The Sun.
London, England, 1832-10-23 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

Preparations have been making at this theatre for the
last fortnight, to commemorate the life and writings of Sir
WALTER Score, and the play-going public have been
anxiously looking forward to something worthy of his
genius and talent. In compliment, we believe, to his
powerful genius, his first novel was selected as the ground-
work of a drama; and though there are few incidents in
it which give scope for acting or powerful description, it
was hoped the good feeling and ,reverential regard of the
public would allow it an indulgence which might hardly
be expected for any other of his works not yet dramatized.
The author, or rather dramatist, however, counted toe
much on the influence of circumstances, and brought out
Waverley in a shape which, though in general is true to
the original, is not quite adapted to the stage. This
novel is certainly not the best of his prose works. The
remarkable incidents are few. Its great length is beyond
all endurance. Five acts, and three hours and a half acting
for such a novel as " Waverley," are enough to try the
patience of any audience; and the audience of last night,
we must admit, showed a forbearance which, on such an
occasion, does great credit to their sense of feeling and pro-
priety. The applause was scanty indeed, but there wag
nothing like that disapprobation or bad feeling which a e
displayed on the exhibition of pieces of a doubtful de•
scription. WARD, BARTLEY, ABBOTT, MITCHELL, with
Miss E. TREE and Miss SHIRREFF, were the principal
performers, and did their best to please, but without
effect. The truth is, the piece will never succeed in its
present shape. The best scene is that where the clans
assemble in front of Holyrood House. The ball, too, had
a good effect, aed the spirited dancing called for an encore.
The view of the Palace and Salisbury Crags are correct
and beautiful, and do great credit to the GRIEVES. We
cannot say so much for Arthur's seat. The piece was
announced for repetition on Wednesday, amidst a good
deal of applause and uproar. Then followed a masque,
written by Mr. KNowess, in honour of SCOTT. The
first scene is a view of Drybuigh Abbey, the " deathly
dwelling-place" of WALTER SCOTT; and KNowercs, as
a bard, enters with a wreath of simple flowers in his
hand, and delivers the following very graceful lines :
" Thus on the tomb where Scotia's Minstrel sleeps
A brother's humble garland, wreathkl in haste,
With modest zeal I lay. What if the flowers
Be common ? Shall the eager hand be blamed
That cull'd the first that lay within its reach
With love that could not wait P'
Thence he proceeds to dilate on the genius of SCOTT, and
on th 3 wonders it had performed, and thus winds up
" Thou didst breathe
Upon the circumspect and plodding age
A fragrant spirit which inspired it with
The stately thrill of ancient chivalry,
And brought the olden period back again
Wherein adventure was a common thing,
And what we call romance was life, not story.
Thou didst enhance the poet by the man—
Thy heart the shrine of honour, and the home
Of private kindliness—affection—virtue."

Fatigued with the activity of hig imapinatima. sleet'
.ymg down upon a bank ot
flowers, the Bard is supposed to have the vision which
constitutes the remainder of the performance. Fancy
appears, and summons the Genii of Scotland, Eugland,

and Ireland (surely Watts, as the last refuge of bardic
poetry, might also have had her repre‘entative), and they,
together with the Spirit of the Mountains, successively
pay tribute to the memory of Sc. rr, assert his power,
and deplore his loss. To the Spirit of the Mountains is
given a song, which was entrusted, and very safely, to
Miss SIIIRREFF. Miss INvEaAarry, as the Genius of
Scottish Song, should have hid another, but for
some reason it was omitted. Immortality enters to
show the triumph of the genius of Scorr. Clouds
then intervene, and when they clear away, a suc-
cession of Tableaux Vivans is exhibited from The Lady

of the Lake, Guy ..11anneriny, The Antiquary, Rob
Roy, The Heart of Mid Lothian, Ivanhoe, Old Mor-
tality, and Kenilworth. These are all admirable for their
variety, truth, splendour, and beauty. We never saw
anything of the kind better managed ; and the scene-
painters (the GatEvEs) deserve the highest praise of their
art, not only for the excellence of the back .ground paint-
ings, but for the ingenuity displayed in producing the
panoramic succession. Clouds again interpose ; and when
they are dispersed, as it were, by the music, a new and
very gorgeous scene is exhibited : all the characters en-
gaged in the different tableaux are collected in graceful
and picturesque groups as persons dressed in a distant
century, A.D. 3664, assembled amid the relics of Dry-
burgh Abbey to celebrate the anniversary of the death of
SCOTT. The back-ground is a view of Abbotsford in
ruins. Fergus advances and thus speaks :
" Bard of the olden time 1 a distant age,
From thine by centuries divided, holds
For thee this Jubilee—and sends her sons,
The far descendants of the generation
That number'd thee among its progeny,
To personate the feigned Forms thy Muse
Endow'd with life and immortality.
Behold what was thy lov'd abode I—How time
Hath dispossessed its tenants of the roof
Thy brief sojourning hallow'd!—Lo ! the bird
The only Minstrel is, it lodges now !
Behold thy tomb of rocky strength—'tis moulder'd !"
After a few more lines, in which a contrast is drawn be-
tween the ruin and decay of sensible objects and the pris-
tine brightness of the creations of the poet's imagination,
the masque ought to have concluded with a chorus; but
we suppose that the awkward-Squad of singers in this de-
partment could not be sufficiently drilled in time, and we
heard none. At the fall of the curtain the applause was
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tions of the kind : they seem too much adapted to the
faulty manner of KNOWLES'S recitation.