The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-27 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

DEBORAH,

Madame Ristori appeared in a new character last
evening—the heroine of a German drama, which
has been rendered into Italian by Signor Cerri, and
into English by Mr. Charles Kenney. The scene
of the story is laid in Styria, in the middle of the
past century, when the Jews were expelled from
Hungary, and a groupe of them happening to halt
in the neighbourhood of a Styrian village, Deborah,
a Jewish maiden, engages and returns the affections
of a young farmer named Alberto, who, though be-
trothed to the daughter of his pastor, persuades her
to desert both her people and her faith, and accom-
pany him to America. The sudden illness, however,
of his father restores the young man to a sense of
duty, and, crushing his infatuation, he marries his
betrothed. The poor Jewess, ignorant of his false-
hoed, steals into the village that she may meet him ;
and there seeing him leave the church
a bridegroom, a terrible revulsion ensues
in her heart ; all her affection turns to
fury, and launching on him her malediction, she
leaves him with the promise that in five years she
will return and obtain in some shape her revenge.
This interval is supposed to have ensued at the
opening of the last act, and Deborah, true to her
word, again confronts the farmer, who is now a
father ab well as a husband—when, on learning that
he had been instrumental in obtaining an edict
from the Emperor for the protection of her people,
as an offset to his wrong to her—a second revulsion
restores her heart to all its tenderness and kindness,
and, blessing him and his family, she bids adieu to
him for ever.

Though not without some merit in its pictures o,
Styrian manners, this drama, on the whole, i
very meagre and diffuse, and owes all its vitality
to the character of the young Jewess, to whom it
assigns but one great scene—that of her parting
from her lover. This scene, however, is one that
affords no little scope to the unequalled powers of
Madame Ristori; and, whether in its pathos or in its
fury, stands out as one of the finest instances of her
genius which she has yet exhibited. Poor as we are
compelled to think this drama the surprising gran-
deur of the scene, must be accepted we are quite
sure as a sufficient reason for the plays production.
It is needless, we presume to add, that the audience
thoroughly recognised the claims of the perform-
ance, and summoned Mdme. Ristori before them
with more than their usual ardour.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean's Readings for

the Shakspere Fund.

Last evening's Farewell Readings, by Mr. and
and Mrs. Charles Kean, in St. James's-hall, in
aid of the Shakspere Fund, if judged merely by
the enthusiasm of the applause accorded to those
two distinguished artistes, must be pronounced at
once and with all emphasis, and without one par-
ticle of reservation, a brilliant and even tr:umphant
success. It was unfortunate that the very night
selected for these Readings should also, as it fell
out, be the night chosen by the Guards for their
grand complimentary Ball and Banquet to their
Royal Highnesses. Otherwise, the occasional stall-
seats, and even here and there an entire row of stall.
seats, observable last evening in St. James's Hall
as vacant, would, we may rest assured, have bee❑
occupied, like the rest of the vast area, with atten-
tive and appreciative witnesses of the ovation
received by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean.
An ovation all the more earnest, of course,
for the two paramount reasons—that those
eminent performers were there upon the
platform at the head of the hall in their individual
characters, to afford fresh evidence of their remark-
able powers, in homage especially to the genius of
our glorious Shakspere—and that they were there
also, for, in very truth, positively their last public
appearance here in England, prior to their depar-
ture for Australia and their sojourn at the antipodes
for the chief part of a twelvemonth, After their reci-
tations, now in dialogue, now in soliloque, of various
scenes from " King John"—scenes referring exclu-
sively to the pathetic history of Prince Arthur—the
second part of the evening's entertainment, after
the customary pause of ten minutes had elapsed,
enabled the audience to listen to the recitation by
Mrs. Charles Kean of Hood's exquisite poem of
" The Bridge of Sighs," and by Mr. Charles Kean,
first of Professor Aytoun's nervous and heart-mov-
ing Ballad descriptive of " The Execution of Mon-
trose," and lastly of Lord Macaulay's soul-stirring
Lay of Ancient Rome—" Rcratius Cocles"—the
latter being the very climax and glory of the whole
evening's performance.

(From the Times.)
The readings and recitations by which Mr. and Mrs,
Charles Kean took leave of the London public last night at-
tracted a numerous and brilliant audience, who were most
enthusiastic in their applause.

(From the Daily .hews.)
The hall, in spite of many counter attractions, including
the Guards' ball, was well filled wit a distinguished audi-
ence, and these two popular actors were received with well-
deserved applause. It is not the custom to criticise a per-
formance given for a public or benevolent object, and we
therefore do little more than record the pieces read or re-
cited. There were selections frorc Shakspere's play of
"King John ;" Professor Aytoutesspirited ballad, " The
Execution of Montrose ;" Hood's " Bridge of Sighs," and
the best of Lord Macaulay's rather rhetorical Roman bal-
lads, " Horatius Codes." The pla7 was almost equally
divided between Mr. and Mrs. Kean, while the two ballads
were recited with great dramatic effe:st by Mr. Kean, and
Hood's poem was given by Mrs. Kean with taste and
feeling.