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mother was married; he paid her a visit, which fatal visit was too often repeated; and when my dear, but erring friend, expected your injured father to return home, a consciousness of her own imprudence on one hand, the entreaties of a wicked seducer on the other, urged her to the fatal expedient of flying (as too many oft have done) from her once peaceful home. But you she could not tear from the maternal bosom that affectionately nourished you; and I have since been informed, that from the direful moment her foot ascended the bark which bore her from the craggy cliffs that bound her native land, she never more, till the hour of her death, knew a happy moment.

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For soon, too soon, she found, when Freeman had seduced her heart from innocence, and carried her to a distant country, his vows of love and constancy were then forgotten. The deceiver's mask was cast aside, and in the crested basilisk the subtle serpent shone. He first became jealous, then tyrannical, and at last cruel, to the poor deluded vassal he had beneath his power; the beauty of her once elegant person was neglected; the lustre of her eyes were dim with continual weeping; while sorrow, deeply rooted, and keen repentance, introduced into her tender frame a complication of disorders, which brought with them a premature old age, before the number of her days had reached the centre of life's little span; and she fell, like a stricken flower, to the ground, ere the damps of the evening had swept it from the walks of the seducing world. Many of her cares, I was well informed, were encreased on your account; and if departed spirits are permitted to revisit the mansions of frail mortality, I hope she will be assured of your happiness."

We do not enter into a delineation of the story of this entertaining tale, hecause we are unwilling to anticipate the gratification of its readers, as the pleasure derived from the perusal of such works materially consists in the expectation with which they are read, and in the progressive developement of the sequel.

We would, however, take this opportunity of subjoining the very just and salutary admonition which Mr. Nelson gives to his daughter previous to her marriage-and in doing so, we would earnestly recommend the advice to the consideration of every young female

whose union with the object of her choice leads her into the gay scenes of the fashionable world.

"My dear child, you are now going to enter into that state which is so closely connected with your future happiness, that the least deviation from rectitude may bring on lasting misery; a consciousness of your own innocence is not sufficient; you must be watchful of the suspicious of a censorious world. I would also wish to arm you against that enemy which lays in ambush; the secret spring whence so many of your sex have to date their fall- vanity. O! vanity, it is thee the artful seducer first attacks!-Your own mother !—but she is gone. I measured her affections by my own, and flattered myself, that in all our actions they were reciprocal. The affliction for the loss of her love, has been repaid me by your filial attention as a daughter; I trust, and am well persuaded, your judgment, joined to your goodness of heart, will guide you in the duty of a wife."

It will be seen from the two extracts which we have given, that the incidents of this tale are used as the medium of much instructive remark; and we think that we are sufficiently warranted in our approbation of the work, when we can add, that it blends this instruction so skilfully with the narrative, as to cause the time expended in reading it to be profitably applied.

A Poem occasioned by the Cessation of Public Mourning for II. R. HI. Princess Charlotte; together with Sonnets and other Productions. By Mrs. B. Hooper.

DESERVED panegyric and sincere regret have followed the Illustrious Princess to the grave, on whose tomb the tears of a nation were so abundantly shed a twelvemonth ago. Her virtues are still the theme of every tongueher praises resound on every lip, and the press yet teems with tributes to her memory.

Criticism is exhausted-not indeed with the contemplation of her excellencies, which necessarily ensues-but the heart will ponder on departed worth, and clothe its effusions, as has been done in many late instances, with all the wild disorder of grief without its touching character. The poem before us, withont partaking of very great excellencies, is nevertheless not unworthy of the

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pates, that, "The inspection of criticism will doubtless discover much to censure in compositions simply the expression of feeling," we must dissent from her opinion, conceiving that where feel. ing is derived from virtuous sources, it cannot incur censure. Most of these effusions are strongly tinctured with a religious feeling; and though they sometimes incline to the sombre side of the question, there are not wanting more animated pictures to counterbalance them.

