Total Disbursements....... £7258 5 3

Father Anactasio.......

Father Nicolo....

....

Mr. Holland.
Mr. De Camp.
Mr. Cooke.
Mr. Maddocks.

Benedetto, viceroy's steward Mr. Penlev.
Marchioness of Caprara... Mrs. Powell.
Josepha
Mrs. H. Siddons.
Teresa.
Mrs. Sparks.
Grandees of Messina, Mouks, Maskers,
Fishermen, Servants, &c.--The scene lies at
Messina, in the island of Sicily.

Fable.-Venoni, a young Sicilian nobleman, was on the point of marriage with Josepha, when her parents were obliged to visit the court of Naples. During their absence, Josepha was placed in a convent, where, it was reported, she shortly after sickened and died. Grief for her loss for a time robbed Venoni of his senses; and on his recovery he entered the monastery of St. Mark's, which was only separated by a party-wall from the convent of the Ursulines, in which Josepha was said to have expired. At this period the pisse commences-Venoni is on the eve of pronouncing his vows; when father Michael gives him a letter from the abbess to the prior of St. Mark's, which explains, that Celestino, the prior, had failed in an attempt upon Josepha's virtue, and that her removal from the world had been thought necessary, to prevent her divulging to her parents the infamous conduct of the abbess and her confederate. Blinded by fury, Venoni shews this letter to the prior, who says to his holy brethren, "we are all discovered"-in consequence Venoni is prevented from leaving the monastery, and confined in a subterraneous dungeon, where the preceding victim of Celestino's rage died, after

On the recital of the fate of this victim to the rage of Celestino, we certainly expected something very terrible to follow, from the author's well known taste for the terrific and marvellous; in truth we began to pity the audience, and the lines of the Poet, describing a dead nian and another audience, immediately

same into our recollection.

The dead man gave a groan..................
They groan'd, they star'd, they all uprose,
Nor spok'd, not mov'd their eyes:
'Had it been strange, e'en in this play,
To have seen that dead man rise?

having been confined twenty years, and which the prior believes to be unknown to all except himself and his accomplices: but father Mi chaef having suspected the existence of such a dungeon, has traced out the way to it, and has tens to apprize the viceroy. In the meanwhile, Veroni, endeavouring to escape from hispri son, knocks down the party-wall, and thus breaks into the adjoining convent, and discovers his mistress, likewise in a dungeon, who had not been put to death, but closely confined; and the deliverance of both is shortly after produced by the arrival of father Mi chael, with the viceroy and Josepha's parents.

Dangle.-Excellent, i'faith-But won't this appear rather improbable ?

Puff. To be sure it will; but, what the plague! a play is not to shew occurrences that happen every day; but things just so strange, that though they never did, they might have happened I-SHERI

DAN.

Notwithstanding this anthority, we cannot help avowing that we think the incidents of this play never did, or are ever likely to happen. There is such a mixture of horror and improbability about thein that defies even, all credibility; for who can believe that Celes-. tino, the prior of St. Mark, could live on such terms of intimacy and friendship, as he is

represented to do with the marchioness of Caprara, while he is keeping her daughter Josepha during the period of twelve months in a tremendously horrid subterraneous cave, lighted only by the melancholy glimmer of a sorry lamp, because she would not consent to his libidinous passion; at the same tjune cajoling her mother and all her friends, with the tale that she was dead and buried, in the convent of the Ursulines, in which her relations had placed her?-But this burying alive is not alt: we have insanity and inurder to bout, insomuch that our author again, as Shakespeare says, "waxes desperate with imagination," as he was wont to do in the MONK, and his othergloomy and most extravagant productions. His predilection for caverns, ghosts, blacks, and other strange auxiliaries to his muse, fortified us in the expectation of witnessing something not to be met with every day, either in castle, cloister, or prison; but notwithstanding this, the denouement of Venoui, is so horrid and improbable, and the pantomime atrocity so very glaring, that it excited the universal disgust of the audience; and, like them, we more than once. wished the curtain would fall to relieve us from terrors no one could give credit to.

had

The noise and confusion was so great at the latter end of the piece that we could not by any means discover what became of the prior. and his holy brotherhood, who were all represented to be villains alike, in compliment,

we suppose, to the reigning sentiment lately in vogue in France (that all priests are rogues) whence this piece derives its origin. It is taken from the French drama entitled Les Victimes Cloitrées, which was performed at Paris with great success; and when it is considered how forcibly it attacks the monks, we cannot in the least be surprised, as that order of people has been, by the fashionable philosophical currency, subjected to the most unmanly attacks of writers who chose to level their sarcasm and illiberality at them when they had not even the privilege of defending theinselves from la liberté et l'égalité.

monastery of St. Mark. This pair of duni geons fills the whole front of the stage. A

C. The party-wall that divides the two dun geons, and which is knocked down by the exertions of Venoni-a feat we believe not to have been equalled since the days of Guy Earl of Warwick, or of Jack the Giant-killer. No. 2. represents the dungeons after the exertions of Signor Venoni's athletic powers. Of the performers, the most prominent was Elliston, who pourtrayed the character of Venoni with an interest and ability, which fairly entitled him to the applause he received. His industry has more than once reminded us of the just observation Garrick made to one of our friends: "If the performers, said he, would only be industrious, and apply that time to the study of their profession which they do to taverns and dissipation, you would have much better acting than you have; AND

THE MORAL CHARACTER OF PLAYERS RE

The audience manifested great disapprobation; and much must be cortailed to ensure it even a short run; the third act can never remain on the stage, in its present state. A most ridiculous masquerade scene helped to lengthen the play without producing any other effect, than that of adding weight to what was already too heavy; although like TRIEVED; for any part, to preserve my re the comic wit of the piece it was intended to putation, I assure you that I am obliged to lighten it. Apropos, of this wit the following devote all my time to my profession, From is a specimen: the scene, as our readers have appearance, Elliston seems to be closely fol already been informed, lies at Messina; Be-lowing this advice; if so, he need not doubt nedetto says, "It I were a senator I would of success; and what is still more in have an act of parliament to prevent fat favour, he may bid defiance to those « people from walking out in the dog days."

In fact the humourous parts of the plau reptiles about the press (hinted at in page 580

of our present volume), who praise or abuse in proportion to the plunder they do or do not obtain, and whose base prostitution frequent makes good bad, and bad worse; to borrow phrase from Owen Feltham's Resolves, their foolish sentences dropt upon paper set folly on hill, and are a monument to make their infamy eternal."

produced no laughter; but it would be doing
great injustice to the author not to avow that
the language of the serious parts is in generally
highly creditable to him, eliciting fine senti- a
iments, finely expressed. When it is pub-
lished we shall notice some of those passages
which struck us as particularly worthy of
attention.

We present our readers with a slight representation of the situation of the hero and he roine in the last scene, by which they will be enabled to judge of its probability. Such of them who have been abroad will be surprised to see a convent and a monastery so nigh each other, and perhaps may exclaim, as a highly distinguished foreigner did to us, on viewing this exhibition: Diantre, nous autres, nous n'avons jamais vu pareille chose dans le monde mais, croyez-vous que John Bull l'avalera?

Mr. Lewis's Pair of Dungeons.

thor, in consequence of the marked disappro On Wednesday evening, Dec. 7, the aubation of the audience, desired it to be announced that he would withdraw the piece, to write an entire new third act. On the same morning appeared the following paid for puff, in a diurnal print :

"Indeed, this new drama seems to unfold new beauties every successive representation. It was disputed, however, which had more admirers, Venoni, or Love in a Tub; the latter certainly appeared universally to please."

Thus it appears that a contemptible dance has universal admirers, while Venoni, not withstanding its new beauties every night, is left in the minority, and obliged to be written over again!-Surely this is a strange way of puffing, and worthy only modern managers, modern authors, and modern newspapers

