The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-28 00:00:00

V
/: -: . ~ , ~ . 0
... . i , z
p.. i c
:;,‘,,4
ri 1 e 4
.. . . .
~
( - /01r. -/
7e•L' '-i (7 NEWSPA P E R
. _--, -''• Wißole#,,,, \
, -•zcz---Ais.G7G kr.M.,,*v. i., ' „:=4.
Z 1 .
distinguished for comiatting themselves. A‘7 „..•;t.
~
before a provincial audience is generally i . .-:- =-. . . _......
dilemma, that he must be either incautious or tile a
some. Something exciting, is necesssiy to totem
the attention of some hundreds' or thousands of
half.educated hearers. Even Lord Pahnerston does
not threaten the Emperor of the French so broadly
in the 'louse of Cnamons as when. he speaks to a
crowd of gaping bumpkins; and the difference be,
Commons
tween Mr. Bright in Parliament and Mr. Bright in
the presence of a mob is notorious, end has
been very lately illustrated. It is a pity that
a formal division of labour cannot be introduced.
If Ministers and es-Ministers oever spoke in the_
recess, and the rest of the members never spoke in
the Session, all the evils of both periods would be
avoided. The statesmen would never "Intuit
themselves; and the proceedings of the Home of
Commons would b© much livelier than they are.
But even that rti., e would fail to meet the case of
Mr. Bright and his coadjutors, who are, perhaps,
gaeater sinners m thie respect than all the fist of
the members put together. •

./ -v

\%ç
çS\l
~j~

PRICE..... -..4d.
ST A.MPED ....sd.

FRENCH THEATRICALS,

FnANCAIS.—The question has been asked before now,
How is it that clever men can write such bad comedies
Of the " how" we can say n,,thing, but of the fact that they
can and do so write there is no doubt whatever, and in ad-
dition to many proofs of the possession of that faculty
past, present, and—we fear—to come, by men of talent,
we may boldly cite M. Jules Sandeau's " Maison de Penar-
van," brought out here a few nights since. The author
is known as one of the best and most elegant writers of the
day as a novelist, having produced several works which
hold a high place in the estimation of the best judges, both
for his power of creating an interest in the mind of the
reader, and those rarer qualities of taste and style in which
he is immeasurably superior to most writers of the modern
school, whose popularity is frequently owing to the vio-
lence and vulgar exaggerations of their manner of writing.
A comedy, however, is one thing and a roman another ;
and certain it is that M. Sandeau's play of "La Maison do
Penarvan is a poor affair. While his novel is excellent." The
scene is laid in Brittany, where stands the ruined clateau
of the Penarvans, a noble loyalist family, who have freely
- their vast given their lives and their Terajth..
to aid ihe,miuse of the
Monarchy against' the Republic'. Of
pos-
sessions there remains but a dilapitated castle, and of
the great and numerous family but one surviving daughter
Renee, whose spirit and courage, however—solitary, poor
and friendless as she is—glow as ardently for the good old
perishing cause as in the brightest days of its prosperity.
The last of her race, she is determined never to change her
name, but to die a Penarvaa. In the meantime poverty
and distress are gathering round her, and she is compelled
to part with portions of her land to supply the vulgar ne-
cessities of life. , In this strait she discovers that a relative
belonging to a
she thought dead, is still living, a species of country squire,
has notn,
who younger branch of the Penarvans, whom
grain of the chivalry of his family, in his
composition, and has willingly abjured all connection with
nobility. This doughty personage, Paul de Penarvan, is
about to marry the
pretty daughter of a miller, one Mi-
chaud, a genuine son of liberty as it flourished in 1793,
when the noble Renee, horror-struck at the intended de-
gradation,gchdteau, and, acquainting him with the death
lYseeks an interview with him in the vici-
nity the
resolves to prevent it if possible, and so-
eocf°r herdoifu brothers on 'the field of La 'Vendee, de-
livers him the deeds which constitute him the
head of the family. The beauty of his fair visitant at once
puts an end to the chance of the miller's daughter, and—
not to prolong the story too much—in the next act we find
him the husband of the poor heiress. Anything like love
for such a man is of course out of the question, but she
makes use of his means to aid the royal cause, not only
with his purse, but actually in person, and one of the best
scenes is that in which he reluctantly dons his spurs and
other warlike paraphernalia to take the field amonghis wife's
friends against the Reptblic, with whom lie his real sym-
pathies. He is dangerously wounded in his first battle, and
the natural tenderness of woman's heart towards a suffering
husband finally leads to a reconciliation between them, and
the audience are left to hope (if they can) that the noble
high-spirited woman, who had borne so much for the sake
of early principles, may ultimately find happiness in her '
union with a man that has none. Such Is the outline, and
only an outline, of this play, many of the details which serve
for the filling up of the picture being ornitted for the pet- :-
pose of abridgment, for its extreme heaviness and length
on the stage rather leads to the fear that one account of 'it
rather partakes of the sin of the original; Its' general
effect on the public led to a display of censidfirable oppo-
sition on the first and second represektatidhs. 'And here '
we have to note a fact of singularly raie,Occurrence at this..
theatre—to wit, that the acting was not of the character iics
public are here accustomed to. Without being bad, it was
not first-rate, yet there was no apparent
,want of zeal or, t
care, but the performers seemed nearly all misplaced. 'The::
ungracious riile of Paul, for instance,
,would *teem, to, I**,
quire distinction of manner and deportment to redeem itsi

disagreeable features. It was given.to. M, Got, a most ex-,
'.,eallent comedian, and we believe :only &Went in•lthe'
graceful qualities just named.- *So with M. Prevost, so

with the young actor Coquelin, who played the miller, for
which he is unmisthkably too juvenile, all the stage arti-

fleas to produce the appearance of age being thrown away
up,m his plain and youthful features. Mme. Plessy, as
Mlle. de Penarvan, looked, dressed, and acted beautifully.

