The production of Christophe le Cordier, in which Achard makes
his re- appearance at the St. James's, is in some measure anticipated by an Eng- lish version called The Scarecrow, brought out at the Lyceum. The prin- cipal character is a surly ropemaker, employed by the squire of the neigh- bourhood—(the scene of The Scarecrow is in England)—first to beat off all suitors who pay attention to a certain village maiden, and then to pretend that he is about to marry her, to enable the squire to carry her off. The sentiment arises from the agent actually falling in love with the girl against whom the squire is conspiring; and as she is also in love with him, &pretty perplexity of feeling is produced. In exhibiting all the shades of distress in this peculiar position, Buckstone exhibits his drollery in a variety of forms, which sometimes border on the pathetic; while Mrs. Fitzwilliam is the beat personator on the stage of a simple merry-hearted country girl. But, with all the excellence of the acting, the piece is weak for two acts, according to English notions of weight.
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