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    V/T" " fti> ^i v\& ' vil^ lj v J^ll-UU * '. ' ¦ ¦; ? ¦ ¦

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    for personal gain , ' are , we are here taught , the root of political evil , and threatens the i * uin of our English dependencies . We ought to apologize to our l-eaders for quoting such specimens of maudlin cant and ignorance . It is sometimes necessary , however , to expose a much-pulled volume assuming to ofier practical information . Hxcept vhere the book is dully didactic , it consists of extracts from newspapers and pre-existing volumes finished off with tables of official statistics . We are at a loss to discover the real object of its publication . As a history , it is miserably imperfect ;

    as a guide to the emigrant , It is altogether useless . Many works have recently appeared with far smaller pretensions and of much greater utility—written not "by persons who have tripped jauntily across two oceans twice , i ) i prosecution of the desif / n of writing ubook , but by men who have lived on the spot , who ha-ve passed many , years amidst the scenes they describe , whohave learnt by experience wlat is best to be taught ; who have been inspired to write solely from a desire to convey information to new emigrants , and who , in their simple way of narrating facts and giving advice , at once convince us of 1 he truth of tl * eir statements .

    Where "An . Englishman" describeswhat has already been described—and that he does largely—we are content to accept his descriptions ; but where lie draws upon his own observations , his own impressions , we nmst beallowed to say , oven in contradiction of his own declaration in the preface , the work partakes'of the character of ' imaginary sketches . ' He coasts along " Victoria , K " ew South Wales , Tasmania , and the Islands of ! New Zealand , but we are , as we have already stated , at a loss to discover what advantage he has reaped from his voyages or the public arc to gain from the perusal of his volume . A dozen pages of practical matter , written with the object of conveying instruction rather than publishing a book , would have been of tenfold the value . Ma , ny a small paiaphlet , " one of those countless books on Australia , the merits or demerits of .-which , " . I ) .. P . humbly submits , " are not becoming subjects for discussion" in his preface , serves the same purpose far ' . ; ' better than the four hundred and fifty pa ^ es to which " An Englishman" has extended his volume .

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    - ¦ NOTES OF THE WEEK . The last Christmas performance of the Messiah t > y the Sacred Harmonic Society takes place at Exctee Hall next "Friday . Madame Clara ¦ N . oveli . o ( it being her first appearance this season ) . Miss Dolbv , Sijis Beeves , and Fokmes , are the principal vocalists . ; . Among the musical events of the week may be mentioned Miss Dolby ' s second soiree , which took place last Tuesday at her residence in Hinde-street Criticism loses its office with sueli ah artist as this lady . "Where perfection , has been so nearly attained , we can but listen and admire . Mr . Wiixiasi Hekiiy Smith , on Monday evening , delivered at the IJeethoven Kooms , Ilarley- street , a lecture on some fantastical notions , which he has previously expounded in a pamphlet , with respect to the authorship of Shah .-speaue's plays , -which ho persists in attributing to Bacox . An account of this lecture in the Daily Nexus says

    that" Mr . Smith chiefly referred to the play of Julius Ccesar , winch' he considers to be especially confirmatory of his views ; in proof whereof the lecturer quoted passages from Bacon ' s paper on ' tlie civil characters of Julias Ca ^ nr . and Augustus Coesar , ' which he contends was a mere sketch , afterwards enlarged and elaborated in the play . Mr . Smith also quoted a passage from a letter of Bacon ' s to Mr . Matthew , referring to an interview at which the former accuses the latter of having been ' more willing to bear Julius Casar than Queen Elizabeth commended . ' In refutation of the assumption that Bacon was deficient-in the poetic element , Mr . Smith quoted some very forcible passages from tiio poem , on ' The World , ' and also turned some of Bacon ' s prose into blank verse , to jirovc that in both , he possessed the true Shakspcarean genius . " Keally , Mr . Smith's cause must be weak indeed , if these are the best arguments he can bring forward . Some good news for picture-lovers is contained in the Times of Monday , whicli says : —