The Sonnet on the Thames on a Saturday evening is a picture replete with benevolence, and affords a fair criterion of the authoress' merits; as do the following stanzas to Melancholy,

which we transcribe

"'Tis sometimes in Mirth's joyest hour,

When all around her empire own,
That Melancholy's mighty pow'r
To feeling bosoms most is known.
And if to their awaken'd tone

Some heart of sympathy reply,
Soon is the magic concord shewn,
And oh, how sweet its harmony.
But if no chord responding sound,
And lonely the emotions dwell,
O then the solitude profound,

The aching throb, what words can tell."

Nor are the following lines on Sympathy less beautiful; which, on account of our prescribed limits, we must

Loudly do we echo the following conclude with. lines :

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"Oh, there are looks, which like the light That flashes round the dreary pole, Can instant shed their lustre bright

Through darkest regions of the soul. And there are smiles, that seem the spring Of comfort to the wintry heart; While Hope fresh buds and flow'rs can bring,

And bid each freezing gloom depart. Congenial souls these feelings know,

And know that they are wak'd by thee, Thou source of Friendship's holy glow, Divine, mysterious, Sympathy !"

The Fast of St. Magdalen: A Romance. By Miss Anna Maria Porter. THIS interesting work is worthy of the pen that produced Don Sebastian. The scene is laid in Italy, during the commotions of Florence, a period pregnant in characters and events appropriate to romance. The Fast of St. Magdalen, like its immediate predecessor, the Knight of St. John, excites considerable interest, without the intru

sion of those horrible mysteries or stupendous discoveries, which cost nothing to the author, but almost destroy every thing to the reader. The style is elegant and graceful, and the sentiments such as do honour to the sex, and are even creditable to the country of the fair writer, who, to whatever age or nation she transports her fancy, always carries with her the delicacy, the refinement, the propriety, the sensibility, of an unsophisticated Englishwoman.

The character of Ippolita, the heroine, is drawn with much strength and felicity of discrimination, and affords a fair specimen of the work.

"Her modest, though beautiful exterior, could excite no expectation of the extraordinary soul by which it was informed: for the usual tranquillity of her.complexion did not even brighten her dark and deeply shaded eyes in more than a gentle lustre; and as she had the habit of listening and speaking with those eyes cast down, the most momentous changes might be passed in her mind, without becoming visible to the persons she conversed with.

"Conscious that her character was beyond the general scale of her sex, she had the instinctive discretion of seeking to keep its superiority concealed; and as she could clothe the noblest thought in the simplest phrase, the peculiar loftiness of her sentiments often passed unnoticed while they were uttered. Thus, when she was called into action upon great occasions, even the persons who fancied they knew her best, were astonished to see her act with an energy and ability, rarely equalled by women.

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Ippolita disdained art, yet did she sway every one with whom she lived; those only excepted whose worldly interests clashed with her's; so much harder is it to subdue sordidness, than to pacify humour. She acquired this power simply by a talent for conciliating, which having its source in real benevolence, won its way to its object unperceived and unsuspected. She maintained her power by never seeking to display it.

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Having established for herself a standard of excellence, which it was the aim of her life to reach; and having fixed her eye upon the sublimest objects, she could not stoop it to the low gratifications of vanity.

"Her own approbation, (after that of Heaven,) was what she sought: and

while her fortune smiled, she sought it, not by superstitious and useless restraints; but by free enjoyment of all the pleasures of society, and cheerful devotedness to all its duties. When that fortune frowned, then she laboured to walk confidingly through storms and darkness, and to trust on the very verge of destruction.

"In truth, the perfection of her character was in danger only from an excess of self-discipline: since in resolving to extirpate selfishness, Ippolita sometimes removed herself to such an unattainable height from her less heroically practised friends, that affection and sympathy sighed over their disunion.”

The First Principles of Algebra, designed for the Use of Students. By T. W. E. Edwards, M.A. 12mo. pp. 170.

THIS work will, to any one acquainted with the first rules of arithmetic and with fractions, be found an easy introduction to the very useful study of algebra.

In composing them, the author has, without omitting any thing necessary, endeavoured to blend perspicuity with brevity, and elegance with utility.

