The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-22 00:00:00

NEW WORK IN MONTHLY PARTS, BY MR. CHARLES

DICKENS,

On the Ist of October (to be completed in twenty Monthly Parts,
uniform with " Martin Chuzzlewit," &c.), price One Shilling, the
' First Number of
DEALINGS WITH THE FIRM OF DOM-
BEY AND SON,

Wholesale, Retail. and for Exportation.
Edited by CHARLES DICKENS. With Illustrations by nablot

K. Brown.
London : 'Bradbury and Evans, Whiteftlars.

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Qicen and Prince Albert took their accustomed
parly waik, yesterday, in the pleasure grounds of Os-
borne House.

The Royal Children took airings in the rides and plan-
tations on Sunday afternoon.
Colonel Bowles left Osborne House yesterday, for
town.

Her Majesty and Prince Albert will, it is expected.
leave 06borne House this morning, for Windsor Castle.
Her Royal Highness the Princess of Prussia, attended
by the Countess Haack and Count Puckler, arrived at
the Euston-square terminus yesterday morning, from
Cashiobury Park, Herts, the residence of her Majesty
the Queen Dowager. The Princess was received by his
Excellency the Chevalier Bunsen, the Earl of Denbigh,
and Baron Witzleben. Her Royal Highness, attended
by the whole suite, visited and inspected Guildhall, the
Mansion House, the East India House, and the General
Post-office. The Princess afterwards proceeded to
Marlborough House Pall mall.
At a quarter before two o'clock the Princess of Prus-
sia, accompanied by his Serene Highness Prince Edward
of Saxe Weimar, and attended by the Countess Haack
and Count Puckler, left Marlborough House in an open
carriage to pay a visit to their Royal Highnesses the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at their residence at
Kew. A dejeuner was served soon after her Royal High-
ness's arrival.

The Princess of Prussia remained to dinner with the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Hereditary
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg Strelitz. The Cheva-
lier Bunsen, Prussian Minister, and a select party, had
the honour of joining the royal circle at dinner. In
the evening the Princess of Prussia, accompanied by
Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, returned to Marlbo-
rouith House.

His Royal Highness the Hereditary Grand Duke of
Mecklenhurg Strelitz left town on Saturday for Tun-
bridge Wells.
Sir Stratford Canning transacted business at the
Foreign-office yesterday.
Dispatches were received on Sunday at the Colonial-
office from the Governors of the West India colonies.

STRAND THEATRE.
" And then there was Mr. Martin Archer Shee's Alasco,
Which, if the Chamberlain hadn't refused to license it,
would have been afiasco,"
sung poor Theodore Hook ; and undoubtedly in those
days Alasco, had it been represented, would have
been represented not once, but only part of once,
for the audience would never have tamely sub-
mitted to the infliction of the five dull acts which
were perpetrated by the now President of the
Royal Academy. We will not, however, venture
to prophecy what might be its fate if represented in the
present day, seeing that the Maid of Warsaw, a very,
diluted edition of Alasco, was received last night with
great applause at the Strand Theatre. The plot of this
drama is very simple. Ulric Sobeiski (Mr. Gregory),
a patriotic Pole, rouses his countrymen into rebellion
against their Russian oppre,sors. His sister Eva (Mrs.
Percy), who is betrothed to Werter (Mr. Carle), a Polo,
falls into the power of the Russian commander, Brutan-
dorff (Mr. Waldron), who!, of, course, makes love to
her; and alai), of course,'" his love: is. rejected.
Ulric arrives nt the fortress,' by , a secret
Passage, just in the nick of time- to save
Eva from the ravisher.l. Ulric is arrested, rind sentenced
to the as a traitor. He is shut up in a dungeon, and has
.an interview with Eva, whose virtue is made the price
of his life, in which he urges her to resist to the last,
and expresses his willingr,ess to die !for his sister and
his country. By order of the ;tyrant. he is led forth to
execution in the sight of Eva, who falls dead, but the
executioner's axe is arrested in its descent by the
`victory of the Poles, who rescue Ulric, who kills
Brutandorff, and falls upon the neck of Werter,
the affirmed of Eva, and the cumin falls amidst the
cries of triumph of the regenerated Poles. The dia-
logue is, of course, seasoned with " Liberty," "Poland,"
" Tyranny," " Oppre,sion, " Our country." Sze., &c.,
and all the usual patriotic claptraps—add a cowardly
Russian corporal, enacted by Mr. Attwood, who
endeavoured strenuously, with au energy worthy
a better cause, to " make fun," and you have the tragedy.
It is long and heavy, and absolutely without interest ;
and, as a specimen of the dialogue, we give the following
extract from a speech spoken by Mrs. Percy in the cha-
racter of Eva:—

"I feel around me coiled a rope of ice,
That like some creeping reptile, &c."
Now, we should like to see a pictorial illustration of this
passage. 'A rope of ice would of itself' be a novelty ; but
a rope of ice like a creeping reptile would beat the
"What is it." The only thing that.sav, d the play was
the acting of Mr. Gregory and Mrs. Percy, both of whom
exerted themselves to the utmost, and saved the play.
But we would put it seriously t ) Mr. Gregor 3
who, we presume, having weathered the storm, which
was most unjustly raised against him, intends seriously
to make the stage his profession—whether he is not risk-
ing his fame by thus lending himself to make bad plays.
Were he firmly fixed upon the stage he might afford to
do so; but he cannot do so yet, because there are those
who would be but too glad to visit the defects of the
play upon the actor, and say, that, although in Shakspe-
rian characters, where he can imitate others, he may be
passable, he:cannot create a part. We are not of this
opinion—we believe that Mr. Gregory is a great actor,
but as yet he cannot afford to waste his powers on such
characters as Ulric. We would advise him to turn his
attention to known characters which have at pre-
sent no representatives on the stage. For in-
stance, Z Intim -in the Revenge, or Pierre in
Venice Preserved, or a character which, if- we mis-
take not, he represented with great success, as • one of
the Shaksperians, and which will also prove his versa-
tility, Falstaff. These are characters which we should
recommend him to make his own before he attempts to
create a new part. There are also many of our old
plays which he might revive, such as The cardinal of
Shirley, with great effect ; and when he has thoroughly
established himself in these parts, then he may attempt
to create new characters, and he will find authors who
can write willing and eager to back him. We throw out
these hints, because we believe Mr. Gregory to be en-
dowed with histrionic genius. If such were not our
firm opinion, we should treat him as an amateur, and
"let him gang his ain gait." The house was crowded,
and Mr. Gregory and Mrs. Percy were called for at the
fall of the curtain.