The Press. — London, England, 1856-02-09 00:00:00

140 tinction, and ultimately enters holy orders. The series of incidents by which Claude re covered the family inheritance, form the staple of the second volume. We shall not, however, forestal our readers by narrating them. The principal charm of the story con sists of the scenes in Northumberland. Here the writer is evidently quite at home—much more so than when he leads us within the wails of Cambridge University. The characters here are all exaggerated. We should doubt the existence of a Dr. Whalesby even thirty years ago; and Mr. Joliffe's (the tutor) igno rance of Greek is completely overdone. The wine party is even less like reality than those in " Verdant Green." Nobody gravely calls a pot of beer " a brimming flagon," or speaks of a favorite hunter as " you little bay." Cold fowl and ham is not exactly the dinner which a fast set would indulge in after a long day's run ; nor do we believe that the practical joke, or rather outrage, attempted upon Claude has any. precedent in Oxford or Cambridge annals : at all events, it is no fair specimen of men's ordinary conduct. The trial scene is a very good one. The judge is capitally hit off—" a stern, large : faced old man, with a pair of " piercing grey eyes under bushy white eye " brows.' So also is Sergeant Bradshaw, the counsel for the defendant : A big, broad:chested man, with a coarse face, a shrewd eye, and a loud, positive way of speaking. He was famous on the Northern Circuit for browbeating witnesses, and extorting verdicts from weak•minded jurymen by dint of his imperious assurance. There he sat, with an ostenta tious indifference, now using a toothpick, now staring round the court with his eyeglass, scarcely deigning to notice the proceedings of the plaintiff's counsel, and never once offering an objection or questioning a witness. The opening of his address to the jury is also very true to life : " Thank you, my lord," replied the sergeant, bowing his wigged head, and in his blandest tone, " but we shall not detain your lordship beyond daylight." . . . - Then standing erect, and swelling himself out in all the magnitude of his burly figure and ample gown, he began in a bantering tone by " congratulating the court upon the very entertaining address they bad that morning been pri• vileged to hear. The ladies especially must have been enchanted. He should indeed tremble for his client if their lips had to pronounce the verdict. Happily the jury ix,' was filled from the sterner sex, and those gentlemen were perfectly aware that they were placed in that box not to he sentimental but to be just. Thn , also knew as well as he that, for the greater part of his address, his brother Paget might just as well have read them a chapter out of Froissard. He could only suppose that the learned counsel had been gathering up materials for a new county history, and had treated them to the 1)e Vesci pedigree by way of specimen." We think the tale of " Claude de Vesci" par takes something of the character of Ser geant Playtl.ir's speech, which his learned brother is here describing. It is a book well calculated to be a favorite with ladies. The premature piety of Claude, that " lear old man " his uncle Cuthbert, and the fine lessons of morality which are everywhere inculcated, qualify it eminently for such a distinction. PERIODICAL LITERATURE. The North British, for February, contains nine articles, not one of which is devoid of very consider• able interest. If we were to single out any from the rest, we should name those upon France and Scot land, upon Ben Jonson, and upon hotels, as those likely to be most generally acceptable. From the second of these two we extract the following account of the Mermaid Tavern : Among the London haunts of Ben, during the theatrical season, when he and his brother dramatists were all in town, there is one which is entitled to pre-eminent mention. This was the Mermaid Tavern in Bread-street, Cheapside, famous in our literary history as the habitual resort (for then, more even than now, people residing in London dined and supped in taverns) not only of Ben, but of Shak speare, Donne, Beaumont, Fletcher, Chapman. and the other literary celebrities of those days, and the scene of so many of those merry-meetings and wit-combats with which these gods, while as yet they were human enough, used to regale their leisure. Who does not know Beaumont's lines on this paragon of taverns? What things have we seen Done at the Mermaid' heard words that have been So nimble and so full of subtle name. As if that every ont from whence they came Had meant to put his ',hole wit in a jest, And had resolved to live a fool the rest Of his dull life ; then when there bath been thrown Wit able enough to justify the town For three days past—wit that raiiiht warrant be For the whole city to talk fo.dishly Till that were caneelled; and, when that was gone, We left an air behind na. which alone Was able to make the two next companies Right witty, though but downright fools. THE PRESS. Raleigh, it is said, had founded a kind of