place, and Belfast, Drogheda, and the other provincial towns of the sister kingdom, were the occasional seats of his dramatic representations, and first gave display to his daughter's talents. At the early age of twelve years, Miss O'Neill made her debut on the Drogheda stage, of which her father was then acting manager; and so favourable was her appearance on that and after occasions, as soon to give presage of her future perfection. It may be justly said perhaps, that an actor, like a poet, is born not educated. The fine conception that embodies thought, and the exquisite feeling that gives effect to situations and circumstances are certainly the gift of nature. A Shakspeare could not personate the superior portraits his pen delineated, nor a Garrick use the pencil of a Shakspeare, though he gave such brilliant and striking effect to his characters. Nature, therefore, bestows a peculiar cast on every mind, and education only ripens what her hand has originally planted. Hence, though such talents may be improved, the foundation of them must be innate, and like the varying temper and the features of the face, exist only in a certain appropriate organization.

The eclat of Miss O'Neill's early dawn soon spread beyond the Drogheda theatre, and Mr. Talbot, manager of the Belfast company, immediately tendered offers to secure the advantage of her rising abilities. She was accordingly taken from under her father's wing by this gentleman, and she continued to appear at Belfast with progressive approbation and regular improvement for a period of two years. It would appear from the account of her, even at that time, that her very first representations entitled her to a reputation which it was long before Mrs. Siddons acquired. Great as are the powers of this last actress, it is acknowledged she owed much to time and study, that she was literally broke in, and in the peculiar mode of acting she adopted, that there was much practice and labour necessary to give it the high finish it acquired in her hands.

At the end of two years on the Belfast stage, so much were Miss O'Neill's superior powers the general talk and admiration of the country, that they excited the curiosity and interest of the Dublin manager. Liberal offers were made to induce her to appear in the capital, a situation in which

she was to meet a more refined and varied audience than had hitherto witnessed her representations, and one more capable of appreciating her merit and rewarding it. Her debut in the Irish metropolis was equally auspicious to her fame as in the provincial theatres; and this first appearance, the crisis of her fate and the prelude to her present brilliant career, secured her at once the hearts of the audience, who were confirmed, that report had only spoken the truth of her merits. The character she selected on this occasion was that of Widow Cheerly, in the popular comedy of the Soldier's Daughter. At this period, and so long, it is observed, as she continued on the Dublin stage, Miss O'Neill's powers were equally divided betwixt the tragic and comic muse; and though it is impossible she can represent any character with inferior talent, yet whoever witnesses her in the tearful scene must allow, that there lies the magic of her art, that to raise the sigh rather than excite a smile is the proper walk for her talents. Of this she seems now perfectly aware, and thus shews the correct judgment she possesses of

herself.

It has been reported, though falsely, that Miss

O'Neill's appearance at first on the Dublin stage, was to supply the place of Miss Walstein. This would be considering her indeed in a secondary light, but that season Miss Walstein herself was not employed, and Miss O'Neill was called to the Dublin stage on the recommendation of her own merits, and not as a matter of convenience, or as a substitute for any other actress. other actress. Whatever Miss

Walstein's talents may be, they are entirely different from those which Miss O'Neill has displayed, and no comparison can be instituted between the two females. This, however, is not said to disparage the reputation of Miss Walstein, who, we believe, is a deserving performer, and merits approbation, so far as the extent of her powers go, which are certainly but limited when compared with Miss O'Neill.

Standing thus high on the Dublin theatre, Miss O'Neill's merits were soon wafted to the British metropolis. The retirement of Mrs. Siddons had made a chasm in the heroines of the stage. Ineffectual attempts had been made to supply her place by second rate characters, who strutted for a few nights and then were heard of no more. But the

big impassioned tone, the real swell of woe, and the burst of indignation that distinguished this heavenly actress, were lost to the disappointed audience. In this state of things the manager of Covent Garden, ever alive to the interest of his trust saw it necessary to secure the talents of Miss O'Neill as a successor to the distinguished heroine who had retired, and to supply to the London audience that dramatic feast they had so long been accustomed to enjoy from her transcendant powers. Such offers were accordingly tendered her as were equally flattering to her abilities as beneficial to her interest, and she left the Dublin theatre richer in reputation than in fortune, to reach the present climax of her fame, in the admiration and generosity of a London audience.

It may be proper on this interesting occasion, to give some account of the person and general appearance of the female who had such powers of attraction, and who, though accustomed so long to tread the stage, could not fail to experience on so momentous an event, all the natural timidity so congenial to a delicate and feeling mind—such, as it is acknowledged, Miss O'Neill possesses.