180 
author has too often condefcended to take 
from others, which is the moré to be la- 
mented, becaule he has given unequivocal 
proots of his capacity to contrive and” ex- 
ecute for himfeif. 
Speed the Pleugh is played adn rably 
throuchout. Mr. Knight's farmer, and 
Mr. H. Johnfton’s Henry, are already per- 
fect pertormances. The fimplicity of the 
forme er is unalloyed with coarfenefs ; and 
the animation’ of the latter, with rant. 
Mr. H. Jonnfton and Mifs Murray are in- 
Aa in their refpective char acters ; and 
Mr. Munden wakes his part more lively 
than the feeblene(s of the d: rawing feems! to 
promife. The prolegue to this play as 
dull; the epilogue tolerable fegtely. 
A new mufical after-piece, written by 
Mr. Dibdin, jun. entitled True Friends, 
- was performed on tne zoth at Covent Gar- 
den. When a production is dettitute of 
€very one of the charms of writing, re- 
marks on any of its members are foreign 
to the ufes of criticifm: this piece is of 
that defcription; and deferves to be dif- 
miffed with that general cenfure. 
The mufic, hoteveris co be diftinguifh- 
et from the writing. It has. confiderable 
Merit in parts. Itis the compofition of 
Mr. Attwood. 
A pamphlet, highly interefting to every 
fover of the deamia, Was been recently pub- 
Iifhed, containing # fiatement of the diffe- 
FENCES pubs ifiing between the proprietors and 
performers of Cowent Garden Theatre, with 
the corre|pondence occafimed by the difpute. 
Tt is the avowed mee ees ot the follow. 
ing principal ators of that theatre—Me/f. 
an Fobufione, Holman, Pope, Incledon, 
Munden, Fawcett, Knight, ee H. Fobu- 
fiom. The object of the ftatement is de- 
Theatrical Retrofpeét for February, 1800, 
[March f, 
clared to be, the doing away the prejudices 
which al otherwife. be imbibed againft 
the caufe of the performers, from the, "clan- 
deftine reprefentations made by the pro- 
prietors, or their agents. The pamphlet 
is full of curious facts, relative to the pre- 
fent firuation of the performers of Covent 
Garden Nee. compared with the fitua- 
tion of performers in the times of Barry 
and | his contemporaries, and to a variety 
of other topics. 
formers are ftated and afferted in a plain 
and manly ftyle. The correfpondence is the 
chief vehicle of the information given to the 
public; and upon the face of that, the 
conduct of the eight gentlemen, named 
above, appears to have been not only juft 
in its principle, but dignified in its man- 
ner. As this publication profeffes to have 
had no other object than to lay a fimple 
ftatement of the cafe before the public, 
the perfons whofe names are fubfcribed to 
it, declare their refolution, to purfue every 
legal and honourable means to effeét fauch 
a reftoration of juftice as will give them 
the rights which ancient ufage prefcribes 
to them as actors, . 
The concluding paragraph deferves to 
be given for the propriety of its feeling 
and. expreffion. ‘¢ Having thus ‘poffeffed 
the public with the whole proceedings, 
and by that means fecured our caufe and 
conduést from mifreprefentation,we hope we 
fhal] he accompanied with the wifhes of all 
good men, for the ultimate fucceis of our 
Sideavonrs to refcue the members: of that 
profeflion, which contributes fo effentially 
to the rational entertainment of this great 
kinedom, from a fate of oppreffion, which 
no other fubjects in it can poffibly expe- 
rience.” 

THE NEW PATENTS LATELY ENROLLED, 

WILLIAM LANDER FOR RAISING 
“WATER BY PUMPS. 
PATENT was granted, November, 
M1799, to Mr, WiLitiaM LanDER, 
of Mefe, in the County of Wilts, Brafs 
Founder, for a method of raifing water bY 
pumps or other engines, by means of 3 
apparatus for moving the pifton rod. 
The principle of this invention is to 
adapt to the moving power a femicircular 
wheel, with teeth moving in a rack or 
racks connected with the pifton rod. ‘The 
femicircular wheel (cr with a larger feg- 
ment of a circle where the machinery will 
MRa 
admit of it) partakes of the rotatory 
motion of the moving power ; and as it. 
gives the perpendicular motion to the 
racks aud the pifton conneé&ted with them, 
it allows of a greater extent of power or 
a@6nger ftroke in the play of the piftom 
than is effected by the cranks ufually em- 
ployed. 
hes, if the femicircle have a radius of 
four inches, its circumference will be 
twelve inches, and the length of the firoke ° 
of the pifton connected with the rack will 
allo be twelve inchese 
WILITIAM 
The claims. of the per- 
re 
