The National Register.
London, England, 1812-11-08 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

DRA.ll.,ll'h.: I? EGI ST'ER.

COVEN I' GATZWN-111:-A PPE ',RANCE OF BErry.

This Gentleman, whose bovhoad acquired so much thea-
trical fame aod fortune, after spending six years in classical
studies and t tirement, has now returned to court the ap-
plan-c of crowded houses, arid endeavouv to confirm, by his
exertion: as a man, his reputation as a boy. Rapturously
welcomed by the puhlic, leis net with a ruder reception
from some of the daily dispensers of cr iticisno and renown.
They have assumed, that haring gone through a sufficient
round of initiatory exexise in his earlier performances, he
now prey,c.ts hisnself, not as a debotant, but as a finished
ActET. This :or rrnise sufficiently accounts for their severity,
whit h being ft: undrd on a mistaken notion, recoils upon them-
selves, ai.d d:•prives their opinion of its tonal weight. The
little expeticoce which Mr. BETT V had gained in the course ,
cf his short but blilliant theattical career, must have been
greatly implhed, if not entirely lost during his secession
from the stage, when his mind bent on graver pursuits,
seemed to have for ever resigned all claim to the histrionic
crown. It is hot fair, therefore, to consider him as a new
cand.date for Dramatic honours, labouring under all the ap-
pralteta,i-ns that attend a first appearance, and under diffi-
eo!ties encrcascd, intlead of being diminished, by his former
exertions and successes : for, whilst to the one may chiefly
be attributed the inharmonious tone of his voice, strained
by them, we fear beyond recovery, the other pitch him
against himself, and create a wildness of expectation, which
it is impossible should not in some degree, be disappointed.
To judge fairly of his merits, we must decide on what
dless of what he has been.
Mr. BETTY chose the patt of Saim, in Barbarossa, for
11,•.s re aiTearance, probably because it was the character in
which he first presented himself before a London audience,
nr on account of the allusions which it contains to the
changes operated by time in a boy whom years have ripened
into manhood. The play itself is not one of superior met it
Of interest. It was framed by I)r. BILOWN out of SOPHOCLE'S
.E.'",r/ra and VOLTAIRE'S Mcropr, aed, like all imitations, is
joloijor to the originals. It is not, however, deficient in ge-
neral elegance, •and occasional strength of style, but it
boasts few of those passages, which, sprung from the heart,
aw,ken all its energies. The loud language of the passions
is he.. d, their violent effects arc seen, but those less stormy,
atid stil 'rote powerful touches, that always find an answer-
ing fibre in the human breast, but seldom, if ever occur.
Tle_• author did not paint from nature herself, be caught her
reilectiror in the soot ks of ancient and contemporary genius,
and in his atterni.ti at giving it an original garb was not al-
ways exempt limo iuciation and boniln,st.
The pai t of ''elfin does not ()tier a wide field for the dis-
T lay t,f varit d excellence. Revenge and filial piety form its
coostittieet passions, for love awakes but weak and transient
emotions in the soul of the hero. The tenderness of
his filial affection, and the fierceness of his ICVCI2C, are even
ineceAsatily checked in their expression during neatly the
whole of the piece, by the nature of the situations in which
he is plaCed, and until the moment when, frantic with
indignation at the insuhs•otTered to his mother, he .forgets-
the caution which seemed indispensable to secure the
success of his 'plan, vainly attempts to stab the usurper,
and then discovers himself, the representative of the dis
guised Prince, has to assume the demeanor of a slave, and to
silenc=e, not to utter, the voice of 'his passions. Dissimula-
tion, twin sister to hypocrisy,
Theoniv evillhat walks
invisible, except:to Doti atone,

is only arduous when the situations in which its votary finds
himself, are such as either to tempt him strongly to reveal
himself, a,.;ainst his interest, or to expose him to a perilous
discovery. In Barbarossa the author has relieved his hero
from that difficulty in almost every scene, except that wiih
his mother ; for when he presents himself before the usurper
as his own murderer, he is provided with proofs, which he
knows must be satisfactory, and screen him from all suspi-
cion. When, afterwards, he meets Oilman, he speed:lv
reveals himself, on ascertaining his real sentiments; and at
the very appatent crisis of his fate, he is made guilty of the
same imprudence, after a struggle, trifling when com-
pared with the important reasons he had to remain con-
cealed The dissimulation of Oilman is perhaps the most
arduous of the two, as it is of longer duration, and is exposed
to more frequent trials.
On Tuesday last the house overflowed at an early hour,
and as Mr. BETTY does not appear until the middie of the
second act of Barbarossa, the expectation of the public was
carried to such a pitch, as to become perceivable in the agita-
tion of the audience. When his arrival, as Achmet, is
announced in the piece, a moment of perfect silence pre-
vailed in the house, every breath scented even suspended ;
but when Barbarossa orders the youth to be conducted be-
fore him, an universal and involuntary buz arose, as of pre-
paration for some great -event, which terminated at his ap-
pearance, in repeated bursts of applause. Visibly affected
by his reception, he bowed gracefully several times, wed not-
withstanding his agitation, which lasted through the greatest
part of the evening, his performance deserved the prafuse
mat ks of approbation with which it was greeted.
Mr. B.'s stature,without being commanding, appears a little
above the common size, but his stoutness reduces his height,
without producing an unpleasant effect. His countenance
is handsome, but more expressive of the lighter than the
setious passions; for its rotundity accords better with the
received ideas of mirth and good nature, than with those of
dejected grief, or deep pondering revenge. The smile of
satisfaction, the flash of joy, breaks on his lips, or darts from
his eyes with peculiar lustre and eloquence ; but the gloom
of thought and woe sits less efficiently on his features. Ills
voice which, though somewhat clearer and softer, resembles
much that of Mr. FARLEY, produces the same effect on the
ear as E ISTON'S nose on the eve. Both offend at first, the
one by its inharmonious modulations in the high tones, the
other by its undignified brevity; but both are soon forgotten
in the excellence of the performer. In its low notes, bow-
ever, Mr. BETTY'S voice is both melodious and impres-
' sive. His action is generally jnst and graceful; occasionally
perhaps rather formal. He seems to have studied paintings
and statues more closely than nature. Hence his attitudes
are elegant, appropriate, and classical, but sometimes war t
that unaffected ease which a long habit of the stage alone can
give, and which enables an actor, instead of going through
a regular round of motions, planned beforehand, to obey the
sudden inspirations of feeling and of genius, and to produce
the most powerful effect. He treads the stage occasionally
too pompously, and when 'he recovers from a bow, is
apt to throw his shoulders and his head too far back,
Hso as, for a -moment, to present little more than his
neck and chin to the spectators.. The,e are
trifling
defects, which are mentioned only because they may
be corrected as soon as they ore known, and svhich, even
now, vanish in his atsimated scenes. In these, lie evi-
! Neatly feels, and yields to, the impulse of genius : his court-
' tenance beams with additional expression : the-unpleasant
d•swell io his 'voice disappears or is 'forgotten; his action he-