The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-01 00:00:00

LITERArURE.

EMAN S' S POEM S—VoL 3.
Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1639.
The present volume contains the " Sceptic"—
the poem which first introduced Mrs. Hemans to
the favourable notice of old Gifford, of the " Quar-
terly Review"—the spirited, but somewhat too de-
clamatory, drama of " The Siege of Valencia,"
which, we believe, was originally intended to have
bee❑ represented at Covent Garden, but for some
reason or other was withdrawn ; and several minor
poems, chiefly on classical subjects, in which the
authoress always took deep interest. The volume
is got up with remarkable neatness ; is embellished
with an elegant engraving, by Kernot, of " Our
Lady's Well, near St. Asaph ;" and indeed the edi-
tion altogether is by far the handsomest, cheapest,
and completest that has yet been published of the
works of this sterling poet.

LITTLE PEDLINGTON. —2 VoLs.
Colburn, London, 1839.

This is a republication of a series of lively
sketches under the title of " Little Pcdliugton"
that have aheady appeared from time to time in the
pages of the " New Monthly Magazine," and
been duly noticed, as they were published, in The
Sun. The author is Mr. Poole, well known for
his popular drama, " Paul Pry."

THE GERMAN SELF TEACHER.
By HEzcßr MEIDINGER.
London, Whittaker and Co., 1839.
This book is intended as a self instructor, chiefly
for English Tourists, and contains lists of words
and phrases in common use, which, with the help
of a pocket dictionary, would soon enable the student
to acquire a moderate knowledge of the language.
It has one advantage over many books of this de-
scription, in not frightening the beginner with an
infinity of rules and exceptions to rules at the outset,
The author leads him on gradually, and like a good
teacher, tries to secure the good will of the scholars
before he gives them a heavy task. " They will
acquire," he says, "by its aid, in a short time, a
knowledge of German sufficient to understand and
to be understood by the people of Germany, with-
out troubling themselves with grammatical rules,
often very intricate, and only requisite for those who
wish to be as per Let as possible in the language."

THEATRES.

CO VENT-GARDEN

This theatre opened last night for the season.
Long before the time of admission—at least an hour—
the crowds at all the chief entrances were greater than
we ever remember to have seen them—even in the
palmy days of the drama, when Kean was in the full
flush of his popularity. With considerable difficulty,
at half-past six o'clock, we obtained entrance into the
theatre ; and with still greater difficulty, elbowed our
course through a perspiring and excited crowd, to the
free list box ; thence we had to force our way, step by
step, at the slow pace of a funeral, up the grand en-
trance ; and thence, successively up every stair-case,
from the dress circle to the slips, when our progress
was at once summarily put a stop to by the interposi-
tion of the roof. At each of these cire!es the crowd
—or rather the crush—was, we verily believe, with-
out parallel. It was not merely that the boxes
were thronged to suffocation ; but the halls—the
lobbies—the stair-cases—in short, all the immediate
and remote approaches to them, exhibited such a dense,
close-wedged mass of human beings---some complaining
of the heat, others of their ribs, and others of the loss
of their money, in tones of the most touching pathos—
that there was actually no jostling through them, ex-
cept at a snail's pace. On reaching the slips, where
we were so peculiarly and delicately situated, that
we could neither see nor hear, we learned from
the tumultuous uproar that burst forth from all
parts of the theatre, and which was pretty equally
made up of applauses, hisses, and emphatic cries
of " Give us back our money,"—we learned, we say,
from these significant demonstrations that Madame
Vestris was on the stage, delivering an address ; of
which we particularly remarked, that the parts which
were the most inaudible were precisely those which
were most applauded. After continuing her address
amid all sorts of vociferous interruptions, especially
from that portion of the audience who now stand
proxy for the gallery, the fair manager was compelled
to withdraw, and was instantly succeeded by Mr.
Charles Mathews, whose speech was just as in-
audible as Madame Vestris's, with the sole ex-
ception of the words .‘ three thousand pounds,"
which he delivered with prodigious gusto. During the
continuance of his address, he was often interrupted by
shouts of " the play, the play ;" and was ultimately
compelled to withdraw, when the curtain drew up, at
nearly eight o'clock, and the business of the evening
commenced. We understood from a neighbour, who
was fortunate enough to get standing-room in the slips,
that the purport of both the addresses was—that the
respectability of the audience should be as strictly
maintained as during the last management ;
that sterling dramas, especially. Shakspeare's, should
have every justice done them ; and that every effort
should be made to secure the assistance of the ablest
dramatic authors of the day. When we quitted the
theatre, which was at the rising of the curtain, hundreds
were going away, so that our difficulty was almost as
great in getting out, as in getting in. From the ap-
pearance, and disposition of the house at the title we
left, it was pretty evident that all would be dumb-show
throughout the evening.