The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-26 00:00:00

10.

E
repre-
erenini with Mies
V -Nil RK EaThereTla:silt
su„san ccehmaa as Olivia.
is, Middle
Twelfth Night was rev's..
Cushman as Viola, and Miss .
for Steak mere'lleTemple
This comedy, which was written o
sentation at one of the grand feastsj or :he
and which was performed for the first timb in
Temple Hall, is supposed by the commentators L. oer ..
his latest work; and if so, it proves, as has beetr.Wel. ,e 4.
served by Schlegel, that he must have enjoyed to the K. -,
the same youthful elasticity of mind, and have carried wits.
him to the grave the undiminished fulness of his talents..
It unites the entertainment of an intrigue, contrived with
great ingenuity, to a rich fund of comic characters and situ-
ations, and the beauteous colours of an etherial poetry. Miss
Cushman's readingofthe character of Viola is new. Heretofore
the representatives of Viola have given prominence to the
comic portion of the character. For instance, when the ring is
delivered to her by Malvolio, after divers reflections, the,-
boy-girl concludes, " I am the man," giving the hat a tape.
and walking off with the jaunty air of satisfied vanity
Miss Cushman, however, haying stooped to pick up the ring,
never rises until she makes her.exit, and she gives the phrase
"I am the man," with a half-melancholy, halrelstisfied air,
as though pity for Olivia overcame the sense of the ludicrous,
involved in the idea of Olivia's having fallen despek•ately in
loVe with one of her own sex. In fact, throughout lifkr Viola
there was exhibited an intensity of feeling, and a slut. de of
melancholy, to which we have been hitherto unaccusto.ll.6u
in the representation of this part. At first we were 1.1-
dined to demur to Miss Cushman's reading of this character ,s
so contrary to that of her predecessors ; but having seen her
manner of treating the character throughout;-, having re-
flected upon it, and having compared her Viola with that of.
her predecessors, we feel convinced that the reading of the
charatterby Miss Cushman is the correct one. Viola is ship-
wrecked, an orphan and a stranger in Illyria ; she has lost
her brother in the wreck ; alone, unfriended, forced
Ito adopt the disguise of a boy as her only pro-
tection against the perils incident to her situation,
in , danger of being discovered every moment, surely,
whatever, gaiety she may exhibit must be assumed, and by a
hat ev.sin the drunken
simple unsophisticated such as she is, somewhat badly
assumed too. So unsophisticated is she t
love, consumed by a
men of courage. She is moreover in
Sir Toby, and the foolish Sir Andrew impose upon her as
hopeless passion for the Duke Orsino, and albeit the passion
nr Olivia for the supposed boy Ctesario may for an instant
a oaken in her mind a sense of the :ud,crous (and admirably
did Miss Cushman just hint this hum,IVIEP osivon), yet
still the sense of the danger in which she is placed by the
r:sk of discovery, added to the sympathy which, in her
situation, she must necessarily feel for the
be •requitecllove of Olivia—

Z" A fellow•fein. o:makes us wondrous kind,"
completely overcomes the momentary sense of the hidic.rOUE's
and she is the one who

"Never told her
lore,
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek."