regular club at the Mermaid before the close of Elizabeth's reign ; and perhaps the most brilliant days of the Club were during the latter years of that reign and the first of James's, while Shakspeare was still in town to niake one of the company. But even after Sbakspeare had retired on his fortune to Stratford-on-Avon, the meetings were kept up with spirit by Ben and the vest of the fraternity. Nor, when Shak speare came up town, as he did at various times on busi ness, would he fail to slur,/ his face in the well•known place of tryst. Any time, in fact, between 1603 and 1616, we are at liberty to fancy those meetings in the Mermaid, at which, over a board covered with cups of Canary, and in a room well filled surely with tobacco-smoke (for had not Raleigh founded the Club, and was not the weed already sold in seven thousand shops in London ?), the seated gods, with Ben among them, exchanged their bolts and flashes. Ah ! what evening: were these ; and how Ben and Shak speare betongued each other, while the others listened and wondered ; and how, when the company dispersed, the sleeping street heard their departing footsteps and voices, and the stars shone dawn on the old roofs! The article on hotels is most agreeably written, and contains a great amount of good sense, though we find it impossible to agree with the writer in his main point, which is the expediency of adopting con tinental manner 4 in regard to ladies. He thinks that man and wife would be more kept together if there were more places of public resort, whether for refreshments or amusement, where they could be seen together. But is this the case on the Continent? In regard to cheapness, all habitues of London know very well that capital plain dinners, with all the appurtenances of linen and plate, may be had in numerous places for 2s. or t2A. 01 a head. Iu reality, we believe the introduction of the table d'hôte into England to be perfectly unnecessary. Nor can we further agree in the doctrine that in a public place of this description the " appearance of propriety " is all that is necessary. A broad line of demarcation should be kept up between " the objectional persons" spoken of by the writer, and the rest of the sex. Tait's Edinburgh .117ga:ine contains a large assortment of articles, suitable to a variety of tastes. There is nothing that calls for special notice, except, perhaps, the essay entitled "Tangled-talk." which is certainly a break in the even mediocrity of the rest, though whether above it or below it is a doubtful matter. The strictures on the character of the House of Commons are simply ridiculous—the senti ments of an old woman expressed in the language of a child. The " Literary Register " contains some fairish reviews, though not of very important books. Mr. Wilberforce's "Brazil" is one of the best. The February number of the Train is much the same as the January number—neither better nor worse. Tjiat the writers possess a considerable share of comic power no one would be found to deny, but we fear there are indications of a lack of ability of a different order. A magazine should not be all facetiousness. The article entitled " Flimsy," is in our opinion the best in the number. It is a descrip- tion of the penny-a-liner, wonderfully humorous and lively. Here is an instance of his blunders when aiming at brevity : Yesterday morning. at an early hour, loud screams were heard to issue from the house of Mrs.—, at No.—, street, which has unfortunately resulted in loss of life. The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine is of a totally different character from any of the above. The second number bears even more than the first unmistakeable marks of high literary genius. The eloquence, the thought, and the critical ability dis played throughout convince us that this magazine will soon rise to the front rank, if not to the very highest place, among its contemporaries. The con tinuation of the essay on Tennyson, and the article on Shakespeare's minor poems, are admirable exam ples of two different styles of criticism ; while the two tales, one called "A Story of the North," the other "The Two Partings," exhibit a power of language and a warmth of imagination which few living writers could equal. "The Churches of North France" is written in a style most excellently adapted to the subject. There is a subdued eloquence and re strained enthusiasm in the author which carries us along with him without any fear of being carried too far. PUBLICATIONS RECETVED.—FEn. 7. BOOKS. The ?donetons. A Novel. Susanna Moodie. Bentley. Foxglove Bells ; A Book of Sonnets. T. Westwood, Gilbert Brothers. Spirit-Rapping, and Table-Turning. Ridgway. Mere and There in Portugal. Hugh Owen. Bell and Daldy. Krion-Girai, Khan of the Crimea. Hon. William G. C. Eliott. Murray. Dairy Farming, the Rearing and Feeding of Dairy Stork. Ruricala. L. Reeve. A Manual of Zoology. M. Milne-Edwarda. Renshaw. The Fear-Book of Pacts for 1856. John Timbs, F.S.A. Bogue. Men of the Time; Biographical Sketches of Eminent Lining Characters. Dines. SATURDAY, ate 9rama. COVENT Giuncx.