The Sun.
London, England, 1833-01-10 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

A new comic drama etiii.bal Xll Gwzinne, or tire
Prologue; was last night brought out for the fir-4, time
at this heatre It is from the pen of Mr. .4.laaoLn. at d
hide 'air to make a hit. The drama opens with a se-nt
between the noted Joe Haynes (AlvAnows) and Mrs.
Snowdrop (Mrs. Dti.v), in which the firm-r 'alks of his
ch.nge nt religion five-and-twenty years hero,. it ..ccorri.d.
To this interview we 'earn that Nell (Miss TA v Loa) is
the ward of an old Counsellor C,rowstant (11LANcitAran)
—that she has escaped trom him—that she has reeited
iiefore BETTERTON, of the Duke's thati.e, and that not
tieing retained by him, she has se.olred no make ter ,t-ay
t i the Kihg's Th,,,tre as an orange•eirl In the nat
-eerie we at— introduced to Charles II (.1ot:Es) rid
Sir Charts Berkeley (FORRESTER) ar. the house of a mil-
liner, and there they are soon j•Ora-d by Nell, who, we
oiould suppose, hail come in of emol,ivineur hal we
not he ird ~f he previous r-solution. Tt a IC,ng -nes and of
coarse like. h. r. and here we are ro gi%e M . JERROLD
cr d t fur the manner in which he h a. con 'tutted h a story,
so that the moral sense does not receive anv stiovk trout
the overtures of royalty. TO the milliner's the run awry
' Nell is pursued by her amorous euardian ; hit' the !ling
:art Berkeley retire. while the old Couns,llor rd..avmtre
in vain to p rausde his ward to return. In a mid liu nour4
and as a re tson against it, she alleges that she is ..ctu illy
married to a mercer in Cornbill, and the Ring an,s his
c ,inpanion at this moment advancing from their in king
)1 'ee the former to t.ie surprise of old Crowsf,ot, ;Ind
quite as much of Nell herself, p etends that he is the very
aiercer she nad m irriet T,iis is a very pleas nt s'n
well-managed scene, and the dialogue throtubout is

sprightly, and in some places the retort: and rep trtee., in
the:e day: at least, deserve the epithet of witty. NV en
1V: I! cal s the Counsellor old, he remonstrated and say 4,
Do not throw my ye.rs in my face," to whit) Nest
smartly replies, " I am sure there is no need, for they aro
there already." The fault of this is, that the ie•nonstr uca
looks a little like a preparation for the reply. Again,

