we were swallowing by the combined struggles of the donkey and the camels on each side of us. In the meanwhile, whilst we were blowing ourselves out with water, our zealous Dragoman was hunting about the town for the Sheik, who was an old friend of his, and as we were getting lazily up, regretting that we could drink no more, we beheld approaching us the whole population of Aboo Hamed, with the Sheik in a red turban at their head. We went to meet him, and he, after shaking hands with us, and receiving us with every demonstration of the most intense affection, told us that he himself and everything belonging to him were at our entire disposal. We did not take advantage of this munificent donation, but simply requested a house to sleep in ; whereupon the Sheik immediately sent a bevy of slaves to turn the court of justice into a sleeping place, worthy of such noble lords of England and France, as we were now called. We took possession as soon as possible; and, however comfortable. our tents may have appeared, we could not but confess that the divan we were now installed in was still more so. The house was surrounded by a crowd of Arabs, who

Were mixed conspicuous, some recline in groups,
Scanning the motly scene that varies round;

There some grave Moslem to devotion stoops,

And some that smoke, and some that play, are found.

We dined well, smoked our pipes with the obsequious Sheik, and, worn out with fatigue after an eight days' ride on camel back, retired to rest.

E. J. J. M.

THE LAST WESTMINSTER PANTOMIME.

THE early months of the year are usually devoted to Pantomime and Harlequin Farce, when the juvenile portion of the population, together with their elders, throw off the cold and icy formalities of ordinary existence, to laugh at the tricks and tumbles of our Christmas friends, the Clown and Pantaloon, who, like the regular Dustman, only appear upon the stage once a year."

We have been more than fortunate in our dish of Pantomimes during the past season, and shall proceed to give our readers a slight account of the most deserving of notice in our wide-spread Medley. To begin with the glories of Old Drury: we have seen how "Jack and Jill went up the hill," and how red fire and grotesque masks have lent their aid to illustrate a nursery rhyme. The Princess's awed and amused us with Blue Beard and his many headless beauties,

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and taught us, in reality, what John Parry had told us long ago in

song:

"How Blue Beard o'er the mountains
In proud procession came."

Then, at the Adelphi, the wits tried hard to amalgamate the Pruth and the Danube, making a mole-hill out of the meeting of such mighty waters, and by no means obtaining a mountain of success, Little Bo Peep with her tailess Sheep, Alibaba with his Forty Thieves, and the inimitable Robson, in his dwarfish elfishness, furnished great delight to the nightly seekers of amusement.

All these theatrical performances, however, have fallen far into the shade, when compared with the Farcical Pantomime which has been performed at the Theatre Royal, Westminster. So extraordinary a plot and such remarkable tricks deserve to be recorded in extenso; and we shall do our best to hand down to posterity so singular a production. After an appropriate overture of agitation, grumblings, and discordant music, the curtain rose upon the Council Chamber of Queen Victorioso, who had called her trusty Counsellors together to deliberate on the disorder and confusion that had crept into her majesty's offices of state. Flabberdeen, the chief of her advisers, together with Wallsend, the new war minister, then with grotesque postures assures her majesty that all is going on smoothly, and that they may look forward to the enjoyment of a long continuance of office and popularity. Close on their heels, however, is seen a diminutive creature, dressed in the robes of a cabinet minister, but under whose disguise peeps out the form of a Yellow Dwarf, who is perceived to chuckle to himself, and wink in a most undignified manner at Marblestone, an old and trusty servant of the throne. All outward semblance of dissatisfaction being removed, refreshments are introduced, and Flabberdeen, Sherbert, and Braham are prevailed on to dance a Scotch reel, much to the amusement of the company. Meanwhile the Yellow Dwarf and Marblestone look on with self-satisfied complacency, and seem more than ever delighted as the dancing Scotchman becomes too tired to "continue the reel."

The next scene presents the interior of the Home Office, where Marblestone is perceived writing at a table; though, from his mild and placid appearance, and the smile that occasionally lightens up his countenance, it may be gathered that, although he is attentively looking at a chart, descriptive of the locality to be occupied by the Brook Green Militia, his mind is deeply fraught with greater and more pleasing reflections. Presently the bookcase at the extreme end of the apartment is observed to shake and rattle, and Marblestone is just about to call to one of his clerks to examine into the reason of such unusual interruptions, when the books are suddenly displaced, as if by magic, and the Yellow Dwarf confronts his friend and colleague.

"What do you want with me?" exclaims Marblestone. "I thought you were of the same flesh and blood as myself, that we wore the same livery, and served the same fair lady; but now I begin to think you something superhuman, something more than flesh and blood."

