The Press. — London, England, 1855-06-23 00:00:00

JUNE 23, 1855. expectant ; and were it not for the two co m i c eha meters of the piece —Matilda, a sympathising maid of-all-work, and Rufus, a reformed " prig " trans formed into a ragged school shoe-black—the sorrows of the old man and the domestic grief of bis daughter would become monotonous. Into those two charac ters, however, the author has thrown all his p ower : they are genuine bits of low life, that prove a know ledge of character, and a talent for observation not to be surpassed. Never were two characters more perfectly portrayed on the one hand, or more admirably acted on the other. The low lodging house girl of Mrs. Keeley is a perfect study : her dress, her attitudes, her blubbering grief, and her genuine "jolly " joy —for no other will words half express it—are such incom parable bits of true character and disposition, and evince such a perfect study and comprehen sion of the part, as no other actress in the present day could equal. Certainly, in her delineation of that low-life rough vulgarity which masks the genuine good heart within, Mrs. Keeley is superla tively good, and not the least among her best cha racters is this of Matilda. Of Keeley it is needless to say much. In a red frock and short checks he looks like a prize strawberry upon a double stein, and the capital flavour of his acting fully attests his value. However, the piece is scarcely adapted to the Adelphi audience. The dialogue, always excellent, is sprinkled here and there with some good jokes ; but they are too refined for the melodramatic fre. quenters of the Adelphi pit and gallery. There is not enough action in the piece, the audience could not appreciate in the old musician that in tense love for his instrument, the solace of his poor blind life; and though Mr. Webster acted the part most carefully, yet in the long rhapsodies which he had to utter, he could scarcely sustain the interest of his hearers, who evidently thought, with the un musical Rufus, that " one fiddle was quite as good as another." Mr Leigh Murray acted the part of the loose " scion of nobility " with the inimitable tact which he always evinces in such characters, and Mr. Selby made an amusing, though not too Jewish a London Jew. At the fall of the curtain the applause was very loud, and the announcement of the repeti tion of the play greeted with great warmth. OLYMPIC. The School for Scandal was performed for Mr. Wigan's benefit last evening, the character of Joseph Surface . being supported by Mr. Wigan. The even • mg commenced by a decided "row," in consequence of the unexpected curtailment of the proportions of the pit, more than half of it having been converted into stalls on this special occasion. In answer to the most vociferous calls from that part of the audience which held itself injured by the arrange ment (or disarrangement), Mr. Wigan appeared before the curtain, and, having patiently en dured the usual amount of " inarticulate animal noise," addressed the malcontents in intended mitigation of their annoyances. The gist of his speech seemed to us to be that he was sorry for the error he bad committed, but that be trusted to the " good sense," &c., of the audience to arrange the matter among themselves, calling upon those who had illegitimately intruded themselves into stalls for which they had not paid, to remove in favour of the owners, and gently hinting at the police in case of any little difficulty in the transference. After much squabbling, the play began, the first scenes being entirely inaudible, in consequence of a skirmish at the stall entrance between two or three victims to injustice and the attendants, supported by the police. This slight affair having been settled satisfactorily, the audience turned its attention to the stage, indemnifying itself for its outraged sense of justice by vociferously applauding everything applicable to the dispute be tween itself and the manager. A few "hits" of this sort soon restored good humonr, and, at the end of the evening, Mr. Wigan was called for, and cheered with a heartiness which showed that all (by that time) old grievances had been generously forgotten. Mr. Wigan's " entrance into" this " quarrel" was, perhaps, imprudent, sufficiently extensive previous notice not having been given, hut, "being in," be acted wisely as well as manfully in sticking to his colours. Of his Joseph it is unnecessary to say much. The character is too artificial to afford much scope for his peculiarly real style; it is almost impossible for any actor to deliver Joseph's " sentiments" in such a manner as to render their effect on the other cha racters (if one may apply the word to Sheridan's puppets, mere mouth-pieces for good English and bad principles), as given in the comedy, in the faint est degree probable. There were a few touches of nature, however, which showed the power of