THE DIBDIN FESTIVAL.
CHARLES DIBDIN was a genius of no common order. He was a poet, a inusieian, an actor. The lover of true melody, the lover of genuine feeling, of the poetry of nature and of the heart, will cherish the memory and admire the talents of Drnnirc. In his own peculiar walk he hal many imitators, but no rival. Some of his most ardent admirers were desirous of placing a monument to his memory in Greenwich Hospital ; the subscription, however, lin- gered, and fell short. of the amount required to indemnify the sculptor : it was therefore resolved to give for this purpose a per- formance at Covent Garden Theatre, consisting of two of his operettas, The Raki,! and The Quaher, and a concert com- prising scene of his hest sons. The following singers readily pro- mised their gratuitous aid.—Miss PATON, Madame Vssrais, Miss 13v FIELD, Miss Folios:, and Miss Hum-1Es ; Messrs. WOOD, E. TAYLOR, ATKINS, PHILLIPS, J. RUSSELL, GOULDEN, STANS- BURY, and REEVE. On the rising of the curtain, (on Tuesday evening), the crew of a man of war were discovered on her quar- ter-deck, surrounding the bust of "the Sailor's Bard ;" and the performance began by their singing "Poor Tom Bowling." Mr. BARTLEY, in the character of a sailor, then delivered an address written for the occasion by T. DIBDIN, of which the following are
the concluding stanzas.
"If these, and many hundred ditties more,
Are heard from Thames to India's furthest shore, Smoothing, like oil when poured upon the wave,
The sometimes erring spirit of the brave,—
Bestow to-night one sympathizing sigh
On him, though gone, whose muse can never die :
An honest tribute to his merits give, And with his song, 0 let his memory live !"
The house was crowded to the ceiling ; and though the unex- pected disappointment occasioned by Miss PATON'S indisposition excited some temporary displeasure in the audience, the excellence of the performance soon restored all to good humour. We rejoice in the success of the undertaking, for we envy not the musician or the man who can find nothing to admire in CHARLES DIBDIN.
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