In the first scene with her cousin her costume and general
appearance so strongly resembled the best portraits of the
unfortunate Marie Antoinette as to strike every beholder.
With this exception and that of M. Mirecour, who gave
the little part of an aristocratic lacquey of old times with
wonderful gusto, none of the performers seemed at home
in their parts—a drawback that considerably impaired the
effects of the piece, which, however, we could not help
thinking under the hands of Eugene Scribe would have
made an amusing and attractive comedy, a title to which at
present it really possesses no claim. By the way. the sub-
ject seems, all things considered, a curious one to select for
performance in the Court theatre—for the piece had the
quantity of real hap-
honour to be chosen for representation at Compiegne
before the gueits of the Emperor, previous to its produc-
tion at the Frangais. It was received with favour, but of
the quietest kind.
PALAIS-ROYAL —A pleasant little piece, called ci Le
Pifferaro," has been brought out here. Two persons, cep_
- vpielnseisnsgtoin , meet with
qthueeesrmwalolrld of ours
btehefosuntredetisnupthions
one of the wandering Italians just named, whose doleful
melodies are but too well known to the public, and one lays
a wager that this poor fellow, with his infernal music, bright
eyes, and ever-laughing face, cannot possibly be among
ra
ther
philosophical miserable. He loses, of course—but from this
1 hical point rises the material of thephiosop farce, which is
enlivened by two or three agreeable airs, Spiritedly sung by
Berthelet, who has become quite a favourite,
anreceived.
with genuine plaudits.
VARIZIESe—AII amusing trine, not at all remarkable by
its novelty, has been received here with laughter, . called
"L'lnfortanee Caroline." Mdlle. Alphonsine and Dupuis
in the principal characters contributed a full share to its
SUCCeSS.
FOLTES —A lengthy affair, called e" L Zonave de la
Garde," consisting. of mil' every fre-
quenter of the Paris
which
minorwitnessed
theatres must
dozens of times, has b hharev,eand we are
been brought forward a
told the novelty was
DEJAZET. A quite successful.
curious affair, man _,tled . Singulier Effete
de la Poudre," is nowactin - with success, in which a
young ladyl named Diana, and, her
like her classic namesake,
a great hu.utress makes a reputation in the province by
her disdain a
of danger and daring exploits. The idea of
love or the necessity of a husband she treats as the ex-
treme of folly and weakness, when the simple occurrence
of a thunderstorm overthrows all her courage and con-
fidence, and shows her a very woman in her fears, and
she is only too glad to accept the protection of a certain
' gallant captain who offers her his hand and companionship
L through life.
9 .......•-••""--......----.....

I TOMB AT AMBOISE.—M. Arsene
IWho has been making researches at Am-
bnoi°sueEsis:aNl:E s
department of Inde-et-Loire, has succeeded in
finding the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci, the position of
which was unknown. A sort of case containing a coffin.
found in an old church was pointed out to him, and the in.
scription on the lid is said to leave no doubt of the authen-
ticity of the remains it contains.

No HOME complete without a WILCOX AND GIBER'
SEWING-MAOHINE. Simple, compact, efficient, durable, and
noiseless. Warranted to fulfil all the requirements of a
perfect family machine. Prospectus free on application at
No. 135, Regent-street, W.—[ADVT.]

[ADVERTISEMENT.]—Holloway's Ointment and Pills,
o. warm i
ntm water,en t . and afterwards
Moderately
pd
Throat Affections.—At no season have throat maladies been
more numerous or more dangerous than at the present time.
Simple sore throats, hoarseness, relaxed uvula Wilsey, and
diphtheria may be treated moat successfully by fomenting•
o
with w
a wya s o
gthenetnlyecnikbabnind chest
gcihneH
easy treat-
ment. Both ointment and pills are adapted to
ages and every condition; the operations of people of all
both are so
gentle that they will not shock the most delicate lady or
most sensitive child. The instructions wrapped round each
pot and box are so brief and intelligible that any nursery
attendant can apply them.
[ADVERTISEmENT.]—COUSUMpIiOII, allnervous, bilious,
liver, and stemach complaints, Jo every , -
i stage, are only
gravatei and accelerated by drugs butag
every des. cription,ta
perfeczly curable by Du ilarryse o
health restorutgrßevaien
Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which had
been considered hopeless. Vy-- c N 62,914.
quote a few.— Curt --°.
Miss Lange, 18 years of age, cured after the 'medical men had
abandoned all hopes of her reek *ry from the last stage of
Pulmonary consumption with f-verf 1 front
0,44 expectoration,
exhaustion, spitting
of blood, 'a
luratione, hollow cheeks,
emaciated to a skeleton. Sh is now, thank God, a perfectly
healthy, blooming, flesh girl,—N. ange, Commie:sere de
Police. Cure, No. 46,270. Y Mr. James Roberts, of Frimleyl
Surrey, of thirty years' diseased hulgs, spitting of blood, liver
derangement and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,12 a. Miss
Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion,
gathering-8, low spirits, and nervous laooles.—Cure , No.
54,816. The Rev. James T. Campbell, Fall enbam, Nc irfolk,
of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, w hick had re slated
all medical treatment In tins, 11b, 2s 91 ; 2lb, 45 AA ; 5111,
lls; 121 b, 225; 241 b,
Regent-street, London;
Barry du Barry and Co., Yo. 77,
also Fortnum and Mason; and all
grocers and chemists in every town of the linit, ed It ingdom.