The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-03-18 00:00:00

THEATRE,

The Tani Rosciss on Saturday nizht sustained
at this Theatre the ardous charade:it- of Hume/rt. He
had previously perfotasedit on Thursday, for the
first time in London, for his own benefit. We did
not think his Performance upon that occasion a fair
ield for criticism. Upon a benefit night, the aaor
has been uniformly considered as an host, and the
audience have been regarded as visitors ; and the
clamour of applause to which the critic often ap-
peals in confirmation of the truth of his decision can
be fairly regarded as only the voice of private friend-
ship. Censure, under such circumstances, is as
ranch a breach of decorum, as the condemnation of
a tete by a guest would be a violation of the laws of
hospitality. But if there be any case in which a
departure from this rule be unjustifiable, it is the case
of the Young Reecho. Was his first essay in the
arduous chara/ter in the range of the drama, a cha-
rater hitherto considered as carried to perfe&ion by
Mr. Kist ass, upon the night of a benefit, which
rodaced him 12001. was that a fair opportunity for
Fxercise of impartial criticism ? Every candid
rind will answer, no. It may serve the purpose
of an avowed enemy, or a false friend, to take ad-
Lige of such a situation ; but the candid critic will
wait for the fair opportunity of a fair trial, like that
exhibited by his performance on Saturday night, and
a fairer opportunity certainly never presented itself.
Mire the rising of the curtain the house was cnrn-
plet.,ly tilled with an elegant company, and frequent
di a, having taught all adventurers the
folly of seeking admission after a certain hour, the
play commenced under the most happy circum-
,talices which an affor could desire; a theatre filled
with an audience full of expeElation ; but whose
impatience, restrained by delicacy and good sense,
never suffered itself to be betrayed into noise or vio-
lence detrimental' to the performer. Some of the
plaintive tones of the ruing Re(rius have been the
most admired in the compass of his voice, and the
most successful in winning their way to the heart of
the audience. The words, therefore,
" A little more than kin, and lino than kind,"
were peculiarly calculated to make a favourable im-
pression, which was well followed up by the answer
immediately following to the QUM", beginning with
" Seems, Madam ! nay, it is, I know not seems.
."Tis not alone my inky coat, goad Mother."

with

So far the fondest parent could have anticipated no.
thing more flattering : the most squeamish critic
could have room for nothing but applause. Next
follows the famous soliloquy,
! that this too, two solid Aesta would melt."

Of all the parts that constitute the charaeer of
:Orniet, his soliloques are the most universally ad-
mired. The deep and philosophic turn of the sen-
timent, its natural and unaffeard piety, the devout
and holy spirit that it breathes, and the figurative
language in which it is expressed. rank among the
mast sublime efforts of the genius of Shakespeare.
lint the soliloquies are not only the most ornamental
pairs of Heald. ft is in them his character is best
unfolded. They present the intellectual eye turned
upon itself, exploring all the avenues and recesses
of theteart, and a mind filled with stncly snd /e-
-heftier,. Divested of the soliloquies, the philoso-
pher and the scholar is only a pious son, filled
with 3 pit sense of a mother's shame, and an ardent
zeal to avenge a father's murder. l*he merit of
the performance must, therefore, be estimated
by reference to the soliloquies ; and here the fauns
Rotas: fell considerably short of his usual excel-
knee. In his v livery of this first soliloquy, his
manner was rapid to an excess inconsistent with
that solemn dignity of deportment which it de-
mands. Some passages of it, indeed, betrayed a
total want of discrimination; and the words,
" Why she would hang on Wen
As if increase of appetite had grown
" By what it fed on,"
were given with the air and emphasis of one uncon-
scious of their meaning. This observation applies,
with the same force, to his delivery in all the ether
soliloquies. They were also liable to another strong
objection, which, at his early yeas-s, we may fairly
consider mire the fault of his instruetor than his own.
Of all the business of the stage, soliloquy has the
least to do with thion. In it the mind's eye is
turned upon itself; the ahor holds converse with
his own heart. He has no audience nor com-
panion hut such as accompany him in the so•
litude of his chamber. iiandd, particularly, has
nothing to which to address himself', but his con-
science and his God. Ins, ead, however, of the out-
ward appearance of deep thought, the sober so-
lemnity of meditation in which soliloquy is con-
ceived, there was no part of the charaBer in which
the rating Ra;ciaa displayed so much anion. His
riminciation was rapid and violent ; and his gesti-
culation freqnently more than kept pace with his
words This is no hypercriticism. Every sound
judge of theatrical elhibitians must acknowledge
the rule which we have laid down t ' be correB.
The subsequent part of the same scrim, though in-
, terspersed with beauties, occasionally left something
io be wished for. The passage—

