... . THE pen is mightier than the sword, is an adage that may or may not hare become obsolete through the advance of science and the invention of telegraphy (M'Mahon's System especially) and other means of communicating and registering the words that breathe and thoughts that burn throughout the universe. It will not do to be literal in those matters, and it is not with the pen and sword we ...

... . As the season advances these delightful entertainments be come increasingly attractive. The concert given on Monday last was specially noteworthy, Mme. Schumann having made her rentrée for the season. It was with great difficulty that Mr. Arthur Chappell obtained her services, and it is understood that this season will be her last in England. Having reached her 64th year, she may claim ...

... . A Me. F. W. Hayes has written, under the title Medusa, one of the poorest lever de rideau that we have ever seen at any first- rate theatre for some time. The plot of Medusa is as madly improbable as that of the most old-fashioned farce and it has this defect without the compensating result of broad simple- minded fun. The heroine who gives her name to the comedietta is one Medusa ...

... . FINALLY, the theatre being in construction essentially fire proof, every part of the stage rendered, by a chemical process, absolutely non-inflammable, and the whole building under the constant supervision of drilled men from tho Fire Brigade, the management have the very strongest belief that the perusal of these few lines is merely a work of supererogation. Here endeth the notice to the ...

... . MME. SARAH BERNHARDT with a somewhat stale réportoire and a mediocre company to support her, has during the past week led off the season of French plays at the Gaiety. Three nights were to be devoted to Adrienne Lecouvreur, two to Les Faux Menages, and one to La Dame aux Camélias. Of Les Faux Ménages, by M. Pailleron, which was promised for Thursday, we shall have something to say next week. ...

... . re-opened last week with success quite un mistakable, albeit the programme boasted no feature of novelty. Mr. Byron's new comedy, a second Upper Crust, it may be hoped, is promised very shortly, but could not, of course, bo rehearsed while the theatre itself, together with its manager, was in the state of turmoil incident to re-building and re-furnishing opera tions. In the meanwhile, Mr. ...

... . THE tide of good fortune which set in at tho Court Theatre with the production of The Parvenu has not yet begun to ebb. The new play brought out there last Saturday met with a practical success as unmistakable as that of its predecessor; and in one of its writers, Mr. Brandon Thomas, (Mr. B. C. Stephenson, otherwise Bolton Bo we, is his colleague) a most promising recruit has been added to ...

... . AMONGST the changes in the state of theatres, no house has more thoroughly experienced the advantages of rebuilding than the house known as The little Strand Theatre. The altera tions in any popular resort are always attended with a certain amount of disappointment to those who frequent them. This is especially true of the English audiences. They have become acclimatised to a certain style ...

... MUSIC. a It AND GERMAN OPERA. THE epithet grand applied to the series of German Operas now being given at Drury Lane is justified by the magnitude of the arrangements and the quality of the company engaged for leading parts. The joint directors are Herr Franke, the ener getic originator of the successful Richter Concerts, and Herr Pollini, one of the most successful amongst modern ...

... . THE Easter programme at the Royalty includes two new and original pieces, neither of which is a very good specimen of its kind. One is Not Registered, a two-act domestic drama by Mr. Arthur Matthison, who introduces us to some simple provincial folk, with peculiar views on the subject of money posted in letters. Mr. Woolston and his daughter Carry, being in want of a hundred pounds to pay ...

... . WHILST thoroughly recognising, if not appreciating, the existence of the creature commonly known as 'Arry, I must say that when the occasional festivals, sacred or otherwise, which make his existence paramount to that of an Autocrat come round, I shudder, and engender a feeling of hate towards him, from which I do not recover for some days. On the most recent occasion I knew him as Saint ...

... . MME. ALBANI'S rentrée on Saturday last attracted a crowded and brilliant assemblage, graced by the presence of the Queen of Holland, their Royal Highnesses the Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Connaught, and other members of the Royal Family. The amphitheatre and galleries were filled to overflowing, and the popularity of the prima donna was attested by the ...