THE GATHERER.
Reading edition
A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. SHAKSPEARE.
ANCIENT AND MODERN THEATRES.
It appears, that our ancient theatres were little better than barns, while those of the present day may vie with palaces in extent, splendour, and decoration; and nothing can more strongly exhibit the contrast between the present age and that of Queen Elizabeth, than the difference in the expense of a London theatre. The Rose playhouse, which was erected about the year 1592, cost only 103l. 2s. 7d.,—a sum which would scarcely pay half the expenses of a modern patent theatre for a single night. Only let the reader think of the rush roof of the Globe, and the gilt-work ceilings of our present theatres; the open area,—and the cloth-covered seats of the pit; and the magnificence of our saloons, halls, staircases, and corridors,—all in the noblest style of architectural decoration—Companion to the Theatres.
Covent Garden was once the emporium of the arts and sciences, and the residence of the chief nobility of the kingdom. Barton Booth lived at No. 4, Charles-street; Colley Cibber lived at No. 3; and Easty's Hotel, Southampton-street, was Mr. Garrick's; Mrs. Oldfield lived in the same street; Wilkes built the house in Bow-street, next door but one to the theatre—Garrick and Macklin lodged in it.—Ibid.
At Kirlees, Yorkshire, about three miles from Hutherfield, is, or was lately, a funeral monument of the famous outlaw, Robin Hood, with the following inscription:—
Here, undernead dis laid stean, Lais Robert, Earl of Huntingtun; Nea arter az hie sa geud, Ah pipl kauld him Robin Heud. Sick outlawz hi an iz men Vil England niven si agen. Obiit 24 kal Decembrio, 1247.
HALBERT H.
REGENT-STREET.
The expenditure of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests in forming this splendid street, is stated to have been 1,533,582l. 16s. 10d.; and the probable revenue is 36,330l.
STEALING PICTURES.
The celebrated Raphael of the Louvre—Christ and his Disciples—is said to have been, at some unknown time, abstracted from its frame, and a modern copy substituted. The picture has been valued at £20,000. and it is surmised that it has found a hiding-place in England. Harlowe's Kemble Family is also missing at the present moment.
Literary Gazette.
RAMSAY'S ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF, IN A POEM ADDRESSED TO MR. JAMES ARBUCKLE.
Imprimis, then, for tallness, I Am five feet four inches high; A black-a-vic'd, snod, dapper fallow, Nor lean, nor overlaid wi' tallow; Wi' phiz of a Morocco cut, Resembling a late man of wit, Auld gabbet Spec, wha was sae cunning, To be a dummie ten years running. Then for the fabric of my mind, 'Tis mair to mirth than grief inclin'd: I rather choose to laugh at folly, Than shew dislike by melancholy; Weel judging a sour heavy face Is not the truest mark of grace. I hate a drunkard or a glutton, Yet I'm nae fae to wine and mutton: Great tables ne'er engaged my wishes When crowded with o'er mony dishes; A healthfu' stomach sharply set Prefers a back-sey pipin het. I never could imagine 't vicious Of a fair fame to be ambitious: Proud to be thought a comic poet, } And let a judge of numbers know it, } I court occasion thus to show it. } Second of thirdly—Pray take heed, Ye's get a short swatch of my creed. To follow method negatively, Ye ken takes place of positively: Weel then, I'm neither Whig nor Tory, Nor credit give to purgatory. Frae twenty-four to five-and-forty, My muse was neither sweer nor dorty, My Pegasus would break his tether, E'en at the shagging of a feather, And through ideas scour like drift, Streaking his wings up to the lift; Then, then my soul was in a low, That gart my members safely row; But eild and judgment 'gin to say, Let be your sangs, and learn to pray.
I.S.W.
ESPRIT DE CORPS.
Old Captain Humdrum, Being sent home in rum, The tars as they brought him on shore, Got drunk with the pickle: "'Tis natural," says Jekyll, "They should all feel the Esprit de Corps."
Weekly Review.
LIMBIRD'S EDITION OF THE Following Novels are already Published:
s.d.
Mackenzie's Man of Feeling 0 6
Paul and Virginia 0 6
The Castle of Otranto 0 6
Almoran and Hamet 0 6
Elizabeth, or the Exiles of Siberia 0 6
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne 0 6
Rasselas 0 8
The Old English Baron 0 8
Nature and Art 0 8
Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield 0 10
Sicilian Romance 1 0
The Man of the World 1 0
A Simple Story 1 4
Joseph Andrews 1 6
Humphry Clinker 1 8
The Romance of the Forest 1 8
The Italian 2 0
Zeluco, by Dr. Moore 2 6
Edward, by Dr. Moore 2 0
Roderick Random 2 6
The Mysteries of Udolpho 3 6
Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic, and by all Newsmen and Booksellers.