The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-03 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
Mr. Wigan's benefit last evening was deservedly
patronised by a brilliant and overflowing attendance.
We cannot but again express rtgeet ut his approach-
ing departure from this establishment, where his
talents were so conspicuous among a company nevar
surpassed in the annals of the modern theatre, for the
excellence of its leading members, whether in comedy
of every grade, tragedy, melodrama, ballet, or
pantomime. Last night the Corsican Brothers was
played for the fifty-first time, after which Mr. Wigan
performed in A Bengal Tiger, and in the .Critic,
wherein he personated the immortal Puff With ad-
mirable coolness and genuine comic humour.

ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.
Lest night the series of German plays commenced
with the Egmont of Gii:ithe. The plot of this tra-
gedy may btt thus briefly sketched. The Netherlands,
oppressed under the yoke of the bigoted Philip 11. of
Sp:tin, are ripe for revolt, In some of the provinces
outbreaks have already taken place, and monasteries
end churches have been pillaged by the freethinkers.
Philip resolves to put down all attempts at rebellion,
and maintain the Catholic faith with a hand of iron,
and appoints the cruel and bloodthirsty Duke of Alba
regent of Flanders, in the stead of Margaret of
Parma. Count Egmont, the idol of the people, is
suspected by Alba of secretly plotting against the
King, in concert with the Prince of Orange. With
machiavellian dissimulation he entices Egmont to the
palace, arrests him, and, in despite of Egmont's ap-
peal to be judged by his compeers as a knight of the
Golden Fleece, he is condemned by Alba, and exe-
cuted The Prince of Orange, who had in vain im-
plored his friend Egmont to fly from Brussels, escapes.
In the selection of so historical a personage as Eg-
mont for his hero, it is to be regretted that GtiAhe
has not adhered more strictly to historical veracity.
Egmont is presented to us as a young unmarried
man, with unlimited enjoyment of the pleasures of life,
boundless self-reliance, a gift of drawing all men to
himself, even the son of his implacable enemy Alba.
His courage borders upon daring; he knows no dan-
ger, turns a deaf ear to the warnings of his friend,
and manfully advocates the cause of the people even
in Alba's presence. His personal courage is the
foundation upon which the whole character of Eg-
moat rests. The design of Egmont is to show that
the most firmly established institutions cannot main-
tain themselves against a powerful and shrewdly cal-

culating despotism. The love of Egmont for Clarchen
is entirely distinct from the plot of the drama. It is
a domestic tragedy in itself, subservient to the deve-
lopment of Egmont's character. Clarchen, a lovely child
of nature, the daughter of an artizAn, lives with her
aged mother. She is seen, courted, and won by
Egmont. Clarchen is one of those wonderful deli-
neations of character of which GOathe was so great a
master, and may take place by the side of Mignon,
his masterpiece. This gentle girl has one sole passion
—her love for her seducer. This love is so pure—
though so guilty—so beautiful in its devotion, so fond
in its expression—that to say one harsh word to the
fair girl in whose breast it dwells would need a heart
of stone; hence the character of Brackenburg—an
honest, bluff soldier, betrothed to her before Egmont
crossed her path, and who, though his heart is break-
ing, remains true to her to the last, and hovers near
her as a brother. On hearing of Egn:iont's arrest and
sentence, Cliirchen loses her reason in vain attempts
to excite the people to deliver him, and poisons her-
self in despair. Egmont beholds her vision in a
dream, and the curtain falls on the appearance of the
soldiers who are to lead him to execution. Egmont
was first represented at Weimar (then the Athens of
Germany), in 1796 ; the original part of Egmont
was taken by Iffland, the most celebrated actor of

the day. Schiller helped Gii!the to put—it-- on
the stage. Last night the part was taken by Emile
Devrient, an actor who fully maintained the high re-
putation he enjoys in his own country. He personi-
fied admirably the noble bearing of Egmont, and in-
terpreted the true meaning of the author with a clas-
sical correctness and true delivery which elicited en-
thusiastic applause. His voice is manly and clear.
At the end of the fourth act, when Alba demands his
sword, his simple exclamation of the name of his
friend embodied the whole story of warnings given
and rejected. Frau Stolte's personification of Clarchen
was in many respects an admirable piece of acting,
especially in the scene where, with childish joy, she
admires her lover, who, to please a whim of hers,
appears dressed as a Spanish grandee, in her humble
chamber—a scene which Sir Walter Scott has been
accused of borrowing in " Kenilworth," with what
justice we do not pretend to say. The corps is an
efficient one. Vansen (Herr Birnstill), a roue clerk
who urges the people to revolt, was well got up.
On the whole, the performance was most
successful, and the series of German dramas
promises to be one of the greatest attrac-
tions of the season. The Queen and Prince
Albert, the Duchess of Kent, and a very large
number of the aristocracy, honoured the performance
with their presence, and the house was full to over-
flowing. Before the drama a prologue, expressly
written for the occasion by Dr. Kuenzel, was deli-
vered by one of the corps, dressed as the Germanic
Muse, in a flowing robe of white and a wreath of oak
leaves in her hair. The prologue alludes to the
bonds of consanguinity by which England is allied to
Germany, a passing compliment to the " Bard of
Avon," and the influence of his works on the drama-
tic literature of Germany. The Muse then placed
the crown upon a bust of Shakspere. A compliment
is paid to the happy state of England in the midst of
European convulsions, and to Prince Albert, as the
originator of the Great Exhibition, as a steF towards
the unity of nations. After the prologue the Na-
tional Anthem was played, the whole housa rising.
The mise en scene was good—the music well adapted.

