The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-27 00:00:00

ENGLISH. OPERA ROUSE.

Last night found the stage of the English Opera
House devoted to a purpose widely different from any
for which it has heretofore been employed. The. con-
certs and the gay promenaders had ceased their pleasan-
tries : the season. of the regular drama had closed, and
the stage was consequently left as a bare. platforth,
upon which a trial of strength was to. have issue,
and which was to be productive of an ultimate decision
with the public as to whether a.play—and by inference,
plays—which had by the censors and managers of the
Theatres Royal been adjudged as unactable, were or were
not, standing upon the base of their own naked excellence,
calculated to attract an audience, or exact applause.
711-artinuzzi, or the Patriot, from the pen of Mr. George
Stephens, was the drama put forward o stand the test,
and- Briar-kpetitlieffre'was 'id& to supply rich 1.4,-*
ings and apparel, as well as the scenery. , Cardinal Mar-
tinuzzi, the leading character, and about whom all
the, events of the drama wheel, is gifted
,with the,
same iuperabundanee of that priestly Jesuitry Which has
in all ages distinguished the ponthf of the scarlet hat.
The events on which the drama is founded hare all their
origin in his deep-laid serpent-policy, and the, roots of
ambition in his heart. The cradle of the regal house of
Austria is, shortly after the birth of the child by the
Empress of Duke John, imposed upon by the wily Car-
dinal ; the rightful male heir is brought to his own
Palace • --at Ermstadt, while a changeling, his own
daughter, is substituted in the
.younct Prince's stead ;
the girl, of course, being reared as the future
Queen of Transylvania: These things are all, as the
Cardinal hopes, hid- in trusty darkness, and the disco-
very of certain documents which passed .between him-
self and his coadjutors at Court at the time, and which
come subsequently into the hands of the Queen and King of
Hungary, alone unravel the nefarious designs of the arch-
prelate, and ultimately defeat his schemes. For his own
aggrandizement, he had premeditated marriage between
the soi-disant Czarina of Hungary.(Miss Maywood), his
daughter, and the.yating King Sigismund (Miss Fitz-
water), his ward ; but a rapid blasting of his political
prospects takes place; and, at the marriage scene, poison
is secretly administered him by the Queen Isabella (Mrs.
Warner), who feigns to pledge him in a brimming cup;
Castaldo (Mr. Elton), whose plans hare been thwarted
by the Cardinal, stabs, by mistake, his daughter, whom
he was embracing, and the curtain falls, like a fu-
neral pall, over the life and designs of -Martinttzzi.
Martinuzzi, of the characters, is undoubtedly the ablest
drawn. The quick intuitions- of the jesuitical priests—
the clearness which his own quick apprehension
possesses of piercing into the souls of others
—the subtle and enthralling webs which his
crafty policy have wove around himself, and the dread.
earthquakes of spirit experienced- hn the frustration of
his schemes, were- represented- by Mr. Phelps with great. i
tragedial ability. The- gorgeous Queen-Mother, per-
smutted by Mrs. Warner, was an imperious part, and
capable of power.
It certainly might be cried out upon as a vexation
that intermediate song and music should spoil the con-
tinuous current of the drama; as was the ease last night:
by compulsion, but it must, nevertheless, be
confessed, that Miss Collett rendered it an •
intrusion far more pleasant than offensive. The
play, on the whole, abounds with scatterings of poesy
and good thought : it is throughout flowery- as the
fields of Enna, perhapS to. an. over-luxuriance—a fault
altogether on the right side. The house was very filly
attended, and the play was encouraged with marked ap-•
plattse. The entertainments concluded with a burletta
in one act,, entitled the Mak and the Bonnet.

LITERATURE.

THE RED BOOK, or a PEEP AT THE PEERS.

This is a picture of the hereditary wisdom
drawn by the author of the " Black Book," and
published at the small charge of fourpence by
Mr. Cleave. It gives the title, age, marrine,
Church patronage., pensions and pay is the army
navy, ottiCes, toiethirNlfff-
the incomz am, illtrereot „c +l_
Royal family, and a fearful picture it is. Same
parts of it may be overcharged, and the coin
meats occasionally too severe, but it contains too
much truth, and shows that the Upper House.
in the division of the people's money, has taken
the lion's share. One has a snug pension of
9,/S9l. 17s. 4d., another has 2,0891., his brother
5,4961., with the odd shillings and pence; a fourth
has pensions to the third generation, and sonic
few have immortal pensions. King Ernest's
share, independent of what he takes from his
own subjects, is thus described :
" Has received an annuity of 15,000/. for sixty-three
years, 945,0001. ; has received another annuity of 6,0001.
for forty-four years, 210,000/. His son, Prince George
of Cumberland, has an annuity of 6,000/. which he. has
received for thirteen years, 78,000/. ;- making a total cost
'to the country of one million two hundred and thirty-
three. thousand pounds sterling ! !
• The enormous incomes, and still more enor-
mous patronage of. the successors of the apos-
tles; are also carefully chronicled. Only think
of one of this lowly race having an annual
in-
come of 19,0001. a-year, with two palaces ; the
patronage of 172 livings, with prebends, preach-
erships, and other ships out of number. Some
few of the fighting Lords have pensions for ser-
vices rendered to the country, and one or two
civil Lords have resigned theirs, when their own
private property became too enormous to be
concealed. This does not apply to the Marquiz,
of Camden; and the compiler, therefore, justly
selects hint from " the proud throng," with the
following well-merited tribute:—
" CAMDEN, M. OF.—George Charles Pratt, (four other
titles) b. 1799 ; mar. dau. of Bp. of Rochester, 1,4591. ;
Vice-Admiral and Deputy-Lieu. of Kent. This noble-
man's father was one of the tellers of the Exchequer, at
a salary of 2,700/. In 1817, he resigned to the Public
Treasury the fees of the office, amounting to 25,000/. per
annum ; for which he received a vote,of thanks from the
Commons. He then retired on a pension, 3,6831. for the
remainder of his life. 'The present Marquis has returned
the money received as fees since his father's death, and
has nobly resigned all claim to future fees. He holds
12,000 acres of woodland in Kent. Patron of Llanspy-
, thid, V., Brecon, 1001."