" He at 4, a min, silo him on all M sit,
111. lel shall not look upon hi; like agam„"
II although capable of producing great eget% was
4 given in a light and stiperfict#l manner. His inter-
rJer
,4 rogatories reveling his father's ghost, were also
put to Hepatic, with a flippancy inconsistent with
).. the magnitude of ttte subjeas and the supposed
AL workings of his mind, at the time. When we want
) A., tO he informed upon a subjeli of importance, and
, hie party is known to be capable of giving the ne-
cessary information, these the questions may follow
~ to a rapid course; but that is not flaidet's case. lie
doubts the truth of the report of his father's spirit
t: 4
in arms I and, during the whole cnarersotion, he is
f, weighing the evidence, and exercising his judgment
upon the answers. Ise the scene with the Ghost,
Upon the platform, which follows immediately after,
the Taring Roviug ha: been praised for a novelty
Whit It he has introduced by dropping upon his knee
as fie pronounces the words t
" 11l en], thee Hamlet,
" king, Galitr, wild Mar."
Keeling is, no doubt, an appropriate imploring
aiti:lnle ; but we question whether it be the best for
• - • ing the terror which he confesses so horribly
' ..• is disposition. The trembling limb is so es-
t . ....sr,: as the tremulous tone to express the fears

and apprehensions which the first view of the Gh•ass
inspires. The conclusion of the scene was, however,
well manages' ; and when he breaks from Marcella
and Horatio, to follow the Ghost, he gave the
words—

" My fate cries nut,
" And makes each 'rimy art,ry i 1 thi. body
" As hardy a, the Nemesia lion'. nerve ;"

force and animation. The eon-

eluding part of the aa, where he enjoins Alarcettuo
and Horatio to silence, respening the interview with
the (shoat, was also given in his usual style of ex-
cellence, particularly the two lines—

" kv well—.we know ; or we could and if we would—
.' 1.1,, if we list to speak or there he and if there might "

Having already noticed the prevailing defeEls of
his soliloquies, it may be sufficient to say, that the
celebrated one in the scl AEI, beginning with—

" To be, or not to I;
produced little or no effeet. Every word of it bears
marks of the most profound thought and meditation;
yet the Young Ramat gave it with a rapid and de-
clamatory tone, more becoming a scene of passion,
than contemplation. The subsequent conversation
with Opheha, which of all others exhibits Hamlet to
the least advantage, and requires great address to
manage, also displayedno extraordinary talent. The
scene with the Players w.is, however, well con-
ceived, and given in excellent style. He drew down
a thunder of applause in that part of it, where he
expresses his contempt for theatrical rant, in the
following words:
O there be playera that I have seen play, and heard others
praise, and that highly, not to speak 0 propliartely, that noi•
ther having the aft= of Chri.sian, nor the gait of Christie.,
Pagan,ur Irian, have .0 strutted and bellows ,that I have thought
some of Nature's journeymen had made oleo, and not made
them well, they imitated humanity so abominably."

