If Bulwer Lytton could have seen the performance of The Very Last Days of Pompeii" at the Lyceum on Friday night, he int id with Poff:—"' Here has been ing and alashing, I don't got to myself." jhe youth of allot na when the tinsel sud pinchbeck path of Lytton seem to us pure have not learned to realise that (Th Truthful and the Beautiful won't wash" and most of us the Last Days of Pompeii," and thought it to bea work of pure pastry, informed with genuine pathos. There were many of us who thought that the burlesque which we went to see on Friday would at any rate recall the raptures of our youth, and ko for moment the long-forgotten emotions, but we must have come away badly surprised, for beyond a casual reproduction of thy names ut some of the characters, there is very little Lytton in the piece." In fact there is very little story at all in the book aa it was performed some fifteen years ago at the Vaudeville, but meu the improving hand of Be. D. Blunday had redressed it to suit the A.D.C. and a Shanghai audience, it was even a more complete "Bulwer-sement.of the Classic Drama." It did as well as any other peg on which to hang topical ange and satirical allusions to recent events; one of the large os that we er sven in Shanghai, every seat taken and not a few spects'ors standing, assembled to enjoy two hours snd a halt of festive unreason. It would be too much to say, remembering aa we do " long line of success that it was one of the boat relly a word that had been better cut out, or a moment of dulness, scenery, which was 5, the second set, the peristyle in Ion being effective and sv well designed and painted, occupying, as it did, almost the whole depth of the large stage, that the artist, Mr. Goodenough, thusiastically call ed, and the play was not allowed to proceed, itis he had come on and bowed know. ledgmentsto the audience. The "Costumes, Armour and Appointments designed by members of the Art Society" were as id th id some ly ud the two girls in chorus, who mere not honoured by a tine in the programme, could doubt the taste of Mes, Pfeitfor's attempted revival of this dross for the ladies of to-day. It hus been has not been much going in the last year, but Me. hits at all there has "OF love my knowledge She'll cat him ap, as Po "Alas! all good things By and by We'll lose the wittiont It Shanghai, Where will importers consolation seek Deprived of Peter's circular once a week?"" 17 Sl"slike the opiam balks, oom uesloe quite From /ekin, and must be removed 01
Our champagne tiffin, spite of lady's frown, Tosimple cal wich we'll out down," "Tu thinking to suppress our anni You ro leaning on a very brok These are only a fow of the allusions that proved once again that an is indeed bsteact and brief chronicle of the time." To these were added number of local songo, some fairly, some admirably sung. "T'll pa the bande of my solicitor" was a very clever attack, gooduatured withal, on our Ianyora, admirably delivered "by Arbaces." We're to do without "em" was a hit xb our evening contemporaries and their critical powers. One of the songs which aroused the sympathies of the audience that of @laucus, 'I did it," describing th eatment received by a certain noble owner at and of the last race-meeting.
ides "Auld long syne," to a remarkably taking tune, greatly pleased the audience, but we entirely demur to the concluding statement that the 4.D.0, "couldn't act—in the days of auld long syne." He in not merely a laudator tompons acti who recalls mith delight the acting of Miss d Miss Idw N. Seek and jought, Spurgeon, Crowqui vain boast that the former lady deow (ears Tt was
from the eyes of an American Miniater. "How does he do it?" and " Only one" were acceptable skits on local subjects; but, as usual, the gem of the musical portion of the performance was the duet batwa Arbaces and Apacides, " usual." The text was fair, but the delivery was ao perfect that every word told, and the success of the song was ularly as great as that of "Do. you think 402" last year. While speaking of the songs, we must not omjtto
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.