The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-17 00:00:00

THEATRE-ROYAL, LYCEUM.

The hold which the drama of " Adrienne : or, the Secret
of a Life," has taken upon the public taste, justifies us in
entering upon a more detailed notice of this production
than we thought it necessary to do upon the occasion of its

first representation. The piece in itself is a compound of
comedy and melodrama, and although a severe criticism
might repudiate such an alliance, still the actual merits of
the conception and the brilliant execution of the play merit

a more careful examination than we have previously had an

opportunity of affording to its construction and plot.

In the first act we are introduced to a certain Adrienne
de Beaupre (Madame Celeste), a wealthy orphan, who, re-
siding in a villa near Rome, has acquired, as it appears, a
deserved reputation for her charities and all the graces
which should accompauy the prossession of great wealth.
She has, moreover, surrendered no small portion of her
affections to an art-student at Rome (Mr. Neville), who is
engaged to paint her portrait. The scene in which this de-
licate interview is represented is exquisitely rendered in all

those little nuances of hesitation awl passion, of which Mme.
Celeste stands without a rival on the stage. The lady's

sole attendants are a superior male servant (Mr. Campbell)
and a faithful Mulatto (Mr. Villiers), the latter of whom
attaches himself to the fortunes of his mistress with a fervor

of the truly Oriental type, his life haiing been saved by the
mother of Adrienne, who was of the pleasant Island of
Martinique, the birthplace of Josephine, the Empress of
France. A disagreeable and disturbing element now ap-

pears upon the scene, in the person of one Mr. Eugene de
Grassac (Mr. George Vining), who is represented as a roué
or a gambler as She case may be, but at any
rate confesses himself to be a ruined man, whose
only ,hope is in his marriage with the wealthy
Adrienne. His claims on the hand of this charming

lady, certainly at first sight, appear most preposterous
Nevertheless this de Grassac pretends to hold the lady in
command, by being in possession of evidences of her illegi-
timacy. This terrifies the Lady, and Savignie retires, not
without a challenge to meet in the Pontiac marshes,
as it is alleged, in consequence of some rude remarks
which had been made by de Grassac on the lady's cha-
racter and position, upon the occasion of a soiree where
the two, gentlemen have previously met. In consequence
of this the duel takes place, and a very splendid scene it
is. The lights are admirably thrown on the Combatants in
the mist, and it concludes with .de Grassac being wounded
and retiring—not, however, before some angry words and
the near revelation of the secret, which is only silenced by
the appearance of Adrienne upon the scene, who consents to
sacrifice herself to De Grassac, in order to keep sacred
" a mother's honour." Months are supposed to pass
away..' . Savignie becomes an officer in . the French
army, and is stationed with his regiment near Rome, just
at the moment when de Grassac, who has never ceased to
suffer from the wound he received in the duel, is brought to
our presence in the " lone chateau," tended by, the broken-
hearted but patient Adrienne and her faithful Mulatto.
This scene is inexpressibly beautiful, as well in design as
in execution ; and is the pivot of the drama. The Mulatto
burning with the deep-seated desire of vengeance, made up
of the conviction of the unmanliness of de Grassac, and, the
love and affection which 'he bears to Adrienne and -her
family ; the self-flenying devotion of Adrienne to 0 sick
man; contending with her uncontrollable love for Savignie ;
and the bye:Thly era humorous underpla farnish,'in this
scene; opportunities of the beautiful confusion of contrasted
emotions, which are essentially dramatic, and belong to the
best school; and when at last it is—discovered that de
Grassac expires by poisoned bandages, and Adrienne is de-
nouneed by "the dying man as his murderer, the situation
reaches its. climax, and the curtain falls, not without the
fact of Savignie's appearance at the chateau, only to be
dismissed as a presence not to be borne at so terrible a mo-
ment I
A lengthened period lo supposed to elapse between this
event, , which Mews Adrienne from de Grassac, but
charges her with the crime of murder. From these troubles,
it appears, she takes refuge in the mountains, accompanied
by her.faithful mulatto, pursued by the officers of justice;
and here, in the midst of a bivouac of the troop, incidents oc-
cur in so hurried a manner, that we find we have exchanged
comedy for melodrama, somewhat, perhaps, to the disparage-
ment of a composition of very clever design, and sacrified to
the /ove ef sudden effects and extraordinary situations.
Brigands are changed into family conneCtiens with extra-
ordinary celerity. The secret of the dead De Grassac is
shown to demonstrate the legitimacy of Adrienne ; and the
confession of the mulatto to the murder leaves Adrienne as
pure and unspotted as when in the first act the audience
were introduced. We should notice that the underplot of
the piece is sustained by Mrs. Keeley as Gianetta Scarotta,
the daughter of a brigand, who contributes in the final act
to the elucidation of the plot. Mrs. Keeley gives an artistic
value to this part, which is beyond all praise. Mr.
Rouse is, as usual, vivacious and appreciative of
all the points which the author' loft for him to give pro-
minence to : and we may instance as evidence of the intel-
Hone° which pervades the whole of the getting up of this
piece, the' admirable adjustment of the costume by the
Mtilatto;the accuracy of which will be recognised by every
one acquainted with India.
Of the acting and the miss-en-scene it is impossible to
speak too highly. Madame Celeste, who is a host in her-
self,.never appeared more completely alive to all the points
of the situation, and inspired every one on the stage with
a like feeling. The piece is admirably acted throughout,
and has drawn fashionable and crowded houses during the
week, receiving on each representation the warmest marks
of approbation. It is, indeed, as we have already observed,
a most brilliant success, and promises to have, as it most
richly merits, a very long run.
Z ;The " Pets of the Parterre," which we noticed upon its
first representation, fully justifies the opinion which we
then expressed. It is a graceful and elegant composition,
of depth and weight very far excelling th usual character
of productions of this kind, and we are happy to say that
the applause of the audience evidenced the , success of
Madame Celeste's liberal and tasteful management.
Of the young ladies who support the charming ballet of
action of the " Pets of the Parterre," one is always in
danger of being charged with exaggeration when speaking
of their artistic as well as natural graces. From so en-
chanting a bouquet the selection of any particular flower
would be a very unamiable task !

