August 25, adopting the same order of march he had employed in Normandy. His army broke into three divisions, and while his captains right and left of him carried havoc to the gates of Abbeville and St. Ricquier on one side, and to Le Crotoy and Rue on the other, he himself, with the main body, took the road to Cressy. When he ascended the hills, which gently sloping decline to the waters of the Somme, he would have had before him, at the distance of four or five miles, the dark outline of the forest of Cressy, bounding his horizon to the north; and although a "chemin vert" led directly through it to the town of Cressy, and neither the season nor the soil were likely to have rendered the road difficult, yet it is generally asserted by the French authors that he avoided a passage through the wood, and making a circuit to the right, by way of Titre, and La Motte Valeux, fell into the main-road, leading from Abbeville to St. Omer at Canchy; then, quitting it almost immediately, he turned to the left by way of Marcheville to Cressy. I own, I can find no sufficient proof for this apparently needless circuit; but, however, it may have been, the sun of the 25th of August went down, leaving Edward with his re-assembled army admirably posted on the heights above Cressy, and his adversary, Philip, feasting with his royal and noble chiefs at Abbeville. The French monarch had remained inactive during the whole day, out of respect to St. Denis, whose fête it was. After the supper, the last convivial repast to the greater portion of his guests, he is recorded to have given them some counsel, which, had they followed it, might have stood them in good service on the following day: "Qu'ils faissent l'un à l'autre amis, et courtois sans envie, sans haine et sans orgueil."

Hereafter, from the month of September next, when it is expected that the railway to Paris will be opened as far as Etaples, the localities of Blanquetaque will become sufficiently discernible to all travellers approaching Paris by that route, for at the identical spot where this famous ford is found, the railway, running in a course nearly due south from Rue, comes upon the bank of the Somme, and then making a gentle inclination eastward, ascends the valley of that river as far as Amiens. The dreary bed of the river, the scene of Edward's hazardous exploit, will be easily surveyed from the right windows of the carriages whenever the trains happen to be passing at the moment of low-water, but when the tide is up and a south-westerly gale brings the waves close up to the side of the railway, it will appear almost incredible that human beings could ever have walked across such an expanse of raging water. As the travellers proceed along the valley they will continue along the line of Godemar du Fay's flight towards Abbeville, and will observe from the left windows the agreeable lawny slopes crowned with beech-wood, where he is stated to have rallied some of his forces, and for a few minutes to have attempted ineffectually to renew the combat. This Norman baron has been suspected of treachery, but Chateaubriand, in his "Etudes Historiques," has vindicated him from the reproach. He has also been accused of retiring from his post "sans coup ferir, comme le pretendent à tort des auteurs qui oublient qu'il etait Français." The Norman family of Fay appears to have had a branch established in England, for I ob

It is hardly necessary to say that the entire line of railway from Boulogne

to Paris is now open to the public.

serve some individuals of the name recorded as holding certain estates and manors in Surrey during the reign of Henry III.

The excavations attending the foundation of a small bridge over which the railway passes immediately on leaving Blanquetaque, brought to light some thirty or forty skeletons. All of them were the remains of men who had perished in the vigour of youth; this was clearly discoverable from the perfect state of the teeth, and the natural and only inference is that they all fell together in battle. It is highly probable they were some of the victims of Godemar's defeat. There are, however two or three tumuli visible on the hill close by, and in one of them the singular interment was discovered of a great many human skulls, separated from their trunks, and arranged together in a sort of cone. All this gives evidence that Blanquetaque must have been the scene of battles before the days of Edward-vixere fortes ante Agamemnona. Even the legend of St. Valery himself, claiming the establishment of the ford, expressly for the convenience of his own sacred exuviæ, will not destroy the presumption that these Celtic interments, and the ancient "chemin vert" leading to the river, indicate that a knowledge of the ford existed in very remote times, although perhaps rarely used, and accompanied by greater danger.

We drove along an excellent departmental road from Blanquetaque to Abbeville, and passed some pretty country. The valley first exchanges its wide sandy aspect, as the bed of a tide river, for green meadows, and then for wooded marshy fields, among which is seated the antique city of Abbeville. Here we remained for the night, at the well-known Hôtel de l'Europe.

DISTINGUISHED AMATEUR THEATRICALS.

"This chair shall be my state, this dagger my sceptre, and this cushion my crown."-KING HENRY IV., Part I.

THE decadence of the British drama has not prevented-perhaps, indeed, it has been the cause of-a tendency towards theatrical exhibitions by those who are not professional in their endeavour to "hold the mirror up to nature" and amuse the public.

