which contributed much to the salvation of the play, were the introduc tion of the young Prince, Alfonso, at the moment when Melfi was about to place the crown on his own head, and the snatching of the cloak by Julian from the lifeless body of his wife, and throwing away his disguise in the presence of D'Alba: these incidents, although favourable to this production, would disgrace a regular drama. There is only one female character, a lady of high birth without a single female attendant or friend; a sure sign of sterility of invention. No introduction of inferior personages to relieve the tiresome monotony of titled grandeur and worthless ambition, both of which are now too contemptible to interest the thinking part of the community. We must, however, conclude our criticism of this production as a regular drama, and say one word of it as a poem, because we can then speak of it with commendation. If this play had been published in parts, under the title of "Dramatic Sketches," we should have been foremost in assigning to it considerable merit : it is written with good taste, free from inflation either of sentiment or style, harmonious in the verse, skillfully varied in its periods, and highly indicative of mental power, that might rise to considerable eminence in any literary flight short of tragedy or epopee.

We cannot omit this opportunity of paying a just homage to the great talents of Macready; they were perhaps never exerted with more felicity, and Miss Mitford certainly owes to him, and to him alone,the temporary success with which her play is honoured; we can commend no other performer except Mr. Bennet, who certainly in the character of Melfi surpassed any of his former efforts. The character of Alfonso is too insipid for any display of histrionic talent, and Miss Foot is certainly as good an actress as it deserved. Of Miss Lacy, in Annabel, we wish we could be silent, and, if she were a better actress or was gifted with original talent, we would caution her against a servile imitation of Macready; especially in her rapid transitions from impassioned declamation to an undertone, which, unless it is managed with the greatest naturalness, is never effective and often ridiculous. This lady, though a very respectable second-rate actress, is incompetent to the higher walks of tragedy, and her part ought to have been filled by Miss F. H. Kelly; but we find from a recent paragraph in a very respectable

morning paper, that this excellent actress has fallen under the ban of the manager's displeasure. It is there stated that the part of Annabel was first given to her, but when, after studying the part, she attended at the rehearsal pursuant to the usual summons, she was then, for the first time, informed that the character was given to another! When we read this paragraph we were exceedingly astonished, and could not determine whether the alteration was more injurious to the interests of the theatre, more disrespectful to the public, or more insulting to an amiable and accomplished young lady, who is indisputably the only tragic actress on the stage. As the public have a right to require the exertions of all the best performers on every proper occasion, we are justified in demanding why Miss Kelly has been excluded from the part which was assigued her; and why she is kept from appearing on the stage. Her Juliet has placed her far above any of her competitors, and the town is anxious to see her in all the characters in which she is reported to excell. It is the manager's interest to bring her forward, and therefore we cannot imagine why he suffers her to remain inactive; and, as she is Mr. Macready's pupil, we wonder why he should not on this occasion have protected her, especially as the casting of the characters was entirely in his power. Surely it could not proceed from jealousy? It is currently reported that the manager has tried Miss Kelly at rehearsals in many leading characters, and that she is found totally incapable. Surely this report must be a malignant attempt to crush her rising reputation in the bud; for we cannot conceive the anomaly, that she should be an excellent Juliet and yet incapable of acting other characters with eclat. Many good judges of dramatic talent have seen her act at provincial theatres both in England and Ireland, and speak of her performances with rapturous applause; therefore we think, if this rumour is without foundation, Miss Kelly ought to have been advised to contradict it publicly, and not suffer her reputation to be blasted by the intrigues of envious friends or insidious enemies. We feel a strong interest in every thing that relates to the development of great genius in every department of art or science, and for this reason only we shall resume the subject in our next dramatic article, unless a proper expla nation of this mysterious business is previously given to the public.

