artful
display of hypocrisy in the words and purpose, while his external port
silently asserted his superiority, and the native majesty of his looks
and manner bespoke the magnitude of the sacrifice he was making to
vengeance, thereby giving a deeper colouring to the inexorable
vindictiveness of his nature, and more forcibly illustrating the
inflexible firmness of his soul. All other actors that we have ever seen
reduce Zanga to a mere slavish croucher in all points; and destroy the
very basis of the character by an overacted humiliation, highly improper
because too glaring not to excite Alonzo's suspicions. He must be a dull
Alonzo indeed, if he could not look through such flimsy dissimulation.

Yet with all these defects, for which, as well as many other
transgressions, the modern crop of young actors are indebted to the
example of Mr. Kemble, Mr. Cooper gave us in several places as great
satisfaction as with our remembrance of "THE Zanga," we ever hoped to
experience. From the time he avows his villany to Alonzo, on to the end,
he deserved unqualified praise; nor can we imagine how any one who had
not made up his mind upon the great original, to whom we have alluded,
could wish or conceive it to be more happily performed.

Mr. Wood's Alonzo was an animated and respectable piece of acting.

RICHARD III.

Mr. Cooper conceives that crookbacked usurper with sufficient accuracy,
reads it with tolerable correctness, and acts it with great spirit. In
this character he evidently has the greatest model extant [Cooke] in his
eye. When first, some five years ago, we saw Mr. Cooper perform Richard,
we thought he played it tolerably, but wanted weight. He is much
improved in this respect since that time, and has acquired in those few
years a sufficiency of the personal importance requisite for the
character of Richard.

VENICE PRESERVED.

PIERRE is a character admirably suited to Mr. Cooper's talents. There
are but few of his performances to which we sit with more pleasure. Few
in which he is so little exceptionable. On this occasion he was
supported by his friend JAFFIER in a manner that reflects much credit on
Mr. Wood. And Mr. Wood is not a little indebted to _his_ Belvidera also.
Could we speak as favourably of his Iago, we should have introduced him
in the proper place. Mr. Cooper's grenadier's cap, added nothing, to say
no worse of it, to his appearance.

A fashion has prevailed for some years (introduced by the do