The Sun.
London, England, 1808-12-02 00:00:00

PORTUGL ESE
.PAPERS.

Ltssos, Nov. 15.—0 n the 13th of this month
the Merchants of this town, having met by appoint-
ment at the Palace of Government, the Secretary of
State, charged with the general inspe&ion and ai_
reetion of the Royal Treasury, pronounced a speech
which seemed perfeCtly to meet the ideas and patrio-
tic sentiments of the Gentlemen present. He ex-
posed to them the present exhausted public finances,
and sheaved the necessity of the public wants being
speedily supplied by extraordinary means, and by
Voluntary contributions of the Merchants of the king-
dom, who, from their known patriotism and loyalty,
would undoubtedly feel inclined to assist the public
cause with such donations as their respdaive
means would allow them to devote to that
great and important purpose. He lastly :declared
himself expressly authorised by the PRINCE RE-
GENT, to assure the merchants of Lisbon ' tha't
every six months corred lists should be pub-
lished of the contributions received, with faithful
accounts of the means in which they had been ex-
pended, for the maintenance of the royal army.—
(Lisbon Gazette, 11 01..15.)
The Intendant General of Police of Lisbon has
lately issued a Decree, dated the 10th inst. by which

he ordains, that all Portuguese who shall be
found,guilv of having endeavoured to seduce British
subjeas from their duty and allegiance to their
Sovereign, and afford them opportunities to desert,
shall be punished according to the utmost rigour of
the law.—(The same Paper.)

Mr. MONROE, the Messenger, arrived yesterday
at the Secretary of State's Office, from Spain, with
dispatches.
An Officer from Lord COLLINGWOOD arrived at
the Admiralty h!te in the evening, with dispatches.
Wednesday being St. Andrew's Day, a General
Court of the Scots Corporation was held at their
Hall for the Eletlion of the Annual Officers, accord-
ing to the Charter, for the year ensuing, when his
.Grace the Duke of MONTROSE was re-eleded Presi
_dent e his Grace the Duke of ARGYLE, the Marquis. •
of HUNTLEY, the Earl of Sr.Lktitx, and General Sir
JAN/ES PULTENEY, Bart. were re-eletaed ; and the
Earl of MoIRA and Lord KINNAIRD, eleded Vice-
Presidents, in the room of the Earl of ROSSLYN- and
Lord Mtyro, who go out this
,year by -rotation,.
agreeable to a bye-law of the Corporation ; and
ALEXANDER GORDON, Esq. Treasurer. The Court,
afterwards adjourned to the City of London Tavern •
to dinner, with the Benefadors and Friends of the
Institution—RUßEHT OLIPUANT, Esq, in the Chair.
The company, upwards of 400, • was as usual.very
respelEtable ; among them we noticed several (nob:e
Spaniards, and men of rank of that country, evi-
dently much gratified with the attention of the etni,
neat military and commercial charaCters around
then 3„ all hearty iu the good cause .of the Charity;
and from a statement given by. the
,Chairman, we
were happy to learn, that the Institution continues
to flourish and extend its usefulness, axla ,that it only
requires to be better known to be racked among the
first charitable establishments in the,,, met ropolis.,—
The Colledion, we understood, far exceeded any
former .ore on St. Andrew's, Day. The evening
was spent in great. hilarity and harmony, many loyal
toasts drank, andappropriate..patriotie songs, well
sung by Messrs. INGNUM, LEETE, TAYLOR, &C.—
„The great exertions of, the Stewards. for the, ciiy
were conspicuous, and as they did not omit to Ott-
neht fro.tu the experience of their predecessors, we
hope their successors will not think it derogatory to
follow their example. The dinner and. wines did
, the:Tavern, as well as the Stewards, much credit.

_ .
Extra& of a letter from an °dicer with the Divi-
siOn under General . MoottE, dated Albuquerque,
Nov. 7th :—I wrote you nu .our leaving Lisbon for
Spain, to which I refer you for the particulars of
our strength, route, &c. 1 have at present very little.
left to say;only, that we are arrived at this place,being
the.first town in Spin. We are certainly Marching
for.Burgos, by Alcantara, Cinda' d.de Rodrigo, Sala-
manca, and Valladolid. We are the advanced corp;
under. Major-General PAGE T : our march. is in the
following order;—.-95th, 52d; 20th, 2d light bat-.
talion, King's' Geurian Legion, and Ist Light tat 7,
tailor], German Legion. We march by bat-.
talions, each following the ()Cher, at a, day's distance
successively.

TLit

the new Dratria, Which haS been for some 'time
in preparation at this Theatre, was last night brought
forward under the title; of Venoni, or, Tire NoVice of
Si. Mark.

