situations were probable, and had existed and do exist in real life, while the language was bright and pure. The dramatic critic of the _Albion_, then a leading and influential journal, pronounced _Fashion_ to be "the best American comedy in existence, and one that sufficiently indicated Mrs. Mowatt's ability to write a play that would rank among the first of the age." Mrs. Mowatt, however, was the author of but one other successful drama, _Armand, the Child of the People_. It was first played at the Park Theatre on September 27, 1847; while _Fashion_ itself has not been put upon the stage here in many years, and is almost forgotten, although its influence is still felt. Its popularity endured longer, perhaps, than that of any of its contemporaries; it was played throughout the United States, and was well received by London and English provincial audiences. The oblivion into which it has fallen now should by no means be ascribed to its want of merit, the fashion of the time having changed. [Illustration: EPES SARGENT.] The comedy was produced at the Park Theatre on the 24th of March, 1845. The _Herald_ of the next day said it had one of the best houses ever seen in New York; boxes, pit, and gallery were crowded; all of the _literati_ of the city were present, with a tolerable sprinkling of the _elite_--the _Herald's_ distinction between the _elite_ and _literati_ might have suggested another satirical play--and the comedy was enthusiastically received. Its initial cast was a very strong one and worthy of preservation. William Chippendale played Adam Trueman, the farmer; William H. Crisp, the elder, was Count Jolimaitre, the fraudulent nobleman; John Dyott was Colonel Howard, of the United States Army, in love with Gertrude; Thomas Barry was Tiffany, the wealthy merchant; T. B. De Walden, author of _Sam_, _The Baroness_, and other plays, was T. Tennyson Twinkle, a modern poet; John Fisher played Snobson, the confidential clerk, and Mr. Skerrett Zeke, a colored servant. None of these gentlemen are known to our stage to-day, but without exception they were as great in the various lines in which they were cast as could then be found in America. In the ladies of its first representations _Fashion_ was equally fortunate, and Mrs. Mowatt herself, in her _Autobiography_, writes that she felt much of the great success of the play to be justly due to the cleverness of the players. Mrs. Barry--the first Mrs. Barry, who died in 1854--represented the would-be lady of fashion; Miss Kate Horn (Mrs. Buckland), Seraphina Tiffany, her daughter; Miss Clara Ellis, a young Englishwoman, who remained but a few years in this country, was the Gertrude; Mrs. Dyott was Millinette, the French maid; and Mrs. Edward Knight (Mary Ann Povey) played Prudence, the maiden lady of a certain age. The part of Adam Trueman, the blunt, old-fashioned, warm-hearted farmer, with his unfashionable energy and sturdy common-sense, pointing homely morals and