Sept. 29. John Bull *.-Devil to Pay. 30. Haunted Tower.--Irishman in London. Oct. 2. Jealous Wife.-Deserter. 3. Heir at Law.-Rosina. 5. Haunted Tower.-Mayor of Garratt. 7. West Indian.-Weathercock. 9. Jealous Wife.-Deserter. Oct. Mr. Phillips, Mr. Horn, and others of the English Opera establishment, are added to the old company, which has experienced some losses, such as Mr. Bannister and Braham. The pieces went off with great éclat on the first night, through the excellent acting of Mr. Dowton in Isaac and Sturgeon, of Mr. Russell in Sneak, and Mr. Phillips in Carlos. Between the Opera and the Farce, this placard was dropt from the gallery into the pit, and there read aloud "John Bull victorious--Success to the Drury-lane Company-Fair -prices-Native talent-No foreign usurpers—God save the King.” * The part of Dennis Brulgy*iddery was, on the 26th, played, with permission, by Mr. Waddy, but on this night it recovered all its beams, by the return of its original representative, Mr. Johnstone. A richer vein of characteristic humour was never witnessed on the stage. Miss Ray, in Mary, looked as beautiful as light, and her acting was tolerably effective. Miss Mellon played Nell in the farce-a clumsy rogue. Miss Kelly, whose genius rapidly developes, and who promises to be a first-rate performer in this line, should have been chosen to do that justice to the part, which Miss Mellon laboured to afford it, but puffed and blowed in vain. Great confusion has prevailed amongst the corps behind the scenes of this theatre. "Two heads are better than one," it is said; but three are } not, it seems-viz. SHERIDAN, Colonel of the Somerset-house volunteers; GREVILLE, Colonel of Pic Nics; and ARNOLD, Drill-serjeant. The reason appears to be this: the first colonel cannot with propriety be seen meddling in this business; the second colonel cannot, through indisposition, join the regiment; and the whole command consequently falls on the drill-serjeant, capable enough to order such a brigade as the Lyceum, with its former muster, but rather unequal to the government of the combined forces-at least, the Drury-lane heroes seem to think so, and are, therefore, themselves all commanding-officers: In nave persa tutti son piloti. We hear that Mr. Raymond is about to return to the office of stagemanager-much may be expected from his industry and talent. Oct. 10. West Indian.-Weathercock. 11. Haunted Tower.- Mayor of Garratt. 12. Heir at Law.-Deserter. 15. Love in a Village.-Three and the Deuce. Oct. * At the word Edwin every theatrical ear is pricked; and the risible muscles will naturally bustle about and begin to prepare for their former indulgences, when we announce one of that name, of the same family, and of great reputation in comedy. Mrs. Edwin, who made her first appearance at the Lyceum this evening, is the daughter-in-law of the EDWIN: her maiden name was Richards, and she is now a widow. When Miss Richards, she performed on the boards of the late CoventGarden theatre, and we believe since her marriage, for a short time, at the Little Theatre, but at both without much celebrity. Now, however, she has acquired a very large portion by her performances for many years in all the principal provincial theatres of England and Ireland. We have repeatedly been obliged to class the fame, which has forerun these country-stars, amongst the "mendacia famæ,” but in this instance it gives us pleasure to find the judgment of the provinces so good.We always call that a good judgment which agrees with our own-it is a way of thinking not commonly confessed, but constantly acted upon! Mrs. Edwin is, we should imagine, less from her looks than certain data, about five and thirty. She is very petite in her figure, but there is as much elegance in it as the small compass will admit of. Her features are regular, and her countenance illuminated by most bewitching dark eyes, exceedingly fascinating and expressive. A mistress of stagetrick and the histrionic art, she is perfectly unembarrassed, and easy in her deportment on the stage. To these qualifications, we are told that she adds great powers of discrimination, judgment, and good sense; none of which belonging to Mr. Cherry, we are surprised at her choice of his works for the first exhibition of her talents. In a Beatrice or Violante we might have seen some of that delicate discrimination and good sense, the display of which the ingenious author of the Widow Cheerly has rendered quite unnecessary to the character. From her style of acting, it is very evident that she is an excellent performer, but of her finer powers we could form no judgment from the present personation. The Widow in this play, or lady-like novel dramatized †, is a rough sort + Amongst the blots on Mr. Cumberland's literary escutcheon, we reckon his ambition to rival Mr. Cherry in the Sailor's Daughter—he failed of course-so fell the Angels! of Oct. 16. Stranger.-Three and the Deuce. 17. Soldier's Daughter.-Fortune's Frolic. of non-descript animal, and Mrs. Edwin affected (if that be the case, for we don't pretend to understand Mr. Cherry's designs) too much of the coquette, and lady of haut ton. Her action too is, though always considerably graceful, not always very appropriate or judicious, and she has a very graceless trick of twisting her mouth to the right, which more belongs to Mr. Munden, in Nipperkin, than to any lady, in any situation whatever. We must see her in better parts, to speak of her as report has spoken of her; and, as she is engaged for some years, at eighteen guineas a-week (too much) we shall not want opportunities. The peerless Miss Farren *, (for we will call her peer-less, spite of all that Tom Dibdin may make of it) has long since withdrawn her rays for ever, and Mrs. Jordan, another sun, will soon probably set to rise no more. More elegant than the latter, and far less than the former, but with much of the witchery of both, Mrs. Edwin promises, from all we now see, to remain without a comie rival on the London boards. Two other candidates for the honours of the sock, require a very short notice. Mr. Wrench, from Bath, made