The Sun.
London, England, 1828-10-10 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

Miss MITFORD'S tragedy of Rienzi was brought
out here for the first time last night, and received
with a moderate degree of favour. It is not devoid
of dramatic merit, even of a high character, but la-
bours under the disadvantage of a hero who has no
counterpart in history. Miss MITFORD'.S Rienzi is
any thing but the Rienzi of GIBBON. She has made
him lachrymose, where he should be lofty and high-
minded—weak and repentant, where he should be
decisive. GIBBON'S favourite epithet, as applied to
him, is " inexorable;" this is in no respect charac-
teristic of Miss MITFORD'S hero. Again, at the
banquet scene she makes him talk of " scaring the
spectre thought," as if, instead of a patriot, he had
been an assassin. We deprecate such begging of
the question. In addition to this defect she has '
p
made him a lame old man, plainly dressed, and ex-
cept on one or two occasions, homely in his man-
ners and address. Now Rienzi was directly the
reverse. He was ostentatious in apparel, lofty
in his bearing (his favourite models in this
respect being the stern unbending Romans
in 'the earlier days of the Consulate), pro-
fuse of speech, fond of metaphor, and strongly
spiced with a certain chivalrous romance, strength-
ened, no doubt, by his acquaintance with the immor-
tal PETRARCH. Moreover, Miss MITFORD has pre-
sented him with a daughter—perhaps this is a par-
donable license—and has consequently given a do-
mestic character to his sensibilities, of which GIB-
BON makes no mention. Bating these defects, which
few perhaps will severely condemn, Miss NIITFORD
has produced an effective but somewhat confused
tragedy. Her three first acts are full of life and in-
cident, but the fourth and fifth lag heavily. Time
drama is sacrificed to description,—too much is said
and too little dope. The following is the outline of
the plot :
On the rising of the curtain, several plebeian citizens are
discovered muttering their discontents near the ruins of a
temple, and expressing their sorrow at the election of an
Ursini to be the Senator. Rienzi appears in the back
ground, pursuing his favourite lore, an inquiry into ancient
inscriptions; and observing the ruffled tempers, he agi-
tates them still further, in the outset by tauntingly de-
scribing the triumphant profligacy and cruelty of the
Nobles, and ultimately by a passionate appeal to their man-
hood, their love of their homes and liberty. At this mo-
ment the newly-elected Governor passes by in procession,
and one of the citizens refusing to join in the servile shouts
of the populace, he is severely struck by the last of the
guards, which so excites Rienzi that he snatches the weapon
from the soldier and instantly destroys him. He again ap-
peals to the remaining citizens, who consent to meet him at
midnight, to devise means for the restoration of Rome
to liberty. Rienzi repairs to his house to complete
his preparations. There he learns that the soldiers in
the citadel are in his interest; and discovers that his
daughter is in love with Angelo, the heir of the house
of Colonna, and that her love is returned. He does not,
however, let his Claudia know that her secret is in his pos-
session ; but, after an allusion to the visit of a stranger, he
gazes on her with intense affection, as if meditating on his own
approaching exaltation, and the security his power will derive
from the union of his daughter with the heir of Colonna.
He then visits the palace of the Colonna to prevent suspi-
cion, and the midnight meeting afterwards takes place.
Angelo becomes one of the advocates for the restoration of
the " good estate," the soldiers are faithful to their pledge,
and Rienzi being called upon to assume supreche power, he
adopts the title of Tribune, and marches forth in triumph.
This concludes the first act, and in the second Rienzi ap-
pears surrounded by splendour. An Ursini has been guilty
of plundering a wrecked vessel ; he is tried and condemned,
and all the entreaties of the Colonna, the Savelli, and
Frangipani, for pardon, prove futile. The Tribune
rejects them with indignation, and on Martin Ur-
sini pleading in the same cause, Rienzi reminds him
that his own brother had been murdered by a menial
of the Ursini, and that all satisfaction had been refused.
The nuptials of Angelo and Claudia are then celebrated;
and the irritated nobles prepare a conspiracy for the over-
throw of their new master, but he detects it, thwarts
their designs, pardons and despises them, and imposes on
them a solemn oath not to violate any of the laws or to
undertake any scheme whatever against the prosperity of
the "good estate." In the subsequent acts, Rienzi gives
the Nobles fresh cause to regret their less of power ; and for-
getting himself entirely the conduct and bearing of an ancient
Tribune, he professes to summon the Pope and all the other
Princes of the empire, and to challenge their submission to
his authority. Thus goaded, the Colonna and the Ursini
forget their inveterate rivalry, and unite with the Savelli and
others in a new attempt to destroy Rienzi. Angelo, too,
"even on his bridal night," finding that his father is sunk
into the r assal of the Tribune, remembers the ancient honour
of his family, falls off frau% his new alliance, and resigns love
in the search of glory. The attack is made, but the popu-
lace assemble at the sound of the great bell, and protect
the ruler of the " good estate." Old Colonna and Ursini
all, anti Angelo and other nobles are made prisoners.
Rienzi struggles hard and long to regain the confidence
and friendship of Angelo, but in vain, and at length con-
demns him with the other patrician prisoners to death.
But no sooner is the fatal decree about to be put into exe-
cution, than Claudia rushes into the presence of her father,
and implores the pardon oilier husband. Nature trimnplis,
but too late, for scarcely is the signal for his .deliverance
given to a messenger than his knell is heard. Claudia is
borne off insensible, and the agonies of Rienzi are in-
creased by his learning that his severity has created a re-
action in the mind of the populace, and that, struck with
remorse at the sufferings of the Nobles, they have de-
serted him, and demand his life. Still, however, his firm-
ness is unshaken, and wearing the insignia of his office, he
throws wide open the gates of the citadel, and singly
confronts his new enemies. He resigns all power ; but the
people, urged by the Lady Colonna, assassinate him just as
his (laughter, who having heard of his danger, has encircled
him in her arms.

