1824.] , 
singly put together, and form original 
lessons. 
COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE. 
Der Freyschiitz has been produced at this 
theatre, but certainly not, with that splen- 
dour and perfection which are always ex- 
pected, and generally found at this noble 
establishment. It should seem as if Mr. 
Farley’s talents could only be-excited where 
his own pieces are in question, for the get- 
ting up of Der Freyschiits is infinitely in- 
ferior to the production of the pantomine 
and Easter melo-drama ; this is the more to 
be regretted, as no one understands these 
matters better than Mr. Farley, and from 
his known abilities, something more than 
usually effective was expected in the in- 
cantation scene. 
But the translator, or adaptor of the 
piece, Mr. Planché, has acted still worse 
towards the German author, and has added 
his own dulness to the dulness of the ori- 
ginal, marring even the few good points 
that were in it. For instance, he has taken 
away all interest from the only powerful 
scene in the piece, by making the comic 
character cast the magic bullets, by which 
change, too, the lover sinks into a mere 
shadow. Nothing could be worse ima- 
gined. 
Again, some of the music attached to the 
part of Caspar is eminently beautiful ; but 
nearly the whole of this is barbarously cut 
out, and yet the character itself gains no- 
thing. The dialogue of the part, though 
extremely stretched, is yet very feeble. 
The best part of the entertainment is the 
Literary and Critical Proémium. 
359 
orchestra, which is admirably arranged, and 
played the overture in a style worthy of 
Covent-Garden. It was encored, and de- 
servedly so, both for the music itself, and 
the manner in which, it was, executed. 
DRURY-LANE THEATRE, 
This establishment has at length opened, 
and with a splendid company that does high 
honour to its enterprizing manager. Kean, 
Macready, Sapio, Dowton, Knight, Horn, 
Miss ‘Stephens, and Mrs. West are amongst 
the principal names for the ensuing season. 
The first novelty has been The Lying 
Courser, a tale of enchantment from the pen 
of the Rey. Geo. Croly—at least report 
attributes the piece to him; and though it 
evinces very little imagination, there is some 
powerful writing in it, that proves the au- 
thor to be aman of genius. But Croly is at 
all times a strong thinker, always vigorous, 
sometimes perhaps too vehement in his 
language. 
The fable of the piece is borrowed from 
a well known tale in the Arabian Nights’ 
Entertainments, but one that almost seemed 
to defy the dramatist. It is very well to 
talk of a flying horse, for imagination will 
do wonders, but to represent so termagant 
a pegasus with effect, seemed to be next to 
an impossibility. This, however, has been 
effected by the ingenuity of Mr. Winston, 
who it appears is the director of all such 
matters ; and they cannot be in better hands, 
for in point of splendour, of decoration, and 
wonder of machinery, few tales will be found 
to equal the Flying Courser. 
NEW BOOKS PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER: 
WITH AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL PROEMIU M. 
Authors or Publishers, desirous of seeing an early Notice of their Works, are 
requested to transmit Copies before the \8th of the Month. 
——a 
Ee SAY is one of the ablest political 
economists on the Continent, and 
his Historical Essay on the British Dominion 
in India. is therefore calculated to excite 
deep interest and attention. The reputa- 
tion which he enjoys as a political econo- 
mist giving considerable weight to his 
opinion, makes it desirable that they should 
be submitted to analysis, for the purpose of 
supporting them, if true, or correcting them, 
if erroneous. It is a general mistake on 
the continent of Europe, that India is the 
source of British prosperity. It is to cor- 
rect this mistake, and to dispel (as the au- 
thor says) illusions likely to involve Europe 
in a vain expenditure of blood and treasure, 
that his pamphlet is written. “ Even go- 
vernments,”’ he adds, ‘ most interested in 
entertaining correct ideas of subjects of 
political economy, share, in this respect, in 
the opinious of the vulgar: they. imagine 
that the nations of India groan beneath 
the yoke of England, and that they have 
only to appear in arms, and overthrow a 
hated and unstable domination. This was 
Buonaparte’s intention, by the invasion of 
Egypt, and it has twenty times occupied the 
cabinet of St. Petersburgh.”’ ‘The result of 
his inferences is, that India is of no use to 
England, except the gratification of an idle 
vanity, in a commercial or political point of 
view; and if he can succeed in diffusing a 
faith in this opinion on the Continent, he 
will do more to allay the thirst of ambition 
than bayonets or reyenue. ‘* The Com- 
pany loses,” says Mr. Say, “a sum of two 
millions, more or less, annually; but its 
servants gain, perhaps, to the amount of 
half a million. This is the sum of what this 
celebrated Company adds to the wealth of 
England! Were it not for this profit, she 
would not purchase every year half a mil- 
lion of profit with two millions and a half 
of loss.” 
The Biographical and Historical Diction- 
ary of Musicians is a yery useful work. 
England 
‘ 
