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of your correspondents, whether Protestant or Catholic, will favour me with a statement, which may shew that Cecil was the author of the gunpowder conspiracy, I shall feel myself obliged; as it will relieve me from the unpleasantness of holding a conclusion, the reason for which I have forgotten.

The Act of James I. which appoints a general thanksgiving on this day, contains expressions which seems to me unfitting, in the sincere acknowledgments of a deliverance so great as is pretended. King James is "the most great, learned, and religious, king that ever reigned" in this kingdom; "enriched with a most hopeful and plentiful progeny." "Many malignant and devilish papists, jesuits, and seminary priests, much envied and feared him:" the laws enacted against them "they falsely and slanderously termed cruel laws.' All this is but the expected colouring of a court party. But, when we are told, that "it pleased Almighty God, by inspiring the king's most excellent majesty with a divine spirit, to interpret some dark phrases of a letter shewed to his majesty, above and beyond all ordinary construction; thereby miraculously discovering the hidden treason, not many hours before the appointed time for the execution thereof;" I, for one, cannot refrain from suspicion of this marvellous coincidence of the time for execution, and the time for discovery; or from incredulity as to the miraculous interpretation of some dark phrases, above and beyond all ordinary construction; or from laughter at the immodest and profane adulations which the statute contains.

Our own times have illustrated to us the economy of a state-plot. And I cannot help forming some link of association between the ideas of the gunpowder treason and the Cato-street conspiracy. A PROTESTANT.

November 5, 1822.

For the Monthly Magazine. SOME ACCOUNT of the PRECOCIOUS TALENTS of the DRAMATIC PHENOMENON, MISS CLARA FISHER.

MISS CLARA FISHER was born in London on the 14th of July, 1811, and is the youngest daughter of Mr. Fisher, formerly proprietor of the Steyne Library, Brighton, but for many years a respectable auctioneer in Covent Garden.

The first intimation of uncommon

perception which she evinced, was her knowledge in musical sounds, which, whilst an infant in arms, she shewed by various ways; expressing great delight when certain tunes were played which pleased her ear; whilst, on the other hand, she opposed the performing of those she had taken a dislike to, by every means in her power. Repeated experiments were made to ascertain whether it was a real knowledge of difference of sounds, or merely the effect of chance, or childish caprice; but the results were ever invariably the same: the first bar of the tunes sho disliked being played on the piano would set her crying; but, when changed to those she approved, she instantly laughed, and demonstrated the greatest pleasure. Dr. Williams (better known by the name of Antony Pasquin,) mentions the above circumstance of little Clara in his Dramatic Censor, as an extraordinary instance of infantine perception. Mr. Fisher's family being in private life, few opportunities presented themselves of witnessing dramatic representations; but the fame which Miss O'Neill acquired on her appearing in London, induced Mr. Fisher to visit Covent Garden theatre with his family, to witness the tragedy of Jane Shore; and, from the impression made that evening on the mind of little Clara, may be dated her passion for acting.

On her return home the same evering, while the family were at supper, she left the table, (unobserved as she supposed,) and began to act, in dumbshow, what she had scen Miss O'Neill perform in Jane Shore; but, infant like, blended with it the madness of Alicia. A few nights after she was taken to the Olympic theatre, where a comic dance was very well executed by the clown, and which the next day she repeated every step, with all the grimace and distortion of features used by the performer the night before. These early efforts, in a child of four years of age, gave much pleasure to her parents; and, whenever they had a party of friends, by way of amusement, they would send an elder sister

of Clara's to the piano to play some of the plaintive airs she was fond of, (as if by accident,) which, as soon as she heard, she would leave off every other pursuit, and instantly, commence a pathetic story in dumb show, varying her action in the most graceful manner possible. Sometimes she would raise

her

her hands and eyes towards heaven, as if imploring mercy, then fall, as if expiring, at full length upon the floor; at others, she would appear with all the frantic madness of Alicia, with dishevelled hair, fixed eyes, and wild distraction in her aspect, seem to follow round the room, with ghastly stare, the "headless trunk" (so forcibly described by Rowe,) out of the door, in all the agony she had observed in Alicia. As she never uttered a word on these occasions, what passed in her mind could only be conjectured; but, certain it is, she invariably drew tears from all who witnessed these self-created tragic scenes; and, what was most extraordinary, she never by any chance acted them twice alike, but always found a never-failing variety whenever the music induced her to exert her talents in a dramatic line.

