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1074 THE LEADER. [SATtmDAV
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KING HENRY THE FIFTH. Not content with m...
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Self-Expanding Tjcndkncikh in Tins Unive...
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Cminnntini Mfltr*.
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MONKV MARKET AND CITY INTELLIGENCE. BRIT...
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FOR 15TON FUNDH. (Last Omnc.iu, Quotatio...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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T W O O () M .K D 1 E S. I Iiavm Seen Tw...
state without offence , —viz ., whatever talent the play manifested , it certainly did not manifest dramatic talent—that peculiar art which is born with a man just as poetry is born with him , which no labour will acquire , which even ' genius moves impotently in , as many illustrious poets have too plainly shown , —that art , I say , is not given to the authoress of Richelieu in Love , and nothing on the stage will replace it . Now , that art the young- and unknown author of Married Daughters and Young Husbands ' unmistake & bly has . I do not say he has it in any high perfection , as yet ; but the critic will at once recognize in the skill with which the ' characters are presented and contrasted—in the spontaneousness of the
dialogue , always pleasant , if not in the highest kind of wit , —in the dramatic touches of domestic feeling—and in the constructive skill—the presence of a real dramatic instinct ; and I shall look forward to this young man producing some charming pieces , perhaps even & c 7 iefd ' ceuvre Go and see the piece , and compare its gay life with the lifelessness of Richelieu in Love , and you will fully appreciate the difference between a dramatic work and a literary effort to be dramatic . Remember , I do not present this little drama to you as a wonder ; it is a quiet , modest , pleasant little two-act piece , which would be alarmed at criticism , but which criticism may fairly acknowledge as belonging to the English drama—a genuine little comedy .
The acting in Richelieu in Love calls for little remark . "Webster as the Cardinal was admirably made up ; and in the scene where the Queen spurns his love , his face and bearing were most eloquent ; but this scene is the only opportunity he has . Mrs . Stirling and Mrs . Selby did their best with two indifferent parts , and Leigh Murray , for the first time in his life , was positively " at sea" with his part . The acting of the Lyceum piece was good throughout ; but especial notice is due to Mr . Suter ' s hearty and humorous picture of the grocer married above his " station . " 3 ? rank Mathews has a bit of character ; Hoxby a languid fop ; Baker , a milkman , who " waits at parties" under the name of " Montgomery ; " Mrs . Frank Mathews , a vulgar widow , horribly afraid of vulgarity ; Julia St . George , a " proper" wife for the hearty grocer ; and Miss M . Oliver , an interesting young wife . They were all in capital spirits , and played their parts as if they enjoyed them . A line or two will be sufficient to chronicle the success of the new
farce at the Haymaeket , A . Capital Match , which succeeded , because of the admirable acting of K . eeley , who scarcely ever left the stage . It is a slight affair , and turns on Mr . Sunnyside ' s perplexities to secure a husband for a young lady who is already married . I promised last week to speak at some length of Anne JBlafce after reading it ; the book , however , is not yet published . Therefore , Mr . Chairman , with your leave , I move that the criticism be adjourned ; those who are of that opinion will hold up their hands ; the contrary theirs : carried ! Vivian .
1074 The Leader. [Sattmdav
1074 THE LEADER . [ SATtmDAV
King Henry The Fifth. Not Content With M...