Mr. YOUNG'S Rienzi was a masterpiece of spi-
rited acting. The sarcasm of the character, though
scarcely refined enough, lost nothing of its energy
in his hands ; and the few, the very few ap-
peals put into his mouth, t• the past glories of
Rome, were delivered with fire and dignity. But
his bearing was not sufficiently chivalrous, and he
allowed himself, in this respect, to be played down
by COOPER, whose manner was highly imposing.—
He was also dressed too old for the part : certainly
for the early triumphs of Rienzi, between whose
first and second fall a period of nearly eight years (of
which we hear nothing) elapsed. His most effective
point was his allusion to his brother's death, when
requested to pardon some obnoxious nobleman ; it
brought down an electric shout from the whole house. ,1
The Angelo Colonna of Mr. COOPER was everywhere
characterized by good sense and discrimination. It
is, however, an inconsistent part, worthy only of melo-
drame. Of Miss PHILLIPS, as Claudia, the Tribune's
daughter, what can we say worthy to express
our sense of her exalted merits ? In a word, then,
she evinces more promise than any actress, not even
excepting Miss F. H. Kelly, of the day. Her figure
is slim, but exquisitely symmetrical, rather above
the middle height; her voice is the very spirit
of melody—so soft—so mellow—so equably
and fully-toned, it is quite a treat to hear it;
her face beautiful, a tender pensive softness lit
up with a sort of half smile, that redeems it
from the charge.of insipidity, being its predominant
expression; and her action varied and animated,
though here and there perhaps a little too abrupt.
Her performance last night went a considerable way
to secure the suffrages of the audience in behalf of
the tragedy; and her exquisite delivery bf one passage
in particular, where in a vein of pretty girlish melan-
choly, she regrets the flowers and the scenery, and
the simple pleasures of her obscure childhood, struck
home to the heart, and elicited the most enthusiastic
applause.of the evening. Alrs.Fawcer, as the mother
of Angelo Colonna, had little to do, but that little
she did impressively. Her description (to sonic
scoffing nobles) of Rienzi, " when he has smiled I've
shuddered," was finely conceived, and proves Miss
MITFORD'S acquaintance with the minute shrewdness
of a woman's knowledge of character. With respect to
the language of the play, it is ornamented, yet not
redundant, familiar, but poetic; its greatest charm
being its perfect uniform equality. On one or two
occasions an attempt at terseness is made, in imita-
tion of our Elizabethan Dramatists, whom Mks
MITFORD evidently idolizes. Taken as a whole, the
drama does credit to a female pen, but it is not pre-
cisely the sort of subject to which a female is likely
to do justice. The character:of Fienzi can only be can-
vassed by a mangy; his strange inequalities of mind, his
alternate mixture of courage and cowardice, of tem-
perance and dissipation, of eloquence and buffoonery,

of the greatest acuteness with the most singular
want of tact ; are and must, from their very nature, be
nearly, if not quite, incomprehensible to a Woman,
even though that woman is Miss MITFORD.