The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-27 00:00:00

ADELPHI.

The Christmas fare provided at this theatre consisted
of the drama of Pierre the Foundling, followed by a new
eccentric extravaganza, entitled Zigzag Travels of Messrs.
Danube and Pruth, with. numerous cuts. The first
scene introduced the audience to the bed of the Danube,
with the spirit of that river (Miss Woolgar) reposing
amid her attendant naiads and elves, Rumours of war,
however, destroy the quiet of this submarine retreat,
and the spirit of the Pruth (Mrs. Keeley) next ap-
pears, having been driven from her river residence by
the approach of the Russians. The spirits of the
Baltic and the Black Seas (Miss Keeley and Miss Wynd-
ham) soon join in the wailing chorus. Civilisation de-
scends in a diving bell and acquaints the assembled
spirits that two mighty nations, England and France,
have taken up arms in her defence, and invites the dis-
lodged spirits to ascend to earth to witness the gallant
deeds of the Allies. The suggestion is accepted, and
the Danube assumes the garb of a Quaker, while the
Pruth adopts the dress of a Polish Prince. Thus, with
the two seas in company, they commence their travels,
and the first adventure brings them to a Wallachian
village, where the inhabitants are compelled to con-
tribute to a voluntary loaf first their money, then their
clothes, and, finally, are themselves draughted into the
Russian army. This cruelty is revenged in the next
the Cossacks left to protect them, which scene termi-
nateslscene tbhyetfihe first act.
of
l Thetnheextviglage, who unite and beat
gives us the assumed mode
of manufacturing Russian despatches, by converting
defeats into victories—a process which the wandering
rivers are engaged in admiring when the Russian gene-
ral, at a loss for proofs of the success of which he is
boasting, orders them into custody as foreigners, and
forwards them as prisoners of war to St. Petersburg,
whither they arrive in- the character of a Cbasseur de
Viucennes and a Scotch Highlander. The next scene
is laid in the Aland Islands, showing the fraternisation
of the allied armies, which is followed by an attack
upon, and, of course, defeat of, the Russian force.
Thence we proceed to the Black Sea, where a
novel choregraphic performance takes place, a na-
val combat, minus the firing, being depicted by means
of ballet, each ballerina bearing as headdress the
model of a man-of-war, with which they go through
the evolutions of a sea fight. The piece concluded with
the return of the wandering streams to their proper
element, and the curtain falls upon a well-arranged
tableau, representing the union of the two great Wes-
tem nations in the cause of the world. The extrava-
ganza was quite successful, but we think it will be
greatly improved by curtailment, the performance of
the two acts last night occupying no less than three
hours. We must not omit to mention some really ex-
cellent dancing, especially by Mademoiselle Maraquita,
of the Thiettre de l'Opera, Paris, who made her debut in
this country last night, and whose performance elicited
the warmest applause of the audience. The scenery was
very good, as were the dresses, and, upon the whole, the
piece was admirably mounted. A new act drop, repre-
senting the statues of the Duke of Wellington and the
Emperor Napoleon I. saluting each other, was very
warmly received. The house, of course, was crowded to
suffocation.