The Sun.
London, England, 1804-12-03 00:00:00

THE TIIE.ITRE.

ON Saturday night Master BETTY) or as he is
styled.the Young Rostims, made his first ap-
pearance before' a. London audience, at Covent-
gatden Theatre. Never, -pefil4ll9, Were the expec.
taiions of the public more highly raised—never was
the 'public curiosity so intense and ardent. Every,
thought and Wish were direfied to the young Boy
business, engagements, and nt,usementa, •CCITIed to
be it a stand ; he .done occupied the public atten.
I/ and the War and 13').NAP ARTE were for a

unheeded and forgutteo. -
Indwelling upon
such in epoch, we run no 64: of becoining - tedious
by the most ample description, or the must minute
dei.ul, We have heard of some whose anxiety

- •
~,. . . ,
was ..a gre3t as to srothee.them to attempt ,conce.o.
ing afeasselves in the Theatre On Friday night, that
Iti''',' might he sure.of securing seats for, the•ensuing
nights So early. as ten o'clock on Saturday morn.
ing many Genilemen began to parade the Piazzas
and Bow street, in order that they might be
near the doori 'when the crowd should
.begin to
at,semble. So early as one Or two o'clock num.
beri had taken • their stations• near all the doors
leadiog to the pie, boxes, 'and galleries ; long be-
fore the doors were opened, they stretched out in
long, thick, Clo Se-wedged,, impenetrable columns,
to the extremity' of the Piazzas, in. Covent-gar.
den, and quite across Bow.street. Many who-
did not mean to attempt to get in, lined the
streets and windows, cootemPlit'ing with "nil"'
moos of ewe and fear the tremendous accumulation
Of numbers. It is impossible to speak. in too high'.
terms of the care and caution which the Proprietors
ant ainAgers of •the Theatre had adopted : they'
were weU aware of the" public anxiety and imps_
tierce.—they knew that the House would be besieged,
and attempted almo,t to be taken by storm—they
provided a select number of Peace Officera in they
inside the Theatre, and they procured a strung De.'
tachment of Guards outside., in 'case it shohld be
necessity, from the pressUre of the crowd, and the
narrowness of the space, to secure egreis to' those
Itho might Aqi.be abir to secure admission; or who •
might be taken ill or injured in. the pressure,' and
ilight wish, hit, could not get out., Never did men
df) their dtny with more moderation and tnildness.
thari hot h the Potice Officers and the Soldiers. The
Nee:lotions that had been taken soon became netes'
"q• . In the cro,d 'before the doors, long before
they were opened, the !vat and pressure became so;
intolerable that Maly persons tainted, and others,'
Were in tl four of suffication from the weight and
toree 4,1 the 'mothers from without, who could not he
Pevditedoipon by the representations or,shrieks of
the people coolined within, to desist from attempt_
'I% 40 t.lcr Itin iv:stage. The danger at list was so
gre4l,oo, th. Guards were almost unanimously called
InTlly 1: el et i afieti persons who were included between
1.6 inner and outer doors, aod ,who
,could not make
good their retteat. The soldiers after some time ap-
Pe'n'a, and, with the utmost dexterity and go.sd
t"ll'{l,,ri cleared , the crowd froM without, and.'
'snlit the entrance.; permitteci _every one to relit-el
Du( no one to enter. As the ntnaihen were so great,
the doors were very, properly or tied before the usual
tine, The rash was terrific at all the doors leadine
l'lti the.body. 01 the house. In the space of a few
PinNles the two galleries were filed,' aid so close.-
y
wedgest,•that •not one more could get admittdrsee,
and they seemed as one compl solid mass. The
Pit was two.thirdsfilledomt.from the pit.doors and
t'sqes, but . from the boxes. C,:yrntlexen who,
new there were no places witaken in the boxes, and
-*lto could not get up-the pit avenues, paid fur ad_
toission• into the,buxea, and poured from the front
boxes into the pit in twenties and thirties at a time.
The pit was. two-thirds tilled irk this manner. Still,
'en after it •war crammed, the Gentlemen crowded.
the front boxes, and being unable for w ant of ronh
to descend into the pit, remained thete. It was in
‘e,,itO that •those who had taken them, perhaps weeks
',:clure, attempted to 'get to their places ; some
-Lobes, however, were buffered to yecupy the' front
tow', ' The Police Officers fruitlessly attempted to
cleat the other rows for those who had taken
them; all their 'efforts were vain ; twice were.
the), ta-nder the necessity of .attetio ting ((nee,
but they were overpowered by numbers, and _beat
•back, and the first c.COlpiee, ,of the 413.' IC"
Inained the permanent possessors of them. „the
lush into the other boxes wilt great ; Ism order was
more easily preserved in then, for it was ins_
possible to &seem! from them into the pit. Those
who [Did taken seats in the upper and side boxes,
got,'from the excellent regulation a lopted by the
House, easy access to them; The lObbies were as.
crammed almost as any other. part of the House;
and happy did .those think themselves, --Who could
itet a- station,at the small holes at the .back of the
buttes; or who could 'procure a transient and oCca.
tional view of the stage, as the box doors were'opeo-,
td• The heat in every part of the House became
excessive very soon after it was. filled.
.What air
south be admitted, was admitted. The stage curtain
trots raised a foot or Iwo from the stage ; but thc
}hate was so great that all the means tried were
instif4eient, _ In the pit many GOolentelt rained;
Lend Were dtagged, seemingly' lifeless, up iritoohe:
boxes. The Ladies in one or two boxes were em.,
Ployed almost the whole night in fanning the Gen',
tlemen who were beneath them in the pit. „ Fl.e..
4Pentik WI heard screams from those who- were
overcome by the heat, but could neither get out,
• tor obtain the slightest relief ' Upwards'of twenty
(lentlemin who had fair ..0 were dragged. up into
#
;he boxes ; we observed se eraf more raising their
Banda, as if in the at of supplication for mercy and'
Pity. It was with satisfaCtion we observed but few re.
males exposed to this distressing state in the Pit—.
they were but thirteen, and.they fortunately were
placed in situations so near the stage that they
shad
the full benefit Of the air 'from it. Thts
scenes it may well besupposed, occasioned great
!,,t'ise and confusion; one or two pickpockets seem.
","!° have got into the pit, but they were *On de-
'ected, and made, we Ore say, but a trifling liar-
vest.; but it was impossible to turn them out.
When something like order appeared, the cur.
"in., some time after the usual. time, was drawn ap,
'end Mr, Cti ?itLis KtiOLt:Casne o
n Ole stage for
but Purpose of delivering the Occasional Address ;
•
NS It WS
."-Slentrally conceived that he came tO
*flake an apology, the audience raised an outcry

