abilities which hereafter may fhine in more extended spheres of action. It is but a tribute due to the authors to record their names: Meffrs. John Smith, George Canning, Robert Smith, and John Frere; a quadrumvirate which we are not fanguine enough to hope that, we fhall fee fpeedily equalled. A Tragedy. By Mrs. Cowley. 8vo. Robinfons. The Fate of Sparta; or, the Rival Kings. 1s. 6d. THE hint of the principal incident of this piece is taken, as we are informed by the fair Authorefs, from Plutarch's life of Agis; and she has availed herfelf of it in a manner creditable to her abilities, and which fhews her a perfect miftress of what is called ftage effect. The ftory is this Chelonice, daughter of Leonidas, one of the Kings of Lacedemon, is married to Cleombrotus, the other. The monarchs differing, her husband is expelled from Sparta, chiefly through the machinations of the traitor Amphares, and her father remains triumphant. Cleombrotus having collected an army of barbarians, ravages Lacedemon, and returns to the gates of Sparta, which he preffes with a clofe fiege. The city being reduced to the laft extremity, Chelonice determines on the defperate step of paffing the guards, and throwing herself at the feet of her husband, to beg for mercy on her father and her country. This the accomplishes in the facred garb of a priestess: but as the scene is written with confiderable force and energy, we will let our Authorefs fpeak for herself. Oficer. From the town a prieftefs, With hafty steps, and accents that breathe mufic Sweet and refiftlefs as the golden lyre But here, alas! they fall on fterile earthOr muft return, unanfwer'd, to your bosom CHELONICE. Thus, holy maid lowly and wondering, greet your prefence. Oh what great be. Oh, by the flame that burns to chaste Minerva, helt Leonidas Oh, Gods! Why's this? Shall I upbraid, or Hear the impatient foldiery! Lead on! Spare me one moment.-Mars! 'tis thus CHELONICE. Doft thou deceive me? this the power of Chelonice? [Goes to the wing Stay your rafh fpeed! your prince com mands ye-Stop! Wife of Cleombrotus ! Thy honour and thy fame's deriv'd from him; Thy happinefs from the fame fource fhould flow. How dear thofe hours-for fure fuch hours have been, When thou difclaim'dft all joys but in my love. Oh filial duties, be ye ever crown'd With joy as pure as bleffeth Chelonice! [Exit, led by Cleombrotus, The abfence of Chelonice being in the mean time difcovered, her father fuppofes fhe has fled to her husband; and on her return fhe is loaded with chains and thrown into prifon. Leonidas and Amphares then confpire to deftroy Cleombrotus by treachery; and it is determined, that Amphares fhall go to the camp, tell him that his wife is falfe, and offer to give him ocular proof, by fhewing her in the arms of a favourite that very right in a grove near the city. The credulous Cleombrotus too rafhly believes the information, and promifes to be there at the hour appointed. In the mean time Nicrates, brother to Amphares, who is entrufted with the fecret of the intended affaffination, goes to the grove to warn Cleombrotus of his danger, but is himfelf ftabbed by his brother, who mistakes him in the dark for his victim. Amphares having committed the murder retires, and Cleombrotus enters. Nicrates, who is not quite dead, informs him of the plot and the fituation of Che❤ lonice, and then expires. The husband flies into the town to refcue his wife, but meets her on his entry liberated. Juft at this moment his army of barbarians burst into the city. He quits Chelonice, and haftens to repel them. After having driven them back, he is himself obliged to take fanctuary from the fury of his father-in-law in the Temple of Minerva. Leonidas demands him, and proceeds to force him from the fhrine. Cleombrotus feizes the facred knife from the altar to defend himself, when Chelonice entering fnatches the knife; and after reproaching her father with his cruelty, determines to go into voluntary banishment with her hufband. Leonidas leaves her in high indignation, but returns immediately mortally wounded by the traitor Amphares. Amphares enters, and rushes to attack Cleombrotus, but falls himself beneath the fword of the conqueror, a just victim to his manifold villainies. Leonidas then, in his dying moments, bleffes and forgives Cleombrotus and Chelonice, who reigns after his deccafe peaceably over Lacedemon. Such is the outline of the plot. The characters, particularly that of the hcroine, are well fuftained; the language is ftrong and nervous; the fituations hap pily Love in the Eaft. A Comic Opera. By the Author of The Strangers at Home. 8vo. Is. 6d. Lowndes. THE author of The Strangers at Home is a Mr. Cobb, of the India-Houfe, who has likewife produced a pleafant farce-The First Floor. He however, in attempting any thing above farce, has egregioully over-rated his talent for dramatic compofition; and of this, Love in the Eaft is a conclufive evidence. This Opera is no other than a farce of five acts, which from its length becomes intolerably heavy. Had it been compreffed into two, it would have efcaped without condemnation; but in its prefent ftate it is inadmiffible. We object to the plot as impoffible, the characters as uunatural, the wit as forced, and the fentiments as ridiculous. But to be more particular: A certain Colonel Bentley educates his only daughter as an orphan, for this curious reafon-left he fhould grow too foud of her, and fo fpoil her through too much indulgence. Now as the young Lady is brought up in the houfe of the Colonel, and under his eye, it is not eafy to fee why his calling her an orphan, rather than his daughter, fhould file or even regulate his fondness for her. If he wanted an excufe to the world, this might ferve; but it is against the foftncis of his own nature that he feeks a defence; and a mott ingenious one he has devifed: however, fo it is. Ormellina is an or phan, and is beloved by a Mr. Wainford, whoafks her of the Colonel, and is, to try the force of his attachment," kept in fufpence. He bowever, being a hot young man, and ther incamous, gives the Colonel