About two years after, when she was turned of six years of age, Mr. D. Corri, composer, having much influence with Mr. Raymond, the then acting manager of Drury Lane theatre, he entered into a treaty with him to bring out a piece, wherein his own pupils only should perform; and, to one of their rehearsals, little Clara was invited, and, expressing herself much pleased with what she heard and saw the young ladies do, she was frequently solicited to be of their morning and evening parties: at length, she expressed a wish to learn something, that she might recite at their next meeting at Mr. D. Corri's in Percy-street. Accordingly, her elder sister taught her Jane Shore's speech of "O! thou most righteous judge," in which Miss O'Neill seemed to have made so strong an impression on her mind, and she repeated it the next time the party met together at rehearsal, at which were present many persons of fashion and consequence, who all expressed great surprise and delight at the ease and propriety with which she delivered the

text.

From that time she became an object of attention; and, soon after, Mr. D. Corri waited on Mr. Fisher, soliciting him to permit little Clara to join his juvenile party in their intended performances in Drury Lane theatre. The objections Mr. Fisher had to Clara's appearing as an actress, at so early a period of life, were ultimately overruled; and the next difficulty to overcome, was, what piece was best suited to bring forth such youthful can

didates to advantage in. After much consultation on the subject, Garrick' two-act romance of Lilliput was fixed upon; but, as the piece had no songs, as originally written, and all Mr. Corri's pupils being only musical, Mr. Fisher (the father of little Clara) was requested to write appropriate songs for each of the characters, and make such additions as he should deem necessary to shew forth all the talent of the juvenile party. To accomplish which, Mr. Fisher found it adviseable to write several additional characters, and an entire new last act; in which a masque was introduced, supposed to be given at the Lilliputian court by order of their king, in compliment to Gulliver. In this masque, the last act of Shakspeare's Richard III., from the tent scene to the death of the tyrant, was artfully interwoven, in order to shew the talents of little Clara in the highest range of the drama. The music to the songs, duetts, glees, and chorusses, were composed by Mr. D. Corri; and the piece, thus altered, made its first appearance at Drury Lane theatre on the tenth day of December, 1817, under the stage-management of Mr. H. E. Johnson, who had succeeded to that situation on the denise of Mr. Raymond.

The piece was received throughout with the most flattering success; but the tumultuous applause and approbation bestowed on the delineation of King Richard III. by the little heroine of these memoirs, were as warm and enthusiastic as ever were heard within the walls of a theatre. Soon after the curtain fell, divested of Richard's robes and attire, little Clara re-appeared, dressed in a white muslin frock; and, with infantine innocence, spoke the epilogue.

Thunders of applause followed a simple and innocent appeal to the feelings of the audience from one so young and interesting in appearance, and the piece was given out for repetition with unanimous plaudits from every quarter of the house. For the first three nights Lilliput was done as an after-piece; for four following evenings as a middle piece; and, as a proof of its great attraction, the last ten nights as a first piece,-and filling the theatre whenever it was announced, whether as first, second, or after-piece.

As soon as it was known that Miss Clara Fisher's engagement was termi nated at Drury Lane, she was applied

for

for by Mr. Harris, manager of Covent Garden theatre, and made her appearance there with great success in Richard III., being honoured on the fourth evening of her performance with the presence of his present Majesty, (then Prince Regent,) and the first time of his appearing in public after the loss of the Princess Charlotte; the Duke of York, Prince William of Gloucester, and many other branches of the royal family, being present on the same evening. Mr. Elliston, the present patentee of Drury Lane theatre, engaged Miss Clara Fisher on the most liberal terms to perform twelve nights at Birmingham, where she appeared with great success in March,

1818.

Her fame as an actress by this time having reached the most distant parts of the kingdom, numerous engage. ments poured in from every respecta ble theatre in England and Scotland; and, in nearly every city and town of consequence in both kingdoms, she has appeared with brilliant success. At Edinburgh, her reception was of the most flattering description: persons of the highest respectability, after her first appearance, soliciting her acquaintance; and a society of gentlemen, who are studying Drs. Gall and Spurzheim's System of Phrenology,

London. She has just finished a very successful engagement at the English Opera-house, where her attraction has been most powerful, drawing crowds nightly to the theatre to witness her extraordinary powers in singing, dancing, serious and comic acting. The writers in all the papers and publications, where theatres are mentioned, always speaking of her powers as an actress in the most unqualified terms of praise and admiration. In the course of her theatric tour she has travelled upwards of fifteen thousand miles! performed the character of King Richard III. more than three hundred and fifty times! besides the following most extraordinary list of Scrub, Marplot, Ollapod, Dr. Pangloss, parts: Falstaff, Shylock, Douglas, Sir Peter Teazle, Crack, Captain Allclack, Bombastes Furioso, Lord Flimnap, Myrtillo, Mock Doctor, Midas, Little Pickle, Moggy M'Gilpin, and Actress of All Work, with a versatility and correctness which cannot be surpassed, and must be witnessed to be believed: with comic songs, prologues, epilogues, Scotch, Spanish, and English, dances of various descriptions, and all in very superior style. Her incmory is so very retentive, that study, or learning of any kind, is no trouble; and she has only to read a character termed, letter perfect; and so anxious a few times, to be what is theatrically is she to form a correct knowledge of the part she is to represent, that she always studies the whole play in which she is to perform. It has been affirmed by many, that she is a copyist of some of our great actors and actresfact, she never saw a play in which ses; but, so far from that being the she performs a part, excepting Richard III, when, five nights after she had acted it at Drury Lane theatre, she was requested by the manager to go in front and see Mr. Kean go through the character.

