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1238 ®t> * 3te alT tt. [Saturday ,
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THE HISTORY OF PANTOMIMES. I have an unc...
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BOOKS ON OUE, TABLE. The Works of Sir Th...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Gift Hooks. Norica ; Or. Tales Of Aurnlx...
modern ! The story , as a mere fairy tale , wir fascinate the young ( nay , we have absolute proof that it does so ) , and even the old will turn over its pages with pleasure . It is profusely illustrated by a pencil new to us , Mr . James Godwin : a pencil that betrays its fancy and power , even amidst its imitations of Maclise and Doyle . Last upon our list , and strangely contrasting with the rest , is a modest sixpennyworth of usefulness , The Reformer's Almanack , which all our readers should present at least to themselves , if not to others . It contains a mass of information closely packed and well arranged , and will be very useful as an index to the history of last year .
1238 ®T> * 3te Alt Tt. [Saturday ,
1238 ® t > * 3 te alT tt . [ Saturday ,
The History Of Pantomimes. I Have An Unc...
THE HISTORY OF PANTOMIMES . I have an uncle who has one very funny story ( at least he says so ) about a duck . It is his only story , and he prizes it like a pet child . Every new acquaintance that he makes is invited to dinner , and on the table there is—inexorable as fate—a duck , which is made to " remind " my uncle in the most casual way of " an excellent story "—to be then and there inflicted on the guest .
In respect of Pantomimes , I am like my uncle with his duck story . I made a great discovery" Alone I did it "—I elaborated after immense research the real genesis of our English Pantomime . It was a labour of erudite sagacity that Niebuhr himself might have been proud to own . I would say m re , but modesty silences me . Having accomplished this feat , you cannot suppose I shall rest contented
with simply publishing my history ? I shall do as the great Mr . Harrassing Ainsworth does—I shall republish , and keep continually republishing it ! believing with that great literary authority , that the public cannot have too much of a good thing . Every Christmas I shall reprint the article I enriched this journal with last year . Every Christmas ! Honi soit qui mal y jpense . This is my article , as it appeared last year : —
Did you ever ask yourself the erudite question—How did Pantomime arise ? No ; never ; or , if you did , you fell silent , retreating into ignorance . The fact is that this chapter of Dramatic Literature is unwritten , and the materials for it are not easily to be found . Some years ago I investigated the subject with an ardour scarcely justified by the importance of the research , and afterwards published the results in Eraser's Magazine . I will now draw upon that paper for facts , and try if I can construct an intelligible programme of the Genesis of a Pantomime .
A Pantomime consists of a Fairy or Legendary Introduction , and a Medley of Tumbling , Tricks , Changes , and satirical hits at the Follies of the Hour . It is as composite an article as the Christmas Pudding itself . Moving amidst this magic and buffoonery there are the traditional types of Clown , Pantaloon , Harlequin , and Columbine . The historian asks himself— How and where did these various elements arise ? Learned Men—but they are noodles—tell you that Pantomime originated in Greece , was transplanted to Home { AtlcllancB ) , from thence to the Italian stage , and from the Italian to thr > French . Don ' t bpb'pve a .
word of it ! The resemblance between the Greek or Roman and the English Pantomime is a iiction The resemblance between the Italian or French and the English is that simply of names and dresses These are , indeed , traditional . But I will sketch their historv .
Our Harlequin is undoubtedly the Italian Arlecchino , which was the lioinan Saunio ( lie is also . styled Zmnini in Italian ) . The Roman Sannio was a buffoon , as we learn by his name ( derived from sauna , a grimace ) . His dress was not unlike that of our Harlequin , with this important difference—it was mean and miserable , though variegated , instead of being spangled and splendid : a " thing of shreds and patches . ' His head was shaven ( rasis caintibus ) and
his face begrimed with soot (/ uligincfaciem )—two peculiarities which on our stage are represented by a ukull cap and black mask . His feet were unshod ; but we case ours in delicate pumps-. He had no wand—for the magic element was unknown ; but I have no doubt the wagging of his foolish bead was the germ of those gyrations of the * ' human face divine " which threaten to . separate it from our Harlequin ' s shoulders .
l ' antalooii is of Venetian origin . Pa . ntaleone lie is called , from j > ianta Ivonc ( he planted the lion ) , and means a standard bearer . J 5 ut . why should the Standard Hearer be chosen as the type of an old fool ? Ignorance knows not what to stammer forth in answer . Hut 1 will tell yon something about 1 ' unt . aloon which may lead you on the right track . lie ; wearn tight red hose and yellow slippers , does he not ? They are the costume of the . Standard Hearer ; ( iiid moreover in time they became the costume of Venetian merchants . Now when these ; weresuperseded
by flowing garments the change , of course , was at first only adopted by the young- the old men Htuck to their old drcNH , and thus the red hone and yellow clipper came to represent an old man , just as our pigtail and knee ; breeches did a low years aigo . Would not " Pigtail" in u farce mean a " heavy father ' ' ? Thus--I suspect—did I'antaleone menu a " heavy father " among the Venetians . Pantaloon is the old man duped and laughed at . His dress is . substantially the Hame in Italian , French , and Kngli . sh Pantomime .
