The Sun.
London, England, 1815-03-07 00:00:00

THE WINE TRAM.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,_Without disputing the accuracy of the

" Merchant's" statement, or pro‘.-ing the
assertion of VErtim.,. I shall simply_observe, that
there ougheio be "no 'advance to the Public in
consequence Of the, additional duty now imposed.
upon the article. of \Vine, for this 'plain reason,
that a reduction of above 101. a pipe. has already
taken place in Oporto, and as the Vineyards arc
daily improving, a- further fall is alsO expected ;
and as treight kind irtsurance must be considerably
reduced, the trade will be enabled to import Wine
of t!t quality At a price (including all duties)
not exceeding 1201. a pipe.

A
Your constant Reader;

1` i•

DEATH 'OF MRS. ABINGDON.

This celebrated Actress, so long the chief sup-
port of the Comic province, in 'the best mra of our
theatrical history, made her awful exit from the
stage of life on Friday last, at her apartments in
Pall Mall, in the eighty-sixth year of her age.
Her maiden nerve was BARTON. Her: origin was
obscure : her education, of course, must have
been .531. a :Nery humble •kind ; but her comic
powers excited notice and admiration almost in
her childhood. Her first theatrical efforts, we
believe, took place on the Dublin Stage, where
having acquired sonic reputation, she was enabled
to obtain ,an inferior situation at. Drury-lane
Theatre. • She had hardly any
,opportunity
of distinguishing herself till tile retirement of
Mrs. PRITCHARD, as that
,Actress not only .
was the chief .tragiw, prop of . the Londoa
Stage, but:reqnally. excellent in,. Comedy,, and,
in truth, the, very. best Actress .of her timee-,
The first character that,. on the retreat of this
great Actress,. fell to the lot of Mrs. APANGooDr
was, the Second Constantia in.the Comedy of The
Chances,- in which site displayed so much gaiety,
ease, and original humour, that she arose at once
-into reputation, and was considered as the best
comic Actress on the London Stage. As a proof
of the high character which she had attained, Sir •
,JOSHUA REYNot,p3 made a fine whole length pr.-,
6:eh of her us the Comic :V use, . and afterwards •
painted other portraits_ of her, as well in her pri-
•vate character., as with symbols of her profession.
Haviog established her fa. me, OAS s!aoli became
a subject for the 'notic'e of dramatic writers, wita,
formed characters cxpres-.ly for the exertion of her
abilitieswhich theyconsidered as essential to the suc-•'
cess of their productions. Among the writers who
thus availed themselves of her talents was Huoui;
KELLY, who, in his first dramatic' work, False
Delicacy,
,the,origin Of what has been denotni-
nated Sentimental Comedy, designed time character
of -Lady Betty Lambton, the heroine of the piece,
for Mrs. ABINGDON; whose admirable actinggavis•
-
spirit to a Play, which otherwise might have been
too heavy, and eminently contributed to its at-
traction end popularity. BiCKERSTAFF then pro-
duced his Comedy of .The Hypocrite, altered front
The Non-juror by CoLLEY UMBER, and taken from
the Tartyffe of MOLIERE. Mrs. Aatts/onoN's
formauce of Charlotte, iii this Comedy, ensured
its success. Most comic- writers -who followed
them, convinced that their
.productionS would
derive their chief support Iron) her talenf.,
were sure to' provide a character worthy of
their exertions. It was generally acknow-
ledged by the critics of her earlier days, .that
she had, from tradition and advice, transmitted
the manners '(if higher life as represented by Mrs.
OLDFIELD: As .a proof of the justness of this'
opinion,'the ComedyThf The Careless husband was
chiefly supported by Mrs'. ABINGDON'S performance
of Lady/ Betty Modish, which was without a rival,
and which Alas -never been represented since it
was deprived of her animating genius-Mr. MuFl-,
PHI', in all his comic- works; :always. availed
himself of 1-ide .pO'wers;:: and ',dedicated .011 e of
his best :plaY4 to her, as a eostelul -memorial.
of the advatitage which' it had derived frour• her
acting, us Coet.'ev CIBBIII did to Mrs.Deortset,
on a similar occasion. But Mrs. 'ABINGDON'S:
talents were not confined to time higher Comedy.
She was equally successful in the bold and spirited
characters' of-inferior life, such as fistifanta, &c.
etc. Her Beatrice- was admirable, and her Lady'
Teazle, except in the contrite passage towards the
conclusion,. in which. she 'was: excelled by Miss
.FARREN, was althgether the best representation of
the part which the public. nave seen. :By assi-
duity and-perseverance she had enriched her mind
with knowledge, and overcome all the impedi-
ments to the early:culture of her mind. She had
obtained,alamiliar knowledge of the French lan-
guage; and by her spirit, gaietyeinformation, end
polished nianirer4ehad secured an intercourse with
the most:l:Mil-MO:de circles of her time. She
sometimes attempted serious parts, but the sharp
shrillness of her voice, as well as the general chit- -
racier of 'her features, rendered her unfit for such
parts, which her good sense induces) her at iength
wholly to relinquish. It WAS generally supposed,
that by her ambition to mingle in the upper eh--
des, she had suffered considerably in her fortune
by play ; but we are glad to learn that she was
easy in her circumstances. at her death,: and was
not only able :to leave tivcrlis of her kindness to
Many •of bait also to bequeath fifty
pounds th the benevolent funds of hots the Lou-
don Theatres,