202 



Mont /ily Theatrical Report. 



[Aua. 



take a scat in madame's carriage so far. 

 The gentleman, Colonel de Courcy, is, by 

 a fair stage coincidence, the very indi- 

 vidual whom somo match-making old 

 countess had been proposing as a husband 

 for Madame; until the parties, without 

 having seen each other, but sick of the 

 eternal subject, had expressed themselves 

 in terms of mutual dislike. Madame, of 

 course, cannot bring herself to tell her 

 hated name ; but the thought strikes her, 

 that, as the Colonel is by no means the 

 formidable object she thought him, it 

 might not be unamusing to try how far he 

 could learn to overcome his horror of Ma- 

 dame dc Merrci/le in the person of his 

 conductress. At this moment, her uncle 

 passing in his chariot, sees her, and stops 

 at the inn. How is she now to account for 

 the Colonel'saccompanyingher, withoutat 

 the same time betraying her brother's im- 

 prudence ? the old Baron having the 

 strongest antipathy to the name of a duel- 

 list. The Soubretfe (Vestris) strikes on 

 the curious expedient of announcing the 

 Colonel as Madame's husband, under the 

 name of Major Moustache, with whose 

 addresses the Baron had been made ac- 

 quainted. The Colonel, astonished but 

 amused, is invited to the chateau. His 

 scorn of the sex has rapidly given way to 

 a liking for this pretty woman. She is 

 charmed with him, yet afraid of startling 

 him by the disclosure of her name. At the 

 chateau he sees her conversing with her 

 brother, and grows furiously jealous of 

 the stranger. The uncle, surprised at the 

 obvious reserve on both sides, concludes 

 that there has been some idle quarrel, and 

 insists on their behaving in a more lover- 

 like manner. The embarrassment of both 

 increases. At this moment comes the real 

 Major, whom the Baron treats as an im- 

 postor; a treatment which the Major fu- 

 riously resents, threatening to retort with 

 such personal indignity, that this anti- 

 duellist gets into a rage, seizes a pistol, 

 and is about to fight ; when, in the critical 

 moment, all the party corne in the Baron 

 fs pleasantly laughed at the Major is 

 reconciled the Colonel and Madame are 

 made happy the Soubrette and the Va- 

 let propose to marry and the whole ends 

 with a song. 



This plot, slight and rapid as it is, is yet 

 of the exact texture for a summer theatre. 

 The dialogue is neat and pointed ; the mu- 

 sic (by Bishop) is, on the whole, of a supe- 

 rior quality to that of petite opera ; and 

 the characters are as well sustained as even 

 fastidious criticism would desire. Miss 

 E. Tree T s performance of Madame Mer- 

 reille is one of the most graceful and 

 finished that we have seen. She looks the 

 gentlewoman ; her foreign air is excel- 

 lently preserved, yet without running into 

 that caricature which so strongly tempts 



the general performer. Her style of dress, 

 her manner, and her acting are equally 

 appropriate ; and without giving any ex- 

 travagant praise to either her talents or 

 her beauty, we must say that she has fully 

 established her claim to be one of the 

 hopes of the drama. Vestris is, of course, 

 the Soubrctte, and clever and popular as 

 usual. She carries on the intrigue of the 

 piece with true French dexterity is never 

 at a loss never loses her vivacity and 

 continues to the last a favourite with the 

 audience. Cooper, as the Colonel, plays 

 the sentimentalist like the intelligent ac- 

 tor that he is; but we much doubt his taste 

 in costume. We, in the first place, doubt 

 whether any colonel in France, or other- 

 wise, travelling for his amusement, would! 

 so far trespass on the king's uniform, as to 

 wear his regimental pantaloons at inns, by 

 road-sides, love-making, &c. His military 

 belt is a glittering affair 'tis true but he 

 may rely upon the fact, that no officer 

 ever wore such off parade. The round 

 hat on the top of all is a fearful anomaly. 

 We have even some conscientious hesita- 

 tion as to scarlet being any part of the 

 uniform of a chasseur; it certainly is not 

 of an infantry chasseur, he being green 

 from top to toe ; nor, we believe, of any 

 horse chasseur in the service of the Grand 

 Monarque. Besides, we could have be- 

 lieved him to be a colonel on his word, 

 and with a total independence of the plun- 

 der of his garrison wardrobe. Laporte, 

 as the Valet, plays more effectively than, 

 hitherto. The part allows of broken Eng- 

 lish in abundance ; and that is the only 

 English which this lively Frenchman will 

 ever speak as long as he exhibits in this 

 world. Farren, in the old J5aron, is in his 

 element. The stage has no such old man. 

 Yet he would do well to correct some of 

 the youthful propensities which the Baron 

 ought to have laid aside at his time of life. 

 The scene with the Soubrctte is more 

 amusing to the galleries than to any other 

 part of the house, and more suitable to 

 the meridian of Paris and the habits of old 

 Parisian barons, than to London, and the 

 public decorum of the London actor. The 

 " Rencontre" has been repeated, with- 

 out intermission, since its first night, and 

 deserves to be repeated. 



The Lyceum, under the conduct of its 

 very active and gentlemanlike manager, 

 Mr. Arnold, is going on with great acti- 

 vity. " Arthur and Emmeline," a revival j 

 " the Cornish Miners," a characteristic 

 pleasantry, by Peake, who is attaining re- 

 putation as a farce-writer ; " The Oracle," 

 and some other performances of a lighter 

 cast, have been brought forward in quick 

 succession. 



The winter theatres are preparing. 

 Drury Lane, already possessed of a good 

 comic company, has made a capital en- 



