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in order to hear the sweet accents of truth , and no sooner does he ^ r those sweet accents , than he comforts himself much in the way thors and actors do when they hear the truth from us critics . I wont spoil sport by hinting all the troubles and perils into which the HViith leads poor Soioerberry . You know the fable of Jupiter and < a mele ( by the way , an intelligent printer once sent that forth as Jupiter d Simile !) and have admired the moral . The " party" who desired the ^ enee of a g 0 ( j became a burnt party for her pains ! Charles Mathews V the Somersetshire Semele to Jupiter Frank Matthews , in this ^ phenomenon in a Smock-frock , a very amusing farce , rery well adapted ,-by William Brough tfrom Le Misanthrope et VAuvevgnat , and amusingly nlayed by Charles Mathews , whose dialect is perfect . If a fault is to be found with his performance , it is that he does not make his Milkman stolid enough ; he seems to tell the truth more out of love of fun than sim plicity . Frank Matthews entirely misses tke character of Sowerberry ; he makes it not misanthropical enough—on the contrary , he is rather iovial . But his terror was comical . There : that ' s the Truth . Is it pleasant ? , . Leaving the Lyceum , I was free to go home to my iohos , had it not been for , < , JULLIEN'S BAL MASQUE , where I was expected to be , of course . I sighed , and submitted . It was not much to bear ; and as I moved through the motley groups and moralized upon the scene , I am not sure that I thought my evening wasted . Very tasteful were the decorations , animated was the scene ; and it the Ball was not a balde Vopera , it was a vast improvement upon the dreary masquerades which a few" years ago were held out as an attraction to uhe British public . There were a few good costumes ; and a few characters supported with spirit . For the most part , the costume-peop le looked like actors in a barn , personating Ky aunts and Villiuns—dreary , discrepant obiects ! Clouds of sadness wafted across my mind from time to time , as I looked on at the hollow gaiety , and thought of the homes of those so loud ; and besides the silent tragedy which the scene contained there was one incident which struck me very forcibly . Although only a few vards from the spot , and although I saw a man on the ground , 1 cannot tell what the accident was , because I heard so many various accounts m the room ; but enough for my present purpose that a man was tying dead or senseless a few yards from me , and was borne out of the house , all the while the dancing was at its height of animation in the other parts ot tlie room ; as I looked towards the man being carried out and towards Juliien directing the harmonious storm of his orchestra , while the unconscious revelry was going on within a few yards of death , the contrast reoaJed to ml thlt splendid tragic scene in Ford ' s Broken Heart where the dance Z thrice interrupted by the news of death , but Calantha , repressing all signs of emotion , bids the- dance continue : — " Calantha , Prophiltts , Eupheanea , Neaechus , Ckotoion , Christalia , Philema , and others . Cal . We miss our servant It nodes , and Orgilus ; On whom attend they ? Crot . My son , gracious princess , Whispcr'd some new device , to which these revel * Should be but usher : wherein , I conceive , Lord Ithoclos and be himself arc actors . Cal . A fair excuse for absence : as for Ikissane . s , Delights to him arc troublesome ; Armostes Is with the King . Crot . He is . Cat . On to the dance : ( To Neanchus . ) Dear cousin , band you the bride ; the bridegroom must be Intrusted to my courtship : he not jealous , Euphranea ; I slmll scarcely prove a temptress . Fall to our dance . They Dance the first Change , during which AitMOSTKS enters : Arm . The King- your Father ' s dead . Cal . To the other change . . Arm . Is it possible ' i They Dance again : IUs 3 ANKtf enters . Bass . O Mudum , Penthea , poor l \ wthe . i \ s sturv'd . Cal . Meshrew thce . Lead to tin ; next . liass . Amazement dulls my senses . They . Danes again : OftutMJH enters . On / . Urave Rhodes is murder '*! , nitirdn- 'd crwffy . Cal . How dull this music , sounds ! Striku up- n «> m fpri ^ htly : Our footings arc not active h'Ue our hear ! ,, Which treads the nimbler measure . Sadness obtruding its palo face amidst , the moving crowds of ^^ T Death present amidst revelry ; -musie , and h f dils , in < Huu-htoi x m « U tering Wcwhob , and * ido by *™» <>< " tlu-m . J » am , Uuin , sdent , Ik 1 pW * s Despair , or quiciL Noriw , seeking forgetfulness-. s it i . a always , ho . * £ could but read what is behind the Mask f