the artist in vivifying the " dry bones " of life• less composition. The scene with Lady Teazle was given with the utmost truth of which it is its points, with its regularly - balan ced sentences, points, and its antitheses ; but the forced merriment with which Joseph palms off upon Sir Peter the story of the "little French milliner " was ad mirable for its ghastly affectation of reality. Mrs. THE PRESS. Stirling's Lady Teazle was a graceful and intelligent impersonation ; she committed the usual error of giving too little country breeding to her ladyship ; but in the scandal scene she was thoroughly at home, and gave the points of the famous dialogue, full of rare delicacies of thought and language, with an amusing relish. Mrs. Wigan made a tolerable Mrs. Candour; she had not the unctuous ness, the full, rich enjoyment of malice, which Mrs Glover has taught us to look for, but she filled her place in the play effectively enough, notwithstanding. Compared to Farren's, Mr. Emery's Sir Peter is a stage shadow to flesh and blood—laughable enough in more senses than one, and with a certain sledge hammer strength about it; but Sheridan's " hits " are not blows after all. A word of praise to Mr. Robson's Moses ; like all he does it was full of genius; the by-play capital; and the intense professional enthusiasm which he threw into the well-known description of the money lender's method of doing business only just missed being too powerful for the occasion. The comedy was tollowed by the farce of Poor Pilikoddy. MR. STANFORD, ever forward and indefatigable in meeting the public demand for information upon the various localities of the seat of war, has published an extremely good map of the Sea of Azoff. The line of coast is well defined, the depth in soundings accu rately given, and the different military roads clearly and distinctly drawn. We should like to have seen a little more of the neighbourhood of the river Don, and of those towns upon its banks near the mouth, but the map, as it is, is nevertheless very acceptable at this moment. POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.—A colossal candela brum, one of four manufactured to the order of the late Viceroy of Egypt for the Egyptian Government, by Messrs. Williams, of Oxford-street, is now on show at this institution. The candelabra are made of white metal strongly coated with silver, and are the largest ever manufactured. The ornamental base is composed of shells, beautifully chased out in bold relief with Egyptian ornaments, over which rises a column of flat and hollow flutes in three sections, each section divided by collects ornamented with the acanthus leaves. The summit of the column has a vase ornamented in the same manner. The height of this magnificent candelabrum is 171 feet, and its weight, including the plynth, is 3,3601b5. The execution of this work certainly reflects the highest credit upon the manufacturers, and forms at present a very marked object of admiration at this attractive place of amusement. THE ENGLISH DRAMATIC COMPANY commenced their representations yesterday week, at the Theitre Italien, Paris, Salle Ventadour, with Macbeth. A ludicrous mishap occurred in the incantation scene. So much real brimstone was put into the witches' cauldron that the odour penetrated the whole house, and half suffocated the audience. Several ladies were obliged to leave the boxes for a few minutes. Enitarsitg ntelltgtittt. OXFORD. --- The following degrees have been conferred : -- M.A.—Rev. Alexander Colvin Ainslie, John William Church, Charles Wrottesley, Rev. Charles Allan Dickins, Oswald L. Chapman, University; Rev. John Newman, Rev. Francis Charles Gosling, Oriel ; Rev. Gordon Heslop, Rev. Edward W. Heslop, Rev. Hugh James Hare, Robert H. Witherby, Queen's ; Rev. Wentworth Webster, Rev. George Hanbury Fielding, Rev. Frederick Henry Gray, Lincoln ; Rev. Thomas Baugh, Christ Church ; Charles John Hill, St. John's ; Rev. Edward Montague Hare, Rev. Joseph Harris, Trinity; Rev. William Evan James, Rev. Hugh Davies Owen, Thomas C. Prickard, Jesus; Rev. Robert H. Nisbett Browne, Edward Slater Browne, Fred. Joseph Sidney Edgoombe, Worcester ; Rev. Horatio Giles Symonds, Magdalen Hall. B.A.—Henry Everett Ravenhill, Charles William Woodhall, Augustus Thuraby Pelham, University; Hon. Edmund John Monson, Balliol ; George Eden fiber, Merton ; Russell England, Exeter ; Thomas Alfred Stowell, Queen's ; Charles Edward Oakley, Magdalen ; William Purto", Lincoln ; Wyndham Lewis Williams, Brasenose ; Henry Murray Oswald, Alexander Colvin Blunt, Christ Church; George Windsor Tucker, Trinity; William Abraham Bartlett, Wadham; George Nelmes Merrefield, Magdalen Hall. B.M.