The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-17 00:00:00

HAYMARKET.

Though rendered rathcr interesting by the acting of Mlle.
Celeste, and humourous by Buckstone, such a piece is hardly
fitted for the Haymarket.

This theatre opened for the season last evening,. It has
been newly decorated and embellished, in the Louis Quatorze
style, with considerable taste; and several new arrangements
save been made for the convenience of the audience.
After the national anthem had been sung, an address was
spoken (written for the occasion by Mr. C. Dance) by Mrs.
Glover (her first appearance after her late accident). The
address is as follows :
. In ancient Greece, a Haymarket no doubt
There was, though no one found it out ;
It's also likely that, in modern Rome,
There was one too; but let us look at home.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your most obedient;
The Lessee sends me with .the old expedient—
A short address, as chorus to the play—
To say, not sing, " It is our opening day."
I wail know what your warm reception meant ;
" Her first appearance since her accident."
That accident I'm sure you'll think a sad one,
Which changed a goodish actress to a bad one—
Which broke at once her arm and her engagement ;
And from her duties caused her first estrangement.
For in the course of forty years and more,
I vow, I never was behind before ;
Nor was I then a willing absentee.
I didn't leave the stage—the stage left me :
Aye, left Inc in the snow-bound road fast stickirg,
The Road to Ruin, with the horses kicking ;
I fear on this stage nothing of the sort—
I never eau break down with your support.
I've talked about myself and my disaster,
And scarcely said a word about my master.
Melpomeme has lately had her share—
You must have something for Thalia to spare.
When tragic tears no more your eyes employ!
Here bring your handkerchiefs and weep for
,ioy.
This house was always famous for its mirth—
TI-e Comic Muse's Summer-house on earth.
One Foote, with one leg, made its first walls ring.
And shook the sides of England, through her King;
And soon 'twill be our grateful task I trow,
To chase care from a Regal Maiden's brow.
Our humble efforts will by one be seen,
Who, though not tall, is " every inch a Queen."
What think you of our—so to speak—new building ?
Its altered boxes—painting—and its gilding—
I mean the ornaments outside—not in—
No wonder, gentlemen, I see you grin ;
For there, as in some page of Shakspearc's book,
You find new beauties every time you look.
The Lessee's silent about treats to come—
On their own merits modest men are dumb :
In all such matters proud to be your debtor,
The Lessee thinks—the less he says the better.
Yet still I must entreat before I've done,
You'll let me say two words about my son ;
He's here engaged as hero or as lover,
To these kind hands I recommend a Glover.
Mr. Sheridan Knowles's fine play, the Love Chace was then
for the 83 time represented ; a selection abundantly justified,
not only by the unprecedented success which the play obtained
at this theatre last season, but by its own intrinsic merits. On
this occasion these new aspirants to histrionic fame were
introduced to the London public. Miss Elphinstone (from the
Theatres Royal Edinburgh and Dublin) performed Constance,
Miss Cooper (also from the same theatre we believe) filled
the part Lydia ; and Mr. Glover, son of the well-known
actress of that name, appeared in the character of Master
Droller.

Miss Elphinstone's appearance in the part of Constance, when
the recollections of Mrs. Nesbitt are so strongly impressed,
was an attempt necessarily accompanied by that most severe of
ordeals,—a comparison with almost perfect excellence. Her suc-
cess however, even under these disadvantageous and unfavourable
circumstances, was far superior to our anticipations. The in-
dulgence always granted to a first appearance
may be supposed
to' have' rendered the verdict of the audience less just, or we
might pronounce that judgment to have been very unequivo-
cally expressed in her favour. Yet we are compelled to say
that Miss Elphinstone's performance did not fully present to
our minds that most charming of poetical creations—that en-
chanting combination of female loveliness and youthful buoy-
ancy, which we behold in Constance. Comparisons—pro-
verbially invidious—are our abhorrence ; but we missed,
in a great measure, that exuberance of innocent mirth-
fulness --that musically sounding laughter—that de-
lightful naivete—that graceful restlessness, which cha-
racterized Mrs. Nesbitt's personation of Constance, and
are, indeed, inherent in the character as drawn by the poet.
Nevertheless, Miss Elphinstone's performance was throughout
fine acting ; and, in many portions of it, approached very near
to perfection. To say merely that Miss Elphinstone possesses
great talents would scarcely be doing her justice. A
good figure—a countenance which, if not exactly hand-
some,is by no means uninteresting or unexpressive—
and a voice clear and melodious in its tones—are the least
of her advantages ; for she evidently possesses, in no slight
degree, those most important qualifications for acting—the
feelings—the discrimination—the judgment which are so ne-
cessary to the right conception and true embodiment of a
character. We hardly think Constance a part fitted for her
abilities. If report speak truth, she has acquired her greatest
success in tragic heroines. We sincerely hail her as a great
acquisition to the London stage. Of Miss Cooper and Mr.
Glover, we can only say that they exhibited a degree of talent
which, at their early age, augur well for their future succes4.
I The burletta of St. Mary's Eve (from the Adelphi) concluded,

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 17, IS3B.

