The National Register. — London, England, 1819-01-04 00:00:00

JAN.. 4 Tll E DRAMA, DRURY LANE THEATI2F.. On Iklonday night the tragedy of Is wis per formed at thL, Theatre tin- the first time these three yaars. The part of the heroine of the piece was as signed to Mrs. W. West. The galleries and pit were fall at the rising of the curtain, but the confusion Of Babel seemed to have pervaded the former. The holi day gods appeared to have viAited the Theatre, not fin the purpose of list.ming. but with a pretleterinination neither to hear themselves, nor to suffer others to do so. From the connuencement of the tragedy to the filling o f the curtain; tha canfosion of sounds WAS unremitting; scarcely a sentence uttered on the stage was audible to the auaietm. The whole perfiwmance was dumb show. Under these ei.tunistane;:s, it, is not to be expected we can speak of the verfininance. As far as we may pre ; some to judge, loan the fetv sentences which we could at ;ntervals partially hear, frs. West aequitted herself of the task assigned to her, under all there disadvan tages, in a manner which added to her credit us nu ac tress, and would, but fin- the eircmustances to which we have alluded, have proved highly gratifying to the audience Mr. 11. Kemble played thrum, but was even more indistinct than Mrs. \Veld. The Tragedy was firllowed by the, new Pantomime, the opposition to which commenced with the rising of the curtain. Major NPNaughten, the Gentleman who addressed the audience on Saturday night, and against whom, it is said, M r. Bradbury hurled defiance by shaking his fist at him, again declared his opposi tion to the piece ; but his voice was drowned by the applause of the pit and g alleries—the Major soon idler quitted the Theatre, observing, he would leave the piece in the hands of the public. Mr. Bradbury, on his appearance, was called on for an apology, but did not notice the call, and several pugilistic conteststook place between his friends and opponents. It is but justice to him to bins to say that he exerted himself' in a mast as tonishingmanner to deserve applause. The uproar and confusion between the contending parties became so great, that Miss Tree, in consequence of sudden indis position, arising from alarm, in the midst of her dance fainted, and fell lifeless into the arms of those on the stage at the• time, who fiartunately caught her. She did not appear for several seems afterwards; and, when she did again come Ihrward, it was evident she was scarcely able to support herself. When the curtain dropped, which it did amidst a din of approbation and opposition, there was a loud call for the Amager. — Mier some time bad elapsed, Mr. S. Kemble came forward, and addressed the 'audience to the following effect:—" Gentlemen, I regret extremely that, being absent from the Theatre, I was not able to attend your first call. What are now your commands with me?' (From the Boxes, " Withdraw the piece ; it is a shame and disgrace to the stage."—From the Pit, " No, no, it is only tile Dandies who disapprove of it, and not an English Public !")—Mr. Kemble resumed : " Gentle men, it is the wish of the Proprietors and the Managers of this House to please. They have no object but your pleasure and satisfaction; the piece has been advertised .or to-morrow. Will yeu permit its repetition? It may be so altered as to men your approbation."—(Cries front the Boxes, " Na. no, withdraw it now "—Fro., the Pit, " Try it again ; never mind the Dandies !") —" Ladies; and Gentlemen, could I ascertain what are your wishes, they would he immediately complied with. I understand I%lr. Bradbury has unfintunately given you offence; is it your wish he should come Mrwartl ? he is most ready to do so if you desire it.—(Cries of " I ye.;. Let him come ii:rwartl and apologise.")— Mr. Kemble Lowed and retired, and soon after Mr. Bradbury appeared. The noise was now tremendous. After a time, however, be obtained a hearing, and ad dressed the audience as follows:—" Gentlemen, I un derstand I have Len so unfortunate as to incur your displeasure. May I ask in what ?.' No answer.