The National Register.
London, England, 1812-03-01 00:00:00

L ftEGISTM

13S

spared; and the Cenne—xion-between every part being restored, the mi:
serable attempts at wit left out, and the language occasionally amended,
the end of our present dramatic Productions might be answered—the
public might be pleared. We know that the Managers will exclaim,
did not several rounds of apphuF follow our announcing The. House of
Morttlle for a second representatior. ? True, but were not •the hisses so
frequent throughout the performance, that Mr. RAYMOND thought
proper to addrelis the audience, and tell them " that they defvated the
purpose for which they were assembled, in not bearing the piet.e."
Did he a :t utter a wish that al} expression of censure should he with-
holden until the end, whin shotild'aripprobation prevail, the Managers
would withdraw the new drama ? And was not the attention of the
public in general so taken up at tho close of the last scene, by a sudden
tumult in the galleries, which was construed by some Into an altirm of
fire, and induc‘d some ladies to attempt leaping into the pit from the
boxes, that the friends of the Author were left entirely at liberty to
applaud as they pleased, vvitliont any opposition. There is, therefore,
no cause for ex'ultation in the momentary success which The House of
morviiie had obtained, and which can only be secured by considerable
alterations.

The Epilogue formed a striking contrast with the.piece. It was full
of light sportive wit, the other, of potderous dullness and insipidity.
The celebrited amateur Rotleo, of the present day, was moat happily
taken off by Mrs. En wkx, who spoke the Epilogue, and by her skilful ex-
pression, archness and playfulness, added to its excellence. The lines
which announced the speedy return of the Company to the temple of the
drama, at Drury Lane, were received with marked approhttion.
Every performer seemed to 'exert his utmost abilities in support of
this piece. Mr. RAY MOND, in the villain, maintained Lis established
reputation ; and De CAMP in young De 21furville, displayed justness
of f-eling end correctness of expression, under the influei.ce of chang-
ing which raise our opinion of his taients in the serious Dra-
ma, and give the most satisfactory promises of encreasing excellence.
A Sung, composed by Mr. KELLY, and introduced in the 3d Act'
possessed neither novelty nor melody, and only served to drown the
vocal powers of _.. SMITH.

The scenery was beautiful, but not entirely new.

FINE i! !ITS.

BRITISH INSTITUTION.

No. 64. The Procession to Mount C.civary. By G. F. 'Jarrett. We
have not forgotten the Return trPriart exhible d last year, and we are
glad that Mr. Joseph had the good sense to dive esto the purest and best
of sources. For it has been hang found out that th- Holy• Writ and
Homer's Poems can yield the best subjects for the pall:t. ('he subject
treated here has been attempted nearly by all the worthies of the dif-
ferent schools, and several paintings, representing the same fatal catas.
trophe, are still fresh iu our memory. The performance, now observed
upon, is most interesting, most pleasing to the eye at first sight. The
colouring, that bewitching charm of the muse, allure, the spectator to
the spot, and the high-finish;ng of every part repays him fully far the
trouble of approaching nearer to the wonet rie of the c:lnvas. But yet ;
can we be silent upon the defects which impose a mometitouz drawn
back upon the fulness of our admiration ? Can we praise, for ins:iinee,
the face of Christ, which is so very unlike that long-adopted physiog-
nomy which Raphael borrowed from his predecessors, and which, with
little variation, has been handed to us so unimpaired that we ade
mire it still in the last grand picture of Mr. West. Where is the
sublimity of the Son of God which ought to be blended- with the
features of the " man of Sorrow ?" Remember his race at Oxford,
by the hand of Guido ; that by Vandyke or Stollens, in the possession of
Lord Cremorue, and compare. Were Mr. Joseph a man of common
abilities, we should, perhaps, be inclined to withhold our criticism, hut
we cherish in hint, as well as in several others; the hopes of the national
muse of painting, and we show our regard for bins in reproving what
we did not meet from an artist whom we hold in so great an estimation.
His Magdalen is well drawn, full of expression ; her grief is pathetic,
her despair at the utmost; her appeal to the Centurion and his armed
men truly new and sublime ; but she does not appear to bek..;
exactly to that set of figures which surround her. It is not a sma:l
woman, a delicate female, but it is a female who should be plic.ket pe;-.
spectively speaking, at a distance behind the cross—She does not make
proportionally tine' of the group; and,- were that- figure cut out of ale

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