The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-12-03 00:00:00

P
for .1
Le
14e.

..
`~

Cl

'~

Ur
Ire

people clamorous for admission, and between one
sad tw•o they became crowded. Tile Nlamigers,
oticipatin„; this result, had taken every precaution
against its cornequences. A great number of Bow.
greet officers and constables were called in to pre-
serve the public peace, and prevent riot and con.

faiion, A large party of soldiers were also sta-
tioned at the several doors to protect the people
against the necessary anti fatal result of the indiscri.
ciliate rush of such an immense tide. Abruthalf past
four o'clock the croud became so great, the most
Jetivts apprehensions were ent,:ttaii:ed for the lives
of several persons, who were fainting away under
the pressure, and to whom, in the midst of the im-
penetrable mass, no assistance could be nEorded upon
the outside. It was therefore thought adviseable
to open the Bow-street door, though a full hour
tallier than usual, with a view to accommodate the
iesiegerp, and relieve them from the
I),„rkiink&lotrjad,e4,s_l n an

ie tide

rushed in, and took possession o t e space between
the exterior door, and the bar in the lobby, where
the entrance money is received. As only one can
pass at a time, and some del ty is necessary, for the
receipt and examination of the money and tickets,
thr slowness of the movement of those in the van but
ill accorded with the impatience of those in the rear.
Tn: pressure in that part of the lobby irecarne infinite-
lygreater,and its effects more alarming than they had
previously experienced in the open sfreet. They broke
all the windows on each side of the entrance, for the
benefit of the air; yet the heat and pressure still
continned so great. as to every moment threaten
suffrcation. A board was now di.sayed, an-
noun: irg that the bore; were all full. This corn.
rnunication, however, though corresponding with
the fad, did not operate to diminish the pres.ure,
and they continued rushing in with impetuosity
until after six o'clock. One half at least of
all those who suffered this fatigue and danger,
were obliged to return ungratified. Nearly
the same confusion that prevailed without wrs
observable within the house in the early part of
the night ; nor did it much abate even upon the ris-
ing of the curtain. The following introduaory ad-
dress was written by Mr. TA Imo ; but the noise
and clamour were so great that it was impossi'aiL t s
ascertain in a remote part of the house how or to
what extent Mr. CH Las Kan a LE was abl: to de.
liver it.

Impatient for renown, all hope and fear,
H m many a Candidate has 'ensued here ;
Where 4awning merit never liaised its aim,

But rca:h'dt by duz depe.s, the heights of fine.

Yet now, unheeding Stody'e servile ear..s
(So RJrnour, with her hundred
A youth your favour ^'

court•, Sy prime
Derides the tAinus growth of linernig Tune ;
Mature at once, when Nat ire urg'd, he strove,
Starting, like Pallas, from the brain of Jove.
Bat think not, though on Fortune': %veiling tide,
Led by exulting Fain; in travel. wide;
Think not he conies with vain triumphant rail,

&els res),

whose eaxll

Nor dreads the dangers of an adverse gale.
Though crowds on crowds hays join'd in fond acclaim,
Tatung!' his bright track, to bear aloft his name ;
And, to complete at I..mgth his bold career,
Hive sent his little balk in safety here:
Nat pride, but gratitude, has warni'.l his breast,
Add hence alarms his modest doubt+ auggett,
Lest that applause has been, with generous rage,
N•tt lavished on hie f 1115111.4 but his age.
He knows the tesrip-r of a litriti,h mind,
For merit zealous but to error kind;
Nor can lie deem hi+ honours justly due,
Until confirned, sign d, ritify'd by you."

The scene thus opened, but the tumult did not
subside. The audience could not let down the:r
minds to the business, and were all impatient for a
view of the only object 'which they thought worth
enilying. The Pit presented a nourd.'r appearance.
'Hive was scarcely a woman in it, and the pressure
was so great, that in the course of the night several
men were overcome with the heat, and lifted up
into the boxes, from whence they were carried out
of the house. In the centre of it, the company ap-
peared in the early part of the night to sit a little at
saw ; but this was repeatedly noticed by persons in
the boxes, who pointed it out to those in the ex-
tremities, who pressed forward until the whole be-
came one uniform and solid mass. At the end of
the second act, expectation was raised to its highest
pitch, and the I tfrllli RUCIUS presented himself amidst
a thunder of applause. He received the animated
expressions and greetings of the adi. ing audience
with a prepossessing modesty, and then proceeded
to thebusiness of the stage. Ile introduced himself to
Barbarossa with judgment, and siren-cc' great dis-
crimination in the same scene, where he sounds OM-
non, and, finding him loyal, and attached to his
person, discovers himself in these words—

1.10 commend toy bah. A rut, since thou lol'A hams
111 whisiter to thee, that, with hottest guile,
I Lay.: tkceiv%l 'hi. tytaut, waross.s—
Selitn ~z alive."

