The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-30 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

Mr. Henry Betty, the on of the gentleman who,
as the "Young Roscius," some thirty years ago took
the town by storm, made his debiit at this theatre on
Saturday evening in the character of Hamlet. Al-
though this was Mr. Henry Betty's first appearance in
London, he is by no means unused to the stage. For
the last three years he has been a provincial star of
the first magnitude. Nature has done much for
him ; his person is remarkably fine, his features are
good, and his voice is strong and flexible. He was
evidently suffering from cold on Saturday night, and
was, consequently, somewhat hoarse, but it was evi-
dent that his voice is naturally clear and good, and
capable of extensive modulation. His action is in
general appropriate, and he is highly accomplished.
His opening scene was very carefully given, and in
the soliloquy which follows he was much applaudod.
The next scene, with Horatio, was also well performed,
and his manner of giving the line
" In my mind's eye, Horatio,"
was very beautiful. The closing scene of this act is
the scene with the Ghost, and Mr. Betty's look of
horror, as, in subdued tones and with choked utter-
ance, he exclaims,
" Angels and ministers of grace defend us,"
was perfectly thrilling. He worked this scene beau-
tifully up to a climax, and the drop-scene fell amidst
loud applause. The succeeding scenes are the most
difficult, perhaps, in the whole range of the drama for
a performer accurately to depict, and this difficulty
becomes almost insuperable in the case of a young
actor making his first appearance before a metro-
politan audience, and therefore necessarily suf-
fering from a degree of nervousness which
to a certain degree physically incapacitates him from
giving those delicate touches—from working in those
lights and shadows—which are necessary to the perfect
development of the character of Hamlet. It appeared
to us that Mr. Betty felt this, and that he endea-
voured to avoid the difficulty by hurrying into action.
Whenever he had anything to do he was admirable.
His scene with Gertrude was excellently given. No-
thing could be finer than the manner in which, after
having stabbed Polonius behind the arras, he rushes
hack to his mother hurriedly, exclaiming, "Is it the
King?" Nothing could be more spirited than the
closing scene of the tragedy. But in those scenes in
which his energies are not roused by circumstances—
in those scenes, more especially, where communing
with himself, he endeavours to excuse to himself his
own want of decision, Mr. Betty seemed scarcely to
bring sufficiently into relief the besetting sin of hamlet's
character—infirmity of purpose. Hamlet is a man of re-
flection, not of action. It is evident that from the begin-
ning he suspects his uncle and his mother. Before
his interview with the Ghost, he speaks daggers to
them ; but even after that interview, when his worst
suspicions are fully confirmed, he will use none.
Instead of proceeding to a,;t, he laments the necessity
for action which is imposed upon him, exclaiming,
" The time is out of joint. Oh, cursed spight,
That ever I was born to set it right."
It is true, that he is the courtier and the soldier, but
he is the scholar also—the deep-read, much-thinking,
scholar. Happy for him had his lot been cast in the
cloisters of Wittenberg instead of in the Court of
Denmark. The Hamlet of Mr. Betty was the courtier
and the soldier, but scarcely enough of the scholar.
That Mr. Betty will, if he chooses, eventually be at
the very head of his profession, there is no reason to
doubt ; but before he can attain that eminence he has
something to learn, and something, too, to unlearn;
but he is free from mannerism, and he is no servile
follower of any particular school of acting. It is
evident that his conception of his characters is his
own, and that he develops that conception in his own
way ; therefore, what he has to unlearn, he will un-
learn easily. It was a bold thing to venture a first
appearance in such a character as Hamlet, and the
very attempt betokens that he who makes it has that
confidence in his own powers which is usually the
accompaniment of genius. Not to have failed under
such circumstances is something, but to have achieved
the success which Mr. Betty has achieved, is much—
more particularly, considering how wretchedly he was
supported, for the Polonius of Mr. Bass, and the
player King of Mr. Rogers, were, with the exception
of Mr. Betty's Hamlet, the only two tolerable por-
tions of the performance. We think, however, he
scarcely exercised a judicious discretion in choosing
Hamlet for his debiit, His forte is evidently in the
deline!ation. of `'...'ilaracters of impassioned energy and un-
swervir-
tS nrnmes, of purpose. He is the hero of the
':;,mantic rather than of the classical drama. He is
the Pierre, the Hotspur, or the Rolla—the bold sol-
dier, rather than the moping recluse; and in such
characters as these his triumph would be complete.
He carried his audience with him throughout. There
were one or two attempts at disapprobation, but they
were instantly drowned in the plaudits of the majority
of the audience, and he was called for at the con-
clusion, and greeted with the utmost enthusiasm.