P-lm-rston, it would be the easiest thing in the world, both in the C-b-net and out of it, to choose an adequate representative. There was Mr. D'Isr-li, for instance, who was jealous of every body, and particularly of men in office; there was his Right Honourable Friend the P-ym-ster-Gen-ral of the F-rces, whose jealousy of disposition since he had lost his seat for Ed-nb-rgh had, he was credibly informed, been vastly augmented; the committee would, perhaps, think this was impossible, but he assured them he believed it to be the fact; then, again, there was Lord Br-gham, who was jealous, not only of the noble 1-rd who sat on the W-Is-ck, but even of the W-ls-ck itself for being sat upon by any one but he; he need not multiply instances, unfortunately they were only too rife, and, therefore, without going any further, he would at once state the name of the individual whom he looked upon as best qualified to undertake the arduous part of Kitely. That individual had given so many striking proofs of his infirmity of temper (and no man had experienced their effects more keenly than he),-his jealousy was so readily aroused,-its direction was so purposeless, it was so manifestly the consequence of a pride that nothing could tame, which looked with an eye of suspicion on all-men, women, and children-who came within his vortex; he was, in short, at once so violent in his anger, and so hasty in his doubts, that he (Lord P-) could not conceive, if you searched both Houses of P-rl-ment through (and the task would not be a pleasant one), that an apter representative could be found than his noble friend the S-cr-t-ry for the C-1-nies. He, therefore, begged to propose health, he begged pardon, he forgot, it was not a C-b-net dinner,that the part of Kitely be entrusted to Earl Gr-y. The noble lord thus named, rose hastily, and after a few bitter sarcasms on those who, he said, were always in hot water, from one end of Europe to the other,— he would not be more specific, but Lord P-lm-rston knew whom he meant,—to the surprise of every one at once consented to play the part. Kitely's attendant and confidant, Cash, was soon disposed of, there being not a dissentient voice when Lord M-rp-th proposed that the part should be given to Mr. George H-ds-n. His lordship's own turn came next; in consideration of his poetical turn of mind, there were points about Master Matthew and Master Stephen which would have suited him, but when the committee considered that the part of a Yorkshireman and a "country gull" were things incompatible, and that his lordship's experience of London (notwithstanding the city commissioners) equally disqualified him from representing the "town gull;" they decided upon allotting him the part of Wellbred; his fitness for which was beyond all doubt. Justice Clement is a character who, in his judicial capacity, gives universal satisfaction; the Lord Ch-nc-llor was at once set down for the part. The reasons of the committee did not reach the ear of Mr. Sm-th (though it was glued to a crevice) in fixing upon the man who should do justice to Cob. As the reader knows, he is a water-bearer,-but his affinity with water ends there. The yokes were therefore placed on the shoulders of Sir J-hn C-m H-bh-se. Experience of men and manners, combined with a certain degree of bonhommie, characterises Old Knowell; there is no more respectable père de famille, and the Pr-sid-nt of the C-nc-1 was accordingly set down for it. Had Lord N-rm-nby been in England, he would undoubtedly have been cast for the gay gallant, young Edward Knowell, the man of wit and pleasure about town, but in his absence no better substitute could be found than Lord Cl-nr-c-rde. As the fact of a letter being delivered to the wrong person forms a main incident in connexion with young Knowell, it was not thought inappropriate to associate the P-stm-ster Gen-ral with the part. Formal, one versed in rules, laws, precedents, and enactments, was made over to the Sp-k-r of the H-se of C-mm-ns! one or two wished to have seen Mr. C. Wy-n in the part, but it was objected that his voice was against him, and he was withdrawn. There now only remained the parts of Master Stephen and Master Matthew unappropriated; but to fill them adequately was no easy task. If mere folly had been the only thing required, a single haul of the m-n-st-rial net would have brought a miraculous draught of fools from either H-se -se. But this was not all. Master Matthew is a poetaster and given to melancholy, and Master Stephen a copyist of every man's absurdity. To find a mere poetaster is, God knows, an easy matter in these days, and there is enough stirring just now to make any one melancholy who has a tendency that way; to discover an imitator, where so few are original, is, moreover, no very difficult undertaking, the delicate part of the business was to put the cap on the head without the wearer being conscious how well it fitted him. There were names without end of those who, like Cinna, had written bad verses. The Pr-m-r himself was a notable example, and they abounded on the Opp-s-tion benches. A host of disappointed candidates for office,-ambitious m-mb-rs who could never catch the Sp-k-r's eye, or were invariably coughed down,-might put in claims on the score of melancholy; and as to absurdity, whether it was advocated by Dr-mm-nd, or M―ntz, or S-bth-rp, the result would have been the same. As the characters run in couples, as it were,-the Pr-m-r proposed that they should be represented by the joint-s-cr-t-ries of the Tr-s-ry, or better still by the Att-r-ney and