AMUSEMENTS OF EASTER WEEK.
THE town has not furnished the usual variety of "sights" with which it is accustomed to tempt the holydav people, or at least that portion who prefer the quiet recreation of exhibitions to the spirit-stirring excitement of "sylvan sports !" There have been the old dusty or drenching (as the weather pleases) delights of Greenwich Fair ; while to those whose robust taste pronounces the most riotous enjoyments insipid without a smack of danger, there are two modes of dislocation offered, —one of the neck only, which may be achieved by tumbling down Greenwich Hill ; the other affording the chance of dislocation to other joints as well as the neck, at Epping. By-the-by, there has been a strange mismanagement in the arrangement of the " Sports of the Field" this season, for a stag was selected that had actually never been hunted before ; and, to the consternation of the whole field, and even of the boldest Cockney, the deer actually struck out a new track ! Such an unheard-of occurrence, we hope, will not be repeated ; for had not discretion, that "better part of valour," urged the riders to allow their horses to "throw ofr with the hounds, the consequences might have been fatal, and many a figure that was the ornament of the counter or the shop-board might have been ignobly laid on a shutter. Those adventurous spirits who suffered themselves to be run away with by "the ardour of the chase"—that is, by their horses—were in a desperate plight ; but, providentially, the thoughtless animal took its way through "Fair-meadbottom ;" and no sooner had the horses' hoofs touched the soft ground, than the riders, with one accord, threw themselves into the embraces of Mother Earth, and those who could disengage their feet from the stirrups, came off easily. There were, however, numerous instances wherein the courage of the rider surpassed that of the horse, by taking the leap that the beast refused,—" Vaulting ambition," as the poet says, "that o'erleaps its horse, and falls on t'other side ;" and numbers returned to town covered with glory and contusions. We hope, however, that those who have the management of the sport will in future provide a properly-trained stag, who knows the road ; or else, that the dogs at least may be taught to run without a stag at alb—which we think would answer the purpose equally well: but to hunt an uninitiated deer, even though a tame one, is " too bad."
But the greatest grievance of all is the absence of the Easter Ball. Inexorable Lord Mayor ! to deprive so many of your lieges of the privilege of penetrating into the inner mysteries of the Mansionhouse ; who never, except on this annual occasion,_ stand any chance of gaining a sight of its interior—beyond the Justice-room. Consider, my Lord, that it is not your house—it is the civic palace, and those who pay to keep up its splendour should at least have the privilege of damaging its decorations. To deny the City apprentices the privilege of looking over the Alderman playing guinea whist in the parlour, and of elbowing the Lady Mayoress in her drawing-room, or contemplating the gilt backs of the books in the Library—unlike their owner, for the current year, not well read ! this is, indeed, an innovation—a revolution unparalleled by either Catholic Emancipation or Parliamentary Reform. The spirit of the City apprentices has deteriorated, since the time when the cry of " Clubs, 'prentices, clubs ! " struck terror into the heart of the boldest Alderman, and even shook the chief magistrate himself. Some modification, however, of the severity and injustice of this un-corporate-like proceeding, may be found in the fact, that the Easter Ball was a serious injury to the interests of the proprietors of the dancing-booths at Greenwich Fair.
Then there are the Easter spectacles at the Theatres of Whitechapel and Cripplegate, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, Astley's, the Surrey,
the Coburg, and the Queen's ; each vieing with the other in noise, glare, tinsel, and transformations. We cannot pretend to give an account of them all, for we were surfeited of show at the two great houses ; and visiting Mr. DUCROW'S theatre to see how he managed Mazepp we were so overpowered with Turkish dresses, gorgeous banners, and all the paraphernalia of processions, that we surrendered at discretion before a charge of Polish Lancers.
At Covent Garden they have dressed up (not dramatized) the incident upon which is founded Lord BYRO.N'S poem of "The Island," carefully omitting all the sentiment of the story. .21Teuha's Cave, or the South Sea
Mutineers, as it is called, is a compound of sailors and savages, with
Mrs. VINING and Miss TAYLOR for the hero and heroine, and KEELEY for a droll : the latter, as " Mr. Pimpernell Chickweed," gardener to
the expedition, makes the audience laugh in spite of themselves. The scenery is romantic and beautiful, and constitutes the main attraction of the piece.
