AMUSEMENTS OF THE MONTH. Easter has brought its usual novelties to some which has fully justified our former remarks of the theatres. THE OLYMPIC Presents a new burlesque, "Fair Rosamond," from the pen of Mr. Barraud. In it, Mr. Robson figures as Queen Eleanor, and, by his dress, songs, acting, and humour, obtains his accustomed tribute of laughter and admiration. The remaining parts are well filled by the company, who do full justice to the author. SADLER'S WELLS Has opened under the direction of Miss Catharine Lucette, for a summer season. A new comedietta, entitled "Folly," has been played; and a protean farce, in which the fair directress acts with her ordinary talent and grace. The entertainments will, we believe, consist chiefly of Burlesque, Operetta, and Comedy; THE ST. JAMES'S respecting the great advance made by the members of the choir in time, unity, and expression. In the various choruses and part-songs given on the evening of the 9th ultimo this was very apparent, not only in John Dowling's madrigal ("Awake, sweet Love"), which de serves to be heard more frequently than it is, and Bishop's chorus ("Now tramp o'er Moss and Fell"), but in the less familiar "Boatman's Chorus" in M. Benedict's sweet opera, "The Lily of Killarney," and in Randegger's grand funeral anthem ("An Angel came out of the Temple"), which was most impressively sung; while in Mendelssohn's delicious "Nightingale" the improvement was still more observable. The great treat of the evening was a selection of the melodies from the conductor's opera, the duet, "The Moon has raised her Lamp," which was most harmoniously sung by Messrs. Tennant and Santley; while Miss Banks's fresh sweet voice seemed exactly suited to the sweetly tender air of "In my wild Mountain Valley," and subsequently in the yet more Finds such favour with its old programme, that touching and attractive melody, "I'm alone," it postpones novelties. THE HAYMARKET Re-opens with Dundreary, the inimitable, and the Spanish-dancers. Mr. Sothern, of course, is the great attraction, and, as we have often written before, we can honestly say that a more admirable piece of humorous acting, utterly free from any "stagy" assistance or "broad" baffoonery has never been seen. THE PRINCESS'S Gives us an extraordinary piece, called "The Golden Daggers," the meaning and story of which nobody appears to understand. However, with magnificent scenery and stage appointments, it appears tolerably successful. THE LYCEUM Keeps on "Peep o'Day," and gives a somewhat improbable new farce, "I couldn't help it!" All the theatres are well filled, and managers look forward to the next two months to reap golden harvests. The Dramatic, Equestrian, and Musical Sick Fund have elected Mr. R. P. Middlemist, M.R.C.S., their Honorary Surgeon. VOCAL ASSOCIATION, ST. JAMES'S HALL. A second, and a third concert (which we were unfortunately prevented attending) have taken place during the past month, each of which, on behalf of the composer and singer, has haunted us ever since, and which we most earnestly recommend to our fair readers as a charming addition to their repertoire of vocal music. Mr. Santley's singing of the "Colleen Bawn" demanded, and obtained, a unanimous encore. In the second part, Madame Lemaire and Mr. Santley, though scarcely sympathetic voices, gave "La vi darem" with excellent effect; while the latter, in Wallace's fine ballad, the "Belle-ringer," again incurred the penalty of admiration, and was compelled to repeat his splendid singing of the last verse. Herr Ernst Pauer played with his accustomed careful con scientiousness. THE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION, REGENT STREET, not been forgotten at this interesting place of During the recent holidays the juveniles have amusement. An entertainment, entitled the with dissolving views, under the management of "Tragi-Comic History of Blue Beard," illustrated George Buckland, Esq., has been exceedingly well received-not only by the boys and girls, but by their elders. The humour of the illus. trations, and of Mr. Buckland's singing, and the beauty of the Chromatic Fountain effects deserved the warm applause with which they were greeted. Mr. Pepper's interesting lecture on "Colour in general, and Coal-tar Colours in particular," the "Brousil Family," and the beautiful Dissolving Views of London in the Roman, Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, &c., epochs, afford an absolute feast for ear and eye, THE TOILET. (Specially from Paris.) FIRST FIGURE.