The Press.
London, England, 1854-10-14 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

lilt puma.

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
This theatre opened for the season on Monday even-
ing. The performances commenced with an original
comedietta, by Mr. Troughton, in one act, entitled
Living too Fast, and a new drama, in three acts, A
Heart of Gold, by Douglas Jerrold. The comedietta
is a light piece, intended to depict the embarrass-
ments that sometimes fall upon a young married
couple, who spend their first year's time arid money
in amusement and indulgence. Mr. Lacy and Miss
Murray played 'he young couple with great ease and
spirit, and contributed much by their acting to the
success of the piece.
The more important drama of the evening was
that of Mr. Douglas Jerrold which followed. Choos-
ing a period of about a hundred years ago, the author
has laid the scenes of his drama in London and in
Essex. The story is simple, and relates to the re-
jection of one John Dymond, a rich Essex yeoman,
by Maude Nutbrown, a village belle, who loves spoor
man, Pierce Thanet. Maude's father, a selfish, ava
•
ricious,yethospitablo old farmer, encourages Dymond
because he is rich, and hates Thanet because he is
poor, uses all his influence to induce Maude to marry
Dymond, and forbids her having any intercourse
with Pierce Thanet. But Maude is true to her lover,
Pierce, who goes to London to seek his for-
tune. Dymond, maddened with Maude's continued
rejection of all his offers, wanders to London with
the intention of going abioad, and meets Maude and
her father, who have come up to London too.
Dymond makes a last attempt to secure Maude's
affection by a magnificent present of jewels, which
she returns, and frankly tells him that her heart is
engaged. Worn out in body and mind, Dymond,
who is passionately fond of Maude, falls seriously ill,
and, feeling that death is at hand, he sends hurriedly
for the son of an old and valued friend, Pierce
Thanet, and to him leaves the bulk of his wealth,
enjoining him at the same time to make gold the
god of his idolatry, and then to all appearance dies.
Pierce Thanet, now a rich man, is eagerly accepted
by Maude's father as her intended husband. They
all return to their village to prepare the funeral of
poor Dymond, and the marriage of Pierce and Maude.
But Dymond does not die, and suddenly appears at
the village inn, overhears the plans for the marriage,
finds that he himself has been the positive means of
his rival's successs, and, furious at the thought, dis-
covers himself and reclaims his gift. Pierce,
aware that the possession of this wealth is his only
chance of obtaining Maude's hand from her obdurate
father, refuses to restore the given property, which
Maude overhearing, she, disgusted with her lover's
dishonourable action, discards him for ever, and in a
moment, forgetting years of love and affection, rows
herself into the. arms of Dymond, who, in herth eyes,
now appears as a martyr to generosity and honour-
able feeling. The third and last act brings on a cri-
sis. Maude soon finds, as most women would, that she
has acted hastily, that her love for Pierce is too deep
to be obliterated, that friendship is all she feels for
Dymond, while Pierce, on his part, reflects upon his
ill doings, repents and returns his uneasy burden of
wealth to Dymond, who is compelled to hear from
Maude's own lips that she does not love him, and is
finally left in the unpleasant situation of seeing the
woman he loves quietly marrying his more fortunate
rival.
The moral of this drama is against an insatiable
love of gold, a due punishment for the love of which,
more or less, falls upon the heads of all concerned.
Maude is the " heart of gold," though it would be
more appropriate to denominate her as a " heart
above gold ;" but the heart of a young lady that
changes three separate times between two men looks
prinid facie very like a heart of some baser metal,
the owner of which has acted more from caprice
than principle. The inconsistencies of character
in this drama are very glaring. John Dymond, a
generous, charitable man, is made to express his dying
injunctions in words that would far better become
the character of a selfish old miser than an Essex
yeoman; and then the idea of a man travelling about
the country a hundred years ago with a small box of
1,000 guineas in his pocket, and an Essex yeo
man buying a three-hundred guinea bracelet for a
young lady, and, without having paid for it, throwing
it into the Thames because she refused to keep it.
And again, it is most improbable that Maude would in
a moment promise to marry Dymond, a man for
whom she had no particular regard, because her
own old lover refused to Lonimit an act that would
deprive him for years of the opportunity of marrying
her. Her woman's kind nature would have told her
that he did not so much value the money for itself
as for what it gave to him in her, and, however
much she might have failed in persuading him to do
a disagreeable duty, she would scarcely have married
his rival.
In spite of brilliant little bits of dialogue
.1 and repartee, the interest of the piece is not well
sustained, and, unfortunately, the characters are

