The Sun.
London, England, 1829-03-02 00:00:00

MONTHLY MAGAZINg.

The Catholic Question seems now to have
fairly set all parties together by the ears. We
nw,et witli it at every step—we hear it in every
party—we E4e it p4cerded in the streets—para-
graphed in the newspapers,.,d/sr34ls.sed in the
magazines—prosed over at the club houi-ie&,,-aua,
thematised in the pulpit—cheered in the tap-
rocarr.7,l--canvassed in the police offices---and alter-
nately extolled and vilified in either House of
Parliament. Go where we will, it followli 14s,
awful as a Familiar, * constant ac our sliadow,
1 If we take the box seat of the Dover coach, it

get 2 up beside us—if we book an inside birth,
it instantly books another in the shape of a fat
elderly asthmatic gentlewoman, fond of Scotch
snuff, and addicted to ham sandwiches. In the
coffee-room of the Dover Hotel it puts on the
white apron, with a napkin tucked under his
arm, of' a. mart LI-ring waiter ; it invades us in
the guise of Boots,—wbat an Lislorious
morphosis !—and even when, as a last resource,
we fly for refuge to France, it crosses the Chan-
pel in our company, exaggerates the moments
of sickness, atta.:l,3 vs on the Calais quay, pre-
cedes the custom-house inquiries, 4nd, like
Cicero's literature, lies down with us at night,
i$ peyriptat!4r, rusticatur nobiscum." On the
characters pt ppl4ip men iP'; eflects have
been equally linpressive. It has conyerte4
Mr. Peel into a statesman abstracted
the ideas of Lord Newcastle—lent energy
to those of Lord Grey—enlightened Dr.
Philpotts—bewitched the Dublin:Corporation—
paralyzed poor Alderman Birch—immortalized
the Duke of Wellington—made a lion of
O'Connell—an ass of Cobbett—and politicians
of universal Europe. Moreover, it has cast all re-
cent events into the same indiscriminate impartial
oblivion. The West Port murders are for-

e Vide Middleten's Witehee.

gotten—Rowland Stephenson, like his debts,

is at a discount—York Minster is neglected, and
Martin lies unnoticed in gaol. Such have been,
and such still are, the effects of this all engross-
ing question, this cormorant of monopoly, which
as respects ourselves individually—and we have
no doubt there are thousands in the same pre-
dicament—has kept us awake for the last three

weeks, in spite of Glasgow punch and the
perusal of the Morning Journal. In the Maga-
zine which we now proceed to notice, the
Question again comes before us in the shape

of a formidable leading article, written cer-
tainly with vigour, ingenuity, and point,
but at the same time in a spirit of the
mpst fierce and intolerant bigotry. The writer
is literally mad, " clean daft," as the Scotch say,
His wrath knows No bounds. He abuses• Dr.
Phillpotts—he abuses Mr. Goulburn—he abuses
Mr. Peel—and lays about him on all sides with
a pen like a bludgeon, and with an earnestness
which we have rarely seen equalled. Of course
vs,o shall not attempt to answer such a diatribe ;
it is quite enough to describe it. " The
Theatres" is a respectable analysis of the pro-
ceedings of the last and present season, both at
Covent,garden and Drury.lane, from which we
extract the following just observations as regards
Mr. Harris, the late well-known Manager of
Covent-garden ;
"111 looking over the memoirs that have been within these
few years published by actors and dramatic authors, we see
perpetamd panegyrics on the generosity, and honour, the
personal good sense, and the public activity of the elder
1-finis. We allude to him now, merely as a model which
every modern manager ought to have before his eyes.
With this intelligent man, the author was the first object.
It was a axed principle, to cultivate the intimacy of clever
men and turn their powers to the stage. When once they
had exhibited decided ability for the drama, they might
look upon themselves as secure of the manager's services
for life. It was Harris's rule, to have at least four come-
dies in pi eparation at the commencement of every season,
and to bring them out in succession, but not till the actors
were most thoroughly prepared, and the mast favourable
junctures had occurred. For those labours he allowed the
most liberal remuneration. He drove none of those harsh
bargains that so often make it a humiliation for a gentle-
man to have any thing to do will the stage. If the per-
formance merited the public approbation, there was no
vulgar limit to its reward. Coleman has for one play re-
ceived 1,0001., and probably more in other instances.—
Cherry received for The Will, 1,300/. Lloleroft received
1,1001. and 1,300/. Morton received 1,0001. for Town
and Country, even before it was played. In one instance,
O'Keefe hail produced an opera in extreme haste at Har-
ris's suggestion, who was in want of an immediate perform-
ance. The sum to be paid was six hundred guineas,—
The opera failed totally, and at once. O'Keefe, a nervous
mart, overwhelmed with its ruin. which seemed to him to
involve his own with the manager, fled from the theatre,
and threw himself upon his bed in despair. He was roused
by Ilarris'n arrival shortly after, who cheered him, talked
of the disaster as a mere accident owing to the haste with
which his production was urged, and ended by pouring cu:
the six hundred guineas on the table,
" The man who email tip this, deserved to have the best
ability of able men at his command, and he had it. The
theatre never was in so flourishing a state since the days
of Garrick. Covent-garden, with its cornedea, and a
comic company (though that W4d first-rate), fought and
conquered the grand dramatic army of Drnry-lane, with the
Kembles and Siddons at its head, and with only, at lest,
the name of Sheridan to make it the centre of fashion and
the centre of wit together. Still Harris vigorously feught
his battle, and when he retired from the management
through age, be reti-ed with 80,0001.
" Ilut there was in his conduct more than the mere
efficial drudgery of a manager. tie cultivated society at
home : he felt that lie might take rank among his fellow
pies by his personal merits, and his house received with
honourable and accomplished hospitality a large entvessiun
of individnals fitted to give diatineton to atly rank. He
thus at once made his profession popular, and'acquired for
himself the active civilities and polished intercourse of the
learned, the witty, and the influential. Sir Joshua Rey-
nolds had done this before Blip, anal fpppdj its advantages in
the beet sense of the word, in the eadciyation of his own
understanding, in the pleasant opportunity of bringing ig-
telligent and valuable men together, lyim bet tar that
Laausf intercourse might never have met, and in the added
information and personal pleasure to he found in manly and
highly instructed minds."
ft Mine Host's Last Story" is a pretty simple
tale, written with much simplicity and strength
of feeling, We recommend it to the attention
of our fair readers, " Memoirs of John Shipp"
is a spirited review of one of the most entertain-
ing pieces of military gossip and biography that
has ever fallen under our notice. The extracts
in this critique are peculiarly well selected.
ff
.Evonoi of a recent Journey in South America"
are tolerably entertaining, the subject being itself
of so extremely threadbare a nature that it is
Next to impossible to impart to it any paramonnt
interest. f‘ Notes on the Month" are replete
with pungency and sarcasm ; they are, however,
(.)0 political, being full, ttsylte aq mpocom, of
staunch anti-Catholic diatribes. Altogether the
present number is remarkable for its spirit and
freedom of thought, though we could certainly
wish that that thought were directed into a
healthier and more becoming channel.