The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-10-20 00:00:00

f:°.

-54 RATA' sTRE4TIZA
-'4•• • .s ,s'S
. • . r
The Opera of Bob Roy was 'perfortierat tIV il4l
guilt little,lheatre last_eventne, for the sii:thAsie,l4
it reapeya,hle and toleratAy 'wise.:
'fbe
chief attracgon of the piece is
.certainly tearii's
pomace l* the character of the gallant Outlaw, and
hlthbigh, tahen as a whole, it was wore than a respeat
able performance, yet we could sot but observe, tba,"
it was nearly throughout a eiskia acting merely, as
tbsqnsion was seldom ao eitinplete, an to enabla us to
fauez we had the impetuous Chief before our eyes.
Tpaav's principal defect lay, in a want of
powir effectually to poartray the sadden gaits Ind
transitions of passions and of feeling by whicb
the hero was borne away ; he was too deliberate
in his enunciation, and in his endeavours to give
energy to his sentences, he became more fermal
and de'claasatory than suited our conceptions of the
character or the .fiery Scot. In the scene, however,
with Bailie Tirol Jarrie, where the latter offers to
take his sons and bring them up as weavers, these re-
marks do not apply; in this, his acting was natural
and excellent, and here we recognised the proud High-
land Chief. Slr. TATLEURE perfOrmed the part of
the Bailie. This Gentletnan has certainly consider-
able comic powers, but we conceive that he mistook
the character of the Bailie, which; though dry; acute;
and witty, is also formal ar.d precise, and never de•
;venerates into that of the buffoon , in short, it is no
Calcb Quoted?, as he seemed to consider it. His re-
peated exclamation of " man conscience," be mast
have picked up in Rosemary-lane, or Duke's-place ;1
and the rest of his Scottish dialect was evidently im-
ported from Lan ishire. Mr. BAKER, in Rashleighil
Oe.saildistunr, merits great praise ; it was a chaste and
judicious perf.aniance, and we think this Getittemanl
destined to hold a very respectable rank oa the Stage.
Of 3lr. Dc CAMP, as 41Iaj ir Galbraith, we can
say but lilt r ; he was ridiculott,ly pantontimi•
cal in displaying his fear of the red hot
poker. Lt.ost Lee, as Frahcis Ogbaldiatoiic,
sung' his vari..us son,;s with (rest taste and effect, and
was twice encored. lie is certainly improving ; but
he wants much as yet, both in ease of manner, and in
spirit, to make him a very good representative of this
character. lltss y.w, in Diana Ve»ion, gave her
songs with her usual sweetness and taste, and enacted
the trifling part allotted her with peculiar ease and
grace. Mas. JOHNSON, as Helen M.Gregor, equalled
our utmost expectationi, and throughout displayed
considerable power and judgment in this short, but
arduous and difficult character. 'I he proprietors cer-
tainly deserve the greatest praise for the manner in
which they have brought out the piece, which in every
point that rested with them, was complete and excel-
lent ; and we do not doubt but that the patronage of
the public will fully reward their exertions to amuse
during this unusally dull season.

Mr. Rewlete.—We understand, that the Court of
Directors of the Waterloo Bridge Company, as a means
of handing down to posterity the memory •of this
matchless artist, have it in contemplation to erect a
small Obelisk at each end of the bridge, where the di-
vision bars now stand, on which shall be an inscrip-
tion, stating simply the name of the architect under
whose superintendence this noble structure was raised,
the time tt took building, and the expense incurred by
the great undertaking. Rumour adds, that a Surveyor
has already examined the ground, to ascertain its fit-
ness, an'l that the work will be commenced immedi.
ately his report is approved of by the Court of Pro-
prietors.
Dneaorti. Ft le.—Last night, between ten and
eleven o'clock, a fire broke out on the south side of Va-
lentine-place, in the Surrey-road, between the New-cut.
and the Magdalen Hospital. It Began in an oil and
colour shop, and soon enveloped the•honse in flames.
One wotnan, we were told, who was in the second floor,
after the flames had caught the lower part of the house,
and blazed out of the window around her, threw her-
self down, and was caught in a blanket. The fire ra-
pidly involved every part of the house, and communi-
cated with the next. Assistance was ptouiptly sent
for, and two or three engines swot rude* I; but either
from want of water or from ignorance where to find
the plug, the firemen and the neighbours were con-
demned for more than half an hour to witness the pro-
gress of the conflagration, without being able to tahe
a single step to impede its course. About half past 11
the fire was at its height. The long stream of flame
and smoke then appeared from Blackfriars-bride as if
it arose from the Surrey Theatre. The two houses 1
that first caught fire were rapidly destroyed, and a
third was nearly burnt down, when (about 12 o'clock)
water was found, and the engines began to play, and
in less than half an hour the activity of the firemen had
triumphed, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring
house', who were trembling for their safety and be-
ginning to remove their property, were reli vll from
alarm and apprehension. In the confusion we were
unable to learn the extent of the damage. or even to
ascertain whether any lives were lost. As far as we
could see, only two houses have been entirely de-
stroyed, though others may have suffered a partial
•
injury. [FURTHER PAILTI:VLAI s
The fire broke out on the premises of Mr. Morris,
oilman, which, from the combustible matter contained.
therein, for some time threatened destruction around.
It fortuna'ely happened, there was but a small stock
of gun-powder in the garret, which blew up a little
after the conflagration became general. In the in-
terim, Mrs. Price, a lodger (the woman abovementioned)
appeared at a window in the second floor. The ne4ll-
- as already stated, held a blanket for her to lett!,
into, but, in her fall, one of the hooks that held out the
alsete candles, caught her thigh, and lacerated it dread-
fully. She was received in the blanket, notwithstand-
ing, and we rejoice to find there was no bone broken,
and that she is likely to recover. . .
The oil stores of Mr. Smith, and the cern stores of
Mr. Allen, were in imminent danger, and would have
been destroyed, had not the people .kept throwing
water on the doors and windows.. One of the sparks
got into the adjoining chimney of Mr. Clarke, and
set it on fire, truth burnt out in a few minute!. Wkile
'itr. Clarke's alarm continued, some of the light fin.
gored gentry carried off his watch and coat. Much
praise Is doe to
.the great exertions of the peoples rho
availed tkunseleen of tbs. ealmatmospbere, ,which con-
tribeted materially to roams the limits of dig de-
e'roaring element. It is meth to be regeittedi that a
imply of water was no; procespl: until. Pat Ilse'.
wipe Beady bassi down.