Alas' old friend! and are we doom'd to part!
Worn to the stump, I see thy faded form!-
You caught each soft effusion of my heart,

And form'd the glowing line with feeling warm.
Well hast thou serv'd me, and as long as well;
"Tis true with care I oft would mend thy shape,
Still thy successor boldly dares to tell,

That men, from time, no more than pens escape
Yet, though in serving me you are worn out,
This recollection soothes the parting sigh;

Ne'er hast thou taught meek virtue's mind to doubt,
Or forc'd a tear from timid beauty's eye.
Farewell, then, partner of each pensive hour,
Friend of the closet, fav'rite of the bower.

February 3, 1807.

I. M. L

THE LONDON THEATRES.

APRIL. 29.

DRURY LANE.

Duenna-Wood Dæmon.

30. [Mrs. PoWELL'S Benefit.] ADELGITHA, or the Fruits of a Single Error The characters by Messrs. Raymond, H. Siddons, Elliston; Mrs. Powell; Mrs. H. Siddons; Miss Boyce. Prologue and Epilogue, by Mr Bartley, and Mr. Elliston.-Of Age to-morrow. Maria, (1st time) Miss Duncan.

4. [Mr. ELLISTON'S Night.] Dramatist (1st time at this theatre.) Vapid, Mr. Elliston; Lord Scratch, Mr. Dowton; Ennui, Mr. Bannister; Floriville, Mr. Palmer; Neville, Mr. H. Siddons; Mariana, Miss Duncan; Lady Waitfort, Mrs. Sparks; Miss Courtney, Mrs. H. Siddons.-My Grandmother-Don Juan. Don Juan and Scaramouch (for that night only) Mr. Elliston and Mr. Mathews.

5. 6. Adelgitha-Wood Dæmon.

7. [Mrs. MOUNTAIN'S Benefit.] Mountaineers. Zorayda, (1st time) Mrs. Mountain.-Fair Circassian-Weathercock. 8. False Alarms-Wood Dæmon. 9. Adelgitha-Young Hussar. 11. [Mr. BRAHAM's Night.] Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes (1st time, and for that night only) Signora Storace; Artabanes, Mr. Kelly; Arbaces (1st time and for that night only) Mr. Braham; Semira, Mrs. Bland; Mandane, Mrs. Dickons.-No Song no Supper. Frederick and Margaretta (for that night only) Mr. Braham and Signora Storace.

12. Adelgitha-Devil to pay.

13.

Travellers-Weathercock.

14. Tekeli-Who's the Dupe-Wood Dæmon.

15. [Miss POPE'S Benefit.]* Duenna-High life below Stairs— Don Juan.

18. [Mr. JOHNSTONE'S Night.] John Bull. Dan, (for that night only) Mr. Dowton; Mary Thornberry, Mrs. Mountain.— My Grandmother.

19. Bold Stroke for a Wife-Wood Dæmon.

20. [Mr. KELLY'S Night.] Artaxerxes-The Scena from the Opera of Semiramide, by Madame Catalani, (her first and only appearance on the English stage.)-Sylvester Daggerwood-Historical Ballet of the Siege of Troy, with all the dancers from the Opera House.

21. [Benefit of Mr. BARRYMORE, and Mr. WELSH, conductor of the chorus.] Pizarro. Rolla, by Mr. Seyton, from NorwichNo Song no Supper.

22.

23.

25.

26. moon.

Adelgitha-Tekeli.
Travellers-Liar.

Romeo and Juliet-Wood Dæmon.

[Benefit of Mr. PALMER and Mrs. HARLOWE.] HoneyRolando, Mr. Palmer; Juliana, Mrs. Harlowe.-Sylvester Daggerwood-Matrimony. Clara, Mrs. Harlowe.

ADELGITHA, or the Fruits of a Single Error is a tragedy by Mr. Monk Lewis; one of the best that modern times have produced, possessing a strong and continued interest, a charm of language in some instances very powerful, and several original and affecting dramatic situations. The heroine had, while very young, fallen a victim to the seductive arts of a villain, and bears a son. Her frailty is concealed; her principles and conduct are unexceptionable. She marries a sovereign prince, who full of honour, and rigidly virtuous himself, has no indulgence for the weaknesses of others. After many years of uninterrupted happiness with her husband, her first and only transgression comes to the knowledge of a man who had found an asylum in her husband's court, but who entertains a guilty passion for his wife, and determines to make this secret, subservient to his base purposes. Her son, ignorant of his origin, has been brought up near Adelgitha's person, as a youth in whose fortunes she has taken an interest. He is arrived at maturity, and accompanying the prince, his patron, to the field, preserves his life at the hazard of his own. The prince returns victorious to his own dominions. At this period the ungrateful guest apprizes Adelgitha of the manner in which he became acquainted with her indiscretion, and signifies the only terms on which he proposes to conceal the transaction from her husband. Either alternative is dreadful. obtains, however, a little time for reflection, and resolves by an ingenuous confession, to throw herself on the generosity of her husband. She relates to him the circumstances of her own story, as having occurred to one of her female attendants; but the horror and indignation with which he receives the narrative, pre vents her from making a fuller disclosure; this heightens her agony, and plunges her into deeper despair. From this moment the scene advances in interest, which is increased by the arts of her tormentor, who surprizing the son and mother together, (the former still unconscious of the relationship) accuses him to the prince of having meditated his dishonour, and Adelgitha, to avoid the discovery of her former shame, is forced to confirm the assertion, and become the involuntary agent of her son's disgrace and ruin.

