THE DRAMA. 83 



The scene, too, representing the heavens and stars, while the immortal 

 Francis Moore, of astrological and almanac-making memory, consults 

 the planets as to the meaning of the equivocal letter which Lord 

 Mounteagle received from one of the Guy Fawkes conspirators, is also 

 good. Others, while they pleased us much, and were the subjects of 

 general admiration, we have not space to advert to. The piece does not 

 strictly adhere to history ; but that is of little importance in such a case. 

 If an occasional deviation from Hume — not Joseph Hume, the Member 

 for Middlesex, but David Hume, the historian — be not allowable in a 

 pantomime, we wish some one would inform us in what case a little 

 liberty of the kind would be justifiable. As to the acting part of the 

 affair— if acting be in such a case a " legitimate" expression — we hardly 

 suppose our readers will expect that we should be particularly critical. 

 Mr. Bannister performed his part well as the Genius of Discontent, and 

 we could not, for the life of us, see any rational ground of quarrel which 

 any one could have had with Mr. Beckett, as his familiar agent. Mr. 



was unexceptionable as the Mysterious Stranger, and if any one 



saw anything amiss in Master Catesby (Mr. Clarke), or any of the other 

 Masters with whom this piece abounds, all we can say is, they must 

 have been more quick in their perceptions than we were. The manner 

 in which Mr. C. J. Smith acquitted hinaself, as Guy Fawkes, was unde- 

 niable, Mr. Bender earned quite a reputation for himself as Dame 

 Caudlecup, Alice's nurse; and Alice (Miss Cehill), the beloved of Lord 

 Monteagle, gave her nurse a very reasonable quantum of trouble, as girls 

 in their teens always do to those entrusted with their guardianship. The 

 other personages made the necessary movements on the stage, and 

 tumbled and fell, and knocked each other about, and occasionally each 

 other's heads, in a manner which could not fail to satisfy the most fasti- 

 dious in such matters. In one word, Guy Faivkes has been extremely 

 well got up, and afforded extreme gratification to those for whose special 

 delectation Mr. Osbaldiston has " brought it out." 



The Adelphi. — The " fair widow," by her transplantation from the 

 Queen's to the Adelphi, appears to have added to her fascinations. The 

 house has been nightly crowded since her settlement in her new locality. 

 It has been, it is said, as prosperous during her short administration of 

 its affairs, as ever it was when under the dynasty of Mathews and 

 Yates. Some of the pieces which have been " running," are excellent ; 

 others are but indifferently good. However, as the public seem in this 

 case to consider " all to be fish that comes in the net," and to applaud 

 tlie indifferent as heartily as the good, we see no rational ground of 

 quarrel with Mrs. Nisbett for repeating them " every night till further 

 notice." The great end of all theatricals, in the eye of the proprietors 

 of theatres, is to draw money into their coffers by drawing ])eople into 

 their houses, and as that object is accomplished in the present instance, as 

 far as the size, not of the proprietors' pockets, but of the Adelphi, will 

 allow, it is all in the nature of the things that they should suffer matters 

 to remain as they are. 



In our next number, we shall devote greater space to matters con- 

 nected with the Drama. 



G2 



