The National Register. — London, England, 1808-12-25 00:00:00

TTIE NATIONAL. REGISTER.: ~~ l~ their public acquaintance actually conituelices. This ob servation may to some parsons appear trivial. 1\ othin r ,o is unworthy of being remarked, however, that in the least tends to improve and give effect to the eloquence of the pulpit. had it been permitted us to contemplate a Peter un the day of Pentecmit, a Lepheii duriug his last address to the enraged Jess, and a Pallibefore•telix, or Agrippa, or 1 estus, we should have discovered , 1 d o ub t not, in each of these g loriousi champions of our religion, the happy and sublime union of Oratory and Christianity! December 22, 1801: ONSsIMCS. 6 . i '? ! I • t. t . ,t, , THE TH EATRE. • • irdr-icovisr. Oa .Friday night, a striking instance of temerity was extribited on the boards of.this Theatre: and the truth-of this maxim. " asidecesfortunajuvai," was never better proved thou on this occasion. A Mrs. Beaumont from the Glasgow Theatre made her first appearance us ltelvidere.iu 46 Venice Preserved," a character which Mrs. Siddous has raised by the excellence of tier performance, bigh above the abilities of any actress of the present, anti perhaps of future times. The rumoured secession of the: British Melpomena from the stage, has incited a number of candidates fur the tragic crown to start forth from the ob scurity, in which they had spent the greatest part of their existence, and court the pubic gaze. To this sudden ins pulse we owe the introduction Of Mrs. Mudie at Drury lane, and that of !Cs. Beaumont at the Ilaywatket. The latter, we must confess, possesses more claims to our iudul gence, if not approbation, than the former. In features she not very unlike Mrs. Mudie, and thertfore little cal culated to impress us with awe. Her name must be writ ten on the same leaf in the catalogue of years. Sho can not boast the same pleasing lisp, but her voice is fully as harmonious : she surpasses her, however, greatly in pro priety of action, and seems to feel and understand her purt,. and expresses her feelings and conception of it, with a superior degree of exactness and discrimination. In the scene in which she gives an account of Renault's misbe haviour to her husband, she was really good ; but her grief was now and then too much like ranting. Iler mad ness at the close of the piece was more natural than her acting in the former scenes had led us to expect. In a Nord, the chief requisites in which Mrs. Beaumont stands in need, are h, and a tidier voice ; did she possess these, her anti iechng seem such as to insure her future excellence. As ,!se now is, she may rank among the respectable and usci&, but never among the great per formers. was recei',.ed with applause, so enthusiasti cally bestowed, and now and then so ill-timed, that we almost suspect. it chicsy proceeded from the blind partiality of friends. But the plaudits of the whole house, unmixed with a single hiss, hailed the moment of her death. Mr. C. kemble, in Jollier, rose to the highest pitch of .sithionian excaence. lie was truly great, not only when compared with the secondary actors with whom he is ge nerally ranked, hut when put iii competition with the abi lities of a John tiemble, an Elliston, and a Young. He was really the hero of the night, although acting by the side of the celebrated Cooke. His excellence did not con •ist of momentary bursts, it was equal throughout, with out a single moment of rantsng or weak nes* Such a per formance we did not expect from him, and a more perfect we do not recollect having ever witnessed. The part of Pierre is nut calculated to bring Mr. Cooke's into action. The dignity of heroic guilt, he sinks low born villainy. We cannot conceive why Air. og was not entrwited•with this character, which would ser‘ed to• exalt his fame, whilst it now proves a hling block in the way of Mr. Cooke's dramatic re- CHRISTMAS Oh, Winter! ruler of the inverted 1 croon thee . king of 'mimicdeli Firek:side enjoynienis, home-burn The - national rejoitings of the Jewi the expiration of every seven years, tival of Christmas occurs once during had septcnniaily its Jubilee--Christ in hristmas. What millions of hum. loohing forward to the day on whict mine appears! Persons of all descri men and women and children, each ai for months past, ant:cipated the cui season at. which we are now arrivel Christmas is, indeed, admirably cal , meut of domestic comforts; tor an cent gratifications, and the promotio It ought to be the sip,nal for assembl tered relationships of humanity, for feelings and affections. With this the reign of serene hilarity, of gooi ness, of generous hospitality. Let the now enliven our laud. Tap the hoar treasured bottles; and, chief of all, si • " The roast-beef of 01,1 E in all its pristine grandeur, give stabi Aundance to the greats. Not that I.ttle masters and mistresses—the g 4 gentlemen of this charming age—st vourite mince.pies, or two or three mammas' hest homebrewed wine. A " Now, stir the fire ; and dose " Let fall the curtains ; wheel t, Now for the frolics of the little-one! their elders.—How many Christiw how many more they may sec ing the year that is fast expiring, at Hill probably produce ; when " NVe nest enquire, but softly and " Like conservators of the public I "Of epidemic throats—lf such thi " And coughs, and rheumy, and p! " That theme exhausted, a wide " Filled up, at last, with interes " Who darted with whom, and w " And who i 3 hanged, and who 1. " But fear to call a more impf,rtm " Ai if 't were treason against Lug Well ! time, notwithstanding, Night comes. Much has been sl feast is half eaten, the ale is half are all exhausted. We, therefore, rating ; and may now ask, not with , " Is Winter hideous in a gal What becomes of those nurnberh possess not the " garb" by while from seeming " hideous" to other takes cognizance of those who car selves. Many a noble and aftineM something like munificent hospital of joyous inclemency, towards flu it, as Pope said, that " what his ha\ " His charitable vanity So much, for Christmas ; thou; frankly,confess it might he as well few following days, were well over It has sometimes posed me, any readers, to.discover how it came epoch Of religious rejoicing should time for ,balancing and settling th' cerns of civilized intercourse. Th, t would exult in nitely more heart pGwcl into Yuan r bave ( urn putat -•\ DEC. 25. • year ; rc ights, happiness PCpEit. es were celebrated at to , but the national les- ; every year. Juda/sm inity has annualh its 1 oan-beings ha.e b een h this lucubration of iptions and cond.:ions, and all have, perhaps ustoruary rites ut the lculated for the caiov- ie. indulgence of limo- on of so...jai ding tc.:,cther t..e, scat- the toil play of familv should d cheerful- he melody of the, Leart trded barrel, open the still let !;ngland," oility to the table and L 1 %ould deny, to o u r ;ood young ladies and some taste of their ta- t glasses of their dear And now-- the shutters fast ; the sofa round !" es, and the chit-chat of iasys they have seen 7hat has transpired dur- Ind what the next year it by stealth, health, here are, ihthisic, and catarrh. chasm ensue=, ;ling news; -... ho are like to wed, k brought to bed : int cause, oglish laws." passes tolerably away. ;aid, touch done. The drank, and the bottle‘ , begin to think of seri- ,hout confidence, arb like this ?" less ones, however, who ich Winter is prevented rs ?—Charity, of coore, Luna pros ide fur them- it personage still extends alit y, t i turtug se:lsou IC poor ; since SO true is trtl heart denies, mipplies 1" this Ili o d ry myself, acrd , l slouts s 1 If nd perhaps many of my