The Express.
London, England, 1860-01-12 00:00:00

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Tuts is Hut sown of Pantomime, and Pantomime,
we all know, comes to us from Italy. Perhaps it is I
almost forgotten by the pit and gallery of 1860 that
Clown, Hariequin,and Pantaloon were in the original
conception highly representative personages. The gro-
tesque figures at whose conventional (upend mischief
a modern public conventionally laughs for six weeks
every winter, were once, in the old conanialia dlr
art*, typical and even serious creations, instinct with
a deep satirical humour and a poignant dramatic
purpoer. All this is very pleasantly recounted and
explaiord by the pen and pencil of H. Manama
EANI,, the eon of one of the moot illustrious writers of
our time, ins volume entitled " Masques et Bouffons,*
in which the family history of Pantomime is
traced to its early popular source. Harlequin,
for instance, we find to be the parent type of
the rascally intriguing valet, father of &via, Mae-
eardle, and Figaro. Pantaloon, the credulous and
debauched old sinner, is the eternal dupe of ►ie
own rice*. Clown, WI we see him on our stage, is •
good-humoured Cockney version of Poking:lo,
with all the frolic and mischief, bet without
the selfish and cynical ferocity of his immortal
prototype. He cuffs and kicks the agents of
the law, insults sober and quiet citizens, and laughs
respectability to worn ; but his inveterate practical
joking
.proceed* from a riotous sympatny, rather
than • profound con tempt for his fellow-creatures.

•
Well, and what on earth has Pantomime to do
with politics? we hear the indignant reader ask.
A day or two ago we should hare been puzzled to
reply. Bet a costresporary kaa set the example et
briagiag this popular form of entertainment on to
the political stags in January, and in compliant
to ►is playbill we have looked up the pedigree of
Pantomime. We now know the inner meaning li
of those grimaces and contortions at which the
injediesows only laugh. It sometimes happens, se
the nightly experieece of the public bears witness,
that the introductory scenes " attract and bottle the
" cariosity "of many amoog the audience. The
" key is supplied at the right amest, and often
pate sisietected. But the treasformationeceee

poems and m•kea all clear, or at any rate bright
enough. and then, at a word from the Fairy, all the
gaoA- and the glory vanishes away, C own sad
Pantaloon are knocking each other •boat in • cots-
mon street, and Harlequin, • dapper gentleman,
very ilk' a lir ird in shape and colour, is palling oar
everyday weed lo pieces, and starting traps in all
directions with • flap of his wand.

This isthesort rd rEgiose• erratemporary would fain
adapt to the theatre of European polity. The intro-
ducory scones of the Christmas piece which we owe
to the same prolific invention that terrified us so
agreeably !sat Easter are descriptive of ea "offensive
" alliance between England and France, directed
" against the other great Powers of Europe." Two
scenes—we mean two articles—developed this saes-

tog story, and u the authors confess, they succeeded
in "attracting and baffling the public curiosity." No
doub•, the grand offensive alliance between Frau=
and Russia which we heard of last Easter wee set
quite stale enough to bear repetition with so slight
• change as the name of England substituted fat
Russia. The "key" was wanting to the new
'mystification. Who shall supply it ? The ingenious
at d enterprising Mr. REcTt&. The transformation-

scene represents the apotheosis of the Anglo-French
offensive sl lust. ; sod presently exit Wstawsitt, and
enter Tuorvrezi.; ezit SIETTULNICH, .red enter
COWLIT; ezd Congress, and enter Mr. Minix* with
a telegram, " which is not our telegram," ant, we
nay add, which is not a telegram at all, but
"letter," in his hand, knocking down with eery
briskness and agility all this imposing fabric of
treaties and guarantee., and all this magnifoent
perspective of Anglo-French wars of Italian indepea_
dente, and bringing us down to the terra si teens
re* ity of a plain and friendly negotiation between
two reighbogring aliies, with a •iew to a comma
understanding on the question of the day. We
mean no disrespect to Mr. REVTaIt if for $ air