In the closet scene he stone with all the excellence
that distinguishes his most admired chat ssters.
Here he has a subjed suited to his years. A sense
of a mother's shame and a father's wrongs may
well live in the breast of a youth of 14. He was
finely impassioned, full of energy and feeling. Had
he shewn more exultation when he fancies he has
killed the King, and more regret when he dis-
covers his mistake, and finds he has slain Polonisis,
the scene would have been admirable. The
scene of the mock play was well supported ; but
the last was, perhaps, the hest of his whole per-
formance He fenced with extraordinary grace,
and rendered every part of it deeply interesting and
affeding. Our limits will not allow us to detail the
beauties and imperfetions of the Hamlet of the Feting
Rosenis more minutely. So far as we have observed
upon it, we have been influenced by the sincerest
regard for the fortune and fame of a youth who, if
his genius be rightly direilled, appears to have been
born to give a charader to the age in which he
lives. We have been induced to indulge in this
freedom of remarl by an apprehension that there
are those who, availing themselves of the popular
tide in his favour, would abuse that elf love which
so much public praise cannot fail to cherish. It
would net be very easy to discover an ade-
quate motive for the condud of some of our con-
temperaries, who were outrageous in their abuse
of his Arkinet, Nerrat, and Frederick s ail admirable
awl uniformly excellent performances, and now oc-
tal to the skies his Octavian, his Romeo, And his
Hamlet, in which every candid critic must admit he
is very unequal, if we Jid not know that the great-
est injury that can be done to a man is to lead
him astray. So great is the idolatry of these
new convects to the genius of the YON": ROlCifits we
are a sured by One Of them, that SH A IMP LA RE Was
wrong in making his Bauder thirty years of age;
and tlat there is nothing in the charter but what
well hi comes the opening bloom of youth." Upon the
perfot mance generally, we have little to observe. It
mar rut, however, be amiss to state, that part of
the last scene is managed in a way entirely new. The
Kina is not killed in his chair by 11 miltt. He comes
forw.ud upon the stage, straws his sword in his de-
fence, and falls in conflict with the Prince. The
Piece is got up in a very splendid style, and the parts
of Opkelia, the Queen, and the King, were very well
supported by Mrs. 11. JOHNSON and Mr. and Mrs.
Powet t.. One or two little errors occurred
in the grave scene, which will, perhaps, be
avoided upon a fume representation. Mr.
Suerr, the principal Geese Digger, ought not to
have put himself at the head of the Funeral Proces-
sion, and when the curtain falls it ought to hide the
Grave from the audience.

" It is an undoubted and Tell known faet,"says the
writer of a private letter, " that Bus; AP AiTt offered
to surrender all the Irish Emigrants to the English
Government, provided they would ad a similar part
by the Bova nos family and the French Emigrants in
England ; but that the offer was of coure rejeded."
A Court of Aldermen will be held at Guildhall
to-morrow for the dispatch of public business, and
OP Thursday the Loan MAYOR will bold a Court
of Common Council, to consider a motion to rescind
the Resolution :agreed to at the last Court, viz.
" I hat the article of Salt forms an essent;al imgre-
dient in the food of man; that any addition so the
present duty would be grievous and oppresive to
the middle and poorer classes of the people, and
would greatly aggravate the evils now arising t-om
the excessively high price of many of the most neces-
sary articles of life ;" and on other business.
The York Assizes commenced on Saturday
sennight. The following capital convicrtions took
place in the course of the week :—Grerge ES
mend Hoses. and William Wilson, for robbing NI AMY
Lonna am upon the highway; Benjamin (Edroyd,
for the murder of JOSEPH OLOROYD AIR Ileq'
Wald. for the murder of her female bastard child ;
Samuel Collier, fur wilfully setting fire to a cotton
&dot y at Dub Cross.---Of these B. Oldroyd and
Ann Haywood were ordered to be executed this day.

Saturday an Inquisition was taken at the Com-
passes, Rotherhithe, on the body of Miss W. Tort,
who met her death by jumping from s one horsechai se,
on Thursday evening. The deceased was the (laugh ter
of a merchant who resides at Camden Town, and
on the evening stated she was returning from Green-
wich with her father. The horse became restive in
the Lower Deptford Road, and Mr. T. alighted to
ease the bit, when the animal started off at full
spied. The young lady dropped the reins, and
made a leap, when her clothes became entangled in
t'e wh which passed i.ver her neck, and which
caused almost instantaneous death.—Verdilik, AcC4-
denial Death.

