The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-05 00:00:00

COVENT-GA itbEN THEATRE.

A new comedy, in five acts, entitled London
Ass:trance, was produced, for the first time, last
night at this theatre. We understand that it is
the first dramatic attempt of a young writer, by
name Morton ; and if so, it is highly creditable
to his talents, for it evinces considerable tact
and knowledge of stage effect. The plot—which
in places is somewhat confused and perplexing—
is as follows :—Sir Harcourt Courtly (Farren) is
a rich, vain old man, who, despite his years and
infirmities, affects the follies and vices of a youth
of fashion, and is specially solicitous to be
thought a favourite of the fair sex. At the open-
ing of the play we find him engaged to be mar-
ried to a young girl, Grace Harkaway (Madame
Vestris), whose guardian, a jolly elderly Norfolk
squire (Bartley), has just come to town, with
the. view of inviting the Baronet to his
country seat, Thorpe Hall. While he is
preparing to quit Sir Harcourt Courtly's
house, a smart, flippant, young man (C.
Mathews) enters, and introduces himself to the
Norfolk squire, as Mr. Dazzle, a friend of the
family, and is, in consequence, included in the
invitation given to the Baronet. This part of the
plot is rather obscure, but we gather that Dazzle,
who is a mere London adventurer, has contrived
to ingratiate himself with Sir Harcourt's son and
heir (Anderson) by assisting him out of a scrape
into which he had got one night in consequence
of a drunken lark, totally unknown to his father,
who had imagined him to be a model of pru-
dence and propriety. Having received the invi-
tation to Thorpe Hall, the Baronet hastens to
avail himself of it, but is preceded by his son
Charles and Dazzle, the former of whom hastens
to fall in love with his father's intended, Grace
Harkaway ; and when he meets the old man,
boldly denies that he is in any way related to him,-
but that his name is Augustus Hamilton—a highly
improbal)le incident, savouring more of broad farce
than comedy. Meantime, the Baronet continues
his courtship, but, just as he is accepted, his
fickle fancy is diverted by the charms of a lively
married woman, Lady Gay Spanker (Mrs.. Nes-
bitt), who, by the dexterous manoeuvring of
Dazzle, is persuaded to induce the old fop to be-
lieve that she is in love with him, in order that
by so doing, she may assist his son's suit to
Grace Harkaway, her friend and neighbour. As
may be supposed, the Baronet falls into the trap
so artfully laid for him ; and has already de-
cided on the place and time of his elope-
ment with Lady Gay, when an officious
bustling attorney, Mark Meddle (Harley), who
happens—by some means or other, which we
do not profess to understand—to be at Thorpe
Hall at the time, reveals the plot to the husband,
Mr. Adolphus Spanker (Keeley). An eclair-
cissement immediately takes place. The indig-
nant husband is prevailed on to send a challenge
to the supposed seducer of his wife; but the joke
being explained betimes, all the parties are re-
conciled; the old Baronet, finding that he has
been made a dupe throughout, resolves on refor-
mation, and, in proof of his sincerity, resigns
his claim on Grace Harkaway's hand to his
son Charles ; and 'the play concludes
with his reading a fine moral Lsson to Dazzle,
whose character as a London adventurer—and
this gives the title to the comedy—has been dis-
covered, through the agency of a bailiff who had
followed him and the supposed Augustus Hamil-
ton, to Thorpe Hail. Such is a brief outline of
the principal incidents of a play, in which there
is much more of promise than of positive perfor-
mance. The plot is neither ingeniously con-
ceived, nor dexterously unravelled; and as for
the chief personages, scarcely one of them can
put forth the slightest claims to originality. The
foppish old Baronet is but a modernized version
of Lord Ogleby ; Lady Gay Spanker, the
rattUng, off-hand horsewoman, is a revival of
Constance in the Love Chase; her husband is a
Jerry Sneak, moving, however, in higher life,
and consequently with the more absurd traits of
the character softened off; Meddle is a com-;
pound of Marplot and Paul , Pry; and as
for the sporting squire and the adven-
turer Dazzle, they are such as are familiar
to all who have the slightest acquaintance
with our modern farces. In what then, it may
be asked, lies the great recommendation of the
comedy ? -We answer, in the uncommon spright-
liness and archness of its dialogue, which
abounds in sallies of humour, sometimes of wit,
and evinces a point and power of real; repartee
of which few living drathatists are capable. Not
unfrequently we meet with a sentence turned

with all the sparkling polish of the School of
Scandal; and sometimes, it must be added, with
a co arse allusion worthier of the days of Con-
greve than the present. The comedy was received
with great approbation by a crowded house, and
was singularly well acted throughout. Farren
played the part of the old beau with a gentle-
manlike ease and self-possession that showed the
consummate artist; Mrs. Nesbitt was spirited
and effective as Lady Gay—though in one or
two places she over-acted the part, and substituted
boisterousness for vivacity ; Mathews made a capi-
tal cockney adventurer, and was as glib of tongue,
and ready of suggestion as could have been

wished; Bartley, as the squire, displayed a truly
orthodox English jollity ; and -Keeley and Har-
ley did all that could possibly have been done

for characters unworthy of their abilities. The

scenery throughout was in excel ant taste; in-
deed the comedy seems to have been got up
without regard to expense, and was announced for
repetition every evening. We conclude with

saying that if it really be the first dramatic effort
of a young man, it is—so far as the dialogue is
concerned—the most promising effort we have
witues,ed of late years.