meat we have taken the liberty to egimpore
this last perimmemes of his with the hats
aiscomplished every evening es the bonds et this
metropolis. Mr. RitlTlll deserves oredit for
having at a coasiderable oast, by Weil eembi.
nations, and with infinite and lambent labour,
activity, and attention, app', efi a gnat
die-
aovery of science to the satisfaction of that eel.
venal and insatiable deenan.d for "the latest news"
which is ens of the characteristics of the century.
Every 'steepens has its peculiar difficulties, and,
perhaps, its special to asptations. It may be that
the peculiar difficulty of a telegraphic enterprise is
to supply fresh news for breakfast, dinner, and
supper, when there is literally no news in the
market It may be that the special temptation inci-
dent to this novel and striking form of
indestey is the temptation to find news,
when news there is none. Mr. REUTER
exercises of course only a vicarious and Wired re-
sponsibility for the telegrams which mask him
from all points of thelcompass in quick sosesesion.
They are sent by agencies. Are these agencies ever
a little hasty or mistaken P Is there such a thing
as a mare's-nest in the telegraphic world P Was a
telegraphic agent ever known to draw his informa-
tion from a gobernotsch• t We hint these
doubts most deferentially, and with every dis-
position to do justice to the surprising careful-
ness and °orientates which, with very few gu-
mption', have distinguished Mr. REUTER'S telegrams.
let it is only fair to an enterprise good in itself to
caution it against permitting agents to supply rumours
in the place of news. This is a dangerous habit to
indulge, and involves a radical error in the conduct
of a most useful undertaking. The public who con-
sult Mr. Renee's column are not a public of
backnute, nor a public of " balls " and " bears ;" they
are a public who desire to know what is going on,
not what is rumoured, or supposed, or pretended to
be going on, in the world. Mr. RIOT= usurps
quite other functions than those of a telegraphic
agency when he communicates to us " extracts of a
" letter " received at his office. A second glance at
such a letter enables any practised e3e to detect its
origin. Takes pinch of the Paris oarrespondeecie of the
lark,pendente Belga and the Nerd, and stir it up
with a soupcon of official slang, and your
broth is ready. The Timm, with the confidential
solemnity of a family doctor, dispenses this vale-
tudinarian " slop" to its readers, but declines to
swallow it on its own account. For our own part
we don't se much as throw it oat of window. We
have never considered it our duty to treat the public
to " fiction founded upon fact," nor have we ever
professed to be " inspired with mach anxiety" by
reports of transactions which we believed "to be
"my far from telling the whole truth, and by no
" means exact in telling nothing but the truth."
Non Satter Incl fermi.

Then is less excuse than ever for these harlequin-
adee at the present moment, when the Meniteur
brings is a genuine and authentic letter from the
Emperor of the FRENCH to the Pops, and the speech
of hie HOLINESS to the French Commander-in• Chief
at Rome. Surely these undeniable documents an
worth a bushel of " fictions founded upon fact."
They describe in err many words the latest phase of
the eternal Roman question. On New Year's Ere
the EMPEROR wrote to Pins IX. a letter expressing
all his devotedness to the Catholic religion and to
the POPE. We cannot but regret that the
Imperial epistle war not sent to the HOLT
FATRER through a telegraphic agency, for in that
cue it would either have reached the Vatican
before it was written, or at any rats immediately
after, and, as the Monsieur touchingly insinuates,
"We believe that this allocution would not
"have been pronounced bad the POPE received the
letter sent by the Rues:ion on the 31st of Duna.
" her." The letter of the EMPEROR contains twoor
this, most important revelations pour weir. In the
first place, it gives an entirely new, and on the taco
of it, probably the most true version of the sudden
pease of Villafrancs.. It WWI " the fear that the
" revolution would assume larger proportions."
Secondly, it informs us that the EMPEROR some time
since demanded of the POPE " an administrative
"separation of the Romagna," and that the demand
was refused. Thirdly, it expresses the Excision's
belief "that the solution most suited to the interests
" of the Holy See would be to make a sacrifice of the
" revolted provinces," seeing that the Congress
would admit the Pore's right., and "think it better"
to leave them to take care of themselves. The EMPEROR
suggests that if the POPE would consent to give up the
Romagna, " the Powers might guarantee the pm-
" session of the remainder of the States of the Church.'
We know not what powers are here implied;
such a " guarantee" could only operate an
against foreign occupation, not as against the
rights of the governed, since it would be the pre-
cise aad only duty and object of a Congress of
all the Power* to put an end for ever to foreign
esenpation in the States of the Church, and to libe-
rate the spiritual power of the HOLY FATTIER from
any foreign pressure. On New Year's Eve it
appears that the EMPEROR still looked forward to
the meeting of a Congress; yet he assured the POPE
that its decision would in no wise alter the line of
eondact he had always observed towards his Hott-
sus. Whether this assurance would have tran-
quillised his HOLINESS had it reached him on New
Year'. morning, we are enable to pronounce; the
latest news from Rome is hardly favourable to that
su ppcoi t ion, and the Poet's improvised French speech
to General DI 0010 N forbids it altogether. That
devout and brilliant cavalry officer, speaking in
the name of his diviaiou of the French army,
esentred the HOLY FATHER that his brave
(soldier* had consoled themselves for their
abuses from the field of battle " with the
•' thought that they were on the field of honour of
• Catholicism? To this eery pretty compliment we
are sorry to say that his Rousts. returned an ex-
tremely militant answer. Nay, we are even more
sorry to say that the voice of his HOLINESS trembled
with anger, and that the strength of hie feelings
almost got the better of the fluency of his French.
He told the General that be war doubly happy to
"rewire the respects of his brave troops at such a
" moment ; is the exceptional position of the States
" of the Church ;" he invoked • blessing on the
division of the French army guttered at Rome,
and on the whole Fru& army and nation. He
prostrated himself before his HAILER, and prayed
twice for the Erreion ; first, that he might
be endued with grace and knowledge ; and secondly,
that he might have " courage to condemn those per-
verse principles contained in a certain Oracle,
which are a monument of hypocrisy and an ignoble
" dune of contradictions." And by way of aid-
ing the EMPEROR to disavow the " Optuacie," hie
HOLUM hinted that he had some former
documents in his hand which were sent
him by the EmPEILOIt, "and which axe
"ace absolute condemnation of those principles."
Oh ! that mine enemy would writs a book ! Th.
EN Ft Ito was a pilgrim once in Brittany, and his
ROLLS ItSB was once invited to Paris to assist at a
o ,rohariou. If the prayers of the POPE are not
answered, he holds acceptances and notes of hand
which—but meantime " with this conviction I bless
him." Assuredly the quality of this mercy is not
strained, and it ought to be twice blessed.