Happily wo cannot ; U < ; n . a serene miconsciouHneBS of all ( hat is une . vpmssnd winch make , h lilt , endurable , mid endured . . ,-.,..,.. / . On Tuesday 1 was to l » o alone . Bui , Vhomvw propose le . s amis disposed , and irvy illustrious Turkic friend , Sherbert UHerub , draf-ed . me , K > th « ZOOLOGICAL SO (! IKTY , to hear papers read by Owon nn . l Hnxley . You innat l " /^ . ;^ . ^ : ; - bort KllL li i » a profound * oologist ( when 1 HI you that to li .. _ \ . «»¦« - coveryiH < h > * which Bottled the ,, laco <> l shark * amongnt th < -A < " »/> >« you will appreciate hi » merit !) ; and . could not ™ ihI ^ ^ he actionB alwuVB moot thoir reward . J was i-owarded . A P"l > or , on Ulc
Anatomy of the Kangarou , by Professor Owen , was rea ; ° ^ e y Mr . Huxley , from whom science has so much to tope on the Entozoa oi the Zebra ' s liver ; and one by Mr . Wallace , on the Monkey Tribes oi the Amazon . You will not expect , from a nian of my known ^ ivoUty , a circumstantial report of the eehinococcus about which Mr . Huxley toia us so many interesting facts . But I will express the result ™ a * fw words . He showed , in a manner irresistibly conclusive , that this ento zoon which inhabits tlie liver is precisely the same animal as that wnicn when in the intestines , assumes the well-known form of the . ttzma ; and . the result of his observations is to abolish four supposed genera ! ^ Herbert Effendi , who believes in the Development toothesw , Mflgedmo wickedly as Mr . Huxley made this remark , and whispered , If di # erent conditions can so modify the egg of the tania . tbat it becomes in the one case an acepalocyst , in another a cysticercus , m a ^^^ Sf ^ ZTi what becomes of all the talk about fixity of species ? Whereupon 1
looked profound , and replied , » Ah !" -which could not compromise me Certainlv , when Mr . Huxley told us bow Siebold gave puppies some ol these eehinococci in milk , and on opening the puppies a aliort time aiteiv wards , found these entozoa had become tamxa , 1 did glance towards the Turkish philosopher with a " what-will-they-say-to-th at air . After the papers were read , Mr . Mitchell , the admirable secretary to the Zoologick Society , showed us his portfolio , and told us many amusmg facts about our friends tlie Chimpanzees-one I will repeat . Many , it nofc most persons , feel uncomfortable at looking on those orangs and chims ; it is thought that the resemblance of the chim is "too close to be pleasant : " that feeling the chimpanzee seems to have for the monkeysfie will not look upon them , but turns away m disgust ! Having smoked a philosophic cigar with the Effendi , I came home , congratulating myself upon Wednesday , at any rate bemg free for ^ quiet Study . What would M . Azais say on hearing that Wednesday had been chosen by the restless Charles Mathews for the production ot a piece ot
-- LITTLE TODDLEKINS ! That man is incorrigible ! But I am bound to add that Little Toddlekim was so prodigiously amusing that " I would not have lost it for a wilderness of folios " Imagine Charles Mathews as a gay young widower of Sty , anxious to enter upon the state of matrimony ( z ^^ is it that makes sane men anxious on that score ?) , but foded in all Ins efforts by the disinclination felt-on the part of romantic eighteen to become the , mother of a " little toddlekins" of eight-and-forty , and Charles Mathews « the papa of such a " little toddlekins" —a souvenir of his departed angel ! It is impossible for me to convey any notion of the broad , side-shaking extfavalance , running over with fun , of this farce which achieved the greatest success of anyfarce that has been produced for a very long win e , and deserved its success by the bold extravagance of the situations , the 1 screamed at it
incessant volleys of jokes , and the gaiety of the acting . and so did all around me . There was a hitch now and then , owing to imperfect rehearsals or nervousness ; but when a lew nights have given it the necessary glibness , it will be a fortune to the theatre _ Tlie ori ginal of this Little Toddlekins is Lcs Suites d un premier Lit , which Charles Mathews has adapted with a freedom and wit that makes another piece of it . A word of praise should be slipped in . lor Mrs . * rank Matthews , who played what is called an " ungrateful part with heartiness , and for Baker , who was excellent in the old twaddling Babicombc . Thus was Wednesday given up to Duly . When lnchte , was eloquent on the " orcat Idea of Duty—die grosseldec derPjticht ! he had never been a dramatic Critic . I begin very " much to suspect thai : Duty is Well never mind , I have got Thursday for quiet philosophic repose .
