The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-07-31 00:00:00

THEATRES.

DRURY-LANE.

Last night, according to mobile announcement,
her MAJESTY honoured this Theatre with her pre-
sence at the performance of King ilichard the
Notwithstanding the extremely dirty state of the
streets, owing to the incessant eitoseeris• throu
the day, and that the rain was falling fart when
the doors opened, every street and avenue lead-
log to the Theatre was filled with crowds-of eager
and expectant spectators, •ll eager to hail her
MAJESTY'S appearance, and to assure her or a
warm and affectionate reception among the people.
whatever might have been the treatment pre-
pared for her in other quarters. The moment her
MAJESTY'S carriage appeared in sight, the aa..
seinbled multitudes greeted her wills hearty cheers
■od shouts of approbation and svelcome.• The pit
of the theatre was tilled to an overflow win after
the doors were opened; the dress circle of the
boxes was filled with a splendid and fashionable
company, including manly elegrot add' ♦dtrutiful
females ; the first cireie was also exceedingly
crowded with a highly re.rprctable company
long before the usual period of commencing the
_performance', and the overflow from the other
pats of the house filled eveu die few
minutes before seven o'clock, her MAJWATY, In—
tended by Lord and Lady HOAR and Mr. AUSTIN.
wet ushered by Mr. Br•LIsToN and Mr. WsesToN.
with lighted canal's in their hands, into the stage-
box iu the lion circle on the Prince's side.
the' instant of her MAJESTY'S appearance the
whole audiewre reee, end watt, we sincerely be-
lieve, not move than lialf-a.doxen xerotion.,
greeted her with repealed peals of applause, ;soh
mends of cheers and wirmg of hats and hand-
kerchiefs, end every other dernonstrartiota of enthu-
siastic attachment; the curtain at the same time
slowly rising discovered the whole corps of the per-
formers. who proceeded to sing the anthem of
God save Me King iii.the usual att•le, the nudience,
us heretofore, making the usual substitutions of
Cineen for King, her for his, and so on, and fol-
lowing the conclusion of the song with re-
Tested rounds of cheers and applause. To this
gratifying display of popular feeling,' we observed
at this period but •two exceptims—one of an in-
dividual in the po, and- ann-ither of s person
in a box on the first circle, with • black stock
round his neck, and epparently. Studied willi.wina,
who seemed desirous of bringing discred►t em the
Guards, by intimatilig •connexrun with that corps.
These two persona alone, in the intervals of the
cheers and plaudits which followed the cooc•tusion
of the song, exclaimed two or three times " The
King !" but were presently Owing to the
extremely crowded slate of the house, even the g.il-
leris4 busing overflowed, it was not until some time
after the commencement -of the tragedy that tile
noise subsided sufbeieotly to enable them, at any
distance from the stage, to distinguish that was
spoken. Order, however, having been once establish-
ed, the utmost attention was afterwards paid to everr
thiug which passed; and almost every passage which
could be construed into an illusion to the circuit).
ounces or situation of the dignified mididlostrious
male within their view, was received with a marked
expression of the feeling which it excited. tao'ster,
in the soliloquy at the close of time second act,
musing upon the approaching arrival of the young
Prince of Wake and his expected coronation,
says--

" the Crown!
Oh, yes! he shall hare twenty ; globes and sceptre., too
New outs made to play withal—Out no coronation!"
which excited loud shouts of laughter, and wa.
followed by repeated cheers. The second scene
of the third ma discovers the Lady 47m, th•Ai
Gidoter's wife, in her apartment, where upon the
entrance of (A/Wee and his utterance of some in-
jurious speeches, tilt• following dialogue ensues :
Lady /I.—Have 1 deserved Ibis usage?
Glo'af...—Y on hare—you do not please me ese at
.4rst.
Lady A.—Vlink lima 1 dune? what horrid crime coin •
mined?
Glifalt.—To me the worst of crimes; ottllir'd arg lihing.
Lady A.—lt that be criminal, just brav'n he kind.
• •
G&W—Now, wert thou not afraid tit selt-itestruction,
Thom haat a (sir excuse fur't.
Lady A.—Oh! name it.
Glo'et.—Thet hashmare kale: Igor do I kale Moe only
From the daWd edge of sated appetite,'
liatfrons the eager lore I bear another!

