The National Register. — London, England, 1814-12-18 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER: dress was more tasteful, and her attitudes less affected ; yet she still wanted the graceful ease of nature, and retained too much declamatory pomp, when her voice and delivery ought pot to have belied the sportiveness andoccasional sentimentality of the part. She attempted less in her song. and therefore succeeded better. Upon the whole, she gave us more satis faction than when we saw her last, though her most success ful effort did not lead us to forget Mrs. Davison's h.dy-like superiority throughout. Every character in this Comedy was most ably supported. Elliston's Dc:' court pr esented a rich display of excellence, as well 'as Dowton's Mr. liardq, and Mrs..flarlowe's fashionable widow. Mrs. Orger, Miss Boyce, and Messrs. Holland, Wallack and Barnard also exerted themselves most success fully. DEC. 18. and when he has sealed his own baseness by declaring hi s love, the solemn mid swelling indignation with which she adjures (Leaven, ‘Volud that these eyes had Ifeasflis own lightning." and the brow of storm, the fulmivating glance, and ovel . - awing attitude with which she adds, " that with a look thus I might blast thee." and crushes him to the earth, can only be surpassed by be ings superior to our nature. This was not, however, her only sublime effort. Passing over a crowd of beauties, the least of which would shine as a diamond amongst the excellencies of all other actresses now on the stage, we reach the scene in which, plunged from the summit of hope into deeper ruin, and yielding to all the tor tures of despair at finding Bccorley, not only immured in a dungeon, and robbed by own folly of the inheritance of his uncle, but charged with the murder of his friend, she suddenly sees that fried enter, and the innocence of her husband cleared. here description must fail. To say that a smothered scream burst from her bosom, that all her joints seemed at once loosened, that she fell as though smitten by a bolt from Ileaven, that her eyes flashed forth wild glances, and that her breast laboured with convulsive hearings, would he weak. The elfeet, however, was terrible. The company in the,. pit rose instinctively, and the shock was felt through the whole audience. Ilere, for the List time, -she passed Mts. Siddons. To say that the vacant look and hv.sterical laugh with which she closed her part deserved the enthusiastic peals of applause and the shouts of bravo that burst from all parts of the house, would, after this, be doubt ing the judgment of our readers. They may form an idea of the immense numbets who that eight acknowledged anti proclaimed Miss 07:eill's resistless excellence, on learning that even before the piece began, hundreds were refused admittance both at the pit and the boxes, through want of. room, and that time half price visitors could not, till the afterpicec began, penetrate beyond the lobbies. We never saw a Tragedy better cast. Mr. Young in, Beverfry, proved himself fully worthy of supporting Miss O'Neill, and obtained as great a share of applause. Six peals, also attended with shouts of bravo, followed his deli, very of the speech "A ye , I'll tell you of this &iced," &e. Mr. Terry who appeared for the first time in Stakeley, displayed great abilities and was greeted with three rounds of applause. Me. Abbott in Lcieson was spirited and impre.sive. Mrs. Egerton ably supported the part of Charlotte and Mi. Murray that of Jurris. Mr. Harris, proprietor of Covent-Garden Theatre, has presented Miss O'Neil with diamonds value 3001. ; they con sist of a tiara, with a cypress and laurel formed of emeralds and rubies. Some difference is reported to have arisen between Mr. , ' l / 4 V hithread, who still superintends the affairs of Drury-Labe Theatre, and Mr. Kean, the actor. Mr, Kean, hav►ng ab i seoted himself without leave, to play two nights at Brighton, for which he received 1001. at a time when he thought his services mi•ht be spared At Drury Lane, Mr. 'Whetbread is said to have written a lett‘r to him, couched in the severest teims, in which, among other passages, Mr. W. says, He hopes that Nil . . Kean will not give him occasion to regret, that he drew him from obscurity." OLYMPIC PAVILION. We understand that this theatre is going to be once mole opened tinder the auspices of Mr. Elliston, who has obtained a licence from the Lord eilamberlain. It has undergone many aterations and improvements, and the company se lected for its performances, is reported to , contain some well ' loowu 14.Y0U1 lles of the public. COI ENT-GARDEN. On Wednesday last, the Tragedy of the Gcmester was per formed, and NI iss O'Neill added a fresh leaf to her crown, in the character of _l/rs. Bc . cer:' , y, in which she for the first time appeared. This part. though rendered very promiti?nt by the excellence of Mts. Siddons, does not allow much beyond a display of tenderness and resignation. Whenever stronger passions intrude, their flash is momentary ; they are mental meteors, and not the erradiations of native and steady light. During their short -existence, however, their bright. mess is transeendant. Emitted from the eyes and countenance of Mrs. Siddons, their force was magical; shot from those of 311iss O'Neill they lose nothing of their power. Melting with tenderness and woe, too imild for resentment and even for opposition, she pi esented a most fai!liful and atTheting picture of wedded love, estranged from all selfish consideration, un shaken by the severest trials, and opposing to despair itself the heroism of resignation. Many would be the passages in which we could notice bursts of sitperior genius, hut those are now become common in her performances. We shall only point out those excellencies which the British Melpomene was thought to have so entirely identified with heiself that it was impossible for any other actiesi to re-produce them. whole of the scene in which Stukelii exposes his own 4,illainy with his love, abounded with these, and we found them revived by Miss O'Neill in all the force and truth of originality and. nature. The repressed indignation and dig nified incredulity with which she hears the traitor progres sively unfold his accusations against her husband : the burst of enthusiastic confidence with which she exclaims, when IStukcly asserts that Beverley has given her jewels to a *mis t; css, " *No, on my life, he did not !" The rending emotion with which, when be reiterates his ltatgc and add,ices fresh proofs, she cries— " not helicvc. has no mistress," though she wanted to lind herself to a knowledge, the ;authenticity of ‘vhich be ; . , ,ins to dawn upon her mind, and the-iccovcred calmness of smo:in:Jed despair with which she utters " Oi• if lie_lias—why is it toLl to Inc i" the la,t part of the sentence dropping almost inaudib:e, tin eugh excess of vainly checked agitation, seemed to snatch away the pueseut from our eyes, and to place Mrs. Siddons in the fulness of her excellence before them. When, after Yielding to momentary depression, the de signs of the vilLin upon her begin to reveal themselves, and ter confidetkce in her husband's fidelity proportionably to revive, time cool and lofty contempt with which she replies to hip invitation to fly from the cruellest of men for - shell. ter w.th the kincicsr," • Ap4 is lit.? . .