The Sun.
London, England, 1825-10-18 00:00:00

THE THEATRES.

DRURY-LANE.—Mr. Boo Tit last night con-
eluded his brief engagement in the part of
Othello. In the character of a formidable war-
rior, an heroic figure is demanded, and the dimi-
nutive size of Mr. BOOTH tended, in no slight ,
degree, to lessen the impression of his acting.
We shall not enter into particulars respecting his
performance of Othello, a part that demands first-
rate abilities, and which, in general estimation,
has never been so successfully supported as by
BARRY, WllO, as in Romeo, was even more po-
pular than GARRICK, a triumph only belonging to
his person, for, in other respects, GARRICK must
have eclipsed him in the opinion of all competent
judges. Mr.Boont last nightdisplayed no striking
beauties nor any gross faults. He displayed a
just conception of the past, but elicited nothing
great, but, in the present state of the Stage,
altogether he is entitled to hold a respectable
rank. Mr. WALLACK gave good support to the
part of logo. Perhaps, what he said was too
often directed to the audience, rather than deli-
vered as the effect of solitary meditation. The
Derclemona of Mrs. Warr was recommended by
simple tenderness, and Mrs. BONN gave due
energy to the part of Emslia. As usual, at nine
o'clock there was an influx of the half-pay visi-
tors which occasioned a disturbance in the midst
of one of the most interesting scenes of the play.
This is really a great nuisance, and the audience
should appeal to the Managers and peremptorily
demand a return to the good old practice,,as
still observed at Covent-Garden Theatre, viz.
not admitting half-price till the end of the third
act. This disturbance last night excited a gene-
ral murmur among the persons in the dress
circle. At the end of the play, when TnoMP-
SON appeared to notify the future performances,
there was a vulgar cry for BOOTH. THOMP6ON
retired, and, to avoid a repetition of the insult, no
future performance was announced, and Valentine
and Orson put an end to the offensive clamour.

COVENT-GARDEN.--Mr. C. KEMBLE gave a
striking and impressive support to Hamlet last
night. COOPER was very spirited in Last.les.—
A, numerous and applauding attendance.

ANECDOTE`;, &c.

CURIOUS ANECDOTE.—In the dusk of the even-
inn, a traveller was resting beneath a tree, not far
from a gibbet upon which was a malefactor.
Two wags passing by, jocosely invited the latter
to accompany them on to the next town, but
did not see any one near the spot. The traveller
imagining they spoke to him, cried out, '6 Wait
a moment and I will join your party." Upon
which the two wags fancying the voice proceeded
from the gibbeted man, ran off in great terror.
MAasnAL TURENNit was not only one of the
greatest Generals, but one of the best natured
men that ever was in the world. Among several
other little domestic examples he gave the fol-
lowing ;—The General used to have a new pair
of stockings every week ; his Gentleman, whose
fee the old ones were, had taken them away in
the evening, and had forgotten to put any new
ones in their place. The next morning the Mar- I
shall was to ride out to reconnoitre the enemy, '
and rose earlier than usual. The servant, whose
business it was to dress him, was in a great deal
of confusion at not finding any stockings. "'Tis
very odd," said the Marshal, " that I should be
allowed no stockings ; but 'tis very lucky that
lam obliged to ride out. Here, give me my
boots, they'll do as well, nobody will see whether
I have any on or not."
ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST, &c.—This day is
the Anniversary of ST. LUKE the EVANGELIST. Ile wl s
born at Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, a place celebrated for
the study of the liberal arts. He lived a single life, and died
in the eighty-fourth year of his age, about the year 70. St.
Luke is represented by artists in an attitude of deep thought,
with a pen in his hand, over a scroll, in reference to his gospel,
and near him a winged cow or ox, apparently chewing the cud
or ruminating, as an appropriate emblem of contemplation.
Many followers of the Roman Church maintain that St. Luke
was a painter by profession, and of this some corroborative
proofs are adduced. St. Paul's expression of " beloved phy.
sician" may be considered as typical, and not be taken in its
literal sense. The purity of style which so eminently charac-
terizes his writings have induced writers to believe, that so far
from having been a physician, in his time, merely the denomi-
nation of a servant retained in most families of Antioch ; he
must have received that polished education attainable only by
the opulent. This festival was first instituted in 1130. This
day is also the anniversary of the death of King John at
Newark, 1216; of the death of Sarah, Duchess of Marlbo-
rough, 1728 ; of the beginning of the '()Teat eruption of Mount
Vesuvius, 1769 ; and the death of Catherine, Empress of
Russia, 1796.
66 UXTA-POSITION," said miss E DGEwo ant,
" makes more matches than Cupid ;" and so it fell out at a cer-
tain rotten borough, much nearer to London than Bury. Mr.
A., an old batchelor, /Etat. 79, and Miss D., an old maid,
/Etat. nobody knows what, had lived next door to each other
time out of mind ; and having survived most of their early
intimates, were almost each other's only acquaintance. One
fine day, when the old gentleman's spirits had been more
than ordinarily elevated, he ventured to suggest, with all
due deference, that one house might hold them both. The
day was fixed, the ring and licence bought ; but, alas, the
old gentleman begun, as he said, to think better of it ; he
thought they would be terribly laughed at, and at last com-
municated his apprehensions to the bride elect. But how
must we contrive to break off the match ?' said he ; 'it
will not look well if the refusal comes from me.'—' Oh, no,'
said she, 1 will manage that: let us go to church, and do you
say Yes, and I can say No, and then all the blame will rest
on me.' Excellent. To church they went as was arranged.__
Wilt thou, &c.' said the priest to the old boy ; ' I will,' said
the bridegroom.—' Wilt thou, &c.' said then the priest to the.
aged spinster ; unblushingly the old girl squeaked out, ' I
will ;' and the only notice she took of all his signs, nods, winks,
hems and coughs, was to say, when the service was over, If
you don't know when you have got a good wife, I know when
I have got a good husband.'
DEAN SWIFT.—It was a Saying of Dean SWIFT,
that men of great parts are often unfortunate in the management
of public business, because they are apt to go out of the com-
mon road by the quickness of their imagination ; and he used
to illustrate this observation to Lord Bolingbroke, by desiring
him to observe that the clerks in his office used a sort of ivory
knife with a blunt edge, to divide a sheet of paper, which never
failed to cut it even, only requiring a Strong hand, whereas if
they should make use of a sharp penknife the sharpness would
make it go often out of the course and disfigure the paper.
' NAUTICAL SERMON.-.W ELD preach-
ed before the seamen at New York, he had the following bold
apostrophe in his sermon :—" Well, my boys, we have a clear
sky, and are making fine headway over a smooth sea, before a
light breeze, and we shall soon lose sight of land. But what
means this sudden lowering of the heavens, and that dark
cloud arising from beneath the western horizon? Don't you
hear distant thunder ? Don't you see those flashes of light-
ning ? There is a storm gathering! Every man to his duty !
flow the waves rise and dash against the ship ! The air is
dark ! the tempest rages ! Our masts are gone ! The ship is
on her beam-ends ! What next ?" It is said that the unsus-
pecting tars, reminded of former perils on the deep, as if struck
by the power of magic, arose with united voices and minds,
and exclaimed, " Take to the long-boat." 31r. Whitfield
seizing upon this reply, urged them to take to Jesus Christ, as
the long-boat, with an ingenuity which produced the happiest
effects.