Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-11-19

genders that the little fairies are being tossed in big
sheet Of the moon, and that Puck is looking and
joying the fun. Ii is play in TRUTH to dream
The best way enjoy it Is bafclose your eyes and
to resign yourself completely the influence of the
1t is firm belief from the hushed Stiffness that regns
at times through the house. that onehaf the spectators
are dreaming without knowing it, and that they only
wake up when the curtain drops and surprised to
find they have play-bil in their hand This belief is
strengthened by the fact Of the unusual sparngness of
the applause. All motion, all action to be inyol
unfairly suspended Occasionally loud laugh bursts
out but it is quickly succeeded by deep stiffness as OF
midnight sleep This feeling is something than the
mere rer renee of attention You would suppose from
the silence that closes you in like dark room that you
were all alone with your far away wandering
knew not where, but watching inenty strange lu-
sion of with asss head being kissed by Fairy
Queen In this way you dream quite unconscously lost
one minute in beautiful wood flooded with moonlight,
through which you wade as refreshiDgy as through
summer stream, and the next minute laughing over the
courshp of Pyramus and Thisbe, who making love,
like couple OF servants, over garden-wall You feel
quite disconnected when you rub your eyes and discover
that there is chandelier instead of the stars shining
above you and, far from essing Thcseus house with
Oberon and Ttania that you are In Sadlers ellis inca
tire, with loud cries of Phelps Phepsp being hammer
ed all sides in your startled The illusion is pull
ed like common cotton nght-cap from of your brow;
and the ideal trance, in which you have been plunged
for the last three hours is followed by an awakening con-
vcon that you have been fooled during that time not
less completely than Bottom himself You scratch your
sleek smooth head and try pull your fair large ears
but delighted to find that they are no longer than
what you generally carry about with and that as
far you know you have no donkeys head upon your
shoulders You have simply had a dream--a dream
which, you may almost say with Bottom, is past the wit
OF man to say what dream 1t truly was Man IS but an
ass, if he go about to expound this dream We have
often slept in theatre, but never slept much less
dreamt, decously before, listening eagerly to the
beauty of every passing sound drinking in every en-
chantment that moved softly fairy wand before
staring eyes We only say that we would sooner
dream in this enchanting way at saders wells than re-
main awake at most other theatres.
"Of the various that contributed to the
celence of this poetica vision cannot speak too high
ly. First of the scenery it quiet and subdued as
sylvan scenery at night should be- The different views
Of the wood deicously refeshingust the COOL
tired spots that the fairies would delight to dance in
warm midsummers evening. There was no grand effect
produced but every thing was natural and simple and
yet beautiful precisely the impressive simplicity that
one meets with in nature. The views also made
to melt, dreamike into another; and all done
noiselessly as though there secret feeling in
the breasts of ALL that the smallest sound would have
broken the spirit of the dream There not than
three four in the whole play and yet artis
caly the different changes of moonlight, fog, and
sunrise produced that you imagine you have been
dering through entire forest with meet
ing unexpectedly at every turn The living figures are
dressed as to harmonse with the scenery looking If
they nseparabe parts of the pictures thus the
fairies, they glide in and out of the trees and foliage
give you notion that they have actually stepped out of
them, though the trunks flowers their natural
abiding places, and by long residence they had become
mbued with the color Of them They of your
winged, white muslin fairies with spanges and butterfly
wands, but real, intangible, shadowy beings that
you made sure would under preence, remain out be-
yond certain hour, but would infaiby at the first cock
crow all melt into thin air. OF the acting, the lions
share though his request to play the lion refused
must be given to Bully Bottom. So prominent is this
character made by Phelps that stands out like the real
centre of the piece round which all the other characters
elves, kings, clowns, and ALL to revolve We
saw Lston in the part when he played at Coyen
Garden, but confident that in his hands even it
could not have been consistently comic more free
from caricature full of absurd humor than it
rendered by Phelps 1t is finished work of art that
entities the of to take his stand henceforh like
second Garrick, between Comedy and Tragedy. All our
comic actors should make point of seeing this delicate
and elaborate performance study how laughter may
be produced without buooney, and to learn how great
effect may be created simply by taking correct view
Of authors conception. They do better than
to take few lessons in this way of Mr. Phelps, who not
content with being the first ragedian of the day. seems
resolved to prove himself also the first comedian The
Midsummer Nights Dream is the great dramatic fact of
this year, which every one must see."
If we from the stage the world of which itpur-
ports to be the glass image, almost tempted
to agree literally with the immortal dramatis that all
the worlds stage, and all the and women merely
players" We wish we could read this line, once
heard child read it, that all the and were
mery players" Alas, that it is not So And first as to
France where public affairs have lately had good deal
of dramatic character In the first place, it is rumored
in Paris that the Emperor and Empress of the French
will visit London next month In the next place. Mar
shall JEROME BoSAPARTR the last remaining brother OF
NAPOLEON the Great is in very critical state Of health
He has indeed played very varied rdle in es drama
We must then descend to such dull things facts and
figures and show the relative proportions of the com
of France with foreign countries upon which
shall intrude comments commercial friends can
make more appropriate for themselves.
according to documents just published by the French
Government the total Of the of France
with foreign countries in 1852 equal e124 600
imports and exports together being increase Of twelve
per 1851. OF thistota seventytwo per cent
represents the imports and exports by sea and twenty
eight per cent by land. The for the principal
countries trading with France follows in each
year.