The Press.
London, England, 1855-01-20 00:00:00

ate putout.

PRINCESB'B.—On Saturday last an adaptation of
Casimir Delavigne's play of Louis XI. was produced
at this theatre with great success. That this success
was merited by either the excellence of the adapta-
tion or the merits of the principal actor, to whom it
has been generally attributed, we cannot allow. In
dialogue, the play in its English form is mediocrity
itself; all its blank verses do not contain one single
line of poetry, and the jokes—are translated ones.
The character of Louis XI., in whom the interest of
the piece is entirely centred, was played by Mr. Kean,
whose impersonation has been the subject of must
extravagant, and, it appears to us, unmerited eulogies.
In the opinion of a contemporary, no mean authority
in histrionic matters, not one of the great lights in
the memory of the elders of the present generation,
could have produced a similar representation of the
character. We are perfectly ready to admit this,
though perhaps not exactly in the sense in which it
is intended, but when we are gravely assured that we
must go back to the days of David Garrick himself
for an adequate representation of the character, we
must beg to be permitted to withdraw our assent, for
there are many of the lesser luminaries of the stage
who would have played Louis XI. as well as Mr.
Kean, and some few who would have avoided most of
his greater blunders. In fact, the old gentleman who
shuffled about the stage with the regular conven-
tional stiff knees of theatrical senility, was Mr. Kean
every inch,and not one tittle of him Louis X/. Those
abrupt changes of voice, from the loud tones of
anger to the level of ordinary conversation, do we
not know them of old as we know the personnel
of the actor, with all those charming peculi
arities of pronunciation, which are part and
parcel, according to the highest authorities, of
the only correct system of spoken English? And
while on this subject we may observe that
we cannot comprehend why Mr. Kean should con-
vert horoscope into horyscope, why " sacrilegious"
should become" sacrilidgious," and the unfortunate
Duc de Nemours, disguised as Revel, should be
unmasked in the great scene as " Nummores" (as
if the king had had enough of him, and wanted to
tell him so) ; but, no more can we discover in Mr.
Kean's acting a reason for the assertion of his
admirers, that he is greater than all the great actors
of' the past, David Garrick alone excepted. Much
has been said of Mr. Kean's extraordinary power
of depicting the approach of death : the dying scene
on Saturday gave little evidence of this facility. It
is surely not by panting through a mouth made up
into a circle, and speaking in a stage whisper, that
death is correctly imitated; and Mr. Kean did little
more than this. There was none of that labouring
utterance of those words divided by quickly-suc-
ceeding inspirations,—" paroles entrecoupies,"—and
but little of the langour which precedes death.
It is almost impossible for a living, healthy
person to correctly imitate death, as those
who have seen the awful reality, as well as the
counterfeit, well know; one reason being, perhaps,
that for some short time before death respiration is
performed almost entirely by the muscles in the
upper part of the thorax. An actor always heaves
his chest laboriously, and thus represents a person
out of breath, instead of one in the act of dying ;
but still a much nearer approach can be made than
was made by Mr. Kean, and those who have seen
Mlle. Rachel act will be unlikely to subscribe to the
exaggerated praises which have been lavished upon
Mr. Kean's death scene in Louis XI. His attitude,
we admit, was very natural as he lay in a swoon on
the sofa, and the terror in his eyes when he felt
his dreaded enemy clutching at his heartstrings at
last, and knows that " this is indeed death," was
very fine. The best piece of acting, however, in the
whole play is his unmanly terror at the conspirator's
dagger; the whole expression of the face, the eyes
striving in vain to close themselves, that they may
shut out the horrible reality before them, the husky
scream for mercy, and then, after the escape of the
assassin, the sudden return of Louis's natural fero-

