ned down in their tranfic. He has firft fung; and then, and not till then, has the mufic been composed. In a word, this mufic is compofed, not to the science, but to the particular powers and tafle of Braham. This of courfe is productive of mucli monotony and famenefs. Almoft every fong is the fame; and nothing is fludied in the compofition but the effect of his voice. The mufic, therefore, for the most part, is affected, and feldoin natural; full of ambitious ornament, and the meretricious graces of a false taste. Such is our candid opinion of the character of the mufic of this opera; in which, as may be fuppofed, Braham fhines in a manner which has hitherto never been equalled. He himself was the opera. He fuftain ed it; and he himself will be its only fource of popularity. The scenery of this piece was exquifitely beautiful, rich, and varied. It had all the fidelity of local fcenery, and the extent, and apparent ac curacy, of panorama painting.The managers have indeed thewn a brave contempt of money and of trouble, and deferve, on their parts, every degree of fuccefs. King's Theatre. THE differences of the opera proprietors have been fo far accomoda ed that the house was opened on the fecond of January; when madame Catalani came forward in the favourite opera of Semiramide, the mufic of which was compofed by Portogallo, expreffly for her felf. 'Her talents were alone confidered and not her recent conduct; the was applauded therefore. as the me rited for the one, but not condemned as. fhe deferved for the other... It feems a kind of fashion to put up with the infolence of a finger, and a foreigner; and it is a difgrace to the national feelings that madame Catalani, inftead of being prefented with a ̧ carte blanche from the opera managers, had not been faluted with a warrant from the alien office. Y The opera-houfe does more to frivolize and corrupt the national tafle than any other amufement of the age. It makes our old men fools, and our young men dilettantes;— and, too often, fomething worfe. A woman of quality gives more money in one feafon for her opera. box, than the fpends in ufeful purpofes all the reft of her life. The rent of one of thefe PAINTED STYES exceeds the annual income of two fcore of Welsh curates. And amongst whom does the money go? Amongst fingers, whofe beft character in the country is that of being fpies;, and to dancers, who get paid, and with the nation at the devil... 13. Mr. Ruffell made his firft appearance in Captain Abfolute, in the comedy of the Rivals; but the gentleman's character fits aukwardly upon him and for a gentleman to fay floopid for Aupid is quite unpardonable, though we do not deny that a precedent might be found for it, but the ftage should amend, not countenance error. Of Dowton's Sir An- With respect to madame Catalathony Abfolute, we can only fpeak in ni we make no present application.— terms of the most unqualified com- She may be a good character, but mendation: it was chatte and natu- fhe is intolerably infolent. ral. Mr. Bannifter and mr. John-The enfuing mufical feafon is ftone were equally excellent in Acres likely to be full of buffle, as Billingand Sir Lucius Trigger and the ton boldly enter the lifts in competitifweet fimplicity of mrs. H. Siddons on with Catalani." was admirably calculated to give ef-. fc& to the tender and interesting Julia. Irish Theatricals. ON Friday, the 10th, was performed the play of Rule a Wife and have a Wife,' with the enterrainment of The Tale of Myflery' this being almoft the only comedy of fo early, a date which is fuffered to thew its face in a modern theatre, we thall be cautious in detailing our opinion of its merits or demerits, any more than we shall attempt to defend the propriety of its prefent coflume, or the manner in which the charac ters are reprefented, lefl we might in cur a charge of blafphemy from thefe few who dogmatically decide on the conception and execution of the old school, to the prejudice of both the authors and actors of the prefent hour-with them we shall not enter the lifts, but confine, ourselves to a brief retrospect of what immediately comes before us, on the boards of Crow-freet.. To begin, then with mrs Edwin (for the ladies thall lead the way) we confefs ourfelves at a lofs for language to convey to our readers an adequate idea of the vivacity, tafte, wit, and judgment, which the evinced in the part of Eftifania-never did the appear to more advantage-never were her inimitable powers more happily difplayed: conceiving the character, as we believe, the author intended it, her execution of it was 'Tis worth recording, that in the fifth act of the play where Eitifania feigns a fear of Michael Perez putting her to death, fay. ing I know you'll kill me an honeft Hibernian [clad in frize and armed with a cudgel) who had made his way to the orcheltra, over which he leaned with attention and furprize, was fo wrought on by the earnestness of the tone in which this charm ing actress expreffed her apprehenfion, that, forgetful of his fituation for the moment, he leaped up on the next bench, and brandihing his fillelah, ftruck a violent blow on the orchestra, exclaiming with true naticual fpirit and indignation By - be Shan't, Loney for Fil take your fart, jewelr animated, judicious, and interefting. Sweetly did the tones of that harmonious voice correfpond with the various changes of that fafcinating face; while the charms of a graceful, yet almost too delicate, perfon, receive new beauties from the becoming and well-timed geftures which accompanied every fentiment and expreffion. Let the grey beards blufter as they may, we believe they have feldom feen a fuperior Eilifania; nor do we think the boards of Coventgarden or old Drury can, at this moment, produce her equal in this difficult and arduous character. The part of Margaretta was performed by mrs. Mafon-we have feen at better Margaretta-oh, yes, we have feen a better Margaretta!