MR. ALBERT SMITH'S MONT BLANC.
Last night was the hundredth representation of this
entertainment at the Egyptian Hall, and Mr. Albert
Smith gracefully signalised the occasion by presenting
every lady present with a bouquet. The crowds of bold
adventurers who nightly stroll through the Alps—
encounter funny travelling countrymen and country-
women, and who finally and in the most dauntless
manner follow the lecturer up across the crevices,
past the Grand Mulets, and to the very tip-top of the
monarch of mountains—continue unabated in eager-
ness or numbers ; and as Mr. Albert Smith has sig-
nalised his first hundredth night by a bouquet, his
second similar epoch will come handily in among the
peaches. If even the " nights" go rolling
on as un-
brokenly as the Arabian ones, we still trust in Mr.
Smith's inventive faculties to find out new modes of
celebrating his Hegiras.

.211 RS. ANDERSON'S CONCERT.
Mrs. Anderson's concert is sure to be one of the
most brilliant of the season, and yesterday it outdid
itself. No reception could be more cordial than that
which the beneficiaire received, when, after a profes-
sional silence of many months, she sat down to the
pianoforte to accomp?ny Mario in the "Adelaide."
The programme included twenty-four pieces. The
whole force—vocal, instrumental, and choral—of the
Royal Italian Opera were in the field ; and in addi-
tion, Miss Louisa Fyne and Madlle. Clara Novello
contributed their aid, while Miss Kate Loder and
Miss Anderson Kirkham were the pianoforte soloists.
Herr Joachim also performed a fantasia upon Scotch
airs, which exhibited to the full his powers of strong
and fervid bowing, and his rapid and distinct mani-
pulation. Mies Anderson Kirkham played Menials-
sbon's concerto in G minor, and, with Miss Kate
Loder, a very attractive duo, by Osborne, upon
themes from the Huguenots. The lady in question,
who is a niece of Mrs. Anderson, bids fair to bear
well aloft the musical honours of the family.
Her style is light and delicate, and her
touch remarkably nimble and neat. Over the key-
board, so far as rapid brilliance is concerned, she rules
with absolute sway. Miss Anderson Kirkham's ren-
dering of the sonata was marked by much apprecia-
tion and perfect executive facility, and in the Hugue-
nots duet both performers gave a brilliant reading.
The execution of the poignard chorus was particu-
larly good. The single overture was that to Oberon.
The choral performances included the well-known
the i is
pt brae
e:
Walpurgis Night chorus, " Disperse, disperse;" the
amd pr iogs tl on" fromiNo w
monthZes
di ath.
G rsf s'l
, Ind 4rdYtB lel 4
Beethoven's
and
acos
great song, Mario gave,
duet from Don Pasquale, principal
associated in the weil•known " oFormes were
Zerrer," from the
Huguenots. Madlle. Anna Zerr was encored in a
German Lied, " Das Straussle," Madame Clara No
vello gave the " Bel raggio," end Miss Pyne an air
from Coppola. Madame Castellon sang the favourite
bravura, " 0 limo," from the Linda, and, with Ron-
the as well-known " Quanta amore," from
L'Elisir. A duet by Piatti and Bottesini, and Seve-
ral songs and concerted pieces by M. Gueyrnard,
Signor Marini, Galvani, &c., closed the principal
-tures of the concert.

quar-
terly court of
founded in 1778 for the reformation of sc)uNb.sTr Lress tPt
rodthis i institu-
tion, titu-
ITaUnTdI
the governorsiNST
pt ioosuPe,ll,
fl.itransacting which
Arrswaliacitst
n
The report, which was
Mr. William Gladstone in thechair.
number of boys admitted
juve-
nile offenders, was held at the Lbounsidnoen„sToafvetrhne,
cfoorrptohreatpiounr;
very satisfactory, stated that the
which number there had
tChe usual
during the past year was 74, of ed, 71 ;23 boys had
ta2hioledoc;ot ilailienirndei tt
the
conditional
emigrated or otherwise been discharged,
under
been received from Millbark Prison
pardons, commuting their sentence of transpo
at the commencement of the past school
others had been received under a similar pardon from the
Westminster 13ridewell. The number of boys in the
at:at the present time 99. It is the intention3earlvas 906t'
:talon ; and 8
to icerease the number of boys from 100 to average cost per head, exclusive of emigration expenses, will
sink from 321. to 25/. per annum. The total receipts for the
past year had been 16,139/. 138.10 d., and after the necessary
expenses had been defrayed there was left a balance in hand
of 223/. ,Is.
the meeting se p Somearated routine business having been transacted,
THE .EARLY CLOSING MOVENIENT--It WES erra-
ordinary the number of betting offices that were closed early
the morhing after flag Derby l--Punch.