Clown is the French Pierrot , the Italian Scaramuccia , or lirujhv . lla ; but his dress is somewhat different , and in the opinion of one learned in these matters , the change ia owing to the immortal ( MmuUli , who , to < (
the white flowing robe of Pierrot added red spots' ^ cut the trousers short . p ls ail a So much for dress . Harlequin , however ha * « * only got spangles but vivacity ; the Italian ^ rototv ^ 1 S ^ ? h heayylout ' whohas to bear all thepeX of the Clown ' s petty larcenies ; the kicks and CuS fall upon him as they now do upon Pantaloon vZ has inherited that portion of the business din continues much the same as he ever -was ck U adroit , unscrupulous , and mischievous . ' ' Having thus disposed of the Characters , and show what is traditional in them , I now come to the nip itself which , as before stated , bears no resemblanT whatever to its ancient godfather . The Pantomim is English ; thoroughly English . Nor is it of aT cient date . But , although the Pudding be a British " product , its materials are gathered from far and wide , —from the Spice Islands of the Eastern Seas to the farmyard of Kent or Sussex ; and in like manner is our Pantomime only a successful Eclecticism of Cookery . The Characters come from Italy the Tumbling from France , the Politics from England
Listen . In 1704—as veridical play bills assure usa company of French Tumblers performed at Drurv . lane with immense success . This of course produced English imitations . To an eye less sagacious than that which is owned by your humble servant , such a fact has little or no significance . But to me ... ; Let me place another fact beside it . In 171 * 8 Colley Cibber tells us , the affairs of Drury-lane were desperate . The Italian Opera carried away the town . ( Always those " confounded foreigners" who ruin ' * native talent , " you observe !) To draw back
the fugitive public , careless of native talent , a pantomime , called Mars and Venus , was produced . I belie vethis is the first English pantomime . But do not imagine that it was in the least what we call a pantomime—it was a ballet d ' actio 7 i—a . play in " dumb show . " Clown and Pantaloon were absent ; magic was not thought of . It was successful , and Rich produced several . In 1723 , the magic element begins to appear . Thurmond , _ a dancing-master , having brought out his pantomime of Harlequin Dr . Faustus at Drury-lane , Rich produced a rival Necromancer ; or , Dr . Fatistus , at Covent Gavden . The success was
prodigious ; the rivalry kept London in a ferment . Pope alludes thus to it : — " When , lo ! to dark encounters in mid air New wizards rise , here Boo'h , and Cibber there ; Booth in his cloudy tabernacle shrined , On grinning dragons Cibber mounts the wind . " These lines let us pretty well into the secret of what the pieces were like . But as yet we have only necromantic spectacle , not pantomime . Where is Clown ? Where Pantaloon ? Where the tricks and tumbling ?
Now , perhaps , what was visible to a certain eye of unusual sagacity becomes visible to you , good Header . You see the significance of that fact about the Tumblers ? To make a modern Pantomime , what was necessary but to join the tumbling to the necromantic spectacle ? and so little art was used in the combination , that a fairy had only to change the characters by a motion of her wand , and Harlequin sprang splendid upon the stage , feet quivering , head gyrating , and wand waving ! or Clown threw n summersault and cried out , " Here wo are ! " The Harlequin , as the favourite of fairies , has a magic wand ; this wand suggested transformations ; and these transformations noon became political .
Thus arose the English Pantomime . Two Clowns have recently been introduced at some theatres where two " tumblers" were engaged ; or else an " attendant sprite " has followed the frolics of the fantastic four . Dioramas and Panoramas have been called to lend their aid ; and it is now difficult to nay what a Pantomime i . s not . v ivjan .
Books On Oue, Table. The Works Of Sir Th...
