The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-26 00:00:00

HAS MARKET TilbikTßE.

Mind Your Own Business, a comedy, by Mr. Mark
Lemon, was produced on Saturday evening with
brilliant success. Tne real hero of the play is not
the meddling gentleman, Mr. Oddiman, who embroils
himself in other people's affairs, but Mr. Verdun, a
young country squire, who is nearly ruined by an
unfortunate passion, and whose fortunes are gradually
set forth in the progress of the drama. In the first
act we find him full of health and spirits, glowing
with love for Marian, daughter of the village school-
master, Morrison, and offering her his hand, with the
full assurance of being accepted. The needy father
is, of course, delighted with the offer, the elder
daughter, Fanny, mildly approves, but there is a hitch
on the part of the most important personage, Marian
herself, who has secretly bestowed her affections on
Arthur Mowbray, a young artist. Wren the fatal
truth is revealed, and Verdon's dream of happiness is
dispelled, be rushes in despair from Morrison's house,
and the lovers are left to be as happy as they may.
Something like a twelvemonth elapses before the cute:
nienceinent of tha I.econd act, Mowbray has married
Marian, and the drop scene rises amid the sound of
village rejoicing, consequent on the christening of
their first child. Mowbray is tolerably happy, but
as he is highly connected, and has been used to luxu-
ries, the humble mode of life which he leads with his
wife and her father is not altogether to his taste. In
the meanwhile, Verdon has betaken himself to
London, where, on the strength of his disappoint-
ment, he devotes himself with such energy to the
bottle as to acquire the name of "Drunken Verdon."
Fenny Morrhun, to contribute to the comforts of her
feroily at eome, has engaged herself as companion
to Mrs. Smythe, a London lady, at whose house
she perceives Verdon, and is greatly shocked
at his changed condition. Resolved to save him,
she visits him at his lodgings, and while he is
drowsing thought with a bowl of punch, occasionafly
calling up reminiscences of his rural amusements,
she suddenly appears before him, and so far in-
fluences him by her mild persuasion that he resolves
to return to the country and lead a better life. At
the same time, poor Fanny has troubles of her own.
Mrs. Smythe, who, being married to sci devant
footman, is not received into ueexceptionable society,
opens her house to rather doubtful company, and
Fanny is exposed to the insulting addresses of Mr.
Orgrave, a libertine Member of Parliament. Quitting
Mrs. Soaythe's house,she resolves on returning to the
country, but is pursued by Oigrave, and being over-
taken by him at a road side inn, is only saved from
his clutches by the sudden appearance of Verdon,
who happens to have taken up his lodgings there on
his way home. When she reaches her father's house
she is received with delight; Verdon discovers that
he loves her as well as he thought he loved Marian,
and takes her fur a wife, and Orgrave, the " bad
man " of the piece, is knocked down by a
thunderbolt in the shape of ate- old deed,
which transfers all his property to his cou-
sin Mowbray, the husband of Marian. Not-
withstanding a degree of complexity in the plot,
the piece rivet ed the attention of the audience
throughout, and will take its place on the stage as a
sterling and attractive comedy Mr. Webster's per-
sonation of Verdon is one of the most marked
tri-
umphs of that artistic comedian—in fact,
humorous
the exalted
he
never
as
the
aetedobbeutts7..bodMy!,. Banucdkstaosnesitns
"Jearnes," Mr. Keeley is transcendently delicious.
Mr.:Leigh Murray sustained the cool villain, Orgrave,
'to perfection, and Mr. Howe, as Mowbray, is manly
and correct, whilst Mr. Rogers, in the minor part of
Weezie, merits especial notice for his careful
intelli-
Renee. Fenny and Marian, the two sisters, are pour-
trayed with exquisite discrimination and effect by
Mrs. Stirling and Miss Reynolds; and Mrs. Bucking-
ham is a most apt representative of the espoused of
the ex plush. Altogether, a more satisfactory per-
formance it would be impossible to witness, and it
will be very strange if Mind Your Own Business does
not draw crowded houses. The applause at the con-
clusion was enthusiastic even to uproar.

