When the Governor or President V-toes a bill, is he supposed to put
his foot on it?

* * * * *

THE PLAYS AND SHOWS.

SPECTACLES are proverbially fit for old eyes. Probably that is the
reason why the spectacle of the _Twelve Temptations_ is so dear to the
aged eyes of the gray-haired old gentlemen who occupy the front seats at
the Grand Opera House. It is certainly a brilliant spectacle, though,
like the ideal scene to which Mrs. NICKLEBY's eccentric and vegetarian
lover once referred, it consists principally of "gas and gaiters." Not
that it is exclusively an Old Folks' entertainment; for, as the critics
say of portentously dull juvenile books, "it will be found as
interesting to the young as to the old." Though the dullest of dramas,
it is so brightened by brilliant legs that it dazzles every beholder.
Why, then, should the stern advocate of the legitimate drama refuse to
acknowledge that the _Twelve Temptations_ has its redeeming legs? How
runs the ancient proverb, "Singed milk is better than it looks;" or that
equally ancient philosophical maxim, "There is no use in crying over
spilt cats"? The stupid story of ULRIC'S folly is made more attractive
than one would suppose that it could be, and we need not weep over the
fact that it is a spectacle, and not a SHAKESPEAREAN tragedy.

The bold explorers who have reached the remote Opera House,
fought their way past the misanthropic door-keeper, and gained their
seats, are first reduced to a state of mental chaos by the performance
of a maddening overture, and are then fitted to appreciate the play,
which proceeds after the following pattern: