40 
‘chance of gaining public favour with the 
latter, they are compelled, by this heavy 
restricting clause, to forego a great por- 
tion of the trade which would otherwise 
flow into their hands. And, any one 
who is acquainted with the nature of a 
populous working neighbourhood, where 
these retail brewers are mostly esta- 
blished, will see the full severity of 
the evil I am pointing out. Working 
families seldom get their supper beer, 
or recreative glass of John Barleycorn, 
till between the hours of nine and ten; 
and on Saturday night, which is worth 
all the week besides, on account of the 
labouring classes then receiving their 
wages, and being disposed to recreate 
a little, the above tradesmen are subject 
to the mortifying compulsion of closing 
their doors precisely at nine—and see- 
ing, that very instant, the whole channel 
of trade revert into the hands of the 
publicans. 
This is unfair: and, hoping you will 
consider the complaint I now urge, on 
behalf of these striving and industrious 
characters, worthy of a place in your 
widely-extended work, I remain your’s, 
&e. Enort. 
a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Sir: . 
HNHE following are extracts from 
Burnet’s History of his Own 
Times, pp. 170 and 309 * of the original 
edition; and from which I infer, that 
secret confession to a priest is a part of 
the doctrine of the Church of England, 
and has been actually practised, at least 
in one instance. 
“She” (the Duchess of York, and 
daughter of the Chancellor Clarendon) 
“was bred to great strictness in religion, 
and practised secret confession. Morley 
(Bishop of Winchester) told me he was 
her confessor. She began at twelve years 
old, and continued under his direction, till, 
upon her father’s disgrace, he was put from 
the court.” 
I shall be obliged by some one of 
your correspondents informing me, 
through your pages, if my inference is 
correct: and if so, to point out, 
to what extent does the church require 
the confession to be made? if absolution 
follows? and, generally, wherein this 
confession differs from the doctrine of 
the Church of Rome ?—Your’s, &c. 
26th June 1825. Aw Inquirer. 
* We quote only the former of the two 
passages which our correspondent had 
transcribed, as being sufficient bases for the 
inquiry ; and the book itself being of such easy 
access, as not to excuse more than neces- 
sary transcript in our contracted space.— 
Enrt. 
Confesston in the Church of England !—Signor Velluti. 
{ Aug. 1, 
TOPIC OF THE MONTH. 
OPERA-HOUSE EXHIBITIONS. 
Wrru exception to the extreme heat of 
the weather for six or seven successive days, 
and the danger there was of its being fatal 
to Mr. Canning, we are aware of no occur- 
rence that so well deserves to be regarded 
as the. Topic of the Month, as the revival 
of a disgraceful species of exhibition at our 
Italian Opera House :—the King’s Theatre 
it is called! but, to the honour of royalty, 
neither the King nor any of the Royal 
Family seem to have sanctioned the dis- 
gusting spectacle. But we will speak of 
it here, at once, as moral censors, and as 
theatrical critics, that we may not have to 
recur to it again in another place. 
On the 30th of June, Rossi’s heroic 
Opera, Il €rociato in Egitto (The Crusa- 
der in Egypt), with the musie of Meyer- 
beer, was exhibited for the first time; and 
presented what may be called an accumu- 
lation of novelties—a new opera ushering 
in a new performer ; with, still more new, 
a first appearance for the benefit of the 
débutant—and that débutant of a descrip- 
tion to which even the license of our 
opera-stage has been so long estranged, 
that it has become a novelty also. The 
benefit part of the innovation was, how- 
ever, judicious—if the experiment was to 
be tried: for there can be no doubt that 
English prejudice—or, as we should call 
it, honest English feeling, runs pretty high 
upon the subject ; and there was, perhaps, 
no better expedient for disarming hostility, 
than that of enlisting compassion for the 
poor degraded being who was to be ex- 
hibited on the behalf of such a debit. “Pa- 
tronage (extended, in some instances, we 
are told, even to coercion, through the de- 
pendent circles), and a two-fold curio- 
sity (Signor non signor Velluti, and the 
reception he was to meet with!) brought a 
thronged house, even before the rising of the 
curtain: a crowded pit—in which, how- 
ever, to the credit of the middle class, 
there was a much smaller proportion of 
respectable females than we ever remem- 
ber to have seen; and boxes, filled with. 
all the splendour of fashion. Unblushing 
matrons of high rank, in all the pomp of 
feathers, tiaras and jewels, with an un- 
usual display of high-born maidens in their 
teens, with wreathes of artificial flowers 
upon their heads, and flickering’ smiles, 
sufficiently intelligent, wpon their lips, gave 
to 