-But perhaps the theatre, in its prefent ftate, can afford no better and that not being the fault of the lady, we will rather compliment her for the facrifice which the, made, (we believe against her judgment) than condemn. her for a want of excellence which was above her reach. Under this impreffion we fhall be filent for the prefent on that fcore-when we cannot applaud with truth, we fhall not indulge in reproval. The fubordinate female characters were filled up as ufual, and if there was nothing to admire, there was nothing to difguft -we cannot fpeak in fairer terms of the minor gentlewomen. The Leon of mr. Holman had, in our opinion, vaft merit; and we will at every hazard commit ourselves in saying, that we think it the chef d'ouvre of that gentleman's performance :-in every fcene he difplayed a perfect knowledge of his author, and embodied the character in a bold, yet correctcd ftyle of colouring. From the fpecimens which we had already received of the comic powers of mr. Melvin, we indulged the hope of feeing Michael Perez performed in a very fuperior, manner-we were however partially difappointed-ftill we reached that place of temporary fafety, and was filling his pockets with dollars from a cheft under his bed, whilft his neighbour, madame Floriville, the wife of a Paris banker, was croffing herself devoutly with one hand, and with the other making a fresh application of rouge to her faded cheeks. Was it fear, folly, or the force of habit, my dear Ambrofe, which prevented the former of thefe perfonages from reflecting that, in the event of a shipwreck, his ftore pon, by turning the point of the dart Adieu. friendhip, SIR, Thine in fincerity and To the Editor. of filver would carry him to the bot-. One man in his time plays many parts.* A FEW months ago, I prefented you with a curious play-bill, announcing the performance of the Poor Gentleman,' and Barnaby Brittle,' by four actors. I have met with another from the fame company, of the Bufy Body, &c. which is equally interefting, and which I have taken the liberty of enclofing. THEATRE HORSFIELD. At mr. Thomas Peafcod's, THE BUSY BODY; Sir Zealous Traffic Behold me now, my friend, in lodgings at the east end of a freet called Piccadilly, in the renowned city of London. London, emprefs of commerce--and grand emporium of sciences, arts, and manufactures! Let the gloomy devotee of La Trappe weep over this venerable dame, and call her a mausoleum of dead fouls. Let the fqueaking Cecibeo of Rome turn upon his red Morocco heel, and Miranda defpife her gravity and morality.- Scentwell For my part, it is my intention, as Patch, long as the pleasure of correfponding Ifabinda with thee fhall remain, to do ftriét juftice to the numerous virtues of the natives of this ifland, but at the fame time not to let their follies, equally numerous, escape without merited reproof. And in this undertaking, ftrange as it may appear, I do not detpair of being encouraged by the English themfelves; they poffefs an ingenious mode of parrying the wea mr. Johnston. mr. Deans. mr. Jones. mrs. Deans. mrs. Jones. To conclude with the farce of Gaylefs, mr. Johnston. mr. Jones. Melita, Mrs. Trippet, mis. Jones Gadabout, Kitty Pry, mors. Deans. Pit, 1s. Gal. 6d. To begin at 8 o'clock Tickets to be had at the theatre. The The Baths of the Emperor Julien. An Anecdote of the Fourth Century From the French. (Concluded from Page 103/ SUDDENLY the form of Savinien croffed the view of Sylvanus; the centurion made a movement to retire; the old man advanced towards him with a firm and indignant ftep Barbarian,' he cried,reftore to me my daughter.' Savinien. "I hate not taken her from thee.' Sylvanus. You infpire her mind with contempt for her father, and for every thing we hold facred beneath the heavens.' Savinien. I love her, and would fave her foul from perdition.' Sylvanus. But the is mine." Savinien. She belonged to God, before the became your daughter.' Sylvanus. What, can I not difpofe of my child ?' Savinien. No, if the Almighty communicates his grace to her. Without doubt you may take away her life, fince the laws have left thee mafter of it; but then fhall the receive from the hands of her Saviour the palm of martyrdom." Sylvanus, Abfurd reafoner, can you receive, yourfelf, this pretended palm! It is with this mayftic language that you divide and distract the em. pire; on your account it is that we feel the heavy indignation of the gods; the invafions of barbarians, the ravages of the elements, perfidies, civil war, treasons, murders, are the confequence of your abominable docirine.' Savinien. I pity you, Sylvanus! How little you know of the Chriftian faith. It will lead men back to the innocence of the firft age. How can there be contentions and wars among the children of the fame God? All corrupt paffions, all impure defires, all vices, fhall at length difappear before the light of the gofpel; : March, 1808, need of the axe of the law; all men, magiftrates fhall no longer ftand in in thort, fhall be governed by piety, moderation, brotherly love, and juftice.