DRAMATIS PERSON/ E.
&nvolio - - - ml. Slonoiti. .'
Th 6 Marquis Caprara - -- Mr. POWELL.
Father Cot lestino 1 - Mr. WROUGHTON.
Veponi (a Novitiate) - .. Mr. ELLISTON..
Father leronymo . - - Mr. I-1 ..OLLA ND.
Father Michael - - Mr. DE CAMP.
Father Anastasio ' - Mr. C'ocii.g.
Father Nicolo :. - - Mr. MAonoCks.
Bettedet to - - - Mr. PENt.si.
Hortensia (Marchioness of Caprani) Mrs. Vow it.t..
loseplia - - - Mri. U. SIDDONS.

As our Country Readers, in general, are forid
of reading the Fable (..f new Dratnas, we subjoin
the foll Owing brief sketch of it :.
The scene lies in Sicily, where Venoni, d young Sicilian
Nobleman, was on the point of marriage with losepha, when
her parents were obliged to visit the Court •of Naples.—
Duringtheir absence, losepha was placed in a convent,where
she shortly after sickened and died. Grief for her idss for
a time robbed Venoni of his senses ; and on his recovery
he entered the Monastery of .St-.•, Marie's, which was only
separated by a party wall troin the convent in which losepha
had expired ;.at this period the Piece commences—Venoni
is on the eve of pronouncing his vows; when Father Michael
• gives hiM a letter from the Abbess to the Prior of St.
Mark's,which explains that the Prior had failed in an attempt
uporn losepha's virtue, and that her removal` fre;'.the world
had been thought necessary, to prevent her divutging to her
parents the infamous conrind of the Abbess and her confe-
derate; blitlded by fury, Venoni shews this letter. to the
Prior; in consequence he is prevented froth leaving the Mo-
nastery, and confined in 3 subterraneonsdungeon, which the
Prior believes to be unknown to all. except himself and his
accOMplices : but Father •Michael having suspected the
existeme-ot such a dungeon-' has traced out the ‘vay to
and hastens to apprise the Viceroy. In the mean while,
Venoni, in endeavouribg 'to escape front his prisons breaks
into the adjoining convent, and discovers., his mistress, who
had not been put 'to de.tti'i, hot Closi:ly confined-; and the
deliverance of both is shortly after producaby the arrival
of Father N:lich it-I, with the Vice:* and- osepha's parents:.

Report attributes this Drama to Mr: Monk LEWIS,
and thobgh a Morning Paper says it is disowned by ..
that Gentleman, yet weshave little doubt that ft is
really the piecludion of his Fen. It is understood,
hoWever, not 'to be an original work, but a transla--
tion from a‘ French drama, which, was highly popu-
'lar a few years ago' at Paris. The chief interest of
this .piece lies in the second ad, in which the mind is.
kept in awful suspense, and the feelings are strongly
agitated. The first ad consists of .little more than
dull conversations intended to de4elope. the plot,
• but tedious and Obscure. There are
-a few attempts
in this at to enliven the piece by the humours of
Benedetto, the Viceroy's ,Steward, but they are'
stale, flat, and unprofitable." The.third ad. is an
attempt at the, terrible, but it is so iwprobable as to
be quiteabstird, and. to excite,laiighter 'rather than
sympathy, or rather consternation, which seems al-
ways to be the author's chief aim, . Father Michael,
though
,under the utmost apprehension that' he
should be disnvered in the street, confides in a silly
old steward, and at the time when he is supposed to
be the objed of suspicion to his artful and cruel
superior, and under confinement, to -prevent him
from having an interview with the Viceroy, ranges
at ease through the gardc.;l ,)f. the monastery, and
escapes from it in due tilos. to prevent .the death
trf Penoni;—Fenoni is a kind of Octavian, with
a mixture of Ophelia; and his dress 'as a Novice,
with hisllights of insanity, strongly' remind the au-
'dieriee of the latter charaeler.. But Teriatii's madness
is of a peculiar kind, -tor, unlike maniacs in general,
he is fully aware that he is mad, and gives a very
methodical account of the nature and degree of his
mental . derangement. Mr.Lgwis has committed •
the same egregious mistake in his song .of Crazy
Jane, who gives such an acconnt of herself as would .
be impossible in her situation, however accuwte the
description might be,from a third person. We are
told that a brother of the order had previously' died
in the cell to which Venoniis doomed, yet a scroll is
found, written by that identical Monk, in vhicfe he
tells any future tenant of the dread abode, how' he
May escape, and without pen and ink, the contents
of the scroll are supposed to be " written in very
choice Italian."—The Prior'sayi that none but him-
self and his accomplices know of the existence of
these cells, in which lienoni and Josepha are Con-
signed to a lingering death ;• yet, in the last scene,
the Viceroy and all his Court 'find an easy admis-
sidn. It may,, indeed, be inferred, that they have
received due information from Father Michael; but,
'then it does not appear how he became possessed of
it. 'The situation of two lovers, bewailing them-
selves in different parts'of the same prison, seems to
hive , been borrowed front Richard Coeur de Lion,
. and, indeed, other compositions of the same kind.
But With 'all the imbecilities, absurdities, and im-:
possibilities of the piece before us, there is so strong
an interest in the second ad, that it is to be regretted
that the other two are so indifferent. ' .
The acing was entitled to much praise. Mr. H.
Sinnims much distinguished him Self. ELLISTON
also displayed great merit. So did WROUGHTON
and Mrs. POWELL, DE CAMP, in the Friar, atleded
all the graceful attitudes of an Opera Dancer, other-
wise his adting would have been tolerable. A mas-
itieradeSeene was introduced after the grand scene
of horror, Which instead of relieving the mind, excited
disgust. •

