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Leader (1850-1860), 28th December 1850, Edition Town of 2, Page 954, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      This is a translation of the celebrated works by Guizot now exciting attention ; the translator hap confined himself to the two essays themselves , omitting all the correspondence and " historical documents , " which so materially encrease the bulk of the original . It is an admirable volume . Papa and Mama ' s East ; Lessons in Geography . With numerous Illustrations . By Anna Maria Sargeant . Dean and 8 on . This little book is what it purports to be , —easy lessons entertaining and exciting the child ' s curiosity , and thus fixing results in his mind which no learning by rote would get there . The illustrations are varied , and admirably adapted to their purpose .

      Untitled Article

      Christmas Berries and Daisy Chains for the Young and Good . IJy the Author of" Sprinjj flowers and Summer Blossoms . " Dean and Son . Silver Blossoms to Produce Golden Fruit for the Young and Good . Dean and Son . Eastbury . A Tale . By Anna Harriet Drury . ¥ m . Pickering ' . The Bishop's Wife . A Tale of the Papacy . Translated from the German of Leopold Schefer ; with a Historical Notice of the Life and Times of Hildebrand ( Pope Gregory VII . ) , to which it relates . By Mrs . J . It . Stodart . John Chapman . Almanach des Dames et des Demoiselles . IllustrG de 100 pravures . ParH . Emy . Gavarni Markl . W . Jeffs . jQ lmanach des Fleurs pour 1851 . W . Jeffs . The Idol-Shrine ; or , the Origin , History , and Worship of the Great Temple of Jagannalh . By William 1 ' . B . Laurie . Smith , Elder , and Co .

      The Xing of the Golden River ; or , ihe Black Brothers . With Illustrations by ltichard Doyle . Smith , Elder , and Co . The Story of Jack and the Giants . With . 35 Illustrations . By Richard Doyle . Cundall and Addey . The Crisis : the Wolf in SJiccp ^ s Clothing Detected ; or , Popery made Naked to her Shame . A Letter to the Bishop of London . John King . rf Letter , suggested by the Present Popular Movement , addressed to the Prime Minister of the Crown ' s Ecclesiastical Supremacy in all Parts of the British Empire . By Thomas Williamson Peiler , D . D . J- "W . Parker . Papal Aggressions : how they sJiould be met . By a Member of the United Church of England and Ireland . J . W . Parker .

      What shall be done with Cardinal Wiseman ? An Enquiry . By an English Journalist . C Dolman . JJddrcss to the Inhabitants of Wales on Behalf of the Hungarian , Polish , and Italian llcfugees . By Arthur James Johnes , Esq . James ltees . An Appeal from Spencer High to the British Public of all Classes in England , Ireland . Scotland , and Wales , on the Constitutional Civil Laws of Great Britain . S . Y . Collins . Substance of Speeches delivered at Bridgend and Newport on the 29 // t and 61 st of Oct ., 1850 . J . XV . Parker . An Address oj the Directors of the Great Central Gas Consumers ' Company to the Inhabitants of the Ci / y of London . R . and J . E . Taylor . The Arithmelicon or Inexhaustible Book of Exercises in the Simple Rules of Arithmetic . By J . M'Arthur . Hamilton , Adams , and Co . Tracts on Christian Socialism . No . 7 . G . Bell .

      Untitled Article

      Tin : Crystal Palacu . —An intricate mass of network it seems , like the incompleted web of a " monster " spider , with men , like insects , scattered all over it , completing and filling up the design . There is uncovered ground , fenced in by tho wooden bnundar } ' ; there are bare iron pillars , like landmarks ; there is a confused pile of tiers , scaffoldings , poles , plass , and iron-work ; there , in the centre , is the skeleton of the great transeptarch , with the trees underneath , that they are glazing in after a style the most matter of fact ; and when the

      dinner-bell sounds and the door opens , and a stream of many hundreds of workpeople flood forth , and rush at their highest speed away , as though neither their dinners nor their work would admit of loitering for a moment : you cannot help thinking that the cnterprizing spirit which could undertake so vast a task , and the skill that can conduct so great an undertaking , and successfully drill those many thousand units into an pfFectivc whole , could accomplish anything they undertook , were it even putting all us bees of London under a hive of glass , — Leigh Hunt's Journal .

