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the principal performers; they are all emigrants from "the snug bit of land in the ocean." Mr. Bernard is recently engaged, and is a general favourite in co medy; he plays Gregory Gubbins, Sharp, Abednego, Lazarillo, and Lord Ogleby, in excellent style; his Puff is not so good. Mr. Barret (from Norwich) is our chief tragedian; his Osmond, Rolla, Gondibert, Benyowsky, and Abɑelino, are very good; he is also considerably admired in Hamlet, Old Norval, Benedict, and Harry Herbert. Mr. Jones arrived from England about thrêë years ago; he is since much improved; he plays Glenalvon very well, and generally sustains the genteel characters in comedy very respectably. Mr. Wilson (said to be brother to Mrs. Jordan) is a tolerable comic performer; his Mungo is excellent; Mr. Wilmot plays stupid servants very well; Mr. Darley is much admired as a singer; Mr. Dickenson supports the characters of old men very well, particularly Sir Robert Bramble, in the Poor Gentleman, which had a run of ten nights here last season. Mr. Bignall is a low comedian of some merit. Mr. Taylor would be a respectable actor in any theatre, were it not for his frequent connexion with the bottle; he was formerly the best Octavian and Ranger we have had, Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock are not with us this season; their son, a lad about sixteen years of age, made his debût this season in Norval; his perform→ ance proved him a legitimate scion from the Kemble stock. Of the actresses, Mrs. Jones (the American Jordan,) is the favourite; she plays Beatrice, Little Pickle, the Country Girl, and other parts of the kind, extremely well; her claim is undisputed to the characters which require an agreeable naiveté, or musical talents. Mrs. Darley is an actress of considerable merit, in the same line with Mrs. Jones. Tragic heroines are scarce with us. Mrs. Powell (wife to thei manager, and late Miss Harrison,) takes the principal parts; her figure is good, and her action is not much amiss, but her playing affords but little pleasure to those who have seen your great tragic actresses in London, or our Whitlock or Merry. Mrs. Barrett would rank considerably high as an actress in tragedy, not for her very unpleasant voice; her intonation is extremely unpleasant: she always "mouths it." Mrs. Graupner is an inferior actress, with some musical powers. Mrs. Bernard is a good representative of Kitty Pry, Mrs. Bignell is an inferior actress in the same line. Mrs. Baker is a respectable Old Woman.

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Theatre LEWES.-On Monday, the 5th December, an unpleasant disturbance arose at this theatre, between the barrack artificers and some military officers stationed in that town. The performance was King Richard the Third, by desire of the former gentlemen, who, to render their patronage more profitable to the managers, took their seats in the boxes, and nearly filled them; but their right of possession being disputed by the officers, who came in at half-price, the whole house, in consequence, was thrown into an uproar, that threatened a catastrophe more serious than that which awaited the crook-backed tyrant, as the intemperance of the scene not only provoked hard words, and hard blows, but also the use of drawn swords; by which, however, as good luck would have it, it appeared that no material wound had been inflicted, when the tumult was appeased by the arrival of a peace officer, whom the military gentlemen sent for, and charged with seven of the most active of their adversaries. They were confined in the Borough prison till the next morning, and then taken before a magistrate, who

made them find sureties for their appearance to answer the charge at the next ge→ neral quarter sessions, and bound the officers over to appear and give evidence against them.

Theatre NORWICH,-Our company returned from Ipswich to this place on Wednesday last, and opened with the Stranger and the Wags of Windsor. They have since played Henry the Second and Raising the Wind, John Bull and Of Age To-Morrow, George Barnwell and Raising the Wind. Mr. Bowles junior performs most of the leading characters; he possesses judgment, and seldom offends, but he wants fire. He is much patronized, on account of the goodness of his private character; in the above plays he acted the Stranger,' • Henry the Second,' ' Tom Shuffleton,' and ' George Barnwell.'

Mr. Phillips, in Peregrine, in John Bull, was stiff and languid. Mr. Fitz gerald played Dennis Brulgruddery with spirit and a considerable share of hus mour. Mr. Holliday has comicality suited to the Norwich gallery, by whom he is generally applauded, but his Job Thornberry had none of the bold and striking features of the honest Brazier. Shakspeare's reprimand may be applied to this gentleman; "Let those that play your clowns, speak no more than is set down for them, &c." Mr. Mallinson is a young man of superior genius, and has good comic talents; his Caleb Quotem is a very creditable performance. Mrs. Worthington, a lady who, a few years since, played Imogen at Drury Lane theatre, is the heroine both in tragedy and comedy; she has feeling, grace, and expression, but wants judgment, to give her performances a proper degree of light and shade; there is a sameness that tires the ear. Mrs. Walcot is excellent in her cast of the old, talkative women. Miss Birchall speaks with propriety, and pays proper attention to the business of the scene, but is so very tall, as to present the appearance of awkwardness.

