The Sun.
London, England, 1802-01-07 00:00:00

TILE THEATRE

Drury—Lane.
The Distress'd Mother,- A Trzgedy abounding in
passions, sentiments,.and characters, above the leirel
of -ordinary life, and which, therefore,• raises the
Performers above the level of ordinary criticism,
was , represented at this Theatre last nighti and so
well representeil'in the principal parts, as to de-Serve
a larger 'audience, than attended. •
The eltaratie'r, Of Hermiome was supported by Mrs.

SIDnoNs, with all her excellence. It is impo-sgibie
to suppose, that Hermione, as firawn by the. Poet,
could .be- More completely animated by theatrical
representation. The AClress seemed to be wholly
absorbed in the heroine. The alternations of love,
rage, jealousy, grief and indignation, were pourtray.
id with all the tOrce and spirit of reality. If there
Were any passages of pre-eminent excellence, that ex..
cellence was evident in those, wherein Hermione in.;
cites Orestes to the murder of Pyrrhus. There was a
sublimity of vengeance in this direCtion of. her
Powers, which denoted 'a mind, capable of rising to
the proudest heights of poetical conception.
The person and derneanOr of KitvlitLE are well
fitted for the: part of .Dresses, which he sustained
With great ability thioughout,"but the stupor, rage
and madness; resulting from the unexpeffed agony
and disdain of Hermione, after he had obeyed her
orders in the destruClion of Pyrrhus, were the points
in which he last night chiefly- excelled. The
Audience were of this opinion, anal gave him loud
and reiterated applause.
of BAxayMQRE, for the first time, assumed the part
rjrrhus, and performed it in such a manner as to
give satisfaftion to the audience. HiS voibe wants
flexibility enough for the varied struggles of wound-
ed pride, and tender agitation but he altogether
acquitted himself very creditably.
in Mrs. Powe Li; looked much bzttei than she aced
47dromache. The xvidow of Hedor has a 'Mono.
totious Melancholy in her charaeter, but she ,has also
dignified sentiment: In the • latter respel Mrs.
did not adequately succeed. We never
heard the well-known passaoe,
" Itc.-t•ruld hew toy) thou bast redued a queen,"
.tle
livered with sd little effecl. • The subordinate charafters of Clearte and Cep visa
tirtairily do not require
forthers bui surely
the any distinguished Per-
persons more s thaThn
could have sup_
and Miss TipswiLtuite Mrs. MitvtiFlßlEs
to Imperial Tragedy:

ACROSTIC.

A tile fair bope,s we ziniv prospe&c view;
Dear to Bat rdintkriA, she derives from I'OV.
PEs :a uc-; roir veils. once mere, her hideous face;
In sweetest smiles; and snit attriaive grace;
P c;%,c a her Olives spreads o'er all the land,
C Ives E v siort ton new blessings from thy hand.
thy rime, to VIRTUE aS to $a 17,1 ix dear,
vat ht.:r n-ans:Tend.int tablet F ant E shall rear,
11:or Ttmc nor Ei:vy cloud what all revete..

-Ccmpetition seems to be the order of the day at
" Theatres. Individuals are opposed to each
either in articular characters; and Dramatic Pieces
also are submitted to the test of comparison, as we
find in Artaxerxes, and The Duenna,.and as we shall
see in Love in a Pillage, which is preparing at
Drury-Lane Theatre,
•
The appv-rlate .I"rce, on Tuesday eirening would
haVe been The bead tlli
in which Mr: MtricDVN
could have played to the life. We are happy we
Can joke with that excellent Performer upon the
itepo-t of Sunday respeaing him. His. loss would
have left a blank on. Covent Garden boards, which
could not be easily filled. •
Ktmlitt's performance of Petrtichio is a fine
specimen of classical humour. The Plic, no
doubt, Would be glad to see Mrs. S/DDONSub
resume
the part of Catherine in the same farce.' She per-
formed it a few years ago with admirable truth and
spirit. Such a• deviation from the dinity.of
Austin'd Muse would give increased a g
ttradionthe to
the, Piece, and convince the PUblic that the power
sn of our great Aarnss might hav been conspi
Comedy if it had been equally e
the objed o cuousf
her
attention.
We lament to see in the' public Papers accounts
w
Of places being established for
bear-batin.s, where
the poor beast is to have his teeth dran-out before
he is attacked by the dogs. We lament,
,we say,
to 'see such circumstances made public, because Fo-
reigners will be justified in callin'
islanders and inhuman Savages. g -uS ferocious
admirers of Bull-bang should really
iti
venture to come forward and speak in favour of so
savage;a pradice, we conceive that their rhetorical
flocivers can only he culled from the Bear-Garden.
I,t.has been proposed,. that /iviitg puppies, adorn-
-254/ied in the extreme of fashion, should be exhibited in
c rosri:, for the information of those who are
Zallztous for fashionable attire. But. such a scheme
Pelicaly unnecessary, as there are., already
isupis;el in abundance, who very kindly
://s;:eib,
ite.lmisaeclev,e.s for the instruaion of mankind in
ir JA,s „,,
takes notice vv AR
.El, in his Antiquities of Ireland,
ben-an t , that out the year moo, surnames
:a ell as in ° ao
' fixed in France, England; and Scotiand ,
w
bilitys and, by degrees, Ireland ;
first, indeed, among the No-
. r.
M r in`
rates or g the lower sort.
his History of England, gives
ts the'
in.the 'races of the following provisions -
'year t2h^
being the 27th ofEDWARDo '
the First : A. fat cock, three halfpence ; a
%close,' foui%pence ; a fat capon; two-pence half-
/lennY ; two
three pullets; three halfpence ; a mallard;
halfpence.; a pheasant, four-pence ; a heron,
413"Peilce.; a plover, one penny ; a swan, three-
thilling,s ; a crane,- twelve pence ; two woodcocks,
'three halfpence ; a. fat , lamb, from Christmas to
Nirove-tide, one shilling and four-pence ; and all
the year after four-pence : 'lastly, wheat was sold
c_f°r twenty-pence the
.quarter, and in some
places
.Qr sixteen-pence,.or Tour shinings of our money.
The Neptunus, Outma from Liverp
lobtien, is 109 L on the Coastr,
of Holland: ooi to