There are very few comparatively dull moments in _Charley's Aunt_, and these arise from faulty construction necessitating occasional explanations which come as dampers in the midst of the uproarious fun whereat the house has been shaking its sides and even weeping with laughter. And the awkwardness of these pauses in the action is still further emphasised by their being filled up with either commonplace narrative, or with a kind of cheap sentimentality quite at variance with the general tone of the piece. Were this slight blemish removed, the longevity of _Charley's Aunt_ would, it is more than probable, equal that of _The Private Secretary_. [Illustration: LIKE AS TWO P'S! _The Private Secretary._ "Excuse me, Madam? but, d'you know, I fancy you must be a connection of mine--I see such a resemblance to our family. I am the Rev. Robert Spalding!" _Lord Fancourt Babberley._ "Oh yes; and I'm Charley's Aunt, and Robert's Cousin." _The P. S._ "Dear me! Fancy that!"] All the parts are well played. Mr. BRANDON THOMAS has not given himself much of a chance as _Colonel Chesney_, who bears a strong family resemblance to the heavy dragoon in the _Pantomime Rehearsal_. The young men, Messrs. PERCY LYNDAL and FARMER, have plenty of "go"--it would be "little go" were they Cantabs--as the two undergraduates, young enough to be still up at College completing their education, yet old enough to propose and be accepted as eligible husbands. But in a rattling three-act farce as this is intended to be, any exaggeration is sufficiently probable as long only as it is thoroughly amusing; and, it be added, in such a piece, sentiment is as much out of place as would be plain matter-of-fact conduct or dialogue. To see Mr. PENLEY in the elderly Aunt's dress is to convulse the house without his uttering a word. To see him enjoying himself with the young ladies while threatened by their lovers, who cannot take them away without compromising themselves, is delicious. Then, when after dinner he is alone with the ladies, and having been informed by the scout--capitally impersonated by Mr. CECIL THORNBURY--in a whisper, what story it is that the gentlemen find so amusing, he goes into fits of laughter, and subsequently, when after one of the ladies has told a story which makes the girls laugh, he inquires "Is that all?" and being answered that it is, he cannot refrain from expressing, in very strong language, his opinion of the stupidity of the anecdote he has just heard, and then is seized with a perfect convulsion of laughter,--in all this he is most heartily joined by the entire audience, who laugh with him and at him. Altogether in this piece Mr. PENLEY is inimitably and irresistibly funny. The piece has one other merit which is not the least among its attractions, that is, that it begins at nine punctually and is over by eleven, thus yielding two hours of all-but continuous merriment. * * * * * SIMPLE STORIES.