The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-14 00:00:00

Ar temus Ward.

This gentleman last evening made his first appearance
as a public entertainer at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly,
and an overflowing audience assembled to give him
hearty welcome. The new entertainment is called "Lila
Among the Mormons ;" and although it lasted but a feet
minutes over an hour—on the principle, we presume, that
brevity is the soul of wit—it resulted in a great and per-
fect success. Mr. Browne, or, speaking of him under his nom
de plume, " Artemus Ward," has become familiar in England
in consequence of his humorous writings, which have from
time to time been received with such pleasure in this coun-
try ; and this circumstance, taken in connection with the
reputation he has achieved in America, filled his lecture-
room last evening to excess. The programme was written
in a comic vein, and it commenced by stating that ilr.
Artemus Ward would call on any of the citizens of Lon-
don and explain any jokes in his narrative which they may
not understand. It also stated that the panorama used to
illustrate the lecture was rather worse than panoramas
usually are, but it was amply sufficient to give a very vivid
idea of the distant region of the Great Salt Lake City—tha
stronghold of the Mormons. Artemus Ward commenced
by showing the steamer he travelled in in a portion of his
journey to Utah, but advised his audience not to select it
provided they felt disposed to undertake the voyage, be-
cause " She was'at a good'un." Arriving in the Land of
Gold, he gives a laughable description of the streets 0
San Francisco, and then he proceeds to the great Desert;
and this crossed we have a bird's-eye view of the Great
Salt Lake City, and here Artemus gives a little serious
talk touching the Mormons. At the principal hotel ia
Main-street, he informs us, the landlord sells
nothing stronger than butter, and then be
proceeds to detail his interview with Brigham
Young, chief of the Mormons, and his wives. The Mor-
mon's religion, he told his audience, was singular, but WS
wives plural, and without affecting any virtuous indigna-
tion, Artemus Ward denounced that as a scandal and a
disgrace. At Utah they have a theatre, and in order that
a notion may be formed of their style of performance, We
give the following sly bit of raillery from the printed pro-
gramme :—" The Lady of Lyons' was produced here 5
short time since, but failed to satisfy a Mormon audience,
on account of there being only one Pauline in it. The play
was revised at once. It was presented the next night with
15 Paulines in the cast, and was a perfect success. All
these statements may be regarded as strictly true. hire
Ward would not deceive an infant." He next gives
a sketch of the Mormon Temple as it is and as
it is to be; and all they have got to do, he say., to early
out the design of the architect is to build the temple, which,
wnen completed, is to surpass everything oa earth. Ile
concludes his racy, piquant, and interesting narrative with
a description of a prairie on fire—owning that ho did net
stop to see it, as most people get out of the way when ail-
thing of the kind is likely to happen. The style of the
now entertainer is perfectly unique ; in fact ho talks, est°
saying is, " like a book." There is no attempt at imitation,
and although Mr. Browne was labouring under evident
in-
disposition and nervousness, he manfully struggled on to
the end, and on making his bow he was greeted with iii°st
enthusiastic applause.