New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-11-03
LITERATURE ~ LONDON.

news OF battle. All our political differences smdi
and great, vanish when we think OF the red day 81
Alma, the brave fellows who fought there aud the
splendid deeds that were done there. we are
nation yet and patriotic people still, though the
recognition Genes late. Within the last lew days
the heart of old England has been stirred into
such ripe and rudy riot as il has not expert
enced since Waterloo or Trafalgar Hesrts beat
faces fash. and eyes gisten as we tell the tale
and CLEAN the incidents of the field of bstre. The
cid soul of valor is not sead, il only sumbered
The old Saxon energies are strong and vital as
ever Thank God for this revelation The chan
nels of our Patriotism are not altogether clicked
up with golden sand. or drained by poverty. The
really great hours of life, either national or int-
yidusl in which we go down TO the deeps OF our
nature are few and far between but this is QUE
OF them.
Victory, joyful victory.
Like love thou brngs' snrrOw;
And yet for such an hour with thee,
Who would no, die 10 morrow y
! TIE Leader threw out capital idea the other
day in reply TO the question, What shall We do
with the Crimea" when we have taken il 1t
proposed that il should be given TO the Yankees
/ You would thus get locus staadi in Europe, aud
drive a wedge into tie backbone ofold-worId des-
: potis1n. And would suggest that Barnum bids at
4 once for Mepchikof.
/ see there is a novel advertised by young
chronicled among forthcoming works, as she is
/ little known 10 fame as yet. Ii 10 Ethel or the
Double Error by Marian James. She has
written anonymously in both " hOggs Instructor
and "Frazers Magazine" Another year or two
aid she will make that name one OF mark. share
the belief of most of her friends, that she Is des-
tined TO take front rank in the van of this author
age Of ours. She will not burst on the world 10
any dazzling splendor of promise and end ia
rocket result, but she will wUJk her WY up stead
ily and surely, and by virtue of enduring qualities.
have heard nothing of the nature and quality sf
her new novel, but have read one OF two OF her
novellettes ard they were exquisite. We have
had two new PLAYS out since wrote last, one at
the Princess's by Douglass Jerrold, which have
not seen, and one at the st. Jamess, which
have seen and propose to remark on little. IL
| is BIZ Tom Tay Tor and Charles Reade the authors
Of Masks and Faces" and 1.-TWO Loves and
Life" both very successful plays. premise that
you will have learned the subject of the Kings
Rival" and therefore shall not detail it, The
play is capital for acting aud working as all
the productions of these authors are. They are
good playwrights, but not great dramatsts They
4 know their strength and their weakness, and wise
y cOnfne their efforts within the possibility of their
accomplishments. Poetry they have not and they
do not pretend they have. They generally write
their characters for their players, just tailor
manufactures to measure; and l heard one OF
them say be could BIT any one whom be had seen
act. This is not lofty principle to work ON nor
the fashion in which the great masters of the
drama wrought for all time But they do not
write for all time, only for the Present. This
time their play does not fit the company that per-
forms it, ard that's pity, for 1.-THE PLAYS es-
sentally good one, and deserved better fate.
There are some excellent pictures Of the life,
times and modes of the Merry Monarch's reign in
it. Old Sam Pepys is one Of the characters, well
I.tl ,.,x r..I kpf ha,
who played il. 1T would take all the fHesse of
Wigan, and the velvety cat-ike softness OF Web
ster in Tartufie, 10 render the immortal sam Pepys
his suppressed devilry, his mirth and wicked
ness his inward, chuckling drollery bis faculty of
concealment, his mask OF staidness and hypocrisy,
which is continually slipping aside his exultatOn
that the tailor's SOD should be courtier aud
necessary to Court; his dining with the King
while bis wife poor soul, as he calls her, and
sometimes "poor fool lis breaking her heart at
home Nell Gwynne is another of the characters,
coarse and vet very effective. IL is one of the
best dramatic efforts of the authors, but Mrs.
Seymour could not attain the depths or nights OF
it, Miss Gyn played Mistress Stewart, which is
not the Mistress Stewart Of History, but a
creation, and a paragon VI virtue in u metropolis
Of vice. She played gOriously. She is great
actress, body and soul. Indeed her body often
become just the living, inspired statue of her soul
/ had only seen her in Der graDder and sterDer
parts, and was not prepared for so exqnsitely
! feminine performance. And yet | might have
known that the greater includes the lesser, and
| that the great, strong nature generally contains
the sweetest geDtleDess, the most pathetic tender
ness. Her Cleopatra is u magnificent persoaifca-
/ ton, her Duchess OF Malfy terrible one. |
fancy that, since Mrs. SddOns, we have had no
one who has trodden such tragic nights AS Miss
Glyn-such is her mastery of terror her cOlos-
sal calm in walking the pillows of stormy emotion;
/ I'll -. ia
derness aud gentleness. think mentioned that
Miss GlyB was to come to America. / learn that
she will not be there this season. She will be
married ere long, and then retire from the stage;
but should like her to pay you visit first either
on the stage, or in the reading-rOOm. She has not
been pulled in England OF l am sure her reputa-
ton would by this time have been such as to hare
brought over some Of your managers to fetch her.
The action is like fine music her presence
commanding her stature lofty her voice both deep
and sweet, her repose lovely as that Of Greek
statue, her intensity like fire at rhite heat She
is as infinitely above that " eminent tragedian"
BrCoLe, as q palm tree is above q gOOseberry
Lush.
fyou have not quoted the following passage al
ready, will you permit me to do so
" The article on Poetry in the last number Of he
Re cue dts Deuz Monde is devoted to Alexander Smith
and Matthew Arnold The writer of the police ex1o-
Epglhh critics IN estimating the two poets notices
the influence of Shelley, in different and deg ress
each of them; assigns the first place 10 Alexander
| Smith, but warns him 10 repre-s HIS tendencies 70
travagsnce; Asserts as objection TO the classical
theories OF Matthew Arnold, that he is 90 iously not
indebted TO them, but TO bis own genius, for the
cess which be has achieved; praises the esrDestness
and reverence in matters Of which becoming
and more the characteristic Of the present geo.
GRAFTON Of thinkers 10 England; and then, rather ua-
happily mentions some OF these thiokers by nams,
begirhpg the list with Carly. actually ending Il