The Express.
London, England, 1861-11-19 00:00:00

(Stamped, Id. Additional.)

daguerreotype apparatus, vases of 6,biood on the IndWo's
club, and evidences of disorder in the shed, seem to convict
the savage, when an old negro discovers among the rem.
mote of the broken camera a daguerreotype plate, upon
which is fixed a faint image of M'Cluskey in the attitude
of Lis crime, reading the purloined letter over the dead
body of his victim. M'Oloskey is at once seised, and on
being searched the missing letter is found upon his person.
The Indian is released, and the overseer Wig is his place.
The jury bring in a verdict of guilty, and Weloskey is
hurried off, and confined in; the hatchway of the boat until
the preparations for his execution are completed. Suddenly
an alarm of fire is raised. M'Closkey Ape snatched •
lantern from an old negro, and has cast It among some
leaky.torpetitine barrels. In an instant the steamboat is
on fire. In the midst of the confusion MN hatchway is
seen to open, tad M'Closkey appears Weakened and burnt,
and contrives to his escape, followedby the Indian.
In the sth Act, Zoe, brokenhearted at the prospect of
her new life, as the slave of the infamous M'Closkey,
procures • phial of poison from an old negro nurse, resolved
to put an end to her life sooner than fall into the power
of the overseer. Another scene shows no Weloskey,
worn out by • demerite flight through the case brake
pursued by leviable terrors, sad blunted by some on.
defiued danger, which his superstition shapes into the
ghost of the murdered boy. It is, however, the Indian
Wabnotee, whose vengeance never sleeps, and who tracks
step by step the mutterer of his little companion. In
the Lit scene the family of the Peyton, are assembled
I in the drawing-room of Terreboons, prior to their leaving
their old house for ever. A brut-braking farewell takes
place between Zoe and George ; sod as she sinks fainting'
George hands her a glass of water into which she dexterously
pours the contents of her phial of poison, and drinks it off.
At this moment Scudder rushes in with the lost letter.
He has been detained by the fact that M'Closkey in
his flight has taken has canoe, and obliged him to walk •
long distance to turn the bayous. He arrives, however, too
late. The poison works its deadly effect, and Zoe dies in
the arms of her lover. The some becomes darkened, the
beck of the siege opens, and discloses a tableau of the grave
of little Paul, the negro boy, with the body of M'Closkey
lying sense it, and the Indian standing erect by its side,
triumphant in his revenge.

Those who go to the Adelphi expecting to witness any
"sensation " such as was afforded them by the Colleen Bare
will assuredly be disappointed. In the Octoroon the action
moves heavily enough, and it was not until the scene of the
slave sale at the end of the third act that the audience were
roused to anything like excitement. The admirable manner
in which this scene wee acted, and the thoroughly natural
rendering of the whole business, had a very great effect upon
the house, and the applause at the fall of the act-drop was
hearty and spontaneous. It is right, too, to observe that this
applause was solely given to the merits of the piece se •
work of literary composition, and to the actors, not to
' any expression of political opinion. The Octoroon has
one great merit, of being entirely free from clap-trap
allusions and party cries. The whole of the more melo-
dramatic portion, the revenge of the Indian and his pursuit
of the murderer, leCloskey, is spirited and essentially
interesting ; but somehow the public appetite, sharpened to
the highest pitch by long-continued announcements, and
additionally whetted by delay, found the dish, when pro-
duced, cat peppered sufficiently for its palate, and the
applause at the fall of the curtain was by no moans un-
tainted with sibillatioc. A little judicious cutting will
probably be inteegeeed with advastage. There are certain
points, such as the nigger speeehee,which, however admirably
given, are uninteiligibis to the mass of the ►udience, sad
but delay the action of the plot.
The acting tkrourbout is remarkably good. Mr. Hemel-
ea•lt makes a peat chseaoter of the calm, phlegmatic
Yankee overseer—make up, nasal Intonation, easy ass•r-

awe, all complete. Mrs. Boucicault plays the Octoroon
girl with much charming simplicity and pathos, but we
would advise a little shortening of her death scene, which
is neolommeriky painful. M. Emery ie picturesque and
artistic se be always is, and Mr. Phillips plays Wahootee,
the Indian (originally played by Mr. Bouchault), with
good pantomimic effect. Perhaps, however, the best played
Fart in the piece is that of Pete, en old negro, in which
Mr. George Jamieson (we believe an American actor) gives
one of the most foisted portraits at the half-pathetic, half.
humorous nigger slave, which it . possible to conceive. The
idea wee new to the public, and they required some half
hour to be families-had with it, bat then their applause
broke forth in earnest, and Mr. Jamiesou may be mewed of
having secured a warm place io their regard.

So much, then, for the Octoroox. That ft may prove
very attractive, that it may be a pecuniary wows, is pro-
bable, but that it will ever become a "town talk," that it
will ever rival its predecessor in,popularity, is more than we
ma venture to predicate.