—Mr. Anderson is determined to signalise his short lease of this house• by giving more varied entertainments than any other theatri cal manager. No sooner is Rob Roy ( without his red hair) brought out, than we have that lively little personal farce in which Mr. Leigh Murray was so excellently good; and now, before we have quite had time to recover our breath between "Magic and Mystery," Rob Roy, and Mr. Leigh Murray, we have Mr. Anderson himself treading in the foot steps of T. P. Cooke, and coming out as William in Mr. Douglas Jerrold's drama of Black-Eyed Susan, which is said cot to have been performed for twenty-seven years. Those who have seen Mr. Anderson's Rob Roy will understand what qualities would be most apparent in his perform ance of the part of William. The same phy sical energy and manly boldness, with an addi tional spice of characteristic dash to suit the jolly tar, are the leading points in Mr. Anderson's con ception of the character. But Jack, though brave as a lion, is as often gentle as a lamb, said in his rough heart possesses more real tenderness than he usually obtains credit for. This tenderness is not Mr. An derson's forte. Here he is too artificial, and rather overdoes his part. Yet the performance is highly creditable to him, and none have ever come so near the inimitable performance of that favorite Mr. T. P. Cooke, and the audience were especially delighted. The hornpipe, that choice morceau in sweet William's part, we are happy to say is wisely given over to the flexible Mr. Flexmore, who dances it to perfection, possible better than would ever be seen danced on a forecastle. The other characters are all tolerably well supported. Miss Gordon is a judi cious and careful Susan ; Mr. Shalders a very good imitation of the hard-hearted landlord ; while Blue Peter and Gnatbrain were equally well supported by Messrs. Perren and Pearson ; and Mr. Hudspeth is a tolerable Jacob Twiq. The house, we are happy to hear, has been se-engaged by Mr. Anderson for another month, during which time we are promised a restoration of the English opera. Mr. Ander son's promises have hitherto been well kept, and we have no doubt an English opera will be seen to its best advantage at Covent Garden. AnEurif.j-An unsuccessful attempt has been made this week to dramatise one of the stories in the Christmas number of Household Words. The Boots of the Holly tree Inn has been skilfully worked into a one-act piece, and brought out ; but there is so little incident in it that, in spite of its clever con struction and capital acting throughout, we fear it will n..t find favour with the Adeiphi audience. They do not appreciate refined humour, nor care to com prehend those delicate touches of childish grief which are sr, prominent in this tenderly touching story. Mr. Webster's Cobbs, the boots at the York shire inn, is perfect for its truth to nature—the pecu liar dialect, the shrewd humour, and the quaint loquacity of the character are rendered by Afr. Web ster with real power and thorough artistic) finish. His make-up, too, is excellent. In the child lovers, Miss Walmer and Miss Craddock show great ability, and act with perfect feeling. The scenery, too, is admirably well painted and put together. The out side of the inn in a snowstorm is one of the best snow views exhibited at the Adelphi. At the fall of the curtain on the first night the audience were sin gularly apathetic. GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION.—Mrs. German Reed has removed her popular entertainment to this building for the season. With regard to her clever delinea tions of life and character, her powers of mimicry, her talent for hitting off characteristic peculiarities, and her clever make-up upon each and every occasion, there is little to be said more than we have observed on former occasions. Her enter- tainment at present opens with characteristic delinea• tions of some of ose every-day people we all meet with in the course of our lives, and whom Mrs. Reed especially meets upon a country visit. First there is Mrs. Myrtle, one of those genuine, coarse, good-hearted, country housewives whose affections vibrate between their children and their preserves — then we have an old maid of remarkable acerbity— then a charity boy, who is subjected to an examina tion—then a dandy baronet, who under his foppish ness conceals something good—and then an insipid young lady, who appreciates nothing in life but her pillow. These aro mostly the different visitors at Mrs. Myrtle's house upon the occasion of Miss Myrtle's wedding, which is detailed to us in a capital song between Mrs. Reed and Mr. German Reed, who throughout takes the subordinate part at the piano. As soon as the breakfast is announced a capital specimen cf a bridal speech is given by a Mr. Honeysu-kle, who drags in every unconnected sub ject to give force to his meaning, and results in the most malapropos conjunctions. A few more characteristic sketches are then given ; and a clever dialogue between two old women, Mrs. Recd simul taneously sustaining both characters, terminates the I