dozen lines. This description of apology strongly reminds us of the old story of a young lady, who, on being charged with having had a child, confessed the fact, and excused herself by sayingbut indeed it was "a very, very little one." The infantine simplicity of The Courier is truly remarkable.

PARISIAN PLEASANTRY.-Not many days ago, a Mademoiselle La Rose was to have been married in Paris, but the ceremony was put off by the gentleman, who, on one of his visits, discovered symptoms of premature budding. A wit observed, on this occasion, by the way of excuse, "that it was a striking proof of the extraordinary mildness of the season."

Theatricals.

COVENT GARDEN.

On Wednesday evening, instead of that flat, stale, and unprofitable trash, George Barnwell, the managers of this theatre gratified the holiday gentry with the tragedy of Virginius; but the galleries were so noisy and impatient for what was to follow, that the actors were, in many scenes, inaudible, and some of them very unceremoniously hissed. When MACREADY was on the stage, the gods kept pretty quiet, which afforded the lovers of good acting a rich treat. It would be unjust to point out any particular passages in which he was effective, as the whole performance was truly excellent, ABBOTT was unusually animated in Icilius; and Miss BEAUMONT very interesting in Virginia, though we should much rather have seen the play as it was originally performed. To the great delight of the refined inhabitants of the upper regions, about half-past nine, the overture to the Pantomime began, which is neither striking nor appropriate. The curtain then drew up, and displayed in gorgeous splendour, the entrance to the Palace of the King of the Gold Mines, who is enamoured of Allfair, the Princess of Golconda, for whom the Yellow Dwarf also entertains an affection. The King departs for Golconda, where he soon after arrives, attended by Guinea Pig, the Captain of the Yeoman of the Guard, and is about to complete the marriage ceremony, when the Princess is claimed by the Yellow Dwarf as

his bride, a general hubbub ensues, which is put a slop to by the appearance of Mother Bunch, who transforms the King, Queen, and Princess into Harlequin, Pantaloon, and Columbine; Guinea Pig into Harlequin's Lacquey, and the Yellow Dwarf into Clown. The usual quantity of kicks, cuffs, and thumps then ensue; and after travelling to England, and enduring great vicissitudes, they all meet in the Rotunda of the Bank of England, which is transformed by Harlequin's sword into the Palace of the King of the Gold Mines. The whole of the scenery is beautiful in the extreme; particularly the Chamber of the Princess, the exterior of the Steel Castle, the Gardens of the Palace, and the King's Palace. The tricks and machinery were (considering its being the first performance) very well managed. Ellar, Barnes, and young Grimaldi, exerted themselves to the utmost in Harlequin, Pantaloon, and the Lacquey; and Grimaldi threw all his irresistible comic humour into the Clown; and Miss E. Dennett performed the part of Columbine. The introduction of John Gilpin's Journey to Edmonton, pursued by the Clown on a jack-ass, and their disasters in the china-shop, are well contrived, and very laughable. The Pantomime was given out for repetition by Grimaldi, amidst loud shouts of approbation. Much merriment was occasioned previous to the Pantomime, by the novel circumstance of a hat thrown out of the two shilling gallery being hoisted up by a motley string of pocket handkerchiefs.

DRURY LANE.

A new burletta, entitled Giovanni in Ireland, has been produced at this house instead of the usual Christmas Pantomime, but it will not go down. We have undertaken to give our readers the plot of every new piece, but must beg to be excused in this instance, as we cannot discover one. It is from beginning to end an absurd jumble of nonsense. Mr. Elliston has been so long accustomed to strut in kingly robes in the Coronation, that he will want to cram a procession and a representation of George the IV. into every new piece; and, consequently, we have him presiding at the Installation of the Knights of St. Patrick, but the public seem to be sick of such stuff, and to greet him with groans and hisses whenever he appears in such fulsome parade. Some of the scenery is good-and the singing of Madame Vestris always acceptable; but the united talents of her, and Miss Povey, Miss Copeland, Mrs. Bland, with Messrs. Knight, Harley, and the whole

strength of their company cannot keep it alive. Mr. Elliston may force it for a few nights, and fill his bill with the most barefaced falsehoods as to its enthusiastic reception, but empty benches will soon compel him to withdraw it.

A Miss EDMISTON has made a successful debut at this house in Jane Shore. She has also attempted Lady Macbeth, a part not so well adapted to her age and stature, and of far more difficult execution; but, upon the whole, she exhibited indications of genius, which lead us to conclude she will take firm root, and ultimately rank as a first-rate actress.

It may also be proper to record, that Miss Copeland, and Mr. Fitzwilliams, of the Surry Theatre, have been successfully transplanted to this house.

ADELPIII.-LIFE IN LONDON.

