The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-19 00:00:00

Mr, Charles Kean in California.

SAN FRANCISCO, ve",o9
The long-expeetedaheatrical event, tae appearance oft
Keens, marked an epoch in the drama's history alu°lls,eff
last night. The Opera House was densely crowded' e'opi
seat, box, and foot of standing room, being occueied',
many hundreds going away from the doors unable to Pio
admission. The play, "Henry VIII." was put u1319/1011'
stage with an eyo clear to elegance and an ear deaf t,ie
It has not often been presented at San Francisco. anujapaS
the " Stars," was undoubtedly new to many. Such c°e'd
draw comparisons nor imagine contrasts, but were stadeo°
rather than judges, studying the play as well as the actet''?
almost of necessity, cold and critical. Yet the ftra°olt
were graciously received, and evidently gained in tbe tyel
illation of the house until the fall of the curtain, ville,,nieecP
were called before it by a well pleased and satisfied an'-iotO
The play, all who have read the text know, is a gltle-teo'
work of art, but it has little in it to stir people to s' or
seism, It is an exhibition of passions and plots,
roganco and brutal propensities, offset with priestly %0
city, cunning, and ambition. There is neverthoedil
wonderful charm in the figures and language, which detod
the intellect rather than touch the heart, and when
by such masters of elocution as Mr and Mrs lilses;00?
irresistible. To criticise these eminent artists lige",
seem like telling the world the qualities of chill:W:lV
The public knows their reputation as tt
.
the flavour of Clicquot. The bubbles of this that eye'
" sparkling and bright" to the surface, mark not ttletioo
raster of the wine, more than do the clear interpretl‘oo
of the meaning of the text as uttered by Mr and Aft%poitj
stamp the true artist. Their most striking points
be perfect elocution, showing an intimate .lenceeiledga,iatia/
spirit as well as words of the text, a thorough aPPr"eO ty
of what each scene and situation requires to •'°"-,004
seeming appear the real life, appropriateness of '19°,400",
gesture, moti n, clear enunciation, passion where
would assert its strength, pathos when the heart feelsoe,/
intellects travels with the sensibilities; Art and Nettioe
hand in hand. As the Queen on her trial in the vindiet'io)
her honcur and the assertion of her dignity, as well° el 0(
appeals to the justice of the brutalking, Mrs Kean
the royal personage she represented—the proud daqke
Ferdinand, no less than the woman and wife. 1',,,t-gosk)l
interview with the two cardinals, where the litle:00
suffers find eloquent expressions of denunciation' 'c14,400;
by the reaction and eventual submission to the r
the representatives of the Church, to whose autheritel 1):11
had been educated to believe her eleedience was di;blity,
excellence as a delineator of Nature was perfect. Igrtte
manner, like that of his wife, is a delightful contrasoj
storm style which so often on the stage tears a PePotid
to tatters. The excellent points he made were 100ret
than we have space or time to enumerate. In i'll3ePo
where as the Cardimel fallen from his high estate iltlol,
farewell to all his great less, Shakspere himself Inigt,det
sat as an auditor, and felend no fault with the rep is
We have a word to say in regard to Mayo's rend
too ,
King Harry. It was a crew: personation inert/0
reading, and make-up. Ho col:omitted one or tW°,cliesiel
particularly in the scene where iee leaves the Cs'ecj, es,
anger—but, as a whole, he has'
reason to be satisdforeidtle
were, with his effort last evening., Vid not sPace. toP
would be pleased to refer to the alter characters ill
They must form the subject of anot her notice.
000 DI
MR. SALA AND INIR. DICKENS: q rietofilto
much interest to authors and the' P:Dift befor, e
magazines and periodicals is likely to be brevng- roe isle?
law courts. A popular writer commenced a se' e s e'
the pages of All the Year Roma. Some tim° A.Ol
el ef
sidereblo interval elapsed between the arrival
~j3O and
etalments, ceueing a serious interruption 0 cosille°
publication. The public interest in the tale Perr
began to flag. A similar delay having aguiu "culla It teil,
editor placed the completion the tale in the eleffitt)
another popular writer. After so ne two or 0?
tl'f,ipel`.o
of this continuation had been public lied' the °lltteteit to
4
forwarded more MS., which, of cone se' under
is
stances cannot be printed. So the n.'atter
their red
involved in law, both parties insisting upon ;0101
riglits.—.7 he Reader. the 11t
tleta
TDB HYDE I'Al3li SCULPTURfS ,
acp
Prince Consort IVrnorial have been deter' to c'S,o,"
Baron Marochetti (according to the ,Reader) .yol P 00:
the statue of the Prim=e—and the Neer Ptiteive 17;eir.r
symbolising the four quarters of the I VOrldf tp (fl;
trusted to the following scezlptors
acdowell, R.A.—Asia, to Mr s3'lfear,
M
to Mr W. Theed--America, to Mr Ji• ' , 1%104 ploc
groups,emblematic of Agriculture, C°lllr e4reeNr•
tures, and Mechanics, will be esecue6 d bisreeio
shall, RA., Mr J. Thorneycroft, Mt' U. Dira.,'
Mr 3. Lawler. Mr W. H. .Areasteal
will exer.:nt,) the bas-reliefs.