merit of a living performer of it are
such, that it is scarcely possible to think of the play without thinking
of Kemble, it has so happened that scarcely any character has been
attempted by so many actors of all qualities--nor is there one in which
so few have come off with actual disgrace. Men who could scarcely be
endured in third or fourth rate parts, have selected Octavian to figure
in, on their benefit nights. One man who was laughed at in every other
character, was supposed by a misjudging audience to play Octavian well;
nay, to our knowledge, was preferred to Hodgkinson and Cooper in it. The
reason is plain: to the portraying of madness, the injudicious can
imagine no limits. The more a madman raves and roars, the better; rags,
slovenliness, and matted hair, and beard too, are the usual associates
of awkwardness and vulgarity. Any man, therefore, who can rant and play
the extravagant, no matter how ungracefully, may pass with some
audiences for a very natural Octavian--an abominable absurdity! For
these two reasons, Octavian is a very hazardous part for a performer who
aims at substantial fame, to attempt. In Master Payne's performance of
it, there was no extravagance to censure; nothing that had the least
tendency to enrol him among the Bedlamite butchers of the character, nor
was there, on the other hand, a complete uniform delineation of Octavian
to afford him the same rank in that, which criticism willingly allows
him in some other characters.

Not so Frederick, his performance of which was one consistent piece of
natural, affecting, and indeed skilful acting. In the scenes of filial
tenderness with his mother, and in the solemn but spirited remonstrances
with the baron Wildenheim, he displayed such equal excellence that
criticism might incur the charge of injustice by giving the preference
to either. The character, as Master Payne acted it, was made up by him
from the two antecedent translations of Mrs. Inchbald and Mr.
Thompson;--by a union of both of which this youth has produced a better
acting play than either. He lately published it at Baltimore with an
advertisement prefixed, written by himself, to which we refer our
readers, with a strong recommendation to them to peruse it.

In the characters selected by Master Payne there are but four which we
can think judiciously chosen. For the whole selection we should find it
difficult to account, if we did not know that they had before been
chosen for Maste