t was on the one hand, as from the ditch that was on
the other.

* * * * *

And here, as it seemed, my Dream did lapse and intermit, and I lost
sight, for a while, of the Pilgrim and his perils, much musing whether
he, though verily valiant and of manifest good will, were wise in
making this dangerous adventure, or at all like to fare safely through
and escape the ditch, the bog, the darkness, and the demoniac denizens
of this dismal Valley of the Shadow of Disunion.

* * * * *

OPERA DRURIOLANA.

[Illustration]

May success attend the preliminary Operatic canter which Sir
DRURIOLANUS is taking with such preliminary cantors as he has got
together at Drury Lane. _Faust_ was effectively given, with ESTHER
PALLISER as a gentle _Marguerite_, Signor GIANNINI as a very robust
_Faust_--quite a _tenore robusto_--and Signor CASTELMARY as the very
deuce of a _Mephistopheles_, with eyebrows and moustachios sufficient
to frighten even the gay and festive _Marta_, played with spirit by
Mlle. BIANCOLI. "Mons." DUFRICHE represented the _Mons_ who laboured
hard to please, and who, as _Valentine_, did well and died well. Herr
FELD conducted. "Well Felded!"

Then out came the ever fresh, the ever free _Bohemian Girl_. Never
was such a girl! Quite a NINON DE L'ENCLOS! Beautiful for ever! Still
dreaming of Marble Halls (Music Halls nowadays) "with vassals and
serfs by her si-i-ide," and no better Bohemian Girl to be seen just
now than Madame ALBU as _Arline_. So "Arl in to begin!" and see and
hear BALFE'S pretty little Girl of Bohemia while she is still visible
and audible at Drury Lane. Mr. EADIE a trifle gawky as _Thaddeus_, but
then he finds himself in an awkward situation, especially when he has
to fumble for the documentary evidence of his birth, attested at a
Bohemian Registry Office. CARL ARMBRUSTER conducted this, and then up
got Herr FELD "with his little lot," represented by the unrivalled and
unequalled _Cavalleria Rusticana_. Ah! _Cavalleria_ is a treat, even
when its performance is not absolutely perfect. The music is charming
from first to last; ever fresh and delightful.

That wonderful _Intermezzo_ was excellently given, and
enthusiastically encored. As yet the _Intermezzo_ has had no
successful rival. It stands alone, and is, of all compositions, the
most--well, words fail me--it is a whole dramatic story, within a few
bars' compass--it is sweetness a