At the Adelpht, the pomp of chivalry , is now superadded
to the pride of burglary ; the clang of armour echoes the clink of' fetters ; and the bray- of trumpets, heralding the triumphant entrance of the Admirable Crichton and Henry Quatro to the Louvre, succeeds to the roar of the mob celebrating the triumphal exit of Jack Sheppard and Jonathan AVild at the Old Bailey. For both pair of illustrious heroes, too, the public are indebted to -Mr. AiNswoirrn ; on whose Crichton Mr. Srin- MA; hums performed the smite office that Mr. Bret:now executed on his Jack Sheppard; and in a congenial spirit ; but instead of CRUM. StIANK'S etchings, the Eglintoun pageantry furnishes forth the " ta. Meaux." The career of the accomplished scholar and soldier is by no means so prominently set forth as the exploits of tlte finished house and prison breaker ; the adventures of the gallant Scot being condensed, the better to enable them to bear the weight of armour with which they are burdened. YATES, with his usual tact and dexterity, has contrived to cram the chivalric splendours of the Eglintoun Tournament on to the Adelphi stage ; and by roofing in the orchestra he gives the pit a closer view of the procession than the dripping spectators in Ayrshire enjoyed. Nor are these mere tinsel imitntions of the gorgeous trappings ; l'Ans vouches them to be the identical paraphernalia so well soaked at lig- lintoun. The armour and weapons, the emblazoned costumes and gilded caroneis, are supplied by 'Messrs. Pmerr from their "armoury" in Bond Street; ii r•. 1m iiLt tso coutributing the " siuc splendid chandeliers oftury wise and gold" that illuminated. the banqueting-roma at Eglintoun Castle. Certainly the broad fiat yellow caps of the men- at-arms—alheit their recent saturation gave them n limp and paneaky aspect—aed the appointments genially have a more veritable " middle- age" look than the ordinary theatrical versions of these costumes; and YATES as Henri Quaire, attired in the actual dress worn by the "King of the Tournament," with his barbed chin and lofty port, looked as many inches of a king as the hnmortal Ei.msros, when he personated George the Fourth, and addressed the audience as " my people." Of the reality and ponderosity of the armour, the porters eased therein gave more evi- dent proof than was desirable ; for they tread as gingerly as did the ele- plunt when lie picked his way over his prostrate keeper, and literally stk.:men:ft under their loads err:dished steel : this created z; laugh among the irreverent portion of the mulieuce, an indecorum that was resented by a grave look from the 11.1e1wety of France. Bot so prone were the lookers-on to levity, that loud laughter broke forth from the occupants of a private box in the middle of a tender scene between Crichton and his inamorata the " Queen of Beauty ;" the tete-a-tetd of' the lovers being involuntary prolonged by the tresses of the lady becoming en- tangled in the head-gear of her preserver : this ill-timed risibility v.:as promptly silenced, however, by a " speech from the throne." We have been guilty of a strange omission in not having &NM dm title of this "grand chivalric drama," and some particulars of the story : its appellation in the bills is Thu _Knight ii the Dragon and the Quctu qf Prouty ; but for the details: of the plot we are really at it loss. The incidents followed each other with such rapidity, and the parties did so little towards accounting for their actions, that the whole seem:Ail game of surprises; reminding one of the summary doines in those abridg- ments of traeedy provided for the impatient playeoers who patronize the perambulatory stage. Not that the actors said too little—quite do reverse ; for what they lied to say mute gestures might have liced. Really it were advise'4e to make the ;teflon of these siwetaelie: wliolly pantomimic. Mr. 1.vox flourishes the blade of Crichton as expertly as the bludgeon of Wild, Mrs. Fosnmen:u fills the royal robes of Catherine de Medicis as amply as she does the grogram gown of Mrs. Wood; and Miss Au- sox's plump person and doll-like demeanour become the Queen of Ilenrie Quatre as well as the nliqlwi or jack Sheppard. Mr,
Weltlirr, as the Jester, is very puha cot deal : indeed the hes
rnour of' his acting Ihr exceeds the wit he has to utter he plays with his bauble in the true spirit of fboling. The final tableau, Nvliere the Queen of l;,:a at y aud her champion enter on her horseback, and the glories of chivalry are piled up like a side-board of plate and set off by a blaze of blue light, is a splendid show. The Adelphi stage, leultunt di parts, though it is, cannot find room liar the " pas:sage of ,:rnis "—unless the wicker-steeds were called in requisition ; but this .sioireuse of arias is a very efficient substitute ; and the rush of the crowd to the barriers of the pit-entrance supplies all that is wanting to the SUMS of this meritorious effort to please.
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