TI1E EA T RES.
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Pilloality of " Cod the t/etten," the " Non ;toles " of theatrical The OM- ler of. the cm its drontalique in battle array hefore the stage-lamp:. de,elm «I two or. dote liew fame', mid reminded us of a few that me etie hick changes have diminished the nightly ex- p./ones by 40/., it in Cold, without itripail hag the: general efficiency of the eon' earl y. %he Merry ',Fives rj' Windsor, regarded ris a spci 'I silt', in OS rich in picturesque heuutica and cotrq,lete it; charal.torirtic pointa of scenery and costume, as any representation on the English stage; but it went off flatly, notwithstanding—or rather because of—the laborious efforts of some of the male portion of the dramatis personte to produce effects not contemplated by the author. A pair of more bewitching" merry wives" than Madame VESTRIS and Mrs. Nunn= could not be desired; and me& C. JONES is a genuine specimen of the gossip and go-between : but BARTLEY, as Faistafj; does so overlay the dialogue with bawling declamation, stamping, and gesticulation, that instead of the unctuous humour and mellow juiciness of the character, only a bard, noisy, and empty form of grossness and jollity remains—the mere crust of the fat knight. MEADOWS, as the Welsh parson Sir Hugh Evans, and GRANBY, as Mine Host of the Garter, are excellent ; and F. THEWS, as Shallow., only wants to give a little more of the pompous justice, especially m the quarrel with Falstaff. Mr. CHARLES MatrnEws's conception of Master Slender is very dif- ferent front what we consider to be the true reading of the character according to the text. He appears to have taken his idea from the false notions of the painters, who picture Slender as a bashful, love- sick simpleton ; whereas he is not in love at all, and is not a bashful wooer, but a stupid suitor who has nothing to say for himself: when he gets on his favourite subject of bear-baiting, he is voluble enough. Dame Quickly elicits from his man Simple a minute and specific descrip- tion of Master Slender ; from which we learn, that though he is "a softlsosprighted man," yet he is as "tall," i, e. bold, " as any of his incites," and " has fought with a warrener"; moreover, he is said " to hold up his head and strut in his gait." Mr. C. MATHEWS represents
him a pitiful, sneaking Zany, who sidles in and out as if be could
not say " Bo !" to a goose; whereas he is a swaggering braggart, though brainless, and with a heart no bigger than a pin's head : he
can bully and quarrel, boasts of being a man of estate, and swears
fantastical oaths—" By these gloves!" " By this hat !" Though he has not wit to make love to Mistress Anne, he pays court to her father for the " seven hundred pounds and possibilities,' to whose ear his perpe- tual aspiration of " Sweet Anne Page" is always addressed. In fine, we conceive that SHAKSPERE meant Slender as a type of the booby country squire, who could take a bear bythe chain, but was not able to compliment a woman, and valiant at quarter-staff, though with a horror of cold steel—the ridicule of the character consisting in his miserable affectation of the airs of a courtly gallant.
We wish the management would bear in mind that passage of Ham- let's advice to the players, where he says, " Let your clowns say no more than is set down for them," for though their offences in this instance consist in doings, not sayings, they are equally " villanous." The elaborate dumb show of threats with which 11«rdolph, Pistol, and Nym successively assail Slender, when there is no warranty in the text for any such pantomime, destroys the effect of the scene; and the pully-hauly work at the duel between Sir Hugh and Doctor Gains is equally impertinent : Simple, when he is caught in the Doctor's closet, indulges in the grimaces of a clown, and John itagby attempts to raise a laugh by running to and fro in an odd manner, and treading on hi.:
master's heel. These practical buffooneries are a poor substitute for personation of character, and had much better be omitted, though sanctioned by usage : they degrade eomedy to farce, and only serve to show how barren of invention mu :t be the actors that resort to them.
The Sleeping Beauty went off with C•elat : its pleasantries relished as well as ever; nor were the splendours of the pageant dimmed ; Ma- dame's dress as the Princess, indeed, was surpassingly sumptuous. Mr. GILBERT and Miss 13ALLIN danced a cachoucha, but though theis movements were agile enough, there was none of " the poetry of 1110- tion " in their perthrmanee.
On Tuesday, Law dre w but a scanty audience. though there was no lack of fervour in the reception of Miss Et.LF.N Tas:u: teal Axoassox. We were sorry to observe no abatement of that mannerism whie:i we have before alluded to as indurating the delicacy and tenderness of Miss Tasm's acting : A NI /ERSON, oil the contrary, is iiner‘vine : though lw has yet Some ruggedness and boisterousness to soften :1111
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