      Oua slow Ancestors . —The Court Circular told us the other day that the Queen and Royal Family , on their return from Balmoral , performed the entire journey from Edinburgh to Pimlico , including a rest of at least an hour in York , in eleven hours . The distance is upwards of 430 miles . Contrast this fact with the following quaint announcement : — " Edinburgh , Berwick , Newcastle , Durham , and London stage-coach , begins on Monday the 13 th October , 1712 . All that desire to pass from Edinbro' to London , or from London to Edinbro ' , or any place on that road , let them repair to Mr . John Tiaillie ' s , at the conch and horses , at the head of the Cannngate , every other Saturday , or the black swan in Holborn , every other Mondny , at both of which places they may be received in a stage-coach , which performs the whole journey in thirteen days , without any stoppage

      ( if God permit ) , having eighty ablo horses to perform the whole stage . Each passenger paying £ 1 10 a . for the whole journey , allowing each passenger 201 b . weight , and all above to pay fld . per lb . The " coach sots off at nix in the morning . Performed by Henry Harrison , Nich . Speighl , lloht . G .-irbe , Rich . Croft . "—Newcastle Conrant , October , 1712 . When we consider the cost of meals on such a journey , the coachmen and guards constantly retiring with admonitory " Plense to remember , " as well ns the mn . Ul allowance for luggage , and the overcharge , and compare that with the railway rates , luggngc allowance , speed , and comfort , the distance between 1712 and I Sol ) will seem v -ry grent . llumim invention is not exhausted , however , .-uul wonderful ns this great Present seems , our dt'Kcornlunt s shall see a mightier Future . —Lciqh UunVa Journal .

      Untitled Article

      THE HISTORY OF PANTOMIMES . THEIR . ORIGIN AND PKOGHESS . 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 Fraser ' 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 Rome ( Attellanee ) , from thence to the Italian stage , and from the Italian to the French . Don ' t believe a word of it ! The resemblance between the Greek or Roman and the English Pantomime is a fiction . 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 history .

      Our Harlequin is undoubtedly the Italian Arlecchino , which was the Roman Sannio ( he is also styled Zanni in Italian ) . The Roman Sannio was a buffoon , as we learn by his name ( derived from sanna , a grimace ) . His dress was not unlike that of our Harlequin , with this important difference—it was mean and miserable , though variegated , instead of Leing spangled and splendid : a •* thing of shreds and patches " His head was shaven ( rasis capitibus ) and

      his face begrimed with soot ( fuligine facieni )—two peculiarities which on our stage are represented by a skull 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 head "was the germ of those gyrations of the " human face divine" which threaten to separate it from our Harlequin ' s shoulders .

      Pantaloon is of Venetian origin . Pantalennc he is called from 2 ™ ania l ^ one ( he planted the lion ) and means a standard bearer . But why should the Standard Bearer be chosen as the type of an old fool ? Ignorance knows not what to stammer forth in answer . But I will tell you something about Pantaloon which may Jead you on the right track . He wears tight red hose and yellow slippers , does he not ? They are the costume of the Standard Bearer ; and moreover in time they became the costume of Venetian merchants . Now when these were superseded

      by flowing garments the change of course was at first only adopted by the young—the old men stuck to their old dress , and thus the red hose and yellow slipper came to represent an old man , just as our pigtail and knee breeches did a few years ago . Would not " Pigtail" in a farce mean a « ' heavy father" ? Thus—I suspect—did Pantaleone mean a " heavy father" among the Venetians . Pantaloon is the old man duped and laughed at . His dress is substantially the same in Italian , French , and English Pantomime .

      Clown is the French Pierrot , the Italian Scaramiiccia , or BrigJiella ; but his dress is somewhat different , and in the opinion of one learned in these matters , the change is owing to the immortal Grimaldi , who , to the white flowing robe of Pierrot added red spots and cut the trousers short . So much for dress . Harlequin , however , has not only got spangles but vivacity ; the Italian prototype is a dull , heavy lout , who has to bear all the penalties of tho Clown ' s petty larcenies ; tho kicks and cuffs fall upon him as they now do upon Pantaloon , who has inherited that portion of the business . Clown continues much tho same as ho ever was , clever , adroit , unscrupulous , and mischievous .

