Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Public Amusements.
of " Patient Penelope . " The travestie produced at the St . James ' s Theatre was hilariously incongruous . Most of Mr . Burnand ' s jokes seem to come largely ancl lustily from the lungs ; there is something contagious in his merriment ; it is tho fun of animal spirits—the humour of a good digestion . Tho whole story of " Ulysses" is neatly compressed
into half a dozen scenes . Beginning with tho beginning , we find ourselves in full Olympus , and there is a roar of recognition as Miss Charlotte—Jupiter—Saunders steps forth , marvellously made up into a bewildering amalgam of Jove , Julius Gcosar , and Napoleon III . An active young Mercury , in tho shape of Mr . H . J . Montague , who delivers his lines with an attention to their point , ryhtbm ,
and meaning , whicli some other comedians would do well to emulate , is ready to run all imaginable errands for the Thunderer . Thc part of Minerva enables Mr . Felix Rogers to look funnily like his lamented namesake ; and Cupid is represented in a most sprightly fashion by Miss Weber . As thc scene-shifters whistle sounds , Olympus changes to Ithaca , and Ulysses is discovered . That now young face , ivhich yet seems so strangely familiar—that quaint little form , which recalls a hundred pleasant recollections—to whom do they
belong ? Puzzled for a moment , the audience soon breaks out into hearty recognition . The Ulysses of the night is young Mr . Frederick Robson , the sen of tho great actor ivho gave to burlesque an importance and significance which it had never possessed before . Debtor to his father ' s fame for a reception than which none more hearty ever saluted a young aspirant to dramatic honours ,
Mr . Kobson quickly gave proofs that he had inherited no small portion of his father ' s talent . Active and agile , a capital dancer , and by no means a bad singer , he soon established himself as a popular favourite , and proved that , oven without the perilous inheritance of a great name , he would havo been able to make his way upon the stage . Tho honourshoweverof the night were not
, , confined to the most conspicuous debutant . Miss Saunders , elated by hor success as Napoleon the Third , adroitly disguised herself as Napoleon the First ; audit were difficult to say which of tho two historical caricatures was the most unfair or thc most diverting . The author has been as happy as usual in his adaptations of popular music to tho purposes of extravaganza ;
he has displayed his accustomed talent in wedding words , syllables , even letters to well-known tunes ; and he has provided a sufficiency of puns , some of ivhich elicit groans , whilst others are really worthy of a smile .
OLYMPIC . The drama of " Settling Day , " rendered so much more effective in its compressed form of throe acts , was considered at this theatre quite sufficient to attract a fair share of the holiday-making public , and the result justified tho anticipation . The neiv comedietta of " Always
Intended" preceded the play , and the evening ' s entertainments were concluded by a revival of the old farce of "High Life Below Stairs , " freshened up with some improvised allusions to the threatened withdrawal of servants' percentages , and well supported by Mr . II . Wigan , Mr . 11 . Soutar , Mr . G ' oghlan , i _ Ir . H . Cooper , Mrs . Leigh Murray , Miss Sheridan , and thc other
members of the company . PRINCESS'S . Thc admirably-constructed and cleverly-written drama of " Arrah-na-Pogue" again asserted its sway on Monday night over thc sympathies of a very numerous auditory .
The characters are filled with singular completeness , and the arrangements of the entire drama , which is enriched with a series of most effectively-painted scenes , are more perfect than have been known in thc annals of most managements .
The Week.
THE WEEK .
THE COURT . —Thc Queen and family continue at AVindsor . Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of AVales are at Sandringham . Tho King of the Belgians proceeded on Tuesday to the Continent . His - Majesty looked in good health and appeared to bave recovered from the indisposition with which he was attacked during his residence at AVindsor .
