The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-11 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Dinners and Diners. By E. L. Blanchard. One
Vol., pp. 118. Adamson.
A pleasant, laughter-moving, delightful name on
any title page is the name of E. L. Blanchard. Is
it not recognised with delight by children of all
ages as that of a veritable Master of the Revels ?
one from whose whimsical fancy came that genuine
" screamer" among farces, the' The Artful Dodge"
—one who is author, too, of all sorts of comical
dramas, such as " The Road of Life" and
of all kinds of extravagantly humorous burlesques,
like that of " Antigone "—and inventor (we believe
that is the correct stage phrase in regard to this
particular department of authorship) inventor of
the grotesque, imaginative openings of scores upon
scores of world-famous Pantomimes ! Why, in
regard to this last-mentioned field for the display
annually by Mr. Blanchard of his inexhaustible
capacity as a caterer for public amusement—is it
not enough to bear in recollection for a moment the
fact that no less than three of the principal among
our London theatres were provided by E. L. Blan-
chard this last Christmas season with their popular
Pantomimes ? There was Tom numb at Her
Majesty's—there was another capital pantomime of
his at Sadler's Wells—and there was (a mere mat-
ter of course, this last), the usual grand Drury-lane
pantomime. The Christmas frequenters of Old
Drury meet E. L. Blanchard there every successive
winter with his new pantomime. This year he
took his theme, it will be remembered, from the
wonderful fairy tale of " Peter Wilkins." The pre-
decessors of " Peter Wilkins" on the boards of
Drury-lane Theatre having been in this way (thanks
to that vis conzica of our author, which is year after
year so irresistibly provocative of the risus emnieus),
among others, " Robin Hood," "Little Jack Hor-
ner," "Harlequin Hudibras," "King Humming
Top," " Jack and Jill," " Seven Ages of Man,"
" See-Saw Margery Daw," and " Jack and
the Beanstalk." If only, therefore, out
of a pleasant remembrance of all these
resplendent dramatic comicalities a humorous
volumette like this about " Dinners and Diners,"
from the pen of E. L. Blanchard, is right welcome,
and must be greeted accordingly. The motto of the
little prelection, subdivided into a dozen chapters,
including the invitation and the conclusion, is
sufficiently suggestive :
" We may live without learning—what's knowledge but
grieving ?
We may live without hope—what is hope but deceiving ?
We may live without love—what is passion but pining ?
But where is the man who can live without Dining ?"
Does anyone want a taste, however, of the banquet
of fun here provided ? We givJ him a plentiful
" Help" in the form of the following hypocondriacal
LINES TO MY LIVER,
WRITTEN IN A MOMENT OF DEEP DESPONDENCY.

Remote, inactive, dilatory, slow—
A line evoking Goldsmith's recollection—
Behold my liver, and the world will know
From this broad hint whence comes my deep dejection.

Source of all gloomy thoughts, all direful deeds,
All moping by the melancholy river,
Where he who plunging, strangled by the weeds,
Oft curses Fate, when he should blame his liver I
111.
Mysterious morsel of the human frame,
Recondite region of the rueful blues,
Tremendous tissue, from whose dark cells came
Those rays, far-stretching, of cerulean hues I

Why shouldst thy gloomy veil spread, far beyond.
A dark dim curtain o'er our future days, or
Make mortals shrink from pondering o'er a pond,
Or hesitate each morn to raise a razor ?

Vicarious viscus, that we know, yet see not,
Hepatic horror that we would forget,
Enlarging woes that be, and those that be not
Inventing, as the woes to greet us yet.

To thy shortcomings may be traced the gloom
That makes us feel by all the world deserted
To thine inaction may be traced the doom,
Which if thou actedst right would be averted,
VII.
Lugubrious liver ! is proud man to be
The slave of thy remorseless eccentricity ?
Must still the sky be hung in black for thee,
Insensate increment of infelicity ?
VIII.
No, think it not—thou Gorgon like conjunction,
Stone-deadening everything on which we look,
Locking up every wholesome human function,
Leaving the keys with publican or cook I

One is not going to be so besotted
As now to think he's wzonged, and robbed beside,
And ought to sever his poor bared carotid,
Because there's something wrong with his inside,

Man's wiser grown—and when he feels unhappy,
And life is tedious, he goes out of town ;
And there, if still a sad and wiser chap, he
At once will send, to cure him, Doctor Brown.
Having provided which effectual whet to the appe-
tite of the reader in search of the humorous, we
commend anyone and everyone who loves a laugh
to the feast of merriment and flow of fun here pro-
vided for them by one who, as a comic writer, Is
certainly a host in himself ! And as to the advan-
tage flowing from such harmless laughter, has not
old HORACE asked nineteen centuries ago—
Ridetztem dicere venni: quid vetat ?"
MISCELLANEOUS MAGAZINES.

The Welcome Guest still maintains its character
for clever and amusing stories, among which we
may cite " Recollections of a Relieving Offieer."
Cassell's Popular Natural _History is concluded,
and to those desiring a cheap and well illustrated
natural history this work presents great attractions.
Cassell's Illustrated Family Bible is continued with
its usual ability. The illustrations of the Book of
Job are well executed. The National _Magazine
commences with an article on "Witches," and the
engraving of the " Schoolboy" is well drawn. The
Eclectic contain an article on George Fox, likewise
one on George Wilson. A paper on the " Dodges of
Romanism" is well written. In Cassell's Illustrated
Ilz.nzi/y Paper the stories are continued. Duffy 's
Hibernian Magazine on &knee and Art contains
a continuation of " The Double Prophecy" and
" The Two Chinese Novels," part 111. of " Good
Words," an article by the Rev. Thomas Guthrie on
`f Religious Life," and other moral tales. Cassell's
-history of England, part xiv., is devoted rather
to the history of France. The execution of Marie
Antoinette is described at length. A Pamphlet on
Canada, published by G. Lovel, contains general
information to intending exigrants,

AMERICA.

THE UNITED STATES.
QIIENSTOWN, SUNDAY:

The royal mail steam-ship Africa, Captain Shan-
non, from New York on the 27th ult., arrived here
at 4.15 a.m., landed all mails except those for
Liverpool, and proceeded at 4.30 a.m., all well. She
brings 35 passengers.
The staamer America, from Liverpool, had ar-
rived out.

The Senate and the House of Representatives
had agreed to all the amendments to the Tariff Bill,
with the exception of the articles relating to tea
and coffee. It was expected that the bill would pass
immediately. The New York papers publish the
bill in full.

The New Fork Herald states that the Peace Con-
ference at Washington, after three weeks' labour
had accomplished nothing ; and that the genera
belief was, that it would not be able to do anything
towards a settlement of the existing troubles.
The discussion of the Force Bill had been post-
poned.
On the 26th ult. Mr. Lincoln was notified of his
election to the Presidency of the United States.
An infernal machine was found under Mr. Lin-
coln's seat in the train which conveyed him from
Cincinatti.

General Twigg had surrendered the Federal
military property in Texas to the State authorities.
The voting in Galveston and Houston had re-
sulted in favour of secession by a large majority.

Advices from San Francisco were to the 13th
ult. The Assembly had endorsed the Crittenden
propositions.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, FEB. 26.
Exchange : Bankers' bills are quoted 105! to
106 ; commercial, 105 to 1051. Cotton active, but
the demand is less spirited. Sales to-day 1,800
bales ; middling Upland 111 c. to 11ic. Flour and
Wheat in fair demand. Corn buoyant. Pork
irregular. Sugar firm and steady. Freights steady.