri-ted ore now comprised within the district in which Major-General Sir John Byng has the military command. Those counties are, Derby, Northampton, Ncittingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Rutland, Salop, Stafford, and Norwich. The Major- General's head gnarters.reinain at Pontefract. Messrs. Baring and Ca. are reported in the Brussels papers to have discounted their own collateral band of 50,000,C00 frs. to Prussia, at the rate of 5 per cent ; the latt:r power having expressed some uneasiness with regard to the security of their claim upon the French Government. Tllr, NAT, REGISTITR. DRURY LANE THEAntv. In consequence of an intimation from Mr. Walker, chairman of the Committee of Cre.litors appointed on the 16th, a considerable number of creditors assembled in the saloon on Wednesday, soon after 11. 11r.Walker was called to the chair. tie. reported that the Commit tee had not approved of the proposition made by the Sub-Committee on the 16th, but had in their turn proposed two successive sets of resolutions; the first, agreeing to receive a composition of 10s. provided the remainder of the debt should be paid by annual divi dends on the profits of the theatre : the second, agreeing to a composition of 10s. and a full acquittal on the part of all the creditors, excepting those who bad been pabliely assured of full and re ady payment last year.— Both sets of resolutions had been refused by the Sub- Committee; the Committee had, therefore, only to say, that they had not agreed to the terms of the Sub- Committee, and now surrendered their trust. A creditor now got up, and speaking with consider able warmth, said, that it had been very well if the Sub-Committee had agreed to the resolutions proposed ; but since they had not, were , the creditors t refuse 10s. in the pound? He should be very happy to have the whole of his debt, but if he could not have that, thank fully should he take a part. The gentlemen were to advance this money out of their own pockets. Who would be such idiots us to refuse it? He concluded by moving a resolution, that the meeting agree to the proposition made by the Sub•Committce on the 16th uf October. Mr. Neale, a member of the late Committee, secouLd ►his resolution. Many other creditors strongly supported it. On a show of hands, a few appeared against the resolution. The effect of this was much deprecated, and an actual divison took place, when it appeared that all the opponents of the resolution, except one, had withdrawn. The resolution was declared to have been carried in the affirmative, and the meeting dissolved. A General Meeting of the Proprietors took place in the Saloon on Tuesday, for the purpose of taking into consideration the appointment of the Sub-Committee, as afreed upon by the General Committee. Ihe Earl of Yarmouth having been unanimously called to the Chair, Mr. Ware, as Secretary of the Thea tre, proceeded to read the advertisement by which the Nfeeting was convened. The Earl of Yarmouth then stated, thAt the question which he, as Chairman, had to put, was, whether the Meeting would agree to the nomination wade by the General Committee ? If any Gentleman objected to such nomination, the regular course was to call f o r a ballot, which, in that case, must immediately take place. Mr. Robins said, that before they proceeded to the business of the day, he wished to put a question of some importance. He had seen in the Newspapers, that a proposition was made by the Sab-Committee to the Creditors, stating that they would subscribe to the amount of 3,5001. each, tbr the discharge of a part of the debt. He was desiroas to know whether all the Members of the Sub-Committee bad agreed to this, and whether they still remained of the same ()pillion? M. Ironmonger said, that the proposal originated with him, and was agreed to by all the Members. A Meeting of the Creditors was held in consequence, but the proposal was not acceded to by them. At a subse quent Meeting, however, he believed their objections were removed, and they were now willing to accept the of1;:ir. He was bound to state at the same time, that Mr. Wilson, who, as one of the Sub-Committee, was ready in the first instance to advance 3,5001. had, since the refusal of the creditors to accept their proposal changed his mind. Mr. Robins observed, that the proposition, as he un dersteod, was made, upon . condition that all the Credi tors should come into the terms, he was therefore slow to acknowledge the great merit of the Sub-Committee in snaking such a proposition, as they must be aware that it was almost impossible it could have been ac cepted. He could himself name some of the Creditors who could never be prevailed upon to give it their sanction. . _ _ Sir T. Turton said, he felt disposed to move a vote of thanks to the Committee for their liberality, and if the creditors generally felt any regard for their own in• terest—if they fAt any inclination to support one of the great national Theatres, and, considered on the score of ' humanity, the number of families who►e support de pended on its success, they would concur in this measure, which was the only one that athirded the slightest pros pect of keeping the I heatre open. After some further conversation, the appointment of the Sub-Commi - tee was confirmed by the meeting. The question for the Chairma❑ leaving the Chair being put, Air. Robins, reverting to the subj•.