The New York herald., 1850-12-17
The Low Theatres or London.

The normal schools of vice and profit gacy IN
London are the low theatres, where abandoned
actors dance the most disgusting balets, vate the
love of music by comic songs Of the worst tendency,
and perform dramas, farces, and tragedies, which
convey TO the audience infamous lessons IN all the
crimes that aflct and impoverish society. The
persons that attend these penny theatres are, for
the most part, the juvenile children of the poor,
varying between the ages of eight and twenty, the
great majority being boys unable TO read and write.
We had often heard of these Acherontic abOdes,
but scarcely credited the rumors Of even witnesses
Of there deplorabe performances, till we visited
the ourselves.
The frat of these theatres, situated in district
gorged with vicious population, opened with a
comic song, by person who represented the cha
racter of tipsy be ggar man, raising of laugh
ter at The expense of teetotalism He described
the joys Of drunkenness, its independence and
manlness, and was Joined in the chorus by several
hundred boys, who formed eighttenths of the
audience. Another treat was given TO abuse the
saints, who were represented as various "clubs OF
knaves;" while TO men of property, and property
itself, was imputed-certainly in very droll man
ner-the grand cause of the suilerings of the poor.
This performance was followed by the most dis
sbR6Sw in the instances Of hawke If az M
countryman in London, how easy il is for youth
10 steal, TO deceive the legal authorities, to get an
innocent man arrested, while the true culprit de-
camps TO the pawnbroker with the SPOIL
In our second attempt to ascertain the tendency
OF these performances, and the class of persons by
whom they are commonly frequented, we found
greater number of actors, gaudler scenery, and the
musical performances were in better taste. THIS
also opened with comic songs in favor OF whore
dom, and in ridcule Of wives, families, and hus-
bands. A little boy was then made TO put himself
into every attitude that shocks good sense and the
moral feelings and, after the exhibition of female
singer, as extensively halfarrayed as IL was pos
sible TO conceive, play was acted that exhibited
all the treacheries and shifts of drunken and dis
honest family, chuckling at the toll and prvations
OF the industrious poor.
In, kaf - L.. a.
house on the banks OF the Thames. Here we no
iiced much larger number of young girls and
sailors, with few persons OF color, amounting al
together 10 about 100. The great majority, how
ever, were boys between ten and eighteen years
OF age, having every appearance OF being either
employed at some OF the low trades, in hawking or
mendicancy. Most Of them were smoking through
out the performance, which was comedy Of the
most Hbidnous description, followed by a tragedy,
IN which the lesson was how TO commit murder
and yet to escape the gallows; inierspersed with
comic songs illustrative Of the frauds and fictions
Of society, in which il was represented that the
only independent person was he who set laws and
customs at defiance, and lived merry and short
life.
Our readers must remember. that there are more
than hfty OF these dcns in the metropolis, where
the performance is repeated two, three, or even
four times in the course Of the evening, TO differ
ent audience, but always Of the same char acter.
II we admit that these audiences are only 200, and
that these plays are only rehearsed twice in the
evening, we have II, 900 young persons every even-
ing receiving their qualifications for the cells of
Newgate, the ticket Of leave, the gallows, or the
premature grave !; and this in the Christian metro
polls OF England many Of whose chapes AMI
churches have no adequate educational apparatus
In many Of these haunts Of Juvenile vagabonds
there will be found in a corner some sort Of gam
bling table, which no doubt belongs 10 the party.
ON our demonstrating with several Of the police
whom we found occasionally visiting the penny
theatres, with their Disgusting exhibitions, and the
danger they were preparing tor the pubic at large
they admitted the evils and said they had no power
Of repression, while the proprietors avoided a
preach OF the peace. In one OF them In the east
OF London, the policeman assuredl us that the
audience scarcely contained an honest youth, and
That there Is little doubt that the means 10 attend
these places OF amusement are frequently
procured by theft. In vain, then, do we labor
on the surface OF society, while these nefArious ex-
hibtons are nightly tolerated by the law IL is 10
scenes like these that the domestic robberies OF
servants and apprentices may be traced for. oat Of
all the places that we have examined, we have
never found sngle instance Of the moral pointing
the tale. Just at that important period when the
feelings begin to deveope themselves, the children
OF the poor are thus furnished for a penny with
WHY lesson on prostitution, theft, drunkenness, OF
pngilism. What Is TO prevent the children of the
Christian poor, or Of our Sabbath schools, being in
time decoyed to these dreadful exhibtionsl How
are we to know that our seryants-who are occa-
sionally out on domestic busness-have not been
AZ the penny theatre or even our children, when,
from many causes over which no parental control
can extend, they must be exposed to the tempta-
ton Whatever may be pretended about the H.
berty Of the subject, we have no hesitation in stat
ing that the tolerance Of such seminaries Is mon
strous perveTsion OF law.
Now Of the penny theatres, the abused powers |
OF the press is the main, If not the eele la
none ot these houses is the hstronic literature Of
the more decent school represented for the obvious
reason that It is not sufficiently prurient The |
songs the dramas, and the farces OF the Hoywell-
street and the Reynolds schools are exclusively |
used at the penny theatres Instead OF Richardt the
Third, Hotspur, Wosey, Catharine Of Anagon, 1
Oliver Cromwell, and the ideal ptrsoneges OF the \
modern drame, we only find Jack Sheppard, Tur- |
pin, Carew, Tom Shinale, Rush, Mrs. Manning,
and others who have risen above the ordinary
heroes OF the Ne,cg0fe CdicMdar; and these are /
neither exhibited 10 elicit the selfdeusions or the
certain penalties Of crime, but to excite compassion
for the criminal or 10 smother all possible reilec.
lions by Terminating tragedy with a grimace. |
The last thing we saw exhibited was the peasant
boy trepanned, before some three hundred boys
md young girls and when the murderer fell, and \
, seeming impression was made on the audience