Former Violas have read the character as one of light
comedy, dashed with the pathetic. • Miss Cushman reads
it as a character of pathos slightly dashed with humour-
-Cho humour arising from situations which are against the
grain of the character; and Miss Cushman is right.
Hers is the true Shaksperian reading of the part.
The Olivia of Miss Susan Cushman was beautiful exceed-
ingly. This is a very difficult character to render accurately.
It is necessary to -be • dignified, yet not tyrannical—to tee
modest, yet not prudish—to be impassioned, yet not violent.
—to be firm, yet not rude. It is perhaps the most perfectly
polished and ladylike character that Shak.spere ever drew ;
it is a character to be understood rather by negatives than.
by positives; to be rendered rather by avoiding extreme'',
than by any other method; and beautifully did
Miss Susan Cushman render it. She is a great artist—no-
thing could be more beautiful than the manner in which
she delineated the force of passion, overcoming, bat not
overstepping, the modesty of nature in her love of Caesario.
Most modest and most maiden-like (maiden-like, al contra-
distinguished from matron-like) was her rebuke of the ex-
cesses of Sir Toby ; and admirable was the mingled expl'ession
of pity and offended dignity with which she commended the
supposed mad Malvolio to the care of her attendants. 'fhe
Olivia of Miss Susan Cushnian is the result of careful study;;
and careful study has borne its legitimate fruits. She hale
raised a second-rate character to the dignity of a first .rate one,
and her Olivia is far and away the best on the stage. Of
Farren's Malvolio and Buckstone's Sir Andrew it is a work
of supererogation to speak. Tilbury's Sir Toby, although
not equal to the Sir Toby of poor Strickland, was tolerable;
the Antonio of Stuart was excellent, sad the Clown of Web-
ster was perfect. He is the only representative of Shak-
spere's clowns now left to us. It would be injustice to Mr-
Braid not to mention his Sebastian. He acted the part with
infinite spirit, he dressed it admirably, and he cectainly made
more of the part of Sebastian than any actor has over made
of it in our remembrance. He is a promising artist, .and we
hops soon to meet with him again. At the fall of the cortain
the Misses Cushman were honoured with the usual ovation,
and bouquets innumerable were showered upon the stage.

WHAT SHOULD THE ALLOTTEES

DO?
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Stn,—Trusting that you will permit a few observa-,
tions, even against your own opinions, to appear in yoa7
influential Journal, I venture to question the justice of
those opinions, as respects the moral and legal liabilities
of Allottees.

The Sun thinks that allottees should not be called
upon to contribute to the expenses of railway projects
which have not proceeded to Parliament. In a general
sense this may be just ; but in the case of a project
failing-solely or chiefly through the default of the allot-
tees—which could not go on simply because the parties
who applied for shares did not take up and pay on the,
shares allotted them—l am persuaded that the expenses.
should be paid by the said defaulting allottees.
Let me illustrate this by a plain case, nor need I draw
on my imagination for particulars.
A line of rails ay is projected, which has for its
object to increase the accommodation for traffic and
passengers between important towns. The prospectus
is issued. Applications for shares tumble in. Twenty
times the number of shares put forth in the prospectus
are so applied for. The task of selection out of this
r mountain of applications is difficult, and must neees.-
sarily occupy much time. Parties are referred to, by'
letter and personally, as to the solvency and status of
the applicants. This done, the parties who have to allot
shares have a difficulty in judiciously distributing them
among the most proper persons. The Leareed Judge
who tried the case at Exeter (Woolinere. Toby) gave
his opinion that eight or nine weeks was not too hang a
period for the allotment of shares to occupy.
Meanwhile, on the strength of the favour with whirl
the project has there been received. the acting cora-
mitteehavc ft it justified in taking the steps necessary'
to place it in a state of readiness for the adjudication
of the Legislature. To give it full publicity the pro-
spectus has been advertised in the London and local
journals. The Company's solicitor has been doing his
part. The engineers have been put into active opera-
tion, so as to insure the required deposit of the plans
and sections "en or before the 30th of November." It
has been found requisite to take offices, to purchase
furniture, to provide stationary, to pay postap,;.s, to
secure the assistance of a secretary and clerks. AD this
has been done solely and wholly on the strength of the
promises made by applicants for shares.
The panic comes before it was possible for the allot-
ment to be made. The directors, in full confidence that
the applicants would fulfil their promises, proceed in
the execution of their task—a task performed nut only
without remuneration and thanks, but with the disad-
vantage of their having had to advance from 501. to 1004
each to meet current expenses. The deposit of plans
and sections has been made within the time required by
standing orders. The further requirements of these orders
are complied with. Everything has been done—the
money is all that is required.
The allotment letters are sent out. The applicant%
for shares—" all honourable men"—are unanimous in
not taking up and paying on a single share. The project
thus falls through, solely because they do not fulfil their
promise, contained in each letter of application. to pay
the deposit'upon the whole number of shares asked for.
or any lesser number which may be allotted.
Now, this non-payment by the allottees having
smashed the project, will any one contend that they
should not be held liable for a portion of the expenses ?
Engineers, lawyers, newspapers, stationery, postage*,
secretary, clerks, local agents, brokers, and rent must be
paid.
Is that payment to fall on the committee, who have
already advanced the full amount of the deposit on their
own shares, and who have done all in their power to
promote the success of the project, or should the allottees
be asked to contribute half•a-crown, or even five shil.
lings a share ?
This is the ease. The applicants for shares did not
say " we shall pay the deposit, if the shares come cut at
or rise to a premium," but they unconditionally said,
spaart,eoirneduiererielnotn,
thee
"allot us any number of shares, equal to, or less than.
the number we have asked for, and, no -matter whether
aayre
Ishce6finulfi doeuPto sai tt. "P Ilmpieunrns stirallsph
faith of such promises—should not the promise-makers
and promise-breakers be liable for the amount ?—Your
obedient servant, R. S. M.
June 25, 1846.

