The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-29 00:00:00

PRICE sd.

COURT CIRCULAR.

Viscount Melbourne and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had audi,
ences yesterday of her Majesty.

The followed joined the Royal circle at dinner yesterday; the Conn.
tess of Mulgrave, lionourhble Colonel Cavendish, lionotuable C. blur.
ray, and Sir Frederick Stovin.

The band of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards was in attend.
ance during the evening at the Palace.

1-ler Majesty the Queen Dowager visited the Duchess of Kent yester.
day at the New Palace.

The Duke and Prince George of Cumberland visited the Princess
Augusta yesterday at Clarence House.
The Marquis of Headfort and Mr. Nicholls had interviews with Cis.
count Melbourne yesterday in Downing_street.
A deputation on the subject of New Zealand, including Mr. Hutt, Sir
G. Sinclair, Mr. Baring, and Mr. Ward, had an interview yesterday with
Lord Glenelg atthe Colonial-office.
The Prussian and Spanish Ministers transacted business yesterday at
the Foreign-office.

The Earl of Gosford and Lord Morpeth had interviews yesterday wit
the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Downing-street.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

Last week Mr. C. Kean appeared, for the fifth time, in the character
of Othello, and we gladly avail ourselves of the opportunity to make those
remarks upon the performance which, before, unforseen circumstances
prevented us from doing.

Of the characters in which Mr. C. Kean has appeared here, we con.
sider his Richard 111. and Sir Giles Overreach (to which we may add his
Sir E. Mortimer, which we understand he will present on Monday next)
to be on the whole his best sustained performances. It is obvious that
characters like these—requiring mainly the powerful expression of some
dark and all-governing passion—altogether differ from such as Ham-
let or Othello, which represent the fine musings of a most poetical
and imaginative mind—or the thousand fluctuations of feeling and
changes of emotion which mark what the finest of modern critics has
called the "logic " of passion. And it must be equally clear that an
actor who shall portray with unrivalled fidelity the bold, the daring,
and ambitious villain, may acquire a less triumphant success in expres.
sing the reflections of a spirit so subtle as the Prince of Denmark's—or
the emotions of a soul so noble as the Moor's. While, therefore,
awarding our warmest approbation to Mr. C. Kean's performance of
Richard and Sir Giles, we felt it no inconsistency to give more
qualified praise to his Hamlet; and something similar is our
judgment upon his Othello. Here, as in the case of Hamlet,
we cannot but admit the performance to have been one of first-rate
ability. His reading of the part was throughout admirable, and his
acting frequently of the very highest order. He excellently well con-
veyed the ebb and flow of varied feeling—the affecting alternations of
conflicting passions—which display the struggle, in the " free and open
nature" of Othello, of love and doubt, of confidence and jealousy, of
hope, conviction, and revenge ; and the main fault which we have to find
with the performance was, not that it was deficient in power—in skill
in effect; but that it was uneven—that it lacked the harmonious corn.
pleteness, necessary to the sense of the perfectly sustained em-
bodiment of a character. Where the beauties, however, so greatly
outnumber the faults, it is much the pleasanter task to
enumerate the former than the latter. The scenesrin which Othello's
affection for the " gentle Desdemona'' is expressed, were of this class.
So was the scene in which he quells the midnight riot. The trying
scenes of the 3d and 4th acts were played with great power, and well
manifested the gradual rise and progress of that fatal passion which at
last gains over the Moor's noble nature se complete a mastery. We
particularly admired the half-whispering, rapid enunciation of the ejacu-
latory words—
" Think !--by heaven he echoes me,
As if there were some monster in his thought
Too hideous to be shown!"
when he first perceives' the hesitation of lago, and the look of doubt-
ing anguish at lago's first mentien of " jealousy," as though Othello
then felt the first assault of the " green-eyed nonster." The celebrated
" Farewell the tranquil mind" was delivered with as much pathos
as the Previous soliloquy, after lago has "set him on the rack,"
was at once powerful and affecting. The terrific outbreak of rage
at the supposition of lago's duplicity, and the tremendous burst
onfesfsr,eilivzeyre
when
nst etffheectil‘vieoloyr
ac
had exhausted his energy, there was wanting in the following scenes
giisvecno.nvißncuetd
wofheltnhserDoersdie,omtontha'es false.
that more compressed and settled, but not less overruling strength
of passion, which has then taken possession of Othello's breast. Of the
manner of his death we must speak in the highest terms—it was really
electrical in its startling reality. Miss Alison played Desdemona admi-
rably; she was emphatically " the gentle Desdemona." This was the
lady's fifth appearance here—we are sure it will not be her last. •• In
this class of character she is well fitted to excel. " Mine ancient—
honest Iago" was well performed by Mr. Tertian, who is unquestionably
the best second_rate performer at Drury.lane. Mrs. Tertian was a very
good Emilia; Mr. Cooper, a correct and judicious, if not an elegant and
graceful Cassio ; and the play generally was got up with great care.