1827.] Notes for the Month. 509 



discussing, complains, in the representation of Romeo and Juliet, of the 

 omission of the death of Part's an incident which, certainly, there was 

 no reason for omitting in the French performance, but which has nothing 

 very material to do with the course of the piece. And, for the u vraisem- 

 blance," the fact is, that the monstrous impossibility of Desdemona's 

 speaking, ten minutes after she has been suffocated with a pillow, is 

 changed, for the sake of " vraisemblance" into the not entirely impossible 

 occurrence, that, from the wounds given with the dagger, she should have 

 lingered to that moment still alive! 



The whole article, however, is full of the same curious contradictions or 

 absences of perception. In the previous notice of Romeo and Juliet, the 

 critic observes, that the scene in Capulefs house, after the supposed 

 death of Juliet, has been considerably shortened, " no doubt from the 

 impossibility of acting it with such indifferent performers as are employed 

 in the characters of Capulet, Lady Capulet, &c." This is perfectly true, 

 and well judged ; and ridiculous enough, certainly, the scene commonly is, 

 Capulet and the rest come on the stage, and hold up their hands, and say - 

 " Oh, she (Juliet} is dead !" or something of that kind. And then the 

 Friar says " If she is dead, she must be buried !" or something of that 

 kind ; and so the characters go away. But ten lines after, the same 

 writer again complaining of" omissions" finds fault with the conclusion 

 of the same play by the incident otJuliefs death; and says, "Pourquoi avoir 

 rotrariche Farrivee des deux peres, qui se reconcilient sur le corps de leurs 

 enfans ?" Why, it might be supposed, without any great employment of criti- 

 cal acumen, that the same sort of actors those who play Capulet, Mon- 

 tague, Lady Capulet, &c., having been incompetent to the business of the 

 former scene that of the chamber, with Juliet's trance would hardly do 

 well for the important task of winding up the play, with the still more 

 difficult scene in question ! Nevertheless our friend continues, in the true 

 spirit of a Parisian, to assure the world, that " In these matters, as well as 

 in a thousand other points of more importance, France is far in advance 

 of England" " Nous savions bien qu'en une foule de choscs plus impor- 

 tantes, nous sorames, d son insu, de beaucoup en avant de 1'Angleterre ;" 

 and concludes by promising that, " if the public assists him, the perfor- 

 mances at the English theatre in Paris shall instruct us in England how 

 Shakspeare ought to be acted !" The Globe criticism is, notwithstanding, 

 taken altogether, a very ingenious notice of a foreign dramatic represen- 

 tation. 



The John Bull oi the 30th ultimo who stands out in general valiantly 

 for the right of keeping his fellow subjects, of whatever colour or com-, 

 plexion, in chains publishes a series of ." negro notes," received from a 

 correspondent in Antigua (in an article entitled " West Indian Slavery,") 

 to shew the happy condition of the persons who are bought and sold, as 

 convenience directs, in our colonies, and how infinitely better off such per- 

 sons are, as slaves, than they would be if, by any accident, they were to 

 be emancipated. 



The papers which are not very jocose run as follows : 



No. i. A note, doubled cocked-hat-wise. "To Miss Harnpson.: 

 Mr. Dinbar and Lett will be happy of Miss Hampson's company for 

 Saturday, to take tea and spend the evening at Weir's estate." 



No. 2. An embossed card. " Miss Trittand and M. J. Charles solicits 

 the favour, of your company, Saturday, 17th of March, to spend the 

 evening at Friar's Hill," _ % 



