"THE DEVIL'S WALK, OR PLUTO IN LONDON."
A NEW EXTRAVAGANZA PERFORMED AT THE' SURREY TIIEATRE.
WHY should the Devil, on a visit to London, take up his abode in Surrey ? In sooth we know not. Perhaps his satire, had it been played off on the metropolitan side of the river, might have been felt to be too near the truth to be acceptable, and therefore he .chose the unsophisticated natives of the suburbs on whom to try its powers. Perhaps the visit to the outskirts of his "snug little farm," before he ventured to inspect its closes, was merely in .Compliance with his ordinary method of attack. Old chronicles speak of him as a roaring lion ; and to the rude tribes of Judea it might be necessary for " Mr. Nicholas, senior," to assume a .character of ferocity ; but among us the soft and civilized inhabitants of modern Europe, he has dropped his attributes of terror, and his voice is as gentle as a sucking dove. He no longer attempts the citadel of human nature by storm—his plan is to steal into it by sap. But whether it be in accordance with his ordinary 'tactics, or merely a freak of the old gentleman, certain it is that his incarnation on the present occasion is a mighty pleasant one. He has indeed invested himself with accompaniments which render his appearance rather more attractive than may be entirely consistent with the safety of his numerous visitors. He exhibits amidst -scenes of uncommon beauty; his wit sparkles like—like himself, and its flashes are incessant—he is an ever-replenished Leyden jar, which it is impossible to touch without eliciting a spark. The • -.charms, however, which might prove of dangerous consequence, are _neutralized by one feature in the character of" Old Harry"—he is green—wofully green! There is not a labourer on his estates the simplest seeming of them, that is not more than a match for his master. In his commerce with the upper world, it is the visitor that is in danger; the hazard is rather that Satan may be misled by men, than men by Satan. BURNS talked of escaping his 'clutches by running round a corner; but it would appear from the report of Mr. MONCRIEFF, that now-a-days no such expedient is necessary. Had the poet been one of us, he might have met old " Nickey ben" face to face, and choused him notwithstanding. To speak by the card—The general outline of " Pluto in London" is borrowed from-the little poem attributed so long to Professor PORSON, and now to Dr. SOUTHEY, called "The Devil's Walk," of which several illustrated parodies have recently appeared. The first scene presents us with a view of Tartarus and its inhabitants; and informs us of a fact, which the superiority to the Devil and his arts subsequently exhibited by the people of Cockney land renders highly credible, that there had been recently a great falling .off in the imports of the subterranean dominions. The Devil resolves to ascend and examine into the causes of the defalcation ; and the remainder of the piece consists of his. adventures. The first .imposition practised on him is by a rascal who thrusts himself into his service as lacquey ; he is ensnared by women, " bled " by a quack doctor, cheated at cards, in a hell which he finds much hot-ter than his own; he gets drunk and riotous at Vauxhall, is seized by the police, and committed by Sir Richard Birnie for want of bail ; he pays handsomely for his liberation ; gives a rout ; marries a hag old enough to be his grandmother, instead of the lady of his choice ; and lastly, he escapes from a second arrest by a rapid retreat to his own dominions, .accompanied by his wife, his lawyer, his doctor, and his gaoler,—thus carrying with him, apparently for his own punishment rather than theirs, the whole of the respectable party that had worried him to death during his short sojourn among us. It may be seen from this brief sketch, that "Pluto in London" affords a very convenient framework for the display of a number of amusing scenes ; and MONCRIEPF, the author, has not neglected his opportunities. The dialogue is smart ; many of the hits are good—very good ; most of the puns fair—old acquaintances it may be, but well brought out. The trick of the play affords room for a kind of running commentary of equivoque, which, without being forced, gives rise to many-laughable mistakes and numerous drolleries both of speech and act. There is a little bit of moral in the deceptions of which the Devil is the victim. It teaches, not quite after the fashion of a sermon, to be sure, but in a way which is quite as intelligible, the great truth inculcated by the ancient historian, that every man has the framing of his own destiny, and that it is unjust and foolish to father the faults of humanity on extrinsic impressions. afic?. There are in the piece a number of political and local allusions. The New Police figure on the scene ; the Devil travels in Wellingtons, as being best fitted to conceal his hoofs ; he breakfasts on Wigs roasted; through chaos he journeys in a comet, but when ciotayeathe limits of mortality, he takes the steam-boat. Some previous to reaching London are described : he arrives in France at the moment i.hat the recent Revolution had banished bigotry and despotism frot:1 its shores ; but the air of freedom is too pure for his lungs, and the sound of the Marseillois Hymn compels him to hurry forward on hi. s journey.
Mr. J. RUSSELL, who as migrated for a season from the north to the south side of the water, acted the Devil with a degree of ability which no other actor on the London stage could equal. The dry and quaint character of his humour is eminently appro priate in such a part. Pluto is witty from contempt of his company : he throws Out his good things not because he deems them good, but that he may gratify his pride in beholding what he regards with indifference received by his auditors with admira tion. TERRY would have done excellent justice to the Devil's prose, PHILIPS would warble his music beautifully ; Russarn is neither TERRY .nor PHILIPS, but he exhibits a combination of comic and musical capabilities possessed by neither. The part is an extremely fatiguing one : the songs of the Devil are Av.. merous, and the dialogue fills three-fourths of that portion of they scene which is not devoted to music; but the actor gets through it with amazing spirit.
Of the subordinate performers, we have not left ourselves space to say much. Miss SOMERVILLE, who, we think, sung at the Oratorios last winter, has two or three songs of which she acquits herself very creditably: her voice is superior to many that we hear in parts of the same rank in theatres of higher pretension. She should open her mouth more, and learn to articulate with greater distinctness.
The spectacle is cleverly managed, and the scenery well worth . looking at—particularly a view of the Thames, with the new Bridge finished by anticipation, and a moonlight scene at St. John's Wood.
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