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patience to read , just those general principles-which may easily be remembered and applied . Read in a quarter of an hour this little tractate will furnish materials for years of reflection on the subject . A Model Law . Published by the British Anti-State Church Association . This association has issued various small publications at a price for general and gratuitous distribution . The Model Law is the act of Virginia of 1786 , which is unlike any other law extant ; is one of the most useful contributions which Republican legislation has made to the world—a model , indeed , of religious freedom , which monarchies might with advantage follow .
TJte Red Republican . Part 3 . Collins , Fleet-street . The variety and ultra tone of the articles in this journal are fully maintained in this new part , and No . 16 contains a correspondence between Mr . G . J . Holyoake and Mr . Thornton Hunt , arising out of the labours of the Democratic Conference , includes a long letter from Mr . Hunt , on the " Past Failures and Future Policy of Democratic Politicians . " A comprehensive and candid comment from one who necessarily looks at Chartism from a point
of sight different from that from which it is -viewed by its usual partizans , can hardly fail to throw a critical and suggestive light upon this popular theme . That such suggestions are readily and courteously admitted by the Editor of the Red Republican , who invites his numerous readers to ponder over and discuss the points raised , certainly implies a more manful and intelligent determination to see their way to new influence than this class of politicians have been credited with .
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Favourite Song Birds . No 5 . The Bullfinch . By H . G . Adams . W . 8 . Orr and Co . Thought * on the Nature of Man , the Propagation of Creeds , and the Formation of Human Character . Joseph Clayton . The Philosopher ' s Mite to the Great Exhibition of 1851 . Houlston and Stoneman . Penny Maps . Part 3 . France—British Isles—Sweden and Norway . Chapman and Hall . PERIODICALS FOB OCTOBEB . Fraser ' s Magazine . The Zoist . The Rambler . Household JVords . Peter Parley ' s New Monthly Journal . The Lookcr-On . Edited by Fritz and Liolett . The Truth-Seeker . The Modern Lecturer . The Freethinkers' Magazine . The Press . The People ' s Library and Family Instructor .
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The Smai-l Farmer . —If the small farmer did not acquire wealth , he kept his station . The land which he had tilled with the sweat of his brow , -while his strength lasted , supported him when his strength was gone : his sons did the work when he could work no longer ; he had his place in the chimney-corner , or the bee-hive chair : and it was the light of his own fire which shone upon his grey hairs . Compare this with the old age of the daylabourer , with parish allowance for a time , and the parish workhouse at last ! He who lives by the wages of daily
labour , and can only live upon those wages , without laying up store for the morrow , is spending his capital ; a time must come when it will fail ; in the road which he must travel , the poor-house is the last stage on the way to the grave . Hence it arises , as a natural result , that looking to the parish as his ultimate resource , and as that to which he must come at last , he cares not how soon he applies to it . There is neither hope nor pride to withhold him : why should he deny himself any indulgence in youth , or why make any efforts to put off for awhile that which is inevitable at the end ? That the labouring
poor feel thus , and reason thus , and act in consequence , is beyond all doubt ; and if the landholders were to count up what they have gained by throwing their estates into large farms , and what they have lost by the increase in the poor-rates , of which that system has been one great cause , they would have little reason to congratulate themselves on the result . —Robert Southey . Improved Farming . —The improved system of farming haB lessened the comforts of the poor . It has either deprived the cottager of those slips of land which contributed greatly to his support , or it has placed upon them an excessive and grinding rent . But as the
comforts of the cottagers are diminished , his respectability and self-respect are diminished also , and hence arises a long train of evils . The practice of farming upon a great scale has unquestionably improved the agriculture of the country ; better crops are raised at less expense : but in a national point of view , there is something more to be considered than the produce of the land and the profit of the landholders . The well-being of the people is not of less importance than the wealth of the collective body . By the system of adding field to field , more has been lost to the state than has been gained to the soil : the gain may be measured by roods and perches—but how shall the loss be calculated ? The loss is that of a link in the socinl chain—of a numerous , most useful , and most respectable class , who , from the rank of small farmers , have been degraded to that of day-labourers . —Ibid .
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MACBETH AT SADLER'S WELLS . Macbeth has been got up at Sadler ' s Wells in a very praiseworthy manner . There is a massive splendour in the decorations—a preference of breadth , and colour to the glare of tin-foil and spangles ; and the wretched system of stage perspective is altogether abandoned . Many alterations have been judiciously made in the grouping since the play was acted here two or three years ago . The banquet scene is differently arranged , and its rugged magnificence augmented ; the disposal of lights in this scene was alone sufficient to convince us that the clumsy contrivance of foot-lamps might be successfully abolished .
