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363.
peared as Miss Hardcastle in which she sang
with much sweetness "The Harp that once
through Tara's Hall" and "Comin' Through
the Rye"--Tony Lum[kin Mr. Chapman.
Mr. Chapman sang a new song (written ex-
pressly for the occasion) called "The Maine
Liquor Blue Law." It took well as that law
was then occupying the wisdom of our Legis-
lature.

March 28th Mr. Gustavus Vaughan Brooke
was engaged for a limited period and ap-
peared in his usual round of characters on
whose merits we have elsewhere dwelt upon
at some length. On this evening he appeared
with his usual excellence in "Othello;" on
the 30th as Sir Giles Overreach ; on the 31st
as Macbeth ; Macduff Mr. McDonough ;
Lady Macbeth Miss Wemyss. Mr. Brooke's
acting was of the very first order his points
well made while his bursts of passion were
subduedly thrilling. In many points of this
magnificent creation of genius we saw a
strong resemblance to our townsman Mr. J.
Fest ; yet the latter never saw Mr. Brooke
when he first essayed the part here as a youth
of some twenty years. In extending these
remarks upon Macbeth we do so to offer a
single remark. Delicacy of expression as
well as of action should be the motto of the
actor and actress. The powerful delineation
of Charlotte Cushman in Lady Macbeth has
been often the theme of the critic's lauda-
tion ; but we humbly think in some portions
of this woman-fiend she obeys the author's
painting of thoughts and words too closely
and most truly unsexes herself or is rather
too beastly in suiting the action to the words.
Par example : "Come to my woman's breasts
(drugs) and take my milk for gall." And
again :

"I have given suck and know
How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me" &c.
Here she violently pulls at her breats--at the
"boneless gums"--almost exposing her mo-
ther's fountains of nourishment to vulgar
gaze. This indelicate action we think too
obvious and objectionable on the score of
decency before a mixed audience. It does
not produce the mental beauty of Shakspere
and this supposed adherence to Nature is too
often exhibited on the stage. Oh! reform all
stage claptraps in words and actions alto-
gether. It may "make the unskillful laugh"
(or admire); it "cannot but make the judi-
cious grieve."

April 1st Mr. Brooke appeared as Sir Ed-
ward Mortimer in "The Iron Chest."

Friday April 2d was appointed for his
(Brooke's) benefit. He was announced for
"Hamlet" but he was suddenly taken ill. At
this time he was busy in producing with
entire new accessories of scenery costumes
&c. the new French drama somewhat an-
glicized called "Les Freres Corses;" or
"The Corsican Brothers."

On Saturday "Hamlet" was again put
forth ; but Mr. Brooke was further prevented
from acting on account of illness--his old
enemy bronchitis. The comedy of "The
Serious Family" was substituted for "Ham-
let."

Monday April 5th for the first time in
America a new dramatic romance with
entire new scenery and costumes and other
appointments was produced entitled "The
Corsican Brothers"--the "Les Freres Corses"
of the French theatre which from is pecu-
liar construction both in scenic and dramatic

effects created a great furore at the Princess
Theatre at London. This singular drama it
is said was suggested to the fertile genius of
Alexander Dumas from the idea of the Ro-
chester Spirit-Rappers. It was an exciting
topic just then sprung upon a world of ever-
credulous curiosity and which took captive
the common sense of one-third of the
civilized creaion as by a coup de main.
Dumas saw infinite attraction in the subject
of a spiritual plot and therefore tried the
effects of a psychological drama upon the
stage. The piece possesses intense interest
for the heated imagination through dramatic
mediums.

Mr. Brooke possessed all the personal and
imaginary attributes to give full effect to this
psychologist personage. Its dramatic effects
surpassed the "Faust" piece as borrowed
from that of Goethe--made up however of
traps and pantomine tricks. Brooke in the
personation of the brothers was a fac-simile.
M. Fabian dei Franchi M. Louis dei Franchi
(Corsican brothers) Mr. Brooke.

From April 6th to April 15th "The Corsi-
can Brothers" was played. It filled the
house every night.