his debut here on the 7th inst. in Young Belcour, and Tristram Fickle. On this night he performed Frank Heartall, and if Frank had been a fingerer of muslins behind a counter, instead of a British merchant, nephew to a governor, he would have looked the character very well—his graces of person and action are nearly equal to such a standard. About the middle size, with a good-humoured, chubby, inexpressive face, short nose, and lack-lustre bottle-gooseberry-eyes, he is something between Mr. Farley and Mr. Jones-a sort of bird between an owl and a any other you like. As the hero of genteel comedy in London, we have not met with many who boasted worse qualifications. We did not see his Tristram, in which, we are told, he shewed some very good ability. Then let him leave genteel comedy to those who have any gentility. The other debutant was Mr. Knight, from York. He played Timothy Quaint very poorly in the play, and Robin Roughhead very well in the farce. He is a short man, with a good face, but his dryness in Timothy was entirely void of humour; and having joined the Drury-lane Company, he probably thought they were still in the old theatre, for he spoke with a voice that would have delighted the last row in the one-shilling gallery of Old Drury. In the play, the upper part of his face reminded as of KING, and his voice of JOHANNOT. We think him likely to be *Now Countess of Derby. usseful useful to this company in its shattered state. They can play none of the old stock pieces at present, with any credit to a Metropolitan Theatre. Mr. Dowton is one of the very best actors on the stage. His performance of the Governor, however, forces us to give him a little advice, and it is--not to sacrifice so much to the galleries—the draughts of Applause, which he obtains by it, make him drunk, and the brandy of Mr. Cooke is not more inimical to good acting. It was easily perceivable that Mr. Holland and Miss Boyce, in Mr. and Mrs. Malfort, were man and wife, for never did two people frown at each other more desperately. If we may venture to guess at Mr. Cherry's meaning, this hapless couple, or their faces, quite mistook the passion they were required to describe. THEATRICAL CHIT-CHAT. CATALANI was to make her first appearance in the Castle of Andalusia, and play twice a-week. Reynolds had written an Opera for her, in which she had much to sing and little to say. Mrs. GLOVER, of the Haymarket, was in the straw on the 9th of September. To her multiplying we have no objection, but we hope she will not increase. Saturday, the 16th of Sept.--The Haymarket closing on the 15thDrury-Lane Company disembodied, and New Covent not opening till the 18th, made this night a singular event in the history of the drama— No ordinance, and yet no play. On the 13th Sept. HER MAJESTY, with the PRINCESSES Elizabeth, Augusta, and Sophia, attended by the DUKES of York, Kent, and Cambridge, visited and inspected the New Theatre in Covent Garden. At the celebration of the Mayor's annual dinner, Caermarthen, Sept. 19, Mr. Cherry's proposition to build a new theatre there, was submitted to the company by J. Jones, Esq. Permission was given, and the subscription more than half filled on the spot. Mr. D'Egville and his corps de ballet are, with Deshayes and his wife, engaged at Mr. JOHNSTONE's theatre, Dublin. Jaques very properly reminds us of a gross and silly falsehood," in Mr. Arnold's farewell address spoken by Mr. Raymond (see p. 190.) "He boasts of not having called iu the aid of foreign auxiliaries—refer to the bills." Mr. C. Kemble on the 18th Oct. was hooted in the Stock Exchange - such is the popular infatuation. Oct. 6.-Young Watson has engaged Catalam to sing six nights at the Birmingham theatre. She is to receive 1000l. The house holds about 300l. The newspapers inform us that " Mrs. T. Dibdin is a favourite performer here." Brummagem has taste! " The New Theatre, they say, to be turned to some other purpose. The poor of Covent-Garden parish insist on it, that they are more in need of a workhouse than a playhouse, and that it would make a very good one. The methodists, on the other hand, recommend that it be converted into a meeting, and we verily believe that if Mr. Kemble were to preach on the Sunday, and revive the performance of sacred dramas during the week, he would have no reason to complain of want of profit. There could be no sort of harm in, or possible public objection to, the conver. sion, regeneration, &c. of Mrs. St. Leger, Cooke, Incledon, &c. The Morning Chronicle of the 7th Oct. submits a plan to the public, which is well worthy of consideration. We may remark that till Walpole's time, and during some part of it, while it suited his purpose, any number of theatres was permitted—the greatest licentiousness in morals and politics was the consequence; when Walpole brought in his bill, and confined our theatres to certain patents, and the watchful eye of the master of the revels. No such vicious outrage then is now to be apprehended from an increase of theatres, seeing that the Chamberlain has not only the power of suppressing their pieces, but taking away their licence. Mrs. Siddons has been playing several nights at the Richmond Theatre, where she made just such a division of the receipts as the lion, in the fable, did of the stag. The Chronicle and other papers accuse Mr. Kemble of illiberality for turning away Mr. Pope, and filling his place for half his salary—we should surely read prydence for illiberality. Mr. Pope is an excellent Henry VIII. but "ha! ha!" is not worth 15l. a week. Mrs. EDWIN, it is reported, is followed to town by a theatrical gentleman, incog. who is not a whole man without her. We have received "A farewell epistle to Mr. Elliston on his secession from the Drury-Lane company,” signed Druriensis. It is too long for entire insertion, Extracts we can give. "Hie thee to Croydon! There in pompous state, Reign uncontroul'd, and labour to be great: There shew to wond'ring boors thy scenic skill, Shakspeare and Gay shall curse thy barb'rous rage, The man of folly, arrogant, and vain Exil'd from sense, from Drury, and the town, |