Covent Garden, on Monday, exhibited a scene unparallelled since the
0. P. riots ; though the uproar was in this instance unaccompanied by any act of violence. The disturbance arose out of the announce- ment of Mr. GREGORY'S appearance in Hamlet; which the public were called upon by printed placards to resent as an offence against pro- priety, forasmuch as the debutant was the avowed editor of a scandal- ous Sunday paper. The tragedy was suffered to commence quietly ; but the entrance of Hamlet was the signal for a tumult of yells, hoot- ing, and opprobrious epithets, mingled with vociferous applause from Mr. GREGORY'S partisans. The object of this furious opposition stood un- moved, as though waiting for the storm to subside ; but it rather increased than diminished, and when he began to act, burst forth with renewed ve- hemence. The performance proceeded in dumb-show, Mr. GREGORY ma- nifesting the mcst perfect self-possession, until BARTLEY appeared in answer to the call for " Dunn," and intimated, that as the majority of the house appeared opposed to the performance, it should be stopped. Mr. GREGORY then came forward and addressed the angry public ; but not a word he said was audible : he pointed significantly to a gentleman in the stage-box who had attracted attention by the vehemence of his gesticulations, and then withdrew. The rising of the curtain for the second act took the house by surprise, and elicited a renewed outbreak of indignation : the temper of the dissentients waxed fierce, execra- tions were loudly uttered, and the opposition assumed an aspect that no prudent manager dare withstand, and none but a man of iron nerves or of brazen assurance defy. BARTLEY therefore again came forward, and excusing his previous reluctance to stop the performance, promised that, in obedience to the wish of the majority of the house, it should not proceed. As the curtain fell, Mr. GREGORY looked un- utterable things at BARTLEY ; and the victorious party indulged in a shout of triumph and three groans for Mr. GREGORY S paper. The farce of Cousin Lambkin, which was substituted for the rest of the play, was likewise performed in dumb-show, the minority in turn venting their disapprobation. The ballet opera, The Maid of Cashmere, was suffered to proceed quietly. Of the condemned debutant we know nothing but by common report : regarding him only as an actor, we may observe that his personal ap- pearance almost disqualifies him for assuming the character of Hamlet at a great theatre ; and, judging of his acting by what we saw, the stage has lost no remarkable talent by his expulsion.
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