Among the other performers are the names of Eastmure, Bowles senior, Brewer, Beachem, Cushing, Smith, Bennett, Mrs. Binfield, and Mrs Phillips. January 17th.

WESTMINSTER PLAY.---The play of the Eunuch of Terence was repeated for the last time on the 13th of December, and acted in the Westminster dormitory, before a select and learned audience, among whom we noticed the Duke of York, that venerable prelate, the Archbishop of York, the learned Dr. Vincent, Sir William Dolben, &c. The female part of the audience, consisted, as usual, of the parents and relatives of the young gentlemen educated at the school. The character of Thraso, we humbly conceive, to be mistaken, as it is now performed. He should not be represented as a fribble, who wears a brilliant ring, takes snuff with the air of a petit-maitre, and wears a pink dress; who lisps affectation. The name borrowed from the Greek imports audacity. This was, undoubtedly, the character the author had in contemplation when he wrote it for the stage. Effeminate men are frequently brave, but blustering men generally cowards. This maxim is founded on experience. Many of our officers, covered with laurels, which they have earned in hard campaigns, indulge in the softest arts of dissipation when at home. The learned and sagacious Ben Jonson has drawn, we may venture to say, his Captain Bobadil from Thraso. Many are the characters which he has transplanted, from the writings of the ancients, into his own plays. The acting of the part of Thraso was good, according to the sense in which the character was taken. This metamorphosis has injured the play,

The familiar and impudent servant, Parmeno, was well supported, but why ` did the Roman servant, who of necessity talks Latin, wear a kerseymere waistcoat, blue coat, and cocked hat, or Cherea appear as an English officer, in the uniform of the present age? Could not the Roman habit be preserved without violating decency?

The Eunuch for its morality is exceptionable. This is not the case with the Andria, Adelphi, and Heautontimorumenos. The epilogue is introduced very neatly. Thraso, at the head of his army, drafted from the kitchen and scullery, previous to his storming the house of Thais, addresses his soldiers in a speech of neat Latin hexameter and pentameter verse. Many jokes against Bonaparte were successfully introduced, which set the learned benches in a roar, and spoke to the feelings of the audience.

Thraso is solicited not to expose his person, lest, meeting with the fate of war, the enemy may redemand their possessions. The verses imply, that the writer had the same idea of Thraso as we have, namely, that he is a blustering bully, a character which will well apply to the First Consul of the French republic.

DOMESTIC EVENTS.

ROYAL CORRESPONDENCE.

No. VII. (COPY.)

LETTER TO THE KING.

.

SIR-A correspondence has taken place between Mr. Addington and my self, on a subject which deeply involves my honour and character: the answers which I have received from that gentleman; the communication which he has made to the House of Commons, leave me no hope but in an appeal to the justice of your majesty. I make that appeal with confidence, because I feel that you are my natural advocate, and with the sanguine hope that the ears of an affectionate father may still be opened to the supplications of a dutiful son.--I ask to be allowed to display the best energies of my character; to shed the last drop of my blood in support of your majesty's person, crown, and dignity; for this is not a war for empire, glory, or dominions, but for existence. In this contest, the lowest and humblest of your majesty's subjects have been called on. It would therefore little become me, who am the first, and who stand at the very footstool of the throne, to remain a tame, an idle, a lifeless spectator of the mischiefs which threaten us, unconscious of the dangers which surround us, and indifferent to the consequences which may follow. Hanover is lost; England is menaced with invasion; Ireland is in rebellion ; Europe is as the foot of France. At such a moment, the Prince of Wales, yielding to none of your servants in zeal and affection, to none of your subjects in duty, to none of your children in tenderness and affection, presumes to approach you, and again to repeat those offers which he has already made through your Majesty's ministers. A feeling of honest ambition, a sense of what I owe to myself and to my family, and, above all, the fear of sinking in the estimation of that gallant army, which may be the support of your majesty's crown, and my best hope hereafter, command me to persevere, and to assure your majesty, with all humility and respect, that,