We have seen Phelps play much , better in " Macbeth " than he did the other evening . Miss Glyn was the Lady Macbeth . " Her slowness of delivery is becoming insufferable , and it seems purposeless . Her most effective passage was in the banquet-scene , when the stage-business actually got in advance , and so compelled her to hurry . Mr . Marston ' s " Macduff" is weak—we are bound to add , from no lack of intelligence or care . His picturesque costume and graceful deportment make his presence on the stage always agreeable , but his unfortunate intonation baffles his efforts . George Bennett is an excellent " Banquo , " gives the timely little speech about the martlet with proper feeling . Why does he shirk the good old word " masionry " substitute " mansionry ? "
The minor characters were sustained m a manner unhappily rare , and we shall be much mistaken if several underlings in Mr . I'helps ' s company bo not found worthy promotion . The melees in the fifth act were ns well managed as anything of the kind we remember to have seen . There is a growing tendency , however , to laugh at sham fights , no matter how close their semblance of real ones . Abstractedly this may bo a fortunate indication ; but the respect for everything relating to a poet should include even his stage directions , not to speak of the encouragement due to a generous observance of them .
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Theatrical affairs are beginning to show some stir for the approaching season . The Ilaymarkot and the Lyceum are about to open ; and the Adelxihi receives ngiiin its children who have been holiday making at the Hay market . Several rumours have reached us , but not carrying with them their substantiation wo forbear to circulate them .
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presented an appearance of ladies and gentlemen seldom gracing a theatre now-a-days : it was like a night of the olden times when the drama nourished . And the actors ! they , too , were in high spirits , inspired by the enthusiasm that was in the air , pl eased at the opening of a new temple of the art , emu . ous of each other , yet each rightly placed , and acting well in concert . Never do we remember to have seen Twelfth Night so well played ; never ,
perhaps , was it relished with a greater gusto . It showed how much can be done by casting a play well . It showed , also , how much the audience can do towards creating its own enjoyment . Half the prosperity of the jests certainly lay there . Willing to be pleased they were pleased ; and , pleased , they gave the actors a verve -which made them capable of pleasing . This is the unique source of that success of " First Nights " which has so often been remarked ; and this , doubtless , was something of the feeling which warmed every audience in the palmy days of the drama .
The play was admirably cast , on the whole , wel * placed on the stage , with artistic elegance and sufficient splendour of scenery and costume , without prodigality or spectacle . There were some novelties in the cast . Ellen Kean was , of course , the " " Viola , " and played with even more than her usual delicacy and archness . In reflecting on her performance severe criticism might suggest that the comic portions were once or twice a little out of tone—a little
too roguish and confident for " Viola —wanting that ideal elevation which Shakspearian comedy demands ; and yet these were the parts most vehemently applauded ! The look with which she said " I am the man "' was perfect ; but that little saucy tap on her head , with the playful swagger which followed it , though they ' brought down the house , " appeared to us to betray a forgetfulness of " Viola" in the force of the situation—sweeping out of the ideal orbit into the lower orbit of a soubrette . We think her manner , when first introduced to " Olivia , " just the sort of manner *« Viola" might have found it necessary to
assume to vindicate her manhood , and Mrs . Kean rightly , therefore , throws off " Viola" for the nonce ; but , we submit that , when alone , " Viola" should absolutely throw off that assumed manner , and be herself again . The exquisite verses , " She never told her love , ' * dropped melodiously from her , and were received with tremendous applause . The ghastly terror she portrayed during the duel was most artistically relieved by little touches of comedy . Mrs . Keeley appeared for the first time as " Maria . " It was bright , pert , and effective . There is an intensity
in all Mrs . Keeley does and says which makes her acting all point . Miss Phillips was misplaced in " Olivia . " But , who now has the youth , grace , and courtesy befitting this nobil donna ? Keeley ' s " Sir Andrew Aguecheek" is well known as a masterpiece of imbecility and incompetence : it is a perfect study . Harlcy , as the " Clown , " played with great verve . " Sir Toby Belch " was a failure in the hands of Mr . Addison , who had not seized the part . ' Sir Toby " should be saturated with good liquor , the energetic coarseness of his name betokens the habitual sot : the
eye should wander in its uncertainty , the tongue move heavily , the gait be lax . Drink should ooze from every pore , his voice should speak of it , his whole manner should be moist . Mr . Addison was the soberest of men . His stagger had no heaviness , his manner had nothing vinous . Meadows aa *• Malvolio , " made a decided hit . This is one of the most difficult parts in the whole range of Shakespearian noodles ; and Meadows played it with great intelligence and care . The thin , hard pomposity , the selfsufficing narrowness , the man-in-office style of loftiness , the woodenheadiness of " Malyolio " were gi ven to the life ; and the famous but perilous scene of the l etter , -was a complete triumph . James Vining was a lively ' Fabian ; Ryder a picturesque Captain , "
and Cathcart a very creditable " Sebastian . Altogether , the comedy went off with amazing spirit . It was followed by a new farce , called Platonic Attachments , by Bayle Bernard , the prince of original farce writers , and one who does not seek for pieces in the French repertory . Imagine Keeley as a quondam ' fast man , "—the ex-member of a boat club , but now married and settled in life , having taken unto his bosom a partner no less formidable than legitimate , a sharp , clear , decisive woman , whose bright black eye is charged with volumes of curtain eloquence ( the eye belongs to Mrs . Keeley , so you may estimate its power !) and whose deliberate opinion of bachelor friends is , that they must , one and all , be given up . Given up they are . ' Thistledown" leads the life of a turtledove .