The recent example of a number of literary men, who have devoted much time and personal exertion in the cause of their less-fortunate brethren, to say nothing of a host of "Histrionics," "Shakspearians," and others, whose object was simply self-gratification,-has not been without imitation, and that too, we are assured by a highly competent authority (Mr. Sm-th, a clerk in the H-me Off-ce), in a very high quarter. In a word, the rage for private theatricals has invaded the g-v-rnm-ntal departments, and the m-n-sters themselves (aided by a few friends) have resolved upon laying claim to the hitherto-exclusive title of "Distinguished Amateurs." Rehearsals have for some time been going on, and we are enabled to state (through the kindness of Mr. Sm-th), that a public performance will shortly take place.

When it is generally known that the object of this performance is for the EXTINCTION OF THE NATIONAL DEBT, it is impossible to suppose

that the efforts of the m-n-sters will not be rewarded by the presence of a very crowded audience.

When the C-b-net Council had finally decided upon the question, that it was desirable they should make an exhibition of themselves,-at a cheaper rate than within the walls of W-stm-nster Palace,-the next point to be considered was, what pieces should be performed. As the servants of a Q-een,-independently of the higher claims of the period, the distinguished amateurs gave the preference, as a matter of course, to the Elizabethan age; but which dramatist to select for the play itself, became the cause of some difference,-almost of schism. Some, and these were the more active-minded members, who knew how to combine the practical with the poetical, were for a play of Shakspeare; others, of a crabbed turn of disposition and disposed rather towards forms than essentials (red tapists, in fact), stood out for Ben Jonson; while one or two, who delighted in mad or dreamy impossibilities, were loud in their advocacy of Marlow, Massinger, or "Beaumont and Fletcher," those dramatic "double cherries on one stalk," whose literary union has no parallel, save in the sacro-lyrical partnership of Sternhold and Hopkins. The partisans of Shakspeare had the wider range, those of the other dramatists the more peculiar.

But the difficulty which the supporters of Shakspeare met with was, that of adapting themselves to the amazing variety of characters in his plays, all of which demanded the exercise of first-rate ability-a thing not often found in C-b-nets, even when composed of "all the talents." Had they been at liberty to pick and choose, to dove-tail one part with another, in short, to make a hash of the drama, as they do of p-1-tics, the affair might easily have been arranged. Earl Gr-y could then have enacted Timon, and have hated mankind at leisure, or personating Cicero (in "Julius Cæsar"), have most naturally represented the man who would

Sir John H-bh-se could have appeared to advantage as Sir Toby Belch, and "drank healths as long as there was a passage in his throat;" Lord P―lm-rston might have shone forth as Parolles, against whose door" disgraces have of late knocked too often;" Mr. M-c-lay might have played Henry the Sixth, and been buried in Windsor Castle, as well as have dated his letters from thence; and little Lord J-hn himself might have had the run of all the first business, from Hamlet to Shylock, or from Falstaff to Touchstone, as suited his tragic or comic propensities, for the time being.

But this amalgamation being unsuitable, as far as the drama is concerned, the selection of parts at will was over-ruled, and the plays of those authors whom we have already named were examined. Marlow's "Faust," though it contains some strong language, and one or two good situations, was rejected because there were so many candidates anxious to play the devil, as they undoubtedly would have done with the part of Mephistophiles, no less than they do with Free Tr-de, the Ch-rch, and the Nav-g-tion L-ws! Massinger came next, but "A New Way to pay Old Debts" was set aside, in spite of the strenuous efforts of Sir Charles W-d to monopolise the character of Sir Giles Overreach, to which he laid claim as the exclusive property, from time immemorial,

of the Ch-nc-llor of the Exch-q-r. Beaumont and Fletcher fared no better, notwithstanding that "The Noble Kinsmen" and "The Elder Brother," offered conditions which were absolutely realised in the C-b-net. The distinguished amateurs had, therefore, no help for it but to fall back on surly old Ben, and, once more following a good example, made choice of "Every Man in his Humour." There was a great advantage in this, for the play had already been made popular, and popularity was too valuable a thing for m- -n-sters to neglect. The commodity is, indeed, as liable to taint as mackarel at Midsummer-as perishable as a poppy when plucked.

The eyes of the public have of late been directed with more than usual anxiety towards the councils in D-wn-g-street; the frequency of these réunions has led the world to suppose that m-n-sters have been engaged, if not in restoring dynasties, and propping up thrones that had toppled down, at least in devising plans for keeping Ireland quiet, for satisfying the Chartists, for making "finality" infinite, and such other impossible feats of statesmanship; but the real fact is, that they were wholly and solely engrossed by rehearsals.