The binomial theorem, the doctrine of imaginary quantities, and the use of logarithms, are luminously explained; and the method of equatious is beautiful beyond precedent.

To add to the value of the work, it is richly interspersed with appropriate examples for illustration or practice, and printed in a style of neatness seldom equalled, and of correctness never surpassed.

On the Safely Lamp for Coal Miners, with some Researches on Flame. By Sir Humphry Davy. 8vo. pp. 148. THIS work will, we trust, be useful to the cause of science, by proving that even the most apparently abstract philosophical truths may be connected with applications to the common wants and purposes of life.

The gratification of the love of know. ledge is delightful to every refined mind: but a much higher motive is offered for indulging in it when that knowledge is felt to be practical power, and when that power inay be applied to lessen the miseries, or increase the comforts of our fellow-creatures.

THEATRICAL JOURNAL.

DRURY-LANE.

OCT. 31. The Committee of this

Theatre, still ardent in their pursuit after new faces, although not eminently successful hitherto, introduced this evening a new candidate for metropolitan favour, in the part of Portia, in The Merchant of Venice. The name of the lady in question, we understand, is Mrs. Pope. Her figure is tall, and her person agreeable. Throughout, she evinced an intimate acquaintance with the business of the stage; and may be termed a respectable actress, and was upon the whole well received.

Nov. 10. In the tragedy of Bertram, Mrs. West performed her part with unexampled excellence. The part of Imogine, however, as to effect, overlays itself. Though not deficient in poetical merit, nor destitute of occasional strokes of tenderness and pathos. Imogine affords but few opportunities. The situation in which she is placed by her infidelity is truly tragic, but the pomp of declamation, and ambition of ornament, prevent it from producing its proper effect on the feelings. At intervals, however, when nature breaks through the heavy incumbrance of art, and the dialogue assumes an air of simplicity, she availed herself of the favourable moments to exercise her powers. The picture which she drew of despair was remarkably affecting, and the whole was greatly applauded. Her death was also well managed and when the curtain fell, the satisfaction of the audience was so strongly expressed as to encourage a repetition of the tragedy as it is now cast. Nov. 12. A meeting of new Renters of Drury-lane Theatre was held in the Saloon, to receive the Report of the Committee, appointed by a general meeting of their body, on the 14th of June, 1816. The report having been read, the meeting proceeded to elect Sir Thomas Turton and Mr. Fallowfield trustees, in the room of Messrs.

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Houlston and Graham, resigned. Mr. G. Robins dwelt upon the depressed state of the theatre, the nightly receipts of which, he said, did not at present cover the expenses.

Nov. 13. The Comedy of Love Makes a Man was re-produced at this theatre. The character of Don Lewis received the highest spirit of which it is capable, from the undiminished energies of Munden. He, perhaps, in many instances, overinformed the text, but it was to the poet's advantage. The vein of satire in which he indulges against the thoughtless Clodio was given with peculiar richness of expression, and his subserviency to his dumb attendants in the castle was comic in the highest degree. Mr. H. Kemble was too solemn, by half, for Carlos. It is true, that Carlos is a studious young gentleman, perfectly wedded to his books; but this very disposition implies a superior intelligence, which would have given to his actions the fire as well as the irregularity of genius. Mr. Watkinson and Mr. Williams were sufficiently testy as the two old fathers, and the Clodio of Penley had a great deal of merit. We are glad to find this actor advancing nightly in the good graces of his audience. Why was Mrs. West put in Angelina ?— What was in that feeble character worthy of her unquestionably great powers? It is a glaring act of injustice to this lady, to fix her in a part where she has not half a dozen sentences to pronounce, and which sentences might have been well enough spoken by Miss Ivers. Mrs. Mardyn looked well as Louisa. She was dressed to great advantage, and sported her gay plumes in the highest style. Upon the whole, the comedy was well received, and at its close was honoured with general approbation. This, however, was a compliment evidently paid to the actors only-and they deserved it.

PERFORMANCES.

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Nov. 6. The Road to Ruin-Barmecide. 7. Town and Country-Ditto.