notice, that if he refus his confent, he will carry on the young Lady. The Colouch, after his departure, applauds his fpirit, and determines to give him his daughter, whom he expreflies his refolution to own in thete ambiguous words: To-morrow I quill call her rune in the face of the world." Ormellina overheating them is ter med at the iden of maninge with her fuppofed guardian, which is the conftruction the very naturally puts on the fentenc; refeives to cope with Warnford; and for this pur 66 pofe they meet in the evening at the gar den of Captain Coromandel. Colonel Bentley however, being apprifed of the plot, intercepts them there, and cuts up all idea of clopement, by generously beftowing his daughter's hand on her lover. And this is one plot. A fecond is, a young Lady whose name is Eliza, having jilted a lover in England, (for the scene of the Opera is laid in Calcutta) by marrying a rich old man, after burying her husband, follows her firft love to India in the difguife of a Highland Officer, and calls herself Mac Proteus. She foon finds her object, Enfign Stanmore; and after changing her drefs for that of a French Officer, why we confefs we are unable to develope, in the denouement difcovers herfelf to him, and they are united. This is the fecond plot. The third, which is indeed the principal, is thus: Mr. and Mrs. Mushroom are a couple who hate one another cordially in private, and are as fulfomely fond in public. A Colonel Baton, a French Officer from Pondicherry, who has letters to Mushroom, comes to vifit them. Mr. Mushroom being out, the Colond receives a letter from Mrs. Mushroom which was intended for Wainford, for whom the Lady, being a woman of gallantry, has a tendreffè: he is in confcquence introduced into her chamber; the is extremely deranged by this contre tems, but is relieved by the arrival of her husband. The Colonel fit, exchanges dreifes with a taylor, returns as a tavlor, and the tavlor, Mr. Twist, as the Colonel. This is the most facetious incident in the piece. We might, to be fure, afk, why the Colonel abfconded in the fift inftance, when the taylor returns in his habit a moment after without mischief or fufpicion; but then had probability been confuited, we should have lott feveral fprightly fallies and moft ingenious mistakes which take place on this double transformation: we thould have fuld treble; for at the end of the pieca piece there are no lefs than three Colonel Batons! viz. the Colonel himfelf, Twift the taylor, who is, as he fays, "not the original Colonel, but a tranflation from the French;" and Eliza, who has likewife affumed the garb and name of this Frenchman, who is indeed from the first introduced merely to breed confufion, that the author may thew his dexterity at extricating his plot. Such is the contrivance of this piece, which, though we have endeavoured to fimplify it as much as poffible, we are not fo vain as to think we have made clear. Our readers will fee, that there is a total want of any thing like probability, and that the incidents are ftrained almoft beyond the limits of farce. The language is mediocre; the poetry or rather verfe of the fongs is poor indeed; the mufic ftill worfe. One thing we muft remark as a grievance. Characters are now-a-days written, if we may fo exprefs ourfelves, at particular performers. Eliza is made a Highlander and a Frenchman only, as we can difcover, because the actress who fuftains the character can fpeak Scotch and French. Another actrefs who has fucceeded in the character of the Page, in Richard Coeur de Lion, is therefore provided with a fimilar one under the name of Rofario. This is a paltry method of endeavouring to bribe the audience by the merits of the actor. mean We shall conclude this article by extracting the beft fcene in the piece, which yet is monftroufly farcical: we the interview and confequent mistakes between Mushroom, the Colonel, Mr. Twift the taylor, and Mrs. Mushroom. Enter Twift, in Col, Baton's clothes. Majh. [to Twift] My dear Colonel Baton, I am heartily glad to fee you in Calcutta, [haking bands with Twift] But, odfo, I forgot-perhaps he can't fpeak English. Lucy. Let me talk to him, Sir; I'll war. rant I'll contrive to make him understand us. Lucy. [afide to Twift] Bred up in England! -No bad hint that-purfue it by all means. Mrs Mush. Oh, Colonel Baton! how fhall I make you amends for all this? Col. Bat. Madame, I vill have de honeur to tell you anoder time. [afide] Bleís me! what could make her fo mofh in love vid me? Twift. [to Lucy afide] And fo I'm to pafs for the French Colonel-But are you fare I Sha'n't get my bones broke for this? Lucy. [afide to Twif] Phaw! you can't oblige the Colene! mere-Come, begin. Twift. [afide to Luy] And inay myfelf as many airs as 1 like? give Lucy. [to Twift] The more the betterbe as impudent as you leafe. Twift. [afide to Lucy] A match-I warrant you fhall have no reason to complam of my modefty. [goes up to Mushroom, and claps bim on the fhoulder] Mushroom, my dear old boy, how are you? Mh. Thank ye, thank ye-but you need not have been fo violent in your falutation. Twift. I have an English tongue, you find. Mufh. Yes, and an English arm too--and you have learnt our country fashion of afking people how they do.-My dear Mrs. Mushroom, this is Colonel Twift. Phaw! zounds! the lady knows very well who I am-By your leave, Madam- [catches Mrs. Mufarcem in bis arms, and kifles ber] No offence, I hope? Col. Baten. [ofide to Mrs. Mufh.] Ah, pefte! Madame, I am enragé-hall I cut his troat? Diable! I have no fword. Mrs. Mufh. By no means, Colonel-The poor fellow means no harm. Mufh. But, pray, Colonel, how does it happen that you speak English fo well? Twift. Oh, I was bred up in England from a child-1 was at fchool in London. Mufh. Egad, Ifhould not fuppofe you had been at fchool any where by your breeding. [afide]-I'll take a pinch of your fauff, Colonel. Twift. I don't know whether I have a funft-box about me.-Oh, yes-here it is. [offering bim fauff] Mrs. Majh. What a handfome box! charming indeed, Twijt. Yes, 'tis pretty enough-I think I never obferved it before. |