The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 2, February 1810Arnold, Samuel James
History
The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 2, February 1810
Arnold, Samuel James
Drama -- Periodicals; Theater -- Periodicals
It was natural to imagine that such extraordinary powers would not be
long suffered to waste themselves upon the limited society of country
towns. Mr. Harris, as soon as he received intelligence on which he could
depend, upon the subject of Miss Brunton's talents, resolved to be
himself an eye-witness of her performance, and set off to Bath with a
view, if his judgment should concur with that of the public of that
city, to offer her an engagement at Covent Garden. To see her was to
decide; he resolved to have her if possible, and lost no time to make
such overtures at once as could not well be refused. These included an
engagement at a very handsome salary for her father; her own of course
was liberal--when one considers how long Mrs. Siddons had appeared upon
the stage before she got a firm footing on the London boards, one cannot
but be astonished at the rise of this lady at one leap from the
threshold to the top of her profession. It is worthy of observation that
the real children of nature generally burst at once upon the view in
excellence approaching to perfection; while the mere artists of the
stage lag behind, labouring for years, before they attain the summit of
their ambition; when their consummate art and their skill in concealing
that art (ars celare artem) if they have it, entitles them at last to
the highest praise. Mrs. Bellamy was one of those children of nature.
Before she appeared, Quin decidedly gave judgment against her: yet the
first night she performed he was so struck with her excellence, that,
impatient to wipe away his injustice by a candid confession he
emphatically exclaimed, "My child, the spirit is in thee." Garrick it is
said never surpassed his first night's performance: and the Othello of
Barry's first appearance, and the Zanga of Mossop's never were equalled
by any other actors, nor were ever surpassed even by themselves.
Such was the impression made by this phenomenon, even before she left
the country for London, that the presses teemed with tributes to her
extraordinary merit, in verse and prose. Learning poured forth it praise
in deep and erudite criticism--Poetry lavished its sparkling encomium in
sonnets, songs, odes, and congratulatory addresses, while the light
retainers to literature filled the magazines and daily prints with
anecdotes, paragraphs, bon-mots, and epigrams. In a word, there was for
sometime no reading a newspaper, or opening a periodical publication
without seeing some production or other addressed to Miss Brunton. From
the number which appeared the following is deservedly selected, for the
elegance of its Latin and the beauty of its thoughts:
AD BRUNTONAM.
E GRANTA EXITURAM.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account