    " We understand that Mr . Sheepshanks has munificently presented to the nation , the whole of his collection of paintings and drawings for the purposes of public instruction in art . Mr . Sheepshanks , disapproving irresponsible management by boards like the trustees of the British Museum and National Gallery , lias made it a condition , that tho responsibility for his collection must rest with an individual Minister—the Minister for Education . Mr . Sheepshanks considers fhat a crowded thoroughfare is not a suitable ) site for quietly studying works of art , and has stipulated that liis collection must be kept in the neighbourhood of its present locality , at Kensington . He is willing that the pictures &c , should bo lent to those provincial towns-which provide suitable places to exhibit them , Upon these conditions , which wo believe Lord Palmerston has cordially accepted on behnlf of tlie Government , Mr . Sheepshanks has signified his readiness to hand over immediately the whole of his very line collection ., which is especially rich in the best works of Mulrc ; idv , Lrtiidseer , and Leslie , and contains fine examples of the principal modern British painters in oil . Tho value o tho collection may bo estimated at about 60 , 000 ? .

    Tho operatic per for man cos at Drurv Lam is came to a close last Saturday , anc tlio regular performances have been resumed this week . Last night was Mr K . T . Smith ' s "bcnelit , and after the first piece , the manager waa called befoie tlie curtain , when he said that hia management had been very successful , thai the rent of the house hud been settled , and that he hndengnged his presentcompuny to continue after Christmas . Tho chief attraction will bo Mr . Cham ^ es Matiiews ; and by tho assistanco of Mr . Bhveui / k y , Mr . Smith hopes to produce a gorgeous pantomime . The house was crowded in evory part .

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    " THE CAGOTS . "—MR . DILLON AS " OTHELLO . " Theatrical managers are becoming the chief historians of the time . We shall expect some day to see advertized an edition of " tlie historical and archaeological works of Chabi . es Kean , now first collected from his numerous playbills , with illustrations taken from the stage ; " and certainly we question whether one person . - iii '' a thousand , who looked at Mr . Dillon ' s fly-leaf about the mysterious people forming the subject of the new drama produced last Saturday evening , had ever before heard of the existence of such a race . The historical knowledge of Londoners is therefore really added to ; and Jokes is made aware , for the first time , that a persecuted set of wretched human beings , called Cagots ,

    forfewer excellences and more defects in this part than in his previous imperso nations . He lost his breath with excess of vehemence , and was obliged to make pauses in the middle of sentences , to fetch it again . There were one or two striking bits where the situation really demanded loudness and energy ; but those nice touches and various elaborations , by which a character is built up were wanting . Mrs . Wkston performed the fierce , gloomy mother very creditably ; but Miss Woolgar waa out of her line in the part of Eugenie , and did not impress us with any idea of her admirable talents as an actress . The scenery and dresses are beautiful ; and , in the present dearth of true dramatic poetry , The , Cagots is a success . Of the Lyceum Othello we are disposed to say as little as possible . In the presence of a conspiracy to extol the worthless , and to abolish the right of honest criticism , we find it an invidious and ungracious task to tell the truth It seems to be agreed on all hands that the duty of so-called dramatic ' critics ' in these latter days is to register the good opinion which managers , and more actor to enter

    especially -managers , are apt tain of—themselves . Declining , as we always have declined , to lend ourselves to this service , we are content to be silent . In some cases silence is the sineerest criticism . An influential contemporary has said that Mr .. Dillon's Othello " opens a new era of Shakspearean performances . " The credibility of this announcement -time will show . We may bellowed , however , to indulge a hope that this new era may be a hrief one , if it is to be marked by such phenomena as the OtMh we have lately witnessed . For the first time in our experience we found this tragedy comparatively ineffective . We sny comparatively , for so powerful are the situations in the third and . the "last act , that they may be said to act themselves . The wretchedest strollers cannot quite disfi gure ox efface the terror and the pity of those scenes , ihe performance at the Lyceum would have been a tolerably creditable one at a provincial theatre . The play is very fairl y put upon the stage so far as dresses , decorations , and appointments are concerned . Of the Othello we will say no more than that it proved to all disinterested judges the total inadequacy and unfitness of the actor .