KING HENRY THE FIFTH . Not content with making his solemn temple a school for the national drama , Mr . Phelps has converted Sadler ' s Wells into a school of martial fervour and national glory for the young militiamen of Middlesex , " of a roving disposition and five feet two , " as Mr . Macaulay describes them , who are training ( in tight and staring KtorV * nud scarlet ) to die for our homes and altars , as policemen die for our areas and kiiclicuo . Seriously I believe the production of Henri / the Fifth to be a capital substitute for the ballot in completing our regiments of volunteers . The most unwarlike man that ever grasped a steel pen fires up and longs for a stouter weapon , aa he gazes with a tossing heart on that page of England's annals so nobly illustrated by Phelps and his gallant army . Many ( among whom I regret not to name myself ) remember the production of this grand historical spectacle at Drury Lane as one of the crowning triumphs of Macready ' s direction . Mr . Phelps , who has with equal courage and modesty , and with all the fidelity and enthusiasm of a disciple , followed
the traces of his master , on a smaller stage and with humbler v revives Henry the Fifth at a most opportune moment , when H » r r > fence is the cry , and " Louis Napoleon in the Channel " the v pectation . Nothing can be more complete than the ensembl ^ St ^ representation : every scene , every grouping , every movement p tableau , carefully and intelligently studied . The result reminds' ^ the doings of the ThSdtre Historique in the days of Dumas , for blSv ° l colour , and smart , unflagging animation . The moving panorama of tv ! storming of Harfleur , and the various passages of the camp and the battl are alone worth a visit even to the most illegitimate of playgoers and li repay the rather tedious twang of Mr . Henry Marston , who ( as Chorul makes Time hang heavy on his scythe between the acts , for all the beautv of the language and the glowing picturesqueness of the description ± misiortune 01 Historical
me onaKspeare s plays , considered as act ' plays , is the crowd of minor characters ( in a dramatic sense ) , but who" ^ fact , represent high-bred and gallant gentlemen , or , to say the least * human beings , who do not ex-asp « rate their h ' s and assassinate the rhythm ' Now , these parts necessarily falling to the talents of supernumeraries !' who have not the finest ear for poetry in the world ( not to speak of their tuneful voices or their discordant legs ) , whole scenes are literally swamped You will at once imagine the attitudes so free and unconstrained , the easy badinage , the proud and haughty defiance , as we find all these artistic phases conceived by that dense array of unacknowledged tragedians who figure in the playbill and in the council chambers of Henry the Fifth and the King of France .
Now , having vented my acid dispositions , let me tell you what a fine presentment Phelps gave us of the King . He seemed to revel in the part , His bearing was Singly in the best sense : brave , generous , and kindly , and full of gentle dignity : and in the battle , he was Harry to the life . ' He gave the celebrated speech" This day is call'd—the feast of Crispian , " with immense spirit , and carried the house away with him . In the scene with the soldier , the night before the battle , he wore well the humour , at once grave and genial , of the disguise . In that charming courtship of Katharine ( deliciously played , by-the-bye , by Miss T . Bassano ) , in the last act , the homely heartiness of the King , so racy of the soil of England , was never divorced from a certain grace and chivalry of manner , at once simple and refined .
Let me say , that Mrs . Henry Marston was a capital Mrs . Quickly , The description of Falstaff's death , that exquisite bit of pathos , so farreaching in its simplicity , was given with the intelligence of a real artist . I was sorry to observe , however , that a part of the audience , usually so discriminating , turned the pathos into ugliness , and laughed incontinently . The three " swashers" were well made up , and not inefficiently acted . Mr . George Bennett's reading is always careful and correct , and full of purpose , but he has a regrettable habit of balking his utterance by dragging the time on the last words of a sentence , and so making the sense inaudible . On the whole , I preferred the JBardolph ( Mr . Knight ) of the three .
Mr . Lewis Ball looked Fluellen like a genuine Welshman , and there was a choleric but kindly crispness in his manner , quite enjoyable . Mr . B » r"rot £ wcui a . very sturdy ancl un-ofca ^ ifoy JQ <* t *> o . Tt « t word " •" " -dOu ^ jl'y is high praise ; for it implies naturalness , a . rare vision on the atage . On the whole , I again beg all my readers to go to Sadler's Wells to see Henry the Fifth . Even members of the Peace Society may go—they are typified in the play by that hyper-logical militia-man , IVilliams . As for myself , I freely confess that I came out of the theatre more than ever convinced that " Upon one pair of English legs Would march three Frenchmen . " And a very proper and orthodox conviction , too ! J r T . H CuAT-HlUXT .
Self-Expanding Tjcndkncikh In Tins Unive...
