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

.1. 1~

HAYMARKET THEATRi.
~, •
Twelfth Night was revived here last evening, with
lu Miiirt:ll;
Cushman as Viola, and Miss Susan Cbman as Olivit,l4; •
This comedy, which was written by Shakspere for ,repre-1
sentation at one of the grand feasts of e
and which was performed for the first ..../14—,14"C iddl
Temple Hall, is supposed by the comme.
his latest work ; and if so, it proves, as has been ,well ob-
served by Schlegel, that he must have enjoyed to the last
the same youthful elasticity of mind, and have carried with
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 reading of the 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 itialvolio, after divers reflections, the
boy-girl concludes, "I am the man," giving the hat a tap,
and walking off with the jaunty air of satisfied vanity.
Miss Cushman, however, having 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, half-satisfied air,
as though pity for Olivia overcome the sense of the ludicrous,
involved in the idea of Olivia's having fallen desperately in
love with one of her own sex. In fact, throughout :her Viola
there was exhibited an intensity of feeling, and a. shade of
melancholy, to which we have been hitherto unaccustomed
in the representation of this part. At first we were in-
clined to demur to Miss Cushman's reading of this character,
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 c eivinced that the reading of the
character by 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
to adopt the disguise of a tit:), as her only pro-
tection against the perils incident to her situation,
ni e n ,
andsurely,
b y
ng
moment,
the drunken
in
whatevermdaendg tegor
oa gaiety shebueni vitbeeidrtei
is she
sihei s:tetbrhYea assumed,t
simple unsophisticated girl such as she is, somewhat badly
assumed too.
and the foolish Sir Andrew impose upon her as
men of courage. She is moreover in love, consumed by a
hopeless passion for the Duke Orsino, and albeit the passion
aofwaOkleinviianfohrertlmmeinsdupaposesned boy e
seofthemsaiurio may
aicrous(afonr an
d admirably
in
d mirstabanlyt
did Miss Cushman just hint this humilVusp osition), yet
rsitsikil tohfe sense of the danger in which she is placed by the
situation, she mryus, ta
the impossible-to-
be-requited love of sympathyOlivia—
ndedceedssatroilythefeelforwhich, in her
(" A fellow-feeling makes us wondrous kind," )
completely overcomes the momentary sense of the ludicrous,
and she is the one who

"Never told her love,
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—
the 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 be
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 Shakspere ever drew ;
it is a character to be understood rather by negatives than
by positives; to be rendered rather by avoiding extremes
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, but not
overstepping, the modesty of nature in her love of Cmsario.
Most modest and most maiden-like (maiden-like, as contra-
distinguished from matron-like) was her rebuke of the ex-
cesses of Sir Tobv ; and admirable was the mingled expression
of pity and offended dignity with which she commended the
supposed mad Malvolio to the care of her attendants. The
Olivia of Mies Susan Cushman is the result of careful study,
and careful study has borne its legitimate fruits. She has;
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
oFfasrurepner'serMogaal
tviooluiotaund Bspeaukck. stoTnileb'suryStsir As
Sir
dTr eowh i
as
tahouogr wkh
not equal to the Sir Toby of poor Strickland, was tolerable;
the Antonio of Stuart was excellent, and the Clown of Web-
ster was perfect. He is the only representative of Shak-
spare'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 certainly made
more of the part of Sebastian than any actor has ever made
of it in our remembrance. He is a promising artist, and we
hope soon to meet with him again. At the fall of the curtain
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.

