Love is exerting his all-powerful sway at Covent Garden :
nightly does he go forth conquering and to conquer ; and the tension of his bow being increased by shorteuing the siring, the well-aimed shafts come twanging off, and pierce to the heart of the audience : women flock in crowds to court the delicious vain, aud drops of pity atteM, the flow of sympathy ; at least two-thirds of the pit on Monday night was filled by the gentler sex. We were half inclined to cavil with KNOwLES'SJ selection of a subject he has so oft repeated ; but we freely acknowledge that he is the best judge of the public liking and of the promptings of his own genius; his impulsive eloquence might fail him on a com- pelled theme. He is the poet of' the kindly affections ; sympathy is the source of his inspiration, his guide to the knowledge of human nature: when he attempts to thread the dark mazes of evil, he • stumbles and misses his way, but where the sunshine of the heart lights him, MS
footing is sure and his path clear. Long may he bask in the genial atmosphere that fosters generous feelings and noble actions, and leave foul deeds to those who quaff inspiration from the "stone jug" of the Old Bailey or the "bowl of St. Giles."
The Sea Captain, at the Haymarket, for all his gallantry, generosity, and lucky escapes, does not make much way with the public : the bad company he is among, especially that uncomfortable and unnatural woman his mother, instead of making him "stick fiery off indeed," overpowers his flashy display of fine qualities with dull disagreeables. The currency of these two new coinages, each bearing the image and superscription of a popular mint, may be fairly regarded as a test of the relative value in public estimation of stage tinsel and the sterling ore : both pieces have flaws, being stamped in haste from imperfect dies ; but BULWER'S falls flat and weighs light, like base metal ; while IlsownEs's, if it do not ring clearly, at least turns the scale in its favour.
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