Self-Expanding Tjcndkncikh in Tins University . —The improvement in diameter in the aristocracy , though it had commenced long- before 1832 , did not siive them ironi being compelled to share their power with those io whom , in fact , they owed Unit improvement ; and as the altered ^ 's tem docs its work , and minuses society with another temper , the people are now demanding an analogous share in the intellectual to what they then obtained in the political advantages of the country . So far the universities have belonged to the old orders ; they have improved themselves , but only for them , and in their direction ; and they are now defined in the ; evidence ! before ns as " finishing schools for the higher classes . " Yet the exelusivenesK which is preserved in form and in gtmoral tone has not been proof against opinion ; and , a . s in " 18 : $ 2 , large portions of the aristocracy went over to the opposition , and assisted them in winning their privileges , so in thsi report before ns , we have the happy spectacle presented to us of a large-minded body of gentlemen , who although trained by Oxford , and keenly and fully alive to her excellences , have dared to open their eyes to the imminent anclinevi < ab ] xion < o tho lllln"King tbcwV' ^ f' ^ MW * SVlffif in tin extensive and mim - a n ^ ¦ ' 'i
portant precedent . The members of the Established Church pray weekly that the magistrate may have grace to maintain orthodoxy with the civil sword , and that the queen may govern according to the divine ordinances as having authority thereto from ( Jod , while yet they abhor persecution , while they will not allow their queen the free choice even of her own household , and would hold themselves emancipated from their allegiance if she ventured to impose a tax or punish a heretic without consent of Parliament . Insincerity in prayer is as serious as insincerity in an oiitb , if either deservo to he so called—but , in fact , there is no insincerity in one or the other : time has washed out from the words their historical meaning , and they are interpreted as subject to the limitations and changes to which all human things an ; liable . — -- " The . Oxford Commission , " Westminster Review . Mictkok at Wakukikij ) . —On Thursday evening , a beautiful meteoric phenomenon wan observed in Wakefield , about half-past eight o ' clock , by a large number of jMiople . A brilliant body , somewhat resembling a comet in form and appearance , shot across the heavens from »«• south-eastern direction towards the . north , its head wan ol almost , dazzling brilliance , and apparently much larger than either tho planets Venus or Jupiter on a fine night , and its light , dearer and more transparent . To this ball of light , was attached a kind of tail , composed of a variety of colours of greater or less distinctness , the whole gliding oil" into a kind of misty whiteness . Hefore its final disappearance it extended to a considerable length , and was certainly a most beautiful phenomenon . The time occupied in its descent could not be more than three or four hccoiuIm . — fVakfJiold Journal .
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Cminnntini Mfltr * .
Monkv Market And City Intelligence. Brit...
MONKV MARKET AND CITY INTELLIGENCE . BRITISH FUNDS FOR THE PAST WHRK . ( Closing Piucks . ) Satur . Monti . Tue . n . IVcdn . Thur * . l ' " HankHloi * 2234 22-1 * 22-14 223 } 3 pur Coiil . Itail JM » i »»*¦ i »» S »» J 3 i »« r Cent . Con . Aiih . HM ) i 10 OJJ- 1004 NX , 3 per Out . Con ., Ac . 100 J lOO fr MH >| < K £ 3 \ ])<¦!• cvi . t .. An io . 'fjj io : ii jo : i } . io . J » < ¦¦• Mow 5 imr C \ nitn ¦•¦; , ¦; L » n Aim ., 1 HM 0 04 « 11-1 « <•! India Htoelc 275 - ' •* Ditto Hondn , £ 1000 N 7 H 7 " ; ' Ditto , under £ 1000 ... HI "" Kx . Hiiln , JU 1 OOO 7 H , > 77 p 76 j > ' <• )» Ditto , JWioo ••¦•;; ¦¦ ; .. Ditto , Hmii . ll ¦ __ ¦¦¦ - _ ^ -- 1 ^—— - — - ' - ¦ "
For 15ton Fundh. (Last Omnc.Iu, Quotatio...
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 6, 1852, page 22, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06111852/page/22/
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