News from Parnassus, No. XXXIII. 



S2Q 



if, instead of perusing it as a whole, he 

 were to read it by detacheil passa<;es 

 1aki.li at ramloiii. Every draniatio 

 atitlior should bear in mind, that his 

 piece is intended to be acted as well as 

 re id ; aird if, like a certain celebrated 

 Wiilcr, he should profess a conscious- 

 liess of liis works being unfit for stage 

 jcpresentalion, let him renounce any 

 Claim to the title of drauiatist, which, iu 

 such a case, is a palpable misnomer. 

 We have also to congralulate the author 

 o Alasco on his having shunned that 

 mono-dramatic system of composition 

 which has more or less infectecl all (he 

 play-wriglits of the day. Not con- 

 tented \^itli writing characters with a 

 view to particular actors, they generally 

 so construct their personages, that, 

 with the exception of one or two'at the 

 most, the make-weight nature of the 

 others renders them " weary, stale, 

 flat, and unprofitable," and " their 

 prattle tedious" to the "audience ; and 

 Ihus, in order to enable some favourite 

 performer to monopolise pulilic ap-' 

 plause, tlie best interests of dramatic 

 literature are unhesitatingly sacrificed. 

 Mr. Shee has entirely avoided this 

 pernicious practice; every one of the 

 principal characters, in his play, posses- 

 ses an individual'intcrest, which could 

 not be lessened without injury to the 

 effect of the whole piece. 



In the dialogue, although it is gene- 

 rally forcible and characteristic, there is 

 sometimes too much prolixity, particu- 

 larly in the more active scenes. When 

 the mind is strongly excited by curiosity 

 or sympathy, inferences and digressions 

 J 11 the speakers create a very unpa- 

 latable suspense; even a too abrujit 

 statement of facts must be considered as 

 far preferable. With respect to the 

 language and style, they evince mueli, 

 both of poetical feeling and expression ; 

 but there is, occasionally, a tamcness, 

 approaching to common-place, in the 

 diction, and a considerable harsimess in 

 the structure of the blank-verse, which 

 we are convinced, in a man of Mr. 

 Slice's powers, more practice in dramatic 

 composilion would effecfu.«lly correct. 



The dilficuKy of selecting extracts 

 from a tragedy, which vvill, without the 

 context, convey any just idea of iis 

 merits, and yet not exceed the limits to 

 which we are necessarily restricted, in- 

 duces us to decline giving any quota- 

 tions from Alasco. This is, however, 

 of the less consequence, as the interest 

 which its exclusion from the stage has 



[May 1, 



created for it, will probably place it iit 

 the hands of most of our readers. Mr. 

 Slice's prel'aee contains a manly, expli- 

 cit, and salisfuctory, statement ot all the 

 circumstances connected with this sin- 

 gular affair, which vvill, we trust, set 

 altogether at rest the activity of conjec- 

 ture on this subject. \\ e know that 

 the malignity of rumour has gone so far, 

 as to attribute the suppression of the 

 piece to a collusion between the author 

 and the examiner, in the expectation 

 that, under such circumstances, the 

 copy-right ntight prove more profitable 

 than tile representation; but, independ- 

 ently of the extreme improbability of so 

 charitable a surmise, the plain-speaking 

 adopti d by the author in regard to Mr. 

 Colman, must satisfy the most sceptical 

 on this head. A contemporary of ours 

 has discovered, that its rejection is out 

 of compliment to the Emperor Alexan- 

 der, because the tragedy recommends a 

 revolt of his Polish subjects! Credat 

 Judans. Besides that we do not sus- 

 pect ?.Ir. Colman to be of such im- 

 portance as to have been taken into the 

 pay ot the Holy Alliance, we think the 

 autocrat not very likely to dread aa 

 insurrection of the Poles from the enact- 

 ing of a play at Covent Garden. Wo 

 moreover acquit both him and his nio- 

 ilurchical coadjutors, of taking any great 

 interest in those studies which " soften 

 men's manners, and do not suffer them 

 to be brutal." The fVecdoin of Poland 

 is not likely, we fear, to be the result of 

 any dramaticefl'usir)n. " Non tali aiixilio,. 

 non df/ensotibus islis, iempus e^-et." 



In our opinion, Mr. Colman has been 

 actuated in this injudicious proceeding; 

 solely by a wish to disjilay hii> newly-ac- 

 quired authority, and a disposition to 

 curry favour with the powers that be, 

 by a testimony of ultra-zeal, indicative 

 of his readiness to serve them in any 

 way they may require of liim, "for a 

 consideration." The policy of tlie pro- 

 ceeding is manifest, from the increased, 

 ctrcnlalion which will necessarily be 

 given to those passages in the play, re- 

 garded by the examiner as objectiona- 

 ble. Meanwhile we are happy to per- 

 ceive, that the interest taken by the 

 public in his production is likely to 

 compensate Mr. Slice for the injury he 

 has sustained; and we hope that he will 

 not be led, by a single disappointment, 

 to discontinue the cultivation of a talent 

 for which there is at present so wide a 

 field, and which he appears to possess ia ^ 



such a high degree. 



EVIDENCE 