-Home, or walking-dress, of grey small striped silk, trimmed at the bottom of the skirt with two puffings of grey silk, separated by a plaiting of mauve silk. There is also a similar plaiting heading the upper puffing. Body plain; round at the waist, and ornamented with braces formed by a mauve plaiting. Long sash of ribbon to match the trimming. Sleeves, with elbow half-wide, trimmed at the side with a double row of plaiting, with puffing between them-amethyst buttons on the body. Scarf like the dress. Under-sleeves and collar of plaited cambric, edged with valenciennes. Parasol of mauve watered silk. Bonnet of Belgian straw, trimmed at the side of the front, and also inside, with tufts of wild flowers. SECOND FIGURE.-Chambery gauze dress, trimmed round the skirt at intervals with plaiting of the same. These plaitings are bordered by a narrow biais piece of silk, and are set on in undulations. Plain body round at the waist, and trimmed with a similar plaiting. The sleeves, half-wide, has a plaiting on the side. The waist-band is fastened with medallion clasps of emerald cameos set in dead gold. White tulle bonnet, bordered with rolls of pink silk, and trimmed with a tuft of roses in front. Undersleeves and collar composed of lace and inser tions. Amongst a number of very elegant toilettes de ville I noticed one of silver-grey moire antique, ornamented with a chicory ruche of corn-flower blue silk, carried down a little at the sides and around. The corsage of this robe is made with a round waist finished with a waist-band of ribbon. The Sleeve, nearly straight, is cut with an elbow, open below, and trimmed with a chicory ruche of blue silk. Another robe, which is very pretty, is com posed of emerald green silk, finished at the bottom with seven narrow pinked flounces, above each of which are placed tufts of black taffetas, also pinked. The body of this robe is made with a point before, and is closed with malachite buttons, but is trimmed over the shoulder with little tufts of pinked black silk, designating a low square on the chest. The sleeve has two bouillons of green silk on the upper part, with tufts to match the rest of the trimming, placed beneath them here and there; and between the puffings, there is a little pinked flounce of black silk, and after that two others of emerald green, bordered with a black one. A bonnet, to harmonize with this robe, is composed of white crape, and is ornamented on the front with a white rose in a coquille of blond, at each side of which a ribbon plaited like a fan, takes the form of a butterfly's wings, and is continued on each side almost to the strings. This ornament is always placed upon the middle of the front: The curtain is composed of square rosecoloured crape, and the middle is covered with a shell-pattern white blond, with a little line of black velvet between each row. A confection, fcalled a Rosita, of black silk, completes this toilet. This model has long square ends in front, and is trimmed, with Chantilly lace, and a capuchin of the same material hangs down behind. The confections for the demi-season are made of light cloth of soft shades: they resemble short paletots, and are trimmed with black, poncee, and blue silk. PASSING EVENTS RE-EDITED. The rector of Eversley, in his admirable, this really tangible plan of relief-tell us the letter to the Times, of April 11th, takes a broad view of the question of woman's redundancy, and seconds the proposal of emigration as the real panacea for the evil. We have heard the cry of "employment of women" ringing in our ears for some time past; but to what end? Will the leaders of the various schemes for this purpose amiable and hopeful as they are, and doubtless the precursors of numbers of the individuals, out of the surplus hundreds of thousands, who have been really helped to a remunerative and dependable means of livelihood through either the printingpress, or law-copying, or other schemes? Schemes which, after all, only displace one set of persons to make room for another, or oppose sex to sex, with (too often) a decreased rate of remuneration, which, instead of assisting, demand it is both a right and a duty to send a supply; of benevolence, by preventing an amount of. disappointment, misery, illness, and often death, which has long appalled me; and of sound morality, for no movement whatsoever will do so much much has been said of late. The true cause thereof toward putting down that 'social evil' of which so is that there are too many marriageable women in these islands. All other remedies treat only the symptoms. Emigration, and emigration alone, will treat the disease itself." tends to depress the labour-market, and to impoverish it by the difference between the price of man's