Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-12-24

US Americans that the password to the
British heart-the Open Sesame to its
most carefully hidden tressure-is Roast
Beet!
we are inclined to give our cousins
over the water full eredis for sturdy per-
severance, for strong common sense and
for all the solid qualities of manhood,
but not for the depth of sentiment to
produce those little touches OF nature that
make the whole world kin. Nor do we
accord them generally that fine apprs-
citation Of humor thst underlies the
phlegm of every genuine John Bull. We
are too GOt to consider them stOiid-as
well az solid descendants OF the Called J.
nisn who was famed for his rare steaks,
and tO7think their national motto must
be-Roast Bsef
L. This ts erroneous. 1t is no more Sc
FS1H1ean Christmas Pzntomime q!
this no better proof can be given-while
none is needed-tnan the recuTTent Rllu-
sions of the best and most Eoglish
| writer's on the inner life aud character Of
| England. Gentle Charles Lamb re-
minds Us Of his early pantomime with
that tender bonhommie that warns his
touch of ail he loves best. Grim old
Carlyle, in his bittersst lashi0g Of folly
and vice, draws many telling figures
from il, too; while scores of the more
ephemersl but brilliant es5ayists find in
its situations joy forever.
Take up any genuine English book, be
| it novel or g sermon, about English
manners, and ten to one you find in it
illusions. to the pss!ime that is ali the
more national because localized and set
| apart for special season.
| Catch by the button OF his perfect
Poole cost one OF the lscquered and
| l,=..
| club window and ask him the pieasantest
| recollection OF his boyhood. BE may de-
| lay moment, for his memory is fulone,
snd he may pause while his eye wsnders
TO neat ankle at the opposite crossing;
but when the answer does come, you
may give the long odds it will be
Christmas Pant0mime. Stop the heaviest
swell who "tWOts aWound the Wow u
and fire 6 similar question st him. II
you get an answer at all, il will be
similar one.
The wizsned, drled-spple nld baFristeF,
the rcsy, fox hunting squire, the dusty
university fellow, and the lower grades
of Csbby and Jesmes, all have the i'm
press of psntomime stamped upon the
memory, only 10 caseharden with time.
Though filled with the cumulste dust of
years, hidden by the siftings from busy
perfect and sharp.
There is a cosy niche under the reserve !
OF every English character into which |
the joliity of Harlequin and the paTti- |
cOlOred Rraces Of COlumbine seem espe- |
ciaily to fis.
Unfortunately, as yet we know little Of /
these in America. We enjoy the season |
OF glsdness in a way peculiarly our own,
making one long, roaring heffday from
Portland to New Ogleans-frsIn Pugeis |
Sound to Pensacola. We Sg1Ip; down /
jOllity ia huge glasses OF egg-nogg; stir |
up socisbility in deep hORls of punch |
delight in fatted turkeys andsrevsl in
pumpkin pies aud miuce nest. Oar
little people let of sppersbundsnt spirits
in the noisest fireworks, aud luck raw
ishing delights from the branches Of the
Christmas tree. S-iil We-who are so
partial to social as well as political mass
msetlDg5-seek pleasure in small o0Dgre-
cations rather Than great 81 this festive
time. There seems tacit agreement to
dessicate and conOense the fun and fTolic
around ones OWn fireside; and our public
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS by their regular
patrons-are given over to those who
have no fireside Of their own, or who
have at other seasons little leisure or op-
portunity for such indulgence.
Then the taste for legitimate panto.
mime has not been cultivated in Ameti-
can audienees. The rscsnt introduction
of the spectacular drama, with its dag
zliDg scenic effects and its superimposed
ballet, hiss been more successful, Bat the
pantOmlme is sci geHerts and, though
perhaps none know it but 10 love it, still
it must be known before being loved.
There has rarely been s good panto-
mime troupe in the United States. The
Rsvels, with their almost miraculous
gymnastics, their exceptionally drOll
cOneeiis and their speaking gestures,
have always been welcomed as popular
favogltes wherever seen. There are few
boys in their teens who &c nOt retain
vivid memories Of that miraculous fellow
who was smashed into pancake under
the milestone, aud them blown into
comeliness again by the friendly bellows;
of the terrible combat where Harlequin
is csVelly dismembered and magicaly
mendtd 10 niGen less tinle thsa the
drop of a hat; or OF the India rubber
Red Gnome, the bottomless mouth Of
the White Knight, and the toucling ps-
thos OF the dying J0cko. These memo
Tie5 lingeT long after the lights are put
out, after the orcEestTa have gone home
to bacon and kr0ut, even after the chief
of these merry mines has been "callsd
for that part where there is no tinseL
and on which the drop curtain fslls 10
more.
Bat the Ravels, while hy far ths best
specimens We have had, represent pc
culiar school of their own, rather French
than English, and not Illustrating clear
Is the fixed institution OF Eaglish Christi
mss. They discard all dialogue, and
even songs, and depend more on admira-
ble acting than o9 scenic effect, SO any
troupe most 90 VINO pisy ene night in .
thester and the next in 8
country barn.
Other cases-luckily sporadic, but vio
lent il shert-iiTed-baY from time to
time broken cut ia various parts Of the
country. These, reversing the principle
Of the Ravels, have generally depended
little on acting and much on unsel and
blue ligbts-the former very cheap, IL
very nasty, and the latter OF a most con-
tsgious blue.
We sll know what large share of the
English yesr is taken up by preparations !
Tor its Christmas. These, while lacking
The busy chatter OF the French, the !
slaboTate heaviness OF the German. and /,
the tedious formulas Of the Itslian holi
Jays, send over the whole island an ALL
sense OF kinship. An electric
Olllty nashes from one END OF England
10 the other-sending thrills TO the re- J
hottest sheepfolds of Australia and the
poisonous malaria of the Cape-at the
blazing of the Yule log. And the time.
nonored, hesrt-warming old custom l
oses nothing in the march of progress.
in its most leveiiBg shape, cam {
not uprOot what comes nearest to MAX s
ng common ground for the Briton of all '
grades. G
London blszss " ith light aud fun, and I
the provinces are nowise behind her. c
AS of yore, eountry firssides welcome '
guests by scores, the no5lest and the 8
yayest go down to ancestral seats and T
collect brilliant circles around them. I
At this season portals through which the G
brave and proud stslked stately of yore,
stand wide; on the walls of the castle G
and cottage alike the red berries shine c
through the rich leaves OF the holly the Z
hOmely gudewife dives elbow-deep in the !
mysteries Of plum pudding, and the
sturdy lsborer mentally weighs the daily 6
gObbler. The very inns, new I
sanded ana with glittering panes, pile
on fresh baeklOgs snd bring out more
ale. Even In central Lon |
dOn's streaming roar overworked |
drudges cease to toll for the hour fossil {
clerks brush eff the dust of trade, and {
even the street children imbibe some of
the hiiRrity that seems to permeRte ths