The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-17 00:00:00

SURREY THEATRE.

Romeo and Juliet was performed at this theatre last
evening, for the purpose of introducing a young lady,
named Waverley, to a London audience, in the character
of Juliet. Miss Waverley is rather tall, her figure is
good, her countenance very expressive, and her voice,
powerful, Tet sweet, is completely under command.
Her elocution is correct, and her action, although at
times excessive, is generally graceful and appropriate.
On her first appearance she was labouring under such an
extreme degree of nervousness as evidently to prevent
her doing justice to herself in the earlier scenes. She
gradually overcame this feeling as she became accus-
tomed to her audience ; and the balcony scene, more
especially towards the conclusion, was given with great
taste, feeling, and judgment. Her first great hit was in
the lines,

—1, Swear by thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my idolatry."
She threw into the words an expression ofconfiding, trust-
ing tenderness and love, which seemed the overflowing
of a heart bursting with affection—a heart so filled with
love that there was no room in it for any thought or
feeling of self, or friends, or kindred. To her Romeo
was all in all —her world—her headen. He was, indeed,
the god of her idolatry. The audience appreciated her
exquisite manner of giving this passage, ant rewarded
her with long-continued and well-merited applause.
This seemed to give her courage, and she went through
the remainder of the part without the betrayal of any
further symptoms of nervousness. Her scene with the
Nurse, excellently acted by Mrs. W. Daly. was very
good; she felt she was a woman, and was indignant at
being treated like a child, and then,'recollecting the old
Nurse's former kindnesses, she became for a short time
the playful girl again, to soothe the irritated feelings
of the testy old woman. Her attitude in throwing her-
self into her Nurse's lap was exceedingly graceful, and
the manner of doing it playful, without being hoydenish.
In the scene in which she is informed of Tybalt's death
and Romeo's punishment she was very effective.
The parting scene with Romeo was given with exquisite
feeling and pathos. In the conclusion of this scene
Miss Waverley introduced a new and, as it strikes us, a
most appropriate reading. She is torn, as it were, from
Romeo by the Nurse, and is led off the stage, sobbing
and almost faint from excess of emotion. In this scene
also she was much applauded. Although the commence-
ment of the scene in Lawrence's cell, in which she
threatens to stab herself, was somewhat overacted, yet
the conclusion was admirably given. The play of her
features when the Friar is describing to her the effect of
the potion he is about to administer, and her tremulous
shrinking from him when he tells her she must be carried
to the old ancestral tomb, to lie there as one dead for 48
hours, were most expressive. Horror, fear, doubt—all, at
last, giving way to love and faith in him she loved—that
love inspiring her with the courage and fortitude to go
• through all these horrors, transforming the timid, shrink-
ing, fearful girl, at once into the high-souled woman—
such, it was evident, were the feelings agitating her
breast, and it needed no words to give them full expres-
sion. In the scene in which she drinks the sleeping
draught, she gave the celebrated soliloquy with great
power and effect ; and after drinking the potion, sunk on
her knees, crossed her hands upon her breast, bowed
her head, and remained a short time in the at-

titude of prayer. This point is a new one, and
shows that Miss Waverley thoroughly understands
the confiding, trusting faith which is the distin-
guishing trait in the character of Juliet. Witness her
unshaken faith in Romeo's love—in the Friar's honesty
—in her Nurse's fidelity—and how appropriate is it
that she, the fond, confiding, trusting, faithful Juliet,
should, in her agony, thus show her faith in Providence.
Her dying scene was exquisitely pathetic, and when
she threw herself on Romeo's corpse it was in the very
agony of despair. At the fall of the curtain she was
loudly called for, and greeted with bursts of well-de-
served applause. This young lady has evidently much
to learn before she can become a finished actress, but she
has nothing to unlearn. There is no straining after
effect, no attempt to make points, nor the remotest ap-
proach to imitation. She is moreover entirely free from
that monotonous drawling whine which mars the elocu-
tion of sonic of our most accomplished actresses. She
has yet to acquire the secret of repose, but that can only
be attained by constant practice,and a familiar acquaintance
with the stage. Let her study assiduously, trusting at the
same time solely to the promptings of her own mind for
her conception of character, and avoiding all imitation,
and mannerism, and conventionalism, from which she
is at present entirely free, and she cannot but attain a
high rank in her profession. Mr. Graham, who was
suffering severely from cold and hoarseness, was the
Romeo ; and he certainly acted that difficult character in
a manner on the whole very creditable to his taste and
judgment. We have seen many worse Romeos, but,
with the exception of Charles Kemble, few better. This
gentleman is no disciple of any particular school. He
has that faith in himself without which no man can attain

to eminence ; and we doubt not to see him occupying a
very respectable position in the profession which he has
chosen. The Surrey company is greatly strengthened
by the accession of Miss Waverley and Mr. Graham ;
and we have no doubt but that the legitimate drama will
prove as successful at this theatre as opera and equestrians
have done. The piece was well got up, and the house
was crowded.