onsidering‘ the expence 'with which this piece
Was brocught for Ward, we cannot but feel additional
regret at the present lamentable dearth of dramaticge-
r ins, Since it seems evident that it the Managers had
really something worth producing, it would derive
every suitable advantage f►om representation.
The house was,completely full, and the piece was
announced for this evening with a,strong opposition,
but evidently with a large nnjority in us favour.

Letters 'froni Madrid,. of the 15..)th ult. mention,
that an indiscriminate levy has been ordered OK all
horses, waggons, &c. and a levy at masse on the
• whole male population, frotp tti to 30, including the
• Clergy of every description.
Lord and Lady HOLLAND, who had left Corunna
far Madrid, were understood to be on their return
but whether on account of the badness of the toads,
or frOm an apprehension of their insecurity from the'
advance of the French, was out known. A num-
ber of English travellers
.Were detained at Corunna
when the last packet sailed, waiting the arrival of
intelligence from the capital.
The enmity'of the people of Madrid to the French
tikat none 4,f -that nation. dare to appear in.
the :itreets. One of Lord BENTEsces servants hay
ing ..ben mistaken I r a Frenchman by the popu-
lace, had nearly lost Lis l.fe before the error was
j..-discovered. •

1

ft 44f 4 r
OLD

s

SEZON6,DAY--•-TFIURSDAY, DEC., I.

•• ,
Thol*fii Wrigq, a Man. 63 years of age, war;
this day for.a rape on. Ann wiight;•A 61Id of
years old; the prisoner's own grand-daughter
Frbm the evidence of the child; it appeared that
the PriSoner resided at Tottenham, and is a shbernakci:
'by trade ; that on Whit-Monday hist she had gorci
with him 11-owl her father's, at some distance ham'
Tottenham, through the fields, and that he had at-
tempted, on their way, a similar ad towards her
with that charged in the indiCtnieut, but failed t
etred his purpbSe. She did not then
.tell her pa-
rents, nor any person of the circumstance. On the
cotti of July, which was about a fortnight after,
she was desired by her father to carry some nails to.
her grandfather at his lodgings, in' a cottage at Tot-
tenham; and she refused to go '; but on being scold-
ed, and threatened by her father, she went. As
soon as she entered the room where the Prisoner
was at work, and in-which was his bed, he i.n-
mediately locked the door, and forcibly effeeted his
base purpose.
There being no Counsel for the Prisoner, Baron
GttAiliot undertook the cross-examination ,of the
child, from which it appeared that the. house, and
those on each side of it, were inhabited, and the
persons inhabiting the house might be at home for
aught she knew, but she had not seen any of them:
on that day. She acknowh.fdged that she did not
scream out to give any alarm; nor resist as much
as she might ; and her- reason was, because she
did .not thir.k her grandfather was going to do her
any, harm. She did not tell her parents for nearl/
three weeks.

