owers, but by his proficient imitations of
cock-crowing and donkey-braying.

This being Act IV., it is quite clear that _Gammon's_ villany and
_Tittlebat's_ prosperity cannot last much longer. Both are ended in an
original manner. True to the principle with which the Adelphi commenced
its season--that of putting stage villany into comedy--Mr. Gammon
concludes the _facetiae_ with which his part abounds by a comic suicide!
All the details of this revolting operation are gone through amidst the
most ponderous levity; insomuch, that the audience had virtue enough to
hiss most lustily[3].

[3] While this page was passing through the press, we witnessed a
representation of "Ten Thousand a-Year" a second time, and
observed that the offensiveness of this scene was considerably
abated. Mr. Lyon deserves a word of praise for his acting in
that passage of the piece as it now stands.

Thus the string of rascality by which the piece is held together being
cut, it naturally finishes by the reinstatement of Aubrey--together with a
view of Yatton in sunshine, a procession of charity children, mutual
embraces by all the characters, and a song by Mrs. Grattan. What becomes
of _Titmouse_ is not known, and did not seem to be much cared about.

This piece is interesting, not because it is cleverly constructed (for it
is not), nor because _Mr. Titmouse_ dyes his hair green with a barber's
nostrum, nor on account of the cupboard court of _Nisi Prius_, nor of the
charity children, nor because Mr. Wieland, instead of playing the devil
himself, played _Mr. Snap_, one of his limbs--but because many of the
scenes are well-drawn pictures of life. The children's ball in the first
"epoch," for instance, was altogether excellently managed and _true_; and
though many of the characters are overcharged, yet we have seen people
like them in Chancery-lane, at Messrs. Swan and Edgar's, in country
houses, and elsewhere. The suicide incident is, however, a disgusting
drawback.

The acting was also good, but too extravagantly so. Mr. Wright, as
_Titmouse_, thought perhaps that a Cockney dandy could not be caricatured,
and he consequently went desperate lengths, but threw in here and there a
touch of nature. Mr. Lyon was as energetic as ever in _Gammon_; Mrs. Yates
as lugubrious as is her wont in _Miss Aubrey_; Mrs. Grattan acted and
looked as if she were quite deserving of a man with ten thousand a year.
As to her singi