The Express.
London, England, 1866-10-15 00:00:00

.4

Drama.

ADEL.IIII.
It seldom falls to our lot to record the production
of a mare peculiar, original, bad, good, and disagreeable
drama than one in four acts that was performed for the
fret time as Saturday night at the Adelphi Theatre, under
the tide of Med, or Only a Life. We have long ceased to
aspect anything like honesty and fair dealing from
adapters SSA MEOWS. in acknowledging the real authors
Se half the plays produced, and are, therefore, not am-
rimed that we are left in the dark as to the antisorsbip of
KW. A hint was given to a select few in the theatre
that the pie,. was translated from a French work that had
beau rejected st half the Paris houses, and as it contains
so "incidental ballet," and gives no opportunity for
the display of groups of half-naked women and tons of
spectacular gewgaws and tinsel, we can easily believe the
Meer. Judging, however, from internal evidence, we see
no reason why Ethel should have sprung from French
soil, but should guess that it was the work of an English-
woman who had tasted the bitterness of governess life in
England, and, with a temper soured by slights, deceit,
condescending patronage, vulgar insults, poverty, and all
that a lonely woman of education, decency, and refine-
ment has to suffer in the struggle to get food and cloth-
iag without prostitution, bad written a sarcastic novel,
sad afterwards turned it into a drama.
The general excellence, however, of the character-draw-
ing in Ethef is shown by the unusual excellence of the acting
at the Adelphi. The actors have good materiel to work
upon, and they do justiceto it. The story is slight, but truth-
fuL An orphan girl, named EthelChatteris, is the governess
In the family of • retired linendraper named Wordley. In
this position she is persecuted by the attentions of Word-
ley's son, who promises her marriage when he finds that a
less honourable proposition would not be acceptable. The
prospect of being something less dependent than a go-
verness appears to have an effect upon her, and without
any raptures of affection she considers the proposition. Old
Wordley overhears all this, and discharges her on the spot,
but she is befriended by a rich widow, who was once a shop-
woman of Wordley's, and who, having been deceived by
young Wordley before she was married, and treated with
contempt by the father, resolves to annoy the whole family
in every possible way. The son makes his peace with the
father, and the father warns the governess of the son's
Intentious in the way before described, but not before
Ethel has received an offer of marriage from a
Dr. Langdale, an old friend, who is beloved by
Xthel's late pupil, Miss Wordley. Ethel believes
herself engaged to young Wordley, and there-
fore declines the doctor's offer for the present, though she
now thinks she loves him the best of the two, and by the
time she has discovered the presumed villany of young
Wordley, the doctor, believing himself rejected, is on his
way to India. Ethel now becomes poorer and poorer ;
ii
persecuted for rent by a sturdy greengrocer, and with an
offer of marriage from a rich old man, whose messenger of
love is a dressmaker. In this position she is befriended by
an outspoken niece of Wordley's who was once a servant—
and a very troublesome servant—in the house of the
retired draper, and is visited by the rich widow,
who announces her intention of marrying young Word-
ley, if Ethel has no objection, because both father and
son have been ruined by the panic of 1866, and she wishes
to enjoy the luxury of patronising those who once
patronised her. Ethel is too proud to accept any favours
• from rich friends, and in her extremity she gladly accepts
a night's engagement to play the piano at a party at South
Kensington. The house happens to be the rich widow's,
and there abe meets Dr. Langdale in the way before de.
scribed, is overjoyed to see that he has returned from India
until &hc learns that he has married Miss Wordley, and
then dies at the piano of disease of the heart—a diaease
that 'has been frequently alluded to in the course of the
drama.

The rather morbid ending of this play may or may not
be an obstacle to its success with • public who some-
times strain at gnats of this kind when they swallow camels
like the Hidden Hand. The character painting and
acting, however, in Ethel ought to carry through a much
feebler story. Miss Terry has never been seen to greater
advantage than in the poor governess. It is almd-t im-
possible to euumeratethe many admirable points in her act-
ing, or to marvel too much how she produces such effects
with a thin and unsympathetic voice and a face that is not
particularly open. Her broken nervous voice and manner
when suddenly discharged by Mr. Wordley, her bewilder.
went during the father's explanation of his son's dis-
honourable intentions, her subsequent indignant interview
with the son, her joy at again meeting with Dr. Langdale,
her blank despair and terror when be, not knowing
that she loves him, is explaining how he cured what he
calls his hopeless passion, her pianoforte playing after she
finds that Miss Wordley is his wife, and her sudden death
are all efforts of the highest acting—tragedy without stilts.
}Sir worse dramas have been made popular by far worse
acting, and if the third act, which is essentially a woman's
at, and blown out with " nagging," is reduced consider.
eily, if one or two uncalled for political allusions are cut
out, and if the prominent super who strikes an attitude in
the death scene, as he struck an attitude in " Rip van
Winkle," and has struck attitudes in • dozen Adelphi
dramas for years past, is superannuated, Ethel may yet see
a long and prosperous existence.
Mr. Benjamin Webster, jun., came on and bowed when
a call, not unresisted, was made for the author ; but no
other information was given us as to the authorship of
this remarkable drama.