Star.
London, England, 1826-04-04 00:00:00

ItHtAtRE§:

C °VINTGARDEN.
;he tragedy of Macbeth was perfenneo last night, when /4r.
WARDS appeared for the first time on the Dodd* of our es=
as the hero and victim of ambition. Mr. Waset'a
;without any pretensions to a perfect representation of what the
divine Bard imagined and set down, displayed points of acting
which were not only calculated to advance the reputation of the
actor, but did credit to the art wish* he professes. The dosing
scenes of the tragedy were sustained with considerable power, and
the combat was better managed than aaything of the kind we hate
seen for along time. Miss Lacv repeated her Li* Marimelt with
great success. She did not, however, appear to feel er to commu-
nicate the terror which. the character ought to inspire, in the same
degree as on the first night of her performing it. After the fall of
the curtain there was a call for Mr. Waling, which that Gentleman
very properly declined to answer for a considerable time; but as
the clamour was kept up by a portion of the audience, he came
forward, received their vociferous applause, and announced the
performances of the succeeding evening.

ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE.
MATHIZWeII fisairationa were again most numerously accepted lut
night ; and never did the eater taionwnts provided afford more appa-
rent satisfaction to the assembled guests of all descriptions.

ADELPHI THEATRE.
Last night, Mr. YATES, whose comic and imitative
talent; are well known to the public, ventured on the
Herculean or Mathewsian task of entertaining a whole
audienceln himself, and succeeded. This new enter-
tainment is ca.led 1' ates's Reminiscences; or, Etchings of
Life and Character, and consists of songs. anecdotes,
and imitations, in which the actor displays extraordip
nary versatility. Mr..YATEs commenced by disclaim-
ing all intention of drawing on the " bank of merri-
ment," which his friend had established at the English
Opera House; he then' traces his own history, " e'en
from his boyish days," until he reaches man's estate—
that is, becomes a man without an estate. In the sketch of
his juvenile days at the Charter House School he intro-
duces a literary cobbler, a man of a good understanding of
course, whose sole object is not confined to translating
shoes. He is latterly obliged to consult Mr. Damper Yates'
—a second cousin of the family—upon the choice of a
profession, and he, being a starched, old, queue-loving
bachelor, throws cold water on all the propositions of
the young enthusias,. The latter suggests the stage—
" The stage !" quoth Mr. Damper, " do you mean the
stage to Kennington r No, no, Sit—the theatre."
" Aye, aye, the sta-a-ge ; a vagabondish trade, generally
ending in no bend at all." But genius is not to be damped;
and YATES gets himself introduced at a masquerade as
Master Some, in which character he puts out Harle-
quin's eye, and treads on the Muse's mantle. Here he
meets with his friend Maritza s, to whom he pays a
warm heartfelt tribute of gratitude. He travels in
company with him to Boulogne, in order to test his
mimic powers. and at Dover encounters one of the best
characters in his gallery—a Mr. Felix Fact, a qutt,
matter-of-fact, simple Gentleman, who detests metaphors
and cramp allusions, and has eschewed reading ever
since he learnt that the only work he read—Gay's
Fables—was false from beginning to end. This ex-
cellent personage has ventured to Dover for the sole
purpose of viewing the sea. When there he creeps slowly
to the beach, dips a finger in the salt wa:er, puts it into
his mouth, spits it out again, and walks off, highly
pleated with the adventure. At Dover also the dra-
matic pi'grims encounter Tonerraveller, who had read
" Robinson Crowe" so frequenty, that his btain has
become crazed with the notion of finding out a desert ;
and he is in pursuit of a Juan Fernandez', with a tele-
*cope, two guns, and a little hl.ck, ditty urchin, whom
lie designates a- Friday. While at Boulogne the tra-
vellers visit Joe Kelly, who is tormented by his dog
Worry ; and after a kind reception in that asylum of
• wrinkled coquettes and superannuated beaus, they re-
turn to the wooden walls of OW England—a designation
which puzzles Mr. Felix Fact, also never saw these
" wooden walls," ncr heard when they had been broken
down. He is then engaged to play the Cavalier Seul at
Vanzhall in a comic divertissement ; but is uafoitunately
prevented from cracking his jokes before the public, by
having the misfortune to crack his leg at the dress re-
hearsal, which took place before his public appearance;
and instead of being borne away on the tide of popular
favour, is mortified to find himself carried off on a
shutter. The song of " Vauxhall Garden," which fol-
lows, is full of lite and caricature; and the trip to the
" Magic Gardens" told with inimitable spirit. Here
the credulous Mr. filis bad is again introduced to us,
who grieves to hear that the tide is running up—his
pace being sedate and ambling ; and that a barrel-
organ had been consumed is the fire at Cumherland-
gardens, because the engines could not play upon it.
We are next whirled to Live pool, where Mr. YAM
enacts logo to the Well* of Mr. Matrnaws, a per-
formance which, we conceive, must be equal to the best
farce ever acted.
In Part 11. we become acquainted with a Mr. Pros-
per Sanguine, who towers over misfortune as the steeple
does over the chancel of a church, and has evidently
insured his life in the Hope. No calamity or cross-
accident disconcerts his visionary prospects, nor can any
objection dissipate them. Macadamization is-denounced
in his presence,—" Oh !" quoth Mr. Prosper Sanguine,
" if it create dust in summer, we will have Lundy-toot
for nothing ; and if the streets be flooded in winter,
navigation will be encouraged." Mrs. Pauline Pry
the mother of the redoubtable Paul, next figures on
the tapis; and really, we must own, that she bears
away the palm from her son. She is an argus-eyed
daughter of Eve—an eternal visitor at her neighbours
houses, scattering ruin around her by " nods and
winks, and wreathed smiles." If a tea-caddy be out
of its wonted place, she purses her mouth, and hen*
a suspicion about it ; if tea-spoons be substitdted for
dessert spoons, she closes her eyes and mutters some-
thing about the hardship of the times; and if the
husband be from home, she speaks of " persons
obliged to take the .air." Mr. YATES now brieflyl
recounts his country excursions, when he played Rover,
in Wild Uats, with a strolling company, the re-
ceipts of the night being only one pound seventeen
shillings and threepence, and met with an octogenarian
performer who spent many hours before the glass, in
order to wrinkle his face for the part of Henry. VI.
Mr. YATES, among other songs, has one on the
heatrical fund Dinner, in which the speeches and
manner of the orators and players who assemble on
such occasions are copied to the life. FAWCZTT, BRA.
HAM, Vous°, and MACREADY, are very felicitously
car.catured ; and the speech of the Chairman, the mho
tontines, mistakes, and marvelling of the audience, are
very amusingly given. The entertainment concludes
with a Finale, in which all the principal characters figure.
The third part is called Yr. al•IVINIM, a Mersepoiylegue f and, Him
Mr. Mamma's piece under this title, is a slight dramatic sketch,
in which Mr. Yates, with great adroitness and rapidity, personates.
three ladies and five gentlemen at once—a feat eveh greater than
that for which Mrs. Malaprop gives Cerberus credit. This part of the
entertainment was the triumph of Mr. Yates versatile powers ;
and the dexterity with which he changed his characters was re-
warde‘l wi.h the repeated applause of an audience crowded in
every part.