The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-08-31 00:00:00

1f.4RG,17 1.").

On Tuesday we had a 2-and 11 at 11, T.
T,Co• 'S. .11‘. TO( m W`, ": y ,Tll7 h:vhreil up
•••••'t varies tied lamps and p t ai. inJeliers. '.nut
So.) ptrsous were p...senr, tv rt “:ks. It
front the glorious cort.,inn en l en.iie s variety of
charafters, scenes of this ci.t.% ..we 17teir greatest
interest. This Masqui:!adt. Wal t,f mine upon too
narrow a scale to produce a ..3t effect, hut still it
ri was cr i wthoot ts aaratti. If it di i not asto-
nish, it eertai ily pleased. '11:e theatrical ingredients
were of superior q,-slits: to any other; h the corn-
positinn of the motle: entertaiivnent. Among these a
Dennis Bredgro.ide,,, :en.) had lost hiswife, and went
about in search of his refiVlte, was r.aseicularly entitled
to praise There was 2... rs.ellent C4l. (tistrer. 1
understand this charaCtr. s.-as supported by a young
Gentleman 'tom the .cries IN.Thaps he may filisi
his way to the st see; if so, he wilt be an acquisition
to the Manager who shall be f inunate enough to ob-
tain his assistance. 'There was an tedium Queen very
lwillianqv dressed with all the finery of the Jay,
furnished from her own shop in CratThourn-alley.
Her Mjesty looked divinely ; and if may judge
from the number of her slaves, she oeitainly rules
abroad, as well as at home, with despotic sway.
some gentle She,,her.l, and SAldardeurs, looking
with fond simplicity at each other, and whose lan-
guishing mond was much favoured by the heat of
the evening, contributed their share to the variety
of the scene, aithouith they did not much enliven it
by their presence. Upon the whole, it was a plea-
sant entertainment. 'l here will he another On Ftl
day, at the rate of Sc aid. a-head admission, which
is expeCted to draw :t bumper.
This morning being remarkably fine, Dandelims
was the order of the day. The fashionable corps
began to put themselves in meths), and every vehi-
cle for the speedy conveyance of our belles and Amer
was put in requisition. Of course our forces
mustered very strong. Amorg the kadets were,
the Countess of Citotstorints. tv, Countess of
Essex, Lady Csitotarst lisettrix, Hon. Mist
Etftiserrsost. Lady 1-Isets Late, Lord titer is:C.
virtu, Lord Baowetow, Mr. &moo:or:roe, Mr.
Boyer, &c. with a host of Officers, many of them
of distinetion. The place was uncommonly ani-
mated. The white muslin, of the ladies, and the
scarlet of the officers, with the sun-beams playing
upon this moving scene, had a most beautiful effeEt.
The dancing was net general, in consequence of the
heat of the day. The groupes, therefore, amused
themselves in sauntering about. We heard a great
deal of firing; and all the company coming from the
western side of the coast, as tar as Dungeness, re-
port the

Like children who keep the sweetest bit for the
last, I am now come to the point of my letter which
was my principal inducement to take up the pen. I
am well aware of the great interest which all Lon-
don feels in the fascinating Mrs. Jo a DAN. She has
commenced here with a round of Miss Du cam's
characters, upon AS engagement, as I u;:derstand,
of six nights, at the rate of 301. per night. On
Monday she performed the !Vane in The
Svidier's Daughter, the character in which Miss
Demcan took her le tee. Last night she played
I.rt:tia Hardy in The litile't Stratcreas. Both nights
she played to almost empty hose. in the very chi-
faders in which Miss DUNCAN drew 101 l houses.
Are we to suppose, therefore, that Miss DUNG AN is
a successful rival of the fascinating Joan aa. and
that I mean to commit them upon the ground of
emulation ? N' such thing; the cause is en-
tirely independent of their respective excellence,
and is (minded upon a reinciple of honourable and
delicate feeling, which I trust will never be extin-
guished in the breast of a British public. With Miss
Doscati, the theatre was in a flourishing state to
gratify, one would suppose, even avarice itself. But
its success, instead of producing content, only ex-
cited a desire to render it still more pr.) Waive. For
that purpose, at the very moment when Miss Dun-
is was become an established favourite, and the
peblic, as well as herself,thought she was permanently
fixed (or the season; her engagement is sudd.inly put
an end to, and Mrs. Joao/OS is brought down, not for
the purpose of varying the thcatrical course, but of
going over tut very paths which Miss MSC AN
had trod only the night before. Under thus: cit..
cum-: awes the people here feel for Miss Dusc
end a cloud is thrown over the JORDAN star, which
woulJ have otherwise shone with so much sii!en-
&tr. gnu we, then, that both ladies have equol
reason to be dissatisfied. Mrs. Jou oAS only per-
!"orris in the plays. Mr. Gasses has The Aleerh-he
of It. et night for his benefit, and sap.-s + a
bumper. lie is an excellent actor, and is expected to
do ample justice to the arduous charader uf Sktilech.

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GUILDHALL, An' rwr 30: