t4riitt- lflI 311n51r.
The first part of Henry the Fourth, as it has been produeed at the Prin- cess's Theatre, with the useful prelude of a performance et Windsor Can- the, is one of those instances of a good ensemble which are new the- most pleasing manifestations of managerial talent. Everybody in the theatre that can be pressed into the service is made to do something for the common cause ; as will be sufficiently seen when we state that Lady Percy is enacted by Mrs. Kean, and the Carriers are Messrs. Harley and Keeley. There is, moreover, an addition to the ordinary force by the en- gagement of the old favourite Mr. Bartley, -who, having been invited to sot at the Castle, consents to appear for a few nights before the public. Certainly we have no living actor who could represent Faktelf so wen. He makes up admirably ; he acts with genial bluffness and he is tho- roughly practised in all the routine of the part. After being surfeited with much modern weakness, it is refreshing to see a performer with so much strength as Mr. 13artley,—who, we should state, is just as vigorous as he was twenty years ago. Mr. Charles Kean is the Hotspur by pre- scriptive right.
The decoration of the piece is both careful and magnificent; every war- nor being provided with his proper shield and sureoat, in the purest spirit of heraldic pedantry. This attention to dramatic details is an honourable characteristic of the Kean management. Doubtless, fine act- ing is a higher thing than fine scenery and dressing, but in the present state of histrionic art the former cannot be obtained for a long range of personages, and therefore uttention to the latter must be accepted as the best possible compensation.
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