The National Register.
London, England, 1809-01-15 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.'

Elliston, or rather nature, by passing his hand over his e.) es, in
order to ascertain whether they did not deceive him. His re-
nforseful indecision whilst expecting the signal to murder the
:Ring, and when it is given, the anxious care with which he locks
every door, and listens to fancied sounds, gave a more striking
picture of an assassin stealing to the pillow of his victim that
bas-been displayed by some of the most eminent performers.
`ll4' hen the bloody deed is committed, and he complains to Lad;
-Macbeth that he could not pronounce " Amen," he was not,
however, so plaintively sublime as Mr. Kemble. The scene in
which he shone with almost unrivalled lustre was that of the
banquet, especially at the moment n hen he seems by his threats
to drive Banqua s ghost from the singe, and on its disap-
pearance exclaims, " I am a man again." In the two la a
acts his spirit rose to the highest pitch of passion. lie
fought at the close of his guilty career as Macbeth ought to •
tight, but seldom does, with the wild energy of despair, which
derives strength from its very hopelessness, and resolves since life
must he lust, to sell it dearly to its conqueror. When falling
wounded to the ground, with a burst of rage congenial with the
temper of the tyrant, he hurls his SWOIII, which he can no longer
wield, at his foe, and expires in the strongly and justly expressed
agoniss of remorse and terror.
On Friday night, Mr. Young made his first appearance in the
character. of Beverley, in The Gamester, supported by Mrs. Sid-
dons and Mr. C. Kenible, in Mrs. Beverley and Lawson ; and ra-
ther encumbered with Mrs. St. Leger, as aharliAtte. Cooke as
usual excelled in the part of Stakaey ; and Mr. Thompson, who
sve strongly suspect possesses more talent than he has till
now revealed, in the humble character of • Dawson, deli-
vered
his account of Beoerley's arrest, with so much feeling and
spirit, as to receive a round of applause, and what is more, as to
deserve it.
For reasons which we have already explained, we forbear
descanting on Mrs. Siddons' excellence. She seems doomed ne-
ver to feel the blighting hand of age, and we only point out the
beauties and defects of withering and perishable beings like our- •
selves.
Mr. Young equalled our expectations. His grief, his tender-
ness, his remorse, his weakness and his despair, were highly na-
tural, nod affecting. fly his skill, we never lost sight. of the
nobleness of tleverley's disposition, which ought free neatly to
shine through the veil of vice that overshadows his perfections;
and which burst forth in his warm defence of Stukeley, the sacri-
fice he makes of the weak remains of his fortune to relieve that
false-hearted friend; and his dignified refusal of borrowing money
from his old servant Jarvis. Mr. Young not only possesses the
faculty of expressing the loudest intonations of passion with
proper effect, but his voice ill s ,fter, though not perhaps less
affecting passages, sinks into a reeling plaintiveness that steals to
the heart. His picture of mental and bodily sufferings in the
last scene was dreadful, but chastely just, and in every part of
his performance in .11 arbeth and Beverley, be proved himself
worthy to act by the side of the British Melpomene.
The recaptite; which the public granted him, and which he so
highly deserved cannot fail to awaken all the energies of his
genius. Emulation is the nurse of excellence. Were we to
place him now at the head of our tragic performers, we should
be guilty of flattery and would deprive him of a stimulus for fu-
ture exertions. We know his cowers, and judge him according
to their extent, and not to those of others. We will not there-
fore foolishly exclaim, that he has reached perfection, although
he may have surpassed some or even all his competitors, but
when experience and study shall have enabled him to exert the
full force, and display the real excellence of his genius. His
spirit has sometimes betrayed him into something not very un-
)ike ranting. Let him beware of this; the disease which if
taken in time, may be easily removed, if suffered to proceed un-
checked, will at last prove incurable and mortal.

lAN. 15.

lie prisoner wai one of them. Anoth-r witness, of the nalLe of
:Pe Cams, ho gate informatioti to the above officer of the,
proposed burglary, could not swear that the prisoner Ras one of
the rol&ers.
The Jury, after some deliberation, found the Prisoner Not
G witty.