412 Letter on Affairs in general. [_ APRIL, 



ourselves, as we are every day, to put down the suburb fairs prosecuting 

 chandlers and butchers for selling goods on the sabbath, &c. &c. to tole- 

 rate such a nuisance of immorality and disorder, for the advantage of any 

 men. The evil, as it exists, can neither be doubted nor denied, by any 

 man who will walk from St. Clement's church to Fleet-market, between 

 half-past eleven at night and two in the morning. It proceeds from no 

 causes that are questionable, or difficult to be got rid of; and the inhabi- 

 tants of the city will owe a service to Mr. Alderman Venables, if he suc- 

 ceeds in removing it. 



REFORMS IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY. I observed, in the beginning of 

 my letter, that the Master of the Rolls had brought in his Bill, for reform- 

 ing; the practice of the Courts of Chancery. But the person from whom, 

 I think, the best practical hint for the amendment of these courts has pro- 

 ceeded, is the Vice- Chancel lor himself. On the 27th of February, in the 

 course of a sharp dispute, upon the propriety of letting cases " stand over," 

 whenever it did not suit the convenience of counsel to be present to argue 

 them His Honour having, very properly, expressed his determination to 

 strike entirely out of the paper all such causes in future the following 

 dialogue is reported (by the Globe) to have taken place between the Judge 

 and Mr. Sugden, who has lately been made a King's Counsel: 



" Mr. Sugden observed, that, if his Honour was determined to persevere 

 in this new rule, it would be better that he should have a bar of his own, 

 which he (Mr. Sugden) was of opinion, however, that there would be some 

 difficulty in forming. 



" His Honour (looking over the numerous assemblage of barristers behind 

 the bar) intimated to Mr. Sugden his opinion, that there would be no dif- 

 ficulty at all in forming a bar to carry on the business of this Court." 



His Honour, here, has spoken out " the right." A great part of the 

 delay and mischief, which occur in the Court of Chancery, arises from the 

 habit of crowding a few particular barristers with three times as much business 

 as they can attend to; while younger men just as competent, and of neces- 

 sity far more able, as well as inclined to be active are starving. The 

 result is, that, while a man is capahle of exertion, he is compelled to sit 

 still as a junior counsel, and see business slovened over, or neglected, by 

 other people merely because they are older than himself. If he is fortu- 

 nate, in time he changes his position ; and, in his turn, neglects, or slovens 

 over business, while younger people sit still and look at him. 



The theatres have not done much lately that has been interesting. An alte- 

 ration of Shirley's comedy of The Gamesters has been acted at Covent Gar- 

 den, but without much success. These new versions of old plays unless 

 where the piece happens to have been peculiarly dramatic ^seldom do good. 

 Our writers of Shirley's day depended upon other matters than " stage effect''* 

 for the success of their dramas ; and upon points of strength, three times in 

 four, which we are not now permitted to resort to. The picture as it 

 was painted is a glorious work, though objectionable ; but, when we 

 have struck out half the incidents, and washed off two-thirds of the colour- 

 ing, the impression, upon the operator's own mind, may still be vivid ; but 

 to the spectator who sees it for the first time, there is not much value in 

 what remains. In Paris, two pieces of considerable popularity have been 

 brought out : one, from Sir Walter Scott's novel of Quentin Durward, 

 called " St. Louis at Peyronne ;" and the other, " La Chatte Metamor- 

 phose* en Femme" The last is a sort of fairy tale, in which Mile. Jenny 