    Not a gleam of intelligence in the . reading , not a tone of passion or of tenderness in the voice , from tlie first scene to the last . Mr . Dillon appears to have formed no sort of conception of the character . All that was not conventional was , meaningless ; all that was conventional was pointless , and often incorrect A superfluity of grimacing , but not a flash of emotion ; as much rant as a -weak and arid voice , incapable of modulation , would permit ; and for . the lest , whining and preaching intermittently . Hany traditional points were slurred over , some omitted altogether ; but there was no refined or subtle by-play to explain the omission or the neglect . Passages which we have never known to fail to ' Toring the house down' fell as dull as lead ; and in the last scene the utter abandonment of all dignity- converted the . ¦ . ' . great of heart' Othello into a vulgar convict , and too truly made a murder what lie thought a sacrifice . There is one apology , however , .-to be made for this lamentable failure ; we do not believe that Edmtuto Kean himself could have made head against Mr . Stuart's logo . A more preposterous version of the character is not to be conceived , In one word , Mr . Stoart ' s , Iago is a ticket-of-leave man .

    xrierly lived among the Pyrenees , abhorred and shunaied on account of "the popular opinion that there -was a leprous taint in their blood . Jokes also ( instructed by the playbill ) may discourse as to the probabilities of their originwhether they were descended from a part of that invading army of Saracens which entered the South of France in the time of Charles Martel , and were defeated by him , or whether they were the posterity of the Autochthones ( fancy Jones discussing that , part of the question !) , or of the Ostrogoths or the Visigoths . In these abstruse speculations , Jours will find no help from the drama , \ vhich merely seeks to put the forlorn condition of the Cagots in a picturesque form before the eyes of the audience . This is done by means of a story in which there is an heroic Cagot ( very choice in his language , very generous in

    his sentiments , very powerful in his lungs , very advanced in the extremely democratic colour of Lis political opinions , considering that he is living in tlie fifteenth century ) , who falls in love with a young lady whom he has saved from a wild boar , and by whom he is loved in turn , the damsel being all -unweeting that the gentleman is one of the proscribed class . This lady ( J-Jugenie , performed by Miss Woolgar ) is also loved by two other persons—the younger Count de Foix nnd Sir Aymer ife Bcriot—ihe last of whom seeks to slay the former . But he is rescued by the Cagot , and conveyed to his ( the Cagot's ) own hut . When there , Astarte , the Cagot ' s mother ( Mrs . "VYeston ) , wishes her son to despatch him , as she has a grudge against the De Ihix family , having once been the old Count ' s wife , until discarded by him . JRacul , the son , refuses , and even wakes the young Count fro-m his sleep in an adjoining room , in order to put him on his

    guard ; but the nobleman staggers forward , badly wounded , and drops insensible , immediately ' after'Which , Astarte perceives in him the features ' of a lost son of hers by the old Count . In the next act , tho latter , believing liaoid to be guilty of killing his son , orders him to be put to death ; and liaoul , when lie finds that the lady of his heart shuns him on learning that he is a Cagot ( though she afterwards has a revulsion of feeling in his favour ) , falsely . accuses'himself of the murder , and is led forth to die . Apparently he does die , and Astarte then informs the old Count , with vindictive delight , that liaoul was his own son by a second marriage . However , the young Count is not murdered , and llaoulis not executed ; and tho story ends happily , Ifrioul receiving Eugenie in marriage , and Sir Aymerthe arch-villainbeing taken olF in custody .

    , , Such is an outline of the plot . It will bo seen that it is very ' effective ; ' and the author ( Mr . Ea > MUNi > Palconisk , a young provincial actor and poot ) lias shown , a great deal of stage tact , and has wrought up several very startling situations . But tlio play is dull , notwithstanding . It is too long , and too involved in its plot ; the dialogue is turgid and abounding with clap-traps ; there is _ no relief to the perpetual strain upon the spectator ' a sense of horror and nwsery ; nna tho agonies aro piled up with a remorseless hand . The play , in truth , is a melodrama , in five nets . and in blanlc verse , without a melodrama's condensation- , or its genial comedy . These faults are rather aggravated than softened by tho nesting . Mr . Drr . uw as liaoid , and Mr . Stuaut as Sir Agtner , raved and ranted till they were hoaiao ; and the former actor exhibited even

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    ^ December 13 , 1856 . ] , THE LEADER . 1195

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 13, 1856, page 1195, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2171/page/19/