The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1809-09-20 00:00:00

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faVVANT-G.4ROgN THEATRE.

otitty of the public for the fate of the con-
teol b. Parris tic 1%11/lingers of this Tli4 ape, and the
ad..scsces 4.1 low priers, Nae appoints the entire ol
)"• --s '
,t adav iow-strert, and all others In its vicini-
ty, svelte finagled with einuolserless spectattass, who
came to witness the consequ'entes of the former
ought. The scene preoeutrol to their view, was, hap-
pily, not ,iwh as many of them feared, sod some
of them hoped. The which was trifling,
we. repaired ; and th- loving needy painted,
inculcated is lesson of order, et the entre, upon •
thieve who hall any regard for their coat.. On
being admitted, the !wrist did not Ins-sent so for.
swuieblr an appearance as was expected ; it we., nut
so immesliftcly crowded or on the brat opening; oil
'.be eontraiy, the boxes errs but thin, and the pit
*.e!sses s omparativel• Joliette!' ; in smote time, how-
'er;i 6414 Itemise full—yer„ as no inclination to dis-
fella manifonatord itself for the present, it was emen-
d:red Mt:WOW:AIt omen. 'A
little after the musicians
appeared in the orchestre, the hopes thus excited
were blasted ; and the quiet, it was soon found,
WOW nut from any dispomtion to good' conduct, but
front a insure perfect unsleistsmoling and systematic
regulation between the hissimg herpes. Several
papers, with large characters, were held up in the
pit, emit • • g the word+ " OLD PILICk:S," upon
which the clairpiti4, bellowing., nod huzz sing, were
Mt instantaneous soil general, that it required strong
nerves to withstand the shock ; in short, the exhi-
bition of Tee ADVOCATES OP OLD ratccs, 1.+.14
again repeated et this 'clieatre ; the characters
mere well supported as before, stud the drama as
lousily and as umnesiningly vociferated.

The entertainmeut in ;hick the regular company
appeared, was the favourite our s.f The liey,Aar s
Upora; but those who, on the former night, re-
jected Shakspeoire with indignation, could not be
expected, upon this orca,ion, to evince a kind-
ness towards Gay ; it was his fate, as well as
that of his illustrious predecessor, to exhibit
io a department iii which he never intended,
that of Pu,tnaiginte. Besides the instance of
arrartegnent stein which we have already

that of their waiting for the watch-
word of 6' OLD Plaices," there was :mother, too
obvious. and too remarkable, to be omitted; they
rose regularly in the pit, with the rising of the
curtain, and commeliced their uproar ; they sat
down us regularly wheu it fell, and olawrverl, whet
would have been tumult in any other assembly, hut
what was tranquillity in that, until it ruse again.
In the first scene of the play, Mr. Mundell was
fated to brave the outcry, si bids was tremendous.
Every inorlificsticos of the huinau voice was exerted,
even the appalling catcall was brought iu, as if
Mat voice, with all the ingenuity that was tried
to make it horrible, was still too sweet to convey
the seniiineats with which then breasts were
fraught ; neither did the appearance of the fair sex
wrist the progress of the storm: Mrs. C. Kemble
was received will, marked ilisapproliation (Si far Sc it
was possible to Durk any single instance of disappro.
helicon, when nothing but disapprobation appeared).
Mrs. Dickons also, iu common with every other
performer, experienced her share ; but it took at
one time so great an effect upon her, that it was
with difficulty she got through her part. The
rioters, in the course of the night, made several at-
tempts to enter into a correspondence with the Ma-
pagers. In the first place, they handed a letter
across the Orchtsera, to Mr. idoilden, who pro-
mised, as well as we could jwdge by his gesture,
to give it to the 11ana•gers. On his next appearance,
however, he did not, as they expected, bring them
an answer; which added to the outcry. It would be
wrong to omit noticing the efforts of many Gentle-
men iu the boxes to iipalise themselves, according
to the vacuole of their friers/1s in the pit ; they
succeeded in obtaining some copies of the " Old
Price" Bill., which they exhibited in a very con-
spicurms manner, to the great delight of the spec a•
tors, who humored rheas with clapping, and scream-
ing, and every other frightful noise, descriptive of
their excellence.

There wore frequent interludes between the acts,

of boxisig, &c. which served, in some measure, to
vary the scene. The constables, too, were in tle-
tnind ; we understand that tive or six div4nvganslied
personoges were taken into ettstuiy, where, pro:
tney will find it no advantage to thews to
have 'writ so contpicaoler ar they made themselves.
In the course of the second act, another attempt
was made at a correspondence ; a note was halt led
to Mr. Lioledon, who promised, as Mr. Munilen
slid before him, in dumb shrw, to deliver it; but
the result WAS the saint, no answer was given.
.Cliagritied at this disappointineest, "they resolved
upon another plan, and deputed one of their owls
party, whore they let down into the Orchestra, to

he the bearer of ■ third mewing?. This message,
however, proved as unsuccessful as any of the
former; indeed, •little more so, for wither tly
simmer nor the messenger returned; it is pii4,ible
that lie hod wine conversation with the flitie•
attest (Accra in his way. which rendered it
imposWlde for him to Nit- his Peat that night
among his awinciater. Th. re were uiriulwr. of
hand-hills flung from the litotes into the nit and
wilier's.... or a teod•ocy to excite the cir•ortier ; Imt
it would, fe io van to attempt to particularize the
confusion of lite night; suffice it to Sip that,