NUMEROUS petitions have been presented during the month to both Houses of Parliament praying for parliamentary reform, for a diminution of the excessive expenditure of government, for an alteration in the present system of tithes, and for various other improvements in our polity. Petitions have also been presented in great number representing the distressed state of the agricultural interests, and praying for various modes of relief. A decidedly novel feature has of late been introduced into many of the petitions to Parliament respecting agricultural distress. We allude to the doctrine, now so openly avowed, of reducing the amount of payments to the fundholders. This doctrine has as yet found but few supporters in either House, and it is obvious that such a mode of relieving the public burdens could be justifiable only in the last emergency, and after every other method and resource had been resorted to. The very great fluctuations in the value of the currency, caused by the excessive issue of paper and finally by the return to a gold standard, have we believe affected almost every private and public mortgage or bond transaction, and there are few stock-holders or parties to mortgages who are not receiving more or less mutatis mutandis than was originally agreed for; but the absolute impossibility of rectifying this evil by any general measure, and the utter impracticability of going into every individual transaction, render all men of sense and probity averse to any interference on the part of government, with respect to adjusting either private or public debts with a reference to the alteration in the standard or value of money.

The House of Commons have expressed a determination not to depart from the present principle of the insolvent laws; but the Solicitor-General has pledged himself to propose an alteration of the present act as to many of its details.

A Committee of the Lords has been formed to take into consideration the Marriage Act passed last Session; and six petitions have been presented to the Lords from dissenters praying to be relieved from the necessity of complying with those doctrinal points of our marriage service, which are con

trary to their consciencious views of religion.

A bill has been brought into Parliament to enable his Majesty to dispose of the private property he acquired before his coming to the throne.

Mr. Whitmore, on the 26th of February, brought forward the subject of the Corn Laws. He traced the present agricultural distress to the reaction of the unnatural stimulus which had been given to agriculture during the war. He proposed that the non-importation price of foreign corn should be reduced by 2s. per ann. till it reached to 60s. which, supposing the duty to be 128. the quarter, was as low as foreign corn could ever be sold in our markets. His motion was lost by a majority of

53 over 25.

Mr. Maberly brought forward a plan for the reduction of the national debt. His principle was a compulsory redemption of the land-tax; the price of redeeming to be applied to the reduction of the debt. He computed that the whole land-tax would be redeemed in seven years, and the debt reduced by 40,000,0001. The Chancellor of the Exchequer opposed the motion, on the ground that the plan in seven years would work itself out, and leave no Sinking Fund at all. Mr. Ricardo acquiesced in the principle of the plan, but urged that it ought not operate to the extent of more than 5,900,0001. per amu. Mr. Baring opposed the plan in toto, whilst Mr. Tierney supported it-For the motion 72, against 157, majority 85.

Mr. Whitmore presented a petition from the East India merchants, praying an equalisation of the duties upon East and West India sugars. Last year an additional duty of 5s. per cwt. had been laid on East India sugar; the cultivation of any produce by free labourers is so much more cheap than its cultivation by slaves, that, notwithstanding the greater length of voyage, the East India merchant can uudersell the West India merchant in the British market, and the additional duty laid upon East India sugar is in fact a bounty upon the slave system. Mr. Whitmore's motion was opposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and was lost.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer

He observed that but for the mode of Mr. Vansittart's reducing the 5 per cents., the reduction of the debt might have been 10,000,000l. more. He calculated that our excess of revenue above expenditure was now 5,000,0007. and he took that calculation as the substraction of all his plans, and therefore moved that the sinking fund should be fixed at that sum. He wished to avoid Mr. Vansittart's former practice of paying over money from the consolidated fund to the hands of the commissioners of the sinking fund, as it was at once nugatory, troublesome and expensive, and he proposed to pay to these commissioners out of the revenue the sum of 5,000,000l. annually, the interest of which sum of 5,000,000l. was to accumulate at compound interest until it amounted to one per cent. on the total of the debt. Mr. Hume referred to Treasury documents, contradicting the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement. By these papers it appeared that in 1816 the charges on the debt had been only 31,724,6007, and that in 1822 the charges were 31,966,000,7. and so that instead of any diminution of the debt by the sinking fund, there had been an annual increase of 720,000l. the diminution which the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke of arose from the falling in of annuities, and by unclaimed dividends. Mr. Hume then went into numerous statements, and referred to numerous documents to prove the absurdity of borrowing on one hand and redeeming with the other. He was supported by Mr. Ricardo, whilst several members reprobated the shameful mode of keeping the government accounts, which were so confused that the most able members drew from them results differing annually by the amount of several millions. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's resolutions were put and carried.