CORONER'S INQUEST.

THE LATE FIRE IN BLACKFRIARS'-ROAD.

An inquest was held yesterday evening in the
Board-room of St. George's Workhouse, before Mr.
Payne, the Coroner for the City, and a Jury, on the
bodies of Joseph Henry Parke and William Webb, the
firemen who perished in the late calamitous fire at Mr.
Kindon's, in Blackfriars-road.
Mr. Jonathan Roberts, of 167, Blackfriar's-road, stated
that about a quarter to two on Sunday morning, while in
bed, he heard an alarm of fire. He opened the back
window of his house, and saw the south part of Mr.
Kindon's floor-cloth manufactory on fire. Witness's
house was immediately adjoining, with only a yard
between theta. In about five minutes after the
whole of the manufactory was enveloped in flames.
and in less than an hour the roof fell in. The engines
had arrived in about twenty minutes after witness had
first discovered the fire. There was a plentiful supply of
water, and the fire was, after a time, got under. About
half-past seven o'clock, witness went in at the front en-
trance of the manufactory, when he found the premises
were greatly damaged. The firemen were then playing
on the eastern side, and the walls seemed in a dangerous
state. Witness observed to the two firemen deceased,
that he should not like to venture too far in. They were
the only firemen he saw on the spot at the time. They
said they should take the hose in a little further. Wit-
ness then left them, and returned home. He saw from
his back windows the two men go to the south- east part
of the building, and play upon it. About two minutes
after, witness saw the eastern part of the building fall in.
The wall that had fallen must have covered the two men.
About half an hour afterwards one of the men was got
out ; he was the one most injured ; but witness did not
see the second body removed No one lived in the fac-
tory, and business seemed to witness to have been car-
ried on there in a very dangerous way. Witness had
repeatedly seen large fires in the under part of the build-
ing, and had made complaints on the subject.
Robert Brandford, police-constable 101, stated that
about a quarter past two on Sunday morning he per-
ceived
that the southern part of Mr. Kindon's manufac-
tory was on fire. Witness sprang his rattle, and went
to Mr. Kindon's, who lived a few doors from the fac-
tory, to acquaint him with the circumstance. Mr. Kin-
don had not the keys of the house with him on coming to
the factory with witness, and they broke the door open,
There was so much smoke that witness could then ob-
serve nothing in the building.
Robert Thomas Barrow, a fireman of the \Vest of
England Fire-office, stated that he saw the deceased
Parke got out from the ruins about three-quarters of an
scab
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eeonal
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etefiown;a:cs
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men, when the wall fell in ; they had all a narrow es-
cape ; and witness had merely time to. call to Webb,
and to save himself. Witness had previously observed
to the deceased that the wall was in a dantgheartounststaabteo.ut
sstaehhedsadeebddylloVVl:lte‘hae'
rwadbeesirb in about an hour
Mr. Edward Evans, surgeon, stated
half-past ten on Sunday morning he was called to the
workhouse to visit the bodies of the deceased. He then
found them quite dead. Webb appeared to have died
from the shock of something falling on him, and the
other from suffocation.

Mr. James Kindon, the proprietor of the factory, stated
that he had left the premises at about half-past seven on
Saturday night. He had left no onelthere but the foreman,
who kept charge of the keys. The foreman lived in
Wellington-place. Nothing but the usual work had
been carried on at the factory on Saturday. It consisted
of painting floor-cloths. They bad also been drying
There was a stove in the lower part of the
factory for the purpose of warming it. It was a large
brick stove with an iron flue, which branched through
the factory. The stove was merely used to keep up the
temperature of the rooms—it seldom rose higher than
55 degrees. Witness could only account for the fire by
' supposing that some of the tow which
h had
ed escaped
notice had ignited. The printing cottous in wit-
ness' business was so inflarnable that the slightest light
would servo to ignite it.
Edward Haynes, the foreman, and a number of other
witnesses, were examined, when the Jury then conferred
together and returned the following verdict:--" That
the deceased met with his death by the falling in of tha
wall of a house on tire, but how the fire originated there
was not sufficient evidence to enable them to come to a
conclusion."