127OCTOBER 26, 1823.

and will merely repeat our formerassertion, that the Depositions areiu themselves so very clear and

intelligible, that further elucida-tion is unnecessary.

THE DRAMATIC LANCET.

No. 1. *

* To the present period our theatricalduties have been discharged by two verykind friends.

’ Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri.’ ’’

We pin our faith upon no man’s sleeve !

A BOOK is generally precededby a preface, and few critics candispense with a prologue to a newplay. Even a minuet cannot bedanced without an introductorybow to propitiate the graces; anda good exordium has alwaysbeen accounted a principal fea-ture in every public oration.Our great Epic poets, indeed, indefiance of this slavish custom, ihave dashed at once into the mid-’dle of their subject, leaving it totheir favourite hero, after escap-ing from a terrible shipwreck,upon some desert or enchantedisland, to record while feasting ata luxurious banquet, prepared bysome amorous Goddess, the inter-esting tale of his past exploitsand his perilous adventures. Wesuppose it was in deference tothese high authorities, that our

noble friend Lord Byron, who is

certainly something more than aLord among Wits, and a Witamong Lords," in his rare,

though unequal production of

" Don Juan," has been induced

to leave a wide gap in the middleof his poem, and to keep his read-ers in cruel suspense, throughsix or seven cantos, and for nearlyas many long and tedious months,how the two fugitive lovers con.trived to elude the vengeance ofthe haughty Guleyrez, and escapebeing put into a sack and drownedin the river Tigris. For our-selves, although the limits of ourpublication forbid any long or ela-borate disquisition on any topic,and its name, as designated in theTitle-page, indicates merely adesign to point our instrument atpassing abuses, and let outthemor-bid and peccant humours of the day;yet, as we wish to be consideredon a friendly and sociable footingwith our Readers, and, we flatterourselves, we are already esta..blished in their favourable opinion,as amusing and not uninstructivecompanions ; we have some fewlittle preliminaries to settle, beforewe can jog on comfortably andquietly together, in our usefuland pleasing journey.Now, then, to the object more

immediately in view. It is nevertoo late to retract an error, nor be-yond the reach of human, abilityto correct the most inveterate

abuse. Over the Proscenium ofone of our principal metropolitantheatres, and conspicuously in

sight of the whole audience, wasformerly placed the followinglaconic and expressive motto," Veluti in Speculum," the mean-ing of which in plain Englishwas, that we might there see our-selves faithfully portrayed as ina glass.’ This was very well,and certainly appropriate to theoccasion; but unfortunately thetranscri ber of this motto had brokenpoor Priscian’s head; in other

128

words, it was bad Latin ; the prepo-sition in, governing the ablativecase, and specltlum being the

objective or accusative case, it

ought, therefore, undoubtedlyto- have been written velitti in

speculo. Impressed with thisconviction, the writer of the pre-sent Essay, upon a former occa-sion, addressed a letter, throughthe medium of the Morning Chro-nicle, to the late Mr. JohnKemble, who had just then suc-ceeded to the management of theTheatre,-and the mention ofwhose name almost tempts us todigress for a moment, for the pur-pose of paying to the remem-brance of his transcendent talentsthe grateful tribute of a line. Buta future and a better opportunitywill be offered in the course ofthese Essays, to record the virtuesof a man, whose classical erudi-tion and dramatic genius mayperhaps have been equalled, buthave never been surpassed. -Although the writer of the aboveletter pointed out the absurdity ofthe motto as it then stood, andsatisfactorily proved his statement,hy quotations from Terence andCicero, two of the best standardsfor purity of style and grammaticalconstruction ; yet, to the surpriseof every enlightened scholar, andthe disgrace of the national litera-ture, the unt, or hum (as it maymore properly be termed) was forseveral years afterwards sufferedto be obtruded on the public tasteand understanding. Whether fromcaprice, or a conviction of its ab- I

surdity, we cannot decide; butcommon sense and propriety haveat length triumphed,’ and themotto is removed.We have now another equally

foolish misnomer, which requires

the application of The Lancet to lay bare," and destroy.