—Richard Hacking, Worcester College. stt ltmg. WAR-OFFICE, Jurns 22. BREVET. Brevet-Colonel Thomas Scott Rehmolds, retired full pay 18th Foot, to be Major-General, the rank being honorary only. The undermentioned Cadets of the East India Com pany's Service to have the local and temporary rank of Ensign, during the period of their being placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sandham, of the Roy, Engineers, at Chatham, for Field Instruction in the art of Sapping and Mining :—Charles Henry Luard ; Joseph Bonus; John Birney ; George Swinton; Charles Neste Judge ; Charles Augustus Goodfellow ; Charles liandeock ; BroVinlow Hugo Mathew; George Scutt Hills. Colonel John Subsberger and Lientem Charles Edward Futick to have the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the British army, and Captain John _ _ Baumgartner temporary rank of Major while serving is the Foreign Legion. Captain Thomas Farness Wilson, of the 13th Regiment Bengal Native lntiuitry, attached to the Turkish troop', to have the local rank of Major in Turkey while so em ployed. Edward Gilborne, Esq., appointed to serve with the Irregular Cavalry in Turkey, to have the local rank of Staff Surgeon of the First Claes while so employed. The undermentioned officers having been permitted to retire upon the Full-pay List of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, uuder the provisions of the Royal War rant for the Ordnance Department, dated 3rd November, 1854, clausesl9 and :At, to be promoted to a step of honorary rank, in accordance with the regulations established by the said Warrant, viz. Royal Artillery.—ColonelJames Archibald Chalmer. Royal Engineers —Colonel Anthony Emmett ; Colonel Marcus Antonius Waters. Captain the Honourable E. S. Plunkett to have the local rauk of Major in Turkey while so employed. The undermentioned officers and gentlemen hiving been selected for service with the Turkish Contingent to have local rank while so employed : To have the local rank of Major—Captain Payn. To have the local rank of Captain—John Godwin, Esq., late Lieutenant; Frederick Bent, Esq., late Lieutenant; John Redman Ord, Esq.; Charles A. Hartley, Esq.; Philip John Doyne, Esq, alnacotAscum.—The commission, as Major in Turkey, of Brevet Major Stokes, Chief Engineer of the Turkish Contingent, to bear date 27th March, 1855. Ilabg. Lieutenants—E. I). Murray to the Neptune; J. G. Barnes to the Imperieuse; J. J. O'F. C. kerrall to the Waterloo ; F. Hewson, H. H. Moor, and E. A. Tweeddale to the Castor ; H. R. Stewart to the Hermes; J. S. Hud son (additional) to the Royal Albert ; D. B. Pack to the Alarm ; J. S. Skipwith to be Flag-Lieutenant to Rear. Admiral Fremantle; Wellesley Gregory to the Powerful. Surgeons—J. Andrews, M.D., to the Alarm ;G. Yoe. M.D., to the Impregnable ; J. Macleod, M.D., to the Con way; James Henry to the Prometheus. Acting Assistant-Surgeon—Thomas B. Martin to the Bogus. blaster—John F. Rees to the oommand of the Cyclops. Second Master—E. Kirkman to the Myrmidon. Paymasters—F. J. J. Arnet to the Castor ;G. R. Deigh• ton to the Belleisle; F. W. Cole to the Hermes. Mates—F. W. Sullivan to the Glutton; W. T. F. Mudge to the Castor. Midshipmen—F. H. S. Flood, B. Bunbury, and C. H. Farquharson to the Castor; A. F. Holdsworth and W. N. Wise to the Alarm. Naval Cadets—P. H. W. Mahone, F. Walter, and B. Saber to the Imperiense; H. S. Bailie to the Majestic; A. Cavendish to the Calcutta. _ Clerk—J B. Raventuck to the Medusa. Assietant•Clerks—A. Warren to the Alarm; J. C. Plow to the Castor. Lieutenants—H. Risk, of the Wrangler; W. H. Tree• cott ; H. F. M'Killop, of the Snake; .1. F. C. Mackenzie, of the Miranda—to be Commanders. C. W. Buckley, of the Miranda (appointed to Snake) ; H. T. Burgoyne, of the Swallow (appointed to Wrangler)—to be Lieutenants and Commanders. Second Master—N. B. Herbert to be Muter. Assistant-Paymaster—S. E. Wright to be Paymaster. Assistant-Engineer of the First Class—G. Wilson to bo Chief Engineer of the Third Class. Gunner of the Third Class—J. Roberts, of the Ardent, to be Gunner of the Second Class. glatg parkti anb tits `cinitiligtatt. FRIDA.T EVENINO. THa Consol Market has been dull during the week, the transactions being very limited in extent and prices drooping. No material alteration in the quotations was, however, marked up to the close of business yesterday, the depreciatory effects pro duced by the reports of another loan in France having been recovered to a considerable degree. Prices had ranged from 911 to 1 on the previous day, and left off on Thurday at 911 . ex. div. for the opening on the 10th of July. This morning the unfavorable tenor of the telegraphic despatches received at the War-office, announcing that the allies had received a serious check before Sebastopol, led to a fall of nearly 1 per cent. Consols opened at 901 I, but subsequently experienced a partial rally, and later transactions were rated at 904, with a steady market. Reduced Thi ee per Cents. were done at 911 ; New Three per Cents., 911 ; Bank Stock, 2111; New Ter minable Annuities, 18 15-10tha ; India Stock for Ac ; a Pf 0 r,