68 
The idea, however, of. the whole front of 
the New Washing Company office falling 
backwards, flat upon the stage, and being 
instantly metamorphosed into a stage full 
of living washerwomen, soaping and rins- 
ing at their tubs, is as ingenious as it is ori- 
ginal. . It produces the genuine effect of 
pantomimic metamorphose, a mingled im- 
pression of appropriateness and surprise ; 
but stillit has no connection with the 
story. It neither brings the hero and he- 
roine into, nor helps them owt of any embar- 
rassment: it only occurs because an inge- 
nious conceit presented itself to the me- 
chanist, which was too good to be lost. 
The censure of not having made the most 
of the theme adopted, applies perhaps still 
more strongly to the pantomime of the 
other house. The-Dragon of Waniley is the 
title of a well-known ballad, preserved in 
Dr. Piercy’s invaluable collection, “ Re- 
liques of Ancient Poetry ;” and it is, per- 
haps, one of the happiest specimens in our 
language of the very highest species of sati- 
rical burlesque. ‘The object of the satire 
has become, in some degree, obsolete, and 
many of the allusions are accordingly ob- 
secure; but the ingenuity of the vehicle 
triumphs over the oblivion of the purpose ; 
and while it amuses by the semblance 
of romantic incident, continues to suggest 
new applications of the satire. It has 
been. before adapted to the purposes of 
the stage. The burlesque opera of The 
Dragon of Wantley (perhaps the benweet of 
our travesties of the Italian opera) is not 
yet forgotten; nor can we help suggest- 
ing that much of the business, a great part 
of the music, and the whole of the chorusses 
might have been happily incorporated with 
the pantomime. At any rate, a more appo- 
site use might have been made of that ludi-. 
crously sublime personage, the Dragon, 
than his unmeaning metamorphose into the 
grinning clown. By this bungling contriv- 
ance, the story is dismissed before the busi- 
ness of the pantomime begins ; and all that 
remains to interest is a succession of beau- 
tiful scenery. Of this the moving pano- 
rama of the banks of the Thames, with all 
the projected improvements, from Black- 
friars to Vauxhall-bridge, as an exhibition 
of this kind, cannot be too highly com- 
mended. But enough of pantomime. 
At Drury-Lane the Christmas mum- 
mery was preceded, appropriately enough, 
by Sheridan’s peace-making speaking pan- 
tomime Pizarro, which has since been 
frequently repeated : though wretchedly 
enough performed in all its characters, 
except Elvira (for which Mrs. Bunn is 
the best substitute we now can look for) 
and Rolla, which is one of Wallack’s most 
successful efforts; and to which, perhaps, 
he does almost as ample justice, especially 
in the scenes of picturesque effect, as did 
heretofore, though much more higbly gifted, 
its original representative. In short, though 
Wallack is apt to betray his mediocrity 
Theatrical Review; and Music. 
{Feb. 8; 
when he follows in the track of first-rate 
talent ; he is, upon the whole, the best 
Rolla. we haye seen since the days of John 
Kemble. , 
Among the plays of Shakspeare that 
have been represented here, during the 
month, Henry the Eighth has given to Mr. 
Macready an opportunity of trying his 
powers in the character of Cardinal Wolsey. 
In our opinion, however, his performance ~ 
has too much of the feebleness of age, and 
too little of the dignity of the Cardinal. 
Mr. M. seems not to be aware tliat there 
is in intellectual energy and elevation a 
power of sustaining the weight of more 
years than Wolsey had to earry, without 
sinking into the tremours and totterings of 
a second childhishness—of which, indeed, 
Shakspeare, in this character, gives not the 
slightest suggestion. Neither do we know 
how to account for this actor’s having 
contrived to disenchant his utterance from 
the magic of that infinitely diversified but 
eternally consonant rhythmus so conspicu- 
ous in all the more highly inspired passa- 
ges of our great dramatist ; and without at- 
tention to which, it is utterly impossible to 
do any thing like justice to such speeches, 
especially, as are put into the mouth of 
the fallen statesman. 
The Merry Wives of Windsor, somewhat 
spoiled by the inappropriate introduction of 
ill-selected songs, gave Mr. Terry an op- 
portunity of trying his powers here in 
Falstaff. But the humour of Mr. Terry 
was that of Boniface rather than of Falstaff. 
While his utterance was elaborately vehe- 
ment, his corporal motions were all spring 
and vigour ; and if some critics of former 
times scrupled not to call even Henderson 
the jumping, Mr. Terry, with much nearer 
approximation to truth, might be called the 
dancing Falstaff. Nor were the generality 
of the other characters much more favour- 
ably cast. Wallack, indeed, was something 
more than respectable in the jealous-pated 
Ford; but Mr. Harley’s gay and good- 
humoured self-sufficiency could not be 
transmuted into the sheepish dismallity of 
Master Slender. For- Pistol’s magog strut, 
his voice of mill-stones, and his brow of 
thunder—we had not evena sketch of them. 
Miss Stephens in Mrs. Ford, and Mrs. 
Waylet in. Mrs. Page, did all that could be 
expected if they are to be given to singers ; 
but we cannot forget the days when the 
two Merry Wives used to be performed by 
the first actresses on the stage. 
Massinger’s Fatal Dowry, has been re- 
vived here with considerable alterations ; 
but with no very brilliant success. The ~ 
play itself is not perhaps one of the best 
adapted for revival; at least it would re- 
quire the revision of a master-hand. It has 
vigorous passages, and still more vigorous 
conceptions of incident and situation ; with 
much more of dramatic action, and much 
more powerful delineation of character than 
is to be found in that tame transcript from 
it 