L 4W INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY, Scroll oar, MARCH 16.
NUTRROWNS v, THORNTON.
This cause between Colonel Thornton, and his
tenant, William Nutbrowne, was again Agii iteJ
before the Lotto CHANCELLOR. From the affida-
vit tiled by the Colonel, it appeared, that being in
possession of a farm, called Falconer's Hall, inYork-
shire, he lett the same to the Plaintiff, under certain
covenants and stipulations; but the hitter, instead of
disoosing of the crops, and accounting with the De-
fendant for the proceeds thereof, according to their
agreement, brou:Oit the corn to market, sold it,
and converted the produce to his own use ; he also
suffered the land to lay waste and run to ruin, in-
stead of managing the farm with skill, and accord •
ing to the practice of good husbandry. Under
these circumstances Colonel Thornton took posses-
sion of the estate, by virtue of a bill of sale, and
turned the Pls. 'flout; but the latter, upon the au-
thority of the covenams contained in his lease, filed
a bill in the Court of Chancery, to reorain the Co-
lonel from preceeding to a sale of the stock, corn,
&c. to obtain the re-possession of tic farm, and to
prevent the Colonel from proceeding at law against
him for the rent, proceeds, &c.
In the month of August last the Cit ANCELLO a or-
dered, th it an account might be taken before the
master, and that the Plaintiff should have the re-
possession, provided he did not remove any part of
the stock, cattle, &c. except the lambs and wool,
which he was to dispose of And account fm the pro-
ceeds thereof; and further, provided he employed
all the implements of husbandry upon the estate,
in making good the dilapidations, &c. and did
every thing in a husbandlike manner, beneficial to
himself and his landlord, pending the decision of
the Court, which was to take place when it should
be ascertained by the master, whether the Plaintiff
WAS indebted to Colonel Thornton in the snm of
2651. at the time the latter dispossessed him of the
farm in question. Since the time that order was
made, the rent, which accrued due to Colonel
Thornton, amounted to near 10501. the stock and
implements of husbandry disposed of by the Plain-
tiff ; the farm ran to waste, and nothing done to as-
certain the fact before the master: Colonel Thorn-
ton therefore now applied to have his grievance re-
considered, and an order made to compel the Plain-
tiff to bring the proceeds of the farm into Court, to
oblige him to pay the rent due, and to dissolve the
injunction which restrained the Defendant from
availing himself of his legal remedy against the
Plaintiff.
Mr. FONBILANQUI and Sir THOMAS TURTON sup-
ported the application, contending that the affida-
vits on the part of the Plaintiff did not affect the
object of the motion ; they did nut deny that the
wool and lambs had been disposed of, and the mo-
ney received but not accounted for.
Mr. RoMILLY, on the part of the Plaintiff, op-
posed the application on the grounds, that from the
affidavits of some respectable farmers AS well as the
Plaintiff himself, it appeared that there was a Suf•
ficient stock on the estate for the necessary pur-
poses, and that the Plaintiff was cultivating it in a
husbandlike manner; with respect to the rent claim-
ed to be dee to Colonel Thornton, it was to be rev
membered that gentleman took possession of the
farm early in the month of February 1804, and
kept it until the October following. tier which period
he now called upon the Plaintiff to pay rent. The
Plaintiff, lie contended, had done nothing contrary
to the covenants in his lease, and was then, as he had
always been, ready to refer all matters in difference
to the decision of two disinterested persons. The ob-
ject of Colonel Thornton was to make his tenant
answerable for mismanagement, of which he him-
self was the sole cause, and either, through resent-
ment or misinformation, was proceeding, not only
to injure himself, hut to ruin his tenant.
After a short reply by Mr. Fonexasceet, Co-
lonel Thornton rose and addressed the Court in a
strain of humour, though, upon a matter of such se-
rious consequence to himself, irresistibly laughable.
He apologised for his ignorance of the forms of the
Court, but thought it necessary to say something
himself, in which he assured his Lordship he should
be as laconic as possible. He described the ser-
vices he had rendered the Plaintiff, from his first in-
trodudion, when they used to sport together, to the
time of his letting the estate of Falconer's Hall
to him, when he not only placed him in a farm of
800 acres, worth 10001. a-year, but lent him a sum
of money to enable him to carry it on. which he
gave him at the rate of 51. per cent. when be paid
:101. percent. himself fork at the bankers. Yet he said,
he was described as having ailed oppressively: it
was singular kind of oppression, to place a man in a
farm, lend him money to carry it on, and not de-
m ind any rent of him for a seriesof time. The reasons
woy lie could not swear to a particular sum due by
the Plaiioirf to him, as mentioned on a former oc-
oision, he now explained : he had a cause pending,
in consequence of which he every day expelled to
receive 15,0001. but from want of form, or something
or another he did not understand, he had not re-
ceived a shilling of it to the present hour ; he was to
have allowed the Piaintiff 20u1. per :annum for ma-
naging his concerns, and when he came to swear,
he forgot that he had lent him 5001. not because he
was naturally forgetful, but the circumstance al-
ready stated, joined to a multiplicity of other mis-
fortunes, al. ove it entirely ont of his head. He then
went into a detail of the dilapidations, and obset ved,
that his set ovas had conspired against him, stu;e
his sheep, robued him of his corn, &c. and he had
at that time a cause depending at the York assizes
for those offences which were conneEled with the
estate in question, and which he supposed he
ntight boas, because he was not present himself, yet
he could not be in two places at once ; if at York
he must lose his cause here, which would be of the
greater consequence of the two. He then gave a
most elaborate description of the farm itself, the
dwelling house of which was perched on the top of
a hill, for the purposes of hawking and hunting :
when he went down to look at it, instead of finding
fields of waving cern, turnip and grasslands, as greets
as emeralds, the first were covered with thistles, and
the latter overrun by the swinish multitude. That
which before afforded him a chearful and consoling
pr.fspeit, now filled him with regret: thou this les
were a most luxuriant crop, and is that part of
the country the w.nd frequently blew sharp from
aferent directions, sometimes a western brew.

