THE CABINET; OR, MONTHLY REPORT of POLITE LITERATURE. JANUARY, 1808. THE LATE MR. SUETT. RICHARD SUETT was a native of the metropolis; his father's trade was well adapted to his patronymic appellation; he was a butcher; and, it is said, he was for some time employed at St. Paul's as showman of the curiosities and wonders of that cathedral to occasional visitors. Young Suett acquired an early taste for singing, per haps from listening to the noble choir of St. Paul's. He was himself afterwards a singing-boy in one of our ca thedrals, and must have profited much by the instruction he received, for he was allowed to be one of the best musicians on our stage. When a boy, he performed some trifling part at the Haymarket Theatre; but his first theatrical engagement was with Tate Wilkinson at York, where he soon got into favour, as well as at Edinburgh, at that time superintended by the same manager; and Old Tate in his Wandering Patentee speaks very handsomely of Suett's conduct both as an actor and a man. His merit soon attracted the attention of the London managers; and, on the 7th of October, 1780, Mr. Suett made his appearance at Drury Lane, in Ralph, in the Maid of the Mill, and continued in that company till the time of his death, which happened about the middle VOL. III. A of the year 1805. His style of acting must be in the recollection of most of our readers; it was perfectly original; and his humour in particular characters, such as Endless, Dickey Gossip, Yuseph, &c. quite irresistible. We are sorry to add, that he hastened his dissolution by excesses, which sometimes exposed him to the just disapprobation of the public. The portrait we have given of him is in the character of Daniel Dowlas in the Heir at Law. A GREAT GENIUS. MR, CONDUCtor, I HAVE long regarded myself as a being endowed with no common intellect, and destined to occupy no ordinary station. With what justice I have fostered such flattering sentiments, you shall presently learn ;-give me leave in the mean time to assure you, that I am one of the most promising youths of the age; in short, Sir, a perfect genius, betraying every moment some one or other characteristic of the most transcendent mental powers which human nature is capable of conceiving. From most affectionate parents I first received the knowledge of my super-eminent talents, and to their discernment alone are you to ascribe the splendid consequences that are likely to ensue. Whilst they made me acquainted with my worth, they cherished incessantly and successfully the germs of that genius I now manifest. Innumerable peculiarities of behaviour during the early and later periods of childhood might be adduced as proofs of my native disposition to think and act for myself; this enumeration however I shall wave, and proceed to relate some of those more palpable traits which have distinguished my riper years, and which promise, methinks, the ultimate attainment of high literary eminence, and very general publicity. Upon a fair retrospect, Mr. Conductor, I believe you will find that almost every truly original character has been particularized by some singularity of gesture, gait, or growth. This, Sir, is exactly my predicament. Whether at home or abroad, I am constantly exciting surprize by a rapid succession of muscular contractions, or an eternal exhibition of involuntary exercise. In the pub |