city, his insane fury, and still more insane suspicion
of everybody near him, an i his final delirium, were
certainly finely given. On the whole, the imper-
sonation is a mixture of bad and good, of many
failures with some occasional successes, and seems to
us nut to deserve precisely the kind of commendation
which has been so fulsomely bestowed upon it. The
rest of the diameters were fairly supported ; Mr.
Ryder was most disagreeably honest in Cortier, and
made as many ugly faces as he commonly does,
and Miss Heath played the slight part of Marie
charmingly, as she plays everything. The house was
crowded in every part, and the applause as enthusi-
astic as it was indiscriminate.
ST. JAMES'S.—An English version, by Mr. Henry
Spicer, of the Alcestis of Euripides, enriched with
additions from Gluck's well-known opera, was brought
out at this theatre on Monday evening. A Greek
tragedy, Anglicised and fitted for the modern stage,
is, to say the least of it, a great experiment ; but the
introduction of the choruses from Gluck's opera, with
sixty voices insupport of them, and improved orches-
tral arrangements ander the direction of Sir Henry
Bishop, go far to insure the success of the trial. The
story of Admetus and Alcestis is too well known to
need repetition; but the original text of Euripides
has been anything but accurately followed by Mr.
Spicer, and his free interpretation rather weakens
the effect of the tragedy than otherwise. The first
act is entirely reconstructed; for, while Euripides
commences at once with the parting between Admetus
and Alcestis, who is about to immolate herself to save
her husband, Mr. Spicer opens with the priests be-
seeching Apollo for a respite, and while Admetus is
in despairing anxiety, and Alcestis has not even
thought of sacrificing herself, Hercules arrives, and
is received with assumed gaiety by Admetus. Now,
in Euripides, Hercules does not arrive until Alcestis
has died, and the exquisite grief of Admetus is thus
put to a much more effective test, in having "to as-
sume a virtue" which at that moment he hath not,
and the scene is altogether more forcible and expres-
ewe. This looseness of adaptation occurs through-
out; and although the second act, in which the
parting scene occurs, is very powerful, and the last
scene, in which Hercules restores Alcestis to life and
to Admetus, is most effective, yet it is only so wherein
the English version most approaches to the original
text. Miss Vandenhoff, who will be remembered as
Antigone when that drama of Sophocles was pro-
duced at Covent Garden, has undertaken the part of
Alcestis, and supports the character most effectively.
Her delivery is clear, intelligent, and earnest, and
her " burst of animation," in the transition from
death to life, was very fine. Mr. Barry Sullivan was
an efficient Admetus, and Mr. Stuart was a very res-
pectable Hercules, though rather undersized for that
Farnesian hero. The choruses, which are some of
the finest which Gluck ever composed, were tolerably
well executed, and the piece was decidedly successful.
The scenery and costumes are good, and great care
has been bestowed upon the grouping, so as to form
impressive tableaux. The house was well attended,
and Miss Vandenhoff was warmly applauded.
HAYMARKET.—The morning performances of the
excellent pantomine of Little 80-peep, have been
greatly attractive at this theatre, and another re-
presentation is announced for this morning, and
also on Saturday week, the 27th. On Monday next,
Mr. Compton will make his first appearance in Paul
Pry, while on Tuesday next, at the request of many
families, another juvenile night will be given, when
the pantomime will conclude at ten o'clock, Mr.
Buckstone, in his renowned character of Box, in Box
and Cox, by desire, commencing the entertainments
at seven. The Knights of the Round Table, have,
we think, done their uuty, and it would be as well if
the enterprising manager of this theatre were to
substitute some novelty in his bill.

WINTER GALLERY, PALL MALL.—Active prep'
rations are being made by the proprietors of this
gallery for the reception of a collection of pictures
by Belgian brtists, ibcluding several specimens
uelected from the Royal Gallery. The exhibition,
which will be opened in the course of next month,
will no doubt prove as interesting as the late exhi-
bition of works by French artists, which, it will be
remembered, took place late in the autumn.
POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.—The indefatigable
management of this popular institution are about to
commence a series of lectures upon the late improve-
ments in firearms, and at the same time to exhioit
specimens of the different inventions. The subject
will be highly interesting at the present moment,
and Mr. Poppet deserves great praise for his arrange-
ments and exertions.
M. DE LAMARTINE, it is said, is about to publish
memoirs of his life. A Paris publisher offered him
60,000 f. if he would complete a work in two volumes,
but be declined. He requires six volumes to do
justice to the theme.
TEE EMPRESS ELIZABETH OF ATISTRIA has sent
a brilliant ring to Herr Autnberger, of Munich), the
publisher of a beautiful engraving of Perngino's
" lintombrnent.."