THE =PRESS, THURSDAY EYE

CD, gaol.
. 1
• WINDSOK CASTIA, JAB. 11,
Datieen .111,Ciunbtidila mid sr 'Mary
stoked pakederallernoon, silladed by Lady theeillas
Seneeeet sad Last-Cokael Horne PUMP, Oa • Vilk te hie
The fenewbe slaters mho arrived at gas Castle
Kim* sad Illeacitkame et Westalserar sad Lady Theo-
dore Gramm; the BM sad Cowen Stanhope, the Earl
mM
Om
eniess Oorriey sad Lady Sophas Wellesley, Viazoiret
Palsonvirra, Lord Wateepark, Lient-Grartal the Bight
Hos. J. sad Lady Alice Peel, sad Mr. Gibbs.

la auks to the visitors Into arrived is the starsoca,
test Idressty's dims party ischadial the Priam of Waist sad
Primes Alias, lishar-Gm.i the Hon. R. Broca, Sir Janos
Mak, sad Ceps Gray.

The Ind et Ihe genieddre Gordo pig daring diner :
edises..
fret .1 re rig .
mains
laa.
honk " lane Aid' Mimic
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Dreerlayseen the following eenellen:

Omar% 911weilie
Slav/4" him ........ ......
=l44ria.•lake.

Tlio Qua waked in this pent d the Castle this morn-
ing, attended by do Hon. Hosirko Dyrts.
PribMille Alko. liallla, sad Louisa rode in the Riding-
hones.

The Priam Consort went out shooting, accompanied by
the Priam of Waite, Earl Cowley, and Viscount Palmerston.
attesdamee wen Colonel F. H. Seymour, Lieut.-Colonel
F. Cseemdli, Major-General the Hon. 8.. Bruns, Lieut.-
Colonel Pc,neoaby, and Captain Grey.
The Duchess of Kent visited be. Majesty.
Her Majoety's dinner party Included the Duchess of Cam-
bridge, the Prince of Wales, Primers Alice, and Primes,
Mary of Cambridge, the Marquis and Marchioneee of West-
minaler and Lady Theodore Grosvenor, Barl and Countess
Earl and Countess Cowley and Lady Sophie Wel-
lesley, Lady Geraldine Somerset, Viscount Pelmerston, Lord
WaSespask, Lieut.-General the Right Hon. J. and Lady
Alice Peel, Ste James Clark, Mr. Gibbs, Major-General the
Hoe. 8.. Bruce, Lieur.-Colucel Porno, and Captain Grey.
The Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard
sad Mien V. Wortley, joined her Majesty atter dinner.
The third dramatic per/imams, this roam took place in
the evening. The following wee Me programme
A Play, in Five Acta, by Mn. Jamie Sheridan Knowles,
entitled

TEE HUNCHBACK.
Muter Woks,
Sir Thomas ClifLed
Lord Thmel Mr. B. Villiers.
Muter Wilford M. Braid.
Modes Mr. Deatraaraa.
It. ilsartadi Mr. Odkaboa.
eisfrovioed M Mr.
W. Orarlaw.
Hailarn.
= Mr. Mryea
nom lb..Clark.
Mr. Coosa&
W
Mr. Westbrook'.
Waiter Kr. Hill.
Bennet
Julia ..
Helm MIN Illimborossl
Under Ms margoaaas di*. Nags Mr ;
And ander the Mooed= al Mr. W. H. Dona% bar ldsjeaty's
licomisor d Pimp.
The Theatre unity d and the eoseery panted by Mr.