The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-02-07 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN.

After the pathetic and admirably played Opera o 7 Chief,
we were last night presesind with a new farce, entitled
The Punehcrs. Were we to be guided by the applause
which,with one or two exceptions, was lavishly bestowed up-
on this piece, we should be compelled to speak of its merits
highly. Preferring, however, the exercise of our own
judgment, we are bound to ray that it appears tc be quite
destitute of that degree of talent necessary to rescue it
from the ignoble fate of being ultimately sheljiii. The
plot, as far As we could understand it, turns upon the ad-
ventures of a young lady of rank, sister to a Gentian
Count (to whom, however, she does not seem very well
known), who having become enasnoured of a gentleman
dwelling in the family of her brother as an equerry, hits
upon the following obvious method of getting introduced
to, and learning something further of, the object of her at-
tachment :—A peasant upon the Count's estate having
been convicted of the crime of poaching, incurs the con-
sequent penalties ; and our heroine, presenting herself to
the culprit, disguised as a man, :woposes to intercede for'
him with the Count, in the assumed character of Griselle,
his wife. The peasant accedes, and accompanies the
transformed lady to the palace, where a series of Targets
takes place, some of which, though not very ingenious
in their nature, told well enough, from the circumstance'
of the lady's double disguise. T; e Count and his Equerry
both fall rattly in love with the beautiful and elegant
Grisette,the latter,indeed,c,ineeieing s serious and eternal at-
tachment for her in the am axis iglyshort apace of a few mi nu t es.
Ile even proposes to the poacher to purchase his wife of
him ; and to this the other agrees, thinking the /24 a ges-!
!lemon, and that the equerry would be marvelisalsly well
gulled. An erlaireissensent ensues ; and the equerry, who
turns out somehow or other to be himself a " llar'n bold,"
obtains the hand of the young Countess, as well as pardon
for the poacher. We arc aware that it is too much to ex-
pect the motives which influence ordinary men to operate
upon the Orarriutis perionit of a farce; still some portion of
verisimilitude ought to be maintained, and utter absurdity'
cannot fail to offend. The author is greatly indebted to the
exertions of the actors. Cooper, who is a very pleasant
comic performer, was lively and active in the Count, and
Blanchard and Jones topped their respective parts of the
poacher and the equerry. Mrs. Chatterley too, in the cha-
racter of the a/ills-loving Countess, excited, as usual, our
warm approbation.

MIB3 MACAULEY.-11"c understand Miss Macauley
shortly intends again commencing her readir gs and re-
citations. We have before given our opinion oldie talents
of this lady; her 1.1:e course at the Saville Rooms obtain-
ed the wannest approbation and deserved patronage of the
auditors, and we have no doubt she will continue to merit
both. I ler present object, we believe, is more immediate-
ly directed to readings on moral Aid religious subjNls ;
and they will be, as heretofore, interspersed with serious,
music, vocal and instrumental. The Lad has been some
time studying a Poem written on the subject of Lord By-
ron's Cubs, and setting forth the pernicious tendency of
such productions. She means to devote several evenings
to lecturing on Elocution, and will give examples from the
best English Authors. We most heartily wish her success;
in the first place because she deserves it, and, in the next,
because her recitations are calculated to improve in a very
neglected, but not the less important, branch of education ;
and we believe there ate few, if any, capable of more sue-
c.ssful exertions.