The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-15 00:00:00

ADELPHI THEATRE.

Last evening a serio-comic drama, entitled, " It's an 11l
Wind that Blows Nobody Good," was produced here, and
met with success. The play has evidently been written
for Mr. and Mrs. Wigan, as each of these talented
artists have a part which suits them to admiration. The
story of the plot is briefly as follows:—A good, simple-
minded cobbler, when a boy, rescues a child from death from
the hands of a dying woman (Phoebe Briggs), who has
been attacked by ruffians, just in time to receive the name
of its mother, and a certain packet of papers. Time rolls
on, and we find at the opening of the drama the cobbler
Simon Strap (Wigan), occupying a shop or stall very near
the South Sea House, during the time the " Bubble" was
at its height. The child Kitty (Miss Simms) has grown
up a handsome woman, and Strap, whom she believes to
be her father, is dottingly fond of her. The generous cob-
bler imagines that when the time shall arrive for
his telling Kitty that he is not her father, she
will instantly accept him as her husband, especially
as he is by only twelve years her senior. Incessant
work, however, has made him appear somewhat older, add
he has omitted to notice that a certain poor but worthy
young surgeon has found favour in Miss Kitty's eyes. This
young gentleman is suffering much from straightened
means; the cobbler discovers it, and for the first time he
regrets he is not a rich man, in order that he may assist
him. Strap, who has withstood the " South Sea Bubble"
fever, however, determines to invest £5 10s. 6d. in the
venture, bat this sum, owing to the mistake made by his
uneducated apprentice, Hemp (Mr. Toole), appears on a
slate as £5,106. The money is invested, and the result
is a fortune for the cobbler owing to an extraordinary rise
in the stocks. Previous to learning his accession to
wealth, Strap relates to Kitty her history, and then
he discovers that Kitty's love for him as her father
is intense ; but as a husband she has selected
the young surgeon. The poor cobbler hears this announce-
ment with a breaking heart, but he nobly resolves that his
darling shall not be disappointed in her husband, and he
enriches him by giving a thousand pound's worth of South
Sea stock. The surgeon realises, and thus becomes a rich
man, but his money is not required, as Kitty turns out to
be the daughter of Lady Walford (Mrs. Wigan), who had
in her early days married a young Jacobite baronet, and
whose death soon after occurring, prevented the marriage
ever being publicly known. There is of course a bit of
villany in the piece. It consists in the scheme of the mur-
derer of Phmbe Briggs to secure the girl and her fortune for
a dissipated nobleman, for which he is to receive a good
round snm, and which, of course, he does not accomplish.
The acting of Mr. Wigan, as Strap the Cobbler, was of the
usual thrilling description, and elicited loud applause;
while Mrs. Wigan, as Lady Walford, and Miss Simms, as
Kitty, also received a similar compliment for their admirable
acting. Toole has a good little part in the piece, in which
he convulses the house with laughter, and Mr. Billington,
as the young surgeon, made a most interesting lover. The
house was very fully and fashionably attended, and at the
fall of the curtain the comedy was given out for repetition
every evening until further notice.