Tour in England, Ireland, and France, in the years 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.: with remarks on the manners and customs of the inhabitants, and anecdotes of distiguished public characters. In a series of letters by a German Prince.Pückler-Muskau, Hermann, Fürst von
History
Tour in England, Ireland, and France, in the years 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.: with remarks on the manners and customs of the inhabitants, and anecdotes of distiguished public characters. In a series of letters by a German Prince.
Pückler-Muskau, Hermann, Fürst von
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Next we are transported into a large town, with all sorts of comical
inscriptions on the houses, most of them satires on the multitude of new
inventions and companies for all manner of undertakings; such as,
"Washing Company of the three united kingdoms;" "Steam-boat to America
in six days;" "Certain way of winning in the lottery;" "Mining shares at
ten pounds a share, by which to become worth a million in ten years."
The fore-ground exhibits a tailor's workshop, with several journeymen
busily stitching away in the 'rez de chaussée; a pair of shears six
yards long are fixed over the door as a sign, with the points upwards.
Harlequin arrives, pursued by Pantaloon and Co., and springs through the
air with a somerset in at a window on the first story, which breaks with
a loud crash. The pursuers drawing back from the 'salto mortale,' tumble
over and thump each other with artist-like skill and wonderful
suppleness. Ladders are now brought, and they climb into the house after
Harlequin: but he has made his escape through the chimney, and runs off
over the roofs. Pantaloon with his long chin and beard leans out of the
window before which the shears are placed, to see which way Harlequin is
gone. Suddenly the parted blades shut to, and his head falls into the
street. Pantaloon, not a whit the less, runs down stairs and rushes out
at the door after his rolling head;--unluckily a poodle picks it up and
runs off with it, and Pantaloon after him. But here he meets Harlequin
again, disguised as a doctor, who holds a consultation with three others
as to what is to be done for the unhappy Pantaloon. They at length
decide to rub the place where the head is wanting with Macassar oil; and
by means of this operation a new head happily grows under the eye of the
spectators.
In the last act, Tivoli at Paris is well given. A balloon ascends with a
pretty child. While he floats from the stage over the heads of the
audience the earthly scene gradually sinks, and as the balloon reaches
the lofty roof, where it makes a circuit round the chandelier, the stage
is filled with rolling clouds through which a thousand stars shine and
produce a very pretty illusion.
As the balloon sinks, town and gardens gradually rise again. A rope is
next stretched, on which a lady drives a wheelbarrow to the summit of a
Gothic tower, in the midst of fire-works; while other 'equilibristes'
perform their break-neck feats on level ground.
At the conclusion, the stage is transformed, amid thunder and lightning,
into a magnificent Chinese hall with a thousand gay paper lanterns;
where all spells are dissolved, the witch banished to the centre of the
earth by a beneficent enchanter, and Harlequin, recognized as legitimate
prince, marries his Columbine.
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