, •
blew hard, at other times an eastern :tett-Med the
compliment, then• Worth, then south, and so pn ; so
that every blast set forth a cloud of th,tticfr dad,
threateaing destralion to 50,000 acres of lam:, which
lay contiguous, and all of which was lost by order
of the Court of Chancery ; nothing was to be seen
but a wilderness of thistles through the whole
country ; and so formida'sle was the cloud of down
which constantly floated in the air, that the gallant
Major Topham, though mounted on his war horse,
did not dare to face it. He should have endeavoured
to root out the thistles, hot he Was told the order of
the Court of Chancery prevented him ; and, re-col-
leting the well-known motto, Armee me :mprite
cessd; he was unwilling to try the experiment. Whit
added still more to nis distress was, that he had
agreed v.•ith the Plaintiff that he, the Plaintiff, was
to pay the tythes, and seeing how matters wet e, he
desired the clergyman, Cle Reverend Mr. Sykes, to
take as much as he could get, who promised he
would ; and declared, at the same time, he would
arrest the Plaintiff for the remainder after Christ-
mas ; bin, like a bad sportsman, who aims at a pa--
tride and kills his dog, the parson, instead of so.k-
ing redress from the Plaintiff, often, wrested him.
though his hands were tied behind him by tt'e
Court. To seek redress from the tenant was a •t-
-les:--he was nut worth a shilling, and as there
was no wool on his back, and some on his own,
he supposed that was the reason he was thus
persecuted. As to the farm itself, at that in-
stant it was worth nothing at all, the buildings were
all its decay, the paling and railing broken down,
the turnips not we,ded, and no seeds sown for the en-
ening season. IVith respeft to the stock of cattle.
there was but one brood mare of his own on all the
lands, and even that was seized by the Court of
Chancery ; with respen to the Plaintiff's Attorney,
he knew little about him ; but he asserted, that the
affidavits, on the part of the Plaintiff, were made for
the purpose of imposing upon the Court, and if the
matter went to swearing, he would give up the
point direaly. They had sworn that Thormovills
Roes! was no better than a rabbit warren ; a curious
rabbit warren, worth 10,0001. a year,
Here the Caaucet Loa observed that it was the
prettiest rabbit warren lie had ever seen.
The Colonel continued ; he admitted keeping
hawks and hounds certainly ran away with a great
deal of money, but that was no reason his tenant
should run away with all his money ; but as Pro-
vidence had hitherto assisted him in all his troubles,
he would not despair on the present occasion. He
therefore trusted his Lordship would interfere, and
redress his grievances. lf, however, that was not
to be done, he should not only set off himself, but
would also advise all the landlords in the country
to do the same, and leave their farms In the Court
of Chancery.
The Lorna CH A ':C EL Los, having recapitulated the
whole of the proceedings had in that Court upon the
former application, observed, that the whole cause
of this misery arose not from the order of the Court
of Chancery, as represented by Colonel Thornton,
but from one simple question being undecided, and
that was, whether a certain sem of money was to be
placed to the credit or debit of Col. 'Thornton', ac-
count? and this might have been entertained dur-
ing the long vacation, by merely gun her the
ma stet. `rafechhip, its tasuctozioes, utamarvedi
it might sometimes be imagined he took too
much time for the coniideration of questions which
came before him ; but be trusted it would be the
comfort ofhis declining years, when he 'tumid re-
fled he had not decided any thing without mature
deliberation : he then said he would look atteatively
into the feels contained in the affidavits on both
sides, and would, to the best of his poser, mere out
the toll measure of justice to all parties.
Mrs. Thornton, who rode the famous match
against Mr. flint, accompanied the Defenaant in
Court.