The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-12-27 00:00:00

who are merely children of a larger growth, were
entertained with their &Antal dramatic organ ct
wand nnimmcry, called a Pantomime.

The name of this new Spectacle is Ileirimptit.
Pedlar, or the Haunted Well.
The piece opens with the view of a well, pith s
number of country people, who are alarmed at the
sound of a coach. Harlequin appears dressed as a
peasant, with an ass, and attempts to draw water
from the well, when a Fairy arises, who communi.
uates to him the presage of nis future fortune. At
this period he is metamorphosed from • Peasant to
a Harlequin. The scene is changed to a Pavilion,
and from that 1011 E! mansion of Sinitarmadukeßu.
pee, Columbine's father. In this !mit the Clown
makes his appearance as a fat Valet, but is oren-
tually changed into that species of Pierrot, w hick
we have been so long accustomed to behold, and
which has more of novelty than truth to recom-
mend it.

The scenes were well painted, and some of tit.:
tricks excellent, particularly the cnange of t. 1,3
harrow to a ladder.

BOLOGNA danced with atembeurine, with
agility; and the Misses Adams exerted the.iise t.s
with grace and meekness.
The Piece is too long, as It was nearly two
hours in the representation. Seine of the machi.
eery failed, but that is not very stirpris'eg on the
ant night of a Pantomime, produced under such
peculiar circumstances.
Mr. GRINIALDI, as usual, was the Tierra of
the evening, and certainly„iill were requisite that
*Clown shoved be a postiore.usaster, he flat •icry
just in his exertions : butas.we arc not convinced of
this necessity, we must take the freedom of entering
uur protest egainst the continuance of such praeti-
ces. if we are asked whether we were, or Wore
not, occasionally amused by the tricks of Mr. GRI-
MALDI, we should certainly answer, yes ; but then
the pleasure would he confined to the sense of see.
ing only ; and it is necessary that the business of
the Clown should interest the feeling, as Well
as the sight. A rope-dancer, or tumbler, et'
vaulter, has a privilege to arrest our epplaugs
through the medium of sight ezriuSisely ; but
this privilege is not allowable to a Cloon in a
Pantomime, because he is a primary person in a
little scenic history, of which his actious consti.
tute a great portion, by the way of illustration as
well as erect. We never sire a Picrrot in France,
Oermanyl Italy, Spain, or Portugal, that did
nut maintain the accastotned traits of the Clown j
nor in England, until Mr. Joscen GnIMALDI de-
stroyed the vital attributes of the character, by
substituting agility fur buffoonery, and distortion
andgeneflelion for comic humour. It is to be
lamented, that the example of Mr. I;utx.%Lut 114;
been so successful, that all our Picrrots now deem
it expedient to be posture-masters, and mere gri.
matiers, and the tree character of a Pantomimic
Clown may be codsidered as banished, or eutosits.
ed for ever !
We du not know in what state of perfection
the Pantomimes were in the days of Mr. Hama,
who has been represented by Writers as paying
more attention to them tuan the Sister Muses; and
who has been thus satirised by Port fur this pro-,
pcnsity
innuirtal Rica. reen.ws et Mist;
hfid mows of—paper, and mad showers othiseas;
tirent Heroic Arbiter of Time nod Space
Whilst one rr. t egg nri.igs turtle the human race.
But in our day of observation we have found none
that have been produced, of a nature equally mag.
niticent and attractive with those which h.,u been
annually brought forward, as a Christmas offer.
ing, at Covent.garden Theatre. Although ,iota.
lar attempts have been made at Drory.lano
Theatre (and we comprehend the dramatic ad.
ministration of Mr. GARRICK, as well as Mr.
SusitiDAN), yet none of them have been so
ably managed or decorated as at this Theatre.
Yet we are Inc to confess, teat (be stones upon
which the mans points should hinge, are woe, in
any degree, so well told new as they were formerty,
w hen Mr. WuoDwa no got up Queen Nab, and
played the Harlequin hiu-self. At that period, they
would adopt some fable frum °vita, and' terow as
gleam of success over the prntlitelluit ; has now
the hope of success rests upon the l'aiuirr, tho
Machinest, and the Posture-master. Pier, et
has assumed new hilnisnies ; the Soirall..u,.ls
is eXtiiiguistie.l ; the Pantaloon is trjust
and Harlequin is supet sided in all Lis jsitutneis
honours by Mr. GRIMALDI, and his eovntioss web
of imitators, from London to the Lain;',
We have no testimony extant to prove that 4..3
Ancients had any knowledge of that absurd site.
cies of entertainment which the French have called
Pantomime. It is asserted by some French. cri.
tics, that Pantomime originated in France from an
Actor, whose name was Harlequin, and that it
consisted, agreeably to his arrangement, of a se..
ries of incidents of a ludicrous nature, all opera.
tang to the furtherance of a fantastic Lover's de.
sires for his Mistress. The established name of
the Lover Harlequin, and that of his Mistrals
Colonibine, which, as well as Pierrol, were
tile real names of the Performers. It was the
custom then to speak a great part of-the dialogue
extempore, in stich gallimanfry productions) and
their repartees pleased the vulgar.

[The German and Italian Critics, however, derive the
name of liatkquia frosts a :ntirgeal character introduce al in
the time of the Emperor Charles V. to ridicule that Myna:a.
The part) -coloured Hero of the Pantomime, tay !Love h
maintain this *pinion, was named " Nor/eft/In, tuillenessi
nate " Cliarks is (unt.")
- -

The first appearance of harlequin on &Leaden
Stage was in the year IGB7, in a Drama, writteia
by Mrs. Brio, callcd The Emperor of eta Maws;
in which this motley Hero bore a very active part
—a circumstance which gave much (silence to Mr.
DRYDEN, and the contemporary Dramatists of
that period. We believe that a Maitre dc Bailee,
whose nam c was %Vaasa'', was the first pevson
who composed any entertainment in Great Brim a
in the resemblance of a Pantomime. lie produced
a spectacle in 1716, under the tido of 7'iza Lover
of Mars and Venus, in wi.ich the sereery was un-
usually splendid, and the dancing illustrative at
the sub2tect ; but awes') its characters bore the
foreign names, yet their agency approached too
nearly to the iteWID Mimics, to be Jefitiosafely
pententiosicisi.

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