The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-10 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

A new comic drama in three acts intitled Love's
Telegraph was produced here lest night. The scene is
laid in some petty state of which the Princess Blanche
(Madame Vestris) is sovereign. She has been brought
up in a convent, and on the death of her uncle leaves the
convent for a throne. She brings with her sundry of
her companions, among others Alice (Mrs. H. Hughes).
Her accession is announced to her by Arthur de Solberg
(Mr. C. Mathews), confidential secretary of the late so-
vereign, and who has been recommended to her by him as
one on whom she can depend to guide her safely through
the mazes of intrigue which will beset her path. She
,appoints him her private secretary, and falls des-
perately in love with him. But Arthur, who has
never dreamed of sharing his sovereign's throne, loves
Alice, and his love is returned. The lovers, however,
have few opportunities of seeing each other, and Alice
suggests a telegraphic method of communication, so as
to carry on a private conversation even in public—to
wit, all that she says while playing with her fan is ad-
dressed personally to Arthur ; and all that he says
while playing with his glove is addressed personally to
Alice. Arthur is delighted with " Love's Telegraph,"
and his rehearsal of the " Telegraph" is most amusing.
The Baron Pumpernickel (Mr. Compton), a formal old
pump, imagines that the Princess is in love with him,
and therefore watches Arthur narrowly, and endeavours
to circumvent him; and Maguerite (Miss E. Stanley), the
Baron's niece, a spiteful diplomatist in petticoats, makes
the Baron her tool in carrying out her political in-
trigues. The ministers :wish to form a royal alliance,
and to marry her to the Prince of Heinalt (Mr. J.
Vining). Now, it so happens that the Prince, who is
known to Arthur as Count Theodore, an old college
companion, is at the court of the Princess as the friend
of Arthur, and is made the confident of Arthur's love
for Alice. The Princess suspects Arthur loves some
one, but she knows not who, and makes Alice her confi-
dent, so that all her plots for discovering her
rival are immediately counterplotted. At length,
however, she discloses to Arthur her love for
him, under the pretence of dictating a letter to him,
at the same time ordering another letter to be written
to the Prince of Heinalt, giving him his dismissal.
Arthur gives to the Prince the letter of love intended
for himself, and the Princess is surprised at receiving
from the Prince, whose disguise has been discovered, a
declaration of ardent attachment. In the meantime
Marguerite has discovered the secret of " Love's Tele-
graph," and communicates it to the Princess, who in
the first moments of the agony of " despised love,"
orders Arthur to be arrested, and Alice to return to
her convent. She, however, has an interview with
Arthur, and, determing to sacrifice love to reason, unites
herself to the Prince, and permits Arthur to wed Alice.
The piece was admirably acted throughout. , Compton,
as the Baron, was quaint and very amusing. Miss
Emma Stanley, as Marguerite, acted the spiteful clever
intrigante to the life ; and Charles Mathews, as the
Secretary, was admirable. Madame Vestris, as the
Princess, in the later scenes, came out in quite a new line.
The mingling dignity and pathos in her manner of order-
ing Alice from her presence, on discovering that she
was her rival, was true tragedy ; and then, when Alice
on her knees implored her pardon, the princess was
sunk in the woman—the woman whose affections
were blighted—and the audience paid homage to her
truthfulness to nature by their tears. We never
gave Madame Vestris credit for the possession of the in-
tensity which she exhibited in this scene. In this try-
ing scene Mrs. H. Hughes acted up to Madame Vestris
admirably. We never saw this lady to greater advan-
tage. There are few actresses on the stage who can ap-
proach her in those intensly sentimental parts. The
piece was excellently well acted and admirably put upon
the stage, and to the artists and the manager it is in-
debted mainly for its success. It, however, stands much
in need of condensation ; the dialogue is spun out un-
conscionably, and there is no repartee to relieve it. This
makes the piece drag somewhat, particularly in the
earlier scenes. If the scissors are used judiciously the
piece will have a run.

WESTMINSTER-BRIDGE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—Like all the rest of the world (about Westmin-
ster), I have been observing. the old bridge. It is not
much to the credit of engineering science, to find that
the piers, around which coffer-dams have lately been
constructed, and extensive repairs done, should now be
failing ; it would seem as if they had been weakened,
instead of strengthened. However, if there be a sink-
ing of the foundations which cannot be repaired, what
can be the cause of such sinking ? We are told that be-
neath the chalk which supports the London clay there
is water, and that has been drawn up lately by the ap-
plication of engines to artesian wells. There is an in-
stance stated of a well at one of the breweries, the water
of which sank sixty or seventy feet, after the opening of
some other deep well. Now, water is competent to sup-
port anything it may have resting upon it, and to with-
draw such support, would be to induce the yielding of the
chalk or clay so supported. Let us suppose the London
clay thinner than usual at Westminster-bridge, and the
chalk also. I should like to know the difference of
thickness at Westminster-bridge and at Trafalgar-square
—that is, the depth to artesian-well water. Suppose,

I repeat, the clay and chalk thinner thereabout, and the
supporting water withdrawn, why the bridge must sink
(perhaps by and by the new Houses of Parliament may
sink), nor could the greatest engineer have found means
to prevent it, with or without a coffer-dam. That an
immense quantity of a peculiar water is being pumped
up, at various places not far from Westminster-bridge,
is a notorious fact.. Has this pumping produced any
peculiar effect ? It is a question of some importance.
If a space should be found below the clay and chalk,
and the said clay and chalk be perforated in the river's
bed, why the river might run into it. Then, what would
become of the navigation ?
I have no better means than the vehicle of your paper
for the circulation of these crude thoughts, which, now
tIA dog-days are past, and Parliament up, may possibly
find space.—Yours, A. F.

DEATH of the MARQUIS of AILSA•
We have to announce the demise of the Marquis of
Ailsa, who, after an illness of several months, expired
on Tuesday last, at St. Margaret's, his Lordship's seat
at Isleworth. We learn that, although the Noble Mar-
quis had gradually declined in health for the last
three years, he, up to the close of July, remained in
much the same state, so as not to cause any immediate
alarm to his family. Since then his Lordship has
rapidly sunk, and his approaching dissolution became
apparent, and in consequence of anticipated danger, an
express was dispatched to the Earl of Cassillis, who is
abroad, to inform him of the alarming illness of his
grandfather.

The deceased, Archibald Kennedy, Marquis of Ailsa
of the Isle of Ailsa, county Ayr, and Baron Ailsa of
Ailsa, in the peerage of the United Kingdom ; Earl of
Cassillis and Baron Kennedy, in the peerage of Scot-
land ; and a baronet of Nova Scotia, was eldest son of
Archibald, 11th Earl of Cassillis, by his second mar-
riage with Anne, daughter of Mr. John Watts. He
was born in 17f0, and on the Ist of June, 1793, he
married Margaret, youngest daughter of Mr. John
Erskine, In December, 1794, he succeeded, on the
death of his father, to the ancient Scottish honours of
the family.
He is succeeded in the family honours, and extensive
estates in Ayrshire, Berwickshire, Forfarshire, &c., by
his grandson Archibald, Earl of Cassillis (now, of course
Marquis), eldest son of the late Earl of CassiliS, son of
the deceased Marquis, and Eleanor, only child of Mr.
Alexander Allardice, who only survived the death of her
husband three months. The present Marquis was for-
merly in the 17th Light Dragoons, but retired from the
army in 1842.