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MONTHLY MIRROR,

FOR

NOVEMBER, 1809.

MEMOIR

OF

MR. PHILIPPS, THE SINGER.

(With a Portrait.)

MR. THOMAS PHILIPPS is a native of London, and the only son of Isaac Philipps, Esq. a gentleman of good family in Monmouthshire, who was, in the early part of his life, in the army, and afterwards held the situation in the revenue, of Surveyor of Land-Carriage Officers. He had intended his son for the army, and to use, for his promotion in it, the interest of the late Duke of Beaufort, Mr. Philipps's avowed friend and patron; however, he died before his wish could be effected, and at the time his son was at the age of about ten years. Mr. T. Philipps was then educated, at his mother's desire, for the law, but having early evinced a strong propensity for music, he was instructed in that science as an accomplishment.

At the age of seventeen, his partiality for the stage became evident, but it met the discouragement of his friends, who, however, after opposing his inclination about two years, allowed him to make the attempt, in hopes of his failure, and that he would then apply himself to study, for the profession of the law. The event proved contrary to their expectations. On the 10th of May, 1796, he made his debut at the Theatre Royal, Covent-' garden, in Philippe, in "The Castle of Andalusia," for Mrs. Mountain's benefit. His reception was so brilliant and flattering, that it formed his determination of embracing the life of a public singer and professor of music. He no longer met the opposition of his friends on the subject. Although at this time possessed of much musical knowledge, and labouring to improve himself in that science, he wanted information in stage manner, and theˆ

various requisites which only practice on the stage can give, and which are, with a London audience, indispensable for a performer in the higher cast of characters. Accordingly, after performing a few nights, at different periods subsequent to the above-mentioned, at the Haymaket and at Covent-garden, Mr. Philipps engaged as principal singer at the Theatre Royal, Norwich; which he soon after exchanged for a similar situation at Bath; in both which cities, he became so great a favourite, and made such progress in his profession, that he was offered, and accepted, an engagement at the Theatre Royal, Crow-street, Dublin, in 1801. The taste and liberality of that city declared in Mr. Philipps's favour, and decided his success in his favourite pursuit. The propriety and correctness of his conduct introduced him into the first class of society, and, united with his professional talents, occasioned his being appointed singing-master in some of the best families. He continued at the head of the opera department in' Dublin, increasing in reputation and emolument, during eight years, until the period of Mr. Arnold's commencing his English Opera, when (having formerly known Mr. Philipps, a pupil of his father) he proposed an engagement to him, which was accepted, and Mr. Philipps again appeared before the London audience, in Young Heartwell, in Mr. Arnold's opera, Up all Night."

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Mr. Philipps' success in the summer at the Lyceum, produced so advantageous an offer from the Managers of the Drury-lane Company, that he relinquished his intention of returning the following winter to Dublin, and became attached to the abovementioned establishment, in which his success has been confirmed, and he is nightly rising in the public favour. His most successful characters have been, Carlos in The Duenna, and Orlando in The Cabinet; the latter of which having been composed by Mr. Braham, expressly for his own powers, Mr. Philipps undertook very reluctantly. Mr. Braliam has, much to his credit, on every occasion, forwarded Philipps's professional advancement with his warmest encomiums.

Mr. Philipps's masters were, Mr. Spofforth (from whose instruction he acknowledges to have gained much advantage) and Dr. Arnold; while at Bath he had lessons from Rauzzini, and in London, at different periods, from Signor Viganoni, Mr. F. ' Bianchi, and Mr. Kelly. During his residence in Ireland, his intimacy with Sir J. A. Stevenson, and Mr. T. Cooke, was a

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source of improvement and advantage to him, he has composed several ballads with much success, and will no doubt continue to rise in improvement as well as public favour.

As an actor, Mr. Philipps has the advantage over almost every other singer on our stage. Mr. Braham is the very essence of all that is stupid and absurd, in word, look, and action, as a player; and Mr. Incledon has the grace and elegance of "Old Towler." Mr. Philipps, however, has faults: they are a redundancy of action, and rather too close an attachment to the Italian school as a singer; perhaps this is a fault on the right side (inasmuch as taste and science are far removed from vulgarity), but it is a fault : let him and Mr. Braham remember, that simplicity is the acme of the singer's art, and that an English opera differs from an Italian one, as the language less admits the extension of its vowel sounds; and the filagre work of endless divisions, however fashionable the vice, should be reformed by the example of the judicious actor, who, to play his part well, worships at the shrine of Nature, and exclaims with Ariosto-" Natura d'ogni cosa più possente."

SKETCH OF THE LIFE

OF

JOHN SHELDON, ESQ.

(Concluded from page 198.)