9. Ronco and Juliet-Turnpike Gate. 13. Bertram-Past Ten o'Clock.

11. Will-Falls of Clyde.

12. Distrest Mother-Barmecide.
13. Love Makes a Man-Ditto.

14. Jew of Malta-Ditto.

16. Macbeth-Two Strings to your Bow.
17. Closed on Account of the Death of her

Majesty till after the Funeral.

COVENT GARDEN.

OCT. 29. Lewis's play of Adelgitha was performed this evening, we presume, for the display of Miss Somerville; for the sentence of the drama has been long since decided. Miss Somerville's performance was again re markable for frequent and powerful displays of superior talent, great inequality, and decided success with the audience. In several passages she was greeted not only with applause, but with enthusiasm. Pride, disdain, remorse, she expresses with great force and truth and even in tenderness she is not deficient. Her first scene with Michael Ducas was excellent. The picture scene, in which he discovers to her that he can rule her destiny by his possessing the secret and the proofs of her guilty love, was still more effective. But this scene was exalted to a pre-eminence in effect, by the originality and skill with which the character of Michael Ducas was deve loped and diversified by Mr. Macready, and the chaste, but tremendous, energy with which he declaimed the language of the tyrant. Her relation to her husbaud of her own story as that of another, was given by her with profound feeling, But the general impression of the scene was rather below what it is susceptible of being made. She was much ap. plauded when she stabs Michael Ducas, and though the performance lost a main, if not the essential source of its interest, when that personage was disposed of, she availed herself of many opportunities to obtain applause in the fifth act. Her intonation is greatly improved; she has to a great extent discarded the hollowness of tone, which is by no means natural, and still less necessary to her. It is resorted to as the means of giving artificial fuluess to the voice where the organ is naturally slender and shrill. She has still to chasten her action, and, above all, to get rid of what is called pumping in her passionate speeches. Her attitudes

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are sometimes extremely dignified and graceful, but also in some instances inappropriate and ungraceful. On the whole, we think her performance of Adelgilha superior to that of Bianca. Mr. Young produced some fine effects in Guiscard, and Mr. C. Kemble was much applauded in Lothair.

Nov. 6. Mr. Farren added Sir Fretful Plagiary to his list of characters. Mrs. Gibbs is an admirable Tilburina.

Nov. 7. This evening, Mr. Yales, from Edinburgh, made his experiment upon a London audience, as lago. He is above the middle size, and possesses a marking theatrical face, with dark eyes. His voice is good, and his enunciation very distinct. We are inclined to consider this gentleman as an acquisition of some importance to the metropolitan stage, though Iago, we are certain, is not the part best adapted for the display of his abilities. His reception was highly favourable, and the bills announce that he has entered into an engagement, at the close of those in which he stood previous to this trial. Miss O'Neill's Desdemona, and Mr. C. Kemble's Cassio, are acknowledged chef d'œuvres; the latter, in his representation of drunkenness, has anew extorted plaudits from the audience. A Mrs. Yates, no connexion of the Iago, played Emilia : she has but little power, but the character has not ten interesting phrases to

utter.

Nov. 9. Produced a still more profuse display of the intellectual riches of this theatre. The announcement of Jane Shore filled the house before the rising of the curtain.

Nov. 13. This evening, after the tragedy of Adelgitha, a new farce was produced, entitled, "Six Physicians; or, The Patient Carried Off." The reception which it met with was such as renders it unnecessary for us to enter into its merits; it was a complete failure.

PERFORMANCES.

Oct. 27. Fazio-Wedding Day-Sleep Walker. 28. Clandestine Marriage-Innkeeper's Daugh

ter.

29. Adelgitha-Barber of Seville.
20. School for Scandal-Miser.
$1. Gamester-Barber of Seville.

Nov. 2. Point of Honour-Spoiled Child-Blue
Beard.

3. She Would and She Would Not-Love, Law, and Phy. c.

4. Clandestine Marriage-Barber of Seville. 5. Adelgitha-Paul and Virginia-Who Wins. 6. Rivals-Critic.

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