which really enormous quantities of beef and plum-pudding had been provided; and at six o'clock Stanley sat down to dinner, with two hundred of the principal inhabitants of the town. Here the utmost enthusiasm prevailed up to the hour of nine, when that being the time appointed for dancing to commence the whole party retired from the table. Stanley opened the ball with the lady of the Mayor, and was delighted to see his guests so joyous and happy. Here, again, he was the admiration of the whole of the ladies, and Amelia won the hearts of all the gentlemen present. Sir William danced with the widow the greater part of the evening, and nothing could exceed her delight: he was so graceful, so attentive, so kind: she was in raptures. Mr. Ripstone was absent, which she could not but think very odd; but, then, Sir William was present; and, although Mr. Ripstone was a dear, good creature, Sir William surpassed him in every point. Having danced with spirit until twelve o'clock, Stanley, worn out with fatigue and excitement, retired with his party almost unperceived; and when the carriages were ordered, the crowd, who were waiting outside to do him honour, insisted upon drawing him themselves to his residence, which was situated nearly a mile from the town. All opposition to this was, of course, vain, and the horses were accordingly removed from both carriages, the traces and poles only remaining attached; and, when Stanley and his party had entered, three cheers were given as the signal for starting, and off they went, preceded by a military band. Instead, however, of taking them directly home, they drew them round the town, which was brilliantly lighted up, and it was not until they imagined that their chosen representative had seen enough of the general illumination that they would consent to proceed towards his mansion. Having once got upon the road, they were not long before they reached the gates, and here they were met by enthusiastic thousands, who, by the light of large bonfires, had been dancing on the lawn. The committee had arranged this quite unknown to Stanley, and had instructed their agents to regale the happy multitude with boiled beef and beer. This was, of course, a fresh source of delight to Stanley, who not only encouraged the dancers to proceed, but by way of acknowledging the compliment they had paid him, took the hand of one of the lasses, and having placed her at the head of about two hundred couples, led off the next dance, The Triumph!—much to the amusement of Amelia and her friends, who were enjoying the sport at the drawing-room window. This, however, settled him. The line for nearly an hour seemed interminable, for even those who had before no intention to dance, stood up to have the honour of dancing with him. He did, however, at length, reach the bottom, when, feeling quite sure that he had had enough of it, he restored his proud partner to her friends, and left the lawn. A signal was now given, and in an instant it was answered by a grand and unexpected flight of rockets, and as this was succeeded by a really magnificent display of fireworks of every description, it was rationally supposed that the enthusiastic guests would withdraw; but, no, nothing of the sort: although Stanley and his party retired to rest in an absolute state of exhaustion, the multitude immediately re-commenced dancing, and kept it up with infinite spirit until the rosy morning dawned. THE THEATRES. DRURY LANE.- Something of a prescriptive right attaches to this theatre, giving it precedence over its rivals, at least in point of place. Mr. Eliason's Winter Concerts are got up with great taste, presenting morsels of music suited to all palates. The leading favourites in these entertainments are the solo performers. Herr König on the cornet-a-piston; M. Prospere on the ophicleide: and M. Dantonet on the trombone. A pleasanter lounge can hardly be found in "the great metropolis" than this for all who have any taste for good music. These detached musical gems are exactly the thing that can be heard all through with pleasure. We are promised the German opera soon after Christmas. When we remember that to the performance of the German opera introduced by M. Laporte to an English audience, a good deal of the present taste for good music is attributable, we trust that nothing will arise to deprive us of a source of so much refined amusement. sult of this is that on the four evenings on which the play is performed weekly, the house is filled in every part. The cast includes nearly every performer of merit in the company; and the rich and unctuous scenes in which Bottom the Weaver and his companions exhibit, are given with a depth and gusto thoroughly Shaksperian. Let us not omit a well-deserved tribute to the Messrs. Grieve for their share in this triumph; the scenes they have introduced alone will amply repay the visiter. It is something that although the stage has lost Clarkson Stanfield, his former master still remains to paint such scenes as those of the Midsummer Night's Dream. The Critic has been revived here, and thanks to the admirable taste of Ma dame Vestris for the manner in which it is produced, is deservedly popular. A smartly written, though not very original, farce, called Fashionable Arrivals, has had temporary success. THE HAYMARKET.-Webster merits success, for he has done as much as any living manager to raise the profession in public estimation. He has accomplished all that could be done to restore the little theatre in the Haymarket to what it once was: and aided as he has been by the taste and good acting of Charles Kean, worthy the name he bears, Wallack, and others, the natural result of a full treasury has followed. THE ADELPHI.-The new architectural front of this theatre, executed with Mr. Beazley's well known taste, is alone worth a visit. It is, however, too beautiful to be exposed to the smoky atmosphere of the Strand. The present successful performance-and nearly everything that is brought out here we might almost say necessarily becomes successful- - are Madam Laffarge-a rather dangerous subject, cleverly handled, however, and The Old Curiosity Shop, one of those dramas from an unfinished production too frequent of late. THE PRINCE'S THEATRE. This elegant house has just reopened under the auspices of Messrs. Barnett, one of them the composer of The Mountain Sylph, the other also well known as Monsieur Jacques. The performances commenced with the production of an opera called Fridolin, written by Mark Lemon, and composed by F. Romer. The story is derived from Schiller's dra matic ballad. The following song is worth transferring to our pages:— "The young spring bringeth songs and flowers And youth's life spring hath golden words, INDEX TO THE EIGHTH VOLUME. A. Ainsworth, W. H., Guy Fawkes by, 1. Apropos to Doctor Morison's death, 170. Aloys, the Lay of Saint, 602. B. Ballads-32; Wreck of the Hesperus, Barnes, the Pantaloon, journal of his Bazvalan, account of the character of the, Beau of former Times, and the Dandy of 40. Bloudie Jacke of Shrewsberrie, County Legends, No. 1, 171; see Ingoldsby. Bretagne, Courting in, 391; Character Bucentaur, origin of the, a poem, 510. Chesterfield, Earl of, anecdote respecting Cockney Sportsman, 337. Colin Clink, his kindness to Miss Win- Costello, Louisa Stuart, Gaspard de Besse County Legends, No. I. Bloudie Jacke of Crocodile, Mr. story of, 49; see Crow- Crowquill, Alfred, Mr. Crocodile by, 49; D. Dach, Simon, Silent Love by, 601. Doing a Gensd'arme, a tale of a Calf, 344. Duck, a, fragment from the autobiography Jars, dialogue between two China, 474. John Bull Abroad, 121. Johns, Richard, Marine Memoranda by, Jolly Miller, the, a fragment, 23. Journal of Old Barnes the Pantaloon, 69. Judging by Appearances, Mistakes in a Juvenile Labour, 355; see Moral Economy K. Kemble, John P., anecdote of his absence Kent, Duke of, his lodge in Nova Scotia, Kleist, lines on the painted Betulla by, 596. L. Legends-The Black Mousquetaire, 262. the United States in his early life, 494. M. M'Dougall, Alexander, Ballad by, 32. Marine Memoranda, 625. 17. Merchant's Ward, true story of the, 189. Mills, John, the Battu by, 33; a Day's Moran, E. Raleigh, Contrasts in the Life Morrison, Dr., lines on his death, 170. Stanley Thorn-a point of interest argued Suett, Dicky, anecdote of him, 233. END OF THE EIGHTH VOLUME. |