the singing, was so very correct, that we could have almost persuaded ourselves that our old favourite was actually and unaccountably before us. It is but justice to state, that this is perhaps the best bit of imitation which was ever performed in London. We were completely taken by surprise, and shall not soon forget it. This kind of equivocal excellence, which is considered as the essential and difficult part of the character of Somno, was completely sustained throughout.—Octavian came back from the side-wing to give the trembling Agnes, and the no less apprehensive Sadi, his assurances of protection, as if John Kemble himself had done it; and when Sir Pertinax desired “Ronald to bring the carriage at aught o’clock,” we were not quite certain that Cooke was not behind the scenes. Mr Russell certainly deserved all the extraordinary applause he received.
On the 27th July, the Duke and Dutchess of Kent commanded “Teasing made Easy” and “Killing no Murder.” This brought together a very fashionable and crowded audience. Mr Russell on that evening appeared in two new characters, viz. Gammon in the play, and Buskin. Gammon is merely a dapper barrister’s clerk, who thinks he has made an impression on an heiress, who turns out to be the daughter of the Rising Sun, a small ale-house fifty miles from London. Some of the situations are very well managed, and Mr Russell made the most of the part. It used to be played by Matthews, who always, to our thinking, looked like the young lady’s papa. Without the slightest disrespect to that most excellent comedian, it must be admitted, that Russell was the very thing, and the other was not; and it seemed that the audience felt it so, because we never saw it produce any effect before. In the farce Russell had to do his best, and he did it so well, that we question if Buskin ever produced more entertainment, or obtained more applause. The several characters he assumes were sustained in the happiest manner,—whether as Boots the waiter, French hair-dresser, or little Boy, he appeared equally at home. In the second act he had the powerful assistance of Liston’s Apollo, who certainly topped his part on that evening. Of course the audience were kept in perfect good humour by their united exertions. The duet was certainly never so well sung—in this Mr Russell was at home; and if great and unqualified applause can content either actor, artist, or poet, he must have been satisfied. Even the Royal Personages joined in the feeling of the audience, and seemed to call for a repetition of the duet with as much good humour as the most humble amongst us. The imitations on this evening were as happy as on his first performance, and produced even a greater effect.
On a subsequent repetition of Somno, he introduced a new imitation of Kemble in Coriolanus, in the fine speech when Aufidius taunts him with the appellation of Boy. It was certainly very correct, and forcibly recalled to us the pleasure we used to receive from that great actor’s most masterly performance,—a performance which we can scarcely hope to see equalled, certainly never surpassed.
These are, we believe, all the characters in which Mr Russell has appeared; for our own parts, we long to see him attempt some of Shakspeare’s clowns, as, since the days of King and Bannister, they appear to have taken leave of the stage.
PHANTASMAGORIANA;
Ou Recueil d’Histories d’Apparitions, de Spectres, de Revenans, Fantomes, &c. Traduit de l’Allemand, par un Amateur. Paris. 2 tomes 12mo.
TALES OF THE DEAD, PRINCIPALLY TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.
The empire of imagination was some time ago exposed to all the horrors of an invasion, which appeared destined to wrest the sceptre of one of its most extensive and fertile provinces for ever from the grasp of its sovereign. What other effect could possibly have been predicted to ensue from an essay, written by a physician, at the commencement of the 19th century, with the avowed design of affording an easy practical solution at once applicable to all cases of spectral appearances, invisible spiritual agency, and magical delusion, past and to come? We would by no means be thought to undervalue the advantages of so great a discovery,