old Crowsfoot fondly excia,ms, " O i, how I love to gaze
in your eyes." I wonder at it, (returns Nell) since you
must .4 e your ugly old self tiere." In the end, the King
and Berkeley drive the Cmnsellor off the stage, and pro-
mise to see Nell at the the .tre. Old Crowsfoof. thus
defeated, ein,:loys Joe Ilaynes, with h- aid of
some myrmidons, to seize and carry off Nell fiord
the play.hou-e, whither she is determined to repair
in the capacity of an orange girl ; and in the
next seen,', which is supposed to represent the in.
terror of the King's Theatre, and is very well
managed, Haynes, by mistake, lights upon Orange-31,8
(KEELEY) (a well known character, with whom Peers
often gussipped), who is masked, and by force takes her
to the Mitre, in Fleet-street, 'instead of Nell. Nell
afterwards makes her appearance on the scene with her
basket of oranges; and Hart (DuttusET), and Aluhun
(PcitciNs), engage her to speck the prologue to The
Conquest of Grenada, to he brought out next day,
Everybody knows that she not only spoke the prologue to
that heroic play, but played the character of Alutakide in
it. It was one of her very few serious parts :by the way,
we may just mention, that when Ur. JERROLD makes
Nell sing " My lodging is on the cold ground," he has
confounded her with Mrs. DAVIES, of the Duke's Theatre,
a mistake which we dare say tie made on yurpose. Tile
first act closes with the recognition of .Nell Gwynne at
Drury-lane playhouse, by the King—she not knowing
that he was other thin some gallant upon the town. T, c
first scene of the second act is at the Mitre, to
which HAYNES had previously conveyed Orange-
Moll, having mistaken her for Nell Gwynne. Sre ie
confined in a room adjoining that taken possession of
,)y the _King and Berkeley, who had brought Nell with
them ag limit her will, after the play. This is a lone
but a very amusing scene, in which there is a continual
change of characters. Charles 11., and his comp anion,
unable to pay the reckoning to the puritanical round-head
of an innkeeper, are by stratagem lurked up until assist.
ince can he sent for to convey them to pi i-on as rogues.
Nell, woo has been a party at their fe is a witness of
their confinement, and when she is meditating means of
escape for them, who should enter Out her 01l gu
C oto.loot, in quest of 'Veil; having been informed Ly
Haynes that he had lodged tier at the Mitre in s curity,
e prison rs make a noise in order to obtain their liberty,
an 1 Crowfoot, imagining that the y are myrmidons of
Haynes, consents to pay the reckoning, for a h ch they
were io durance. After they are let out, and while Nell
has temporrdy withdrawn, Orange-Mull makes her ap-
pea'ance, and being masked, is mistaken by Crowsfoot
tor his waggish ward. He m ikes much of her
—that is to say, the most he can—and while
they are sitting cheek by jowl, in order to aid the blundir,
Nell slips behind Orange chair, anti by concert, an-
-wern for her Si, that tit- old man is deceived by the voice,
a d, in ti e excess of his fondness, mak, s the supoo,ed
Nell a presint of his watch and ring. Timis pia of the
scene is conctuded by the arrival of Joe Haynes and some
companions, set on by the King, who, as the brothers of
Mall, iirfilet on Crowsfoot a severe culgelling for hitr gu.
rug si ith their sister. The comic effect is heightened by
the Counsellor's defeated attempt to escape in the disguise
of an old woman. We ought to have noicem, that in
the commencement of this scene Nell tells to the King
her dream about the foundation of Chelsea 11.1Spit4i, a
narrativ • meant tor the galleries, and which did not tail of
its effect there. The only business, of yr the cu tgel.ing of
Crowsfoot, relates to the speaking of the Prologue ar the
the.rre, th • huge hat and belt. The King and Court
ire seen in procession on their way to the playhouse. and
he last scene represents another interior of a theatre, wi It
he King, Queen, Duke and Duchess of York. &c., in
their respective boxes. The curtain draws (it iiu.lit at
his date to rise, for that was one of DAVENANT's improve-
meats,) and Nell comes forward to deliver the
orulogue, " This joke was of the other house's mak-
ing," &c. ; sad atter speiking a few lines, she per-
ceives the King in his state, and for the first time
besosnea sensible with whom she has been playing
her mod pranks. She is confounded, hut not dumb.
founded; for, after an obeisance, she advanc s, and instead
of tire Prologue to the Conquest of Grenada, speaks a
short Epilogue to Nell Gwynne, which, in fact, tenni-
oates the performance. The curtain fell, and Miss TAT...
LOR, still in her huge hat and belt, gave out the piece for
repetition tomorrow. It will, doubtless, be acted
throughout this week, and perhaps the next ; hut her
modest request extended no farther than a second per-
formance. Every holy was satisfied, and nothing but
cheers and applause could be heard for some minutes.
l'he acting in every character was extremely good. Were
we disposed, we do not know where we should attempt to
tins fault ; for coin the usual error in Nllls TaYaria's
performance came in aid in the p irt of the confident
Nell (whose name was not Gwynne, as is generally sup-
posed), and every thing went off as eacisfai•torily as
the most singuine hopes of the author could antici-
pate. JotiEs was quite as merry a Monarch as his
prototype, who, if he were not wise in other re-
spects, was wise in being merry, and FORRESTER se-
conded him, as well as was at all necessary. ALAN.
CHARD was very amusing, an-I gave his dialect a twang
of puritanism quite in character with the times be had
lived through. KEELT was very ludier us in his woman's
part, and got tipsy at the tavern with a most exquisite
lerninine grace. MEADOWS did not look exactly like Joe
Haynes, " the famous dancer of the King's house," but
that was not his fault. In our narrative of the plot we
have omitted to notice the instrumentality of Betterton,
played by Mr. DIDDEAR, and he has but little to do with
it. Betterton was full tweiry years younger gran Hart
or Mohan (whose name must be pronounced .h.foon, if
King CHARLES'S joke be worth retaining), yet he looked
considerably their senior. Among the good things in the
dialogue, we ought not to have omitted Nell's moralisa-
tion upon an orange, and Haynes's reason fir the non-
payment of taylors' bills. The joke shout a neat's tongue
is unworthy of Mr. JERROLD, and we hope will her
omitted. Notwithstanding the reported erasure of Do-
mine by the Licenser, it was pronounced by JozsEs, and
we heard MEADOWS give vent to an eath.

