The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-30 00:00:00

ADELPJII THEATRE.

Mr. Toole's benefit last night was really and truly
a " bumper." Every seat in the theatre was occu-
pied previous to the rising of the curtain, and num-
bers of Mr. Toole's admirers, rather than debar
themselves the pleasure of "assisting" on the occa-
sion of his benefit, occupied that peculiarly unplea-
sant portion of the theatre, viz., " standing room."
The performances commenced with the farce of the
" Mother and Child are Doing Well," in which, as
Felix Fluffy, the bene'ficiaire convulsed the house
with laughter. This was followed by a new two-act
play by Mr. Walter Gordon, entitled, " Through
Fire and Water," a piece which is chiefly to be com-
mended for the opportunity it affords to Mr. Toole
to appear in a somewhat novel part, which the plays
with admirable ability. The character in question
is Joe Bright, a London fireman, a fellow of honest
heart and rugged good nature, but of an ardent and
impulsive temper, who, having saved a little girl from
death by fire, takes her home, adopts, and educates
her, and when she grows to womanhood falls over
head and ears in love with her. She of course turns
out to be a lady of birth and fortune, but long before
this delightful discovery is made she loses her heart
irretrievably to Joe, to whom she is in secret quite
as fondly attached as he is to her ; but the lovers, as
often happensboth on the stage andin real life, play at
cross purposes. They misunderstand one another,
and hence a variety of dangers and dilemmas,
but all turns out happily in the end, as Joe marries
Ruth, and Honor Bright, Joe's true and loving sister,
also secures the hand of her lover, who proves to be
no other than Ruth's lost brother. The part of Joe
Bright, the fire-brigade man, is one of those natural
creations in which Mr. Toole is unrivalled, viz., the
sudden transformation of an honest decent man into
a truculent brute, who, under the maddening im-
pulse of drink and jealousy, outrages all the pro-
prieties of life and is ready to tear his best friend
to pieces for any or no cause. This character affords
ample occasion for the display of the artist's his-
trionic powers, which are exhibited as conspicuously
in the comic as in the tragic passages. The cha-
racter of Honor Bright affords opportunities also to
Mrs. Mellon for some charmingly characteristic
acting. Miss Simms was interesting as Ruth, and
Mr. Billington, as the good-humoured lover, Mr.
Phillips, as the villain, and Mr. Ashley, did all that
could be done for their respective parts. The piece
was a complete success, and no doubt it will form
one of the great attractions of Mr. Toole's provin-
cial tour.

Another Great Lake in Central Africa.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,—lt is known to all who take an interest in
African exploration that Mr. Samuel Baker, after
meeting Speke and Grant at Gondokoro, on the
White Nile, advanced southwards in a bold attempt
to extend the discoveries of those travellers.

I have now the satisfaction to announce that I
received last night by the direction of Earl Russell
the following despatch from Mr. Hammond, which
acquaints geographers with the discovery of another
great central African lake whence the Nile issues,
and which has been named by Mr. Baker the
Albert Nyanza.

The Royal Geographical Society have recently
awarded to Mr. Baker their Victoria gold medal for
his spirited undertaking, entirely at his own cost,
and it is highly gratifying to find that he has already
justified their award by his splendid achievement.

As one of the telegrams informs us that this
second great Nilotic lake lies in the north latitude 2
deg. 17 min. we may fairly surmise that it is the
Luta Nzige, heard of by Speke and placed hypothe-
tically in its true position upon his map, but which
he was prevented from examining.—I, am Sir, your
obedient servant,

RODERICK I. MUP.CIIISON.

Foreign-office, June 28, 1865.
Sir,—l am directed by Earl Russell to acquaint you, for
the information of the Geographical Society, that two
telegrams, dated respectively the 27th and 28th inst., have
been this day received at the Foreign-office, which, though
imperfectly transmitted, clearly convey the following intel-
ligence, which his lordship has great pleasure in communi-
cating through you, without delay to the society.
Mr. Consul-General Colquhoun reports from Alexandria
that letters dated the 10th of May, have been received from
Khartum, stating that " Mr. Baker has succeeded in dis-
covering the second great source of the Nile—second, not
in importance, but only in order of discovery, to the Vic-
toria Nyanza of Speke."
Mr. Consul Stanley, also from Alexandria, speaks of the
discovery as that of " the second and main source of th?,
Nilo, in Lake Albert Nyanza, north latitude 2 deg. 17 min.'
Mr. was expected shortly to arrive at Alexandria.
I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
E, 111 rMo`p•
Sir Roderick I. Murchison.