S-1-c-tor-G-n-r-1, for as they were in the habit of pleading the causes, and identifying themselves with the habits of fools, as well as knaves, it could be no hardship for them to hold the briefs of Master Matthew and Master Stephen, and these rôles were accordingly assigned them. -- The caste was now complete except the ladies, but as in all amateur performances they are the last to be thought of, and women generally being, as Lord Duberly says, "cuterer than men" and readier to assume a part for the nonce, this caused no disquietude. It was settled, if there should, after all, be any difficulty on this head, that the parts of Dame Kitely and Sister Bridget should be offered to the editors of two wellknown newspapers, and that Mrs. Cuffey should be requested to play the part of Cob's Wife. These preliminaries settled, a circular was sent round to all the performers, and as it was dated from the Tr-s-ry, and intimated that "business of importance" required the presence of the individual named in it,—there was a full attendance; the play was read, and every one July.-VOL, LXXXIII. No. CCCXXXI. 2 c entered with alacrity on the enterprise. Some little squabbling of course took place, such things are unavoidable on all boards, public and private, on the stage as well as in the C-b-net, but as it chiefly arose from the laudable desire of every actor to play more than was set down to him, it was wisely left to time to convince each person that if he limited himself to his own part, he would find that it sufficiently taxed his energies. It is the fashion in some quarters, where dramatic novelties are the theme, to prelude the actual representation by an account of the manner in which the rehearsals go off. This method is, we conceive, scarcely fair to the actors who, for the most part, lack the stimulus which is to give life to their performances until the very moment of projection. Mr. Sm-th, influenced by what he saw through the chink of an unguarded door, has reported very favourably on the whole. He says that Lord P-lm-rston's manner when he described "the leaguer of Strigonium" (with Acre possibly in his mind's eye), and "the siege of what-d'yecall-'um" (peradventure one of the detached forts near Paris), was in the highest degree diverting. He fully proved himself a judge of "a Toledo," by his appreciation of Spanish temper; and in the matter of the stoccata, all he required was to be held back from doing mischief. If there was any fault in his lordship's performance, says Mr. Sm-th, it was in the way in which he took the cudgelling; it did not sit easily upon him he lacked that crest-fallen, abject appearance with which the clever artist contrasts his former braggadocio. Mr. Sm-th thinks, however (when he takes away his eye from the chink and casts it round the political horizon), that before the night of performance, further experience may assist Lord P-Im-rston to a better understanding of this feature of Captain Bodadil's character. Sir Robert P-l's Brainworm is reported to be inimitable ;—the manner in which he takes in old and young, gentle and simple, are perfect transcripts of life; when he passes off his "provant rapier" as a genuine blade, Mr. Sm-th says it forcibly reminds him of Free Tr-de; and when he levies a toll alike upon rich and poor, he cannot for the life of him divest himself of Sir Robert's introduction of the Inc-me T—x. But we must adhere to the principle we have ourselves laid down, that to anticipate these clever performances is unfair ;-let the public judge of their merit when they come before them, which will, we understand, be very shortly, on one of the off-nights of the H-se of C-mm-ns, and within the walls of St. Stephen's Theatre. We forgot to say that instead of a farce, there will be a monopolylogue by Lord Br-gham, in a variety of languages-those of the several countries of which he is a citizen, which will be interspersed with tumbling and rope-dancing. Stage manager, Lord J-hn R-ssell. N. B.-No orders admitted, the public press excepted; and no money returned. Vivat Regina. IRELAND AND THE REPEAL OF THE UNION. THE union of Britain and Ireland into one kingdom was effected with the view to consolidate the interests of all parts of the British Empire, and more especially to prevent as much as possible such disgraceful exhibitions as occurred subsequent to the French revolution of 1792, when one portion of the country was seen combatting against another, with the assistance of foreign bayonets. This great and important measure held out promises to all well-regulated minds, that the discontent, disunion, and strife which had so long distracted Ireland and perverted her best energies, would cease to operate; and hopes were generally entertained, more especially in this country, that the educated of all classes in Ireland would unite their efforts and influence to promote the welfare of their common country, and extinguish civil and religious animosity from among their countrymen. As Seldom were hopes so justly entertained, destined to be more sadly blighted. We will say nothing about Catholic Emancipation, because it had been generally understood while negotiating the union, that in the event of its taking place, the Catholics might look forward to the removal of all their disabilities. This last great measure of concession failed, however, as totally as any previous one, in effecting the desired purposes of conciliation and orderly co-operation between the two countries. Ireland was when divided among several independent chieftains, when one of those