of this really capital Drama.
And here came in a scene that will long be remembered to the honour of
the British Navy and the National and Royal Theatre, Drury Lane. There
came a mutiny, with the misguided GLENNEY at the head of it. Said
Captain WILLIAM LUGG VERNON, after it was quelled, "We can't spare a
man, and so I shall have Mr. GLENNEY flogged." "Don't do that," cried
Lieutenant WARNER; "he is my brother and my friend, although he has
given me a oner, owing to a misunderstanding. Captain, may I appeal to
these men, and ask them in stirring language, to fight the foe." "You
shall," replied his superior officer; "and, by arrangement with Mr.
HENRY PETTITT, I will see that '_Rule Britannia_' is played softly by
an efficient orchestra while you are speaking to them." "A thousand
thanks!" cried the eloquent WARNER; and then he let them have it. He
told them that the enemy were waiting for them--that they had left
Brest for the purpose of engaging in a first-class naval engagement.
He pointed out that the other ships of the Fleet were on their way to
the scrimmage. "Would the gallant _Dauntless_ be the only laggard?"
"No!" shouted the now-amenable-to-naval-discipline GLENNEY, and with
the rest of the malcontents, he asked to be led to glory. It was
indeed stirring to see the red-coats waving their hats on the tops of
their bayonets, and the Blue Jackets brandishing their swords. In the
enthusiasm of the moment, the entire ship's company seemed to have
lost their heads, and cheers came from the deck, and the auditorium
equally. It was a moment of triumph for everyone concerned! Everyone!
And need I say anything more? Need I tell you how it came right in the
end? How Miss MILLWARD (who was always on the eve of being married
to someone) did actually go through a civil ceremony (the French
were polite even in the days before Waterloo) with the Count, which,
however, failed to count (as an old wag, with a taste for ancient
jests, observed to a brother droll), because the Gallic nobleman got
killed immediately after the ceremony? Need I hint that Mr. GLENNEY
was falsely accused of murder, to be rescued at the right moment
by the ever-useful and forgiving WARNER? Need I say that Mr. HENRY
PETTITT was cheered to the echo for his piece, and Sir AUGUSTUS
DRURIOLANUS for his stage management? No, for other chronicles have
given the news already; and it is also superfluous to describe the
fun of those excellent comedians, Mr. HARRY