countrie, until latelv, in which the
ANCIENT AND 'MODERN CosMeE.--There were fey!
ens Ota in Eng.,
theinselves less to the chaeges of the se"
laborist about
land. A change so salutary has been greatly
hacked by capital and enter.
by the ingenuity of one lirrn,
to the Act of the
praise which e
prise; nor should that male popul adapted
pßicirtiloculess- poaflettiotitlsityw'Oubld.
altbu- flit every turn, they are no more to b.
woo the man
°f taste
material or style, with the Llama cloth
tinned either in
lo.megitistehdittr
feor:: for t23ealpPrrnoattienciteirconusofs
.27'.•re-g-istered by Messrs. Nicoll, than a jack boot to the-
Apollo MM.
SINGULATI EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING.. ....On Sunday last
' (says the Journal de Villeftwnehe), as M. Bae,•ard, ‘ll grocer at Ville-
n„,,,che, was returning front Beaujen, with his tamih, in a carriage,
which he drove himself, they were caught in a thunder-Sl:,'rin of great
violence, accompanied with heavy rain. M. Bagard, for shOer, put
nd an umbrella, and a second after a discharge of electric fluid !Ook
idace, which killed the horse and struck M. Itagard. In the interior
of the carriage the wife of M. Da.- di 11 her•moment
~ar arm fora ow,
ralystd, and a child complained of having received a blow on the leg.
The carriage being stopped by the (allot the horse one of M. Eagartif.
relations got out, and was just in time to catch M. Itagard as he was
falling. Assistance was obtained, and he was taken without signs of
life to a neighbouring house,. where he remained this state. lIIC
hands appeared as if they had been barnt. by tire, and witch lie re-•
gained consciousness he complained of severe pain in the region of
the stomach. On the tbllowing, day he was removed to Villefranche.
and was gradually recovering when the account left. The Journal-
de Fillejranche supposes that, but for the umbrella. 31. Ida,:ard woula
have been killed, as the greater portion of the fluid, (list attracted hy
the metallic point, passed over the silk, and fell upon the horse. It.
adds an Incredible fact. A few feet from the horse there were foun'•
on the ground several masses of triturated hay, which had been driver.
out of the stomach of the animal by the electric fluid.

NOVEL METHOD or COOKING Fun.— On Wednes-
day last two pair of soles were cooked by the heat of the sun alone.
on the stalls at the back of the Boston ti3hmarket, and were afters.
wards partaken of by the lly,tanders. perYons attended tOr
witness the experiment, which Occupied about halfctin hour.-1-10e0?.
Herald.

.
On Sunday.a poor Woman along the canal
by the Rue Menilmontant, was so oppreSsed Ivy the heat that she.
dropped down dead from a stroke o: apoplexy. Yesterday there wereo
two eases of apoplexy on the Boulevard Saint Martin, but as merli—
cat relief was immediately administered, they were not fatal.—Pan4
Paper.
EXTRAORDINARY INCREASE LT STOCK.—Mr. MounTey,
of Sera Park, near Askham, presunted two of his grandsons, now
living at Askham, with a black-faced ewe, about fifteen years ago;
and a few days since the worthy old yeomen, who is still hale and
hearty, though in his P4th year, attended the sheep-washing of his
two grandsons, at which he had the pleasure of beholding a flock of
400 sheep, the produce of the two ewes above-named and their de-
scendants, and it is thought that the number of sheep drafted frcrrt
this flock during the last dozen years may amount to about the mai
CliOerkityi Pacgt4.