Morning herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1837-1840, 1837-08-26

new world to fashionable society. Staten Island, in
oil ito beauty, pcturesqueness and enchantment ID
beginning TO astonsh the beau monde. Within
| shlling's distance from Wall street, we have wilder
ness and Wild forest and plain hill and dale, bubbng
fountain and beauteous lake, equal to any scenery in
the whole country. Other splendid festivities are in
contemplation So get your pumps ready, Tom.
First Night of Willis New Tragedy.
Last night at the Park Theatre, was performed for
the first time Willis tragedy" Blanca Viscont,
or the Heart Overtasked' might have been
called Blanca Viscont, the Head the author 81
Overtasked," with much propriety Miss Cliftons
beautiful acting alone saved it from sad destiny.
Willis has attempted not written tragedy. 1t is
failure as tragedy-yet it is not destitute of some
merit. There two three pretty, and one or two
beautiful passages in it, but there are not sufficient to
make the drama poem, there is not depth of cha
racer intensity, SOUL genius enough to constitute it
a tragedy.
Let us sum up It's merits. 1t contains one scene Of
strong interest, which is dramatic Act g. Scene 2.
One scene fbeauty, which is poetical [Act 3-Scene
B. This has been quoted generally and one scene
which part imbued with both interest and pathos.
This is not sufficent-but is all. There is no
tanning interest. 1t cannot be spoken of as whole.
1t must be dsmembered- passages dwelt
upon in order TO receive any praise. The true Prone
thean fire has not been breathed into the poet What
ever praise may be bestowed upon it. or whatever
time serving may attend it, will not alter its
character. Both praise and success will be ephcme-
RAIL- and Blanca Visconti will be left to moulder
the shelf in Le,hean forgctfulness with countless pro-
auctions of the same character.
The plot of the piece is simple; this is not fault in
itself With a writer of great original thought it is
beauty, for it gives il full scope, but it is fault in
writer of mediocre calibre, for shows the paucty
of his mind He requires multiplicity Of bustling in
cidents to exc out his task and carry it through
francesca Sforza, condottieri of the 18th centu-
ry, is discovered at the opening encamped before
Milan. He has sought the hand of Blanca Visconti
daughter of the regning Duke not from love of the
maiden but to carry out his own ambitious views
which not merely aim at the dukedom but of subju-
eating the Republic of Venice. The relgnng duke
has hitherto used Sorza for his purposes feeding
him on the promise of his daughters hand; promise
which he never intended to keep. The warike posi-
ton of Sforza, however compels him to observe it
Blanca who loves sforza with deep intensity ofpas
sion, is welded to him. She Immediately discovers
own, and strives by studying his character to make
it So At this time her father dies and she reoces in
the thought that by bestowing the crown of Milan on
her husband she will raise him above the sphere in
which he moves, and in their high estate make him
all her own. She is deceived. Sarpellione, an ambas-
sader at Milan, from Alfonso King of Naples destroys
her hopes by telling her that she has brother living
in the person of Giulio her page to whom the crown
cbolo bor k,osh hat
now, only known as the page-wishes him dead. In
this mood she overhears plot between the willy Sar-
pellione-who fears thepower of Sforza if he should
be duke-and disappointed officer OF Sforza's, to
murder her husband while he is sleeping at noon, his
custom, on a bank in his garden. This horrible
thought of theirs engenders more horrible thought in
her own breast-that of suffering her brother TO take
the place of her husband and being thus murdered to
remove all hndrance to Sforza's greatness, which
she believes will alone bind him to her with love
deep and all engrossing as her own She accom-
pushes her purpose Her brother is slain for Sforza,
and remorse and madness ssize upon her. Her rea-
son returns just nature is exhausted within her.
She proclaims Sforza the duke Of Milan, and dies
hoart broken The duke sees the full force Of her
love- which, for his sake, was urged TO such right
full extremity
There is in Blanca Visconti besides the characters
recorded, a Mllanese Captain, who very ungal-
lantly seduces Sorza from his wife on their wedding
night; and Pasqual whimsical poet, and Flamen-
ia, waiting woman. Pasqual, in the early scenes,
is transcript of the "Grave Digger" in Hamlet-in
the latter Of "Touchstonc," in As You Like IT. while
Flamenta acts the part Of the "Second Grave Dig
GER to hm-and Of "Audry," according as his bor-
rowed humor, chamelion-like, changes.
We shall give few extracts this evening. The
house was crowded with the friends Of Willie who
cheered the piece throughout.