The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-22 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

7

S UN,

bats, " the 'bottntling bricks of Babylon,"
cause reiterated screams of delight. The achieve-
ments of this worthy pair, Flexmore's apish pranks,
and -Vilynn's imitation of Macready as Lear, when
sounding .the 'affections of his daughters, were the
chief side-splitters amid the incessant provocations to
mirth which sparkled throughout the extravaganza.
Putting even the. abounding fun out of the question,
the co3tliness of the scenery, the vivid richness of the
dresses, the brilliancy of the dancing—nay, if it were
merely the pinorama from London to Grenada, and
the procession of King Mohamed and hi. 4 Court—
would insure a long run and crowded houses. The
suceess was unqualified, and deservedly so, for no
theatre is more worthy of public support than the
Princess's under its present lessees. Let none of our
country cousins who crowd to the wonders of the
Great Exhibition be guilty of so flagrant a sin of
omission as neglecting to devote an evening to the
enjoyment of the magnificence and right royal jolli-
ties of The Alhambra.

OLYMPIC THEATRE.
At this favourite and well-managed little theatre
the holiday folks were treated last night with the first
representation of an original drama, in four acts, un-
der the attractive and excellent title of Sir Roger de
Coverley ; or, the Widow and her Wooers, from the
pen of Mr. Tom Taylor, the successful author of the
dramatized version of the " Vicar of Wakefield."
With the name of Sir Roger de Coverley every one
is familiar; if not by a perusal of the exquisite
sketches in the Spectator, at least by having tripped
gaily through the spirited mid lively dance which has
so long been a favourite with the English people.
The character of Sir, ißoger, as banded up to us in
the quaint, humorous, simple, yet elegant style of
Addison, is one of the finest pictures which our lan-
guage presents of the English country gentleman a
century and a half ago. In his youth a bold, dashing
fellow, engaged in all the sports and pleasures of the day,
be is crossed in love early in life by a beautiful young
widow, and seems to have almost settled himself down
to a bachelor's life. When we make his acquaintance
through the pages of Addison he is in his fifty-sixth
year, cheerful and happy, with a spice of humour in
his veins, eccentric in manners and dress, hospitable
and generous to a fault, a great admirer of mankind,
and beloved and adored by his friends, neigh-
bours, and domestics. In constructing a drama,
in which so notable an individual and his equally,
well known companions were to play a conspi-
cuous part, the highest efforts of the dramatist it
was necessary to call into action. In the first place
care had to be taken to embody on the stage the
exact portrait of Sir Roger and the circle that sur-
rounded him, and in the next to concoct a plot which
would harmonize with our ideas of the period and of
the little world which Addison presented to our ima-
gination, as well as secure the attention of an audience.
With regard to the first object, Mr. Taylor, aided by
the ability and skill of Mr. Farren's company as to
dress and acting, may be said to have in a great
degree succeeded, but we question whether
he has been as fortunate in the selection of the plot
and incidents of the piece. In the first scene we are
introduced to Coverley Manor, where all the country
people are making preparations for the arrival of Sir
Roger, whose benevolence and other good qualities are
the general theme of discussion and admiration.
When he makes his appearance he is received with
loud hearty cheers, laughter, mirth, and even tears,
and in his bower the amusements of the " wake,"
consisting of wrestling, cudgel playing, &c., are en-
tered upon with great glee and enthusiasm. Among
those who come to greet him on the occasion are
Lady Bellasis, thel still buxom, merry, and engaging
widow, who twenty years ago refused his hand, her
charming niece Sylvia, and Captain Sentry, a young
blood of the first water, and nephew of the knight.
Sir Roger has brought with him from town a gay
old top, Will Honeycomb, who is not yet disposed
to give up his amours and intriguing propensities,
Sir Andrew Fairport, a club oracle and boon com-
panion, who is incessantly consulting the, Gazette
containing the last news of the Dutch war, and Dick
Grecian, a Templar and a sentimental gentleman. One
of Sir Roger's servants is Reuben Cooper, otherwise
known as Black Will, a young man of gipsy descent,
who had been taken out of prison through the humane
intervention of his master, and is consequently under
an eternal debt of gratitude to him. He is in love
with Susan Holiday, another domestic of the Knight,
but her affection seems to be placed on Bob Marting-
dale. Having struck old Honeycomb, and treated
him somewhat roughly for endeavouring to steal a
kiss from Susan, and subsequently in a fit of despera-
tion at his discomfiture in the sports of the "wake"
with Martingdale, struck him unfairly, he excites
the displeaSure of Sir Roger, and is dismissed from
the manor in Detesting the predatory habits
and dishonesty of his own race, he is annoyed by the'
pertinacious declarations of ardent love by Mahala
Stanley, a pretty gipsy girl, who, by way
of revenge, determines to poison not only
him, but also Susan Holiday. He, however,
succeeds in thwarting her vile intentions, but has
heaped on his head all the denunciations and threats
which the "Rom many" people were capable of em-
ploying against their enemies. This episode having
concluded, we again return to the manor, where we
find Sir Roger employing his friend Honeycomb
to press his suit with the widow, for whom his pas-
sion is as strong as ever • hut 'the fop of the " Mall"
and the coffee-houses. of St. James's, is obliged to
retreat under her ridicule and laughter, like a dog
in a nameless situation. Here a series of mis-
takes arise which give a little interest and
vivacity to what had hitherto been extremely
dull and heavy. The widow has a penchant for the
nephew of Sir Roger' Captain Sentry, who again
loves her daughter, the beautiful Sylvia, and when
he visits the widow to ask her consent to his marriage
with Sylvia, by a singular coincidence she is under
the impression that he is making suit to her, and re-
luctantly yields to his persuasive eloquence. Happy in
the expectation, of her future marriage, she refuses
the hand of Sir Roger, and seduces by her charrns
his friends Honeycomb, Sir Andrew Fairport, and
Dick Grecian to make each declarations of marriage
only for the gratification of exercising her authority,
and showing the influence of her charms. What
makes the matter more ridiculous is, that Captain
Sentry is fully persuaded that he has her consent
to marry Sylvia, to whom, and to Sir Roger, he
communicates the gratifying intelligence. The
denouement, of course, excites the astonishment and
surprise of all parties—puts to blush the widow,
brings tears to the daughter's eyes, and draws forth
from Sir Roger a transitory expression of regret at
the deceit of his friends, who wished to rob him of an
object so dear to his heart. Turning again to the
gipsy tribe, who, we regret, to find, occupy
so prominent a place in the drama, we
see them arranging their plans for robbing Honey-
combe.of the numerous sparkling jewels which adorn
his person; this they intend dosug by decoying him
out of his chamber at the manor at night, under the
idea that he would meet a pretty gipsy girl.
Reuben Cooper overhears their conversation, and
having given timely warning at the manor-house,
the robbers are arrested in the act of carrying away
the valuable property. The piece then draws to a
.close. Reuben consents, to carry his gipsy admirer
on her agreeing to live honestly and like a Christian
fur the future, and they both receive, the blessing of
the old knight, and promises of his assistance and
protection. The beautiful Sylvia and Captain Sentry
are united, and though the widow refuses to take
Sir Roger as a partner for life, she offers her band to
him fer a dance, and the whole characters then join
in a lively and well kept-up dance to the tune of Sir
Roger de Coverley, and the curtain dropped amidst
very loud applause. On the whole, the piece may be
said to be successful, though the introduction of the
gipsy story has been made too great a feature in it,
and tends very much to destroy the interest which
would otherwise be felt by the audience in what
ought ,to be the real nature of a drama produced under
the title of Sir Roger de Coverley. The character
of Sir Roger was well sustained by Mr. Farren,
sen., as was also that of the widow by Mrs.
Stirling, whose taste and vivacity cannot be
too much praised. Miss Howard looked and acted
well in Sylvia, and Mr. Henry Farren did justice to
the part of Will Honeycomb. Reuben Cooper was
well supported by Mr. Leigh Murray, and Mrs.
Leigh Murray personated the gipsy girl, Mahala
Stanley, with her usual histrionic talent. The per-
formances concluded with the well-known romantic
drama of the Bottle Imp.