That is something . ,. Thursday comes , and lo ! I leap from my chair as I read that this evening" is the evening of EDITH ILEllAUD'S DEBUT , in the chnmettfi- of Julia , in the Hunchback , at the Olympic . I can't resist that appeal . Tim daughter of a confrere—metaphysician , poet , and dramatic critic—has more than the already powerful churns on me , the claims , 1 . mean , of her sex , and her position : as a woman , the interest ol attend
Vlvtak is inevitably secured ; as a debutante , the peculiar intcivsf , - ing all decisive episodes in the earner of ; i , human being outweighs , in my mind , a whole shelf of Christian Fathers . Who , for instance , ean think of rtvieh a Letter as that awaiting mo , bv the ? majestic Basil , addressed to ingenuous youth , upon the way in which the ^ ( . ' reck writers should In * studied with p rofit—lTp osr rovs wow orrcos au t' £ y -K \\ i ) i > iKi ~ w u >( J > c \ oTirro Aoya > i ; ( there ' s a captivating title for you ! what a , " poster" it , would make!)—who , I say , could think of this when » , young woman was about to confront the terrible ordeal of a London imbli ' c , to ask of us all , playgoers and
critics "Am 1 sulMciently jidvanecd . in my sn-t t" b ( i worthy to practise if lot your < lelight . F 1 have studied , I have striven , 1 aim at tlio highest , bonoui-s—1 , (> 11 ni (> , lia , ve 1 ' . won r "' Terrible qiu » Hl ion ! And Kd \ ih I ferand , m the Imppy eoivlidenco of youthful ambition , brave * . the answer . Let me then , iu all kindness , and llml ; impartiality which is the best of kindness , if people would but acknowledge it , ( they wont !) try to answer that question as far as my verdict , goes . ie is
To say , then , in a , lew brief Hcntenecs what I think of her s . » UII very yoimg , nnd has directed her principal . study lo the mastery <> l / m « J portion ol" her a , rt -viz ., that of reeil . afion . . 11 * - ¦ - voice is musical , althouoh H . H range seems limited : within lh < - lin . ils . she pla ys upon . tan upon an inslrument , with a eerlain sKill , l > uf . also with a certain n . onolony ; honi'M lb <« - ( UHM-al < -IIec , t , of l . errecitMlion is too much that ol a .-. song ; it burks the variety and Mio intervals of speech . Hut even suppose the whole varied resource * of deelnmntion at her command , ( here would remain Mm Mtill more in . porlant ( dements of representation , i . e ., l . ho expression ot mdivi < lual rlmnu-UM- iu . d emotion -- • ¦ "id •¦! »« ' « ' » U " h ;' . Y ' : " > V »» ' » lu'loro h «; r bigh ambition ean bo crowned . The history oi an individual art . sl ; ^ always more or leM . s tlu . Hain » "H M . afc <» f l . li «; Art . ( sell ; and Art begins with wlint is general , passing l > y n ^ ular gradations to what w tmUmdual . Thus , the Drama has » ot tmdc the CothumuH , and tho loity dcclamution
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' - his own , called
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dthen b Pecemb eb 18 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER , inS _
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 18, 1852, page 1215, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1965/page/19/
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