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Article STRICTURES ON PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Strictures On Public Amusements.
; n the agonies of guilty desperation plunge a dagger in his own heart . —The La Mottes are restored to fortune and honour , and the piece concludes with the marriage of the two lovers . . , The scenery of this new Drama is very fine , particularly a moon-light , a thunderstorm by night shattering the ruins of-the abbey , the apartment where the * iurder was committed , and the cell in which the ghost appears . The introduction of the Ghost is by far the boldest attempt of the modern drama . the Authorand the whole is
But it has been conducted with such address by , scene so well performed , that it forms one of the best instances of terror , excited by mystery , which the stage can boast . Fontainville Forest is avowedly taken from Mrs . Radcliffe ' s Novel of the Romance of the Forest . " All the incidents are to be found in that part of the Romance of which the Old Abbey is the scene . The chief deviation from the Novel seems to be the making the son of La Motte the favoured lover of Adeline , by which means the character of Theodore is totally omitted . The Play was throughout well received , and has been since frequently repeated with applause .
PROLOGUE . BY MR . JAMES BOADEN , ( Author of the Play . ) THE Prologue once indeed , in days of old , Some previous facts of the new Drama told ; Pointed your expectation to the scene ' , . And clear'd obstruction that might intervene ;
1 ' ossess'd you with those aids the Author thought Were requisite to judge him as you ought . The Moderns previous hints like these despise , Demand intrigue , and banquet on surprise : The Prologue , notwithstanding , keeps its station , A trembling Poet ' s solemn lamentation . Cloak'd up in metaphor , it tells of shocks Fatal to shinewlaunch'dfrom hidden rocks ;
ps , Of critic batteries , of rival strife , " The Destinies that slit the thin-spun life . " Our Author chuses to prepare the way With lines at least suggested by his Play . Caught from the Gothic treasures of Romance , He frames his work , and lays the scene in France . The word , I see , alarms—it vibrates here ,
And Feeling marks its impulse with a tear . It brings to thought a people once rcfin'd , Who led supreme the manners of mankind ; Deprav'd by cruelty , by pride inflam'd , By traitors madden'd , and by sophists sham'd ; Crushing that freedom , which , with gentle sway > Courted their Revolution ' s infant day , Ere giant Vanity , with impious hand ,
Assail'd the sacred Temples of the Land . Fall ' n is that land beneath Oppression ' s flood ; Its purest sun has set , alas , in blood ! The milder planet drew from him her light , _ And when HE rose no more , soon sunk in night : The regal source of order once destroy'd , Anarchy made the fair creation void . Britonsto youby temperate freedom crown'd ,
, , For every manly sentiment renown'd , The Stage can have no motive to enforce The principles that guide your glorious course ; Proceed triumphant—' mid the world's applause , Firm to your King , your Altars , and your Laws .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Strictures On Public Amusements.
; n the agonies of guilty desperation plunge a dagger in his own heart . —The La Mottes are restored to fortune and honour , and the piece concludes with the marriage of the two lovers . . , The scenery of this new Drama is very fine , particularly a moon-light , a thunderstorm by night shattering the ruins of-the abbey , the apartment where the * iurder was committed , and the cell in which the ghost appears . The introduction of the Ghost is by far the boldest attempt of the modern drama . the Authorand the whole is
But it has been conducted with such address by , scene so well performed , that it forms one of the best instances of terror , excited by mystery , which the stage can boast . Fontainville Forest is avowedly taken from Mrs . Radcliffe ' s Novel of the Romance of the Forest . " All the incidents are to be found in that part of the Romance of which the Old Abbey is the scene . The chief deviation from the Novel seems to be the making the son of La Motte the favoured lover of Adeline , by which means the character of Theodore is totally omitted . The Play was throughout well received , and has been since frequently repeated with applause .
PROLOGUE . BY MR . JAMES BOADEN , ( Author of the Play . ) THE Prologue once indeed , in days of old , Some previous facts of the new Drama told ; Pointed your expectation to the scene ' , . And clear'd obstruction that might intervene ;
1 ' ossess'd you with those aids the Author thought Were requisite to judge him as you ought . The Moderns previous hints like these despise , Demand intrigue , and banquet on surprise : The Prologue , notwithstanding , keeps its station , A trembling Poet ' s solemn lamentation . Cloak'd up in metaphor , it tells of shocks Fatal to shinewlaunch'dfrom hidden rocks ;
ps , Of critic batteries , of rival strife , " The Destinies that slit the thin-spun life . " Our Author chuses to prepare the way With lines at least suggested by his Play . Caught from the Gothic treasures of Romance , He frames his work , and lays the scene in France . The word , I see , alarms—it vibrates here ,
And Feeling marks its impulse with a tear . It brings to thought a people once rcfin'd , Who led supreme the manners of mankind ; Deprav'd by cruelty , by pride inflam'd , By traitors madden'd , and by sophists sham'd ; Crushing that freedom , which , with gentle sway > Courted their Revolution ' s infant day , Ere giant Vanity , with impious hand ,
Assail'd the sacred Temples of the Land . Fall ' n is that land beneath Oppression ' s flood ; Its purest sun has set , alas , in blood ! The milder planet drew from him her light , _ And when HE rose no more , soon sunk in night : The regal source of order once destroy'd , Anarchy made the fair creation void . Britonsto youby temperate freedom crown'd ,
, , For every manly sentiment renown'd , The Stage can have no motive to enforce The principles that guide your glorious course ; Proceed triumphant—' mid the world's applause , Firm to your King , your Altars , and your Laws .