very considerable powers, his talents display their greatest vigour in rustic characters, and the personification of pert servants, Jabel in the "Jew," and Robin Rough Head in the Farce of " Fortune's Frolick," manifest a species of humour peculiar to his nature, and its value is much enhanced from its not being the effect of imitation. If Pythagoras's doctrine of the transmigration of souls be admitted as it is vulgarly understood, Collins is said to possess the qualities, genius and manner of that celebrated comedian WESTON. We recollect that he was the life of Holcroft's Comedy of "Hear both Sides," which was brought out last season at Drury Lane, and only lived a few nights, and notwithstanding Mr. Bannister and Dowton displayed much excellent acting, yet the piece was of that sombre cast, that Collins appeared the only whimsical personage and kept it from immediate destruction. In Mr. Cherry's successful and well written Comedy he sustains the part of a servant with the most happy effect, indeed his talents are of a superior kind, and entitle him to a place in the first class of our national Comedians. As a candidate for Thespian fame Miss Brunton has many qualifications, her person and features are majestically beautiful which will always attach great importance to her Theatrical efforts, this lady was not unhappy in her delineation of Lady Townly in "the Provoked Husband," a part of considerable weight as it is drawn with great nicety of judgment, and coloured with a most delicate pencil.. It would be unfair to try the strength of Miss Brunton's talents by comparative merit, but as a noviciate performer, she is entitled to applause, there is however ( 101 ) UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA a defect in her speech which her own care under the correction of a judicious friend might we think considerably improve. That want of va riety of tone in her voice does not appear to be owing to a physical defect,,we rather think it is occasioned by early neglect of articulation and so become habitual; and we sincerely hope it is only the effect of habit, as at present it operates as a considerable draw-back on that merit, which time and managerial indulgence will render invaluable to the, Theatre. Miss B. evinced great improvement in the second representation of the part. Her brother Mr. Brunton is a gentleman whose talents are of no ordinary cast and give ample force to the variety of characters he sustains, his voice is articulate and placid, and he delivers his author with much judgment. His gesture is never turbulent and often well adapted, and in many characters we have seen him very impressive. The young lady whose name is MORTIMER, and who appeared in the early part of the season in the character of Ophelia, in " Hamlet," possesses some natural requisites for the profession of which she has become enamoured, but we think it would have been more adviseable in her friends to have brought her out in some light musical piece, where the delivery of the dialogue is scarcely noticed. In the character of Ophelia, the public expect something more than singing, the language of the part is finely descriptive of a disordered mind, and requires to be delicately but impressively marked, the manner this lady gave the author evinced a carelessness in her instructors who had not taught her the proper Gillian Ophelia London 180 102 ) force of the text with its variety of point." There's a daisy. I would give you some violets'; but they withered all when my father died."―These lines are particularly impressive when the actress can run from one passion to another, and express the sentence with a gloom of countenance mixed with a suitable air of wildness; her strength of feeling should appear to prevent articulation and occasion a faultering of speech, yet this must be done without the appearance of forced exertion; her agony of mind is warranted from the last line of the text, containing the mention of him whose death has caused her insanity-he is the sting that animates Ophelia's madness. If the language of this part had fallen within the descriptive power of Mr. Kemble, Mrs. Si idons or Mrs. Powell, there are many little delicacies of picture which their genius would have illustrated, that we think are still unknown to the Stage. This part has been several times personified by different ladies within a few months, and none of them have correctly understood the text. Mrs. H. Johnson is the only one, whose delineation of the part at Covent Garden Theatre is entitled to commendation, among the number of Performers who have sustained the character for these several years past. Miss Mortimer was far more successful in the part of Leonora, in the musical farce of the "Padlock," and gave proof that her voice and talents will, with a few years experience, be no ill ornament to a London Theatre. Mr. Dignum as a singer, deserves all the admiration his vocal powers have obtained him, there is a sweetness of voice which renders his warblings par ticularly gratifying to the ear. As an actor he can only be rated with the rest of our vocal performers, who seldom blend the study of action with the contemplation of music. Mr. D. has however played Sir Richard Vernon in " Henry the Fourth," and several other parts with more than common ability, the beauties of this gentleman's voice are said to be more effective in a room than on the Stage; in either, we must consider him a delightful singer. For the profession of acting, how few can we expect to see perfectly endowed! How many and how、 rare are the attributes! To enumerate these, will be to consider the qualifications possessed by one of our first rate actresses; we therefore select Mrs. POWELL. This lady's person is majestically beautiful, her face is remarkably handsome and particularly expressive, she has a full mellow-toned voice peculiarly adapted to the pathetic, and so flexible as to be capable of expressing with all imaginable force the anger of the haughty resentful Hermione, or the maternal tenderness of the grief worn dejected Andromache.-Her action graceful and energetic, her deportment dignified and elegant, her judgment correct, and her pronunciation clear and distinct, we shall seek in vain for a person more highly qualified by nature to arrive at perfection in the histrionic art, than the present heroine of the national Theatre. The eye of stupor itself cannot behold this actress with indifference, she beguiles us into a belief that she is really the person she represents; when she assumes the appearance of despair, we observe "tears in her eyes, distraction in her aspect." She gives us unequivocal proofs that she is herself under the influence of the passion she counterfeits, and compels us to listen to her sorrow and sympathize in her distress; indeed we may with justice pronounce her the actress of nature. There is scarcely a character of consequence that this lady has sustained, in which we might not with truth give testimony of her excellence; but perhaps the vigour of her genius was never so thoroughly shewn as in her performance of Hamlet, here she had ample room for the display of her uncommon powers, the discriminating good sense which marked every passage, and the correct emphasis observed throughout this difficult character, proved how diligently she had studied it, and yet her pathos ap-. peared so natural, and her manner appeared so easy and unaffected, that an auditor might have supposed she had simply learned the words of the part by rote, and relied upon the feelings of the moment to prompt her to deliver them with truth and propriety. The violence of grief subdued by time and despair softened down to a resigned and settled melancholy, are the leading traits in the character of lady Randolph, who can hear the harmonious lines, "Ye woods and wilds, whose melancholy gloom "Accords with my souls sadness, &c." recited by Mrs. Powell in the most pathetic strain imaginable, without immediately becoming as it were possessed with the grief which seems labouring in her breast? Who can command their feelings in the agony of despair, when she thus reproaches the stranger. "Inhuman as thou art, how couldst thou kill |