Conscious of the justice of my claim, no human power can ever induce me to relinquish it. Allow me to say, Sir, that I am bound to adopt this line of conduct by every motive dear to me as a man, and sacred to me as a prince.--Ought I not to come forward in a moment of unexampled difficulty and danger? ought I not to share in the glory of victory, when I have every thing to lose by defeat? The highest places in your majesty's service are filled by the younger branches of the Royal Family; to me alone no place is assigned; I am not thought worthy even to be the junior Major General of your army. If could submit in silent submission to such indignities, I should indeed deserve such treatment, and prove, to the satisfaction of your enemies and my own, that I am incapable of those exertions which my birth, and the circumstances of the times, peculiarly call for. Standing so near the throne, when I am debased, the cause of royalty is wounded. I cannot sink in the public opinion, without the participation of your majesty in my degradation; therefore every motive of private feeling, and of public duty, induce me to implore your majesty to review your decision, and to place me in that situation which my birth, the duties of my station, the example of my predecessors, and the expectations of the people of England entitle me to claim. Should I be disappointed in the hope which I have formed, should this last appeal to the justice of my sovereign, and the affection of my father, fail of success, I shall lament, in silent submission, his determination; but Europe, the world, and posterity, must judge between us.--I have done my duty; my conscience acquits me; my reason tells me that I was perfectly justified in the request which I have made, because no reasonable arguments have ever been adduced in answer to my pretensions: the precedents in our history are in my favour; but if they are not, the times in which we live, and especially the exigencies of the present moment, require us to become an example to our posterity. No other cause of refusal has, or can be assigned, except that it was the will of your majesty; to that will and pleasure I bow with every degree of humility and resignation ; but I can never cease to complain of the severity which has been exercised against me, and the injustice which I have. suffered, till I cease to exist. I have the honour to subscribe myself, with all possible devotion, your majesty's most dutiful and affectionate son and subject, (Signed) G. P:

Brighthelmstone, August 6, 1803.

No. VIII,

LETTER FROM THE KING.

MY DEAR SON---Though I applaud your zeal and spirit, of which, I trust, no one can suppose any of my family wanting, yet, considering the repeated declarations I have made of my determination on your former applications to the same purpose, I had flattered myself to have heard no farther on the subject.--Should the implacable enemy so far succeed as to land, you will have an oppor tunity of shewing your zeal at the head of your regiment; it will be the duty of every man to stand forward on such an occasion, and I shall certainly think it mine to set an example, in defence of every thing that is dear to me, and my people. I ever remain, my dear son, your most affectionate father,

(Signed)

GEORGE R.

Windsor, August 7, 1803.

No. IX.

Brighthelmstone, August 23, 1805.

Sir---I have delayed thus long an answer to the letter which your majesty did me the honour to write, from a wish to refer to a former correspondence which took place between us in the year 1798. Those letters were mislaid, and some days elapsed before I could discover them. They have since been found, Allow me, then, Sir, to recal to your recollection the expressions you were graciously pleased to use, and which I once before took the liberty of reminding you of, when I solicited foreign service, upon my first coming into the army: they were, Sir, that your majesty did not then see the opportunity for it, but if any thing was to arise at home, I ought to be "first and foremost." There cannot be a stronger expression in the English language, or one more consonant to the feelings which animate my heart. In this I agree most perfectly with your majesty, I ought to be the first and foremost. It is the place which my birth assigns me, which Europe, which the English Nation expect me to fill ; and which the former assurances of your majesty might naturally have led me to hope I should occupy. After such a declaration, I could hardly expect to be told that my place was at the head of a regiment of dragoons. I understand from your majesty, that it is your intention, Sir, în pursuance of that noble example which you have ever shewn during the course of your reign, to place yourself at the head of the People of England. My next brother, the Duke of York, commands the army; the younger branches of my family are either generals or lieutenant-generals, and I, who am Prince of Wales, am to remain colonel of dragoons. There is something so humiliating in the contrast, that those who are at a distance would either doubt the reality, or suppose that to be my fault, which is only my misfortune. Who could imagine, that I, who am the oldest colonel in the service, had asked for the rank of a general officer in the army of the king my father, and that it had been refused me? I am sorry, much more than sorry to be obliged to break in upon your leisure, and to trespass thus, a second time, on the attention of your majesty bnt I have, Sir, an interest in my character, more valuable to me than the throne, and dearer, far dearer to me than life. I am called upon by that interest to persevere, and I pledge myself never to desist, till I receive the satisfaction which the justice of my claim leads me to expect. In these unhappy times, the world, Sir, examines the conduct of princes with a jealous, a scrutinizing, a malignant eye. No man is more aware than I am of the existence of such a dispo sition, and no man is, therefore, more determined to place himself above all suspicion. In desiring to be placed in a forward situation, I have performed one duty to the people of England; I must now perform another, and humbly supplicate your majesty to assign those reasons which have induced your majesty to refuse a request, which appears to me, and to the world, so reasonable, and so rational. I must again repeat my concern, that I am obliged to continue a correspondence, which I fear, is not so grateful to your majesty as I could wish! I have examined my own heart; I am convinced of the justice of my case, of the purity of my motives: reason and honour forbid me to yield where no reason is alledged, I am justified in the conclusion that none can be given. In this