At the Adelpbi also, there has been an attempt to
show the want of connexion between wealth and happiness ; though here the lesson is con, veyed in the farce form. A costermonger, the betrothed of a chimney sweeper's daughter, having ambitious notions, is cured of them by a day's subjection to the rules of etiquette ; the absence of a knife to cut his fish acting on him precisely as the presence of a sword did on Damocles. The moral is pointed in an unique way. The sinner, turning a virtuous man, consents to be a May-day Jack-in-the-Green, for the benefit of his bride's family, and warns the audience against ambition, from the aperture in his leafy covering. The practical jokes at the dinner-table, given with all Wright's humour, are amusing enough ; but as this piece evidently purports to be a picture of character, a little more truthfulness of tone would be an advantage. If our authors would look more into real life and less into stage conventions, they would make an important move tne wards the elevation of the drama.
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