      Having thus disposed of the Characters , and shown what is traditional in thorn , I now come to the piece itself which , as before stated , bears no resemblance ¦ whatever to its ancient godfather . The Pantomime is English ; thoroughly English . Nor is it of ancient date . But , although tho Pudding bo a British product , its materials are gathered from far and wide , —from the Spice Islands of the Eastern Seas to tlic 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—ns veridical play bills assure usa company of French Tumblers performed at Drury 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 believe this is the f irst English pantomime . But do not

      imagine that it was in the least what we call a pantomime—it was a ballet d ' action—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 , havin g brought out his pantomime of Harlequin Dr . Faustiis at Drury Lane , Rich produced a rival , Necromancer , or Dr . Faustus , at Covent Garden . 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 Booth , and Cibber there ; 13 ooth in his cloudy tabernacle shrined , On grinning drasrons 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 Reader . 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 a summersault and cried out , " Here we are " ! The Harlequin , as the favourite of fairies , has a magic wand ; this wand suggested transformations ; and these transformations soon 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 say what a Pantomime is not . VivrAN .

      Untitled Article

      Associations with Shakspeare . —How naturally the idea of Shakspenre can be made to associate itself with anything which is worth mention ! Take Christmas for instance ; " Shakspearc and Christmas ; " the two ideas fall as happily together as " wine and walnuts , " or

      heart and soul . So you may put together " Shakspeare and May , " " Shakspeare and June , " and twenty passages start into your memory about spring and violets . Or you may say " Shakspearc and Love , " and you are in the midst of a bevy of bright damsels , as sweet as rosebuds ; or " Shakspeare and Death , " and all graves , and thoughts of graves , are before you ; or " Shakspeare and Life , " you have the whole world of youth , and spirit , and Hotspur , and life itself ; or you may say even " Shakspeare and Hate , " and he will say all that can be said for hate , as well as against it , till you shall take Shylock himself into your Christian arms , and tears shall make you of one faith . —Leigh HunVs Table-Talk .

      The Ministerial Street . —The words " Dowmngstreet " nreso often in people ' s mouths , or at least before their eyes in the newspapers , thnt passengers in the least degree acquainted with the metropolis , or whose eyes happen to catch the name as they go along , cannot fail to look on the place with interest . With the exception of part of the Treasury at the corner , it is a street of humble appearance for one so distinguished ; yet here , besides the official house of the Prime Minister or First Lord of the Treasury , are the Foreign and Colonmloffices , and the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; to say nothing of a variety of parliamentary lodgings . Here Sir Robert Wai pole , with whom ; the official abode commenced , and who made it his private residence during the decline of his power , is described by fashion

      his son Horace as sitting in strange unwonted , " without speaking , and with his eyes fixed for an hour together , " lost to the jovial good sense which had secured tho Hanover succession . Here Lord North , having more resources of heart and of a loving family , never lost his placidity and his wit , in spite of losing the American colonies . Here Pitt had his heart broken by Napoleon ; nnd Fox tasted of power for a short dropsical time ; and Canning found thnt the aristocracy would use , but not obey him ; nnd Peel had tho magnanimity ( assisted by a like senso of their aversion ?) to confess thnt he had been all in the wrong , nnd here , rebuked by Tories for going too fast , and by Republicans for not going fast enough , the present Minister feels how hard is the task of securing the progress of the world against the perils of reaction . —Leigh Hunt ' s Journal .

      Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      The above history must stand in lieu of criticism this week , for the novelties are too late in the week to allow us a chance of chronicling them . At Drury Lane ( which Mr . Anderson again opens for the legitimate drama ) and at the Princess ' s the good old Christmas Pantomime boldly challenges a public ; at the Haymarket , Lyceum , Aclelphi , and Olympic , burlesque and spectacle hold their sway .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 28, 1850, page 954, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1863/page/18/