The Sun.
London, England, 1809-12-26 00:00:00

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ABSENCE.

Sylvestra, whilst from thee I roam,
Where frowning wastes are still extending,
Or where, above the salt sea, loam,
The headlands high are proudly bending,
On waste and wild, by shore and sea,
My flutt'ring spirit turns to thee.

Yes though thy wand'rer love the scene, .
Where hanging woods hoarse streams surrounding',
Wind rude, dissever'd hills between,
In natu're's loltiest charrrts abounding;
Where light and shade contrasted play,
With varying beauty through the day;--
Where the low scatter'd hamlet lies.—

Whilst lifting high their heads to heav'n,
Like guardian genii, sternly rise
Bold cliffs—at whose dark feet are driven
The restless waves, with ceaseless roar,
That spread along the pebbly shore;—

His eager thoughts fly far away,
To seek thee in thy'peaceful dwelling,
Where no hoarse murm'ring surges play—
No tow'ring cliffs are proudly swelling;
But soft and calm is heard and seen
Each obje6l on the village green.

And mem'ry brings again to view
The hour of, eve, when icily s!rolling
O'er downs, 'where free the wi:d thyme\ greut,

He mark'd with thee, the grey mist rolling,

With frequent ouse and earnest eye,
Along the deep empurpl'd sky.

Absent from thee—however fair,
No scene could please Palemon ever
Nor land, nor sea, nor earth, nor air,

from thee his jnys and griefs can severs
Thou only can'st his breast controul ;
thy Love's the sunshine of his sohl.

A new, dramatic pieee of three acts, of the same
kind as The Exile, is preparing at Covent-Garden
Theatre. The drama comes. from Reynolds, and
the music from Mazzinghi. The subject is of the

l';;tor‘lcalkind, and the piece will haethe advantage
bf the chef theatrical, as well as musical, strength

bf the company.

It is said that the .Proptietors of the Drnry-
lane, Patent,- with.' the' concurrence of rhe Trns-
tees and New Renters; have resolVed that the
New Theatre shall not be built upon too large a
teal. 4, but that the siie shall be between that of -the
';kld Theatre and that which was built by Mr. Hol-
Uric!. it is in fact intended, that it shall hold no:.
more than five hundred pounds, and consequently.
tie expence of conducting it, as well as in the erec-
tion of it, will be proportionally light.
Madame CATALANI gave a grand concert on Fri-:
4aY evening at the Great Assembly Rhom, York,
101' the benefit of the York County Hospital. She
Taft that city cn Saturday, for Edinburgh.
Mr. CoLuArg bad' a Parce nearly ready for Co-
. Vent-Goden. 'Theatre, which would have been fi-
,__tilshecl long.since, if it had not been delayed on ac-
-tonn' t of the uncertain duration of the reign of tur-
bulence. ..

Renters
It ought to be mentioned to the credit of the, new
Renters of Drury-Lane Theatre, that they have not
only agreed to the reduEtion of 'their annuities one-
Lill on the re-building of the Theatre, but have
Come to the resolution of making a deposit of ten
thousand, pounds, in' addition to the insurance.
money, in order to set the work in motion. From
all we have heard of the plan for restoring the pro-
perty of the persons to whom it is to be entrusted,
we really begin to think that there is some chance
tf seeing the Theatre re-built, incredible as such. an
*vent may appear, aiier the long and deplorable de-
lay which has marked the 'whole_ of,the proceedings
since its destruction,'

f.
~_LITERATURE. indefatigable an erti e-
Muse of WALTER •• SCOTT has already produced a
tew Poem,. for which, it -is said, he is_ to receive,
two thousand pounds. it has often been said, that
the booksellers are the best. Patrons of Literature,
and if thy can venture to speculate to such an extent
oh a Poem in these times,. we may fairly say with
Quidnunc, " how are we ruined ?" .It must indeed
be acknowledged, that WALTER SCOTT is a man of
high poetical_ talents, and consequently has 'a
-very
~rtarketable name.' His new. Poem, it seems, is to
be called,
.`!, The Lady of the Lake. " We Dope the
' ingenious writer :will .Spew that be has. profited by
• the multiplicity.of .critiques which his iliannian ex-
cited, soine of which were marked by sound judg-
ment, taste, and acumen.
Dr. DYER, who 'has been many years Physician
to the Exeter Hospital, resigned that situation last
week, on account of ill-health, and Dr. MILLER
Was appcinted his successor. The Bishop of Exeter
presided at the Committee of Gov.ernors on this oc-
Casio!): After the Election, a, very handsome eulo-'
glum was pronounced in favour of- Dr. DYER ; and
it was proposed that, as a token of their approba-
tion of the humanity, zeal, and punctuality with
"hich he had discharged the duties of his office, it
should be recommended at the next General Court
to elect him Governor for life, and the Meeticig
Unanimously agreed to the motiou.
THE ARTS.—WESTALL has recently sliewn his
.*kill and imagination. in some beautiful drawings in.
Illustration' of scenes from Mc-Lay of the last Min-
strel, and Marniion. The subjects which he has
chosen, are of the most interesting kind, and the
ingeriious artist has been very 'successful in giving
forM and pressure" to the conceptions of the Poet,
.circumstance not to be
,wondered at, as WEaT-
ALL is Himself a Poet of no ordinary description.—
These drawings have called-forth the, powers.of an-
other artist, a son of HEATH, (one of the first en-
gravers this country ever saw) and who evidently
possesses a full slr,re of hereditary power. The
*Wei HEATH has engraved some, of these inte-
resting drawings with his usual skill, and some
Young artists have employed their talents on the
4atne work with such ability, as to shew that the
)e,ngravers of this country are keeping pace with
the- Painters, and we may fairly say, that the united
bodies may bid defiance to all competitors on the
Slientinant.