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"True," replied the Dwarf; "for sundry reasons, I am permitted to take upon myself the forms and shapes of mortal man; and therefore you have ere now seen me in the guise of confidential adviser of Victorioso, whilst, in fact, I am but the representative of that angry geni, Dissimulation.' I am nevertheless, for a time, at liberty to have my own way; and here I come to aid thee in thy difficulties with Flabberdeen, whose power I would overturn, and serve him out for the tremendous fall he caused me when I tumbled headlong over that dirty orange Peel which he maliciously dropped on purpose to upset me.

"Well," replied Marblestone (who continued to regard the Dwarf with much suspicion), "what would you propose? what line of action should we have recourse to, to rid ourselves of such a canny bungler ?"

"Listen to me," says the Dwarf. "You and I must seem to quarrel. I'll turn traitor in the camp; refuse to act with you or any other of the motley group of Ministers; then I'll resign, and tell the secrets of the prison-house, declare I cannot stay and see our country sold into the hands of foreign bears, and that I know the Queen's been cajoled and deceived by Wallsend, Sherbert, Marblestone, and Braham, who are in league to sell the country to our worst enemies."

"But how am I to act?" says Marblestone.

"Why, don't you see it clear and plain what part to take? Receive my resignation with a smile of pleasure, regret I've left you, and declare you'll do without me; then, when I'm out of place, I'll tell all sorts of tales about you, stir up the people to demand enquiries, and placard the town with bills as large as those they print for Jullien's bals masqués and monster concerts, calling on all the world to vote for Marblestone as Premier. Then shall those Orange Peelites quit their posts, and you, my Marblestone, become omnipotent."

"But what's to become of you, my little friend ?" demands the courteous Marblestone.

"Oh, as for me," replied the Dwarf, "just send me off on some important mission for a time; and then, when you assume the mighty reins of power, why stick me in a place where I can mildly earn my daily bread, and have a finger in the pie of patronage."

"Agreed," says Marblestone; and on a sudden down goes the Yellow Dwarf, and disappears beneath the stage, amid red fire and dust.

The next scene represents the People's Hall, in the land of Content; and the Goddess Retribution appears, amid a brilliant display of fire-works and useless rockets, from the stores at Woolwich, and interposing her hand between Marblestone and the Dwarf, and the other Dramatis Personæ, immediately effects a most wonderful change. Flabberdeen is turned into Pantaloon, Wallsend into Clown; Sherbert, Braham, and Bladestone into Acrobat brothers. The Dwarf is metamorphosed for a year and a day into a travelling Sprite, and Marblestone into Harlequin, whose first trick is to paralyze both Clown, Pantaloon, and Acrobats, and to send off the Yellow Dwarf to Vienna in an express balloon; with a parachute to return in.

Our space will not permit a further notice of the many curious tricks that followed; but the curtain fell amid much hissing and disapprobation, as the audience seemed disposed to consider Marblestone as too old and not quick enough in his rendering of the part of Harlequin; whilst the Clown and Pantaloon were so dull and heavy, that much impatience was expressed at their cautious movements. The critics promise but a very short run to this company, and much disappointment and dissatisfaction amongst the Subscribers and Supporters of the Old Theatre.

In these very warlike times, when one of the most serious and important contests ever heard of in the annals of our history is being carried on amid the distant regions of the Crimea-when the waste of treasure and the flow of sturdy English blood ought to have been sufficient to end any war, or attain any object-when the heroism displayed by the British and their gallant Allies make even us at home exclaim, with Marshal Keith, "They fight battles in the Crimea like other people go to the play"-when the gross mismanage ment of the Government, and the consequent suffering, privation, and distress of our troops-our apparent want of success, though, it is to be hoped, our tardy but certain victory, necessarily direct our thoughts to the all-absorbing topics of "peace and war,"-every one who possesses pen and paper has burst into print on the subject; and, amid the excuses and justifications of the Government, the discord of party opinion, the ravings of Mr. Layard, and the Report of the Sebastopol Committee, we now know all that has actually taken place at the seat of war; and have learned much more than we could have wished, or that can be considered flattering to our national pride, or our English habits of order and business.

All these warlike accounts, nevertheless, speak in high terms of the courage and coolness of our Chief Commander; and, although the authorities at home are perhaps a little too ready to shift their own responsibilities on the overloaded shoulders of their absent General, yet we feel assured that, when the conduct of Lord Raglan is calmly and dispassionately judged of, it will be found in every way worthy of his great antecedents, and of the illustrious model which he has at all times followed.

It is far from our intention to enter into a panegyric of Lord Raglan, or to trouble our readers with a "twice-told tale" of "war's

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