The most important business which has occupied the attention of the House of Cominons, has been that relating to the Irish Church Establishments. Mr. Goulbourn has brought in two bills, the one promoting a temporary and the other a permanent commutation of tithes. A kind of select

Charges upon the Debt. £.32,310,015

.....

29,262,752

3,047,263

vestry was to regulate the temporary commutation. A commissioner being appointed on the part of the rector, and another on the part of the parishioners. The average price of corn for three years is to be the standard of commutation, and the compact is to be renewed every three years. With respect to the permanent abolition of tithes, this was to be effected by an exchange of tithes for an adequate proportion of land.

Mr. Hume moved for an inquiry into the whole church establishment of Ireland, and supported his motion by the following data and arguments. The church was merely a civil institution, formed differently by the laws of different countries, it had been entirely altered twice by our laws, and modified by those laws repeatedly. The whole church property had been alienated from its original possessors and differently disposed of by Henry VIII., and every government in Europe had at different times altered the amount and application of church property, and that there were consequently a sufficient number of precedents for the interference of government with respect to the church establishment of Ireland. That the revenue of the church was given to the clergy in payment of the performance of clerical duties, but that the dignitaries and the greater part of the clergy of Ireland were always absent from their country. The population of Ireland was 6,800,000, of which only 490,000 were of the established church, and for this small number there was the enormous establishment of 22 bishops and arch-bishops, 33 deans, 108 dignitaries, 178 prebendaries, 107 rural deans, 52 vicars, 20 choristers, 14 canons and 175 officers of the consistorial courts, and 1289 beneficed clergymen. These consumed about 3,300,000l. per annum, and which sum was most unequally divided. The Arch-Bishop of Armagh having nearly 20,000l. per annum, besides an enormous revenue from lands. Of 1289 incumbents 531 were non-residents, and it was to be observed that this enormous revenue was wrung from the most suffering population on the globe. He proposed

DURING the month we have had very little authentic news from the South East of Europe, but the complexion of all the reports arriving from Turkey is decidedly favourable to the cause of the Greeks. These people appear in quiet possession of the Morea.Chourched Pacha has been obliged to abandon Attica, and the Greeks are besieging the castle of Corinth, which is expected soon to surrender, and its fall will greatly facilitate the advance of the Greeks towards Macedonia and Thrace. The struggle, which the Greeks have maintained for liberty against their numerous and ferocious adversaries, is as honourable to their national character as their brightest deeds in ancient history; and these brave people will hereafter have to boast, that they effected their great object without the assistance of any Christian state in Europe. Six centuries ago, Europe poured her myriads to conquer the Crescent, and the preaching of a single Hermit was sufficient to inspire thousands with the religious enthusiasm; now Europe has beheld the Crescent in contest with the cross, and the sword of the Infidel has drunk deeply of the blood of the Christian; yet neither the zeal of religion, a love of freedom, nor even the sympathies of humanity have roused a single state of Europe to defend the Greek cause. We believe that it is impossible for any nation to be more unanimous upon any question, than the English now are in their sentiments against the iniquitous invasion of Spain by the Bourbons. From the First Lord of the Treasury to the mechanic, all are united in one common feeling against this anjust war. The Spaniards seem to meet their

danger with an admirable mixture of fortitude and prudence. Aware that they will be unable to meet the enemy in great battles upon the plains, they have adopted a plan of warfare suited to the nature of their country, and which, although it require heroic sacri'fices on the part of all classes of the people, has never been known to fail as a mode of resistance to an invading enemy. It is moreover a species of warfare which the Spaniards of all people have shewn themselves the most capable of carrying on with success. They triumphed by it over the Moors, after they had possessed parts of their country for centuries. Our great Lord Peterborough, in the reign of Queen Ann, was eventually foiled by it in Catalonia; and even that extraordinary genius, Napoleon, sunk before the persevering mountain warfare of the Spaniards. The government of Madrid bave resolved upon giving up the open country to the French, who will exhaust their forces by detachments to "keep in subjection the cities and populous districts. In the meantime the Spaniards from the mountains will hang upon their flanks and rear,, intercept convoys and detachments, and beat them in detail. The Spaniards possess several impregnable fortresses which they have garrisoned and provisioned, so that they may form points d'appui during the whole war; Figueras, Barcelona and Cadiz are among this number. In the mean while it is intended that Mina shall advance into France, and raise the tri-coloured standed as a rallying point for the numerous Freuch, who are known to be disaffected to the government of the Bourbons.

