10 DECEMBER 1853, Page 11

The old story of a man in low life being

passed off for a gentleman, and making himself ridiculous by the incompatibility of his manners with his position, is but slight material for a three-act comedy. Hence The Hope of the Family, notwithstanding the excessive drollery of Mr. Buck- stone's acting, must be looked upon as a diluted farce, which would have been much better if the watering had not taken place. In the scenic department of the Haymarket, Mr. Buckstone enters most fully into the spirit of the age ; but in the selection of his longer pieces he has not hitherto been fortunate.