THE PRESS.

lortign xt, sittraturt, at.

A PROCESS by which glass is made to perfectly
resemble and answer all the purposes of marble, at
fifty per cent. less cost, has been invented in Ame-
rica. Centre tables, mosaic floors, grave slabs, monu-
ments, and even statuary as per mould, are the al-
leged fruits of this process. "The quarries of Car-
rara," says the New York Churchman, "can yield no
more delicately-veined blocks ; the sand that lies in
the hill-side the open field, or out on the beach
yonder, touched by the inventive genius of our age,
becomes marble."
Two HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE journals and
periodicals are published in seventy different locali-
ties in Switzerland. Several of the newspapers have
lately increased their size.
The Gazetta Populate, of Cagliari, of Jan. 2,
says :—" The first attempt at transmission of an
electric telegraphic' between Cagliari (in the island
of Sardinia) and Oristano (on the mainland) was
made on the evening of the 30th of December. Mr.
Craig, the English Consul, and also the company's
agent in Sardinia, invited a number of persons of
distinction to be present at the trial, which proved
quite successful. The despatch that was trans-
mitted expressed the gratitude of Cagliari towards
science, which had thus annihilated distance, and
also to the company that had introduced the
electric telegraph into Sardinia. From the other
side Oristano sent a sisterly salutation to Cagliari,
lauding in like manner the benefits of electricity.
The latest despatch says that the line between
Oristano and Sassari is in a great state of progress,
with very trifling exceptions. In three days the
communication with Macomer will be perfect, and in
six with Sassari also. Beyond that six wires extend
to Santa-Teresa, and those are already united with
the submarine cable laid down in the Straits of
Bonifacio." The above extract refers to a portion of
the submarine line which is rapidly being extended
from Europe to the French possessions in Africa.
M. SCRIBE'S new drama, the Czarine, was produced
on Monday night at the Theatre Francais; the Em-
peror and Empress were present, and, the title of the
piece having at this moment a particular meaning
and interest, the house was much crowded. During
the performance every word that could be twisted
into even the remotest allusion to present circum-
stances, or to the character of the Emperor Nicholas,
was seized on by the public with avidity. These
occasions were, however, comparatively few, as the
Emperor Napoleon is said not to be disposed to
encourage or admire the undignified warfare carried
on by squibs and theatrical hits. The principal
characters in the drama are. Peter I. and the Empress
Catharine. The latter was played by Rachel, and
proved, consequently, the great attraction ; but the
piece itself, though well received, is not likely- to be
classed among the chefs d'(2uvre of the author.
The plot is entirely imaginative, but the brutal
ferocity of Peter is brought out with much of Scribe's
ancient dramatic skill, and this is the only feature
which possesses the least historic vraiaemblance. The
Emperor and Empress •were received with warm
demonstrations of popularity on entering their box.
AT a charity performance at the theatre at Batig-
nolles, a few nights ago, two young English artistes,
sisters, made a promising debut in a musical
intermezzo. The elder, Mdlle. Agnes Rowland, sang
the well known air from the Favorite, " Oh, mon
Fernand," and an Italian morceau, with much effect,
displaying a fresh, well-toned mezzo-soprano voice,
which with a little training and study, may lead her
to a brilliant career. The younger sister, Mdlle. Fanny
Rowland, appears about twelve years old, and per-
formed a cavatina, of Ricci's, arranged by Her; in a
manner truly astonishing for so youthful a performer.
Both the fair artistes received most encouraging
marks of approbation.