— " Bravo, Bradlatry," from the Pit, and an appeal to the Dentlies to soy what he had done. A Gentleman from the boxes said, " Rene ruLr Saturday night.' 7Nlr. Bruaury retamle.l, ''G cutlet:mu, I ilLehde soleu;a ly, I would not wiil.thtly oftead any individuel. and pm ignorant what I have dune." The s.toe (i-ntienn:n from the LONCS i iteeiiv c!,m. yob •' The (:er.l k man whom you iashilied Ia: ht.l.teu the Tla ;die." Mr. Bradbur: reAthned--" inz,nlu:l that Gentlemial, he can defend hin , Feir; I:aii Ivan ready to uleet or any man living."—llt le the 'T. - , ;.: LLealne E;) great, that he could ebt.,in no further and a quantity oforange reel t,cin l thrown at bin), he bowed ulid re tired. The cry for Manager xyas rehumed ; but 1: r. KtmLle diA Lut LITLar, llicaue was min: after cleared. _ Thc new l'lltitt.titin.t. wvs :Tait] performed at this Tl•Littre i in ht ; but the tvert• nut rtt t.t.tittd 11.:.t tbty t., iciet to be picweti with it, and ito ttletilibil, iu elivohiti(li to ti•(:ir will, bud pr: iir.rctl no dieuge in their n r.t its defects. Dtainl,.. the artutts rot (If the (riettrunce, the len i.s t 11;. NE, the pm% iot:s night ; s t.O L: the u t. niGre tlttitheAl. 'll.c I 4:1N.r . ',0r, I.e ‘I vs eullcd,) wos s.t I.:s tl tit tke t.l j c uti.t of :Lt THE NATTONAT. Clown, awl to his Motio, a the -enemies of the Panto. mime kinked as the signal of the deebive conflict. The Nlanuger was loudly cal:el tier, but Mr Bradbury (the clown) made his appearance beflire him, with something that seemed like a horsewhip—for whom intended (unless tar the Chieftain) we cannot tell. After a pro. tiision of bows, and a genuflection with which he sup. pealed u hearing, he was o..liged to retire among it storm of hisses, without being able to utter a syllable. The Manager was again loudly called fbr, but did not arrive till upwards of a quarter of an hour. l)iiring this interval several orator:, started in different parts the house as candidates fir pubfic or playhouse favour. The Chieftain maintained his post, and employed very vehement oratorical gestures, which we believe were his only figures of speech : be was answered by a fe male orator from the lower gallery, whose hands up peered as eloquently active to till parts of the house, us her tongue no doubt did to those who were near her.— She at first poured a volley of on very savoury expres sions upon him, masked by a large straw bonnet ; but afterwards, disdaining to take My:image of this cover, she threw it usiAe, and .encoantered kr antagonist without any. dyfen.dve armour. After a great deal of confusion and tumult, Mr. Kemble at last came on the stage, and after beseeching a hearing, which be did not obtain, announced, us we understood, that the Pantomime should be withdrawn. The Chieftain gave the signal of triumph by waving his hat, and the au dience soon dispersed. This theatre, so fertile in novelties, added on Thurs day night :mother to the long list of its new pieces. The title, and the poem from which it was taken, gave promise of a treat to the lovers of meld-Brame. The story upon which it was founded, is Walter Scott's .11araztun. The incidents in that poem are in our opinion sufficient to afford full scope to the contriver of mrlo-dramatic romance. The whole of the incidents in last nights drama are those which.may be found in that poem ; but sonic of the most interesting are omit ted, and nothing new is substituted. In fuel, the nu thor (or, us we may better call him, the transposer, Mr. Stephen Kemble, us we understand) has taken it for grunted that every one of his auditors was well ac quainted with the story of 211 a, mien, and he accordingly threw slew of its leading incidents together, without, we must say, any other connection than th;tt whilt .their memory might supply. The piece opens with the trial of Constance (Mrs. Orger), ftr running away from her convent, and a cons l uent breach of her reli. glints ov. She is condemned by the Prior and his tesistant ,judges, but by as lucky interference is relieved from impending starvation by Clara Fitz-Clare (Mrs. W. West) She is then, by one of those sudden true. sitious which are only fimnd in dreams and romances, made the page of Marmion, whose betrothed bride she bud previously been ; and after a few vapouring speeches, which mean nothing, she is withdrawn from public view till the lust scene, when she is introduced time enough to bemoan tie deuth of her supposed faithless lover Mantuan (Mr. H. Kemble). The details of the piece arc too numerous and too un digested to be put into any compact form lisr our readers. Suffice it to say, that the general names are retained as in the original. There is Marmims (Mr. H. Kemble), Dc ;Idiom (Mr. Hamblin), Con.aanee ( rs. Orger), Clara (Mrs. W. West), the ilo.l (Mr. H. Johnston), and so through. nearly the whole emu kepis.. The story in substance is us tb!lows: Marmion, who had won the affections of Con-ctaner, sees a more wealthy prize in Clara Filz-Clare. Without re linquishing his love to the former, who had, it should be observed, tbilowed hint from the convent walls, he pays his addresses to the latter, and is supported in his suit by his Sovereign, Henra. II: has a r.Val in the nth ohms of Clare, in De Wiliam; and in order to get rid of him, he impeaches hint of treason. • They tight, and Dc Willon is wounded, (sepposed mortally.) 3/ar mintr then sets out on 4 mission to Scotland, and is accompanied by Conalanre, in the disguise of u page. lie is aware of her presence, and trests her on his fontney to sonic priests, %vim discover her sc:•ret, and brim , her hefbre an ecclesiastical tribunal, and with her trial :he piece opens. 1)r It meantime. recovers from his wounds, no one knows lbw, and accompanies Marm!yu us a guide into Scotland, in the'disguise of a i•atincr. King A:lw,', notwithstanding his friendly re,•eptinn of Mat mion, continues Isis hostile preparations; he leads his troops over the bonder; Marmion is pre thred to dispute the passag e— the battle of Flodden- I:eld is fought—Marti:ion killed—and ;:onsianee comes in just time entaigh in receive his lust breath, and an assurance of his love. From this outline it will be seen, that there were incidents sufficient in the story to have worked up a tolerable melo-dramatic rem:nice: hut for want ef skilful usraugetnent, the author hrs railed in exciting much interest. %1 hatever e,t teeth existed in ths .picee was dne to the performers, who, to do them justice, made the best of their parts. Mr. il. - hemble did his best in 31 ormion, though we coetiss the taste of the inana;,ets had been better minc ed itt ::signing tl.at character to Mr. H. Johnston, Iwe talents were ! brown :may in tile part of the I , tat. a: ll Am' lam evcr, teuee the trust of thatehta tsettr, 1; his ge mint ,t'eintish cielt ct, and 1144 •••`" " • ...,, t wbleh he k+►! and active High. hinder. Mr. Hamblin was respei:tilda as De Triiim. ()sherry, as the Friar, gave the few sentences :Il'.srn•d to him in his usual style ofgood !tumour ; and Kali y, as the Scotia.rk King, made the must of the author's con ception of that character. Mrs. West and Mrs. Orger, as Clara and Constance, were in their best style ; tool Miss Cubhit sang a pretty air as Lady Heron twe be lieve) ; but why she did sing, Or why she appeared at all (we speak of the character only), nolnaly knew. It is but justice to add, that the whole went oil without opposition, and its repetition a•as received with ap plause, The piece was succeeded by the farce cf " Modem Antipcs.' As soon as the curtain was raised, the cry of " the Pantomime" was set up by some silly Dandies in the pit, and so much tumult ensued in the attempt to outcry it, by " Goon, go on," that fir some time the performers could nut be heard. At length Mr. 8. Kemble came forward and said, that in obedi-nce to the public opinion the late pantomime was withdrawn ; hot as the managers were noxious to please by the refine thin of a pantomime, they had cadeavotued to get ep one which would be ready in a few days. This expla nation satisfied the audience, sad the farce wag *tact ed to proceed. BRIGHTON. DEC. 31.