The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-08-21 00:00:00

ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE.

The new opera went off last night with eclat.
The other entertainments of the night here equally
successful; The house overflowed with an elegant
and fashionable audience. Ever' admirer of ge-
nuine native talent must rejoice in the prosperity
which has attended this interesting Theatre in
the present season. " There is," we are told, " a
tide in the affairs of men"—the same may be
said of Theatres. At the English Opera-house
it is now high tide, and from the merit of the
entertainments, and the talents of the company, it
will not ebb until diverted by the opening of the
Winter Theatres. The Strand now divides the
hustle of the west end of the town with the Hay-
market. The flux and reflux of fashionable equi-
pages every evening fill the approaches to the
English Opera-house, and this part of the Strand
presents a scene of life, bustle, and business.

MUIR, Au°. 19.—Last evening. bet Ween six
and seven o'clock, their Royal Highnesses the
Duke and Duchess of CzteattinoE, attended by
the Princess's brothers and Baroness HEIDEMAN,
arrived at Wright's Hotel, under a salute from the
guns at the heights; and this morning, at eleven
o'clock, the whole party embarked from the Inn
stairs in the barge of the yacht, under a similar sa-
lute. On the yacht getting under weigh, the
Pioneer schoonet, Lieut. ROUSE, which was in the
roads, fired a salute with her yards Manned. A
most beautiful breeze at N.E. soon conveyed the
Royal Party over.

Mips O'NEILL will perform Bertha. in The Nine
of Honour, and Maria. in the Mani, for her own
benefit, at the Newcastle Theatre. on Monday
night, being the last of her engagement iu that
town.

The following theatrical announcement is copied
from a Newcastle Paper:—
" Mutat of superior taloa!! !—Secood Night or Miss
O'Naisx's and Mr. W. RlPlClMarot's tagagement. Probably
the only opportailii) that ever way wear of those p•rformcrs
iippaariag at the mine time on the Newcastle stage."
Curious enough, a Provincial Paper lately an-
nounced the conjunetion of Veisais and the Dug
Star, in nearly the same words.

The country Papers seem greatly puzzled to find
a name for the late embarrassment at Gloucester
Assizes. Scarcely any two of them give it the
sante title. Some of them entitle it 4, Confusitiu
among the Lawyers." A Newcastle Paper calls it
•' The Lawyers in a Qaandary."
Isis oR Marti.—The number of people who
have visited the Isle of Mann in the course of the
present season; far exceeds what has been known
in former years, and the ►esort still continues; ap-
pa►ently without the smallest abatenseest.
Mr. CHANTRET'S marble butt of the late excel-
lent Mr. Ifoititza, which was so much admired
at the last Exhibitidn at the Royal Academy, is
about to be placed in the College of Advocates, at
Edinbu►gh. The fine statue of Mr. President
Biala, just 6ui.hed by the same eminent artist,
is about to be placed in a public edifice at Glasgow.
Mr. HATOON's long-expected historical picture.
representing Masi entering Jerusalem., is at length
in a state of great forwardness—all the heads are
entirely finished, and the figures nearly painted.
The work will be soon completed ; it will be a fine
example of this artist's powers in the first walk of
Iris arduous profession.
CURIOVS OPINIONS OF SIR RICHARD IHITDR
AND LORD (IA I.E.—Sir RICHARD flirDE once held,
that ►f one man bought another's goods of the
thief, though he had known them to be stolen,
if he had given the just velue far them, he would
not have hecome an accessary to time theft. Lord
lIALR differed front this opinion. .4 rot if there
be tiny (Md.." said he, " he that gives rupee, Irene-
fits the felon ►mo►e than lie that gives less than the
value."

>, .

to the EDITOR of The BRITISH PRESS.

A I), woe is mg !
To have seen what I have seen—see what I sec!"

MR. Entvoa.....Some thirty years have elapsed
since I left, for a foreign dime, my entire country,
then not improperly styled "Old England." I ii—
turiseds a few months ►ince, and, to my unspe,.k.
able regret, found every thing changed—new Mi.
:sisters, new measures, new manners, new maxims,
Indeed, so extensive are the innovicions, that my
country may now be aptly denominated, " Ario
England." When I went abroad, my countrymen
were a peaceable, smoking, porter-drinking, heel.
eating, bell-riuging race. They are now *holly
metamorphosed. Inoculated with • wildary
isle, their former quiet habits are quite forgotten—
and nothing pleases them, in the decoration of their
houses and persons, in their phraseology, in their
reading, and even in the production of their dia.
rnatic entertainments, that has not some reference
to " th' trade of arms." This fact I shall now pro.
ceed to prove.
In walking through the town, I perceive that the
solid blocks of wood or atone, which were forme' ly
Placed at the corner's of streets, have been tern..vi.rl,
and, in theirs-wn, masses of cast-trot,, in the shape
of cannon, have been substituted.
The railings by which the fronts of houses are
secured, have assumed the forme• of pikes, spears,
and halberts.