and woman's labour? The great increase of printing business, and the fewness of the feminine hands employed, cannot make the Coram-street press a cause of anxiety to the brothers of the craft; though as much cannot be said of law-copying, book-keeping, and the business of accountants-precisely the occupations which the poor clerk, waiting for a situation, or superannuant, or sickly, falls back upon This statement needs no comment. More than as his only means of support. The number of those comparatively ill-paid men in these com- itself, is involved in the fact of woman's rethe question of employment, than even life mercial days is necessarily immense, and a more helpless class, apart from the desk, scarcely dundancy. A case àpropos of educated women exists-the employment, therefore, of woman in occurs to me, as showing the sparse results of these particular occupations (the only ones, in- recent efforts to find employment for them. A deed, to which such persons can resort in the gentleman, having occasion for a copyist and comday of need) suggests some painful calculations piler, advertised a few weeks since for a lady, havas to the political economy of the new move-ing a knowledge of French and German, to underment. Mr. KINGSLEY, in a wise and manly spirit, states that which has been wholly ignored by the feminine legislatives in the Social congress, or wherever else the subject has been broached. He looks the matter roundly in the face, and speaks out boldly and unaffectedly : "I have always doubted whether their plans will ultimately succeed-whether the woman will be able permanently to compete with the man in any kind | of handicraft whatsoever. She is physically weaker; her health is more uncertain; she is (at least, at present) worse trained to methodical labour; and her power of work ceases at least ten years sooner than the man's, leaving her destitute in old age. "But why should she compete with the man? She was not meant to do so. All attempts to employ her in handicraft are but substitutes for that far nobler and more useful work for which Nature intends her to marry and bear children. "By helping such a project as this, men will act according to the dictates of Nature, for surely women were meant to have families; of sound political economy, for where there is a wholesome take the work. He received more than a hundred their services at a weekly remuneration varying answers from educated women, who offered from fifteen to seven shillings! From such a state of things emigration, under a perfectly organized system, offers a blessed prospect. In the meanwhile, a lady-worker in another channel for the happiness and welfare of humanity—Mrs. WIGHTMAN, of whose efforts we gave a slight account in these pages some time since has just laid the foundation-stone of a working-man's hall at Shrewsbury; a building which is to combine the advantages of a readingroom, a hall for lectures, coffee and refreshmentrooms, &c., and aid him to withstand the allurement of the public-house. The efforts of this lady in the cause of temperance are well known, and the nucleus of the building-fund is the produce of the sale of a work of her's-“ Haste to the Rescue"-which she wrote in furtherance of teetotalism. C. A. W. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. POETRY received and accepted, with thanks.—| her correspondents who appear to labour under "Earth's Pleasant Places ;" "Childhood and this impression, that her duties by no means comWomanhood;" "Heaven's Gift;" "Death;"prise the functions of a general agent, or those of "What is my Thought like?"" Evening." Declined, with thanks. "Spring-time;" "L'Orpheline." Will the writer send us another theme? The versification is correct, but the sense is incomplete, or the sentiment all wrong. PROSE received, but not read. "The Village Scandal;" "From the Trent Gallery;" "Letters from Le Puy;" "Waste not Want not." This title, if we remember aright, is one of Miss Edgeworth's -"Hungerford Priory;"" Palms;""The Mystery of My Life." the Parcels' Delivery Company. She declines forwarding parcels by railway, though she has no objection, if stamps are sent for the purpose to returning them by post. She also begs to say that her time is much too seriously occupied to permit of her reading voluminous manuscripts, with a view to giving a judgment as to their fitness for publication. She will have pleasure, however, in recommending a professed reader-terms from one to five guineas. St. Andrews. NOTICE.-The Editor begs to remind those of Cellini" received. Remainder of "Benvenuto's Printed by Rogerson and Tuxford, 246, Strand, London. |