tin, falling one over the other,are placed at the edge of the border. These are surmounted by a rich festoon trimming of white crape, consisting of full puffings, each festoon headed by an Asiatic diadem, divided by pearls, which gives a most splendid effect to this truly novel and unique kind of trimming. The body and sleeves are elegantly simple, the former having only a slight ornament of fine lace round the bust, with a few puffs of lilac satin the sleeves are very short, not full, and are bound tight round the arm with a broad band of satin.

At a General Court of Proprietors, the Bank Directors announced the intentions of allowing a dividend of only 4 per cent., instead of 5 per cent. as formerly.

A Committee for the purpose of aid ing the Greeks has been formed in the metropolis, whose object is to give action and effect to the sympathy which is so widely diffused over the country. The meetings are held at the Crown and Anchor in the Strand; many Peers and Members of Parliament are included in the Committee, and Mr. Bowring is the Hon. Secretary, NEW FASHIONS. - Ball Dress.Round dress of amber coloured crape, a puckering of gauze of the same colour at the border, finished by rouleaux, wadded very full of white satin, with full blown white roses, and a few leaves of green foliage; under each rose is an antique ornament of the rosace kind, composed of white satin, with a tuft of amber in the interior. The body of this beautiful dress is of satin, and is elegantly diversified by white silk cordon and fine blond; the front of the bust is finished by a narrow falling tucker of blond; and the shoulders ornamented by bows of white satin ribbon, The sleeves are white, and are trimmed to correspond with the skirt, except that the flowers are left out; they are finished by the rouleaux in points, with the rosaces in the centre of the sleeve, encircling the arm. The hair is arranged a la Sappho; and round the Lesbian braid at the back part of the head is placed a wreath of full blown roses and laurel leaves. The earrings and neclace are of fine pearls; the earpendants superbly set.

Evening Dress-Dress of Urling's Patent Lace over a slip of lilac coloured satin. Three French tucks of white. saEur. Mag. March, 1823.

Walking Dress-A deep amethyst

'wadded and lined with pink sarsuet; a little wrapt and fastened down the front with hooks and eyes; corsage, made plain and high, ornamented with tasselled chevronelles; circular projecting collar of velvet, of a deeper hue than the silk; two rows of velvet are placed down the front and round the bottom of the skirt; sleeve nearly to fit, with velvet cuff, and full epaulette, intersected with velvet straps. Ru of Buckinghamshire lace; cap of the same, fastened under the chin with button and loop. Bonnet of the same silk as the pelisse, bound with broad velvet, and lined with pink satin; the front bent à la Maria Stuart; the crown surrounded with inverted couical rouleaus of velvet, equi-distant, commencing with a silk knot; plume of ostrich feathers of a bright amethyst colour, placed on the right side, and falling low on the left shoulder.

Evening Dress,-Dress of pink gres de Naples; corsage to fit, edged with pink satin, and slashed to the form of the stomacher; the interstices or scollops, are filled with pink gauze, connected by circlets and forming a tasteful chain, which continues to the waist behind, and gives the shape of the back; full court sleeve confined with straps, bound with satin, satin circlet fastening the ends; a band of satin and full trimming of fluted gauze finish the sleeve, which is of a moderate length. The skirt is decorated with a fanciful trimming of double gauze; each division of the puff derobé is supported by a satin rouleau, and the lower part projects as far again as the upper; sprigs of the lonicera sempervirens, or great trumpet honeysuckle, are disposed at regular distances above, and beneath it is a satin rouleau; and the hem wadded. Broad pink satin sash, double bow and long ends.

M