At Drury Lane, they have a tale of enchantment called The Ice Witch, or the Frozen Hand. Harold, the Sea-King, and his attendant, Magnus Snoro (HARLEY), have been cast, almost frozen to death, and
in estate of starvation, upon an ice island, and are the only survivors of the crew of the galley, having been reserved by the beautiful Ice Witch for the solace of herself and her waiting-maid Hecla. The two mortals are accordingly first fa and introduced to their enchanted domain, which is as summer-like and gorgeous as Calypso's bower : but growing cold in heart, as they get warns and comfortable in condition, they reject the loves of the witch and her waiting-woman,—who, in revenge, inflict on Harold a token of remembrance in the shape of a frozen hand, which is death to whomsoever it touches ; while poor Snoro is endued with an atmosphere of frost that chills every one who approaches him : they are then sent to earth in a gorgeous galley—(thesc: enchantresses have a splendid way with them, and stab with golden daggers, or smother with rose leaves)—where they find their true loves have been ran away with by a couple of barbarians. Snoro freezes his mistress and her maiden companions almost into fits ; and Harold, whose' icy fist has enabled him to overcome his giant adversary, is in a state of perplexity as to how he shall conceal his fate train his mistress, whom he is about to marry ; when the Sun-God rises, and dissolves the charm by " a general thaw." There was an abundance of splendour in scenery, decorations, and dresses ; and grins Saxons and combats with Norwegians; HARLEY, as Snort), made plenty of fun, and Mrs. WAILE.TT, as his mistress, sang two ballads very prettily.
We have only one objection to these " spectacles,"—and that is to the superfluity of dialogue, which might be very well spared, with great benefit to author, actors, and audience : we would except the buffoonery, and permit occasional exclamations, and songs also ; but all the rest should be mere pantomime. Even now, we are made aware of a deed of violence by an orchestral crash ; a simmering of the violins denotes infirmity of purpose, or prevailing terror. How much more expressive is a sigh, or a shake of the head, than a soliloquy as long and obscure as a diplomatic letter, or a Parliamentary explanation ! When a hero beats his breast, we understand that his heart beats too ; when the heroine is to be tired, that it may seem natural she should go to sleep in order that she may be carried off,—rubbing the eyes if a waiting-maid, or reclining the head on the hand if a mistress, are infinitely better than talking about it. The gestures of pantomime tell a story, and convey meaning better than the dialogue of these pieces, and the process is much shorter; at present, the audience require to be startled into attention by pistol-shots and crashes. It is quite enough to have the senses of seeing and hearing kept on the stretch for a couple of hours, without attempting to address the understanding by means of dialogue that only sets it asleep. We hope this will be amended.
In the shape of Exhibitions, there are the Panoramas of Calcutta, Quebec, New South Wales, and the new one of Hobart Town, Van Dieman's Land; of all of which we have given some account,—they are among the most pleasant and interesting sights for rational folks. Then there are the Diorama, and the Colosseum, and the Cosmorama, as heretofore ; and four new views at the Queen's Bazaar, that are well worthy of a visit ; they consist of interiors of "King's College Chapel, Cambridge," the " Basilic° of St. Francis," and two beautiful scenes, " Llanberris Lake with Dolbadern Tower," and the "Pass of Brianson,'
the last a grand and romantic view. They are cleverly painted, but admit of being improved ; and might, with a little more finish and elaboration of effect, be made nearly equal to the Diorama. Here are also the " Physiorama " Views, sixteen in number, on the plan of the Cosmorama. This establishment appears to attract a great deal of company. Miss LINWOOD also has been adding another large picture to her gallery of needle-work, the "Curse of Cain," which has occupied her during ten years. It is not, however, a pleasing production, being a specimen of the worst style of French painting. This unique exhibition, though it has been open for twenty years, is as great a curiosity now as at first; for there is nothing like it in England, and it rivals the celebrated Gobelin Tapestry. The perfection with which pictures by GAINSBOROUGH, MORLAND, NOR VHCOTE, WESTALL, &C. are imitated in worsted, is really wonderful; and the material would not be detected by a cursory observer who was uninformed of its nature. This gallery contains fifty pictures, many of them of a very large size, comprising every variety of subject—history, landscape, portrait, rustic life, animals, still-life—all of them of needle-work, and entirely the product of Miss LINWOOD'S skill and ingenuity.
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