THEATRES AND MUSIC.
So little has the public been accustomed of late to mortality in the Royal Family, and the usages which accompany it, that the closing of the Theatres on Monday, on account of the death of the Princess Sophia, took the theatrical world completely by surprise. The same event had the effect of preventing the Duke of Cambridge from presiding, as usual, at the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund dinner; and the Duke of Beaufort, who took his place, made a decided "hit" by a speech of a thoroughly national tendency. The present condition of the two large theatres, and the quan- tity of foreigners here and to come, produce a state of things in which a speech of the kind is sure to create excitement when delivered to a con- gregation of " native talent."
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean made their appearance on Wednesday at the Haymarket; and though the Wife's Secret is a little worn by this time, suc- ceeded in drawing a numerous audience.
At the Princess's, Mr. Allen has appeared in the Crown Diamonds; and a new piece, called Spanish Marriages, has been produced. It is just simi- lar enough to Dying for a Kiss (Ne touches pas it la Reine) to be without original character, while it is not half so piquant. We have had a surfeit of these genteel mediocrities, written without sparkle, which even when they succeed produce but a languid satisfaction, and leave behind them but a faint impression. In the ballet department some taste and talent are displayed at the Princess's. Mademoiselle Auriol is a danseuse of great vigour, and with quite as much finish as could be expected from a theatre of the kind; while the Clown, Flexmore, has a quantity of pantomimic humour at command. A little more attention might be given to this de- partment; which would at any rate constitute a distinctive feature for the establishment, The arrival of the Palais Royal company produces some excitement at St. James's; and bills printed in enormous letters predict the appearance at Drury Lane of Monte Christ°, with all the glory of ten acts!
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