The Theatres, &C.

theatre , and endeavouring to inaugurate a Criterion of Criticism . It is objected that ' She Stoops to Conquer' is now played , first , as a farce ; second , in too modern a spirit . Your oritio may indulge in fancy . I have , alaa ! to adhere to historical acouraoy . I cannot see in the light of my authorities , that any other treatment than ' own is historically correct . Even before the play was

promy duced we have evidence that it was dubbed , not by a oritio , nor by an enemy , but by the author ' s own friend , Dr . Johnson , a farce . Let as see what he says : ' Goldsmith has a new comedy , which is expected in the spring Then comes the plot . . . . This , you see , borders on farce . The dialogue is quick and gay . ' Again , Mrs . Inohbald , in her preface to the play ( vide the ' British Theatre ,

1808 ' ) , sayB : '" She Stoops to Conquer" has indeed more of the quality of a farce than of a regular four-act drama . . . The name of farce can be this comedy ' s sole reproach . . . . Who does not rejoioe that the whim and frolio of this play delighted the town for the whole season ! ' Again , Johnson says , after the production of the play : I know of no comedy for many years that has so much

exhilarated an audience , that has answered so much the great end of comedy—making au audience merry ! ' Thea i words ' exhilarated' and ' merry' could not have been snggested by the manner of aoting your oritio cries for . Further , Walpole , in his letters , describes it as a farce * , and , lastly , we have on record that the manager of Covont-garden Theatre , George ftolmao ,

together with his aotors , feared a failure with it because it was too farcical . It Beems to me , with suoh critics a 3 the foregoing taking such a view of the piece , it must have been played in 1773 , and as late as 1808 , in the light farcical spirit : we should otherwise find some reference somewhere to a disagreement between the manner of aoting it and writing it . Mrs . Inohbald surely would have been

snrprised to see its whim and frolio treated with that dignity , and wonld have made a note of it . If Dr . Johnson regarded the dialogue as ' quickand gay , 'he could hardly have heard it uttered with quiet , auppreesed humour without some remark upon the anomaly . Respect for the space at your disposal prevents me giving reasons of my own in support of my view ; but I may be permitted to remark ,

for the moment , that Dr . Johnson , Mrs . Inohbald , Walpole , and the laughter of crowded audiences , whioh your critic is generous enough to admit , constitute a tolerably strong snpport for me against his opinion . His second objection is that I play ' She Stoops to Conquer ' in' too modem a spirit . ' I implore him to enlighten me as to what he means . How is one to cast the mantle of antiquity over the

antics of Tony Lumpkin ? How am I to langh without a nineteenthcentury ring in the voice ; or by what alchemy can I stay the trickling of the anaohronistio tear ? I fear I must , notwithstanding your critic ' s two objections , continue to have the piece played as a farce , and , unless I am taught how to ante-date a tear , a laugh , or a sigh , to act in , what he calls , a ' modern spirit . ' "

H . R . H . the Prince of Wales will attend the Annual Display of the National Physical Reoreation Society , at the Agricultural Hall , Islington , on Monday next , the 26 th inst . A FAMOUS STRAW . —The musical world will be interested to learn that the famous Alard Strad , known as the Messie , has been added to the many magnificent specimens of the great master's work

already owned in the United Kingdom . This violin , which is so perfect in condition and workmanship—it is dated 1716 and therefore belongs to the grand period of Stradivarius' work—as to deserve the epithet of " unique , " must be familiar to English connoisseurs , who , in 1872 , had abundant opportunity of studying ib at the Exhibition of Musical instruments at South Kensington , to which it was sent by

its then owner , M . Vuillaume the well-known maker of Paris . The instrument , which is described in the oatalogue of the exhibition as being the only one which has come down to us in a condition of perfect preservation , was bought in 1760 by a distinguished Italian amateur , Couut Cozio di Salabue , after whose death it was purchased in 1824 by the famous collector , Luigi Tarisio . Tarisio hid it away ,

refusing to let any one see it till his death , in 1854 . A year later it was , together with many more instruments collected by Tarisio , purchased from his heirs by the late M . Vuillaume . Its condition of preservation was then found to be suoh as to warrant the belief , *'' *¦¦• *? ^ scarcely been played upon during the whole 150 years of its existence . M . Vuillaume , who could not bring himself to part with

the treasure , left it on his death to his son-in-law , M . Alard , the well-known French violinist , and the happy possessor of many rare and valuable instruments by tbe greatest makers . Now , as alread y stated , it is to be brought to England the purchase having been concluded through a well known Bond Street firm ; its ultimate destination being , we believe , to enrich the collection of a distinguished and wealthy amateur , north of the Tweed . When it was on

exhibition at South Kensi . igton , " Le Messie" wan estimated by a man whose judgment in sich matters was worthy of respect—the late Charles Reade—to bt worth £ 600 . Alter the death of M . 11 vr PaSSed iQto the haids of Hs son-in-law , M . Crono , who has soitt it for £ 2 , 000 , the largast pries over paid , as yet , for a violin , it is intended to publish tfce interesting history of this violin , with illustrations reproducing the colour of tho wondroas varnish .

cliscover ^ n ^ Lc ? ^ * PitLS-.-Outward mfirmities .-Beioro tho fc ° be hnnplp »« i „ i „ reme 2 , es ' rai ! I -y cnae 3 of sores , ulcers , & c , were pronounced the Btrength itw-a ? * bec ' , nso ihe treatment pursued tended to destroy was inftiioniini . ™ . "P et , m 6 t 0 preserve , and exasperate the symptinns it was inadpniinho » »~ im » iu « iu preserve , ana exasperate me sympuons it

Powers over tho ! , - ™ * Holloway's Pills exert the most wholesome fresh air and „ , ^ ' th Y , : ah or 8 kiD > without debarring the pationt from most rnalieant i , ino ' ? Bd the constitutional vigour is husbanded while the Ointment and Piiu ™ ' 1 . t t \* " * d sMl 1 diseases are in process of cure . Both t 0 fall into tw „™? f , ' richo 1 ' and P nrer . instead of permitting it chronic ulcerations witery state so fatal to many labouring undor

A Year Of Life-Boat Work.