the points of.which. were marked with long and
reiterated plaudits. in the first scene of the fourth,
act, Elizabeth, the Queen of EDWARD W., with
her two sons, the Prince of Males and Duke ill
York, the Lady Anse, and the Domini of Glo'str•
are seen together in the Towers when Calesby enters
to summon Lady Anne to he crowned with her
husband, the litter tidies her leave of klizabetl.,
who is much afreeted,by the message, in the follow—
ing words—
u Farewell In all ! and (Lou, poor injoed Queen,
• Furtive Ike unfriendly duty I must pay."
which called down repeated rounds of applatist..
The next scene discovered the Usurper sitting
his throne as King Itichurd ; when a party of
two men ands buy, of very uncouth appearance, in
one of the hoses in the upper circle, thinking that
an t seceding proper occasion for evincing their le-
cuhiar notions of lovelty, uttered a cry of " Lon::
live the King !" which passed, how-riot., with tire
little notice. A auti,equent scene repie.eittis
arrival of Ifiefrard 111. on Bosworth Ficl.l, wi.t,.
be exclaims—

--------" Up with my tent :
Here will 1 lie to-inglit—but wham to-morrow
[A single voice in the pit here answered, '•
hell !" the object of the party,, or the intended ap-
plication of his response, we are at a loss to cov-
ject ore ;. but the interruption caused some laughter.'
Rick—well, no matter where.—Has soy careful (rico.;
Disrover'd yet the number of the rebel.?
Norfolk.—My Lord, Ile I rf ore spies am well inform d,
Six.or seven thousand is their utmost power.
lack—Why our battalions treble that 'mount:
Besides, the King's name is it tower of strength,
Which they upon the adverse faction want.

This last passage awakened the hitherto domino
zeal of a vulgar-looking stripling, in a box immr -
dirtely over her MajesTy, whither, from his ap-
pearance and demeanour, we should imagine 1w
could only here been carried by the uveißow from
the galleries. Leaning over the front of the box,
and looking down into that %here her MAMSTIC
was seated, he proceeded to vociferate at the up-
permost pitch of his voice, and with the utmost
power of his lungs, The King, the King fo'

ever! No Queen ! No Queen !" in which he was
encouraged, although not positively joined, by the
three whom we before mentioned. This odd ex-
pression of a feeling no doubt .equally odd in its
nature, and perhaps mistaken by the party for
loyalty, called forth a general cry of 61 The Queen
for ever !" accompanied with several peals of enthu-.
aisstic plaudits. During the whole of the perform-
ance her MAJESTY sat concealed by the curtain of
the box from the view of the greater part of the
audience, with her attention fixed on the business
sof the scene, and seemed highly to enjoy the fine
acting of Mr. KEAN in the most striking pelts. In
the interval between the second and third acts and
also in Out between the third and fourth, mien of
6' The Queen ! the Queen !" accompanied willi
general cheering and applause, occasioned her
MAJESTY to advance to the front of her box,
and acknowledge the acceptance of those re-
peated "testimonies of popular good will, with
that graceful and majestic expression of dig-
nified eMiplacency and condescension which none
who have Brea her MAJESTY on such en °ces-
sion can ever forget. At the conclusion of the
tragedy, in which all the lierairmers seemed anxi-
ous to 'exert • their powers to the utmost in
their several parts, 6' God sure the King'," was
again performed with the same annotations by the
audience as at the commencement of the evening ;
and at its conclusion her MAJESTY again came to
the front of her box, and returning the salutations
of the audience, immediately afterwards retired
from the theatre with her party, which had been
joined in the course of the evening by Mr. Alder.
mail Wool). Her MAJESTY appeared to be in ex-
ceeding good health and spirits, and wore a white
muslin dress over a pink satin slip, a black velvet
hat with a rich plume of pink feathers, and a pur-
ple scarf.

ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE.
Lest night was produced The Witch of Dern.
cleugh, a new dramatic version of Goy Monnering.
professedly founded on the materials of the novel.
The characters were cast thus :
Colossi GM" MOllllOOOl9 Mr. ROWROTRAII, •
Next, Bertram
Charles flarelseoad ..... Mr. BROADHURST,
Justice Glossia..

