The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-03-26 00:00:00

I

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Diumy44NE,IIEATRE.
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The Dew drama whkh has been in preparltioNfre
BOW tie* at this theatre, entitled Rob Roy, was pro.
armed lasi night ; and if it did not delight, certainly
net tl little surprised the audience. The Author of this
piece (Mr. Soma, from whom we have had the more
s accessf el perk, ma nee of The Falls of the Clyde), in a
preface which he has given to the few songs inter-
vened through it, aura—" Scarcely one fester, of
the romance remains in any or the first personages ;
Diana Firwon, Rob Roy,Dougal, drc. are essentially
distinct from the argil's's, bearing the same names."
This was indeed the fact, and an onfortosteone it was
for the Proprietors of the Thestre,who, we hear, have
expended above 2,0001. on the getting op of this piece.
Ix speaking, therefore, of this Drama, it would not
be just to compare either its locidents or its charac.
ten with those which are developed in the novel.
The nether disclaims having borrowed any thing very
nuterial from that work, escept the 'tames ; and why
be shoeld have borrowed even the names under such
circumstances will be matter of surprise, escept from
the paltry motive of availing himself of their celebrity.
It was the Wrenn of bad taste, to summon a crowd
swf spectators to see certain persons, with whom we
had already formed some intimacy, and then to tell
es, just hero& the curtain was raised, that those
whom we cat to visit as acqwaintancos, were per-
fect strangers; that they bore, indeed, the Highland
name, and that the mountain plume waved in their
bonnets; hat that, in no other circumstance did they
resemble the images we had received in our minds.
But the misfortune for the author is, that their feces
were not only al! new, but inditirlually the reverse,
in every feature, of those which the novelist had
painted. For the truly entertaining picture of a
Scottish Nlvgistrate of the old srhortl, delineated
in the character of Rollie Nicol Jarrie, made
so much of by Laseott, at the other house, we
have in this piece, that of A Hard or Seer, with his
harp, uttering the unfortunate esciamation, " I am
tired of the world, and the world is tired of me,"
which the wearied audience confirmed by expressing
bow mach they were really tired of such rhapsodies;
and for Delen Alapgregor, the wifeof Rob Hoy, the
pride and the pillar of her clan, and still an en•
thusiast in all the gentler affections of our nature, we
have a female asmstrin, defying the Omnipotent arm
of Heaven. spurning every tender and generous feel.
ing, and who is actually made the mother of the
horn of the tale. Diana Vernon suffers also, in this
general revolution. In the drapery of the Novelist,
she don not altogether appear to great advantage.—
She is self.dependent, self-taught, and yields to the
role of another, with manifest reluctance. Bet in
the Drama, this contrast of character is lost. She is
quite a common hoarding•schonl girl—yielding to
passion thoughtlessly—confessing it unblushingly.—
The incidents of this Drama are briefly these :
Diana Vernon (Miss Surrnson) is betrothed by a
!amity compact to Rashleigh Osbaldislon (Mr.
RAE).—It is the wish of her father, General
Vernon, that this compact should be strictly
adhered to ; but she revolts at it.—She be.
tomes attached to no less a personage than Rob
Noy hiere44(; And just at the moment that her
forced mairiagiiiith Rosbleigh is about to be cele.
bruited in the chant,. Rob rushes oat from behind a
monument, attended by a bode of his clan,interrupts
the priest, and compels him to join together in wedlock
the ready bride and himself. Helen. oho is here the
mother of Rob, becomes enraged at his union with a
southeron ;" she eventually curses her son, gives a
draught,* hich she supposes to be poison, toDiana, but
which turns out to be only a soporific potion ; and at
length, drives' by her remorse into open hostility with
Heaven and Earth, she wanders out among the
mountains, and is killed by lightning. The other
main incidents are the rencontre of the clan with the
English army—the capture of General Vernon, the
capture and ultimate escape of Macgregor. The
story, such as it is in the Drama, wants correc-
tion and probability—the scene where Diana is
shown her grave is shocking. Miss Surrnsom gave
to Diana every attraction of which such a character
was susceptible. In the marriage scene she dis•
played great force and feeling, and met very lively
applause. WALLACIL performed l)ougal. As often
as he was upon the stage, the piece was supported by
the audience; as soon as he was uff, n poen' weari-
ness was felt. Mrs Giovsa sustained the part of
Helen. Mrs. BLAND, Miss CuBIT?, and Mrs. BELL-
CHAMBERS, COMO upon the stage, but they had little
to do or to say. Mrs. BLAND introduced a pretty
little Scotch air. KNIGHT was everywhere as the
substitute for Andrew Fairrerrice. The Piece met
with strong opposition at the close, hut it may per.
haps be rendered less objectionable, by a free aturtail•
meat.

LADY MO RG AN'S FRANCS.
This work seems to engross more than ever the
Public attention. Its the third edition, which lately
appeared, are some curious observations respecting
certain Revipweri, which we particularly recommend
to the notice of oar Readers ; they have been sub-
joined, says the Author, in sport or in indignation,
according as a sense of the vileness of the attack, or
of the mischief of its intention, happened to be pre-
valent at the moment of composition. The sale of
the work, however, has kept pace with the perse-
vering malignity of its assailants ; and a very marked
expression of Public feeling has condemned the on-
dignified and captions censures of its professed de-
tractors. That political reflections should be mixed
with a work like France was inevitable. A pro.
found sense of the fatal consequences attendant upon
the prevalence of certain opinions influenced the
Author in its composition, and she has given to it the
colouring Which proceeded from conviction.
She has described what she saw—she has spoken as
she felt ; and if her opinions are erroneous, they are
unbought and independent. She has been repro-
sented as anti-national : she wished only to give a
more social, a more European turn, to the habitual
feelings of her countrymen. She has beets accused
of impiety : she bore witness only against an hypo-
critical seal and the perversion of religion. To the
enemies of religious freedom end a constitutional
Government alone, she has given designed offense;
and to them she is not disposed to make apology or
jostificatiou.