The National Register. — London, England, 1815-12-03 00:00:00

.~ ~.. i 773 TtlE NATIONAL PEGISTER. DRAMATIC REGISTER,. COVENT-(7A RDEN. A new Farce called " Whats a Man of Fashion " 1 " was yroduced on Monday last, and has since maintained ifs around at this Theatre. If it not teem with wit, it abounds with buqle and comic Situations, and therefore answers the chief purpose of a thing. of this nature, amuse- Trent. The extravagance of the plot is too great to require that we should follow all its complicated windings. A short sketch of the plot is all that is nect- , s , ary to give an idea of the whole. Sent by Isis father (Old Project). to di rect a country Bank, a young spendthrift wastes inpleasore the money destined to support the concern. Ash3nwd to let his father know his situation, he obtains reli4 fromlfs amcie, a good humoured old Admiral ; who after 110 . 44', ut his youth at sea in defeating. tlre-en , tides of hi' cunt“. fly, passes the evening . of his-life in el , ariu4 her fields from foxes and other 'Mental foes. In order to raise his nephew above his difficulties he procures him an introduction to a young utnnarricd lady!with . a fortune of _1'30,000. and sup plit s him with the means of appearing. a man of •faShibn fatal fortune, until he has secured the.hand of the - lady. • The young many fully answt rs his uncle's wishes, throws open his house, fills it with company ; and as such com'uct was likely to occasion, he is immediately considered as one of e greatest men in the country. Amidst the hosts of in tt rested frit nds who start up at once to court his patro wLe, is his own father, who requests an introduction to the Nabob, ignorant that it was his son, and only claiming the honour of lying his namesake. This incident leads to a most ludic; ott situation, and complete expogure.; -The rest of tea I.ieceis-reordered amusing by the efforts .41114 V by the friends of the 'lady. to preveht 'her from throwing herself and her fortune away on Young Project, but her heart is on his side : and with her good will, and the skill and agility of the old Admiral and his nephew, who leap out of, and i :et in at, windows, to putih force a marriage licence, the Ydne of which expires at twelve o'clock ; love is at last triumphant, and fortune becomes its rt ward:— This hustling plot,carrivd into action and enlivened by the comic powers of Fawcett, J►►nes, Blanchard, a!td 11.11ss Matthews, could not to please. T he songs were much applauded, though the music ditl nut display more than or dinary taste, and the . %hole obtain. d a must hearty recep.. tiOn. ()TWAY'S tragedy of the Orpkal was revived la..t night in a mariner that re-called.anal equall«l the finest days of theatrical excellence.- Miss O'Ntti. assumed of course, the part of Monimia. .11.1 r. You-NG appeared in Chathont, and the twobrothers Cast.. Lio and Po'sdcre were entrusted to the rival abilities of Messrs. C. Kern:de and Con , tay. Such au arrangement in itself deserves the hi,ht st praise. It brings forth at once thy whole strength of the company in the most effective manner. To enter at, the late hour at which the phry ended, into a detaled examination of Miss O'Neil's excellencies in this new chr.racter, as it could.not be done on a sufficiently extended scale, would he only committing an act of injustice. She displayed her usual command over the passions in all its encr.q. The softness of love; the dignity of a noble heart insulted by the expres sion of an unworthy passion, the melting effusions of woe, the horror when Monimia learns the invulua tary crime she has committed, aid the settled and almost silt nt despair which follows when she tears herself from all that she loved on earth, were aievcr expressed with more DEC. truth and sensibility than by Miss O'Neil, last night. The loud applause which attended her pkidurniance Was but a weak testimony of whit wHs feltbylvcrowded audience. Mr. Young rose in the part of Clunsant to a still higher degree of eXcellerice than any he had. hitherto attained. In the scene in which he reproaches father with the injury done to his sister, he equalled, if he did net . excel, in dignity, force and nature, any_perforipance we have ever witnessed on tin stage. The . redouble 4 peals of applause and shouts of bravo which crowned Lis efforts, however abundant, were - only justice done ,to his merits by a dis. cerning public. ',Messrs. C.Alemble . audi Conway also gave great effect to their respective parts, and - the whole yielded so great,. and such universal satisfaCtion, that the tragedy will by repeated neat Tuesday, and will probably continue isir a considerable time, to occupy the etage. ^ter --~. .a. • h ILLUMINATIONS. • • The iPtlinhlntiong nil Monday on acconnt of the Peace, were .PrivaiehOuses sere as glieimy as if their in!4- . buants,ll3 , l net shame-in those Idessings,• which Were so splen didly commemorated by theoffiees.ofothe public ministers. Thc.se which attracted the chief notice were at., the west' end, of the town andtowards Westminster,ive mean•Carlton-houie and the public offices. The theatres displavect no brillianci', that of Drury-lane having only the word " Peace," without even an olive branch, and that of Covent-garden a simple Clown, with the ini ials of his - Niajestv. Somerset-house was in a blaze of light, and reflected on tte •oppoite windows a• glow like thafof the setting sun'. Festoons of lamps surround. e(l . the arches of the. piazzas, and formed so many continued' o'ffight. At the base of the pillars above the arches, the words, " Europe in peace, and Eno:land in glory,' formed a range of variegated letters from one• end of the building to the other. This legend was surmounted with the royal crown, ,the initials of Fiis Majesty and the Pi ince Regent, intermixe.l with olive. Carlton house excited much .notice, not from the .brilliattcv'oflits illamination,hot from the wantof it. It ) fes;oonsoleolonrediamps.hailgingrottnd the. pillars of its et I on ade,—no crowns . nor feathers nor olives, nor G.R.'s,—it was il luminated merely with a scanty number of torches like those carried by the lamplighters, which were not sufficient to shew the trophy and the lions 1)11 the top of the w3ll. ' The Ad- . miralty and the Horse Gtfards were elegantly illuminated, but bah nothing peculiar in their devices. The Treasury and Downing-stteet made the greatest display. On the front of the former building were el posed transpatencies tepresenting the arms of Great Brnain between those of Atistria, Prussia, Russia, and Belgium, and below the legend " La Belle Alliance,' with a profusion of olives surrounding the whale. The fotei , ,or office in Downing street, .as might have been eXpof ted; attract ed particular no!i.e: it was decorated with four lines of damps placed above each other, the first forming the letters " Ntiv. xx. 1815," the second " the Peace of Europe," the third and fourth crowns and the initials of the Prince Regent and the • King. The Parliament hone was not illuminated. The rest of the public °dices had nothing but common emblems and devices, the Admiralty, retaining its anchor, and all the rest their clowns and initials. As the iLumination was not general, and consequently no emulation excited, .there wei e few shops, or private houses that deserved attention* The . transpa!ency over We shop of Ackermann, in the Strand, attracted•the greatest crowd, and appeared to us the most deserving of notice, both for the ingenuity of its device, and the.correctnes& of its. execution, 'the Opera. house. had a few lamps suspended over the arches.of the different doors of admission.., it exhi bited likewise, a star, anda transparency, but ste.ther of limn were very brilliant. The little thean e was no.wise rentarkable. The French Ambassador's house was elegaaulv but without any device or peculiar ornantela. 'on one' st!le word " was displayed in la. ee and . sty, 1 1 1 • 1 a j. tl 11 a •