The National Register. — London, England, 1813-02-14 00:00:00

TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER. 110 isereemmersemesek , with the greatest presence of mind, determined to get into the old itia.i's house in the disguise of a footman , and , in th at character, t,) n like lo ‘ e to, and run otf with his daughter Sophia (Miss KELLY). Ile got into the house, but he waN never afterwards heard to talk of his inti nded scheme, or seen to make love to the lady, or even to speak to her. He spade awkward pantomimic mis..akes, such as beating his master's coat while the master was sitting in the chair asleep—petting snuff into the tea-pot instead of tea, which set the parties sneezing, a very natural re sult from ta+ting water that had Leen mixed with snuff; and he either uttered bad puns, or afforded others the opportunity of being so guilty ; as fir instance, when a chin was soaped by mistake, the offender was to be lathered ; and when some noise that was heard was said to be only a rat, it was called a u mpi►►g rat. An Irish fortune-hunter, Patrick O'Fagan (Mr. JotiwsT'oN F.), appeared, but having no thing t o do, we cannot pretend to describe his merits. Like a shadow he came, and so departed Williams (Mr. WAt.t.xcx), the reed lover, a Naval Lieute nant, made hisfirst appearance just before the conclusion of the whole; but, after having rolled himself about in his peculiar and inimitable style fur some nroment., the null contents bec " ame so loud in their cries of .4 No, ! Oft; of Manager, Manager! that we heard not what fine things he might have expressed. There were some songs, but the one which gave the great est satisfaction was sung by Mr. BANNISTER, and consisted of puns on the names of our Newspapers, truly observing, that the Courier was slow in coming—that The Day did not appear before Night, and that The. Pilot had lost his way . 1 This was encored..-The Performers did the utmost to save the piece. When the curtain fell, BANNISTER, as the absent man, remained on the stage. apparently unconscious the perform ance had reached its close. The hisses and cries of disap probation, which had risen very high, still continued. He remained long on the stage, and the audience long kept up the tumult. When the storm had subsided a little (a very little) he endeavoured to make himself heard, and expressed surprise at ending himself there; but added, since be was there, he might as well give out the Piece for a second re presentation. This was strongly opposed. He went on to epeak the Prologue in the Play in Hamlet : " For us, and for our Tragedy. Here stooping to your clemency. We beg your hearing pritiently. • This had not the effect of conciliating the audience, and . he retired. A cry was now made for the Manager, and was continued for some time without eflect. The cry became general, and " RAYMOND," " Manager," " Come forward," &c. were v mciferated from all parts of the house. Towards the end of Ale farce, the audience had risen to oppose the perform ance. They now resumed their seats, and patiently (but not quietly) waited the appearance of the Manager. For some time they waited in vain, but at length the lamps rose again, :and a minute after Mr. itAvstoND made his appearance: He was welcomed with universal applause, and silence ob tained, spoke as follows -Ladies and Gentlemen--I was in a different part of the house, or would certainly sooner have obeyed your stonnions—(Loud applause). It certainly is not the wish of the Proprietors of this Theatre to cause to be represented any piece that may be obnoxious to you." Here the speaker was loudly applauded, and shouts of M victory," were continued for some time. Silence was again obtained with some difficulty, and Mr. RAYMOND proceeded— " Ladies and Gentlemen—When this piece has undergone some al• terations"—[Here he was interrupted, and cries of " No, No !" were beard from every part of the lonise.] Mr. RAYMOND resumed.— " Ladies and Gentlemen—lt eertaiiily is not the wish of the Pro prietors to represent any piece which is obnoxious to you, but as every Piece produced is attended with considerable expense, when such al teratitms are made"—[Here he was again interrupted with strong marks of diapprobetion.)—" When aiterations are made, will you suffer it again to be submitted to you i" Loud cries of " No, No," again burst forth. Some of the audience called out el Yes," but these were completely over- FEB. 14 powered by the opposition. Mr. RAYMOND having ascer tained that the " Noes had it," bowed and retired, and, of course, it was expected " The Absent Apothecary" would hencefw th he absent. What was therefore the astcnishment of the public, to Fee it announced for representation the next and following days. Justice hay, however, at length overtaken it ; and after a re sistance, which h:ts only served to create general disgust, the Manager 114 s at last been compelled to withdraw it en tirely from the Stage. COVENT GARDEN TEI Mrs. Jo RD AN commenced her engagement on Wednesday last, in the character of the Widow Cheer& in " The Sol dicr's Daughter." She displayed all her wonted vivacity and spit it, but we must defer our remarks on her performance till our next. On Monday a Miss DOUGL AS made her de-but at this Thea tre in the character of Alicia in the tragedy of " Jane Shore." Her performance was marked by strong feeling and very con siderable powers, but she wanted elepnce, and did not suf ficiently interest the spectator. A new pet former (particu larly a female) is generally seen to a disadvantage on the first night, we shall therefore abstain from further remarks till we have had an opportunity of seeing her again. After the tra gedy, the burletta of " Poor Vulcan" was revived.' It is got up with great splendour, is admirably cast, and went off with great eclat. ,REVIEW OF LITERATURE. ROKEBY.—By WALTER SCOTT, ESQ. (Continued from Jan. 31.) From the preceding exposition of the fable of ibis Poem, it may be judged, that it is intricate without being strikingly interesting. This opinion will be confirmed and strength ened by the perusal of the work itself. In an analysis, in cidents and events are brought together, which, in the origi nal, are severed by long and tedious digressions. This is par cularly the ease in Robby. The story, but slightly opened in the first book, is carried on in a loose and undefined man. ner through the three succeeding ones, whilst in the fifth and sixth it grows so hurried as to be obscure and perplexed. In conduct, therefore, the poem of Rokeby is more defi cient than any of Mr. SCOTT'S former productions, with the exception perhaps of Don Roderic, the conclusion of which has no connexion whatever with the beginning. The fable of Rokeby is not only ill conducted, but it presents little novelty, and no striking events such as those with which Marmion teems. Let the mind of the reader revert to that poem, much and unjustly criticised at the time of its ap pearance, and a crowd of beautiful passages and situations immediately present themselves. The trial of CONSTANCE, her eloquent defence, and burial alive in the subterraneous chamber where nought was heard save the dull sound of the neighbouring sea, piercing through the mass of earth; the mysterious PALMER, and his secret encounter, as the spirit knight, with MARMION ; the splendid description of the Scottish camp, of the gallant Monarch and his court ; MA R MION'S parting interview with DOUGLAS ; and above all the last battle and his death,form excellencies which even the more uniform beauties of the Lady of Me Lake have not surpassed, and which, as the creations of a superior genius, remain stamped on the heart and mind of every admirer of true poetry. Rokeby displays none of those transcendent beauties which live transplanted in our memory. It contains many well written passages and petty descriptions, but these do not in general extend to more than eight or ten lines, and like those fre- „, I r T