Never, since spectacular burlesque first became a
popular species of dramatic entertainment, has a more
attractive piece of the sort been brought forward on
the metropolitan boards than that produced last even-
ing at this theatre, under the title of The Alhambra;
or the Three Beautiful Princesses. Not only is the
subject (partly founded on one of Washington Irving's
delightful tales) felicitously chosen, but handled and
illustrated with admirable skill; as might fairly be ex-
pected, where-the pen of a shrewd and sparkling hu-
morist is enlisted in the service of a management of
consummate taste and liberality. The opening scene
displays an encampment of fairies by moonlight in
Brompton-square, whose revels are invaded by Mrs.
Keeley, distracted by managerial anxiety to light upon
an eligible subject for a new burlesque. After dis-
consolately rejecting several " used up " subjects of
Fairydom, suggested by the leader of the spritely
band, she evokes Asmodeus, who is dispatched to
the realms of " tawney Spain" to supply the deside-
ratum. The journey is made by le diable boiteUx
(Mr. Flexmore) in a balloon, which affords ax oppor-
tunity for a succession of delightful views—the
Crystal Palace, Dover, the Channel, Calais, Paris,
the Pyrenees, and, finally, a beautiful,prospect of the
royal city of the Moors, with its towering Alhambra,
the Vega, and the gleaming range of the Sierra
Nevada—which brought down, and most meritedly,
continuous peals of applause ; Asmodeus meantime
solacing himself with a copious supply of creature-
comforts in the aerial elevation of his car. Then com-
mence the adventures of the three lovely daughters of
the white-bearded Moorish King Mohamed (capitally
personated by that very clever actor, Mr. Wynn),
and who are represented by Mdlles. Murray, Car-
lotta Leclercq, and Mary Keeley. Three Christian
Knights (Mr. and Mrs. Keeley and Mr.
Wigan) are taken captive, and fall in
love with the fair Princesses, whose charms both of
person and costume would, certes, excite the admira-
tion of the most ascetic anchorites. All manner of
hairbreadth escapes, and the broadest and richest co-
micalities with a rattling fire of puns, = old and new,
ensue, and keep the audience in a perpetual roar, till
—by the aid of a magic carpet presented by
the gratitude of a wizard, disenchanted, although
unwittingly, by one of the doughty warriors
—all the happy lovers escape the ferocity of
the wrathful Monarch of Granada, and, as
the curtain falls, are seen departing for Christendom
in a gorgeous galley from the port of Cadiz. This
last scene, together with those we have mentioned,
was perfectly beautiful. The brilliant and artistic
gorgeousness of the costumes has never been sur-
passed, if ever equalled, on the stage, and certainly a
better acted burlesque it would be impossible to wit-
ness, Flexmore, as a pet moakey, performed such
a succession of antics as convulsed the spectators, and
make it evldent that this unrivalled buffo must have
taken out letters of naturalization among' the chim-
panzees of Borneo. In the dancing department, the
arrangement of which is extremely creditable to him,
he gave a comic dance, which, needless to say, was
encored. Mdlle. Auriol, who was very warmly re-
ceived, executed a pas mauresque in her
,wonted
elegant and accomplished style, and Mrs. Keeley and
Miss Leclercq gave the new dance La Gorlitza,
with excellent effect. A comic song by Harley,
gado, and Miss Robertson, a very pleasing and pretty
who most comically sustains the part of a vile renea
actress, who is " the discreet Kadiga, the lady's
maid, was encored. Perhaps the most glorious bit
of fun in the entire piece is contributed by the fea s
t
of Wigan and_ Keeley, wbo, as a .pair of acro-

SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE.
That part of the public which habitually resorts
to this well-managed little house, evinced a deter-
mination to be compensated fOr out-of-door disap-
pointment by thronging thither for sheltered enjoy-
ment, the pit especially being densely crowded. The
performance opened with The Merchant of Venice.
Of this little- heed be said. Shylock being of course
appropriated,by Mr. Phelps, the only noticeable fea-
ture was first appearance of Miss Goddard, a
young lady- from the northern provinces, in the
character of Portia. The difficulty of the task
thus undertaken was evident; but, on the whole,
it was creditably executed. At the comrw:nce-
ment, a slight nervous agitation was perceptible, as
usual, in a want of self-possession, and in consequent
deficiency of graceful action and natural intonation ;
but as the play proceeded, there was a better realization
of the exquisitely beautiful points of the character.
In the court scene there was great but not strained
animation, the climax with regard to the effect of the
bond being Well wrought up. The subsequent ring
denouement was rendered with great vivacity by Por-
tia and her friend Nerissa (Miss Fanny iluddart).
Miss Goddard is no doubt (what young actress is
not ?)
susceptible of improvement, but she is also ap-
parently capable of it ; and with a rather more spar-
ing or less professional use of the organs of sight, at-
tentive observation, and careful study, the debutante
may obtain a satiafActOry position; At the -close- of

LONDON', TUESDAY EVENING,

the piece there were boisterous and long-continued
calls for her appearance before the curtain ; but,
whatever may have been the reason, there was a per-
tinacious refusal to respond. The second and last
portion of the evening's entertainments was Mr.
Planches fairy extravaganza of Fortunio and his
Seven Gifted Servants, which has long been a fa-
vourite further west, but was nevertheless well re-
vived here, and afforded considerable amusement.

MARYLEBONE THEATRE.
The entertainments at this suburban theatre last
night commenced with the Stringer ; or, Hurrah
for the Road, one of those melodramas, as the title
indicates, in which an air of romance is thrown over
the career of the highwayman, and the burglar is
converted into an interesting character. The piece
was well received, and was followed by the interlude
of the Rival Pages, which was performed almost in
dumb show, the house having in the meantime been
filled to overflowing by an audience which was evi-
dently disposed to enjoy itself to the top of its bent,
and which witnessed no incidents to disturb its equa-
nimity and self-satisfaction, except, it may be, the
expulsion of an intruder, who had assumed a place to
which he was not entitled in the pit, and who was
removed by two active and athletic youths, with a
vigour and rapidity in the administration of justice
worthy of the backwoods of America. There was
only another incident of an exceptional kind in
the course of the whole evening, an adventurous per-
son in corduroys having chosen to traverse the front
of the gallery on all-fours, to get a draught from some
friendly bottle. After it:dance the entertainments
concluded with a grand mythological burletta entitled
the Boyhood of Bacchus. In the opening scenes the
voices of the "gods" in the gallery were loud enough
to prevent the dialogue of their rivals of Olympus
being distinctly heard ; but the interruption soon
subsided ; and, what with the songs of Bacchus (Miss
F. Williams) and the other characters, the pretty
tableaux and scenes, the unexceptionable dresses, and
the admirable manner in which the details were got
up, the audience seemed to be vastly pleased. The
impression a visit to the Marylebone Theatre may be
expected to leave is, that great care is bestowed on
the production of the entertainments, and that the.
performers are bent on rendering their performances
as complete as possible.