ST. JAMES'S.
If a house crammed to the ceiling, with an applauding
audience, be a delightful spectacle to the proprietor of a
theatre, Mr. Braham must have been highly gratified last
night. He spared neither exertion nor expence in preparing
appropriate entertainment for the holiday folks, and they were
certainly not niggardly in the expression of their gratitude for
the pains taken to please them. This entertainment consisted
of four different pieces, three of them new, and the fourth,
though not new, a rich treat of itself, inasmuch as it
afforded Mr. Braham an admirable opportunity for the display
of those inimitable vocal powers which seem to set the power
of time at defiance—we allude to the burletta of The IVater-
man, in which he sustained his old and favourite part of Tom
Tug. His songs, " Did you never hear of a Jolly Young
Waterman," " Farewell, my Trim-built Wherry," and
" The Bay of Biscay, 01" were loudly and enthusi-
astically encored. The last of these especially was sung
in a style never surpassed even by Braham himself. Miss
Rainforth, who played Wilhelmina, also sung with great
sweetness the two songs allotted to her in this piece, and was
encored in both. The first of the new pieces is entitled
The Album, and is from the pen of Mr. Haynes Bailey. It
is a light and amusing trifle of one act, of which the principal
interest is excited by the determination of a nephew to make
himself as unamiable as possible to a young lady, to whom
a good- natured, but silly old uncle, has made up his mind he
shall be married. In the prosecution of this plan, however,
he is captivated with the beauty of the youug lady, but not un-
til he has offended her by his rudeness. She then, in turn,
assumes a manner not natural to her for the purpose of an-
noying and disgusting him. Accident, however, an extremely
useful agent in modern plays, discovers the real state of things,
and, of course the uncle's wishes are accomplished by the
union of the young people, the old gentleman himself
leading to the temple of Hymen—his fourth appearance
there—the aunt of the younger bride, an antiquated
spinster, well represented by Mrs. I. Mathews. Mr. J.
Webster and Mrs. Honey played the leading parts, and
we need hardly say played them well. Mrs. Honey's
acting was particularly effective in the scene where she
adopts the character of an ignorant country hoyden,
smitten with a passion for the romantic. She has
three songs to sing in this part, all of which she
executed with great effect. Nothing could be more beautiful
than the style in which she gave " I like my freedom better."
This piece was succeeded by another new one, of which Mr.
T. Wilks is the reputed author. The title under which it ap-
pears in the play-bill is " The Brothers, or the Wolf and the
Lamb." The latter half of the title might, we think, be ad-
vantageously omitted. The interest turns upon the circumstance
of Rose( Miss Jane Moradaunt)being obligs d by her father's will,
on pain of forfeiting her whole fortune, to marry one of two
cousins. Of these—Gossamer and Edward Gadfly, both of
which are admirably personated by Mrs. Stirling—the former
is an officer of the Guards, given up to all the dissipation of
fashionable life, eager to grasp the fortune of Rose, as the
only means of savirg himself from ruin, but quite indifferent to
her personal qualities; the latter a bashful and studious recluse,
deeply in love with Rose, but unable to muster courage sufficient
to declare his passion. Rose is on the point of being married
to Gossamer when letters arrive which his valet ( Oxberry )
opens, and gives by mistake to Edward, who has a strong
personal resemblance to his brother. These letters prove
Gossamer to be a depraved fellow, and a coward to boot. He
is therefore obliged to decamp, and Edward is united
to Rose. Mrs. Stirling's representation of the over-
flowireg feelings of the too modest youth, in the scene
where he reveals his love and is accepted by Rose, struck us
as one of the most natural pieces of acting we have seen of
late. We have left ourselves no room to enter into the detail
of the fourth piece, which was presented at this theatre, tinder
the name of Hero and Leander. It is founded upon the old
story, but is intended as a parody upon it, and it is a most
laughable one. The scenery is truly splendid, and the acting
of Mrs. Honey, who played Leander, enough of itself to give
it a successful run.
When the curtain fell, Mrs. Honey announced, amidst
thunders of applause, the repetition of this highly amusing
extravaganza every night till further notice.