SlR,—Trusting that you will permit a few observa-
tions, even against your own opinions, to appear in your
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 ate persuaded that the expenses
should he 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 railway is projected, which has for its
object to inerea,e 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
aro so applied for. The task of selection out of this
mountain of applications is difficult, and must neces-
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 Learned Judge
who tried the case at Exeter (Woolmer v. Toby) gave
his opinion that eight or nine weeks was not too long a
period for the allotment of shares to occupy.
Meanwhile, on the strength of the favour with which
the project has there been received, the acting com-
mittee have felt 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 "on or before the 30th of November." It
has been found requisite to take offices, to purchase
furniture, to provide' stationary, to pay postages, to
secure the assistance of a secretary and clerks. All 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 not only
without remuneration and thanks, but with the disad-
vantage of their having had to advance from 501. to 100/.
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 applicants
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,e deposit
unptaoinnetdbeinwebaoclhe
number letter of o
of
psPhlaicreastioans'keto
pay
for,
thep
de
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, postages,
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 case. The applicants for shares did not
say "we shall pay the deposit, if the shares come out at
or rise to a premium," but they unconditionally said,
par, or
incurred discount,
o n thewe
"allot us any number of shares, equal to, or less than
optaitt." premium,
ar e
the number we have asked for, and, no matter whether
sharessthheall pay
the full
come u
deposit."
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.

ANCIENT ANDntNuTillately, MDERN COSTUME.—There were few
l
themselves less td the changes of the seasons than in Eng-
land. A change so salutary has been greatly brought about
of one firm, backed by capital and enter-
by the ingenuity
; nor should that praise which is due to the Act of the
,
Legislature " for the protection of acticles of utility " be
omitted; for, although numerous spurious paletots would
woo the man of taste at every turn, they are no more to be
compared either in material or style, with the Llama cloth
ilaste
one registered by Messrs. Nicoll, than a jack boot to the
Apollo Belvi.
irl
rleinrß anche),
Beaujeu,
with his family, in a carriage,
which he drove himself, they
6INGULAR EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING.-011 Sunday
aty.
11.
as M. Bagard,
a grocer
f(rsaarchteh,ewjaosurnal d
returninge V
were caught in a thunder-storm of great
violence, accompanied with heavy rain. M. Bagard, for shelter, put
ud an umbrella, and a second after a
,‘discharge of electric fluid took
struck I
place, which killed the horse and I. Bagard. In the interior
of the carriage the wife of M. Bagard had her arm for a moment pa-
ralysed, and a child complained of having received a blow on the leg.
The carriage being stopped by the fall of the horse one of M. Regard's
relations got out, and was just in time to catch M. Bagard as he was
falling. Assistance was obtained, and he was taken without signs of
life to a neighbouring house, where he remained in this state. Hie
hands appeared as ff they had been burnt by fire, and when he re-
gained consciousness he complained of severe pain in the region of
the stomach. On the following day he was removed to Villefranche;,
and was gradually recovering when the account left. The Journat
de Villefranche supposes that, but for the umbrella, M. Bagard would:
have been killed, as the greater portion of the fluid, first attracted by
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 fount
on the ground several masses of triturated hay, which had been driven
out of the stomach of the animal by the electric fluid.
NOVEL METHOD OF COOKING FISH.— 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 fishmarket, and were after-
wards partaken of by the bystanders. Many persons attended to
witness the experiment, which occupied about half an hour.—Boston
Herald.
On Sunday, a poor woman walking along the canal
I by the Rue Menilmontant, was so oppressed by the heat that she
dropped down dead from a stroke of apoplexy. Yesterday there were
two cases of apoplexy on the Boulevard Saint Martin, but as medi-
cal relief was immediately administered, they were not fatal.—Paris•
Paper.
EXTRAORDINARY INCREASE OF STOCK.—Mr. Mounsey„
of Setra Park, near Askham, presented two of his grandsons, now
living at Askham, with a black-faced ewe, about fifteen years age
and a few days since the worthy old yeoman, who is still hale aside
hearty, though in his 84th year, attended the sheep-washing of hi,i
two grandsons, at which he had the pleasure of beholding a flock, or
400 sheep, the produce of the two ewes above-named and their qe-
scendants, and it is thought that the number of sheep drafted t •nta
this flock during the last dozen years may amount to about the p arcie
number.—Cumberland Parquet.