requested to have a cast taken from her head, which, being granted, is now one amongst the number lectured on, to illustrate the System. On her second visit to Edinburgh the following year, she was again received with every mark of kindness and respect, the houses were crowded nightly with beauty and fashion, the critics were lavish of their praises in every newspaper and periodical publication in that literary quarter of the kingdom, and nothing was omitted that could in any way testify their approbation of our little heroine. She afterwards played in Glasgow, Greenock, Dundee, Cupar, Montrose, St. Andrew's, and Aberdeen, with the greatest success; possession of her heart, nor does she apVanity of no kind has as yet taken visiting, in her tour, York, Hull, Dur- pear in any way conscious of her acham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Shields, knowledged superior abilities. Scarborough, Harrowgate, Halifax, temper is mild, gentle, and affectionDoncaster, Nottingham, Derby, Lan- ate, doatingly fond of her parents, si3caster, Preston, Warrington, Bolton, ters, and brothers, as may be naturally Chester, Stockport, Manchester, Liver- supposed they are of her. She enjoys pool, Stamford, Margate, Canterbury, an excellent state of health, and is Tunbridge Wells, Dover, Brighton, never so happy as when on the stage. Worthing, Chichester, Portsmouth, In her leisure hours from study she Southampton, Winchester, Taunton, Salisbury, Isle of Wight, Weymouth, dressing and nursing her doll; but no

MONTHLY MAG. No. 376.

Her

amuses herself, like other children, in

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capes her lips. In intellect she is mature in every way; and those persons who are most intimate with the family in private life, speak of little Clara with more rapture off the boards, han they who only see her on them.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

stationed; to this repaired, in long boats, on one side, the Governor of Kamtschatka, Captain Wassiliew, and the principal officers; on the other, the clergy, with the banners and images of the saints, patrons of our church. The whole of this cortège being assembled, his excellency presented to the dean of the ecclesiastics a copy of the Maritime Code of Peter the Great, and invited him to chant the thanksgiving hymn of Te Deum. This hymn was followed with a salute of artillery from the two corvettes.

was

"Having landed, the governor gave a grand dinner. Next day a subscription opened, which quickly amounted to 1500 roubles, to raise, in Kamtschatka, a marble monument to the memory of Vitus Behring, the navigator."

Z.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

BOUT four miles from Malvern, to

A LETTER from Port St. Peter and Paul, Kamtschatka, dated Nov. 30, 1821, among other details, contains the following information :— "We have been visited here by a vessel from the Sandwich islands, named Kaiderno,' which signifies Longnecked. On the 16th of September the commandant, by express order of his Sovereign, gave a treat to our governor and his staff officers. On its departure, on the 18th, this vessel fired a salute of all its guns, which were well served by natives of the Sandwich islands. His excellency has sent to the king two reindeer, male and female, the south, is a hill of singular interwith a young bear, and has given to the captain one of the finest cows of the est, now known by the name of the Herefordshire Beacon, occurring at that country. The officers and sailors were all natives of the Sandwich Archipe- point where the turnpike-road from lago, and soon formed acquaintance Hereford, through Ledbury to Worwith the Kamtschatdales, who testified cester, intersects this line of hills. a particular regard for them. They Coming out of the county of Hereford, were ever cheerful and gay: singing into that of Worcester, the line of dewas heard amongst them, night and markation runs along the tops of day. They attended our church on those hills; the right-hand hill is the one attentive. the Sunday, and were very to which allusion has been From thence they repaired to the made; on the top of which hill, is an ancient British* encampment, fortified governor's quarters. In accosting, or taking leave of any one, they pro- by several broad and deep circumvalnounced aloud the word Arochà. lations, encircling a camp of very large Their dress embraced fashions of dimensions,† which crowns the apex of every descriptions; one had on a the major part of this mountain. sailor's waistcoat, another a cloth frock, a third a silk coat, &c. Some had shoes without stockings; but, in general, they were barefooted."

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To the above may be added, though preceding it in point of time:-"On the 8th of September arrived here, the corvettos ' Otkrilia,' meaning Discovery,' and the Blagonamerennie,' or 'Good Intention,' both under the orders of Captain Wassiliew, of the Imperial Marine. In the second fortnight of the same month, the San Pedro, a merchant ship, and two transports, the Michael and the Dionis, entered our harbour successively."