which nothing subdue. He Continue(' some
time on the stage, bat the exclamations of " ef
4ff," from all 'quarter;, at length obliged him to
retire. The Tragedy of Ba.rbaraira then coni. •
menced ; but as the audience began to perceive their
mistake, they then,' with equal clamour, demanded
the Addrois •and Mr. CHA. Itttstens re.entereti.
He delivered it, indeed, but such was the noise,
that,it was impossible to hear a syllable of what he
utteted.. Afterfliis ludicrous diunb.shew, the Play
commenced again ; and though •the first scenecould
hardly be 'heard, the general tumult gradually
abated, and sunk into profound expeElakioti of the
appearance of Master 'I3FTTY, whose charafter is
not introduced till the sec,:nd ad. At length he j.
entered, and was received with reiterated thunders
of applause. He is a very interesting youth in appear.
ante : his stature is much about as high as most boys
of his age ; perhaps he is a little taller. His per.
son is very well m,ade., 'His,face is pleasing, de.
licate, and regular, and has rather a feminine cast.
His voice is stronger thali' might be expened at his
time of life, though it was evident that he was not
entirely free from the c'eld.by which he has lately
been AfeCled. The whole of his atlion was easy,
unafreCled, and impressive. The manner in which
he performed the part of Sebm demonstrated a
genius of no common'order, and it shewed also that.
he lias been carefully instrated in the' profession
which he has adOpied. never lost sight of the
charatlcr, but in all his gestures kept his attention
Mad boon the business of the scene, not only with
'respect to the part he supported, but with reseeet to
all his relations with the other persons of the drama.
—His face is 'callable of more vatiety of expression
than could be expeetedin one so young, and Whose
features are so delicate, and he sufficiently displayed
his versatility in this respeCt by his looks of assumed
deference towards the tyrant, of indignation, of
filial tenderness, the dignity of exalted birth, and
the noble pride of conscious virtue.—There was a
uniformity ofinerit throughout his aning, hut some
passages he delivered with such an animated glow
ai excited IL-usl and repeated plaudits. None of
these plaudits, however, induced him to desert his
charaCter,for except on hisetorance, and at the-con.
elusion of the play, lie took, no notice of the.
audience; but at those times he bOwed with'the most
interesting marks of grateful deference.
It would be absurd to join with some of his hi.
' gotted Partizans, and hold him forth as a inAel of
pertedion. 'He is, to be considered as a very ex.
traordinary boy, with great natural genius, with
great external requisites, and with singular ap.
ritude to receive and profit by `instruction.---
Whether he pitched his, voice too high, in order
to adapt it to the area' of the. Theatre, or whe.
titer„ be has -been taught too pompous a mode
of utterance, certain it is that there was too great a
tnonutwty in his delivery of ail the speeches that
were rot supposed to he the bursts of emotion.—
Upon the Whole, he is really a theatrical wonder,
.and is well entitled to the admiration of the Public,
which we have no doubt he will powerfullyexcite and
unabatingly secure. It would, however, be ridicul.
VOS to attempt to form a. decided eilimate of his
general merits .from his representation of the
parr of Saline, and we shall therefore put some check
upon our opinions till wehave a fuller opportunity
of appreciating his. talents. We cannot
,say any
Thing very favourable of the rest ,of the Performers
Concerned in the Piece, excepting Mis.LiTCHri LLD,
wito appeared to the greatest advantage in Zophira,
end who deservedly obtained very warm applause.
The following is a more corrett Copy of tite Ad.
dress than has appeared in the Morning Papers: