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394.
September 29th Julia Dean's fourth night
when she appeared with much effect in Mrs.
F. Kemble's played in five acts of "The Duke's
Wager" as Gabrielle de Belle Isle; H. A.
Perry playing Duke de Richelieu.

September 30th Miss Dean's benefit "Much
Ado About Nothing"--Beatrice Miss Dean;
Benedict Mr. Perry. Concluding this en-
gagement on the sixth night she was re-en-
gaged for six nights longer.

Monday October 3d Miss Dean appeared
in Mr. George H. Boker's new historical tra-
gedy acted for the first time on any stage
and produced with new scenery new dresses
properties banners and regal paraphernalia
&c. called "Leonor de Guzman."

This play was received with warm approba-
tion during a run of four successive nights
and was only interrupted by the engagement
of Mr. E. Forrest which was to commence
on Monday October 10.

Miss Dean's engagement concluded on Sa-
turday the 8th instant with Boker's new tra-
gedy. They introduced a new farce about
this time called "The Obstinate Family"
which was received with infinite applause.
Miss J. Dean's engagement was a success.
This lady's attractive powers were like those
of Miss Tree's. They gradually grew upon
her audience till enchantment resulted. It
was said about this time that Miss Dean was
to be united to Mr. Jones the celebrated
sculptor. If so destiny did not will it.

The dramatic literature of a country should
be cherished by its people. It is one of the
great mental instructors and as a necessary
consequence an instrument of civilization.
Our best authors have not met with that re-
ward which their poetical merits deserve.
Dr. Bird who died this year met with remu-
neration through the popularity of Edwin
Forrest. Major James N. Barker was never
adequately estimated. Richard Penn Smith
was cruelly neglected ; nor will truth permit
us to say less of Judge Conrad ; while our
esteemed fellow-citizen David Paul Brown
the orator and poet par excellence has fallen
into the same oblivious cavern of Lethe's do-
mains. Surely their dramas should be made
standard and thus keep possession of the
stage of their natal oil. Managers of the-
atres are enlightened personages or should be
so who should feel it a duty to subserve our
native drama by a revival of those shelved
plays. Both of Mr. D. P. Brown's plays of
"Sertorius" and "The Prophet of St. Paul's"
are filled with grace and beauty. They are
classic plays of original thoughts poetically
expressed in pure blank verse denuded en-
tirely of incidents vulgarly named claptraps.
Vitiated taste may have found fault with this.
We remember too well the sad sacrifice of
"The Prophet of St. Paul's" at the Walnut
Street Theatre in 1837 when E. S. Conner
produced it for his benefit giving him a re-
ceipt of $728. It was brought out hurriedly
as all benefit pieces generally are most shame-
fully imperfect in words and business. Even
thus butchered it was applauded. Wemyss
in his stage history says "How the accom-
plished author who was present bore the
murder--for it was worse than murder--of this
his second-born lives in his own recollection.
Whatever he thought he uttered no com-
plaints." These plays some of our managers

or stars should revive. They are the trustees
of the honors of our stage. The "deserving
of success" is well but the commanding it is
infinitely better. The political dictum of Ad-
dison to the contrary authors are honored all
over Europe. Mr. Sheridan Knowles whose
purity as a dramatist will ever hold his me-
mory sacred in the hearts of the moral and
virtuous had his vicissitudes of life but ever
bore himself as the honest independent man.
When Lord John Russell offered to settle on
him a pension of 100[lbs] per year he refused
the national bounty.

Monday Oct. 10th Mr. E. Forrest com-
menced an engagement in Buler's historical
play of Richelieu. He continued with Da-
mon Hamlet Metamora Macbeth Jack Cade
Othello Spartacus etc. closing Oct. 22d.

A curious incident took place on one of
Forrest's nights--an incident of a very amus-
ing kind both to the performers on the stage
and to the spectators. While Forrest was
acting one of his tender scenes in Metamora
with Nahmeokee (Mrs. Duffield) a party
seated in the stage-box held such a loud con-
versation amongst themselves that the audi-
tory became quite impatient. It became dis-
tressing to all. Forrest at length as Meta-
mora turned quickly round to the point of
annoyance and with one of his impetuous
Indian strides and terrific scowling looks
silenced them at once to the great delight of
the audience who with one general burst of
applause commended the deed while the ill-
mannered set one by one sneaked out of the
boxes accompanied by the hisses of the au-
dience.