BOOKS ON OUE , TABLE . The Works of Sir Thomas Browne . Edited by Simon Wilkin , F . L . S . { Bohn " t Antiquarian Library . ) H . G . Bohn . Wilkin ' s edition of Sir Thomas Browne ' s works—• well known to lovers of our elder literature , and finely reviewed by Bulwer in the Edinburgh Review some years ago—has fallen into the energetic hands of Mr " . Bohn , who reissues it in his Antiquarian Library . We shall venture upon something like a characteristic of Browne when the publication of this edition is completed ; meanwhile let us mention that this volume contains four of the seven books of Vulgar Errors ( a strange medley of the " wisdom of our ancestors " ) , with Johnson ' s Life , and the editor ' s supplementary Memoir ; and let all lovers of the quaint , meditative , and often nobly expressed literature of our Old English writers make themselves at once possessors of the work . The Orations of Marcut Tullius Cicei-o . Literally translated by C . D . Yonge , B . A . ( Bolin ' s Classical Library . ) Vol . 1 . H . G . Bohn . We have had occasion both to praise and loudly to blame the Translations which Mr . Bohn has issued in his Classical Library . Some of them are carefully , creditably performed — some discreditably . The principle adopted of giving literal translation , though infinitely preferable to the old system of paraphrase , is in some cases the cause of a mere schoolboy ' s version , such as he would construe in class , not such as should be set forth for the instruction and delight of the public . Mr . Burges ' s Plato is a notable
instance . TJns of Cicero , by Mr . Yonge , though not so bad , is nevertheless a complete failure , if we are to regard the peculiar charm of Cicero ' s orations as in any way worth rendering . We cannot say that he has miss ' ed the actual meaning in those passages we have examined ; but he has uniformly missed the grace , rhythm , harmony , and curiosa felicilas . This is not Cicero . It reminds us of what Cervantes said of translation , that " it was like the reverse side of tapestry "—the design is visible , but the jagged ends of the thread destroy all our pleasure in the sight . We open at random , and light on this passage : —
" Do you not see in the case of those whom the Poets have handed clown to us , as having , for the sake of avenging their father , inflicted a punishment on their mother , especially when they were said to have done so at the command and in obedience to the oracles of the immortal gods , how the furies nevertheless haunt them , and never . suffer them to rest , because they could not be pious without wickedness . " We beg Mr . Yonge to read over that passage , and ask himself whether lie believes Cicero would have gained his immense reputation for oratory had he turned sentences in that style . Yet that passage is an average passage of this translation . If there are
periods of more harmonious rhythm , passages of more vehement impulse — ii" every now and then we meet with . something like the colour of the original , we also often meet with passages that are wor . se . To mini up we way—This version of the Orations for ( . iuintius , Sextus Itoseius , Quintus Roseius , and against Ca ; eilius , and Verres , maybe acceptable to those ; who simply want the meaning of the Latin , but cannot be accepted by those who want even a faint reflection of the oratory . jl I ' reatist ¦ on Innxtnumts . l !< : iii ^ it Popular Imposition of the Adviintii ^ f . 'i mill l ) i ., ; idvaiil ; if << H of each Kind of Investment , and of its Liability to Depreciation anil I . okk . Itv ltobert
Arthur Ward , . Solicitor . Klliii ^ haiii Wilson , This is not a catchpenny book , meant to puff certain . schemes , but a genuine treatise divested of technical formalities . To persons having capital to invest , or property to sell , it will be very serviceable . 'J'h f Domrstit : Habits oj the I ' litpio . Uy " Common Krns «\" Wil . li mix IJlu .-it . i iit ions Ity ( Jeoi ^ e Ci uikuliank . (; . ( iilpin . A reprint , of Letters which have alread y appeared in provincial papers on the . subject of Temperance , enlorced and rendered attractive by six of ( jcorge < "i uikshank ' s characteristic , sketches . Tin ; purposeis excellent ; hut the Hlylc i . s not equal to the subject ,.
( 'li ) uils ttiiit Snns / iinr . A l ' oem . Ily John Cameron . This volume reminds un of a past age , " when ( icoige HI . wiiH King , " and poems disdained a meaner form Mum quarto . It is prodigal of margin . The verses themselves are the production of a poetical thinker , not a poetical artist . \ V « read them with pleasure ; but . ( jioethe ' n remark forced itself upon us , " that men will persist in xhu / ing when they have really only nomething to nay , not wing . "
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Wfialioiild ( lf )( iiirul ; moat l . o encourage Uie IWjiiulifnl , for l , he Uaelul e . ncouraj ; eHit , aelf . —( Ioktiik .
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tiik <; amk at kim'xunation . icrisonic in our i'Akis coriuohi-onuicNCi : . l " m-i « , l )» - < - < < iil )« : i . IK . A friend at the ( lymiifise sent , me it stall the night before last to see Mercadet , from l ) e Halzuo « I ) liiy . , admirably adapted for our Mage by our witty aIH ! / ' ' , friend , Klingsby Lawrence , and ho great a lni . Charles Mathews . 1 never enjoyed a play w » » ' » . as Mcrcudrt , and I am ashamed to Hay how mcon - nently I screamed , almost , without interim ^ « , . 1 :.. ' .. : ^ .. *! ....., * ,,,, lu l <\ irf mint i'I V l . lli ! Wl »» " ' . ' duri its three acts Forlunately the whole
inng . . ( which wiih ciammed ) did the same . hvery * shot , home , lilu ; a poisoned arrow . Yet every y seemed to enjoy whilst smarting under Uui . u' ° l , " Then ; were thl ; very men whose way of hie t . nc | < , y expoHed , writhing with pain mid laughter m ¦ _ Heats . " Quelle moralite pardieu " ! ( ""' " \ ^ mutter . ) Mais r ' t-st v , w i'est . vrai ! Next to ' « h . > an old SwisH gentleman who fell into convers'iif , ^ me between tin ; acts , on the kIjiUjo ! France , '"' corruption of French nociety , and on the I '"' V clumireB he had » cen . Ho told me he rcmembucu
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 27, 1851, page 1238, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_27121851/page/18/
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