Star.
London, England, 1829-08-08 00:00:00

THE DRAMA.

We last roguing assisted at the representation of the fierprones
pro-a hole-drama, harrowed as natal front our Gallk neigh-
boars, se far ahead of au la these days for steak fecundity and
I limeades. The plot, fosaded as a story that has often raised carry
bale of ore bleeds Is Wain times, is the all other productions of
this lame descriptioa, teeming with terror, mystery, end insproba-
bilitr—aell yet the ammo of betobest sod preemies leode so

Interest to thie trifle we have rarely etperienced in thine sprints
half-caste wildtursers conceived betwixt tragedy and comedy. The
incidents, for wonder in melo-drama, are simple and succinct ;
the charactirs few. and well distributed.—Miss Kelly bestows her
characteristic talent here with great effect, only we think she
oeea-
aiooally Overstrains the trepidation, the incoherence sad cunning
breaks of voice. We admire the courage with which she ventures
to express these tones of natural speech, together with the manner
and attitude of every day life—tutal yet one may essay the natural
touch too far, and thus at last give to the genuine trait an air of
fastidious study. A soldier's wife and an old campaigner inSpain, as
she professes *emelt to be, ought to do more hun..ur to the camp,
by the exercise of a certain dimness in &auger. "Pilch would nut
the less secure the anxiety of the audience in her favour : this,
front recollections of the nursery tale, her situations, and the words
she is made to speak, was the undoubted intention of the author.
Keely's acting was equally good and fresh with a "lumen( "
that promises much for an yowl( an actress : if s'lr adheres ro her
present method, we venture to predict she w 11 one day oe un-
rivalled in the " Soubrette" characters. Keely's drawing idiot isms
extorted the usual roar which English iodic, ces an readil; pay
to butruniery. ware highly gratified to find a friar fAith•
ful attention to costume than is geiteral.y paid to this essen-
tial particular on our rage. Miss Kelly dressed the port
with her usual judgment, and looking precisely oh,' she
peromated, compelled our sympathies by appeatirg real. Zs.
Kerry was exact in every detail of costume, as worn by French
peasant girls in the " 'Mouraine." We be{ her to receive our
compliment., and continue to conciliate the audience by a cal istant
regard to propriety of this kind. Smith. the professed representa-
tive of devils and dare-devils, is always correct in this mope ; at
least be always looks the thing we would imagine : his " bl..use "
hoots and ear-rings were perfectly true ; only we wools' wi.la
had lent to his longitudinal fe..tures a li!tle white and blue, of
which the terrible Old Gentleman, his Master, had too ntuzh.—
White lead shades the murderer's cLerk, according to general
corception, better than carmine. lizely's drawers were well for
a Greek sailor, but wot.lsl create a mob in any valor in Fr knee ;
the rest of his guise was unobjectionable. Ilartly's dress was better
than hi. acting ; his crowing trick of voice is very disagreeable,
and is of the worst of mumnierys-it Can only succeed with children.
We have now to rent irk, whenever an English actor personates
poverty, however abject, he sonorous himself with merely dressing
in the fashiou ut an humble station, without cyst' exhifrting ;hose
marks of raggedness and patchery. in which sc ors on the for, Igo
stage never tad to attire copied sniaery.—Dennis (11a:hews), GA--
pad (South). Robin (Kelly), for instance, looked more like easy
residents of a thriving tarn, than the inhabitants of a deserted twits.
If we have descended hits these detail., it is because our attention
was drawn more favourably to the subject than has hitherto been
done, by the actors of this theatre, in purees of greater importaii.:e.
Gretna Own and D. 7 Fresschists followed.
-roe
COSMOStA MA.
We were yesterday induced in our rambles to visit the Cosmo-
rama in Regent-street, after a Wog absence from that interesting
eaWbition. The magical effect of its optical illusions, rendered
more powerful by much improvement in detail, together with a
wonderful amelioration in the exercise of light and shade since we
law saw it, increased the fascination we tormerly experienced.
The view, of Constantinople is particularly interesting. tut a time
when every mind is full of thoughts connected with that glorious
seat of old Greek—and now of the modern Ottoman Empire.
The interior of the Cathedrals—Canterbury, St. Gedule, Sr.
Paul's, and St. Peter's—are represented with marvellous side.
lily. Familiar with the originals, we almost forgot the lapse
of time and distance siuce we last beheld them—imagining
ourselves in reality tiansported back to the contemplation of
their awful magnificence in the veritable sculptured stone. In-
' deed, we think the astonishing effect ut this singularly Ingenious
invention part.eularly excels in the burrnal perspective of build-
logs. The gloomy sublimity of St. Guthard's and Te-uvios made
the struagest impresseuo stn our ntinda ; and the manner in which
niechatikal cunning has aped the life of nature, in causing mimic
waters to tun—vapours to rise—fires to blaze—clouds to undulate
—and shadows to come and go with the force ut necromancy, in•
spired vs with the warmest admiration. This beautiful disc very,
and the daily improvements in judicious distribution of light and
shade, promise to be of liscalculatue advantage to the student in
I painting ; and the scenic artist in particular might here borrow
I hints that would render our theatres like nature itself. We hope
the public will continue to give it its due share of encouragement.

