The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN.

Our old friend Anderson, the " Wizard of the North,"
commenced here last evening a short season of magic
and music, before he quits England o‘i a transatlantic
trip. How Jonathan will be astonished at the cannon
trick, which the Wizard exhibited for the first time last
night! A five-pounder was brought to the front of the
stage, loaded with a ball, and fired at Anderson, who
stood immediately in front of it, and instead of being
shivered to atoms, the invulnerable Wizard caught the
ball in his hands. Now we "guess" that the " Yankees"
must be " the smartest nation in all creation" if they can

" whip" a fellow that catches cannon balls in his hands,
and musket balls in his mouth. But hold !—the Oregon
question is not yet settled, and the Wizard may teach
the " statesmen of the other side the Atlantic the
trick, which will enable them to set even the other
wizard, Captain Warner, at defiance. Decidedly the
Mit.istry should buy up the important secret, and make
it their own, and we will answer for it Anderson will be
satisfied with a fiftieth part of the sum demanded by
Captain Warner. The musical part of the entertain-
ment consisted of a concert by a band of sixty per-
formers on Sax horns and cornopeans. Both the music
and the magic were excellent of the sort, and excellently
performed to the satisfaction of a crowded house.

HAYMARKET.
As a treat for the Easter folks, Mr. Planche has at
this theatre tried an experiment, and, as the event
proved,a successful experiment, on the birds of Aristo-
phanes,in attempting to adapt them to our dramatic climate,
and the present season, by giving them new names, new
features, new songs, and new tales. The piece opens
with a prologue, partly said and partly sung by that
sweetest of Nightingales. Miss P. Horton ; and then we
have Jackanoxides (Mr. Hudson), and Tomestyleseron
(Mr. Caulfield), two Greek " neglected geniuses," who
seek the king of the birds (J. Bland), and in a par-
liament o: birds propose to build a city in the air, mid-
way between earth and heaven, for the especial use of the
birds. The speech of Hudson was very good and
full of excellent hits. The interruptions of the Mem-
bers of the Birds' Parliament were excellent,
and the whole was an admirable, and by no means over-
drawn, parody of the scenes which not unfrequently
take place in St. Stephen's Chapel. The scenes with
the Poet, the Architect, and the Senator, who each
offer their services to the Archon of the Birds, give oc-
casion for some excellent hits at the follies of the day ;
and then we are treated to a bird's-eye view of the city
of the birds ; a very fanciful scene, designed by Alfred
Crow quill. The last scene is the High Court of Olym-
pus, a magnificent scene, in which J. Bland, as Jupiter,
reads a lecture to the two Athenians on the vanity and
presumption of mankind. After which, the curtain falls.
Ile piece, which is very short, is carefully written, and
sparkles with wit. Some of the passages are excessively
piquant. It is scarcely proper to term it a Burlesque ;
it is a petite Comedy in verse, interspersed with songs,
which are beautifully sung by Miss P. Horton, Mr.
Caulfield, and Mr. Hudson, and many of which were
deservedly encored. It is put on the stage in the most
complete manner, and will no doubt afford amusement
to the holiday folks for some time to come. It was pre-
ceded by Sullivan's excellent comedy, A Beggar on
Horseback, which increases in its attraction every night
of its representation, and followed by the farce of ?he
Irish Post. • The house was crowded.