The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-23 00:00:00

SURREY THEATRE.

It is cheering to find that the cause of the legiti-
mate drama is making way in all directions; that
Which Mr. Phelps has done at Sadler's Wells, and
which Mr. Watts has done at the Marylebone, Messrs.
Shepherd and Creswick have done at the Surrey;
and, we are happy to say, that hitherto success has
crowned their exertions. Messrs. Shepherd and
Creswick have secured the services of an excellent
tragedy company, and since the commencement of
the season the tragedies of Shakspere, of Bulwer, and
of Sheridan Knowles have been performed in a manner
that would not have been unworthy of the patent
theatres in the palmy days of the drama. But
Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick are not content with
mere revivals of stock pieces ; they have made this
theatre a home not only for the actor, but for the
author also, and last night they produced a new play,
in three acts, entitled Trevanion; or the False Posi-
tion, which met with the most marked and deserved
success. It is the joint production of Westland
Marston and Bayle Bernard, who will, we hope, for
the future, continue to work together, and be the
Beaumont and Fletcher of the modern drama;
for cortes this joint production is as an acting play
more perfect than any single production of either of
them. Mr. Marston has in this play carried out the
theory which he developed in the preface to The
Patrician's Daughter, viz., that the social state of the
nineteenth century furnishes as rich materials for
tragic effect as did the social state of any of the
preceding centuries. Trevanion may be considered
as the converse of The Patrician's Daughter. Whilst
in the latter play the tragic is:Serest turns
upon the consequences of the loves of
a low barn adventurer and a patrician's daugh-
ter, in Trevanion the interest turns upon the loves
of a high- born youth and the daughter of a plebeian.
Thus runs the plot :—Margaret Langford (Madame
Ponisi), the daughter of Michael Langford (Mr.
Emery), a ship carpenter, is a girl of excellent
education and great talents. Lady Evesham, to
whom she has addressed tome verses, struck by her
talent and goedness, for she is one of the gentlest of
God's creatures, takes her abroad as a companion and
friend. Lady Evesham dies while staying with a
German Baroness, 'w ho also takes Margaret under
her protection, and while with her she meets with
a Mrs. Lorimer (Mrs. 11. Vining), who, struck by
the likeness of Margaret to her own daughter, whom
she has recently lost, at once adopts her. With Mrs.
Lorimer she travels through Switzerland, and while
there meets with Trevanion (Mr. Creswick), a young
Englishman of birth and fortune. Thus thrown
together it is natural that they should fall in love
and when Mrs. Lorimer and Margaret remove to
Paris Trevanion follows them, and proposes
for Margaret. Margaret had been considered
by the German baroness as a relation of the
Lady Evesham, and although it was con.
sidered that her parents had experienced
reverses, yet it was always imagined that Margaret
had patrician blood in her veins, and therefore on the
score of birth there could be no objection to her being
admitted into society. Margaret had given her
Countenance to this falsehood by not contradicting it,
and it is not until she finds herself on the brink of
Marriage with the man she adores, and who also
believes this falsehood, that she becomes aware
of the agony which is in store for her.
She reasons with herself—she determines to let
Trevanion, to let Mrs. Lorimer know the truth,
but love overcomes conscience, and she becomes the
*wife of Trevanion without undeceiving him. On the
arrival of the newly married couple in London, she
takes a confidant of Mrs. Lorimer, and is about to
explain all to her husband, when he is suddenly
Called away, and her father enters the room. She
knows not how to greet the old ship-carpenter ;
she begs him to return, but the warm-hearted
old uto, perceiving his daughter is ashamed of himtgivesv ,
o ent to his grief and rage, and is about
leave
the room when Trevanion enters, an eclair-
ljiBsetnent takes place, and Trevanion learns that a
etter written by old Langford, in reply to one an-
uncing the approaching marriage, had been inter-
,C„.epted by Margaret. The old man withdraws, and
Trevanion remains bowed down with grief. Mar-
garet beseeches his forgiveness, and exposes the temp-
tatioa to which she was subjected, and declares how
birth,
she had determined to tell him of her humble
rerthir.
lle replies—
"lt is your falsehood stabs me, not your birth.
The Priceless gem discovered in the dust
Gives glory to a crown ; the counterfeit
e Though snatched from thence is worthless."
r falsehood has severed them for ever, but he adds :
" The world shall never know the past;
We shall walk hand in hand before the crowd ;
.1(011* Place will still be at my board and hearth.
band'-Aaret, in the agony of despair, flies from her bus-
ab roof to take refuge in her father's humble
h e•
That father would spurn her from his thres-
buther mother receives her, and at length
the father, too, relents. In the neighbourhood of
i,,_gford's abode are some mines which Trevanion
"!; purchased ; the speculation turns out a bad one.
Ye the breaking of a bank Trevanion is ruined, and
e
is
ue mines are given up, large arrears of wages being
ulocality,ytto, the miners. Trey:Anion goes down to the
and is threaten(' with destruction by the
111rilly mob. Suddenly they are dispersed, and
revanion hears with astonishment that his debts are
Paid and his honour saved, and by whom ? By
whom but by his wife, who accepts in the days of his
adversity that which she had always refused for her-
self, a handsome provision from Mrs. Lorimer, and,
devotes it to saving her husband. R e
need not add that all ends happily. The
character of Margaret was acted with the
most exquisite pathos by Madame Ponisi, and
Trevanion is by far the best thing that Mr. Creswick
hay yet done. There is a low comedy part of Vex, a
oracle, admirably acted by Mr. H. Widdi-
otnbe. The applause was enthusiastic ; at the
and
all the principal artistes were called on,
Zd the authors were called. The piece was announced
of repetition amidst the enthusiastic applause
moss
a crowded house.
D.lt Would be an act of injustice to close this notice
jthotut expressing our admiration of the acting of
acting o
as Langford. It was usual to the best
ing of his father iu his hest days.