. -
31ADEMOISLIALE WAGNER.
Mademoiselle Johanna Wagner, who arrived in Lon-
don with her father, Albert Wagner, in the course of
she p -st wi ek, is the niece of the Chapel Master of
Drerden, Richard Wagner, whom Lisiz has recently
made known to the world as being,
in his opinion, the
greatest composer of the present day. .In her early life,
tee. pampa having a proleesioual engagement at the
JO-tore:at Wurzburg, in Bavaria, Jobanna's place of
residence was in that town; Whilst - here she was at
imps cast as the representative of--the good spirit in fairy '
spectacles, in each of which, especially as she advanced
in age, she is said to have displayed declamatory powers
is no common order. and the result was that, at fifteen
years-os age, .he was ,elected to stisisen the character et
Abigeil, in Le Verre el' Eau, which was produced est
the Balieeelstadt Theatre. She then essayed, with
undisputed success. in Esmeralda, as Preciosa, and
as Cornelia in King Lear. .It -wise about this
period the parents of ttie youthful. Johanna discovered
that she possessed a beautiful - voice ; where-
upon they, being professors of the vocal art, " got her
up" in the Page in Meyerbeer's Huguenots. From this
mom nt a portion of each day was devotee to the study
and practice of voealization and -music generally, the
effect of which was, that after a few months there was
an almost daily perceptible advancement in the art,
until, at length, she made her debit in the part of. Cate-
ein,, in lialevy's Reine de Chypre. The success which
this performance achieved led eldlle. Wagner to traniter
her principal studies from the legitimate drama to opera.
Upon this her uncle Richard expressed a wish that she
should pay a visit to Dresden; but before she complied
with that wish she accompanied her father to Paris,
where she remained under the instruction of Manuel
Garcia for six menthe. It will be.in the recollection of
many of our readers that Manuel Garcia is the brother
of the lamented Malibreneind of Viardot, and, further,
that Jenny Liud was one of his pupils. From Paris
Johanna, with her father, proceeded to Dresden, where
she received an eegagement for Eve years, and succeed, d
Mdme. Schroeder Develent. She first made an im-
pression on the miuds of her hearers in the charaet,r
of Agatha of Weber, then in Beethoven's Fe:felt°,
and afterwards in various other parts. From Dresden
she went to Hamburgh, in consequence of the poll-
tical strife which the former place became the
Beene. Here it was that shi? undertook the arduous
character of Fides, in the Prophite, and it was her
powerful delineation of this opera wtoch caused her
Walton to spread from one- end of Germany to the
ether. Subsequently to this Mdlle. Wagner held engage-
ments at Berlin and Vienne, and it was in the former
country. Permission,
city that she succeeded Viardot in Fides. The great
Year. -
oan
tr.ieurr_rphs she achieved resulted in her being engaged at
rhunbi riin Theatre for ten years upon tar higher terms
,v4rMieddl,e.;peVtongr
am
nda
.donna in that
Wagner
to
absent
hoenr,adf however,
for sixwaysnapraeastehravedd a
rtion
gMedal lceh.
Wagnerrb -.brings with her to this country a
Gluck, Spoetioi,
In personal Appearancehng, it is said, equally powerful in
and Me za! r. er,M:ledenrobeer, Bellini,. Donizetti,
lewdly preposse,ait,g.see
is b Wegner is more than
inches in height, of lair cum la out bye feet six or seven
a pleasing
expression
of
ooupote,xien, with light hair, and
metal) effect in the more impaeslird'' which fires up with
formbeces. Her !ige may be ratnhter scenes of her per-
and bar v: ice is a powerful zzo.
soprano,
under twenty-five,
capable of producing vast effects. It remains
said to be
in what theatre the lady willemalus to be seen
achieve them,