The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-05 00:00:00

the meantime the lawyer—animated by the return of
the baronet from Calcutta, with what Mr. Slingeby Law-

rents calls an " incalcuttable " amount of wealth and a
richly endowed niece—passes off the absurdest of all
clerks—a comic plebeian in his office—as tlis lost son.
Launched in life as the (lope of the Family (the title
of the new piece), Mr. Buckstone is in his element. How
he horrifies his father, amuses his cousin, and petrifies
general society by his exploits, need scarcely be described.
His fashionable airs, and practice of etiquette—which he
learns from an old attachment of his—a housemaid in the
family—are irresistiKly Euckstonian. Every detail—even

down to his drunkennesa and his cravat—is very broad and
very happy ; and the audience accordingly were uproarious
and contented.

Vinavy, however, never yet triumphed in a theatre,
and the piece must come to a cocclusion. The baronet's
niece has fallen in love with the mate of the ship on the
voyage home ; and just at the proper moment, when the
piece wu getting leo long, he is discovered to be the real
heir.

This is
not a novel or unexpected incident; but it is
well brought about. The fact is communicated to the false
heir by the schoolmaster, who has been the tool of the
lawyer, and who repents as soon as he finds himself also the
dupe of that individual. The false heir is puesled, tempted,
and his honour is on the wane, when, at this crisis, his
good genius, the housemaid, comes to hie assistance,
inspires him with the courage to do everything
that is honourable, noble, and difficult; and, under
her auspices,
.he avows the fatal fact. The struggle
which preceded the avowal was one of the most telling
points in the piece, and the moral must have benefited the
audience considerably—for it met with a tumultuous wel.

come—each individual being under the evident impression
that be would have done precisely the same thing under
similar circumstances.

The remainder need scarcely be told. The impediment
of social position (which has caused the forcible separation
of the mate and his mistress, and occasioned some pretty

distresses and a projected elopement) being removed, the
lovers are united, and everybody receives his deserts, in-
cluding the actors, who were all called for, and the author,
who bowed from a private boa.
The piece was a complete success. It was well pet upon
the stage, well cast, and well acted. Buckstone as the
vulgar but honest plebeian, Compton aa the head of
Birchen Rouse Academy ("where young gentlemen are edu-
cated, boarded, and washed in the principles of the pro-
testant religion"), Chippendale as the lawyer, Mrs. Fits-
walla= as the housemaid, Mn. Buckingham as an
intriguing fortune-huger (who has nothing to do
with the plot, and who is dressed in most inar-
tificially), besides the minor dramatis persona, were all 11
admirably suited, and made the moat of their opportunities.
What Miss Ellen Grey (who made_ her first appearance)
can do, it is difficult to say, because, as the heroine, she
had not to do anything; but what she can look is obvious
enough—and the " fatal gift " was duly appreciated by the
spectators, we must say, in this instance. She seems be-
sides to be unaffected and well-bred, which are not the
commonest of qualifications.
It may be added of the piece generally, that it had a
valuable element of success—it was not too clever for its
audience. The situations were all broad and forcible; so
ware most of the jokes, which last were very carefully put,
by a very practised hand, and some of them ware perhaps
made additionally safe from the fact that, as Disraeli said
of Peel's quotations, " They bad previously received the
meed of public approbation."