The National Register.
London, England, 1812-10-04 00:00:00

POI TR 1.

ON THE 111.111111 AGE OF MERRY AND MISS WISE.
( From the Satirist thc present iVontlt.)
To be merry' Fled wise i, au axiom true.
That %silt carry y a clieerlay a!I ,‘ 0111 ibr914;!..);
{Soft 'l6llO t LISN; Mallet 111 • Mean.. 1i1•Ii•,•111C.
To be at nitre incry and
Thus lliis, wh 1 wi., Pi.. a 19.3 g twenty year:,
Is no longcr Wise, iinw ,he apipe.:rs,
Anal Nlefry', bill winie,
. 1 hst StHet! Le got 11-I.l.ife, h S tafict.

_.

DR.I.II.ITIC REGISTER.

CO‘ ENT-GMWEN.

The Managers of this theatre seem,actively engaged in
preparations to maintain a successful competition with their
revived and dangerous oval, Dinry I ate. Like pludent
commanders, they recruit their force beim e they enter into
action, and spend in exercising and olgrnizing it, the time
• that remains before their opponent appears in the field.
Ilenee, instead o! producing new pieces, they have trea-
sured them as a corps of reset% e, to be called out only •
when the splendid internal attractions of Diiny Lane, shall
require the most -vowel ful counteracting exertions to save
the shrine of the Covent Gat den Muses from desertion.
The single novelty of the house, assisted by the teprescn-
tation of esteemed dramas, will cat ry Drury Lane most
triumphantly and profitably through the first and second
season of its opening. Covent Garden has posses•ted, but
bas now worn out, those advantages, and must therefoie
create others to counterbalance the popularity of its rival.
Deprived of the two brightest ornaments of the modern
atstge, it labours under discouraging circumstances, and
notwithstanding its al" ts at procuring valuable substitutes
for retired genius, has hitherto rather cucreased the numbers
of its company than added to its value.
This system of recruiting from the country theatres, to
form a body equal to-the performance of every kind of dra•
matic entertainment, commenced a little before the close
of the last season. Miss Jou ASON courageously ascended
the Stage as Isabela, at a time when the heart still dwelt with
regret on the retirement of Mrs. Si DIYONi ; when the ma-
gic harmony of her voice still lingered in the ear, when the
elegance and propriety of her action, and the eloquence of
her eye still lived in the fondinsi of justly admiring recol-
lection, and, a model of histrionic excellence was left im-
printed on the in: rid, whicli could not be imitated with any
hope of ,entire suctess, or reliuquished without a ceatainty
of total failure. Under such cumst..nces, it was no
small pledge et merit, to meet with a valcon e. Miss
JoIINSON SCCU'cd one by het cola ect conception of the
putt, the ease and elegance of het manners, and her keling
delivery; and though her sorrow was occasionally whining,
and her countenance boasted little .o( tragic dignity, vet
she might be deemed a ptomising pet lot mer, and seems to
have vanished for no other mason than to make room fur
Miss MA tt ft to Ir, who at the re-opening of the theatre,
without any claim to decidedly superior talents, alstimed
the lead in tragedy. To keep this lady in countenance, the
• insignificance of Mr. A Boor was drawn from the llaymar-
&et, where it lay butted in Mr. DIMOSD'S pieces, to Co-
vent .Garden, and promoted to parts occupied by Mr. C.
KEMBLE, in the plays of ShakeSpeare ! Mr. ABBOT has
thereiore no.cause of complaint against Managers to south
or excuse his disappointment. lie cannot urge that he has
been Irept in the back gtound, if his success does not cor-
respond with his expectations; for had he postesied as much

OCT, 4.

ability as ambition, a field was opened before him in which
he might have displayed the one, and gratified the other.
His ill judged promotion, however, has produced a contrary
effect, and made -his deficiencies more conspicuous. The
owl thatscreccheft, sheltered under the. wing of night, dis-
gust us only with his voice ; but when exposed to the hvo:RI
;;laic of (13v, the ludicrous gravity of his looks, and the
of its figure, appear and raise our laughter.—
Like it, :‘lr. uHOT bucrecds brit in obscurity; nay, in
even excels the owl, for he p1,,..w.es iiy,tead of
dkorstiug.• Ilis want of consequence, so characteristic Of
our fashion,ibk men, appears to advantage a., a s:“iic Oil
their in.ignificance, and then becomes an excellence. But
in higher characters he ieems as much in his place as a cuv
apprentice would do, thrown by a sudden revolution of the
wheel of fortune from belrind his counter into the House of
Peers.

, - - - -
The next arquisilion to the company was Mrs. STIRLING,
engnged probably to alleviate, not to supercede the labours
of Miss Boit- ON. For although she personates the same
,•characters correctly, and sings with toste and•sweetfoess, vet
she does not possess the brilliancy of voice, the graceful ease
of manners. and the sportiveness of action, by which that
young lady is distinguished. and which indeed have long in-
duced us to think that Conedy would prove a more genial soil
for the flourishing growth and expansion of her excellence,
than the operatic line to which she is nearly confined. The
engagement of Mrs. STIRLING, therefore, although it has
added a respectable performer, and in private life, we un-
dcr:tand a most praiseworthy character to the company, has
brought it no increase of professional talents.
To attain this important end, however, the Managers
carried their inquiries beyond the precincts of the land, and
Mr. ELRINGTON was called from the Dublin Stage, where
we are told lie held a distinguished station, to become one
of the pillars of Covent Garden. This. gentleman made his
first appearance at that theatre, and we believe, in London,
on Tuesday last, in the character of Info. to Mr. YOUNG'S
Othello. In this arduous part, consecrated by the talents
of its former representatives, Mr. ELRINGTON had to con-
tend with the recollection of absent abilities (which must
naturally, - though perhaps unconsciously, prejudice the
public mind against a new performer), and with all the ern-
' barrassment attending a first appearance in a house to the
size of which he was too little accustomed to he able to
tneasurc the strength of his voice, and the rapidity of his
gesture:, so as to produce a proper erect. To both these
causes may in a great degree. be atti ibuted his total failure,
although he is not exempt flow defects, which alone might
have indisposed the audience against him. His figure is
good, his countenance rather prepossessing, his action nei-
-1 ther redundant nor ungtaceful, and his voice naturally
clear ; but his conception is faulty, and hence most of his
gestures, except those which he has borrowed from his great
predecv.sor CooKE, are unimpressive, and the management
of lit, tunes is most injudicious. The deep cunning of the
villain, and the skill with which he speaks daggers to the
jealous heat t of Othello, whilst his expressions seem to
spring from honest artlessness and sincerity, are equally lost
in Alt. 1.4.1. et NGTON'S performance. With the exception of
the partial closure of his i ight eye, which occasionally be-
trays his intent to deceive and hypocrisy, he runs through
his part as through a common 'place conversation,
I
1 without the proper emphasis to produce the intended effect.
..lii idea may be formed of the correctness of his judg-
molt, by his making the well known passage-4, Who
steals my purse, steals trash;' arc.—his most prominent
speech. The chief defect in the management of hie
•I