Dorataie Sampson Mr. WILIIIPIOR,
'Sandie Di•aont.
DirA HaiMusick
Miss Julia Maaaeriag Miss CARR,
Meg Merrilies' (the Witch of
bermelsisgh). . •
Colonel Munne►ing is restored to ins-relationship
of father to Miss Mannerly, from which Mr.
TURY bad displaced him, for the sale of marrying
him to Miss Bertram, a personage who is left out
of the new version altogether. Among the added
incidents are iho.e of attacking the house of Cob.-
feel Monneriag by Dirk Hatteraiek nurl his gang,
for the purpose of securing Henry Bertram, of
whose arrival they are informed ; and • long inter-
view between Glossies and the smuggler, explana-
torry of the profound rogueries which they have
practised upon the fortunes of Bertram's house.
This latter is a very spirited and highly interesting
addition to the detail of the plot. It leads to the
release of Dirk Hatterniek (whose capture has
caused), the firing of the Custom-house. and the
breaking open the prison in which Bertram has
beer. confined under pretences of• aiding the
smugglers in their depredations, and especially in
their attack on the house of Colonel Manner.
ing. Much of the appalling mid prophetic
eloquence of Meg Merrilies is added from the
Novel. Glossin is killed by Dirk Batteraick iu
the cave, in retaliation fur a baffled attempt to slay
the smuggler on the part of the s•torttev. The
denouement is the same as in Mr. TERILYN piece.
which follows the novel. The characters of Ainslie
Dinnsont and Donsinie Sampson are reduced in their
importance. while that of Dirk Ilatteruick becomes
almost predominant—or at least only second to
Meg Merrilies in bringing about the conclusion.
Some slight alterations take place as to the posi-
tion of certain incidents, both of action and dia.

logne. in the Covent-garden ploy; but they are
not sufficiently important to require specification.
The most laudable changes are those winch have
tended to restore the style and quality of the ori-
ginal—such as the age and gentlemanly prudence
of Colonel Mannering, the early introduction of
Meg Merrilies, mid the desperate familiarity of
Dirk llutteraick with the concerns of the plot.
There are many unceremonious finale made upon
the materials of Mr. TERRY and Mr. Bisuor.
The overture is contpoied anew. The splendid
Gipsy glee and chorus are preserved, and one very
little inferior to it added by Mr. Ruses. He has
kept in Bertram's song, " Be mine, dear Maid I"
and the duet by Bertram and Dandle Diamont—
the linintett, " The Fox jumped over the Parson's
Gate," and the last finale. For the new songs, of
which there are about half a dozen, there is
little to recommend them beyond the ingenuity
of the compoier in arranging them. They are of the
spurious class of Scotch airs, and are art to very poor
verses. There is a vigorous chit unt which Meg 'Werra-
lies sings over the body of Brown in the cave,whose
connexion with the plot has not yet been mention-
ed, as he has no language to utter. Ile had been
the instrument of retnoviug Bertram from his fa-
ther's domains in infancy. and is shot by the latter
during the attack on the house of Col. Mannering.
Ile lingers and dies in the cave, and the chaant just
mentioned is the dirge which Meg illerrilies sings
ever him. It is taken from the novel, and ha. been
•tt by Mr. Itteve its fine imitation of the wild soil
iti)stetious solemnity of the early religions noisie.
The storming of the house gave a very iinpressiie
conclusion to one set, and the burning and rifling of
the Ceitont House was no less useful to the suc-
ceeding one. If there was any thing which called
tOr objection it was the discharge of so great a num-
ber of muskets. Really, should the rage for storm-
ing with gunpowder gain further ground in the
econemy of the theatres, there will be no glory left
to reap by going into a field of battle; the women
themselves must grow warlike, and learn to bear,
without flinching, the fire of whole companies of
musketry. To the actors very considerable
praiseis glue. Miss KELLY was too young and
sensitive for the nerve hardened part which she had
ro sn.tsin. She accordingly gave an impression to
it more poignant than pleasing. It was sketched no-
totally, but her organs were too youthful and pliant
tar the stern experience of it. She was in every
inatalice applauded, and moat deservedly—especially
in her dying scene, which she conducted with ter-