The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-01 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

Though the brave fellows who are now taking their
departure from this country to form part of the English
expeditionary force for the seat of war in the East are
everywhere greeted with great and becoming enthu-
siasm, it is to be feared that too little thought is given
to the sorrowing reflection which must naturally arise in
the minds of many of them at the fact of their leaving
behind unprotected and unprovided-for wives and child-
ren. The soldier's pay is so ridiculously small that, even
in this country, it is insufficient to maintain a family,
yet still he and his wife can generally manage to scrape
together enough to live upon ; but, when he goes on
such a service as the present, his whole salary is re-
quired to meet his own wants, and he is compelled to
leave the support of his wife and little ones to the tender
mercies of relatives or the public. Some philanthropic
individuals, who have not been diverted from their
good works by the din of war, have made an at-
tempt to rouse the attention of the public to this
grievous, and it may be termed, discreditable, state of
things ; but, unfortunately, we have not yet seen any
practical result. We must, however, except a piece of
liberality on the part of a single individual, which is well
calculated to give the initiative to the establishment of
a fund which will give efficient assistance to the families
of the soldiers while they are far away in another clime
fighting our battles. The lessee of Drury-lane, Mr. E.
C. Smith, proposes to give a grand morning perform-
ance on Wednesday, the Bth of March, and to appropriate
the entire receipts, free from any deduction whatever, to
the Christian and meritorious object we have mentioned.
Mr. G. V. Brooke and the other principal performers
have already expressed their intention to render their
services on the occasion gratuitously. The demonstra-
tion will take place under the immediate patronage of
the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, and other civic
functionaries, and a host of illustrious patronesses
have intimated that they will attend the theatre
on the day in question. Among these we may specify
the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary, the
Duchesses of Hamilton, Beaufort, Montrose, Inverness,
and Somerset, the Marchioness of Londonderry and the
Countess of Derby, and Viscountess Palmerston. The
lessee also intends to place the theatre at the disposal of
the Lady Patronesses for a fancy fair, or bazaar, on
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, April 12th, 13th,
and 14th, on which occasion the entire pit will be covered
over for their accommodation. All articles intended t o
be forwarded as a present for this national purpose will
be entered in a book, with names and addresses of
donors.

AID TO SOLDIERS' WIVES.—The committee for carry-
ing out this benevolent design has been formed ; they pro-
pose to raise subscriptions to assist those not allowed to
embark with their husbands, but kept on the marriage rolls
of the depot, and those who have married soldiers with-
out military license. On the present occasion only four
women were allowed to embark for every 100 men, so
that a great many have to be provided for by finding
them employment, and, till that can be done, by tem-
porary pecuniary assistance. The subscriptions are
already liberally coming in. The proprietor of Drury-
lane gives a free benefit at that establishment, under
distinguished patronage, in aid of the fund, and has
placed the theatre at the free use of a committee of lady
patronesses for three days in April for a Fancy Fair in
aid of the fund. A great many of the licensed victual-
lers have opened boxes in their establishments for the
receipt of public subscriptions,