The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-02 00:00:00

AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINE.

The Editor's story of the " Miser's Daughter"
is concluded in this Number, and if it do not
greatly advance, it will certainly not detract
from, its author's reputation. We have read it
with pleasure, and so, we doubt not, will the ma-
jority of novel readers, for it abounds in bustling
incidents, and has variety, if not discrimination,
of character to recommend it. " The Elliston
Papers" bid fair to constitute an entertaining se-
ries of articles, at least if we may form a judg-
ment from the present specimen, which gives
several amusing particulars respecting the come-
dian's early days, and canvasses ' his peculiarities
as an actor in a just and discerning manner.
Speaking of his exterior, Mr. Raymond, the
Editor of the Papers in question, says—" In per-
son Elliston was of the middle size, and elegantly
proportioned; and whatever success he may
have acquired as a tragedian, we may at once
declare was in defiance of his face, which was
the very mirror of somedy. His countenance
was round and open, his features small, yet
buta s
highly expressive ; laughter lay cradled in his
iote
a words
Iti fao were t r
t strong, f
eye, and there was a muscular play of lip so
pregnant of meaning,
frequently
to explain.entlytoleav leave the
His
tones
that followed
he impassioned,
harmonious,
irresistibly an dvar i ,p
raei
d
a tremulous earnestness, on occasions which did
i
s-
dye . He displayed the art of tenderness and
soft persuasion more strikingly than any actor.
,of his time." This last remark is perfectly just.
Never did actor give greater effect to a tender
sentiment, or a burst of cordial emotion, than
Elliston. His mode of addressing wome __,too,
was admirable, not deficient in courtly elegance,
yet still more remarkable for its appearance-of
heart, and the respect and deference which it so
flatteringly exhibited. We subjoin a diverting
account of this admirable comedian's elopement
from home, in order to make his bow before
a Bath audience:—
On a black, chilly morning, in the very early part
ofspring,l79l,light in baggage as the Hon. Mr. Dow-
las himself, with but little in his pocket and still less
in his stomach, Robert William Elliston slipped from
the street-door of his father's house, punctually at
half-past four by the paternal chronometer, and made
the best of his way to the coach-office in Piccadilly.
In the year 1791, the English stage-coach wore as
different an aspect to the vehicle of 1841, as the gold-
laced
hat and silver shoe-buckles differ from the cos-
tume on the identical pavement at the present hour.
There was "the heavy Falmouth," the weighty York
" Highflver " and the lengthy Bristol ; and a journey
of a hundred miles was an undertaking of time, pri-
vation, and endurance. We trust our hero will not
forfeit any Claim to such distinction while we con-
fess that a review of his resources, or perhaps the
weather, not a little damped his spirit ; and fain
would he have retraced his steps, on finding at his
reaching the coach-office the long, body completely
full, and every person so occupied on his own affairs
as to afford him no information under his dilemma;
but the alarum was by this time sounded in the
watchmaker's warehouse, and his absence discovered,
so Olathe had no • alternative but to proceed at all
hazard. In the course' of his further inquiry, he
tearnt -that-the-two-horse "-Bath Invalid -Coach„
would start from a neighbouring office within an
hour, but that no other conveyance for that city would