On his return from his intended voyage to Greenland, which took place in the spring, a circumstance proper to notice, a singular event occurred in the history of a Corporate Body, and which must not be omitted in the Memoirs of Mr. Sheldon. Every biographer should minutely watch the transactions of Corporate Bodies, and this event may operate as a warning. Corporate Bodies will endeavour to accomplish what individuals will not and dare not attempt. Mr. Sheldon returned in the spring, and as the nature of his malady was exaggerated, a candidate (Mr. CRUICKSHANK) intruded himself and canvassed the Royal Academicians for his professorship, and a vacancy was declared, but not without opposition. Mr. Sheldon's brother, Thomas, who pose sessed great literary talents, and strong influence with distin

guished characters, exerted himself in the most active manner to prevent a new election. He drew up a petition, which was presented at Windsor to her Majesty, by his two sisters, and the proceedings of the Royal Academicians were stopped. In short, Mr. Sheldon appeared at Somerset-place, before the Royal Academicians, at the accustomary time for lectures, in November, and the writer of this bears testimony to the reception which unrivalled talents, and the triumph of justice, then experienced. He was received with warm applause by a great part of the Academicians, as he delivered his lecture with all his usual ability.

Hence Mr. John Sheldon having taken up his residence at Exeter, constantly came every November to lecture to the Academicians, till death, in the year 1808, put an end to his ca reer, a career fraught and marked with those changes in fortune, which the precarious tenure of our nature sometimes exemplifies, as a lesson, in all probability, for our general good. Mr. Sheldon was buried at Coombe Rawleigh, near Exeter.

Independently of minor productions, Mr. Sheldon has left for posterity, a most valuable publication on the Lacteals and Lymphatics of the different Viscera, of which I shall give a brief sketch.

That eclipse which overshadowed the Anatomical honour of the English nation, by the public loss of Hewson, was a short time after dissipated by SHELDON. The last work of Hewson, illustrated, by figures, the lymphatic vessels of the extremities. and trunk; but he had left no representation of the lacteals, nor of the lymphatics of the different viscera of the thorax or abdomen: the lymphatic vessels of the viscera, and the lacteals in the human subject, were but imperfectly known, even at the late period when we were deprived of him.

To supply this deficiency, Sheldon has not only corrected the errors of former authors, who had published conjectures on this subject, but has given also many elegant figures from nature, of those parts of the system in the human body, which had been falsely described, and where they had been recently discovered. But this service does not comprehend the whole of the value of his work; its worth is very extensive; his unreserved discovery of the art of injecting, to which the great progress of anatomical seience is chietly indebted, claims a tribute of praise for ingenuous candour, and ought, by its example, to induce anatomists

in future to publish, as he has done, whatever they know respecting anatomical investigations, and which have been derived from injections. The progress of the science has been much impeded by a mystery among anatomists, who have generally concealed the composition of their injections, and their methods of dissecting, injecting, and preparing the different parts; a mystery unworthy the character of a professor in philosophy. Mr. Sheldon was above all these little motives. This specimen plainly shewed the natural character of Sheldon; he gave, with the greatest freedom, the genuine result, of his own native studies, not impugning his predecessors, nor detracting from English, German, or Scotch anatomists. Not claiming what might be afloat in the experiments and prosecutions of other anatomists, he gave to every bird his proper feather; he commenced where others had left off; he has carried the enquiry much farther, and has reached almost that ultimate boundary, on which the mind is contented to rest.

To the genius, and to the affection of his brother, Thomas Sheldon, a greater tribute is due, than my powers can pay. Mr. Thomas Sheldon died about the year 1803; he had scarcely reached his fortieth year. He was educated at Harrow school, and he possessed talents of the highest order. He was in the possession of as much general knowledge as any one person of his day. Besides being an elegant classic scholar, he was conversant in French, Italian, Spanish, and German. He wrote shorthand of his own invention, and exercised it in taking down all Mr. Pott's Lectures. He was the idol of the genius of PercivalPott. Mr. Thomas Sheldon was also an accomplished writer of essays and poetry, but his modesty never would permit him to give his name to his productions. Many of them were published in the Times newspaper, in its earliest stage. But I question whether the conductor of that publication ever knew the author. To return to Mr. John Sheldon. He had a manly person, with an intelligent and expressive countenance, equally marked by genius and benevolence. He was humane, active in every intercourse of friendship, and, though of so animated a character, mild, forbearing, and affable. His conversation was lively as well as erudite, and he had a strong sense of honour, and great ingenuity in displaying it. There was nothing like envy in his composition; on the contrary, if useful knowledge was discovered by any body, he was zealous to diffuse it, and to procure due

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