The holies, instead of ordinary brooches, ►epre.
renting a flower, or some other emblem of their
purity and innocence, wear in their bosoms minis.
tore daggers and sabres. Nay, I have seen some
of them sport a Small musket and bayonet.
There is not an apprentice about town, who does
not sally forth, every evening, in a military great-
coat and Wellingtons ; arid I verily believe, that the
Oaks worn by those non-descripts, the Dandies,
are meant as an humble imitation of the arnionr by
which the Preach cuirassiers were protected.
The Newspapers, which ought to correct, I
am ashamed to say, countenance and encourage
this vicious and unnatural propensity. I frequently
see the light column headed with " Fashionable
Movements;" and, but a few days since, a pars:
graph appeared in most of the Juornali, announc-
ing " that the materiel of the Duke of Cast-
BRIDGE'S establishment sad been sent forward to
the Continent, under the protection of an acleaneed
guard, composed of his Royal Highness's most
trusty domestics."

In conversation, the same error prevails. Pro-
fessional bodies are no longer spoken of as they
formerly were. Physicians ire denotainated, "the
Corps of Stiptiers and Miser!"—Surgeons, " the
corps of Pitntoeht." I suppose in alln4w, to Oar
facility with which they kit and slash all befoft
them—. Lawyers, "the Cors Rijlemen"—Publi.
cans, " the Corps of Stittlers"—and so on, ad infi.
mitoses. Again, we are constantly reminded of "the
Corps Diplontotique"—and " the Corps Drama-
tique ;" and, whth the Theatre is about to be
opened for the season, we are quaintly informed
that " General —, having received powerful re.
inforcements, is about to commence the campaign.
with great vigour." Even in the most private and
domestic circles the same language is heard ; and I
have listened with astonishment, when a female
friend of mine has declared, not that she would
scold her servant for improper conduct, but that
she would, in the first instance, " blow her vp,"
and then "compel her to make her retreat, with-
out bag or baggage, for in her house she should not
path her tent another night."
The stage has also become infected. Those
pieces only succeed io which there are lialf.a.doren
battlee=charges of horse and foot—firing of castles
frequent discharges of musketry. This is
the only fire I could perceive in the mamas I have
recently wituessedind, being rather asthinati.,
the smoke in which they terminated, affected me
infinitely more than the incidents which they com-
prised.

The composers of music', of course, find it ne-
cessary to follow the fashion. They have discarded
melody end harmony from their works, and he it
cOnsidered the cleverest genios, who can produce
the greateet node.
Hence, the trumpet, drum,
trombone, sefpent, bassoon, end every other species
of warlike instrument, are constantly in requisition
—while those of greater sweetness, but less power,
are almost wholly neglected.

But this is not the worst of the evil. The same
spirit pervades the senate, the pulpit, and the bar.
Judge df my astonishment, when I heard the grew,
pee/leaf& of Europes Lord Castlereagh, in an-
swering the speech of one rat his opponeins iii the
House of Commons, declare, " that he would
bring the heavy a►N//wry of his arguments to hear
on thefandineentalfirarare of the Hon. tientlemaa's
speech, in which he doubted not he would Ppreatly
make a practicable breach, well forted as the
Hon. Gentleman *opposed it to be, and powerfully
protected as it certainly was, by the erorrfire of
the subsidiary fortes that had lately tali ird under
the Hon. Gentletuan's banners." Very recently, I
heard a sermon preached by a most popular clergy-
man, whose phrases were onty worthy of a disciple
of the Church Militant. " Heaven," he asserted,
" could only be taken by storm, and therefore it Will
that he sounded the trumpet of faith, in order to in-
spirit those faint-hearted soldiers, who were too timid
to rash boldly into action," With respect to the

be, !Wm linguae(' ii earned to a still greater

tet—sud s case of trespaos. or of asostslt and bet-
ted', $ 'nosily opened with at many military terms
„, ire to he found in as Isstniurilayer, Gazette.
To me, Mr. Editor, who wish soy country well—
idyl anxious to see the imminent of peace,
.d..pted in a period of peace—these circunastauces
'err nut a little alarming. We all know that, by
constantly COollrrrlitg about vice, and.thas nosking
ourselves familiar with its details, the mind, by
deem". ceases to hold it in that abhorrence which
it drierses--snd I am much afraid, oaten the evil
be immediately checked, that this foodoefo for obis
idol parade, mood military foppery, which impairs
• alike to ionsence the Prism, and the peasant—the
tradesman, who has belonged to a Volunteer Corps,
sod the fenser'slrboorer,olwo het served in the [betel
hiddis—will teed to estrange the while mind
from those pomade meet congenial with or habits,
the tranquil pursuits coosseeted with the extension
of coonsetre sad taeoufectores. Treating that
rile will de all that lies is year power to iatrodeee
a peace enahtiskainst osonget every reek of the
cummsmly,
I remain, yours, fitly,
OAP Timm

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