19 APRIL 1890, Page 43

are " memories " of the stage. Mr. Wallack came

of a theatrical family, his grandfather, if we understand the pedigree aright, having been an actor and vocalist at Astley's, and his father an actor and manager of considerable reputation in Now York. John Johnstone Wallack (the" Lester" Wallack of this autobiography) had his earliest dramatic experiences in England, and appeared for the first time in America when he was twenty-seven years of age.

He has some interesting things to say of the theatre on both sides of the water; but good stories that will bear quoting are not to be found. We do not say that the book is at all the less valuable for that. It is not written for effect; it is a straightforward account of the career of a man of ability who started with every advan- tage. The most amusing person in the book is Signor de Begnis, an Italian who, having once gone to New York, never could face the voyage back again. It is interesting to find that Mr. Wallack had a very high opinion of Macready. The portraits with which the volume is illustrated are particularly good.