Miss Charlotte Cushman now appeared like
the "star of Hesperus" with her silvery
rays. The tragdy of "Macbeth" was pre-
sented for the same reasons as of old when Mrs.
Siddons was the grand feature of the play
as Lady Macbeth instead of her brother J.
P. Kemble as the hero of the tragedy. Mr.
Couldock was now the great usurper of the
mighty Thane's magnificent throne with all
his "blood-boltered thoughts" and terrible
remorse. Mrs. Siddons stood unrivaled in
this short but very great character. As a
model of the Tragic Muse of the English
Stage she will descend to the laest posterity
with our dramatic literature. This exalted
position all British histrians accord to her
abilities. Whether her mantle has fallen on
the tragic figure of Charlotte Cushman either
here or in England may be deemed a mooted
question. But we fear it has not been ordered
to her measure by public opinion in that king-
dom whatever may be America's final deci-
sion.

Mr. McDonough performed Macduff with
spirit and was not without pathos in the
scene where the tyrant had "battered at his
peace" and the murder of his wife and chil-
dren was disclosed.

April 20th Miss C. Cushman performed
Lady Teazle.

April 22d "As You Like It" Miss Csuh-
man as Roselind. In this she was sparkling
vivacious and read the witty Rosalind with
learned cleverness ; but the poetical picture
of the lively maiden was absent--the artificial
abandon was transparent. The etherial crea-
tion was not seen by our perceptions.

April 23d "Henry VIII." Miss C. Cush-
man as Queen Catherine imparted dignity
and power to this very interesting historical
character and made many telling points. In
this and many similar parts she made im-
pressions of a popular nature ; but she had
not the pathos of a Belvidera. Her talents
however are versatile and peculiar abound-
ing much in the ad captandum of the stage.

One of her peculiar idiosynerasies is to as-
sume the masculine gender--and we find her
thus playing Romeo and Claude Melnotte. In
the former part we find those notable Eng-
lish writers--W. J. Fox and Mary Howitt--

lauding her prodigiously in 1846. In Romeo
she may reasonly veil her Amazonian
figure in the Venitian tunic and hanging
cloak and therefore look decent. But how
she is to avail herself of the aid of drapery or
a female garment in the military dress of an
officer of Napoleon's army of 1798 we are at
a loss to conjecture. For example : an open
coat with skirts behind--(like our dress coats
of the day)--a pair of tight stockinet pants
with Cossack boots and powdered hair with
chapeau de bras (although her hair being
silvered may dispense with the powder puff!)
--how a female thus dressed should present to
us Claude Melnotte of Napoleon's Italian
campaign we are at a loss to immagine. Whe-
ther any woman can so appear to show us
man's noble proportions is a very moot point.
If the stage was without male juvenile actors
in every way admirably suited to act this
popular part Charlotte might present some
reason for her whimsical metamorphosis.

April 24th "Guy Mannering"--Miss Cush-
man as Meg Merrilies ; with the farce of "Tit
for Tat." A good Saturday's performance.

Monday April 26th "Romeo and Juliet"
--Romeo Miss C. Cushman ; Juliet
Miss Wemyss.

April 28th "Lady of Lyons"--Claude Mel-
notte Miss C. Cushman ; Pauline Miss
Wemyss.

April 29th Miss Cushman appeared in the
"Actress of Padua" as La Tisbe. In this she
was spirited and clever but she had not the
soft impressiveness of Miss J. M. Davenport.
The judicious alterations of Miss D. 's piece
were in better taste than the usual stage copies
of this play.

When Barnum undertook to correct the
abuses of the stage in words and action
through the medium of his so-called "Lec-
ture Room" he forbade kissing in the pieces
where the stage directions so ordered. He
would not allow it on the side of the cheek
much less the pressure of the lips. There
were several other chaste reformations intro-
duced. Swearing of course was specially
prohibited : no oaths no double entendres or
equivoques no vulgar appeals to laughter
loud or to suffuse the cheek of modesty &c.
But he forgot one necessary ingredient to the
actor's vocation and that was to have placed a
copy of Walker's Dictionary on the prompter's
table that some of his Thespians might have
mended their "cacalology" as Daniel Dowlas
would say. But Barnum's rules however
well meant were never very operative
although attended with pains and penalties ;
and his chaste ideas of acting soon went the
way of all flesh. But jesting apart it would
be well if such reforms could be effected.

April 30th Miss Cushman's farewell bene-
fit when was presented a very interesting
drama under the title of "The Banker's
Wife" from the graceful pen of Madame de
Marguerittes--a writer very conversant with
French and Italian dramatic literature. It
had been presented originally here by Miss
Kimberly.

Saturday May 1st the retirement and the
last night of Miss C. Cushman when she re-
peated "The Banker's Wife" with much eclat
and concluded with the attractive comedy of
"London Assurance"--Lady Gay Speaker
Miss Cushman. Lots of applause and bou-
quets crowned her final cursy.