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

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 and lively dance which has
so long been a favourite with the English people.
The character of Sir, fßoger, as handed 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,
he 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, us well as secure the attention of nn 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, the] still buxom, merry, and engaging
widow, who twenty years ago refused his band, 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 disgrace. 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 " Rommany " 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 ; but 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
vavacity 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 charms
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. Turnihg 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 adoru
his person; this they intend doing by decoying him
out of his chamber at the manor at night, under the
idea that he would meet a pretty gipsy
Reuben Cooper overhears their conversation, and
having given timely warning at the manorehouse,
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
for the future, and they both receive the blessing of
the old knight, and promises of bis 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
join
in f,,r a dance, and the whole characters then
in a lively and well kbpt-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 vs ell 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.