The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-14 00:00:00

HAYMARKET THEATRE.

A. very excellent two-act petite drama, from the pen of
Mr. Westland Marston, entitled "The Wife's Portrait,"
has been produced here with very great and deserved suc-
cess. The piece is admirably suited to the talented Hay-
market company, and each artiste has been fitted with a
part to a nicety. The plot of the drama turns upon the
difficulties encountered by a highly educated literary gentle-
man, Mr. David Lindsay, in his endeavour to obtain an in-
come by the produce of his pen. His works, though full
of jlearning, do not meet with that success which he anti-
cipates, and thus we find him a disappointed, though not a
discouraged man. As a contrast, we have a Mr. Dexter,
also an author, but he discovers the sort of works that sell,
and writes accordingly. The success of the one, and the
disappointment of the other, produces a disagreable feeling
in the mind of Mrs. Lindsay, and she reproaches her hus-
band because he does not pursue the same courbe as Dexter,
The result is a quarrel and separation. After some time
news arrive that Mr. Lindsay has been a passenger in a
railway train that had met with an accident, and then
the true feeling of Mrs. Lindsay is discovered by the tor-
ture she endures at the agonising thoughts that arise in her
mind respecting the fate of her husband. Her fears turn
out groundless, reconciliation takes place between the
parties, and all ends happily. The part of Mrs. Lindsay
was sustained with very great effect by Mrs. C, Young,
and Mr. Howe acted with his usual excellence and good
taste. Mr. Farren rattled through the character of Dexter
with the effervescence of champagne, and Mrs. Wilkins
was the complete embodiment of good nature.
The fall of the curtain is nightly followed by the most
enthusiastic applause, which certainly, for some time, has
never been evoked by a better or more interesting piece.
" Our American Cousin," in which Mr. Southern gives his
inimitable embodiment of Lord Dundreary, still continues
to draw immensely, and even in these days of '• sensation
dramas," we think it would be difficult to discover a better
night's entertainment than that which is to be had at the
little theatre in the Haymarket.

AN IMPROMPTU PERFORMANCE ON

TB.E TRAPEZE.

OXFORD MUSIC HALL.

At the conclusion of the second morning concert at the
Oxford Music Hall yesterday, the apparatus of the trapeze
was let down from the ceiling for the performance of the
youths Henri and Pfau, It immediately became evident
that the perch of the centre trapeze was not in the hori-
zontal, and the cause was as quickly traced to the fact that
one of the hooks attached to the cross-tree, some 20 feet
aloft, had become entangled in the ring to which it is
linked. The first remedy tried was that prescribed in the
pharmacopoeia—a good shaking—but without avail, for no
malicious little bit of whip cord, in a new May-day har-
ness. could be more provokingly intertwined. Then the
expedient was tried of poking at the hook with a polo, but
failure was again the result. Next came a solemn debate
amongst the familiars, who assist in the putting up of the
temporary platform, as to who should climb the line
to tackle the knot by hand, but none of this
forward but irresolute baud seemed inclined to
go up aloft. At this juncture, critical of a ridiculous
delay in the performance, Mr. Morton, the spirited
proprietor of the hall, determined to cut the Gordian knot
himself, and gallantly, and with some effort, ascending the
rope, reached the spot where the obstruction lay, and hold.
ing on with one hand, succeeded with the other in restoring
the equilibrium of the ropes. To undertake sach an office
in propria persono, in the presence of a public assemblage
when failure could only have awakened a sense of the ludi-
crous, was a proof of great moral courage; and the hearty
cheers which followed the accomplishment of the feat were
as appreciative of quiet force of character as of the clever-
ness with which the difficulty was overcome, After this
little episode, the daring young lads went through their
performance, causing the customary furore.

We (Galignani)
ileyerbeer hear with sincere regret that
seriously indisposed at Berlinl