native princes solicited Agricola to invade his country, as Ireland was under Dermot, King of Leinster, who in a similar manner sought the assistance of England, so also was Ireland receiving aid from the Scots under Bruce's brother, Edward, from the Spaniards under D'Aguilar, from the French under La Hoche, or soliciting it in the times of Lamartine. The same spirit of turbulence, discontent, bigotry, love of change, and of strife that are superadded to many fine qualities, were as manifest in the times when O'Ruarc's wife was abducted, and O'Connor was at the head of a confederacy of native princes, as when the country was over-run by an association of Whiteboys and Oakboys, Steelboys, Rockites, or united Irishmen, associations which instead of being animated with pure patriotic zeal, were frequently nothing better than bands of lawless depredators; or as when O'Connell was at the head of a confederacy of anti-unionists or repealers, who instead of fighting a common battle were separated into two hostile camps of moral and physical force men. The secret of these national peculiarities it is therefore evident is not to be sought for in the political state of the country. They are attributes common to individuals who in their aggregate impress their tone upon the national character. These attributes are as manifest with the same class of Irish when they are in England or America, as when thay are in their own country. They have made themselves prominent at all times, and under all circumstances, and will still continue to do so; till education and social progress shall have brought about great changes, or till a race possessed of as much valour and greater wisdom shall have taught them by precept and example, that industry and discipline are essential to individual welfare, and national prosperity. The science of ethnology unfolds That all the history of such a state of things in which politics and even religion only play a secondary part. When the Milesian has no intellect or moral cause for strife, when there is no political or religious opposition, no international jealousy of races or of labour, no faction or feud, he will fight for diversion's sake. As Byron said was his individual case with regard to the affections, so the Milesian may say of strife-it is a matter of necessity with him. The consideration of this peculiar mental and physical constitution of the Irishman, and the organic laws upon which this depends, is too much neglected in legislation, yet there never was a period in the history of the world, in which a true knowledge of human nature was so indispensable as it is at the present day. The grand and fundamental idea of all modern changes is the natural equality of men. men are brothers of the same blood, their discrepancies more apparent than real, and even where real the result of accident, and consequently, removable by change of circumstances. This is the theory on which nearly or remotely, rest all modern schemes of social improvement. Yet never was there a greater error or one more readily confuted by an appeal to facts. All history and all human experience have been teaching for ages lessons which speak not of human equality and unity, but of great and permanent diversities among mankind. The adaptability of any two races of men for precisely the same progress is nowhere the same. The striking national contrasts depicted by Tacitus or still less so those represented in the more ancient pages of Herodotus are, it is true, nowhere to be found in the present day, but others are no less prominent or obvious to those who will philosophically combine their study with that of the existing social and political condition of any given country or state. Let the leading facts in the history of any country where barbarism once reigned and was succeeded by civilisation, be passed before the mind, and the result will attest that that civilisation came from without. In the days of the Romans the inhabitants of this country were barbarians. Rome poured into Britain not merely her warriors, but also her commerce, her arts, her science, her learning; and her best as well as her worst blood mingled with that of the vanquished natives during the long period of 400 years. The invasion by the Normans, in like manner, introduced into these realms not only a large portion of the highest chivalry of Europe, but also a large portion of its highest intellect. Granting to Ireland its absurd claim to a civilisation almost co-eval with the Deluge-a claim that is far more illustrative of the poetry of its patriotism than of its sober wisdom-certain it is, although we know not by what melancholy reverses of fortune this once flourishing state of things was overturned, that when the light of undoubted historic truth first begins to dawn on that island, we find its inhabitants involved in a barbarity fully as rude as that of their British or Gaulish neighbours, and equally certain it is that with the exception of what it was indebted for to certain holy and learned men, who visited the country at a very early period, that Ireland is mainly indebted for its progress in civilisation to its connexion with England. As certainly, also, as the German race will gain the ascendency over the Polish and Tzech races, so the AngloSaxon element will, by its superior capabilities, obtain power and preeminence over the Celtic and Milesian. This is not a question of political passions and differences; it is a simple result of the action of the natural laws against which it is vain for man to cavil or to oppose him |