an

been done away, although Ludovico, THE DEAD
MAN, has really been brought to life, as our
readers will perceive by the following account
of the new third act. nav būs 21033
* It opens with a view of the inside of
awful subterraneous dungeon, where Celes-
tino and his confederates determine to fix the
last abode of Venoni, whom they convey
thither. There Venoni meets the Mouk Lu-
dovicu, (spoken of in the play, as dying, afier
having been confined 20 years, in the vaults of
the monastery) and informs him, that he
has discovered an outlet that leads to the
convent, but that the door to the passage
is strongly bolted; this door, Venoni, by
means of a bar found in his dungeon,
breaks down, and thereby escapes. The next
scene discovers the Abbess and Coelestino
consulting about the future disposal of Jose
pha, and concludes with his determination to
possess her. Josepha is then brought blindfold
ed into a dungeon, near the hall of the convent,
and left, as if to be confined there for ever;
when suddenly, after a solemn symphony on
the organ, the scene draws and discovers the
Abbess with her sister companions in the hall,
which is finely illuminated and prepared for a
Banquet, here, while the Abbess is persuading
Josepha to listen to Celestino's designs,
Venoni breaks in, and recognizing Josepha,
endeavours to carry her off, but is prevented
by the entrance of Celestino and his party;
who, while parting the lovers, is himself sur-
prised by the entrance of Father Michael,
with the Viceroy, and a party of guards at one
door, and the father and mother of Josepha
through another door of the convent and the
piece concludes.

Mr. Munden.37

Diapers. Cleveland... Mr. Brunton Wormwood .......ab... Mr. Farley or Frank.........Mri:Jones, 19 Jeffry......sland Mr. Davenport. Jane (Niece to Diaper) Miss Norton... € Susan6.68osta Told Mrs. Gibbserebra Fable. The whole af the business of this piece turns on the strange infatuation which possesses. Diapen, a wealthy tradesman, of being esteemed ca dramatic writer of emis

ence; toestablish this character the bas constructed; atragedy called to Gunpowder Treason, or the fifth of November, for the success of which being very anxious, he prevails upon Cleveland. A young man of liberal acquirements, to acknowledge the new piece coming out to be his. Cleveland ac cedes to this, desirous of recommending himself as the professed admirer of his niece, Jane, an accomplished girl, who is also auached to him, but whose haud Diaper is determined to bestow upon no one, but a man of genius. Gunpowder Treason is hissed off the stage, but a comedy performed the same night at the other house, and which is com pletely successful, is declared by Cleveland to be his production On this, Dioper, glad to hush up the whole business, gives his niece to Cleveland, and the piece concludes. The auxiliary characters of Wormwood, a snarl ing critic, and Frank, Jeffry, and Susan, confidential servants, &c. give some variety to the picture

This farce is said to have been written by the late Mr. Tobin; and if it were possible for us to forget, the sources from whence he drew this rather improbable piece of pleasan try, it night pass as a very able effort of his This alteration was received with much apgenius in the farcical line. It is taken from plause, particularly by those who, like oura tale of Marmontel, anglicised in Foote's sek es, had witnessed the ridiculous exhibition Patron, and from a French dramatic proverb of a pair of dungeons, the party-wall, and its entitled-l'Amateur; and, lastly, from the Cridetnolition. But the denouement would have ic, of which it is so close and flagrant an been rendered still more complete if the ci-de-imitation that la chose saule aux yeux, as the vant dead man, Ludovico, had been introduced in the last scene, and confronted with his infamous superior, Celestino.

970.07

HAYMARKET THEATRE.

&

On Monday, Dec. 5, we descended by thirteen steep steps into the cavern of this theatre, yclep'd the pit, not for our own pleasure for we have never entered it with that sensation since the death of the smothered victims to whose sad manes the managers and proprie tors have never elevated, by way of nonus meut, any barrier against similar accidents, notwithstanding the catastrophes of Sadler's Wells, and Covent Garden theatre, our duty the Panorama therefore led us to report farce entitled the School for on the new Authors, of which the following are the Dramatis Personæ :

French say. Some of the expressions and characters, are merely disfigured, as beggars do stelen children, to make them pass for their own."Diaper from the Minories is another Sir Fretful; Wormwood is Sneer, and poor Susan an ignorant kind of Mrs. Dangle. Frank, Diaper's footman is cer tainly not in the Critic,-yet, like Dangle, he is represented to be a judge of dramatic literature he is, moreover, a writer of criticisms, and a Reviewer. Diaper, is performed by Munden, who substituted mummery_and oaths for that superior kind of acting, we have so frequently witnessed in the Sir Fretful Plagiary of the inimitable Parsons. Frank, the footman, was ably supported by Jones-this character seems to have been designed by the author as a vehicle to ridicule thewriters of criticisms on the drama in the newspapers; and when we reflect on the trash that issues from