OPENING OF THE PRINCESS'S THEATRE . Never was there a better first night ! Everybody was in high spirits , rightly attuned to enjoyment , ready to be pleased , and keeping up the ball of humour by sending it back a ^ ain winged with hearty laughter to the actors . A pleasant sight it was to see the crowded expectation of that night ! \ Vellkuown faces dotted the crowd ; and the dress circle
That word is not written carelessly , for turtledoves arc desperate fightovs ! " Sarah Thistledown " has nil the characteristics of that variety of the pigeon tribe : she coos and she bills him ! But although " Thistledown" is not the man to disregard the solemn legalities of his position , still he is a ? nan he is susceptible , and from youth upwards has been an ardent admirer of the sex—platonically ! Plntonism lias always seemed to us to hold very much the same position as the delusive cap with which grooms entice horses to leave the fresh grass they are grazing in the hope of a handful of oats ; be that as it may , <• Thistledown" has purely virtuous impulses in
accosting " Miss Milman , " and lending her his umbrella . Who can doubt it ? You do not ; but that fiery-eyed " Mrs . Thistledown" may , perhaps , have less confidence m marital virtue . There is the rub ! Meanwhile " Tom Rawlings , " in the person of Alfred Wigan , has been pursuing " Mrs . Thistledown" with that obtrusive gallantry which distinguishes members of boat-clubs and possessors of elaborate whiskers . He follows her to her own house , and there meets with his old companion . Establishing himself upon
the premises with that delightful ease , acquired only in farces , " Tom" transfers his affections from " Mrs . Thistledown" to " Miss Milman , " and in the imbroglio which succeeds , dexterously screens " Thistledown , " throws dust in his wife ' s eyes , and winds up the whole satisfactorily . The staple of this farce is old enough in all conscience , but it has good situations , is written with point , and is acted by the Keeleys and Wigan so that the fun is fast and furious .
On Monday Hamlet was put on the stage with greater splendour and artistic effect than has ever been seen in London : much of the arrangement being as novel as it is striking , and the dresses magnificent . The opening scene had the true ghostly aspect , chill , solemn , and mysterious ; but the effect was marred by the bawling of " Francisco" and the want of hushed reverence and awe with which the others spoke of the apparition . This might easily be improved . Of the acting we must speak briefly . Charles Kean ' s " Hamlet" is undoubtedly his best Shakspearian character , and is quite a different
performance from what it was some years ago ; the melodramatic vehemence and startings are gone , and in their place a subdued and somewhat monotonous melancholy reigns which takes from the character its alternations of madness and the solemn repose of self-interrogation . But our differences with him on the subject are so extensive that we ' must postpone till another opportunity anything like criticism on . the part : so elaborated a performance demands elaborate analysis , and shall have it , faults and beauties . Mrs . ' Kean was "Ophelia , " by no means a favorite part with us , in her hands , though the mad
scene she plays better than ever we saw it played : her listless rocking to and fro while singing was a most pathetic touch direct from nature ! The " King " and " Queen" were regally done by Ryder and Miss Phillips , who looked very handsome . " Laertes " was given to Mr . Belton , a young and rising actor , with a handsome face and graceful gesture , who played very creditably . The " Polonius" of Mr . Addison was better than his " Sir Toby , " but it was only conventional . Harley ' s " Gravedigger" was bursting with sententious importance , and his admiring friend simpered most characteristically in Meadows .
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 5, 1850, page 666, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1855/page/18/
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