>.;ctliing could be more beautiful than the manner
in which he conceived and executed this passage.—
His mistrust and anxiety in the beginning of his
conversation with Othisea, and the joy brightening

• •
upon his countenance when he lends him true, until
it In eaks into a blaie as he pronounces
" art
This single line evincel his power;, and put him
in complete possession of hi, audience. It received
the
,most enthusiastic applathe. The succeeding pas-
sage, where lie says

1.7"

• " •Pell me, Ottwor,
And rot I tremble to approazh the th.tine--..
How lams my mother ? duty she still retain
I ler native greatness!"
displayed the most exquisite feeling. Filial affec-
tion could not he more happily conceived or ex•
pressed. The transition from tenderness to rage
was also finely marked ; and when Otirmzo, interro-
gates hint as to his intent, he answered—
".'l'u take just vengeance for a father's Wool,
• A mother's suirrings, end a jsetyle'i groans ;"
with great energy and spirit. This passage was
also rewarded by loud plaudits. The concluding
speech in the same scene, beginning with
" Oh, thoil hart rotii'd a thought, on which
Remounts with redoul,:ed fire."
was a beautiful piece of declamation, and given
with peculiar truth and chasteness. This whole
scene possesses great beauty and variety; but it re—
qui• little more than taste, delicacy, and discri-
mination, to give its full elle& The third an de-
mands more extensive and commanding power.; and
here we found this wonderful boy rising with the
occasion, and happily unfolding all the intere.t of
the scene. Every passage was des,n-ving of the
p; wise ; but if there was any one peculiarly

strikiiv„ it is
" This ve, si4glit the tyrant threatens :
watch his steps: I'll haunt lion Oro' the palace:
And, shou'd he meditate a de,ll vile,
11l hover o'er him like an unwell pestilence,
Aud blast him in his guAt

The spirit and animation with which he delivered
these lines eletrified the house. All rememln ;ince of
the boy WAS lost in contemplation of the after. lle
seemed to possess all the power of ex. cuting the me•
nace. Two loud, prolonged, and distina peals of
applause, declared the enthusiastic admiration of the
audience. The effea produced by his delivery of
the fallowing passage :
.4 worcitesi c he to rule who dares not claim
Pre.e.nmenee in danger,"
was nearly equal.
This 20, like the former, concludes with a fine
speech by ilehmet : Master Berry delivered it in
st; le that proved him pet:at in points in which he
is supposed to be defective. From the breaking cf
his voice, as is natural at his time of life, it may he
presumed to be deficient in sweetness and variety s.l
tone. We ixarceived no such defet in this speech.
His voice was finery modulated and varied. In the
lines

Nor fears to trine where justice ca:ls, nor dare
To strike tw!terc stir forbids !"
be was peculiarly happy. He seemed inspired
with a holy devotion ; and the pious resignation in
which he acknowledges the rule of justice, though
expressed in the lowest tone, was distinlily heard in
the remotest part of the house. The fourth a&
was equal to the expe&ation excited by his former
scenes. In the passage where se reveals him-
self to Barbaroua, he enraptured the audience
with a blaze of Majesty. He appeared a sun, emerg-
ing from a clout, from whose splendid presence,
the tyrant, like some guilty wretch, sought to with-
draw, and hide himself in darkness. The subse-
quent scene with his mother, in the same 4a, also
abounded with specimens of fine afting, of
,genuine
pathos, and the most exquisite taste and feeling.
To the fifth ad also, he gave all the interest of
which it is capable. I lis self reproach for stooping
to supplicate IT:-bar-nun, and the spirit with which,
when released from his bo:As, and receiving a
sword, he exclaims—
. XX., liarteme,m, let my arm meet thine :
T.• I ask of heAT'ii!"
proved alike his taste and di!crimination, and the
force and energy of his powers. This scene con-
cluded the piece, and the curtain dropped amidst
the loudest plaudits that ever shook the wails of a
theatre.

The arprarance of this astonishing youth
is prepossessing in a very great degree. Ile is about
fourteen years of age, and well grown. His fea-
tures are handsome, and the shape of his face is
oval. He is of a fair complexion, with fair hair,
and a fine blue eye. There is nothing striking in
his face when he is unmoved, but when he is roused
and fired with passion, it is wonderfully expressive.
His eye is then, as bear describes it—
. Bright at the morning star "'
and every feature is lighted up with the holy frenzy
of one inspired. Female beauty cannot afford any
thing more sweet than his smile. It was irresistible
in the scenes where he proved the loyalty of Othmaa,
and the virtue of itphera.—To this he adds all the
winning gracefulness of ease. Every a.llion is just,
appropriate, and Torre t. He treads the stage with
dignity and firmnein, and has an air of majesty, in
which all idea of his yauth and size is lost or for.
gotten. He delineates all the various and contend-

-

Ir.