Every one who has had occasion to accompany a deputation to the H-me Office (and the difficulty would be to find a person who had not perilled his peace of mind by such an act), must remember the room in which Sir George Gr-y sits, with its double doors, well-baised to deaden sound, and its screen of many folds, as serviceable as that of Joseph Surface. In this room the rehearsals took place, but before we speak of them we must describe the cast of the play, and touch upon a few of the incidents belonging to that undertaking.

The promoters of the scheme, a select few of the C-b-net, first of all took counsel together. These were, the First L-rd of the Tr-sury, the three S-cret-ries of St-te, and the Chief C-mm-ss-ner of W-ds and For-sts. Doubtful of their own ability to accomplish any thing unaided, and depending more upon the generous assistance of their enemies than on their own resources, it was proposed, before the play was read, to beat up for recruits. Lord J-hn R-ss-ll suggested that Sir R-b-rt P-1 would prove a valuable ally; who, he asked, could play the part of Brainworm, who carries himself successfully through three disguises better than he? The versatility of the ex-pr-mier was fully admitted, but another noble lord was free to confess, than in transmigratory qualities, whether of mind or body, he could see no one equal to Lord Brough-m. His lordship, he said, was not only, capable of undertaking any given number of parts, but possessed the faculty of being ready for them at a moment's notice; he was very quick of study and his memory was remarkably retentive of other people's words. To this Lord P-Im-rston replied, he should have had no objection to Lord Brough-m's joining the company if the play selected had been the Tempest," he might then have doubled the parts of Trinculo and Caliban, and have used "his forward voice to speak well of his friends, his backward voice to utter foul speeches and to detract," but as the case now stood, he owned that he felt more inclined to give his suffrage in favour of Sir Robert P-1, as the best representative of a character like Brainworm, who made a point of deceiving his own friends. After some further discussion, Lord P-lm-rst-n's opinion prevailed, and it was

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decided that the part of the intriguing serving-man should be confided to the hon. m-mb-r for T-mw-rth, and as a set-off for his rejection, that Lord Brough-m should have a good part in a farce, or-provided a pantomime were possible, that he should play harlequin.

The next part named was Captain Bobadil, and four out of the five present declared that it was a toss-up which was best adapted for it, Mr. Urq-h-rt or Mr. Ch-sh-lm Anst-y, but as those hon. m-mb-rs belonged solely to their own clique, had no weight with the public, and were not in the slightest degree calculated to draw, they were turned down as speedily as they had been brought forward. Somebody next suggested Mr. John O'C-nn-ll or Mr. Sm-th O'Bri-n; but their pretensions also were negatived, the first, because he had not yet died on the floor of the House of C-mm-ns, as he promised, the last because he had anticipated Bobadil's beating at the Limerick tea-party. Mr. F-rg-s O'C-nn-r's name was put forward for a moment but immediately withdrawn, the proposer apologising in a very contrite tone for venturing to think that the hero of Kennington could sustain even Bobadil's character for more than five minutes.

We have said that four out of five concurred in the first proposition respecting that part; the dissentient was Lord P-lm-rston. The fact was, he was desirous of playing it himself, and when he begged to remind his colleagues of certain passages in his d-pl-matic career, notamment, his correspondence with the M-n-ster for F-reign Affairs, in Gr-ce, and more recently the boldness of his onslaught upon the Conde de M-rasol, he entertained little doubt "by the heart of valour in him,” that the committee would at once consent to cast him for the bouncing captain. His lordship's arguments prevailed the moment he had stated his case, the only wonder of the committee being their own singular forgetfulness of his qualifications.

Downright came next on the tapis, but here not the slightest difficulty arose. As to any Wh-g playing the part with the slightest chance of success, that was instinctively felt to be an absurdity, and on Lord Mr-p-th's proposing his colleague for the West R-ding, was agreed to by acclamation, and Mr. C-bd-n was at once nominated.

Lord J-hn R-ss-ll was very desirous of knowing if THE D-KE could not be enlisted in the service; it would be a decided help to them, for his name was a tower of strength. But for the decision at which the committee had just arrived (and he admitted that he had given it his full concurrence), he should certainly have proposed the noble and gallant C-mm-nder-in-Ch-f. No one was more plain-spoken than he, no one had made—if he might be allowed the expression-a better use of his mauleys, he spoke figuratively, the committee knew what he meant, -had more soundly thrashed his enemies; there was only one objection, it was a question with him (Lord J-hn) whether the D-ke would consent to serve-he meant, to play-with the Honourable Member for the W—st R―ding; if the Qu-n commanded it, of course he would perform, as an act of duty, but he doubted whether her m-jesty would so far exercise her undoubted prerogative, and, therefore, under all the circumstances, he begged to withdraw the D-ke's name.

The committee then resumed, and the cast of Kitely came under discussion. As far as the abstract impersonation of jealousy went, said Lord