• SATTJAPAY;

not uniformly well supported. Miss Heath, -ass'
Maude Nutbrown, was certainly admirahle for
the genuine feeling she displayed, and the per-
fectly natural manner in which she sustained the
character. Her description of Loudon was given with.
such happy animation, and iu such buoyant spirits.
that, it seemed, could scarcely AO words to express all.
the wonders she had seen. She did perfect justice tq.
this choice bit of writing by the author. Mr. Addi,:
son's lamer Nutbrown was a very good, homel ..
piece of acting. Miss Murray, as Molly Bindle, t
evidently takes a popular a&tress for her model, while
the part of Michaelmas would• suit Buckstone better
than Mr. Fisher. Mr. Ryder, as John Dymond, exag.
gerates the character too much : no doubt a distracted
lover is a difficult part to play, but an Essex yemnaix
would not be so artificially melodramatic in the ex-
pression of his passion. The anise en seine was
perfect, and the play on the whole was successful,
but, beyond the first night, the house has been but
thinly attended. The performances concluded with
The Halt of the Ballet, a pretty and successful diver-
tissement. Mr. Charles Kean makes his first appear-
ance next Wednesday, in The Courier of Lyons.

AD LPHI.
Mn. MORRIS BARNETT has this week proved his ver-
satility of talent by giving a striking delineation of
French character, as the Marquis de Grandville, in
Mr. Lunn's popular version of Les vieux Fiches,
better known by the name of Capers and Coronets?
Originally a dancer at the Grand Opera, though
inheriting his title from the death of a brother, the
marquis is incessantly pursued in all his adventures
with distressing reminiscences of his earlier life,
which painfully embarrass him; and, when at length
he is irresistibly led to accompany a danseuse in the
execution of a grand pas, Mr. Baruett's acting was
one of the most perfect exhibitions we have wit-
nessed. In the second piece, The Station House,
his impersonation of the modern Frenchman,
with short hair and long beard, though less im-
portant as a character than that of the Marquis de
Grandville, was scarcely less perfect as a portrait.
Mrs. Keeley, who in Capers and Coronets acted the
danseuse, was of course a most efficient addition to
the strength of the cast.

The OLYMPIC opened on Monday evening, under
the management of Mr. Wigan. The performances
consisted of A Match in the Dark, Hush 41Iancy, and
Perfect Confidence. Mr. and Mrs. Wigan, and the
popular favourites, were received with great applause,
and the house, which has been thoroughly cleaned
and repaired, was very fully attended.
HAYMARKET.—The Spanish dancers have at length
terminated their engagement at this theatre, and
their place is now supplied by Mr. Wright, who has
appeared in some of his most popular characters
during the week.
ST. JAMES'S.—The King's Rival still continues to
attract at this house, and other novelties are pro-
mised.
The MABYLEBONZ opened on Saturday evening last,
under the management of Mr. William Wallack, for
the performance of the higher class of drama, and
inaugurated the season with the play of As You like
It. The acting throughout was highly satisfactory.
Mrs. Wallack as Rosalind, and Mr. Wallack as
Jacques, both sustained their parts with talent; and
Miss Cleveland was an interesting Celia. The
scenery and decorations were judicious and effective,
and the house was well Ailed with a highly respect-
able audience.

THE SANDWICH ISLANDS are to be admitted forth-
with as a State among the United States, on the pay-
ment of annuities to the King, his sons, and coun-
cillors, the purchase of the Government buildings,
and the assumption of the debts due to the French
and English Governments. The whole advan he
money will not exceed probably 800,0001. Th
annexation is put forward as a master-stroke of Presi-
dent Pearce's policy, though the States' represen-
tative, Mr. Gregg, who owns property in the capital,
Honolulu, deserves all the credit of the transaction.
THE RECRUITING FOR THE ROYAL ARTILLERY, 1.0
the number of 2,000 men, has been closely followed
up both at home and in Ireland, where the service
has always been popular. The authorities
there
have
reduced the standard height to 5 ft. 64 in., and
is a bounty of St. 15s. 6d. The large howitzer,
weighing 64 tons, being mounted at the Royal Arse-
nal, 'Woolwich, on a solid bed, for service on board a
war-steamer, is destined for the Baltic fleet. The
spherical solid shot it discharges is upwards of 100
lb. weight, and it could breach the stoutest niason.ry.
ON the Ist January, 1855, the official inauguration
of the Calcutta Railway will be solemnised, middle
line will be opened to Itaneegunge, which lies distant
122 miles from Calcutta. The present rate of travel-
ling on the section used between Hourah and Pun-
dooan is as nearly as possible thirty miles an hour,
and there is already a marked increase in the goods
traffic, consisting principally of provisions, suice the
railway was opened in August last.