IIOIIE _ S " EIV 3 . —The health of the country underwent a sensible improvement last week , if we may judge from the Registrar General's report on the ten selected towns , as the average mortality in them fell from 30 in the 1000 , which it was in the previous week , to 27 . London represents the average , and so does Edinburgh , but Dublin was one lower ; Liverpool seven , and
Glasgow five higher . The deaths altogether were 2927 , of which London furnished 1533 , or an excess of 121 over the average of tho corresponding week during the last ten years . The births altogether wore 3 S 10 , of which London furnished 1973 . Sir Rutherford Alcock is gazetted English Minister at Pekin , and Sir Henry Purkes English Minister in Japan . Mr . AA'inchester
succeeds Sir H . Parlces as Her Majesty ' s Consul at Shanghai . An Extraordinary Gazelle , contains the official dispatches of General Cameron and Brigadier AALuldy , respecting the late engagements in JSTCIV Zealand . The documents contain no more than—hardly so much as— -tho details already given in the newspapers , but the officers who distinguished themselves are
prominently brought under the notice of the AALar Office . The Court of Lieutcnantcy of the City of London has started a proposal for a review of militia and volunteers in Hyde Park . It is suggested that the review shall take place on the 20 th of May , and the Duke of Cambridge is to be , asked to be the reviewing officer . Income tax payers will rejoice to hear , on iWirifc we suppose , we mav accent as semi-official authority , that
i to-morrow week Sir . Gladstone will be able to announce that he has a surplus of £ 3 , 392 , 000 to dispose of . If this prove to be the case , a further reduction of the income tax may be regarded as a certainty . After striking oft a penny in the pound , Mr . Gladstone would still have over two millions for the relief of other interests ; and , as the House of Commons has this session
formally recorded its opinion upon the question , it is probable that the fire insurance duty will rank among thc taxes to be recommended for remission or reduction . Easter Monday was generally observed as a holiday among the working classes . The principal thoroughfares were thronged with family groups on their way to various places of recreation and amusement , and the
railways , steamers , and other appliances for escaping from the the smoke and dust of Loudon , were greatly crowded ; while the museums , picture galleries , and other exhibitions in town , had their fair share of visitors . Tlie morning opened fine , but the sky soon became overcast , and rain fell occasionally , not in heavy showers , though enough to damp a little the enjoyment of the
holiday-makers . The great attraction was , of course , the Brighton Downs , where the ALolunteer Review was to take place , and ivhere upwards of 20 , 000 men mustered under arms , gathered from the southern and north-eastern counties , but of whom the greater proportion came from London . The trains began to run from tbe metropolitan stations soon after five
o ' clock , and were dispatched with a quietness and a facility which reflected equal credit on the discip line , of the Volunteers and the administrative power of the railway authorities . There was an immense crowd of spectators assembled on the Downs to witness the maweuvres . The force was under the command of Sir Robert Walpole , and the movements of the day were intended to represent the incidents of a doubtful and hotly contested battle . There were a few showers iu the course of the day , but
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Public Amusements.
of " Patient Penelope . " The travestie produced at the St . James ' s Theatre was hilariously incongruous . Most of Mr . Burnand ' s jokes seem to come largely ancl lustily from the lungs ; there is something contagious in his merriment ; it is tho fun of animal spirits—the humour of a good digestion . Tho whole story of " Ulysses" is neatly compressed
into half a dozen scenes . Beginning with tho beginning , we find ourselves in full Olympus , and there is a roar of recognition as Miss Charlotte—Jupiter—Saunders steps forth , marvellously made up into a bewildering amalgam of Jove , Julius Gcosar , and Napoleon III . An active young Mercury , in tho shape of Mr . H . J . Montague , who delivers his lines with an attention to their point , ryhtbm ,
and meaning , whicli some other comedians would do well to emulate , is ready to run all imaginable errands for the Thunderer . Thc part of Minerva enables Mr . Felix Rogers to look funnily like his lamented namesake ; and Cupid is represented in a most sprightly fashion by Miss Weber . As thc scene-shifters whistle sounds , Olympus changes to Ithaca , and Ulysses is discovered . That now young face , ivhich yet seems so strangely familiar—that quaint little form , which recalls a hundred pleasant recollections—to whom do they
belong ? Puzzled for a moment , the audience soon breaks out into hearty recognition . The Ulysses of the night is young Mr . Frederick Robson , the sen of tho great actor ivho gave to burlesque an importance and significance which it had never possessed before . Debtor to his father ' s fame for a reception than which none more hearty ever saluted a young aspirant to dramatic honours ,
Mr . Kobson quickly gave proofs that he had inherited no small portion of his father ' s talent . Active and agile , a capital dancer , and by no means a bad singer , he soon established himself as a popular favourite , and proved that , oven without the perilous inheritance of a great name , he would havo been able to make his way upon the stage . Tho honourshoweverof the night were not
, , confined to the most conspicuous debutant . Miss Saunders , elated by hor success as Napoleon the Third , adroitly disguised herself as Napoleon the First ; audit were difficult to say which of tho two historical caricatures was the most unfair or thc most diverting . The author has been as happy as usual in his adaptations of popular music to tho purposes of extravaganza ;
he has displayed his accustomed talent in wedding words , syllables , even letters to well-known tunes ; and he has provided a sufficiency of puns , some of ivhich elicit groans , whilst others are really worthy of a smile .