"On the 6th of Oct., the anniversary of the promulgation of the Maritime Code, granted by Peter the Great in 1722, solemnities and rejoicings were witnessed here. In the middle of the road, a ship covered with flags, was 1

From the highest point of the road, a great extent of the beautiful vale of Evesham, and also of the Severn, may be discovered; as, doubtless, numbers of your readers may have experienced.

From the hill, on either side, a still larger extent of prospect may be descried, as fine and extensive an in

That it is actually British, I have the authority of that celebrated British antiquary, and eminent Cymbrian scholar, Mr. William Owen Pughe, whom I consulted upon the occasion.

The entire length of this encampment, as measured, is 1115 yards; the length of the west section of the first circumvallation, 1405 yards; the breadth of the north extreme, at its centre, is 100 yards; the breadth of the south extreme, at its centre,

is 100 yards: and, the extreme height of the regal, or general's, station, answering to the Roman Pretorium, in the centre, is about 1395 feet above the level of the sea. land

land view as can be seen from any point of land, in almost any country, not excepting even the famed Campania of ancient Latium. This view is bounded by the distant blue Gloucestershire-bills, very remarkable for uninterrupted extent, commanding a prospect of rather more than thirty miles in a direct line; and, in horizontal obliquity, it extends from far above Worcester to the Bristol Channel; indeed, you may see from the Wrekin, in Salop, down to the open sea: and for richness, I presume, it is not to be exceeded by any view in this country, or even in the British empire. Commanding the whole vaie of Severn, in length, I believe, to above the extent of one hundred and fifty miles, the rich meadows on the shores of that river, the fertile corn. fields, and the populous cities and towns, whose smoke may be plainly discovered, with some accompanying tower, it affords the spectator views of the well-peopled cities and towns of Worcester, Upton, Pershore, Tewkesbury, Gloucester; with numerous large and populous villages, famed for plenty and generous hospitality. To a mind informed of the history of those local stations, the variety of imagery which rush on its perception, is far too much for solitary contemplation.

The face to the east, on the righthand, in the distance, is seen Gloucester, near which may be discerned the Isle of Alney, where the patriotic Saxon, Edmund Ironside, fought in single combat with the Danish chief Canute, in the presence of both armies, for the lives, the rights, the honours, property, the safety, and the liberty, of his people; where the illustrious sovereign's fate was unaccompanied by that propitious justice, which, according to the dark and short-sighted view of wretched humanity, should have distinguished his meritorious conduct, when the invading raven made the British lion succumb beneath his sable talons, Here those lines in the "Cato" of Addison will recur to the memory of the sympathetic spectator, who will exclaim,

"The ways of heaven are dark and intricate:
Puzzled with mazes, and perplex'd in error,
The understanding traces them in vain.
Lost and bewildered in the fruitless search,
We cannot see with how much art the
windings run,

Nor where the regular confusion ends:"

victorious over his own enemy, his
country's robber, and his people's foe.
In the luxurious spot where the
Warwickshire Avon* conjoins the
stately Severn, the lofty tower of
Tewkesbury abbey-church is pointed
out by large masses of circling and
aspiring smoke: here the brothers't
wealth was displayed in raising the
holy fane. In the vicinity of which,
the historic eye will discover, in me-
mory's mirrour, in the mid-day blaze it
will behold, the crested helms, the
polished spears, the standards of the
hostile roses of York and Lancaster
waving in proud array; either party
now advancing, then retreating; now
pursuing, then pursued. In those
dire, those unnatural conflicts,
"Where father fought with son,
with sire,

and son

And where the brother spilt his brother's blood!"

Here, in this unnatural commotion, the infant hopet of the ill-fated Margaret of Anjou was slain: here the dæmon of usurpation again prevailed.

Around the lofty spires of Worcester, the reflecting mind will trace those fields and meadows, once saturated with floods of human gore, where abandoned usurpation was rendered doubly diabolical from the basest of human crimes, which furnished its original-bypocrisy; the produce of vilest bigotry, springing from the practice of puritanical and ignoble slaves. Where the genius of the second Charles was rendered subservient to the bypocritical policy of a Cromwell.

About half-way between Worcester and Tewkesbury, lie the peaceful vales of Upton, where Fielding's genius loved to range; whilst it described the loves of his hero and the captivating Sophia Western.§

The course of the fertile and peopled Severn from this station, in the meridian heat of a summer's day, may be distinctly traced for upwards of a hundred miles, in its meandering inflexions, by the blue misty exhalations which arise from its surface. Whilst

* The British name for any river: it is therefore appellative only.

† Odo and Dodo, Earls of Gloucester,

founded Tewkesbury church and monastery in the 6th century. (See Williams's History of St. Alban's, Part I.)

The young prince was killed after the

Or else the magnanimous Anglo-Saxon battle in cool blood, in a house in Church

monarch would surely have proved

street.

$ Vide Fielding's "Tom Jones."

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