The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-01-14 00:00:00

AMUSEMENTS.

HOFFMAN'S—QUEEN'S HILL, BOLD-STREET. —.
hall has now become one of the most popular resorts
town, and the performance has created quite a furore. °ll'
Monday night the house could not contain half the peoPlll
who presented themselves for admission—it was quite
siege, and those who were fortunate enough to gain adalis'
sion, blessed their stars. We foretold this, as there nefer
was such a beautiful entertainment offered to a Liverpn°l
audience, and if the building was able to contain doablt
the number, it would be plethoric every evening, Thcse ifb/
wish to procure places mast go early, or their Chances 10
not worth much. Theye is a morning performance at tg°
o'clock to-day, and to such as cannot attend in the evening'
a good opportunity offers of enjoying the best treat to
had in town.

THE LION SLAYER'S ENCANIPMENT.—We visited Oil
"encampment," for the first time, yesterday, and were faith
astonished at the wonderful scene presented to the public.
The collection is extensive, and contains some of the belt
specimens of zoology to be met with out of the waste
ivil
of Africa, the rugged North, or the seldom travelled see
worlds of India. The congregation of lions, bears, tigeil;
monkeys and other animals is, to say the least, " very fine.
There is a variety of birds of all countries, plumage, 01111
descriptions ; serpents are numerous—and, wonderful t°
state, they do not appear to belong to the tribe th3t
committed such havoc with our antidiluvian ancestor*
although, perhaps, the speei liens are. They must,
course, be better than that horrid old fellow. Three point'
however, of this wonderful exhibition, are deserving of
special notice. The first, aad we may call it the nioil
awful, is the desperate da-ing, the nnparalleloi
feats of the " Lion Slayer." We know that
man is the supreme lord of all creatiath
and that he fears not the cannon's roar nor the rolling '2(
an earthquake, but with all his courage he cannot feel
quite at ease when in exquisite proximity with a Hoag
mouth ! There are two exhibitions by the " slayer," oa°
in which he shows the subjection to which even the nil
furious and formidable of all beasts can be brought, an
the childlike simplicity with which he can play with the*
The other represents the wild lion hunt of the regions wile°
man is scarcely seen. Both, fly., latter particularly, are,
wonderful and terrific pictures of mite's ingenuity and 10
matchless daring. We were both terrified and pleasel
at the exploits both of man and beast, ati
can hardly think, in its peculiar way, that tiler°
is anything to surpass the " Lion Slayer." 111
second point to which we allude is the docility of a pet liollf
which is more like (in its manners) a playful kitten than rill,
offspring of a "savage beast of prey ;" and the third is 60
hitherto unexplained link said to connect the lower animal:,
with mankind, the chimpanzee -- a fine specimen (01,
apparently intelligent for a chimpanzee) of which is at the
exhibition. To the curious, the lovers of natural history
and to all, this collection will afford an ample treat, and
some grounds for reflection on the wonderful works Q'
Providence, whilst the performance will astound every
who beholds it. During our visit yesterday, the place We'
crowded by most respectable people.
THE OPERA.—Mr. Lumley is said to have engstel
among his tenors for the year, Herr Theodor Forceell
belonging to the Berlin Opera, and brother to the Well
known basso.

COVENT GARDE/v.—Respecting the new Royal ROO
Opera, the Musical World says :—" On enquiry we 10
that the agreement between the Duke of Bedford and TO
Gye is not yet signed; but that there is every probabilitlf
of matters being shortly arranged to the satisfaction
all parties, so that our readers may calculate on COI
Garden Theatre being rebuilt, with sundry irnportali
modifications and improvements."

DRAMAS AND OPERAS.—An account was given a shot
time back of an attempt having been made to prevent tb°
performance of Verdi's opera of La Traeiata, at the Italie°
Theatre, on the ground that the libretto was a plagiarist°
of the Dame aux Came/ius, which is the property of the
Vaudeville Theatre in Paris. On Saturday the President
of the Civil Tribunal, sicting in chambers, was applied t°
on behalf of M, Victor Hugo, to prevent the performaol
of the opera of Rigoletto at the same theatre, on the groan"
that the libretto was a plagiarism of his Le Roi s'Atsuif
M. Calzado, director of the Italian Theatre, represented
that the opera was not a plagiarism, and that, at all event'
whether it was or not was a question for the full court t°
decide. The president, taking that view of the question'
declined to interfere.