The following letter from Gaeta of the 9th inst.

gives an interesting account of the operations of
the Neapolitan army :--
"The Neapolitan army is still retreating,l aught

almost say that it is in full dissolution. Since the
day when Salzano lost his presence of mind at Garig-
liano, matters have been going from bad to worse.
The officers of the Staff, in place of giving an example
of firmness, show themselves to be perfectly unde-
cided, and quite incapable of directing any opera-

ion. It is a miracle that the soldiers do not

,hrow away their arms in despair, and there are

some old and well-disciplined armies which would
not have so long resisted under similar circum-

stances. On the arrival of the troops at Mola on
the evening of the 3d, the general planted but a
single cannon to barricade the road from Carigliano
and to reply to the fire of the Sardinian ships. On
Sunday morning, Nov. 4, three rifled cannon, 12-

pounders, were placed in position, and a Swiss bat-
tery was likewise placed on the seashore. On the

afternoon of the 3d the Sardinian fleet began to
bombard Mola, a town of from 8,000 to 10,000 in-

habitants. The fire of the battery was, of course very
feeble, but some shots, nevertheless, reached the

ships, which kept at the greatest distance possible.
The bombardment caused a great destruction to the
houses, and but little loss to the troops. The sick in
hospital were about to be removed to Gaeta when
the King, who believed that the French fleet would
have prevented the bombardment, gave a counter-
order. At 9 o'clock on the morning of the 4th the
bombardment was resumed with additional fury
from the Sardinian ships. I witnessed the affair from
the window of our house. Shells fell on the hospi-
tals, and the sick quitted their beds to save them-

selves. Towards 11 o'clock everybody fled in disor-
der to seek shelter under the ramparts of Gaeta and

on the rood to Fondi. The Piedmontese entered

Mola by the road to Carigliano. At the same time
the commander of the French ship of the line Alex-
andre made a signal to Admiral Persano to cease
firing, but he appeared not to see it. The three
rifled cannon were abandoned to the enemy. Three
officers of artillery are remarked, and among them
Capt. Fevot, a S wiss,whobehaved heroically. They
served their pieces as simple artillerymen, and were
killed at their guns. Col. Mortilliet, who com-
manded the foreign battalion, and was not much
loved by his men, behaved with great courage on
this occasion. The Neapolitans did not lose many
men in either killed or wounded, but the soldiers
are very much dissatisfied with their generals, and
I may add that the same discontent prevails in the
upper regions of the Government. A great many of
these generals would not have preferred Capua and
Gaeta to Naples, but that they expected fortune to
change quickly in favour of Francis 11. We see
shadows of Generals passing in the streets—mere
mummies, who would be better placed in the Egyp-
tion Museum in Naples. Orders have been given
to send the three foreign battalions to Terracina.
They are reduced by disease to 2,500 men, and the
German element is extinct. The consent of the
Roman Government has been obtained for this
movement. Since the evening of the 4th, when the
Piedmontese entered Mola, we have not heard the
sound of cannon. The Piedmontese have. sent an
advanced guard to Fonti, the last
,tow n in the king•
dom of Naples on the Roman frontier which they
have occupied. It will be necessary to send from
this place half its nominal defenders, who are worse
than Useless. The question now is, shall Gaeta be
bombarded? It would be an act of useless cruelty
to do so, for the inhabitants alone would suffer from
it. The troops are safe in their casemated bar-
racks. We do not fear the Piedmontese,outside the
walls, but we apprehend treachery within Gaeta.
This is so little a mystery that Colonel Nosano, one
of the most distinguished officers in the army, who
has been appointed to the command of the artillery
by the King, refused to accept the appointment
except on condition that he should not be placed
under the command of any general. He required,
further, that he should have the appointment of all
the officers serving under him. The Patrie, whose'
news from Gaeta I can never read without laugh-
ing, speaks of Spanish, Austrian, and Bavarian
volunteers who arrive here every day to reinforce
the Neapolitan army. The writer must use magni-
fying-glasses, for with my two eyes T have not yet
discovered one Spanish, Austrian, or Bavarian
volunteer. A few Frenchmen have arrived here,
most of whom served with General Lamoriciere,
and who belong to noble families. General Bosco
will be here on the 14th. He landed the day before
yesterday at Civita Vecchia. The Prussian Minister
here lately, requested leave of absence from his
Government, but he was told not to quit the King
for a moment."