The Express.
London, England, 1856-08-18 00:00:00

(Stamped ld. Additional.) [TWOPENCE.

LONDON IN THE AFTER SEASON.

THE BEITAN2qA SALOON.

Certain matter-of (sot and statistical gentlemen of
the present day are tog generally contented with
gleaning information anent those in whom they pro-
fess an interest from the perusal of blue-books, and the
cursory observation of such characters as they oome
across in the pungent* of their every-day duties. It
is not in such a manner that acquaintance with the
" masses" is to be made; to be properly studied,
they mint be seen in places where they teel them-
selves thoroughly at borne— where their peculiar
laissovoller notions of behaviour ere allowed fell
awing. They must be visited at entertainments where
they are not simply admitted on sufferance, u at the
principal metropolitan theatres, but where the
amusement provided is sessoried for their especial
palates, and where they are recognised as the regular
patrons of the establishment. What to them are
"festivals of Dionysius," apparitions of "Cbionos,"
" descents of Luna," or "ascents of Phcebtub r What
do they can for antiquarian research or classical
authorities P A pageant, brilliant indeed, but ut-
terly unintelligible, before their eyes, and they
reams been eanetreeted, emd vieasiveaC
But as a deep love for theatrical entertainment is
decidedly one of the strongest attributes of the Lon-
don common people, and as, to put it in a commercial
point of view, there is a great demand for inch
amusements, tine must cossequently be a supply,
and the proprietor of the Britannia Saloon has had
the tact and good fortune to meet the wishes of his
patrons in a sensible and praiseworthy manner. Oar
statistical and matter.of.fact friends we know disap-
prove of the whole system of amusement root and
branch. They like the ingenious "operative" and
" artisan" (pet words of our friends) to work like a
horse for 10 or 12 hours daily, and then peas his even-
ings over a dry, unreadable book which is " calculated
to improve his mind." Bet as the ingenious operative
won't have this style of treatment, it is surely better
for him to go to a plan where his mind is innocuously
amused, and where for a short space of time he can
forget the daily grind of this work-a-dsy lite, rather
than to sit stupifying in the pot-house, or overstrain-
ing those faculties which are already taxed to the
utmost in his endeavour to obtain necessary daily
bread. _ .

I: is time, however, to quit discussion for descrip-
tion. 80, first as to the locale. The Britannia Saloon
is situated in Horton; but we should recommend the
intending visitor by no means rashly to attempt
going there on foot. as he will infallibly be lost in
the wild regions adjacent to the City-road. We have
mane several visits there bet have never yet found a
cabman who could take us "right away," as the
Yanktee say, to our place of destination. We have
invariably had to stop two or three times to inquire
the way, and, after encountering those wonderful
persons who always turn up on occasions of topogra-
phical difficulty, and after a long consideration inform
the inquirer that they are "strangers there them-
selves," we have concluded by enraging the services
of an aboriginal youth, under whose guidance we
have found ourselves at the door of the theatre. A
legend at the head of the playbill states, with unpa-
ralleled recklessness, that omnibuses from all parts
of London atop within two minutes' walk of the
Britannia every quarter of an hour." In four weeds,
we don't believe it.
The outer avenues sad passages of the theatre are
not calculated to delight the sensitive, either by their
cleanliness or the odour of the company which
throogs them. We may judge, too, that there are
meekest pawges of arms as to aright of precedence
or the amount of entrance money to be demanded, foe
close to the money-taksr's little niche stands a
policeman, who questions each new comer as to
which part of the house he intends visiting, and
thee informs him of the amount to be paid. The
prices are—private boxes, Is. 6d.; boxes and stalls,
la., and pit, tad.; gallery, "equal to the boxes at any
ether theatre " (ride playbill), 4d. ; back pit, 3d. We
must, however, inform the reader that the private
boxes are named on the " locus it non locendo" prin-
ciple, being common to every one who can pay
eighteenposos ; that the boxes are four in number,
two on either side of the house, when private bozos
are usually satiated in other theatres; and that
the whole front of the house, comprising the space
usually devoted to dress circle, upper boxes, and gal-
lery is here taken up by the gallery alone. The
building is capable of containieg three thousand five
hundred persons, and on Saturday night last, when
we were there upwards of two thousand eight
hundred had paid at the doors. It is impossible to
describe the impression produced by tee sight
of such a sea of human faces. Gazing at
the house, we were reminded of those wood-
cuts of large public' meetings in our contemporary
the Desire/Ad A ewe, where the first line or two of
faces are correctly drawn, and then come rows upon
rows of mere outlined heads. There they were, old
hard featured men and women, a preponderance of
castlees youths and brazen-laced girls, and no lack of
children in arms, among whom moved the potboy,
dispensing his porter from a huge two-gallon can •
the vendor of Um sandwiches, reared in gigantic;
stacks ; and the dispenser of the succulent pie or
fiery gingerbread. Even between the acts there
was no excessive noise, no blackriardism, no foal
language, and when the curtain rose, after occupying
some short time to shake into their places—for they
were packed like figs in a drum—they listened to
the performance with a rapt attention which might
be imitated with advantage by the modicums at
more exclusive theatres.

By an accident we did not arrive until after the
conclusion of the first piece, " The Daughter of
Night," and consequent) y missed several striking
situations, detailed in large letters in the bills
as " Arrest of the poor Mine Oirl!" " The
Rejected Suitor! The Blow!" "Terror outs the
Thread of Life !" &o. What we first witnessed
wu a grand pas de dear. entitled "La lawilbdire, on
l'Aboodanee des Fleur'," probably because our old
friend Mdlle. Celeste Stephan, Dome years ago prin-
cipal coryphee at her Majesty's Theatre, scattered
four property roses upon the step and pirouetted
among them. After this we had a very capital adap-
tation of Dumas play, "L. Doetenr Noir," under
the title of ' The Black Doctor," some of the oharsc-
ters in which were exoeediegly well acted. We
would specially commend a Mr. W. R. Cranford, who
played a very small part of a rough, honest 8r.12n
fisherman with an intelligence, spirit, and
which showed him fitted for much high.' ETs.
Mrs. Edwin Yarnold also, who played some years
ago at the Adelphi, is the principal melodramatic
actives at the Britannia, and deservedly popular with
the audience. The worst feature in the performance
was the acting of the two gentlemen who were
intended to be fanny, but who in reality presented a
very saddening and dreary spectacle. The sadistic*,
however, seemed delighted with them, so we sup-
pose we were hypercritical. One thing certainly re-
dounds to their credit, they attempted to raise a
laugh by purely imitiesate means, and used neither
offensive word no, degraded gesture for the purpose.
This is another instance is which the Britannia might
serve as a model for imitation.
In taking leave of the Britannia we are glad to be
enabled to °lronic:de the improvement which has come
over it and all such places of amusement within the
last few year& Vice triumphant no longer forma
the staple 'object of the dramas enacted there t the
absurd pronunciation of the actor., at one time an in-
variable joke for the comic writer, is modified and
improved ; and the behaviour of the audience com-
posed of the "dregs of the people," is most orderly
and praiseworthy.

PRINCESS'S Taunix—This theatre will close OR
tke 23rd last., cad, ultra ea *stared of a week, will ea opera
ea the let of lkoteaber with dm revival of Pisurtr,
Weak will b• weedseed with new emery sat waste, sad
sowesei Welded lateeisiliees.