so far from hearing a ward of the perforiumucs, not
the voice of a !informer could be distinguished:
and moralists may rest assured, that, for one slight,
wt leain, the principles of The Beggar's Opera were
as sciviccuble to the cause or virtue us those of Noe-
ieth. A cry or tti0.0p1.....kd the txmellooloa
of the play, which manifested, in a very appro-
priate uproar, tlwir success iu banishing humour
.and harmony from their abode.
Mr. Incledon then appeared, to announce the
play for the ensiling evening; but the tumult
which hail ceased, for the moment, with the fall of
the curtain, was again renewed, with so much
veheinence, as to prevent a syllable of what he ut-
tered being heard. Indeed, it was scarcely to be ex-
pected, that those whom the song of Incledou coulJ
not moderate, would 1w reduced to silence by his
plain prose. The farce of Is he a Prince v succeeded,
and the noise and confusion condoned throughout
to rage with such unremitting and unabating fury,
that we declare we have not yet been able to as-
certain whether he i. a Prince or not. There wah
indeed a short cessation of hostilities at the com-
mencement of the Overture, but when the sere-

.e, - cua
pito movement began, the accompaniment of cal-
ms:ls, groans, and biases, broke out a-fresh, with
intolerable effect. To notice the progress of the
Farce, would he merely to mark, from time to time,
the rise and fall of horrible ilisegrrt. The loud
crash, the shrill squeal:, the dissonant rumble, and
the thundering clap; so similar iii effect was ap-
plause and disapprobation, that it leas impo,,sible to

41,46140 W) the tokens of the one from the other.
They only combined to make the tempest louder.
At length the curt-4111 finally it _rupptil on this
second action in the Thespian War, mud its descent
11141 accompaiiied by huzzas, an loud and general
throughout the house, ai to evince that the ho-tite
phalanx dot oiot consoler themselves defeated.
Neither did they went itiehiteil to relinquiski the
amitortin, field ; am, Mr. Keitiltle might, if he had
been disposed to pArotly the language of Mac:flea,
have exclaimed—.
" Time was,
That, wilco the play was done, the folks would
And these an end.—hut now they all remain,
With 'stem) warring passiuss in thou bicasts,
Tu bawl us (rum oar stools."

A battle royal soon after this took place in the
pit, and a permit' who either MO., or was mistaken
for, in officer, was very roughly handled, end turn-
ed out. lleviog got rid of this restraint, tile" OLD
oases" standard was again hoisted. wind sliuu's
of triumph. It was bawled from place to place;
stilt k up on the boxes, and accompanied by a seer-
let haulier, torn from the rests. One of the moat
daring of the assailants was then elevated upon the
orchestra, and intended to proceed to affix the
paper to the curtain; when the horrid plaizses of
certain Bow-street officers, like moles underminlog
hint, caused him to make a most precipitate re-
treat into the pit.-11e had a narrow escape, for
the catapult,a caught him by the legs, sot it was
only by the superior numbers of his rescuers io the
pit that he was drag;ed from their fell grasp.—.-
A numerous posse of constables now appeared
oti the stage, in order to check any advance
that might be meditated (roin the pit. The
trap-doors on the stage were also ()pried, to re-
tard and ilisemnpu,e the progress of the enemy,
should he dare to posh his sacrilegious forces
upon that hallowed ground. The officers of peace
were met with the war of words. mid were soon
hooted from the stage, with the business of which
they certainly did not appear to he well acluaiiittel.
Some of the spectators the,. fauiciril t..ley• saw bay-
, onets; but they turned out to be 4:m111461es staffs,
pointed and shaped by fear. After ltnose instru-
ments of civil power had made gond their retreat.
the audience ,gave three cheers. As soon as sileoce
was obtained, a Milo, like any thing hot a Gentle-
man, came forward oat the front of the middle
boxes, with arms extended, snit said— '
" I sin a British subject ; and, as such, if dm Proprietors
and Managers of this Theatre had come forward with a fair
statement, sad skewed their necessities to be such as to co-
title them to increase of prices, I should che,rfully eu.upt) ;
and I know a free British audience would. But it is for us
to regret that this has nut been dune, if it was ma their power
to du it. By your conduct, this night, you have proved to
them that you can 'meet monopoly as it really merits ; per.
severe, and you will secomplish your purpose. If I
thought the raismag of the prices wow.' increase the @shrift
of the peer the measure would not inert impositom
la me. But I well know, and you usuit hrve the same
knowledge, that it Is only intended to enrich filar or he, per.
sous, also lime already heroine taloa, by the public favour.
flue attic Maintains, Mr. keinhle, and his relatives, 'macre
• greater salary thy.. um-half of the other Performer,
There is another thing I ramp bring your attention to, whir h
is, that tier of priva.c bases (poiatin; up to there), if you Ili)
uut persevere, and skew those impa.tors that paialic amuse-
amiits rid be directed by the arose of the people, you will
have a IWCOUIt Italian Opera- ; sad eves although we
assent to pay our Revco slasatiao, we shall b. emended ti 41.41 the
hose*, and for ed to spa tee Lae pit, with a coshed het and silk
stockings. I base mot a doubt, bat if you continue the re-
tioual and peaceable make you hive this night adopted, hat
senefeitt etinqu.v Doe Job., soil his tangerines. the Fuller
liftiu rs."
Thee were lo•ol plaudits after this person had
mad.: winch very few could understand.
Unfortunately for him, some per.ou in ti.e upper
Ifnxes knew the °ester, tiled called out. he was ern-
Hayed by Taylor, of the Opera-ilause, to run all
risks. Wits be frnstrited the intentions of the Na-
Imagers of Covent-winless:l eves a figu•etive view
of Ceir aristocrat./ 40,.ttoniusiooly was not to
be sp4ol. The joarkeitatits tailor disappeared.