A YEAR OF LIFE-BOAT WORK .

THE Royal National Life-Boat Institution has within the last few days published its Annual Report , and its pages are well worth perusing , as they teem with interest and deeds of gallantry . The important work of the Institution was as usual actively carried on during the past year , and every effort made to place the Life-boat Service in a yet higher state of efficiency . The experimental steam Life-boat referred to in tho last Report has been completed , and is

about to be submitted to a series of severe tests . It would be premature to venture an opinion as to the success or otherwise of the experiment , but the Committee are to be congratulated on their persistent efforts to solve the great problem as to whether it is possible to produce a really efficient steam Life-boat . In 1889 , 21 new Life-boats of various sizes , possessing all the latest

improvements , were sent to the coast , and the boats at 19 other stations were supplied with water-ballast tanks . The coxswains and crews on all sides speak in the highest terms of their boats , and never perhaps in tbe history of the Institution has their oonfidenoe in the suitableness of the boats for the work they are intended to perform been more full and entire than at the present time . Several new

Stations are in course of formation . During the year the Sooiety's Life-boats , of whioh there are now 295 on the coast , were Iaunohed on service 239 times , and were instrumental in saving 420 lives and 17 vessels , in addition to whioh the Committee granted rewards for the saving of 207 lives by shore-boats , and other means , thus bringing up the grand total of lives saved for which the Institution has granted

rewards since its foundation in 1824 to 34 , 670 . It is wonderful , when we consider the extreme danger whioh must necessarily accompany the great life-saving efforts of the Institution , that so very few men perish in the noble work . Notwithstanding the 239 times the Life-boats were Iaunohed ou service last year , and the 910 other occasions on which they went out , for inspection and exercise , only

three Life-boat men lost their lives ; provision was promptly made by the Institution and the locality for their bereaved families . The rewards granted in 1889 for the saving of life from shipwreck or in recognition of valuable services and efforts to save life , comprised 3 Silver Medals , 3 Second Service Clasps , 10 Binocular Glasses , 1 Aneroid Barometer , 25 Votes of Thanks on vellum and framed ,

8 framed Certificates of Service , and £ 5103 , including £ 600 to the relatives of the three Life-boat men who perished in the discharge of their duty . A further sum of £ 5907 was also paid to the coxswains , signalmen , and crews for exercising the boats , & o . Early in the year the Institution promoted aud secured the passing of the Removal of Wrecks Act , 1877 , Amendment Act , 1889 , providing for

the removal of wrecks in non-navigable waters which might prove dangerous to tbe Life-boats and their crews in the performance of their life-saving duties . The passing of the Act gave universal satisfaction to those interested , and already several wrecks havo been moved under its authority . The Institution has also interested itself in the all-important question of electrical oommunioation

between the Life-boat and Coast Guard Stations round our ooasts ; in experiments with oil for diminishing the terrible loss of life which takes place eaoh year from our fishing fleets ; and for seouring the buoyancy of fishing-cobles . The total expenditure in 1889 waa £ 57 , 484 16 a 7 d , a creditably small per oentage only of whioh was spent on management . The receipts from subscriptions , donations , and dividends amounted to £ 42 , 700 Is 8 d . The Report , after

cordially acknowledging the important aid given to the Institution by the Local Committees and Honorary Officials , by the Coxswains and Crews , the Press , and the Coast Guard and Customs Services , closes with an earnest appeal for help to enable the Committee not only to maintain in efficiency the great life-saving fleet which the anxiety and toil of many years have produced , but also to perpetuate a work which is essentially a national one .

ST . JOHN ' HOSI ' ITAL . —The annual meeting of the Governors of this hospital for diseases of the skin was held on Saturday , at the Criterion . The Board of Management reported that tbe receipts for the year amounted to £ 2380 , an inorease of £ 218 over those of the previous year . The number of patients relieved was 4345 , of whom 99 were in-patients . Tbe increased income , combined with- the

economy practised in the hospital , has enabled the Board to reduce the debts from £ 932 to £ 738 , whilst at the same time increasing the number of beds from sixteen to thirty-two . Special stress was laid upon the fact that the hospital was recently registered as a benevolent society , under the Friendly Societies' Aot . This step , it was pointed out , was taken before the appointment of the Lords'

Committee on hospital management which is now sitting , and the St . John ' s Hospital has thus set an example which might with advantage be followed by similar institutions elsewhere . It is claimed that the public have recently shown increased confidence in the hospital by flocking to it in greater numbers , and the Board has

met thia demand by opening the out-patient department on Saturdays , between three and six . They conclude by stating that the accounts are kept by a chartered accountant , who attends ut the hospital every week , and whose balance sheet , duly audited , was appended to the report . On the motion of Alderman Gould , J . P ., the report and statement of accounts were adopted .

At the meeting of the Anglo-Ameiican Lodge , No . 2191 , on Tuesday last , Bro . Theodore H . Tilton was elected W . M . for the ensuing twelve months .

We regret to learn that the Earl of Carnarvon is suffering acutely from rheumatic neuralgia , which cau ; es a 'rious insomnia and weakness »