GAELIC MESSENGER.
Mr. Coleridge, the poet. is said to have exclaimed, on finding a
tattered copy of Thomson's Seasons in • village alehouse, " This
is trite (ante." If thisbo the true test of popularity—and we con-
fess we think it is—the following incident is worth meat 'suing :
Two gentleman from Edinborgh, who ►ad been luseriating among
oar Highland scenery. happened a few days since to meet • little
ragged Celt busily engaged by the road side in poring over the
pages of some slight publication. A wager we. instantly laid hr.
twessi the tourists as to the nature of the book ; one bruin, chat s
was • collectioo of ballad., or some marvellous Tom Thumb
story; and the other, from the grave and serious aspect of
thst boy, maintaining that it was the Shooter Catechism. On ito•pec-
' tion the book proved to be the last No. of the Gaelic Messenger ur
Journal, and t►e Alodern Athenians were u much mortised at find-
ing sloth • wait in the hands of a boy. as Addison, in his amus ng
simplicity, was us hearing the children in Calais talk French. l'he
little fellow. however, soon proved that be was no novice at the
study; be rattled over a page or two of the Journal, explaining the
meaning in English afterwards. and informed the travellers that
the book would only cost his father tenpetice a year, as six persons
had joined with him in taking it out. The gentlemen rewarded
the little fellow for his attention, and were so flls eh pleased with
the incident, that on their arrival in Inverness they extorted a pro.
' tram u. that we should chronicle it in our page., that Dr.
IP loud (the excelkto and patriotic Editor of the Gaelic Journal)
might •ee how successful was his attempt to instruct and amuse the
Higblauders iti their ancient mother to►gtne.—lnaeretru Lorna.
PORTRAIT OF FAIR ROSAMOND.
A picture of this unfortunate woman, the mistress of Henry IL
and the cloths ut his Queen's jealouty, stipposed to ►ave been
painted in the time of Henry VII. was, at the commencement of
the last century, in the possession of Samuel Gale, Esq. the anti-
quary. It consisted of a three-quarter length, painted on pa tool,
and attired in the costume of the period ; a dress of rad vt het.
wit► a straight low body, and large square sleeves, faced with black
lowered damask, lathed up above the elbow, Iron, whit!' Jr.
sanded a close sleeve of pearl-coloured sat►n, puff-d out. and
buttoned at the wrist ; her Loom being covered with a Iliac A.ivo red
linen, gathered close at the neck like a ruff. Ilet hair, which was
of • dark brown colour, was parted Irons the middle of the line.
head ; on hit head was a plain etilfure. surmounted by a gold lace.
cuveredwith a small, black, silk cap. In her right hand, which
was richly decorated with rings, she held the fatal cup. st the
cover to the left. Rehire her, on a table covered with titack
damask, lay an open player-hook. Her complcsion was fair, with
a beasitithi blush upon her cheeks.—.lfirrer.