A STLEY'S THEATRE.
The history of Eleanor and Fair Rosamond affords
ample materials for the development of all the pecu-
liar resources of such an establishment as the one now
under notice, and it is not surprising that Mr. Rod
well should have selected it as the subject of a new
historical spectacle. Commencing with the arrival of
Henry Plantagenet at the .Court of France in order to
pay homage for his Dukedom of Normandy, the
author describes Queen Eleanor as at once struck by
his noble bearing, and from that moment he becomes
her constant chevalier and attendant. Fired by the
powerful preaching of St. Bernard, not the King
alone, but the whole Court of France, with the Queen
and her ladies, proceed to Palestine to do battle for
the cross. Henry follows, disguised as a Turk
named Saladin, and the devotion which in that capa-
city he bestows upon her is not inconsistent with an
intrigue of which the haughty Amazon is said to have
been guilty. Fair Rosamond accompanies the Prince
in the disguise of a minstrel. The blood relationship
of Eleanor with Louis is laid hold of by the church—
a divorce is procured, and the marriage of Eleanor and
Henry follows. The well- known incidents of Rosa-
mond's checkered life are adhered to pretty strictly,
and, escheWing the notion that she perished by poison,
the more agreeable alternative is adopted that she
died in the nunnery of Godstow. Whether she ever
became a nun or no, it is pretty clear that she bore
two sons to Henry. We have briefly sketched the
outline, to show how closely the piece adheres to the
generally received history of the period. As a
spectacle of the first class, we must say the piece is
highly successful. The scenery and appointments are
gorgeous, and the concluding tableau is one of great
brilliancy. Among the actors we recognized nearly
all the old hands, including Mr. Crowther, Mr. Barry,
Miss Fenton, and Mr. Stirling, and there are several
recent acquisitions • Miss Garthwaite especially from.
the Cheltenham theatre, will, no doubt, be found a
very valuable addition. At the close of the spectacle
M. Villespy performed a series of novel and daring
performances upon the Globe Celestial. The scenes
of the arena succeeded, and the whole concluded with
the laughable afterpiece of the Two Greg oriel, in
which Miss Garthwaite again played with decided
success. We cannot conclude without bearing tes-
timony to the beautiful decorations, the perfect clean-
liness, and admirable ventilation of this theatre.
Everything about it appears to be spick and span new,
and for this at least Mr. Batty deserves our good
wishes. It is astonishing how so complete a revivi-
fying of the house could hare been effected in the
short period of the Easter recess.

APRIL

trivance, a greater variety of panoromas is displayed
this year to the foreign visitors of one of our most
interesting places, at once, of instruction and amuse-
ment. An advantage, this, we conceive to be obvious
enough, at a time when so many strangers will be
congregated in the capital with the purpose, we may
presume, of seeing other things besides the Crystal
Palace. Before reverting for a moment to the present
paintings, it will be worthy of remark that Mr. Bur-
ford's former panorama of Jerusalem was destroyed
about ten years ago by fire at New York, having been
conveyed across the Atlantic for exhibition in the
United States. The completeness of the pictures
now on view at Leicester-square, as representations
of the ruined city and the stupendous cataract, may
be appreciated when it is borne in mind that both
scenes " have their principal and most remarkable
features confined almost entirely to about one-half
the usual circumferenee." Their interest may be con-
jectured, even by those who have not yet visited
them, when it is remembered that Jerusalem was the
arena of the chief feature in the teething and cruci-
fixion of the Divine Redeemer, and that the Falls of
Niagara have been not extravagantly characterized as,
among all Nature's works, perhaps " the most won-
derful and magnificent." Not even the most phleg-
matic can look on unmoved at a fall of a vast body of
waters from a precipice one hundred and fifty feet in
height, or on that venerable metropolis of Palestine,
among the principal localities of which may be re-
cognised the tombs of the prophets, the throne of
Solomon, the judgment• seat of David, the palace of
Pontius Pilate, the Holy Sepulchre, and the Garden
of Gethsemane.