•ct of the reamed prices, maintained that the Proprietors ought to have been called together befinte it %vas determined on, and he believed Lord Yarmouth and Sir T. Turton would concur in that opinion. The Earl of Yarmouth said, he had thought all slong so :wrong a erasure ought not to have bert rc•,o;ved ulon without ggirg to the rropriett.4s; but as to the 549 measure itself, he thought, for many reasons not neces sary to be stated now, that it was the mile one which could be of use to the Theatre in its present condition. `.ir T. Turton declared opinion of the ruinous tendency of an experiment, the effect of which was to make Drury-lane Theatre play second fiddle to Covent garden. They ought not to have specuktcd on the mo ney of persons who embarked in the concern on an plied understanding that the prices should not be re duced. Mr. Robins complained of it as operating also against the interests of the Performers who took benefits. Mr Calcraft assigned as a reason for not taking the sense of the meeting on the appointmeut of the Sub- Committee, that those Gentlemen had so involved the concern, as to prevent any one else from undertaking it, The meeting then broke up. It appears that family influence, or reqncracu, is carried to a length' l in the United States, fully propor tionate to that in England. In the state of Now York only, no less than 40 places of profit, under the Go vernment, are enjoyed by the family ni the Clintons. Letters received yesterday'. from Harrington, (Cum berland) state, several riots had taken pla'e on account of the export of potatoes from Cumberland ; two sloops loaded, and about to sail for Liverpool, had been attack ed by the populace. who, after taking possession, plun dered the vessels of the entire cargoes. His Royal Higness the Commander in Chief bag appointed Lieutetnlnt-General Sir Edward Paget, to the Government of Cowes Castle. _ _ The Duke of Wellington was expected at Paris on Wednesday or Thursday last. Letters received at Manchester from Rio Janeiro, of the 27th and 28th of August, speak in very encouraging terms of the state of the markets for all sorts or British manufactures, and repeat the course of exchange as highly favourable for this country. Ther.also give a flattering account of the treatment which British sub jects received in the Brazilian territory, and express confident hopes of extending our commerce in the in terior provinces of that fertile kingdom It. is generally understoed at Rio, that the Portuguese mean to take no part in the quarrel between Spain and her Colonies, further than to secure their own territory from the violation or encroachment of either; and that the places now oceop7ed by the Portuguese troops will be given up to whicheYeeparty may gain the ascendency, when the contest has terminated. The terms entered into fbr the conveyance of the Bri tish troops from the continent, are 4s. G.l. per man, and 16s. per horse. The contract was made with some of the London shipowners. A celebrated barrister of the present day, who is chiefly inlebted ;or the affluence lie now enjoys, to his professional success, has chosen for the motto to his car riage—" Causes prodvde effeas . ." On the 27th instant, a fine new brig, of 170 tons burden, named the Methnsa, was launched from one of the slips in Mr. White's building yard, at West Cowes ; and on Tuesday next, at eleven o'clock, will be launched from Mr. White's other slip,_ a fine WeA India ship, of 540 tons burden, built for Thomas King, Esq. one of the elder Brethren of the Trinity House. An article from Frankfort, in the Frenrb papers, say*, " Some idea may be formed of the wealth of the cele brated banking-house, Rothchild's, from the details of a marriage wirier has recently taken place in that tinnily. A vouuger brother has espoused Mademoiselle Hertz; of Hamburgh. On this occasion, twenty-five thousand florins were distributed to the poor of all persuasions. Each of the numerous clerks in that firm e•Aved gratification of 100 threats; three were also givea to the most o score servant. The new-married couele have purchased a house at 100,000 florins. It is ob served, that Mr. Rothschild has at present five banking establishments, viz. at Frankfort, London, Amsterdam, I I ainburgh, and Berlin. He intends to have a sixth. et Eetersbargh " The secretary to a Confederacy of journeymen ab sconded a few days since with the whole of the funds, between five and ,:ix thousand pounds. He went away in a post-chaise and four fur Gravesend, and there em barked for America This „ie.:Val confidanf , wene to his employers, stating that woohl remit the interest on his arrival at Philadelphia ; as to the principal, they must wait for that until it elided his convenience ? We also learn, that he has teken with Mtn, four journey men, emnrent in their rexpective branches of trade. At the last Leominster Qearter Sessions, a bill of indictment was found agains' a man for a misdemean our,. inecliing his wife on the 18th ult. in the public market of that town fins es. rid. It is with extreme regret we announce that the Lady of Sir Samuel Itoindly exeiresi or. Thurelay night, at leee Cowes Cost le. the seat of John Nash, Esq. She had borne it long and painfel illness with ..xere plary petieeee and iteignation. 1)onnelly, the man tele) is supposed to have murder s:l his wile and thrown her into• the well of the Duke te' York public house, Brompt on, was discharged - fie nn the 98th Reeiment and catered into the 80th, a detach-• me.nt of which lett Chatham, under the rommaud an officer about three weeks back.— C!..ii,:ilucy ry r