MR. LISTON AND MADAME VESTRIEIowm.
The accounts of Mr. LISTON'S health were mire favour-
able yesterday than those on the preceding day ; and it is
hoped that a little indulgence will be a means of ouce more
placing him "on his legs" before the public. We regret
to add that. Madame Vxmars, at whose theatre (the
Olympic) Mr. Las-row has latterly been playing, was her-
self taken ill last night, towards the conclusion of the first
piece, exhibiting symptoms (hysterical) almost similar to
those which distinguished Mr. LISTON'S attack on Saturday
night. This talented actress, we are sorry to understand,
is subject to a " palpitation of the heart ;" and the attack
which she experienced is said to have been brought on in
a great degree by the excitement arisable from the incon
venience occasioned to the aff,irs of the theatre by Mr.
LISTON'S illness. Dr. ARNOTT, her physician, was almost
immediately in attendance ; and after a little time she felt
sufficiently recovered to go on again, thou. h cei tainly to
a very delicate state of health.
in Notwithstanding r
luso, we are happy, however, being enabled to state,
that she acquitted herself throughout the night With her
usual ability and powers of attraction.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Among the most important of the questions
of domestic policy with which the new Parlia-
ment will have to deal, is that relative to the

condition of the labouring classes, and the hest

means of improving it. Every one will recollect
that, during the last year of the Duke of Wel-
lington's Administration, vast numbers of peti-
tions were presented to both Houses of Parlia-
ment, detailing the miseries and privations of
the industrious mechanics and labourers of
England, whom a vicious system of internal
policy, which regarded more the accumulation
than the distribution of wealth, doomed to the

_ _ •
horrors of starvation in a land of plenty. No
attention was paid to those petitions by the then
Government, except to throw contempt upon the
supplications of the petitioners—to deny the
existence of extensive distress, and to refuse
their prayers for inquiry into the truth of their
allegations, by scornfully shutting the doors Of
Parliament in their face. Our readers will
recollect the exertions which we then made,
day after day, to induce the Duke of Welling-
ton's Administration to listen to the complaints
of the petitioners—to take their case into consi-
deration ; and if they could not afford then
immediate relief, at least to bring to their as-
sistance the sustaining power of hope, by taking
such steps as would afford them a promise
of future measures for the alleviation of their
sufferings. But no ; the Members of the
Administration in both Houses of the Legis-

lature broadly and flatly denied the existence
of any distress that called for the interposition
of Parliament. The Duke of Wellington him-
self undertook to prove that, instead of distress
being prevalent, the country was actually in a
state of " growing prosperity." He relied upon
circumstances, as Sir Robert Peel did in the
House of Commons, which, in reality, only
showed that while solid prosperity was on the
decline, the spirit of a gambling speculation in
the affairs of trade and commerce was still alive.
These Statesmen, no doubt, satisfied their owl

nun& of the correctness of their positions. The
ignorance of men on whom the duties of Go-
vernment devolve has often the effect of crime.

