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THE

Scots Magazine,

AND

EDINBURGH LITERARY MISCELLANY,
For MARCH 1813.

Description of INCH-GARVEY. THIS is a small island in the Frith of Forth, nearly in the middle of the passage over Forth at the Queensferry. It was anciently fortified; and, after the alarm occasioned by the appearance of Paul Jones and his squadron in the Frith, in 1779, its fortifi. cations were repaired, and 4 iron 24 pounders mounted upon them, and furnished with 100 rounds of ammunition each. One or two artillerymen nition each. One or two artillerymen reside on the island, to take care of the stores.

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Scottish chieftain, who had been carried off in his infancy by pirates, returns by chance to his native place. He there meets his sister, and, a muried to her. The moment, however, tual passion ensuing, is secretly marin which the union is disclosed, is also that in which their relation is discovered. Finella, the unfortunate sister, poisons herself; and Gonsolvo is only deterred, by the earnest inhimself over her remains. The play treaties of his father, from sacrificing is also diversified by a Lord Comyn, who pays his addresses to Finella, and who is himself vainly beloved by two ladies of her train.

In the audience which sttended this representation, there appeared to me to be distinctly two parties, one predetermined to applaud, the other to hiss. The former, however, was at first the most powerful. During the two first acts they maintained their ground; and the efforts of the hissers, though vigorous, were insufficient to raise the house in their favour. In the third act, however, an unfortunate scene took place. Comyn being reproached, by his injured mistress, with never having proposed a legal union,

endeavours

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endeavours to find a plausible excuse; to which the lady at once replies: "If thou'rt sincere, then, wilt thou wed me now ?"

In what manner this home-thrust was parried, it is impossible to determine for from that moment an uninterrupted series of hisses, catcalls, and laughter, drowning all sounds of plaudit, continued to shake the house for nearly a quarter of an hour. The doom of the piece appeared to be sealed. Yet parily through the intrinsic merit of some following scenes, and partly through the admirable acting of Mrs Siddons, it again rose, and seemed in a somewhat hopeful state. The last scene of the fourth act, in which the discovery took place, produced a considerable tragic effect; and had the representation closed there, the piece might have been saved. But, in the fifth act, all was changed, hiss succeeded to hiss; and, before its termination, the house was quite in a state of tumult. At length the curtain fell, and Mr Siddons appeared, to announce the repetition of the play. The confusion of sounds which followed can be compared only to that which was heard in chaos before the reign of order commenced. Hands clapping, feet beating, hisses, catcalls, hear! hear! off! off! resounded from a thousand quarters at once. The manager stood for some time in silent amaze; but he soon became sensible, that a great majority was on the side of condemnation. He retired. An attempt was afterwards made, by the party friendly to the play, to call for it, but was drowned by a new tempest of wrath.Another drama was then announced.

I have already said, that there was a party which, from the first, shewed themselves hostile to the play. Yet being opposed by a stronger party, they could never, I apprehend, have gained so complete a triumph, had

not the audience felt along with them. There was some bad acting, which, no doubt turned visibly to their advantage. Yet the play, on the whole, was by no means ill acted. Mrs Siddons displayed powers, the rapid improvement of which promises to render her soon one of the first performers of the age. The other principal characters were well performed by Mr Terry and Mr Siddons. The unbiassed sense of the audience was therefore against the piece, and I must frankly express my opinion, that I felt disposed to go along with the general judgment. The construction of the play was singularly bad.There were five plots, totally distinct and unconnected with each other. There was the grand plot; there was, besides, the love of Comyn for Finella; then the separate love of the two damsels for Comyn; and there was, lastly, a Confessor, who continued labouring from the beginning of the play, to prevent that which had al ready taken place. Of these four underplots, not one had the smallest tendency to forward the main catastrophe. The treacherous attack of Comyn came in most unseasonably to ruin all the interest which had been expected by the closing scene of the fourth act. With regard to the circumstance on which the catastrophe turns, it has generally been considered of a nature so shocking and disgustful, as to form an insuperable bar to the success of any play. Yet instances might be given, when writers of exalted genius overcame this difficulty, and even derived advantage from it. To do so, however, required a delicacy of taste and feeling which, we suspect, was not possessed by the learned and laborious author of this piece. Some parts of the work displayed poetical merit, but not suffi, cient, we apprehend, to save the work, considered as a drama.

CIVIS.

Biographical

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