In every ether resped,' the ,completleri
.of the
crime was folly proved. The woman of the house;
and a medical Gentleman who • resides at Totten:,
ham, and professionally examined and attended the,
child, also gaVe testimony.
The Prisoner
.being. called on for his defence;
made no other excuse than that .the transadien was
not against the will of the child, for it took place in
a public-house, where she might have easily given
the alarm if she was so dispesed.
Baron GRAHAM recapitulated the evidence for the
Jury, and most feelingly, commented on the vileness
of the Prisoner's crime ; but at the. -same time oh,
served, that however abhorrent his conduct might
be to every sensation of humanity and justice, and.
however desirable it was that such crinamality should
meet the punishment it deserved, it was still, neces-
sary the form of law and of necessary evidence
should be complete, in order. to justify the convic-
tion in. the present case, as in order to constitute, the
crime charged in the present indictment it must be
positively proved, that the prosecutrix had made
every lu,s,ible resistance, and used every means in
her .power to 1 aise .alarm, and call for assistance;
and that as. early as possible after time transadion,
she should have communicated it to her friends, or
some person, for the purpose of bringing the otienacr
to justjce. Now, withoUt throwing the must dis-
tant imputation upon the innocence of the child's
intentions in this shocking affair, or suppOsing for a
moment that she Was in.the, slightest degree con:
senting to the injury she had sustained, but believ-
ing that she might have been deterred by her
midity, from making obstinate 'resistance, or raising
any alarm, and by sluine or fear from immediately
making the matter known to her parents, still she ad-
mitten upon her evidence, that she had not made all
the resistance she might, nor used all the exertions in
her power to raise alarm; and here the proof neces--
-sary to sustain the indietthent failed, and therefore
he could not recommend the Jury to convict the
prisoner.,
The Jury, however, retired for half an hour, and
brought in a verdid of Guilty.

The monument voted by Parliament t 6 the me-
mory ot. Sir RALiin ABERCROMBIE, has been erected
under the large window iii .the South West transept
of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Yesterday afternoon., as one' of the Bath and Bris-
tol coaches was going at a brisk rate along Picca-
dilly, the chariot of Mrs. Jemet, of Gloucester-plaCe,
was proceeding also at. a brisk rate from the corner
of Albemarle-street, and the horses became entan-
gled. In this situation one of the chariot' horses
began to:Rluncre, by, which the chariot was upset
with considerable vinlence, and Mrs. Jemet and hpr
three daughters were all hurt, and one of, the latter
. very seriously. The pannel of the chariot was staved;
and one of the horses was lamed.

A few evenings ago, as a waggon was going from
London to Leeds, the 'waggoner was taken *ill ,near
Ponder's End, and Proceeded on the road on hors-
bitck, to get relief, leaving a youth abont sixteen, to
the care of the waggon. Four men soon afterwards
came up in a ,chaise-cart, armed with pistols, who
cut the cords of the kiraggon, and stole out of it six
chests of tea, of the value of upwards of tool. which
they put into the cart, and immediitely drove off to-
wards town.

SMITHFIELD MARKET, Dm 2.

This day's market bad a middling supply of differ.
ent kinds of cattle; Beef, Mutton, and Veal aye
Cheaper than' our last report ; Pork supports last
price, and the trade in general was not over brisk.
The sales in the Haytwri;et were inconsiderable ;
Hay and Straw have dropped in pyice since Monday's
market ; Clover fetched a better price.—Vie subjoin
an accurate statement of the prices and ❑umbers

To sink the Ofild per stone of 81b.
Beef 4s. od. to 4s. 6d.—Mutton 3s. Bd. to 4s. 6d.—Veal
45. 6d. to 6s. od. —Lamb os. od. to os. od.—Pork 4s. od, to
bs. 6d.
Beasts, 75o.—Sheep, 3,40a.--Calves, t4l.—Pigs, 200.
Hay 61. Ss. od. to 61. os. od.—Clover 61. 63. od. to 71.
tos. od.--Straw 11. ►os. cd. to it. t6s. od.

CORN-EXCHANGE, DEC. 5.? . —The supply of Wheat
to-day is short, and sales fully maintain last prices
Barley 3s. laver than on Monday ; Malt heavy sale
and cheaper ; Beans are rather dearer; New Ticks
about 6i . per quarter; Old a 3 wider; Rape Seed
is dearer; Oats are in tolerable supply, and this
trade i 4 named at little flui;luatiOn ; flour at the late
reduction.

Wheat - 6os a 74s 3 245 od Tick Jeans - 725 a 78s od
Fine ditto (new) Bgs a 9os Qt.: ()ass -36 s a4c s a 423 od
ttye .... -55 s a 005 od ' YolAnd ditto 4-is aOS od
Barley - - 405 a 45s od 1 Potatoe . - --s a 465 cd
Malt - -73 s a t.l,' ‘ct 1 Rape Seed - 481 a sli —ed
White Pease • ,1325 a I.T.liod 'Flue Flour - ;55 a Bos od
Grey ditto. -- . 565 a 6zs cd Seconds - - jos a 755 ci
Bears .. - -73 s a 855 ad

r,.