the
7:411e ecm.mercial.advices by America, from New
' satisfactory. The fall trade was draw:
to a close, and on the whole it had been most pros
1314`3". The prospects for the spring were also favour-
, ze_eh.o.T
tStocks were flat, but without alteration, and
tion 4Se was 110 to 110 i. 'There had been no midge,-
apprehensions regarding the cotton crop.
To California the news is a fortnight later. Many
llfinall,r2('S are detailed of remarkable SUCCeS3 on the pert
418-O."I"'hIUMS at the mines, and the general accounts are
Prit,etocuraging. The immigration at the port of San
rthie'cilloc during August was 3,806 males and 87 le: of ths, bein-
s, an increase of nearly 300 on the large total
SIRe Preceding month.
iron, JOHN FRANKLIN'S EXPEDITION.—A letter
th, Marin River, dated September 24, announe, s
zon:rrtivitl, on his way to England, of Sir John Richard-
,a.r6ru an unsuccessful search after Sir John
rNll,lll4's expedition. The letter mentions that after
the the Arctic Ocean, he travelled 500 miles along
the -'ast; and also that Sir John speaks confidently of
Itl,,xistence of a northern passage, the practicability of
lasting
ewever,
beinT, exceedingly doubtful, the summers
oely from thirty to sixty days.
atk ,14101ING FlRE.—Last night (Monday), a fire
in with considerable loss of property, broke out
hilu ° Premises belonging to Mr. lluxtable, a tailor,
both, at No. 48, Stamford-street, Waterloo-road, Lam-
, °vying to the absence of all parties connected
). the r , .
-esp,e4. opeity, it was impossible to learn anything
41,fr 'lng the cause of the outhreak, nor whether the
erel' was insured.
4s. (.3
pN.ea. ever servant is almost invariably quick-tem-
tally The reason is obvious; superior talent is gene-
Patty Qeeonaparied by pride, which must meet with many
'lokr-h:llll°Yanc(s in the menial state,—Eliza COWS'