1 OCTOBER 1836, Page 9

If we v judge from the commencement of its second

season, the St. James's Theatre will not lose any of the character gained during its first, by the elegance and spirit of its entertainments. No altera- tion of any moment appears to have been made in the splendid decora. tions of the house. When tilled with company, the brilliancy of the coup d'reil was accompanied by an appearance of snugness and comfort only to be found in a small theatre. Considerable changes have taken place among the performers; but we are inclined to think that the strength of the company is a good deal increased.

Four pieces were performed on Thursday, three of which were new. The first was a very clever and lively petite comil,die, in two acts, called The Strarge Gentleman, by Mr. CHARLF.S DICKENS, whose writings as Box are at present so popular. The Strange Gentleman is founded on one of the most amusing of his sketches, " The Great Winglehury Duel ; " the plot of which is further complicated by the addition of two young ladies and their lovers. Altogether, it contains a greater number of whimsical mistakes and perplexities than et-en GOLD- SMITH'S She Stoops to Conquer; the second title of which, had it not been appropriated, would have suited the present piece exactly. It consists of " the mistakes of a night," at an inn on the North road ; where the various personages, arriving with separate objects, are led into a series of misconceptions as to each other's identity and purposes. The Strange Gentleman himself, whose object is to escape the direful consequences of a challenge from his rival, and who is heard of by the other travellers as they arrive, without being seen by them is supposed by each to be the person whom each expects to meet. An elderly and wealthy spinster takes him for the lordling on whom she is going to bestow herself and her fortune by a trip to Gretna; and a run. away damsel imagines he is her lover with whom she is going to take a similar flight. During the imbroglio that ensues, the Strange Gentle. man never comes in contact with the persons who by seeing him could discover the mistake ; and the denouement is effected by the spinster seeing at last that the Strange Gentleman is not Lord Peter, and by the young lady seeing that he is not her lover. Making allowance for the improbability (which is quite within the bounds of the conventional stage licence) of so many persons casually meeting at an inn under such peculiar circumstances, the incidents which arise cut of their meeting are ingeniously contrived, follow each other very easily, and produce some exceedingly grotesque situations. The dialogue is lively, rapid, and full of smart and pointed allusions. HARLEY, who appeared for the first time at this theatre, was a capi- tal Strange Gentleman. His suspicions, perplexities, and terrors, kept the audience in a constant roar of laughter. He was well se- conded by GARDNER, in the one-eyed Boots—a prominent character in the drama as well as in the original sketch. Mrs. PENSON personated

to the life the bustling landlady of the St. James's Arms. She is an excellent actress ; and the lapse of time seems to have left her nearly all

the arch vivacity which made her so delightful a soubrette five-and- twenty years ago. The two Miss SMITHS made a most successful first appearance. They are very pleasing and lady-like girls—re- minding us not a little of their aunt, Miss STEPHENS. They speak elegantly and intelligently, and have much merit as singers. In HORN'S pretty duet, " I know a bank," they went beautifully together ; but made a great mistake in introducing a grand duet by MAYERBEER,

which was not only ridiculously out of place, but not at all of the class of music which, we should think, they ought to cultivate. 'Their re-

ception was most flattering, and they cannot fail to become general fa. vourites. Madame SALA also made a favourable debfit, and promises to be an acquisition to the stage : and Fonitesrea played the young lover much better than such parts are generally played. Altogether the piece was entirely successful. The Sham Prince may be considered as a piece de circonstance, written for the purpose of introducing Mr. PARRY Junior to the stage. He personates a clever footman, who, to favour an amorous design of his master, passes himself on a credulous old lady as a German Prince on his travels. This character gave him the opportunity of appearing in a light in which he has been hitherto unknown to the public—that of a very clever comic actor and singer. There was some serious singing in the part, of no great merit 83 to the music, though very good in respect to his performance. But his mock " duetto dialog° " between a captive princess and her lover, might have moved an anchorite to mirth. His soprano singing was not only a capital caricature of GRIN, but quite wonderful for extent and flexibility ; and the whole was a rich burlesque of the present Italian school. When he is able to walk the stage with that ease which is acquired only by practice, Young PA RRY, we expect, will be an excellent comedian.

Next came Monsieur Jaques, in which Moan's BARNETT produced the usual quantity of smiles and tears ; and lastly, there was The Trades- man's Ball, in which HARLEY has a rather amusing part.