The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-03-13 00:00:00

P. 41118:

ot,n colarsrocnticr.l
Pat's,ilsatis
There is no worse trait of the pfesent times than the it,f,
ample which is everywhere set by thole inliigh pliers of
laughing all patriot virtue out of countenance. Every 110 J
tion of rational 111111 manly liberty is denounced as radical
on your side the water; on this side, tile notion of any ori-
ginal compact existing, either express or implied, betl4.sui
the govvniott and the governed, is quite exploded. Al td
any promise on the part of the restored Monarch 61 tits
French nation to govern in subservience to the happiness
of his people there is no trace of it to be found. Les attsi
gourernent les ants; but when was there e time that it
was not so ? i hate read the history of governments in all
ages, and I could never find that corruption was efef in fit
infancy. It appears to me to be coeval With the %Mdbn
of man, an event now of almost six thousand years stands
ing, that is. presuming that we are eorteet in efur reeltona
ing: for Morett:stsuite, in his Persian Letters, laysi
" We must not calculate the years of the world, coda ..pm
with which the number of grains of sand in the sea are hat
as an instant." In justice, however, to the author of the
.spirit of Laws, and in justice also to Mosesa it out not
to be forgotten, that thirrensarlc appeared only in ttfirst
edition of those celebrated letters: the Cuuncts was reed
displeased with his hating thus put the cosmogony so be'
mid die reach of computation, and the passage was ex 4
punged from all the subsequem editions.
The drama, which is the life and soul of the Ridden
populace, goes on joyously. Last nieht L'Ecok des Viet..
lards was performed at the Theatre Francais for the
nine-
teenth time ! and although this piece bas been repeated
twice or thrice every week since its first performance, Burl.'
osity still stands on tip-toe as buoyantly as ever. The doors
were thronged as early as four o clock, 'yid the same eared
near manifested to obtain a seat as at the first representation
and long before the curtain was drawn up tilt it place Wad
to be procured for love or money : not that I can marred
so exactly for time first of these ppeerrdauu'ves, for Cupid eau
usually come his way everywhere; his coin, therefore,
might have passed—but for the coin of the realm, its
ence, I can vouch for it, was useless. fifot a lam he a
single individual was vacant in the parterre Lad ft=
been es thin as a curtain-rod ; and the find and
circle of boxes were filled et so early hour. This attractive
comedy has not only been thus played to crowded bootee
in Paris, but has been performeqd with equal inseam at all
the provincial theatres throughout Prance. This 'good
fortune will line the pockets of the author, who receive'si
fixed portion of the profits from every trianager so *hew
stage it is represented. In the prst instates of goad
fortune, his piece has peen so succesaM, that nothing bee
remained for bins but to
" Pursue the triumph and pinata the pis."
This is not often the case
wi dransatia writes.; they
have rarely snit W set-in svallildlsr as
L'Eeole des Vielliards certainly possesses excellencies which
well entitle it to the extraordinary share of public favour it
has obtained ; it is, at the tame time, indebted, in a cos-
, siderahle degree, to the admirable acting of TALNA, who
performs the character of DANVILLE, and in his very first
style ; all the peculiar beauties of language and sentiment
which it contains, are improved by his vivid and forcible
conception of them. His acting is throughout • muter.
piece. He is graceful and animated--always full of feeling
and vivacity—but never ontatepping the modesty dna.
cure, or offending against the rules et taste. ever
he spoke, the other evening, the house was hushed as the
Monastery of La TRAPPE ; every speeds was seem.
panied by a suspended pause of admiration, which. at its
close, burst forth in a thunder-peal of applause. His die.
emery of the Duke in the chamber of his wife (Hortense)
was attended by a look and gesture, that produced an dee:
trifying effect on the whole house. Mademoiselle Maas
played Hortense, and played it to perfection ; never was a
more bewitching soul breathed into a living body : the
power of her acting is mysterious and original ; she is one
of those frinales to which mankind, with common consent,
have given the appellation of divinities. Had this class of
goddesses but the attribute of immortal youth ! Bat,
alas ! time steals them away, one by one, and will one day
carry her off with the rest.

" E'en while we think,
Life ceases, and to-morrow neer returns."

The character of the old bachelor, Bonnard was per-
formed by Ds vtc Nv, with his cheracteristi: good humour.
The Duke D'Elnusr was finely represented by AswAND
his unreserved declaration of love to Hortense' and its in-
dignant and dignified rejection on her part, produced an
effect that was irresistible. The heat of the house was
excessive, notwithstanding the coldness of the weather.
The breath of a thousand lungs coming across one occa-
sionally like a blast of hot sir, is, of all things, the most
enervating. The sight of TALAI• and Mademaiselle
MARS could alone induce any one to endure it.
We have a new comedy also, a sort of appendage to
VErnle des Vie/lards, called L'Eeole des "'idles Femmes,
which has considerable merit, and is running its career of
popularity. There is no living in this world—in this
part of it at lout—without a succession of amusing no-
velties. Flies are made to be eaten up by spiders, and men
and women to be devoured by easel.
The political world goes on mach as usual. Supersti-
tion is cultivated and countenanced by the priesthood with
as much zeal as ever. II ley a pas its theologies gni tie
roulut etre le maitre de retat. Some French writer has
made this remark, and it is perfectly just. But arbitrary
power is gradually attaining to a degree of strength from
which we can only hope to be delivered by the prayers of
the Faithful. We ire rapidly arriving at that crisis from the
evil of which there is no relief to be looked for but in the
public spirit of the nation. It reminds one of what Foi-
st N an Admiral in the time of Louis the XIV. mid to his
II sailors, who, in a violent worm, were recommending them-
selves to every Saint in the Calendar :—" Courage, my
lads!" said he, "prayers are good things—but SAINT
Puss v it the only Saint that can save us."