Mr. Moncrieff has scattered the gems of his genius liberally around, and poured the copious stream of drollery through the purlieus of St. Giles's, in a way which we have nothing like since the days of Fielding; but he has, at the same time, taxed us on the score of probability, beyond all the limits of the Drama. The story hinges on Hawthorn, a young Somerset fox-hunter, (Bur roughs) accompanying his cousin, Corinthian Tom, (Wrench) to London, to see Life, and Sue, (Mrs. Waylett) a faithful country girl, accompanied by her friend Jane, (Mrs. Hammersley) forming the hazardous determination of following her lover to town in disguise, and, by the assistance of her school-fellow Kate, (Mrs. Baker) at that time residing in London, guard the unsuspecting fox-hunter from following too closely in the chase of folly. Hawthorn is introduced by Corinthian Tom to Dr. Logic, (Wilkinson) a sort of Index to Life, residing in the Albany, who conducts the aspiring youth from Almack's to the back slums of the Holy Land, (a beggar's tavern in St. Giles's;) from Tattersall's to All Max's, in the East, (a Wapping dancing-room) where they are entertained with a grand Pas de Deux between African Sal, (a strapping negro-wench) and Mr. Grimmuzzle, (a waltzing dustman.) The trio are followed through most of these scenes by Sue, Kate, and Jane, who haunt them in different disguises, sometimes as the honourable Miss Truffles, at other times as balladsingers, match-girls, &c.; and at last are given in charge to the watch, by their fair guardian angels; invited to Hell, (a modern

gambling-house) to get satisfaction; the quarrel is made up, and Sue and Kate, in the garb of two young dandies, called Sir Jeremy Bragg and Captain Swaggery, assisted by a French black-leg, fleece them of £5000. The fair guardians then discover that Logic is ruining his fortune, contrive to get him arrested, relieve him with the £5000. won at Fielder's Hell, reclaim him from fashion to be the admirer of Jane, and the whole march off the tapis, on the high road to Hymen's altar. With such a plot, and such a field, it may easily be imagined there can be no lack of variety; and we really think, with a little attention, the want of probability might have been greatly obviated. The carping critic may perhaps say, the idea of Noah's Ark in the Holy Land is borrowed from Burn's Tatterdemalions at Posey Nancy's; or the moralizing of Hawthorn, too, like the soliloquy of the Roman youth

own.

"If knowledge of the world makes man perfidious,

66

May Juba ever live in ignorance."

But we well know the difficulty of avoiding similarities, and we mention this not in condemnation, but in protection to the Author from the shafts which envy never fails to level at success. True it is, the piece will not be a favourite with those who wish to have their souls harrowed up with distress, before they can be tuned to feeling; as, with the exception of the complaint of the poor tradesman in the Fleet prison, which is relieved by Logic as soon as uttered, there is not an expression calculated to give a moment's pain in the whole production :—it is, indeed, Momus's The fastidious may perhaps say, there is too much slang, and that the devotion of the Author to the Gods is too conspicuous: but here we cannot blame.-A great critic has said, that wit consists in finding out a likeness between things radically dissimilar; the coiners of slang seem to have been of the same opinion; and we envy not the man his gravity, who can hear a matchgirl designated as a timber-merchant, or St. Giles's the Holy Land, without bestowing the tribute of a smile. The actors strived to do their best. Burroughs does not seem exactly at ease in the new character assigned to him. Wilkinson and Wrench are perfectly at home; the queer ogies of the former are admirable conceived. But the personification of the beggars beats all description. The man who played the part of the timber-toed French Negro Fidler, who capers about the streets, with a white wig and a field-officer's hat, imitated Negro-French to the life;

and a ragged-looking rascal, with a red nose, scratched his back upon the scenery, so apparently as he liked it, that we fear he communicated a sympathetic feeling to the poles of the audience. The less conspicuous characters of the mendicant tribe known in the metropolis were equally well supported, but we must say, though the grand Pas de Deux, between Grimmuzzle, the Dustman, and African Sal, be a good burlesque on waltzing, we wish, in decency, that they would not threaten their collision with such vehemence. The likeness of Cribb, the champion, is so good, that we were some time in discovering that the hero himself had not been prevailed upon to tread a less hostile stage than that on which he formerly exhibited; indeed, the "warrior's short speech," and every distinguishing feature, is so perfectly trane, that if we knew Mr. Moncrieff participated in the inextinguishable spark, which is said to require so much moistening in Authors' throats, we would fancy he must have tasted the blue ruin with the champion in person.

Having said thus much, we shall not enter into the Christmas Pantomime of The Beauty and the Beast, which is admirably adapted to answer the purposes intended.

COBOURG.

Mr. GLOSSOP has presented the holiday-folks with a New Drop Curtain composed entirely of Looking-glass, which has a very singular and beautiful effect. We think it likely to answer his purpose, as the house has been literally crammed every night since it re-opened. We will give a more particular description next month, as we shall not visit it until the public curiosity is somewhat gratified. They have got up a very splendid piece called the Temple of Death.

OLYMPIC.

The holiday amusements at this neat little Theatre, consist of a short version of Life in London, in which, Oxbery as Jerry, and Tayleure as Snaggs, (a drunken constable) afford considerable amusement. The watch-box scene, and row, near Temple-bar, are well executed, as also the scenes in the Fleet Prison, and Sketches of Low Life. Rumfuskin, and a Pantomime, called "The House that Jack Built," follow, to the great diversion of the audience.