We never enjoyed an hour more pleasantly than at RUSSELL'S
entertainment the other night ; and we advise all who love a genuine good song, a capital bit of mimicry, and a well-told story, to visit the Strand Theatre forthwith. Sitting in this snug and quiet little house, with the Strand-ed Actor before you, with his budget of songs, jokes, anecdotes; and imitations, is like having a tete-A-tete with a lively companion. You see people laughing; up in corners, and suppressing as if in a room-a too noisy ebullition of merriment. Being accustomed to indulge our cachinations ore rotundo—to give-elbow-room' to our diaphragm, and let our lungs crow like chanticleer—we were not prepared for this ultra decorum; and it required more than one stare -of reproof from a staid personage near us, to awe us into a sotto voce expression of mirth- fulness ; except when RUSSELL sang with true feeling and sensible sensibility DIBDIN'S song, " The last shilling." . We never felt less conscious of the critical vocation our sympathies were fairly inlisted,—because the singer was in earliest : he , gave due effect to the humour and spirit of the song, whether it was " The Sea "—which he rolled out in a vigorous, manly, style—or "The slight Catarrh," or any other of his clever parodies. Yet we had seen the entertainment before—at least so much of it as was not new : for RUSSELL now introduces some fresh anecdotes and songs ; and in the third part he gives an entirely new scene of a convivial meeting of some of the actors and singers who have left the boards. He supposes JOHN KEMBLE, COOKE, BETTY, BANNISTER, MUNDEN, EMERY, SUETT, INCLEDON, MICHAEL KELLY, DIGNUM, BRAHAM, &c. met together and talking upon the present state of the Stage; and they each give a snatch of a song in turn, making a sort of medley. The imitations of such as we remembered were excellent. RUSSELL'S vocal imitations are complete vraisemblances, not caricatures. His delivery has be- come mellowed by practice ; and his manner is free, unassuming, hearty, and genial, like that of an old acquaintance.
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