G34 



Monthly T^ieatrkal Review. 



[June, 



sidered as the subject of critical animad- 

 version, 

 p' The Picture of London has undei^one 

 repeated additions and corrections since its 

 first appearance ; but, notwitlistanding tlie 

 laudable anxiety thus niiiiiifestcd by the 

 proprietors to keep i)ace \ntli the progress 

 of modern improvement, so rapid has been 

 its march that much of the book had be- 

 come obsolete or defective. Hence Mr. 

 Britton, in tlie execution of the task whicli 

 he had undertaken, " to revise its pages 

 for reprinting," found it necessary (as he 

 observes in his Preface) not only to cor- 

 rect, but also to " rearrange the wliole 

 work, iind rewrite the greater part of it." 

 The prominent and more remarkable alte- 

 rations which liave taken place in the state 

 of the metropolis, many of them even while 

 this volume was in the press, are thus no- 

 ticed in the introduction : — 



The year 1825 will ever be memorable in the annals 

 of London : for within that period more novel im- 

 provements, changes, and events have occun'ed in 

 the metropolis, than during any other corresponding 

 extent of time. The numerous schemes for the 

 formation of new Companies— tlie vast speailations 

 arising out them, tending to the aggrandizement of 

 a few persons and the ruin of others, with the 

 utilities of some, and the futilities and imposition 

 of many, may also be said to belong to this period. 

 Though tlicy did not precisely commence with the 

 year, yet they have advanced to maturity, to old age, 

 and decay, in this time; and have been the chief 

 occasion of the many failures which are now spread- 

 ing ruin and dismay througli the commercial world. 



The following are among the most recent 

 improvements in London : — 



A New Palace iot his Majesty, on the site of Buck- 

 ingham House, from designs by Mr. Nash— The com- 

 mencement of a Tunnel under the Thames, from 

 Rotherliithe, on the south side, to a place below 

 the London Docks, on the north side of the river, 

 from the plansof Mr. Brunei— The foundation and 



commencement of a new London Bridge, from the 

 designs of the late Mr. neimie. — The commencement 

 of New Docks at St. Katharine's under the direction 

 of Mr. Talford, engineer, and Mr. Philip Harwick, 

 architect — The Bermondsey Collier Dock, by F. 

 Giles, engineer, and J. Newman, surveyor — A new 

 Post Office, on a large and grand scale, from the 

 designs of Mr. Smirke— A suite of new Law Courts, 

 at Westminster ; a large and magnificent range of 

 buildings in Parliament Street, for the Council 

 Office, Board of Trade, and other Government 

 Offices; and the new central and side fronts lo the 

 Bank of England; all from the designs of Mr. 

 Soane — Two or three spacious and handsome Ter- 

 races in the Regent's Park— More than 2,000 new 

 houses, connected with, and extending the boun- 

 daries of London, consisting of detached mansioas 

 and villas, squares, streets, lanes, terraces, &c., 

 among which the spacious and very handsome square 

 at Knightsbridge, and the terrace and mansions in 

 the Regent's Park, will form important ornaments 

 to the metropolis— An immense edifice in the Re- 

 gent's Park, called the Coliseum, from designs by 

 Mr. D. Burton, and intended to display Mr. Horner's 

 novel Panoramic View of London. With the im- 

 provements of the last year we may likewise class the 

 almost universal adoption of Gas for lighting the 

 streets, shops, and public offices, A:c. by which the 

 safety and comforts of the people are materially in- 

 creased. Tlie M'Adamizing of some of the square* 

 and principal streets ranks also among the novelties 

 and utilities of the times. 



As a condensed history and popidar ac- 

 count of the English metropolis, this small 

 and cheap volume may be referred to witli 

 confidence and advantage. That the edi- 

 tor has discharged his laborious task witli 

 credit to himself and to the proprietors, is 

 very evident ; not only by the numerous 

 corrections and curtailments nia<le, but by 

 the mass of original and well digested infor- 

 mation he has introduced. The accounts 

 of Westminster Abbey and of some other 

 places, we are informed, were written by 

 Mr. Brayley. 



MONTHLY THEATRICAL REVIEW. 



DRUUY LANE. 



After a year of puffing, and half the time 

 of preparation, Aladdin was at last brought 

 out at Drury Lane. Great expectation had 

 been excited by its announcement. The 

 story had been dramatized by Mr. Soane, a 

 clever writer, who had already succeeded in 

 several performances of this class — "The 

 Inkeepers Daughter," " The Falls of the 

 Clyde," &c. and who imquestionablyposses- 

 ses dramatic ability. The : tory in its original 

 state is, beyond all comparison, the most 

 beautiful and the most dramatic of all that 

 have reached us among the fine inventions 

 of orientalism ; and it had been, besides, 

 tried frequently upon the stage. There was 

 thus every right to expect a work, at least 

 equal to any thing of its kind. 



The music was by Bishop. This com- 

 poser had long held a considerable rank — 

 he was at the liead of the British theatrical 



composers ; though, from the paucity and 

 general feebleness of the rivalry, this dis- 

 tinction was of a sufficiently humble order. 

 But he had produced some of the most po- 

 pular airs and glees of his day, and had ob- 

 vious grounds for, at least, a part of his 

 reputation. On the present occasion he 

 might have been presumed peculiarly anx- 

 ious to excel himself. The Freyschutz had 

 established Von Weber's reputation through 

 Europe, and placed him, if not the first, in 

 the very first line of musical eminence. 

 The Oberon had however given, what might 

 have been concluded, a fairer opportunity 

 of estimating his faculties, from its music 

 being exclusively the work of the composer ; 

 and not, as was that of the Freyschutz, 

 much indebted to popular national airs. The 

 Oberon, however, had comparatively failed, 

 for any success short of the liighest was a 

 failure. 



