The National Register. — London, England, 1813-09-05 00:00:00

/ • . . of being concerned. in such a violation of decorum and pro priety, by immediately coming forward, and manfully de claring his abhorrence of it. Ve must therefore attribute it solely to the thoughtless and erring zeal of the public sup porters of the Pantheon, who wished to punish Mr. RAlr'• MOND• for the prominent part which he had lately been seen to take in the prosecution of the Manager and performers of that theatre for representing regular plays without the Loaf) CliAstnettLA Hi's Licence. We arc also foes to monopoly, and friends to every establishment which displays the attrac tions of real merit, and increases the amusements of the public, and had we been -the LORD CHAMBERLAIN, We certainly should have set all matters to rights by granting the Pantheon a regular Licence. But, although we have lam e nted th e opposition which this infant concern has en countered, and expressed our regret that the Managers of the English Opera should so far give way to un founded fears as to think it their duty to join in its prosecution, when they possessed so excellent a com pany as to baffle all competitor, and to secure a continued succes ion of overflowing houses, we have never denied their rizkt to do it. Its existen .c was undoubted, and al though we wished them to let it sleep, we were ready to ac knowledge, if the necessity was made out, the propriety of exerting it. We never could sanction, besides, such an at tick on a performer when on duty, which is, in fact, an attack on the puh!ie, whose amusements it disturbs, and converts a feast of mental enjoyments into a scene of riot and alarm. But in this case, it appears that the cause of the disturbance was as unjustifiable r.s the time and manner in which it was carried on. Ve rejoice to find by the fol lowing letter to the Proprietor of the Lyceum, that the op position to the Pantheon did 'not originate in tbat quarter and that instead of becoming a roluntaq prosecutor, Mr. HAYMON D's prominence on the occasion was the conse -quence of the mandate from superior authority. _ . Lord Chinni:lerlain's 011 r, July 27, 1813. DEAR SIR—AS Mr. Candy has had the temerity to reAst the power cif the Lld Chamberlain, and, in defiance of his Lordship's injunction, still persists is performing the regular pieces which belong to the au thorised Theatres, I have aeceiced the l:oin mati d s of the r.ord Chamber lain to proceed against the said Mr. Comfy, and, in consequence, ar infOrmation has been filed by one of the Officers of this department against them. Having understand that Mr. Raymond witnessed the first exhibition, and is so fully capable of deciding whet her the piece performed at the Pantheon by the title of the " Cabinet," was the same as acted at the regular Theatres, I shall algid in 3 sell of his evidence, and trust, that tientlemsn will not he ()trended at inv feeling myself' compelkd to sum mons him to state the filets bi . fiwe the jlagistrates. 11 this proceeding the part of the I.ord Chamberlain to uphold his authority does not convince Mr. Candy of his error, and silence the performances at the Pantheon immediately, the performers themselves will have to answer for a breach of the law ; and consequently it will be for Mr. Cundy to consider if he can affird the means to guarantee those peiformers from the penalties which his conduct will subject then to. The interest of every revular Theatre being involved in this affair, and th e I,pw.tint being the only one now open. I expect you will give me every assislance in your power to enable me to carry the Lord Cliani beriain's ortos into ; and I shall. feel oblied if you will send a person of the nave of Lonsdale, who, I am informed, is employed in your Theatre, ant i is well acquainted with the Drama, to receive my instructions. 'fheexiNeitses attending his visit to the Pantheon will of course be paid by this 4Nflice, I reaNn, dear Sir, jour's very truly, J. 13. MASH. To counteract this evielesce, some reports having been circulated that Mr. MASK was a partner in the Lyceum pro perty, and therefore an interested prosecutor, that gentle man has published the following solemn denial Lord Chatianilitiii'soffie, Sept.?.. Sir— Several paragraphs hailing appeared' in the newspapers repr seating we as a proprietor 44 or as a party interested in, the Engli .- Opera, or the Lyceum Thtatre, which representations are o 'vault v in tended to reflect discre :it on my offi7.ial elm; atter, I feel m.se t calla i upon In contradict those injurious falsehoods,- and to decla.e i'pon my honour, that I have not, nor ever had, directly or indirec . l., the small est properly or interest in that theatre or establishment ; the license for which was originey granted to Mr. Arnold alone, by the late Earl of Dartmouth, under the express sanction of his Majesty, and leas since been annually renew. d fur him alone, and in his name. Various assertions having also been made that the Proprietor and Stage Manager of the Lyceum The have commenced the proceed ings against the Pantheon, I deem it but justice to state, that these pro• ceedings have originated in, mud are now conducted by this office ky order of the Lord thatr.herlain, I ain, Sir, your eery obediatt servitut, T. B, MASH'. We have heard, hnwever, that some circumstances hare transpired, which refute the statement contained in Mr. MASH's first letter, that the expenses should be paid by the LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S Office ; and we have been assured that the money had been received from a different quarter. Some documents have been promised to us on that subject, but as we have not yet received them, we shall not at present carry its investioltion any further. Should this seeming contradiction be fully established, many circumstances sug gest themselves in its explanation. ' At the conclusion of the Siege of Belgrade. and during the bombardment of the town, two of the fire balls took a wrong direction, one fell in the Pit, where it was speedily put out, and the other in the centre Box, where it created some alarm, but fortunately no injury. Its chief effect was to cause a young lady. near whom it burst, to hang her head for some time on the shoulder of her neighbour, who, no doubt, blessed the propitious meteor that had procuied him so lovely a burthen. On Thursday last, Mr. and Mrs. COOKE made their first appearance as Macheath and Polly, in the Beggar? Op( re. [laying only witnessed the first pact of their performance, as we had to visit the new, judicious, and elegant alterations made at Covent Garden Theatre, lighted for the first time the same night, we shall only say, that as tar as we followed them, both Maeheoth and Polly answered our most sanguine expectations. As this Opera is to be repeated next week, we shall in our next enter more particularly into their merits. The comic opera of Rich ani Poor, which was produced with such great and merited success at this Theatre, last year, was for the first time this season performed on Friday night, when Mr. GA Tri c made his appearance in the part of Rivers. As far as depends upon the moral of this piece, we must view it with some disapprobation, since although lost virtue is fully reclaimed, yet its basis has a dangerous ten dency. It may claim an equal merit with most of the mo dern productions, as its scenes possess a liveliness and a de gree of comic humour, which are well contrast( d with the more heavy ones between Zorayda and her Father, which, divested of this agreeable variety, might otherwise make it too trying to the feelings of an audience. When ,we look back upon the past, and reflect with whi.t delight we wit nessed Mr. FAWCETT . S performance of Rivers, last summer, we arc almost inclined to suffer our partiality towards him to extend so far as to make a possibility of success in an other out of the qtle , tion. Mr. G ATTIE, though certainly incompetent to rank with his great and eminent predecessor, nevertheless possesses some qualifications for the part, and whilst we consider that he has hitherto appeared merely as a comic performer, we are rather inclined to e4cuse those imperfections which perhaps might wise from timidity, than view him with too severe an eye. Ills delineation, bow- nay gcutie- view him with too severe an eye. His delineation, how- Sept.'!.ever, of the austere, frigid, and heart-rending, though at Japers repre- last relenting father, was not otherwise than itnpreisive. the Engtiih and claimed considerable ail:lame. In that part of the, • 1