She

Such are the fruits of her single error; and by a plot thus ingenious and probable, intricate yet natural, the author has involved his heroine in a labyrinth of wretchedness, from which there is no hope of escape, and that only a distant one, but by complying with the gross desires of her persecutor. She is at length wrought to a pitch of phrenzy, and rescues herself from his menaced embrace, by burying a dagger in his heart; an incident which produces some fine effects, arising out of the peculiar

circumstances in which the remaining characters are placed, How the villain came by his death, is not known; Adelgitha cannot declare herself the author of it, without a full explanation to her husband. Suspic.on attaches on her son, who has reason to believe Adelgitha the guilty person; but to shelter her, the recollection of whose favours has not been effaced by her inexplicable conduct towards him, he avows himself the murderer. The feelings of the mother can no longer be suppressed; and the fatal secret is now divulged. The prince, after a few violent struggles between his principles and his feelings, yields to the latter, and Adelgitha's tranquillity is at last restored.

We forget all the names of the characters except Adelgitha; but these, as well as we can recollect, are the leading incidents of the tragedy, the pathos of which is heightened by an attachment between the unacknowledged son of Adelgitha, and the daughter of her enemy. From what we have here set down, however, it must be sufficiently apparent, that the play is made of good materials, and it would be unjust not to add, that to skilful arrangement, and knowledge of stage-effect, ths author has no common pretensions. The language has many recommendations, but it discovers the usual defects of Mr. Lewis's stile. It often glitters with ornament when the expressions should be simple and unencumbered. abounds with antithesis and inversion, and sometimes we have more sound than meaning. As a composition, however, it is, upon the whole, much above mediocrity, and has several very fine passages.

It

Of the moral we must say a word or two. Its professed object is to shew, that a single aberration from virtue may involve the unhappy wanderer in exquisite misery. But Adelgitha had been guilty of two errors, and it is the second of the two that creates all her distress. As a victim of seduction she is entitled to pity; the inexcusable part of her conduct is in imposing herself, thus unfortunate, on the prince, as a chaste and unspotted bride; and hence her future entanglements operate as the "judicious punishment" of her duplicity, The author has put a very objectionable sentiment into the mouth. of one of the characters

'Tis in man's power never to sin at all,

But, sinning once, to stop exceeds his pow'r.

This is a fa'se sentiment; and, to inculcate such a moral, would lead to nothing but immorality. It is useful to exemplify that sin is productive of sin, and that after one transgression the mind is prone to a repetition; that the descent of vice is easy, facilis descensus Averni; but to tell us that the career of wickedness is not to be stopped by repentance, that it is impossible to return to the path of virtue, revocare gradus, is to shut out all hope, and precipitate the children of error and misfortune headlong into the gulph of infamy.

We were sorry to see the house so indifferent; but so it is; in general the worst performers make the best benefits, and é contra; and, till benefits are totally abolished, the profession of the stage will never be truly respectable. On this subject we have much to say at the proper time.

The characters of the play were well cast, and the actors did them justice. Mrs. Powell displayed great sensibility in the arduous part

of Adelgitha. The Epilogue, full of point and pleasantry, was spoken by Mr. Elliston, in his best manner. If the tragedy had been produced at an earlier period of the season, it must have proved highly profitable both to the author and the theatre. It has been performed, as it is, eight or nine nights.

On Mr. Braham's night, Artaxerxes was an excellent treat to the musical amateur. His own Arbaces was exquisite, and Mrs. Dickons displayed very great powers in Mandane. Except by Billington, and, according to some, Mrs. Billington not excepted, the Soldier tir'd has never been sung in a finer stile of execution. While Mrs. Mountain is at this theatre Mrs. Dickons is not wanted; but how they neglect to secure her, at almost any charge, at CoventGarden, is astonishing; where they have not a female who can sing the simplest bravura in common time or tune! The Opera was repeated for Mr. Kelly's benefit, who had, besides, the aid of all the vocal and ballet strength of the King's theatre, including even the Catalani.

The performance of Mr. Seyton, from Norwich, who played Rolla, we were prevented from attending; but we hear that it was very creditable to the young man, who possesses the requisites of a good actor.

A play from the pen of Mr. Henry Siddons, and another from Mr. Eyre, both of this theatre, have been accepted by the manager. The latter is from Dr. Moore's Zeluco, a subject that affords fine dramatic scope, and we have often wondered that it had not attracted the attention of some of our stage-writers. We have seen a manuscript play from this novel, which had great poetical merit, written by the late Mr. Leftley. It passed through Mr. Colman's hands, who was of opinion, and we concur with him, that it was not well calculated for the stage. Mr. Eyre is a man of education, and having also some dramatic experience, it is very likely that he may succeed. We are sure that there are ample materials.

APRIL.

COVENT GARDEN.

29. Heir at Law-Harlequin and Mother Goose.

30. Macbeth. Macbeth, Mr. Cooke.-Ogre and little Thumb.

MAY.

1. Beggars Opera-Harlequ ́n and Mother Goose.

2.

Gamester. Beverly, Mr. Pope.-Ogre and little Thumb. 4. Tempest. Prospero (1st time) Mr. Cooke.-Harlequin and Mother Goose.

5. Grecian Daughter. Evander, Mr. Pope; Philotas, Mr. Brunton; Dionysius, Mr. C. Kemble.-Escapes.

6. Merry Wives of Windsor-Harlequin and Mother Goose. 7. Isabela. Biron, Mr. Pope.-Ogre and little Thumb.

8. PETER THE GREAT, or Wooden Walls. (1st time.) Characters by Messrs. C. Kemble, Bellamy, Pope, Munden, Waddy, Simmons, Murray, Incledon; Mrs. C. Kemble, Miss Bolton, Mrs. Davenport.