The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-04 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

The production of " Macbeth" will certainly be regard°
as the great evelt at the season, and most justly so, b°.
cause it has been placed upon the stage in a manner wh°lll.l'
without parallel since the termination of the grejri
Macready's management of this our national theatre. Viv
have Messrs. Falconer and Chatterton kept faith with tha
public. They promised that "Macbeth" should be Per'
formed in a manner worthy the tranmndant genius of a/6
immortal Shakspere, and they have redeemed that proo
to the very letter. That the utmost confidence I°ll
placed in the announcement was plainly shown by tl
immense, we may say with truth, the extraordinary 15111°'
ber of persons who s ruggled for admission to the thee°
last evening. For upwards of an hour previous to tl'a
opining of the doors the crowd assembled at each of the°
entirely blocked up the respective thoroughfares, and vflletl
the time for opening arrived the rush was terrific. Instead

of persons anxious to pay their money to witness
dramatic performance, it bore the appearance of a ec°l3;
that might be imagined supposing the directors °
the Bank of England had intimated their later
tion of making gratuitous distribution of five pound riots,
to all who chose to apply for them at each of the doors °'
the establishment in Threadneedle. street. In a few raintlte°
every available seat in the interior of the theatre was 01°`l►
:,
but the declaration that the house was full was of no avail
to those still struggling outside. Thousands insisted tiP°/1
paying their money for standing room, and this, of coarse;
led to another scene as extraordinary as that we have P5l
mentioned. When every square inch of space in tr°ll4
of the house had been appropriated, it was Pa
that quite as many as the theatre would hold el
remained in the various lobbies, and the only visi,od
dealing with such a disappointed and by no means
tempered congregation, was to persuade them to pOts
through the various passages leading to the pay-efac3)
there receive back the money they had insisted on
The scene was altogether, as we have before remarked,
traordinary, and one that no person could for a moo°t
have anticipated.
It is, of course, quite unnecessary to enter into detail Witl3
respect to the Macbeth of Mr Phelps ; it has its thousands °{
admirers and the usual number of opponents. To our think
ing ho embodies the spirit of this most complex character'
and gives all its personalities, if he dots not entirely rolls:
the long, intricate, and varied portrait of a guilty, and ti
certain periods a remorseful man. It will, of course, be
admitted that the part is a difficult one, and until we see °
better representative of it, we shall consider it an admirable
performance. Miss Helen Faucit's Lady Mecbeth i 3
marked with an intensity of expression ; but without ill
the least wishing to detract from her acknowledged abilitieOt
we are inclined to the opinion that characters of a gentler
nature are more especially her forte. In proof of 011°1
although her acting was exceedingly fine in the second
act, the great sleep-walking scene was the great
feature of the performance. Her exit, uttering 1110
words "To bed, to bed," was magnificent. Mr CresWirl'
as Macduff, gave us a very praiseworthy performance; 0114
he deserves the highest commendation for tie manner 19;
which he, like a sensible man, avoided those stereotyPe°
ranting passages invariably uttered by actors of lesser
ability, solely for the purpose of " bringing down the
house." Mr Rayner's Banquo was good; and with a tripl°
compliment to the representatives of the wierd sister 6
Messrs. Belmore, Edmund Phelps, and Mr R. Roallf
we pass over the rest of the performance, remarking thsi
each did their parts excellently well. The scene/
by &tr W. Beverley was superb, more particularly the
opening of the fourth act—the pit of Acheron. It 10
fine Salvator Rosa like scene, with high frowning l'ol
and streaming moonlight. The entrance and tower °
Macbeth's castle is a noble painting, and the banqueting
hall is also remarkable for its barbaric grandeur. Tli°
last scene, "A Plain before the Castle of Duneinane,
with the assault of the besiegers, is a wonderful 00°4
of stage illusion, and called forth the most enthusiastic
plaudits. •
At the fall of the curtain all the principal perforrac°
had to appear to acknowl.dge the applause they had so
justly won.

-
CAPT. SEMMES AND THE NEW ALABAMA .--4 i.
few weeks' ago the departure from Liverpool tooX '-
place of a steamer called the Laurel, with about 100 men°li
)
board, many of whom had served with Cal. t. Semmes•
was also hinted that Capt. Semmes was himself on boo'
A. despatch just received in Liverpool from Madeira jo fo
the effect that the Laurel had been lying in Funchal J 3
for several days previous to the 17th, and early on the
morning of that day she steamed out to sea, and met a larg'
screw steamer (understood to be the new Alabama),
board of which were transferred the crew of the Laurel an
cargo, consisting of guns, ammunition, Sec. The scre4
steamer then made for the direction of Bermuda.
IMPORTANT TO RAILWAY EXCURSIoNISTS.---At
the Clerken well County Court, on Wednesday, *
case was heard of some interest to railway excursionist°; •
The plaintiff was Mr Frank Taylor, a compositor, who ote.",
the London and North-W estern Railway Company foe S;
odd, for luggage lost on the 30th of July last. It appease
that on the day in question the plaintiff was a passenger 10f •
Marcus's excursion train to Shrewsbury—that he got ini°
a carriage at Euston Station, and that after being in it f°r
some time he and others were ordered to leave that vehicl
and get into another, as it was found that it was a damage°
carriage, and therefore unsafe to travel. By this chaet_.
of carriages the plaintiff lost his luggage, although a porter
told him at the time he would see it all safe. For the d 6
fence it was ruled that the railway company were not liable;
as it was distinctly stated on the excursion handbills a°,
the railway tickets that excursionists must take their logo
gage at their own risk. The solicitor for the dolenclo/
quoted a case from a recent number of the Law Jourfia
similar in every respect to the above facts (excepting
'I
damaged carriage), in support of the plea, after which
Ronour decided in favour of the defendants.
THE LANDSLIP ON TIIE NOLTII-EASTEB,N.---1111:
extensive landslip which occurred on the main line of fro
North Eastern Railway at Sherburn, near Durham,
Saturday, and which caused the entire northern traffic t°
sent round by D.ehop Auckland, has, by the energy aye
perseverance of the engineers and other officials, and 0'
employment of a great number of labouret s, been specji;t
followed up and remedied, and the main line at th,A
was ready for traffic on Wednesday evening, several ti's 4
before it was anticipated it could be done.