The Press.
London, England, 1854-10-07 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

tion, and flirtation ensue, until the evening's amuse-
ments are abruptly ended by the sound of the Dutch-
men's guns in the Medway, and the sudden appearance
in the gardens of a plague-stricken man, who in his
dying struggles drops papers which Miss Stewart
picks up, reads, discovers to be a plot against the
king's life, and ultimately gives into the king's own
hands. The two next acts comprise the most inte-
resting points of the play. Nell Gwynne, who has
taken a fancy to the duke, finds out that he really
loves Miss Stewart : her woman's nature is touched,
and she induces not only a reconciliation but an im-
mediate marriage as the only means to shield Miss
Stewart against the king's advances. The king
meanwhile discovers that Richmond is his rival, and
more, that he is one of the chief conspirators in the
plot laid bare by Miss Stewart. Then comes the
point of the play—the confession of marriage, the fury
of the king, and the entreaties of the wife for the life of
her husband, to which the king at length yields, and
returns the fatal paper as a marriage dowry. His
Majesty then presents them to the court as man
and wife, and the curtain falls.
This drama is very well written, and the dialogue
lively and spirited, though it would doubtless be im-
proved by compression. Some of the situations are
very effective, particularly where Nell Gwynne in-
duces the king to light the fire, while she takes the
opportunity of using the fatal conspiracy documents
as waste paper, and helps his unconscious Majesty
to destroy, as she thinks, the only evidence possessed
of Richmond's treason. The introduction of the
plague-stricken man is decidedly a mistake, and we
strongly recommend its omission in future. Apart
from the revolting nature of the thing, what can be
more improbable than that a maid of honour in
those days (orin these) should take papers, the con-
tents of which she is perfectly ignorant of, from the
bands of a plague-struck corpse? The part of
Frances Stewart was played by Miss Glyn with great
depth of feeling : the patient endurance, the reliance
upon her own truthfulness and love, the gentle woman's
nature which found excuses for her lover iu every
circumstance, were delineated with a tenderness and
grace of manner that deserve the highest praise,
while in the more passionate parts her vigour and
energy of delivery reminded us more of Rachel than
any actress we have seen. Mrs. Seymour as Nelly,
witty and wicked, yet with a heart that could do a
good action and reconcile two lovers, though "she
liked the man herself," was bewitching: her arch
manner, too, was very happy and natural, and her by-
play throughout exquisite, particularly in the second
act, at the parting scene between the duke and

Frances Stewart.
Mr. Vandenhoffs King Charles was well and easily
played, though both he and Mr. Mead, as the Duke,
want refinement of manner and modulation of voice.
Kings and courtiers do not always speak in harsh, loud
tones: it is neither natural nor necessary. Mr.
Toole's Pepys was a good performance of its kind,
but it is absurd to represent Pepys as the butt and
buffoon to every one about the court. The scenery
and dresses were in remarkably good taste, correct
and effective, and the play on the whole tolerably
successful.