And this is the plot! And what about the characters? _Rebecca_ is merely a hysterical old maid, who would have been set right, in the time of the Tudors, with a sound ducking; and nowadays, had she consulted a fashionable physician, she would have been probably ordered a sea-voyage, and a diet free from stimulants. The Pastor is a feeble, fickle fool, who seemingly has had but one sensible idea in his life. He has believed his wife to be mad, and, considering that she married him, his faith in the matter rested upon evidence of an entirely convincing nature. The _Rector Kroll_ is a prig and a bore of the first water. When he discovers _Rebecca's_ perfidy, he suggests that she may have inherited her proneness for treachery from her father--and, to her distressed astonishment, he gives the name of a gentleman, not hitherto recognised by her as a parent! The best line in the piece, to my mind--and it certainly "went with a roar"--is a question of the housekeeper--answered in the negative--"Have you ever seen the Pastor laugh?" Laugh! with such surroundings! Pretentious twaddle, that would be repulsively immoral were it less idiotic. And _so_ dull! As a theatre-goer for more than a quarter of a century, I dislike undue severity, and am consequently glad to find my opinion is shared by others. "SCRUTATOR," the Dramatic Critic of _Truth_, wrote last week--"The few independent persons who have sat out a play by IBSEN, be it _The Doll's House_, or _The Pillars of Society_, or _Rosmershölm_, have said to themselves. 'Put this stuff before the playgoing public, risk it at an evening theatre, remove your _claque_, exhaust your attendance of the socialist and the sexless, and then see where your IBSEN will be.' I have never known an audience that cared to pay to be bored, and the over-vaunted _Rosmershölm_ bored even the Ibsenites." I only hope it did, for they deserve their martyrdom! I believe that you personally, my dear Editor, have never seen a dramatic performance of the "Master's" work. I wish I could say as much, and I shall be surprised if you do not appreciate the feeling, after you too have partaken of this truly Lenten fare. Yours sincerely, ONE WHO LIKES IBSEN--AT A DISTANCE. * * * * * STRIKING TIMES. NEW VERSION OF AN OLD STREET BALLAD. (_BY A LABOURING ELECTOR._) Cheer up, cheer up, you sons of toil, and listen to my song. The times should much amuse you; you are up, and going strong. The Working Men of England at length begin to see That _their_ parsnips for to butter now the Parties all agree. _Chorus._ _It's high time that the Working Men should have it their own way,_ _And their prospect of obtaining it grows brighter every day!_ This is the time for striking, lads; at least, it strikes me so. Monopoly has had some knocks, and under it must go. NORWOOD we licked; LIVESEY licked us; his was an artful plan; But luck now turns. Ask JOHNNY BURNS, and also TOMMY MANN!