** Sylvanus. In the mean time we groan under all kinds of calamities, which commenced when our temples, transformed into fepulchres, were profaned by the relics of your faints; of thofe fanatics who were juftly punished for having fewed diffention among us. Go, pray over your fleshlefs bones, your heads preferved in fpirits of wine, and leave to us, our Gods, our repofe, and our children.'' At thefe words Sylvanus turned away from Savinien with horror.Anger, love, and religious zeal were now carried to their height in the heart of Savinien. To revenge himfelf on the old man, to marry his daughter, and to fave a foul; thefe three fentiments concentred in one, which inflamed and rankled in his bofom. He found frequent means to converfe with Prifcilla, who was eafily feduced by the infidious language of the Chriftian. The dread of lofing his daughter now rendered Sylvanus fevere and even cruel to wards her. She had no longer the liberty of going beyond the limits of the buildings which formed her fa ther's habitation. They looked upon the gardens of the emperor, but a ftrong iron grating prevented her from walking in them. One morning, at a very early hour, while Sylvanus was ftill afleep, Savinien, who had fucceeded in penetrating as far as this grate, and in ap prifing his mistress of his approach, thus converfed with her in fecret.My dear Prifcilla,' faid he, if you love me, you must follow me.'L Alas, I am a captive,' replied the young girl.' How? returned SaviN O O T E. tomed hour. She glided into the corner of an obfcure paffage, which led to her father's chamber. There the ftopped, and heard Marfurius relate every particular of the converfation that had paffed between her and Savinien in the morning. nien, does this vaft place, yet im perfectly built, afford no aperture through which I may enter, and, fa voured by the darkness of the night, fnatch thee from the tyrant, and eternal destruction? You might,' the replied, open a paffage, but the experiment is dangerous. Never Sylvanus was quite furious at the mind the danger, only point out the difcovery. Foaming with rage, he way I must go to reach you. I will was unable to fpeak. He could onthen take you in my arms, and ly utter a few inarticulate words. You fee this wall, at prefent unfi-Savinien! the wretch! cross the nished, with arches beneath it. It is moat! ravish from me my child! the boundary of a deep moat, intend, monfter '-' It will be eafy enough ed at fome future period, to be a con- to prevent him, and to punith him at duit for the waters of the Seine. The the fame time," faid Marfurius.-aiches are negligently inclofed. How? how eagerly interrupted I. perceive them, faid Savinien; I the old man. After having paffed will lift up one of thefe planks the arch, he will proceed to flide Heavenly powers!' exclaimed Prif down upon the scaffolding it is only cilla, in great terror, you will fall to remove a few boards, and the feaf down a dreadful precipice. There is fold is taken away; and, inftead of only one of the arches over which fixing his foot upon a folid bridge, as you can pafs in fafety; it is the fe- he is led to expect, he will inftantly cond. A fcaffolding is behind, by be hurried down, and dashed to piemeans of which you may easily crofs ces-nothing can poffibly prevent it." the moar that feparates the wall from the private gardens of my father. Enough, faid Savinien, an hour after fun-fet you thall be under my protection,' At thefe words Prifcilla fainted away. When the returned to her fenfes, her father and Marfurius were not to be found. She tried to go into Sylvanus's garden. The doors of communication were locked. A chilly horror crept through her veins.The fun was fet. The hour fast ap proached when her lover was to ar Here they bade each other adieu, and feparated; but they had been overheard. Marfurius, overfeer of the gardeners, being up early to fet his men at work, paffed by at a little difive at the appointed fpot. She ran tance, while the lovers were converf ing. Diftinguishing the voice of his mafter's daughter, he had stopped to liften, and when they parted, he re; fumed his way without faying a word.. In the evening, just before the fun went down, Maifurius afked to fpeak with Sylvanus. Prifcilla, tormented with that anxious fufpenfe which always, agitates the heart between the time of forming an important projea and the moment of its execution, hurried in violent emotion through every apartment of the palace. She faw Marfurius enter it at an unaccuf over the palace, which was now to her a prifon, but she was almost infenfible to the furrounding objects; the knew not what fhe did, nor what the thould do." The only fpot which commanded a view of the garden, was a terrace planted with divers thrubs, and fituated beneath the roof of the great hall of the public baths. From this elevated terrace, the could fee her fa ther's gardens, thofe of the emperor, N OT E. it is well known that the emperors had hapis to their baths, the ufe of which they appro priated to the publi. This hall and the terrace ftill remains and |