Tweedleton's Tail Coat" is a farcical comedietta of the most attenuated character, depending entirely on the degree of comicality that can be thrown. by the actors into a complication of coats. Toby Yweedleton (Mr. Drinkwater), invited to dine with Mr. Bracebutton a retired tra nian, can only muster for the occasion an extremely seedy old tail cent once belonging to his grandfather, in which he is making his way to the party, when a servant girl who is brushing her master's (Mr. Pantile) coat at an upper window, lets At fall on Toby's head. He seizes the portunity to effect an exchange, and hands his own old coat to the girl, when out for the one she let fall. But it chances that Mr. Pantile is also going'to this party, and Toby is in an agony of apprehension that he will be discovered and denounced. His efforts to get back the coat to its master, and to get hold of his own again without detection, form the plot of the piece and involve a ludicrous series of exchanges and misunderstandings, 'Toby fweedleton is the central figure, and Mr. Drinkwater sustained the part' with hi accustomed humour. He is always Of Drinkwater, but he is always humourous, and always has the sympathy of the audience. Evelina (Miss Castor), as the retired tradesman's daughter, was charming, as she always is, and the final econo in which Bracebutton consents to her marriage with Toby, was enacted by the tro with an extravagant comicality that fairly "fetched" the house. Mr. Montressor utterly mistook the character of the young farmer desired by Mr. Bracebutton as a band for his daughter.
Blackberry iistletop is a yokel no doubt,—th to say, he is not' gentleman farmer, has nothing in common with a' girl like Evelina, But Mr. Montressor made him " ploughman with a dash of the buffoon. Indeed it would be difficult to find a ploughman more broad in accent, more extravagantly awkward in ge The part was redeemed here and ther by dash of naturalness—as for i where he leaves in a passion to rejoin the "honest folk" at Thistletop Farm, and concentra\ is disgust in the epithet of "haberdasher" which he hurls at Mz, Bracebutton for a farewell. But the part was on the whole, the least successful we have soon Mr. Montressor take up. There was, perhaps, a trace of overacting in the sprightly activity of Mr. Rewerb ax Brace: button, but it was very slight, and wasquito redeemed by the care with which benote rest of the part. Kitty Spruce (Miss Car-enter) wane very airmaidaervant and Ins, rantechnicon Pantile was well personated by Mr, Parkins, That the piece was not @ success, was not the fault of the actors, but of its own innate feobility.
warmly enlisted by the first piece, how-the sympathy of the audience was not ever, it was carried by storm by the second. Of Cox and Box," we hai only to say that it was excellent, and to congratulate the A. D. 0. on one of the rentest successes they "have achieve, We remember only one parallel, in th first representation some years ago of pehacer Mawes and we bare, heer strong wishes expressed for a repetition of the performance in tais case, as in the other. The piece is a difficult one in many ways, Ltrequires good singing, caroful accompaniment, word-perfectness in part, anda thorough sympathy between The plot is ea well known that absurd to 8 three people it, and that they had to act at high pres-without an interval, for over an hour, Tt is not enough, as in ordinary pieces, that they carry on the scene; a lull in "Cox and Box" would be it ble; it must be kept going; there is no medium between thorough success and utter failure. We have exceptional pleasure in saying, then, that the three Amateurs who acted it on Thureday achieved unqualified success, The dash of burlesque thrown by Mr. Francis into a perfect operatic style, was oxquisite,—so faint that it left you in doubt whether you did not imagine it, yet sufficient to convince you that the actor saw the humour of his part. Mr. Giovannelli's getup as a journeyman printer was perfect—the pallor, the ness of the man's ug been all night sotti article, were typified to the lif acting throughout was excellent, The pa of Sergeant Bouncer was well-conceived and well sust ved by Mfr, Witl pianist's important share in the admirably carried out by an to whom Shanghai audiences have been often indebted. The whole of the music, in fact, vocal as well as instrumental, was well executed; and of the songs were encored with a determin ation, that expressed the delight of the audience, though, we fear, some want of consideration for the effort entailed on the actors, The piece was frequently and loudly applauded throughout, and the curtain fell amidst a storm of applause which was prolor and after, it had been again raised and dropped The entertainment should have closed here. It was a quarter past eleven before the second piece was ended, and would have gone home thoroughly satiate with the amusement they had enjoyed. The addition of a third piece was unnecessary effort on the part of the A.D. C.; and a much better Farce than "My Dress Boots" would have failed to revive the enthusiasm which had beet exhausted on Cox and Box." It is the credit of the actors that they did coed in interesting an audience some
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.