The ignorant obstinacy displayed on that occa-
sion had dreadful consequences. The scornful
denial, not only of relief, but of inquiry, drove
the labouring classes to despair ; and the acts
which were the result of that despair facilitated
the downfall of a Ministry who seemed to think
that any serious attention to the humble peti-

tions of the poor was beneath the dignity of
statesmanship. We told the Ministers then, and
our anticipations of the crisis that followed are
now upon record, that if Government did not
take the case of the labouring classes into
serious consideration, and afford them some
prospect of relief, the consequence would he
a servile war—that was our expression.

The Government Press ridiculed the idea
It was its pastime to taunt the petitioners.
and weer at every one who advocated their
melancholy privi'ege of complaint. Whatever
the Duke of Wellington and Sir Rohert Peel
said then were like the " decrees of Cesar" to
some of our contemporaries, who, since their
lots of power, have discovered them to be defi-
cient in every talent and public virtue that could
qualify them to sway the destinies of a great na-
tion. Obsequious majorities in both Houses
supported the decisions of Ministers, and exas-
perated the sufferings they derided. The year
did not close without the breaking out of those
disturbances, which the victorious leader of ar-
mies found himself unable to quell. Buntings
and machine-breaking signalised the progress of
popular frenzy. In the midst of the flames of
civil dissension, which their misgovernment had
mainly excited, the Wellington Ministry let fall
the reins of power. Special Commissions, with
t)'eir scenes of fffiction, suffering, and blood,
desecrated die hallowed season of Christmas.
The excitement was subdued at the time at a
great expense to the nation. But though the
external symptoms of the disorder were abated
for the time, its cause has never since been re-
moved. That "prevention is better than cure"
is a maxim that holds good in the political, as
well as the physical system. But while our
LegislAors rely upon the efficacy of " letting
blood" for crime, they care little for the adop-
tion of that moral treatment by which crime
may be prevented. We now speak of that ape-
des of crime which is not the act of men har-
dened in iniquity, but of that class of offenders
whose violation of the law is the consequence of
the pressure of misery, driving them into temp-
tation, or forcing them to revenge. While the mi-
sery of the labouring classes, and the sense of op-
pression connected with it, continues, it is in
vain that the ensanguined sword of vindictive
law is suspended over their heads, and that
every now and then it cuts off victims, and makes
the people familiar with judicial slaughter. The
best law is the preventive law—the law that will
protect the labourer against the task-masters
that " grind the faces of the poor," and, be
taking from him the means of comfort and of
an hottest independence, make him reckless of
character, and qualify him for acts of violence,
and depredation. It is true we hear seldom of
the offence of machine-breaking now, but the
reason is not that the results of the Special
Commissions, or the still subsisting punish-
ment of death, have terrified from the crimes but
because the farmers have very generally substi-
tuted the hand-labour of the flail once more for
that of the thrashing-machine ; but the midnight
buntings still go on. Neither continued execu-
tions by Judge and Jury, of guilty men some.
times, and of innocent ones occasionally, can
stop this crime of a fierce and ignorant spirit ol
revenge—its cause lies deeper than penal laws
can reach. The Spring-gun Bill of Lord
Melbourne, which was to put men, women, of
children, as the case might happen to be, to
death, without the intervention of Judge or Jury.
would only have made matters worse. The penal
legislation has been long tried without effect—
let the remedial now be attempted ;—improve
the condition of the labourer. We shall show at
another opportunity how that may be done.—
Morning Herald.
The continuance, though in whispers irregular
and feeble, of the old Tory outcry against " free
trade" with foreign Powers as an avowed preli-
minary to the repetition of former attacks upon
the comtnercial branch of the Ministry in the
course of the ensuing session, has led us to cast
our eye again over the facts enumerated in the
" Prussian tariff" contained in the Times of
last Monday. We never before were made so
sensible of the gross misnomer affixed to the
system of British imports when it is termed a
" free-trade system" as by the perusal of the
above paper. It would be a hopeless task to
attempt beating into the head of a thorough
discipline of the nut!-yet-abandoped policy of
Great Britain, that complete protection of
aU
the manufactures of a given country is but an-