The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-15 00:00:00

ADELPHI THEATRE.

- - -
On Saturday a domestic drama, in four aeig:
entitled " Ethel, or Only a Life," was produced 511
this theatre, the play being written, we presuroe'
for the purpose of giving Miss Kate Terry a nasl
part. The story is that of an orphan girl, Nvh°'
left friendless and penniless in the world, endure°
unheard-of trials and temptations. Her career
one of hopeless misery. Not a ray of sunshine
i
falls upon her path. First, the son of a retire'
linendraper, at whose house she has been givil
music lessons, plots her ruin, veiling his pure!:
under a promise of marriage. Then a medi°,
doctor makes honourable overtures, but Ethel, though
she loves him, rejects him for the other ; where
upon Galen sails for Bombay, and is not seen aga7,
in England until the closing scene. On discovering
the infamous design of her first lover, Ethel WOO
him over and retires to a poor lodging in Chelsea'
where she ekes out a wretched existence by combitv
ing the incongruous duties of dressmaker and morn-
ing governess. One of her friends urges her to norli
a small tradesman in the nighbourhood,whose highest
title to her regard is that he is old and well-to-do'
Ethel, being on the verge of starvation, seems for 6t
time disposed to admit the validity of this claim; bu
on receiving an anonymous letter threatening her
with vengeance in case she should marry in that
ble quarter, she abandons her third suitor and re-
signs herself to her miserable fate. So things re.
mains until towards the close of the last act, Vine::
she is engaged to play the piano at an evening Par%
in a house at South Kensington. She enters or
drawing-room, and the first man she meets is 11,,e0
old friend, the Doctor, who is now married to the
linendraper's daughter. Ethel is overwhelmed viva
emotion, for she had hoped that the physician weal
renew his addresses to herself. A passionate intiet--
view ensues, but all is over ; Ethel takes her sr.
pointed seat, and begins to play a set of quadrilleaj
but has not got beyond a bar or two when her Wci
droops lifelessly upon the keys, and she falls dell
at the piano !
nal
The drama has been taken from the French, a- g
individually speaking, it would, in our opinion, bal-0
been quite as well if it had been left alone, beeall°
it is dull, dismal, twaddling, and intensely do;
greeable. It is true that Miss Kate Terry's acting
of the part of Ethel is marked by all that charmingsimplicity and perfect reality that so emineatit
./0
distinguishes her impersonations, and to all it 10_.
nthe;evident she was doing her utmost for her a
whose materials were perfectly unworthy her
great ability. With respect to other charaeteo
they seemed ill to fit the company at of
Adelphi ; Mrs. Mellon had the part of an hood
Yorkshire girl, which she did with much spirit, al
Miss Furtado that of a rich widow, but our sprigb:e'tv
little actress in this instance was entirely out of Po
element. Mr. Billington, as the son of a retired line
draper, had a most disagreeable part; in fact, 00
drama must be pronounced altogether a mistake.
is badly constructed, devoid of either wit or htlol° / aro
and altogether a piece we would much rather not 134
seen at the Adelphi Theatre or indeedanyw here e 0
It lasted for four mortal hours, and at the fall of rat
curtain there was a great deal of dissent mixed Wilt
the applause. If the piece is to "go" at all it o-
be cut down fully one-half, and then it is very (11-!10
tionable whether the remaining half will attraeb
audience such as is usually to be found at the el)
lar Adelphi theatre.

Aff
YESTERDAY was the eight hundredth anniversbo
of the Battle of Hastings. It was on the 14th of Pret:-o;
1066 (the day was Saturday that year), that 11711'''
Normandy led his hosts against the English under g6r; t
on the field of Senlac (for it was really not at Itostixir,,, :f
all), and effected the greatest revolution in the hist°,,ot-
this island that has perhaps ever occurred. Without
ing the extravagant theories of M. Thiery as to tho P i;„
longed influence of the Norman victors ou the 50681 co n'
dition of England, it must nevertheless be admitted "
they effected a great change in the language, u'aAllytehat
political forms, and general state of this couutry, 11,13'601
that change has in some respects been lasting. 6A-and
never get the Norman conquest out of our langti3g%sts-
literature, and, even in politics, the feudal systero
bushed by the otrangero Uttfi not entirely dioaPPeareci.