Within the last year an in-

teresting work has issued fromthe press, intituled " The Lol-lards," or Tales of the Fit-teenth Century. In this publica-tion, the author has clearly de-monstrated, that on the spot onwhich one of our Theatres is built,and which is known under thename of Covent Garden, was ori-ginally a Convefl,t, and surroundedby a garden. If this be the fact,and, independently of the author’stestimony, it appears consonantwith probability and good sense,what should hinder us from imme-diately correcting the error, -andrestoring the just and propername It may, perhaps, be urgedas an objection, that the priors,abbesses, and nuns that now oc-cupy this famous spot, are of avery different description to thosewho formerly tenanted these man-sions of prodigality and folly;and that the custom of callingit by its present name has pre-vailed so long as to render itdifficult to change. To the first,we answer, that the corruptionor abuse of any thing is no

argument for the perversion of itsoriginal use or meaning ; and tothe latter we need only say, thatif mere custom is to sanction ab-surdity, it may as well be calledCommon Garden Theatre; forso it is vulgarly styled at presentby the ignorant, and uninstruct-ed-part of the community, and withmuch more propriety; for it hasindeed grown quite common, con-sidering the dearth of dramatic ge-nins, and the indecent scenes that arenightly witnessed both within andwithout its walls.—The progressof knowledge, and the intellectual

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exertions of a few enlightenedand judicious minds, have alreadyproduced wonderful effects in theway of general improvement andreformation. 11 Brummagem" hasbeen refined into Birmingham.The Bell Savage Inn, Ludgate-hill, as it was formerly called, anddesignated by a large bell sus-

pended over a monkey, is nowrestored to- its proper name ofLa Belle Sauvage (the beautifulravage). And Mary-bone parishacknowledges her patroness andlutelary guardian in Mary labone (the good Mary). Whyshould our theatres alone, whichprofess to be schools or morality,and vehicles for the production ofchaste wit and superior genius, bebehind hand with the great marchof intellectual improvement, or

continue to perpetuate errors, forwhich there can be neither justi-fication nor excuse. —We call

upon Mr. Charles Kemble, who isnow the acting manager, and whohas the reputation of inheritingmany of the estimable qualities ofhis late much-lamented and ex-cellent brother, to step forward and Irescue the stage from the ridiculeof foreigners, and the reproach ofthe discerning and judicious partof the community. After havingpointed out this glaring absurdity,he cannot now plead ignorance onthe subject. The introduction ofthe letter n is not only requiredby the suggestions of commonsense, but even on the principlesof the Euphonice gratia (if wemay be allowed the term), for thesake of the harmony, which ren-ders it more grateful to the ear,and easier of’ pronunciation. Letbut the change be forthwith an-nounced in all the play-bills andadvertisements of the theatre, and

we will stake our credit that (al-though, from its apparent singu-larity and the force of habit, thealteration may at first perhaps pro-voke a smile or a sneer from the su-

perficial and ignorant,) inquiry anddiscussion will soon lead to its uni-versal adoption; and our theatres,in compliance with the instructionof Hamlet to the players, will nolonger incur the reproach of not" suiting the word to the action,"or making the sound an echo tothe sense. We have prefaced ourStrictures on the Drama,’ whichwe mean in future to continue re-

gularly and periodically, fromtime to time, with these reflec-tions-that our readers might beprepared for the critiques whichwill follow. We had intended tohave entered into a review ofMr. Young’s Hamlet, accompa-nied with some animadversionson his peculiar style of acting, ascontrasted with that of Messrs.Kean and Macready ; but want oftime and space compels us to deferit, till a future Number.

MEDICAL AND SURGICALINTELLIGENCE.

On the Effects of Stricture ofthe Urethra, particularly ofthe sacculated State of theBladder, with an Inquiry intoa Mode of Treatment to avertthis latter consequence of stric-ture, which is often fatal. ByJOHN SHAW, Esq.—Read Feb.25, 1823.

[From the Medico-Chirurgical Transac-tions.]

[Concluded from p. 94.]While upon this subject, I

should not omit to allude to cer-tain cases, which though not un-