I -

ing passions wince nicest discrumnation, never
mixing or confouagi thprn, but marking even the
finest shades with ell the sttength of contrasted co-
lours. Of the business of the stage he is a pe-fea ,
master. The scene fills all his mind. lie seems
not conscious of a present audience, yet there* no
appearanc; of labour or study. Every thing flows,
its it were, spontaneous, and lie seizes the feelings of
the audience, and carries them away without any ap-
parent exertion. That a buy of fourteen should pre
sent himself wider any circumstances or advantages
of Dials and education, is such a stee of .perfeqion,
is indeed a wonder, a prodigy, certainly it constitutes
an era in the theatrical annals of this country. We
have heard much of the length of time, and the in-
finite labour and study required by superior talents,
to arrive at excellence in the art ; and, whit is re-
markable in this youths taste, judgineat, discrimi-
nation, and all those qualities in which lie most ex-
cels, are those which time, study, and experience,
are considered in a peculiar degree necessary to be-
'stow. Yet. we are assured, that he is not in any ex-
traordinarydegree indebted to precept and education;
that be is an inspired genius, a b•:ing of a superior
class, and peculiarly, giftecl by nature; that Leis among
ailors what SHAKset Aas was among dramatic writ-

ers. To this latter opinion we adhere. Ile is indeed a
favourite child of r.ature, conceivediin her happiest
mood. At his time of life, schooling cauld have
done but little' for hint ; Nature claims him en-
tirely as her own. This opinion is not only ground-
ed upon farts, but it is also mare conformable with
reason and the nature of man. The final purpose
of Tragedy is to move ; and to move is to strike
those strings of the heart which arc most na-
tural—terror and pity. The gentleman and the
rustic have both sensibility and tenderness of heart,
perhaps in greatar or less degre., but as they are
men alike, the heart is moved by the same toucLes.

rho speaators of a tragedy arc, thendore, almost
all on a level ; to merit and obtain gem:rat ap-
orobation, the aair has little else to do but reflex
upon his own thoughts, and draw from his heart
chow sentiments which will certainly make their
way to the hearts of a:hers, if f!?.fou t l the!.l in his
own. Did Youug. Macias evince that ho fit thu,e
,iassions he expreised, and did he communicate his
feelings to the audience? They will answei in the
affirmative, and say with the French critic,—
" C.t un Po trait, sine image e0::.1314WC
Cl.NtFii,,uu Anunt, un Roi 111,;tuld., "
Before fifteen, the pa,sions are s, idom horn, as
they seldom survive sixty. A youth, therdore, who
skews that the parts lie performs are not merely
wood.: in hi, innath, hut sentiments fromlbisr mind,
is more extraordinary, than the old man of four
score, who exhibits the energy of middle age, be-
cause art, experience, and custom, must have much
share in the latte.-, whilst Nature Ohne inspires and
supports the form'

It is said tha: the Yeurry Re,erma copies no one,
but is an original, and may serve for a mold. Thz
former is possible, but the latter is improbable ; be-
cause nature may be so exec:lent as not to want the
help of art; but he is too young, a id has seen too
little of the world, that art with bins can he so re-
fined, or c .nfounded with nature, as to produce per-
fedion. Viewing him, therefore, as a hcaven•born
&Ur, we must deprecate all invileus comparisons.
It is no refleaion upon the merits of Mr. Kt:mime,
that labour has done for him what nature has done
for Master Bee rv. Yet some inj.: hciaus friends f
the former have not hesitated to say, that the latter is
only a KESIBLE among boys, but a boy among
K eves es. This is a pitiful parody of the well
known charatier, given of the late Lord Cat ESTER..
WI ten, which says, " I fis Lordship was a wit among
lords,and a lord among wits." We hope, therefore, to
hear no more of such comments. Fair criticism has
room enough without r7rem, and Mr. I( c el. r's merit
stands in need er no such assistance. Much of the
doubts that have been raised respating the extra-
ordinary powers of this youth, and of the curiosity
to witness his performance, proceeds from the no-
velty of the situation. That a child should make
such an attempt, even with a moderate degree
of success, is a circumstance unprecedented in
a London Theatre. The event which is here the
general theme of admiration would not excite any
thing like the same smsation in Paris. There the
Theatre des Jeirsts Elmo, and the Theatre des Jaimes
Artists, are open every night. The performers of buds
sexes are all under the age of fifteen, and many of
them allowed to be equal to the ablest veterans of
the other theatres. As soon as they arrive at fifteen
they cease to be members of these juvenile com-
panies, and must seek engagements elsewhere, and
from these nurseries, tragedy, comedy, and the
opera, in France, have drawn their brightest orna-
ments in a state of perfe 'Eon. Master BETTY, to
complete his engagement at Covent Garden, will
play every night this week. He repeats Aimed
this night, and, we understand, that Davis's,
ani M•crteric&, in laseer's Vows, are in the
Ust of diaraaer, which are likely to follow.
The tollowing biographical sketch of this won-