A similar incident occurred once to Mr.
John Kemble while he was an actor in Tate
Wilkinson's corps at the city of York Eng-
land. He was playing a sense with another
performer during which a great noise was
made in a private box by a distinguished fa-
mily. After several expressive glances at the
box by way of reproof which had no effect
Mr. Kemble thus addressed the person with
whom he was playing the scene in an altered
voice from the acting tone: "As those gen-
tlemen evidently have business to talk about
we will retire until they have settled it" and
immediately left the stage with his compa-
nion. This distinguished family threatened
never to visit the theatre and demanded from
Mr. Kemble an apology for his rudeeness or
from the manager a discharge of the offend-
ing actor if he refused to comply. Tate Wil-
kinson refused at once all concession justify-
ing Kemble's course insisting that he was the
injured person and that the audience was
grossly insulted declaring that he valued the
services of Mr. Kemble more than he did the
family and their large patronage.

Mr. J. Kemble had a rival tragedian to
contend with while he was at York in the
person of a Mr. Cummins with the aspect of
sixty years on his face. The Leed's b'hoys--
the supporters of the latter--said "he was
twice as good as Kemble as Coommins could
shout as loud again as he could." Whether
the lungs of Kemble or Mrs. Siddons were loud
enough for the "Leed's Blues" (i. e. Crop-
pers as they were called) it is very certain
that the physical powers of those celebrated
histrions were not quite adequate to the large
London theatres which in size were like our
Academy of Music a building that answers
well for the reveberation of singing sounds

but destroys the acoustic avenues of speak-
ing although in tragedy the voice elevates
itself more than in comedy dialogue.

Acoustic vessels in ancient thatres were
brazen tubes shaped like a bell so used to
propel the voice of the actors thus rendering
them audible to a great distant from 400 to
500 feet. In speaking of the difficulty of ob-
taining acoustic properties in large or small
edifices it is somewhat remarkable that Gi-
rard College with its marble halls proved its
effectiveness in these matters very amply on
the occasion of Madame Sontag's singing for
the orphans at that institution in 1853. Count
Rossi and pthers of the profession said that
its acoustic properties were truly admirable
and that they had never heard her to more
advantage.

October 24th Mr. and Mrs. Barney Wil-
liams who seem to be evergreens in the thea-
trical parterres now succeeded Mr. Forrest
with their usual success in a long run of
many weeks. They commenced on Monday
evening 24th inst. with a new Irish drama
in three acts written expressly for them by
H. J. Conway called "Uncle Pat's Cabin ;
or Lights and Shadows of Lowly Life" and
"Law for Ladies."

This drama of "Pat's Cabin" ran through
out Barney Williams's engagement of two
weeks with his afterpieces closing with his
usual success on November 5th when he was
succeeded by the Irish comedian and vocalist
Mr. Collins on the 7th Nov. commencing
with "The Nervous Man vs. The Man of
Nerve;" Collins as McShane with his plea-
sing songs. He continued his performances
until November 18th in his usual characters.

November 21st Mr. James Robertson An-
derson the English tragedian with Miss
Fanny Morant now succeeded the Irish re-
presentatives. The former opened in "Ham-
let"--Hamlet Mr. Anderson; Ghost Mr. J.
B. Adams; Ophelia Miss F. Morant; Queen
Mrs. Duffield. Mr. Anderson followed with
Claude Melnotte Ingomar &c.

November 29th was produced for the first
time in this city a new play in five acts
written by Mr. John Wilkins called "Civili-
zation ; or The Huron Chief"--Hercule Mr.
Anderson ; Hortense Miss F. Morant. This
play (we think) proved very attractive and
was performed several nights successively. A
drama founded on the superstitions absurdi-
ties of the day was dramatized for the ocas-
sion called "Spirit Rappings and Table
Movings." It lived hardly a night through
contempt and laughter.

Mr. Anderson and his tragic protege Miss
Fanny Morant were re-engaged December
5th having played with the aid of the new
play up to that date with considerable suc-
cess. He played Charles de Moor in the
German play of "The Robbers" which has
been altered and adapted to the English stage
by several persons. But we think the Ame-
rican acting play as Cooper and Wood did
it by far the best. Mr. Anderson played it
from an English alteration which is not so
effective or compact as ours. On the 7th he
performed the excellent play of "The Elder
Brother."

December 12th the Rev. Mr. White's play
of "The King of the Commons" was per-
formed--King James Mr. Anderson--very
well acted by him but said to be a close imi-
tation of McCready's striking impersonation