The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-27 00:00:00

CITY OF LONDON.

The eadtaihittentg, tit this.stitig little theatre were of a
varied and agreeable eharaeteil The first iiiede a temantic
drama called The Scarlet Mantle, is a riciV piiitludiaa tram
as we understand, the pen of Mr. Wilks. We cannot d*eit
upon the plot, as, in truth, there was no possibility
from the Noise which prevailed among the unruly -spirits
aloft; tit eryotigh, of the dialogue to comprehend
Very well what the plot really was f btit there were
some extremely clever brigand and other picturesque
scenes, and while all were pleased with Miss Vin-
cent, as the bandit's bride, the gods were delighted
with the, drolleries .of Mr. Gardner, as Mr. Cornelius
Vtritttlilecidif; dti aykward zsitd „unsophisticated Englishman
that, like a host of others, scuts reereilticiii in ti trip qn the
Continent. Forester, who had not previously made his
bow at this theatreovas very favourably received, bus the
part assigned him in The Scarlet Mantle was not quite so
adapted to his peculiar talent as some of those in which we
W'e been accustomed to sec him at the Strand. In the
ttrdeht initatikie heitiertotiged a stiendthfift Lard of May-
awe, named Leopold de Cayeiine, dri atreniely solemn,
moody, and uninteresting personage. The whole vVoillid
up, however, much to the satisfaction of the audience, and
no doubt it will have a good run. We must not omit to
mention than in the first act, a carriage drawn by real
hor3e3 was driven across the stage and attacked by ban-
ditti. 'rho scene reminds one of some of the moving
ificidohts of the, sathp kind which we meet with in Gil
Was, Materiel's whimsical trifle, The Kingdom of Women,
was the second piece of the evening, and it afforded
Miss Vincent au opportunity of introducing several
favourite airs, which she executed with her usual taste and
ability. Her attire, 43 Queen Elizetta, was particularly
good. The concluding pertiititian t 6 Oats a new pantomime,
by Lee, to which the title of Jane Shore, of itadequin and
the Baker of Shoreditch, has been given. It abounds in
laughable matter, and was consequently quite to the taste
of the holiday folks. Mr. Searbrow as Clown, and Mr.
Ranson as the Demon of Discontent, called forth repeated
and hearty plaudits by the endless pranks they played, and
the grotesqueness of their ever-varying habiliments. The
introduction of the masks was a good idea, and we were
greatly pleased with the scene representing London Bridge
in the olden time, by moonlight. The whole of the even-
ing's diversion passed off very pleasantly. The house, we
may add, was crowded to overflowing.

MA it IT.L.E/j ONE:
On the north-west side of tho liegept's Parh, in New
Church•street, near Portman-market, is sittlatad a small
building which, divided into the three usual compartments
of boxes, pit, and gallery, and containing a row of lamps, a
small stage, some blue fire, and other necessaries for dra-
matic representation, is entitled a " theatre." For some
time past the massacres of melodrame and the extravagance
of farce have been therein displayed to the delight of the
not very select, audiences which have nightly congregated.
In addition to these attractions, which last night assumed
the titles of The Mad Mark, or the Black lieinitif and
The Captain's not a-Miss, a pantomime, the univero
treat of the holiday-makers of this season, was pro-
duced with its invariable accompaniments of ugly
ogres and fairy sprites—young shepherds and their
rustic belles—and all the fun of the harlequinade
—called Marrow-bones and Cleavers. Of these we
are bound in justice to express, as far as our limited view
would allow us to form an opinion, our decided approba-
tion. Great care had evidently been bestowed on " the
getting up" of the pieces, and the corps drainatique exerted
themselves to the utmost. We saw occasional glimpses of
talent ; and, under the circumstances, we were fully satis-
fied. Of the state of things before" the lights" we cannot
speak in terms so favourable. We did not, of course, ex-
pect to find in a theatre of this nature, where the charge for
admission is but a trifle, more especially on the evening of a
general holiday, an audience fashionable, select, or even,
according to the cotunion use of the word, respectable ; but
we were no prepared for the revolting scene of dirt

and drunkenness which the audience of last night
presented to our view. A mass of some hundreds of
men, women, and children, even infants at their mothers'
breasts, was collected, heaped up on one another, within a
space incapable of holding with any convenience dr comfort
one quarter of those present. Not only personal neat•
ness, a boasted characteristic of English people, but de-
cency of appearance was entirely put aside. The fustian
coat was thrown off from the back of the dissolUte me-
chanic, and his brawny arms, black with muscle and with
dirt, were laid bare over the shoulders of his female com-
panion, whose dress, half open, and whose flesh, half
washed, exhibited the loathsome spectacle of a dirty
woman. Seeing this, we thought that little credit was due
to the authorities under whose sanction such an exhibition
was allowed nightly to take place, and that slight addition
indeed to public morality or public happiness was made
by granting licenses to theatres where public decency is so
openly violated.