OLYMPIC . The drama of " Settling Day , " rendered so much more effective in its compressed form of throe acts , was considered at this theatre quite sufficient to attract a fair share of the holiday-making public , and the result justified tho anticipation . The neiv comedietta of " Always
Intended" preceded the play , and the evening ' s entertainments were concluded by a revival of the old farce of "High Life Below Stairs , " freshened up with some improvised allusions to the threatened withdrawal of servants' percentages , and well supported by Mr . II . Wigan , Mr . 11 . Soutar , Mr . G ' oghlan , i _ Ir . H . Cooper , Mrs . Leigh Murray , Miss Sheridan , and thc other
members of the company . PRINCESS'S . Thc admirably-constructed and cleverly-written drama of " Arrah-na-Pogue" again asserted its sway on Monday night over thc sympathies of a very numerous auditory .
The characters are filled with singular completeness , and the arrangements of the entire drama , which is enriched with a series of most effectively-painted scenes , are more perfect than have been known in thc annals of most managements .
The Week.
THE WEEK .
THE COURT . —Thc Queen and family continue at AVindsor . Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of AVales are at Sandringham . Tho King of the Belgians proceeded on Tuesday to the Continent . His - Majesty looked in good health and appeared to bave recovered from the indisposition with which he was attacked during his residence at AVindsor .
IIOIIE _ S " EIV 3 . —The health of the country underwent a sensible improvement last week , if we may judge from the Registrar General's report on the ten selected towns , as the average mortality in them fell from 30 in the 1000 , which it was in the previous week , to 27 . London represents the average , and so does Edinburgh , but Dublin was one lower ; Liverpool seven , and
Glasgow five higher . The deaths altogether were 2927 , of which London furnished 1533 , or an excess of 121 over the average of tho corresponding week during the last ten years . The births altogether wore 3 S 10 , of which London furnished 1973 . Sir Rutherford Alcock is gazetted English Minister at Pekin , and Sir Henry Purkes English Minister in Japan . Mr . AA'inchester
succeeds Sir H . Parlces as Her Majesty ' s Consul at Shanghai . An Extraordinary Gazelle , contains the official dispatches of General Cameron and Brigadier AALuldy , respecting the late engagements in JSTCIV Zealand . The documents contain no more than—hardly so much as— -tho details already given in the newspapers , but the officers who distinguished themselves are
prominently brought under the notice of the AALar Office . The Court of Lieutcnantcy of the City of London has started a proposal for a review of militia and volunteers in Hyde Park . It is suggested that the review shall take place on the 20 th of May , and the Duke of Cambridge is to be , asked to be the reviewing officer . Income tax payers will rejoice to hear , on iWirifc we suppose , we mav accent as semi-official authority , that
i to-morrow week Sir . Gladstone will be able to announce that he has a surplus of £ 3 , 392 , 000 to dispose of . If this prove to be the case , a further reduction of the income tax may be regarded as a certainty . After striking oft a penny in the pound , Mr . Gladstone would still have over two millions for the relief of other interests ; and , as the House of Commons has this session
formally recorded its opinion upon the question , it is probable that the fire insurance duty will rank among thc taxes to be recommended for remission or reduction . Easter Monday was generally observed as a holiday among the working classes . The principal thoroughfares were thronged with family groups on their way to various places of recreation and amusement , and the
railways , steamers , and other appliances for escaping from the the smoke and dust of Loudon , were greatly crowded ; while the museums , picture galleries , and other exhibitions in town , had their fair share of visitors . Tlie morning opened fine , but the sky soon became overcast , and rain fell occasionally , not in heavy showers , though enough to damp a little the enjoyment of the
holiday-makers . The great attraction was , of course , the Brighton Downs , where the ALolunteer Review was to take place , and ivhere upwards of 20 , 000 men mustered under arms , gathered from the southern and north-eastern counties , but of whom the greater proportion came from London . The trains began to run from tbe metropolitan stations soon after five
o ' clock , and were dispatched with a quietness and a facility which reflected equal credit on the discip line , of the Volunteers and the administrative power of the railway authorities . There was an immense crowd of spectators assembled on the Downs to witness the maweuvres . The force was under the command of Sir Robert Walpole , and the movements of the day were intended to represent the incidents of a doubtful and hotly contested battle . There were a few showers iu the course of the day , but