Think how the stage in piety began, When early players played the 'fall of man;' Or showed the Lord High Admiral of the Ark Eyeing the clouds, about to disembark. Now the Church borrows what it lent before, And the just actors all her own restore: Again Devotion asks the help of Art, And paint and music rouse the torpid heart. The self same vein which bade old bards rehearse The book of Exodus in tragic verse, Reveals itself in operas that mingle Religious hist'ry with dramatic jingle. 'Moses in Egypt,' blazoned on the bill, Night after night the galleries can fill, While crowds of Sunday amateurs admire The tale of 'David,' chanted by a choir. Already, I foresee, the time is nigh, When concert-rooms our worship will supply, And sacred oratorios combine (To suit all tastes) the play-house and the shrine.
But soft--the bell! the steamboat sails at noon; Rest thee, my goose-quill, till another moon.
Mr. PLACIDE, the _universal_ favorite, who requires not a word of praise from any one who has ever seen him upon the stage, leaves us soon, we learn, for the South-west. As an actor and a gentleman, we commend him to the especial regards of our play-going readers, and editorial and personal friends, in that meridian. Gentlemen, he is 'a trump!' Mr. CHIPPENDALE is cordially welcomed back to the Park. In his rôle, by no means a limited one, he is not second to any of his confréres. How admirably he personated the 'Intendant' in 'Werner!' It was a _faultless_ performance, by common consent of his gratified auditors. The same may be said, and _was_ said, indeed, and very unanimously, of his excellent representation of 'Col. DAMAS' in the 'Lady of Lyons.' Mr. CHIPPENDALE has been greatly missed, during his absence; and he 'can't be spared' again. We are glad of an opportunity to pay a deserved tribute to the talents of Mr. WHEATLEY. 'That first appeal which is to the _eye_' is most satisfactorily sustained by the manly person and fine features of this gentleman; and we know of no one in the profession whose improvement has been more marked. To our fancy, his performance of 'Ulrick,' in 'Werner,' was a study. The last scene won the most applause, perhaps; but the previous conception and execution of the actor, though less _outwardly_ manifested, were certainly not less felicitous. As 'Icilius,' in 'Virginius,' also, Mr. WHEATLEY won golden opinions. Indeed, it seems quite certain, that with continued study and attention to the _minutiæ_ of his characters, this young gentleman is destined to attain a high rank in his profession. Mr. VACHE, the new Charleston acquisition, seems a very self-possessed, correct, and gentleman-like performer. All that we have seen him essay, has been well sustained. His success is no longer doubtful.