burgh audience. These great bug-bears of criticism could not hide one of their heads from me, and there I was armed cap-a-pee with the whole proof of Cranioscopical and Physiognomical acumen, to reconnoitre their points of strength and of weakness with equal facility and equal safety. I looked first, as in duty bound, to the gods; but could see nothing there worthy of detaining my attention, except the innocent stare of a young country-girl, who seemed to be devouring the drop-scene with both her eyes, aud at the same time rewarding with an hysterical giggle, the soft things whispered into her ear by a smooth red-nosed, rather elderly serving-man, who appeared to have much the air of being at home on the brink of that Olympus. Neither did the boxes seem to present any very great field of observation; but, in fact, most of the leading physiognomies in that region of the house were already quite sufficiently familiar to me. It was in the pit that my eyes at once detected their richest promise of a regale. The light falling directly upon the skulls in that quarter, displayed, in all becoming splendour, every bump and hollow of every critical cranium below me.

VOL. I.

They belonged for the most part, as Mr W whispered to me, to young attornies, and clerks, and apprentices of the same profession, who are all set free from their three-legged stools and fustian-sleeves early every Saturday evening, and who commonly make use of this liberty to shew their faces in the pit. A few lawyers of a higher order might be seen looking rather superciliously around them, sprinkled here and there over the surface of the crowd. Nor were there wanting some faces of more stable breadth, and more immovable dulness, than are almost ever exhibited even by the dullest of the legal tribe -a few quiet comfortable citizens I could see, who certainly looked very much like sheep among foxes, although I by no means take them to be positive simpletons neither. Perhaps the unquestioning looks of happy anticipa tion with which these good people seemed to be waiting for the commencement of the play, gave quite as much promise of just criticism as the pert, peaked features, the impatient nasi adunci, and merciless pertinacity of grin displayed by the jurisprudential Zoili round about them. Such as the two elements were, I could perceive that they were to form between them, as best

they might, the critical touch-stone of the evening. Again I quote, omne ignotum pro magnifico.

The piece was the new Drama founded upon the novel of Rob Roy. I had promised myself much pleasure in seeing it, from the accounts I had heard of the two principal performers that make their appearance in it, and I was never less disappointed. The scenery, in the first place, was as splendid as possible; indeed, till within these very few years, London never could shew any thing in the least capable of sustaining a comparison with it. Whether the stage was to represent the small snug parlour of Baillie Jarvie in the Saltmarket of Glasgow, or the broad and romantic magnificence of Loch Katrine, winding and receding among groves of birch and mountains of heather, the manager had exerted equal liberality, and his artists equal skill, to complete the charm of their counterfeit. There is something very delightful in observing the progress which theatrical taste is making among us, in regard to this part of its

A

objects at least. Nothing gratifies one more than to see that great pains have been taken to please them; and a whole audience is sensible to this kind of pleasure, when they see a new play got up with a fine fresh stock of scenery, to sąlute their eyes with novelty at every turn of the story. Besides, in such a play as this, it would have been quite intolerable to discover any want of inclination to give its heroes every possible advantage of visual accompaniment to their exertions. Every body was already as well acquainted as possible with Mattie, Major Galbraith, Andrew Fairservice and the Dugald Creature-to say nothing of those noble kinsmen, Baillie Jarvie and Rob Roy; and every. one would have looked upon it as a sort of insult to his own sense and discernment, had he seen any of these dear friends, otherwise than in the same dress and place in which they had already been introduced, and rendered familiar to him by the great Magician, whose wand had called them into being. I confess, however, that, familiar as I had long been with these characters, and with that of the Baillie, imprimis, I was perfectly refreshed and delighted when they stood before me, living and moving in actual bodily presence.

The illusion of theatrical deception cannot possibly be carried farther than it was in the case of Baillie Jarvie, as personified on this occasion by Mr Mackay. I could have sworn that every curl in his neat brown periwig-every button on his well-brushed, dark, purple coat-every wrinkle in his well-blacked, tall, tight boots, had been familiar to me from infancy. And then the face what a fine characteristic leanness about the jaws not the least appearance of starvation or feebleness, but the true horny firmness of texture that I had always pictured to myself in the physiognomy of a Common-council-man of the Land of Cakes! And what truth of expression in the grey eyes of the worthy warm-hearted Baillie! The high aerial notes at the ending of his sentences, and the fine circumnavigation of sound in his diphthongs, were quite new to my imagination, but I could not for a single moment suspect them of being any other than authentic. I could scarce believe him when he said, "a body canna carry the Saut-market upon his

back."

The "Dugald Creature" was quite as good in his way indeed even better, for it must have required no trivial stretch of power to be able to embody so much rudeness without taking a