Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-07
THE DAILY PRESS.
HnmIet ID . nIlnor Theater.


Expectations" is his description of Hamlet,
as played in o minor London theater. lie
has written fewer chapters more amusing
and graphic:
On our arrival in Denmark, we found the
King and Queen of that country elevated in
two orm-chairs on kitchen table, holding
o court. The whole of the Danish nobility
were in attendance, consisting of q noble
boy in the wash-leather boots Of gigantic
ancestor. n venerable Peer with a dirty face,
who seemed to have risen from the people
late in life, and the Danish chivalry with
comb in his hair and q pair of white silk
legs, and presenting, on the whole, femi-
nine appearance. My gifted townsman
stood glOomily apart, with folded arms, and
l could have wished that his curls and fore
head had been more probable.
Several curious little circumstances
transpired as the action proceeded. The
late king of the country not only ap-
peared to have been troubled with cough
at the time Of his decease, but TO have taken
IL with him to the tomb and brought it back.
The royal phantom also carried ghostly
manuscript round its truncheon, to which it
had the appearance of occasionally refer
ring and that, too with an air Of anxiety
and tendency to lose the place Of reference
which were suggestive of a state of mortal
ity. 1t was this, | conceive, which led to the
Shades being advised by the gallery to
g" turn over'-a recommendation which it
took extremely i'll. 1t was likewise to be
noted Of this majestic spirit that whereas it
always appeared with an air of having been
out q long time and walked an immense
distance, it perceptibly came from a closely
contiguous wall. This occasioned its ter
rors to be received derisively.
The Queen Of Denmark, o very buxom
lady, though no doubt historically brazen,
was considered by the public to have too
much brass about her; her chin being at
tached to her diadem by broad band of
that metal, las if she had a gorgeous tooth
ache her waist being encircled by another
and each Of her arms by another, so that
she was openly mentioned as the " kettle
drum" The noble boy in the ancestral
boots was inconsistent, representing him
selfas it were in one BREATH as an able sea-
man, u strolling actor, grave-digger,
clergyman, and person Of the utmost i'm
portance at a court fencing-match, on the au-
thority of whose practiced eye and nice dis
elimination the finest strokes were judged.
This gradually led to want of liberation
for him, and even-on his being detected in
holy orders and declining to perform the
funeral service-to the general indignation
taking the form of nuts. Lastly, Ophelia
was prey to such slow musical madness,
that when, in course of time, she had taken
off her whole muslin scarf folded it up, and
buried it, a sulky man who had been long
cooling his impatient nose against an iron
bar in the front row of the gallery, growled,
"Now the baby's put to bed, let's have
support" which, to say the least of it, was
out of keeping. ..
Upon my unfortunate townsman all these
incidents accumulated with playful effect
Whenever that undecided Prince had to
ask question or state doubt, the public
helped him out with it. AS for example
On the question whether twas noble in the
mind to suffer, some roared yes, and some
no, and some inclining to both opinions said
"toss up for it," and quite debating go.
ciety arose. When he asked what should
such fellows as him do crawling between
earth and heaven, he was encouraged with
loud cries of " Hear, hear " When he ap-
peared with his stocking disordered, (its
disorder expressed accordingly to usage, by
one very neat fold in the top, which / sup
pose to be always got up with fat iron,) a
conversation took place in the gallery re-
specting the paleness of his leg, and whether
was occasioned by the turn the ghost had
iven him. On his taking the recorders
cry like little black flute that had just
cen PLAYED in the orchestra, and handed
ut at the door. he was called upon unan-
mously for " Rule Britannia" When he re-
commended the player not to saw the all
hus the sulky man said, {" And don't yol
IL - n1 ha u
him IN And | grieve to add that peals o.
laughter greeted Mr.. Wopsle on every one
of these occasions.
But his greatest trials were in the church
yard which had the appearance Of prime
val forest with kind of small ecclesiasti
cal wash-house on one side and turnpike
gate on the other. Mr.. Wopsle in COM
prehensive black cloak, being described en-
tering at the turnpike the grave-digger was
astonished in friendly way, "LOok out
Here's the undertaken coming to see how
you're a getting on with your work. "
believe it is well known in constitutional
country that Mr. Wopsle could not possibly
have returned the skull, after moralizing
over it, without dusting his fingers on 8
white napkin taken from his breast; bu
even that innocent and indispensable action
did not pass without comment, "Waiter!
The arrival of the body for interment, in an
empty black box with the lid tumbliug
open, was the signal for general joy, which
was much enhanced by the discovery, among
the bearers, of an individual obnoxious to
Identification. The joy attended Mr.. Wopsle
through his struggle with Laertes on the
brink of the orchestra and the grave, aud
slackened no more until he had tumb.ed the
king off the kitchen table, and died by inches
from the ankle upward.
We had made some pale efforts in the be-
ginning to applaud Mr.. Wopsle, but they
were too hopeless to be persisted in. There
fore we had sat, feeling keenly for him,
but laughing, nevertheless, from ear to ear.
/ laughed in spite of myself all the time,
the whole thing was so droll and yet / had
a latent impression that there was some
thing decidedly fine in Mr.. Wopsle's elocu-
tion-not from old associations sake, | am
afraid, but because it was very slow, very
dreary, uphill and down-hill, and very un-
like any way in which any one in any nat
ural circumstances Of life or death ever ex'
pressed himself about any thing.
HARVEST PROSPECTS IN IRELAND.- Tht
wheat prnn has turpad put thin ond liUht a.