The National Register.
London, England, 1808-03-06 00:00:00

DIM RI LINE.

For another long week " poor Old Drury" has prelented us
with nothing but " Kais, or Love in a Desert ;" until at last,
as poor Kais stood the chance of being left alone in the Desert,
the Managers thought it expedient to try their " Chances," by
the representation of the comedy of that name, under the altera-
tions of the present day. There is no comedy which has under-
gone so many alterations perhaps as thi: one : Buckingham,
Beaumont and Fletcher, Garrick. and latterly a modern literary
pumice* have all, in their day, endeavoured to tit it to the taste of
the times, 'hut ne are sorry to observe that it still contain, the
prurient pens, and quaint indelicacies, which disgraced the
stage at the time it was originally written.
To be so often altered for representation. shews that this
comedy possesses some magic charm, some perfection that must
at all times give it a zest ; and so indeed it does, for it actually
has a plot, with rapid hwtir. and striking situation, without
either a srarmiog pan or a china closet. The performance
was throughout respeetahle,and Mrs..iordan, was received with
loud applause; she ought, however, to recollect that althoug,b
Convtantia is a hoyden, khe is vet a simple one, and not quite so
kotwing as the Constantin of Tuesday night.
The comedy `vas followed by a new musical afterpiece, " In
or out of Tune ;" of this, the idea is originally taken from the
novel of " Old Nick," in which the whole family of a London
merchant (then retired in the country), are completely music
mad, even to the degree of having the house bells hung in tune,
stud the servants speaking in reeititative. The idea, therefore,
is not original, but as it has never beeu dramatised before, we
had reason to expect some entertainment from the pen of Mr.
Lawler, the reputed author ; if, however, we are to credit a
report which was loudly bawled out in the 'louse, that it has
been overhauled by pirates, and is now imposed upon the public
under neutral colours, we cannot but express our disapprobation
of such proceedings, and feel fully warran ed in saying that the
most reprehensible parts of the piece must be those foisted in for
the purpose of disguise. Some allusion to this circumstance has
already been made, in a lately published novel, and we know
that a gentleman in the pit, prettiest& to the rising of the curtain,
detailed to those around him, all the characters and incidents as
they afterwards occurred!! ! Much pains were taken to en-
sure its success by a numerous collection of friends; hut this
kind of applause is easily discovered, as it is in general loudest,
where there is most in casino for censure. The performers did
their best, but some of the characters seemed introduced merely
for the purpose of singing their songs, talking broad Se.itch,
and manufacturing a few Irish hulls. There was one song of
Julmstoues, abounding w Mt indecent allusions, and which,

Oh, shame where thy blush ?"
was encored even from the boxes—perhaps, the rouble entendres
in the comedy, had smoothed the way for their infringements on
decency, which arc but too frequent. As the pi..ce was taken
from " Old Nick," it had .:early been split back to the same
gentleman, hut though it escaped this lot. it has convinced us of
the error in the old proverb, which says that diets; cannot be
!ley bites uf a Cherry.

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