—The Prince Regent, in the earlier part of this morning, took several tom; in the enclosed grounds, and was on horseback in the Riding School betbre din ner. The Duke of York was on the Steyne, and in several of the streets. The ball at the Castle last night, under the imme diate patronage of the Regent, tin- t...e benefit of our local Dispensary, &c. was splendidly and numerously atten&d. The iiegent, with his usual benevolence, gent 501. as a donation. Sir B. Bloomfield, instead of 75., paid five guineas for his ticket : Sir Matthew Tierney, a pttnilar sum : ten guineas conjointly were paid by die Officers of the 9th .aincers fur their tickets, and other acts of munificence of a lite complexion, emanated front many of the company present. Tt►e balL towards ten o'clock, was opened by Miss HayS and . Mt. Nugent; about forty couple flillowed, and the amuse ment was pursued until after two o'clock this wuruittg. E.ttract of aletter &oat Naples, dated Dee. 1 1, I 818 : " Mount Vesuvious had a eruption on ilia evening of the tintrth instant, which had a maglitieeat appearance, the lava extending nearly half a mile to wards the village of Torre del Greco. " The Grand Duke Michael and suit are espeeted here, to visit his Majesty and Charles IV. of Spain, who lately returned to Naples with his brother, from Rome. " The American squadron, under the command of Commodore Stewart, viz. Franklin, United States, Erie, Peacock, and Star, rendezvous at Syracuse. These ships are in a high state of discipline and order : and it appears the greatest unity exists between these and the lingliah ships ()Ewer, whenever cliance of ser vice throws them together. We understand the Gamy mede was at Syracuse lately with thew, lila that the greatest cordiality and politen,:ss passed between Com modore Stewart and Capt. Spin cer, and their respect ive officers. •• His Nlajesty's ship Albion, with the flag of Sir Charles Penrose, is at Malta, expecting to be very shortly relieved by the Rochetiert, Sir . howas I railer. tle from England. The Glasgow, Curtain Hon. F. Maitland, with his Excellency the Lord High Com missioner, is at Venice ; the Spey, Captain White, ut Leghorn ; the Tagus, Captain Duudas, is on her pa-.- sage to England, havilig quitted Malta on the 13th of November. ihe Scout, Captain Ramsden, mini Race horse, laptain Cumbell, are on the Smyrna station. Mr. Ritchie was lately taken front Malta Ly the Ex• Jess schooner, to Tripoli, where preparations are making to promote his tour to liarboeuxi. 'Tis said one of the Lieutenants of the Albion, a very clever and intelligent otiicer, is to be added to Me. Ititchi , :.'s suite. Thu trade of Jlulta is beginning to improve. The third ship from India, to the house of Calvert, Bell, and Co., has arrived in sati:ty, atter a passage of 170 days from Calcutta, bringing an assorted Cr WO of the valuable productions of the East, which soon fount, a ready circulation in this country. We trust such pra:se. wor.hy speculations will find their just rewind." The following letter was received on Sunday liv a mercantile house in Glasgow, limn their establishment in St. Thomas's, dated November 23 :—" Something decisive will in all probabiiity soon tale place on the Spanish Main. The accounts front the Oronow are satisfactory, so far as regards the numbers and equip ment of the Independent forces by land ; and they have never betiire mustered so respectable a fnve by sea. Brion has untenable:l at ittri,,arctea :25 sail of arniCl vessels; and reports says, and is credited, that he was joined by Lord Cochrane en the 14th instant, with the armed vesseas ; this twee direetkil I:y so ente:Tri,iag ni:tn an his Lordship, in a short time, to achicer the indepcudenee ut the province. If they si.e.cett getting possession of Pored Cabello, which it is toooglA will is their first ohject, the SprinianOs will be olso4evi to do. iititu: trusicr. • ,„.. v ()( ,w itav - t 13 1