The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-06 00:00:00

SURREY THEATRE.

On Monday night a new melodrama, entitled " The
Masked Mother ; or, the Hidden Hand," was produced
here with eminent success. The piece was preceded by the
first four acts of " The Merchant of Venice," one of the
most finished productions of Shakespeare—the part o
Shylock being sustained by Mr. Hermann Vizen, who is
nightly adding to his well-won fame. The character of
Shylock seems to have been fated to erroneous misconcep-
tion for many years. Macklin first rescued the part from
buffoonery ; Cooke improved upon his personation ; and
the elder Kean infused feeling into it, but did not divest it
of the strong traits of avarice and revenge exhibited in the
delineations of his predecessor.. Inferior actors have copied
these great artistes, and Shylock has become a kind of
stereotyped representation on the stage, differing only in
the varied shades of capacity each actor brings to the task .
With Mr. Vezin we are pleased to see it otherwise. He
looks upon Shylock as the representative of the whole race
of despised and persecuted Jews at the period antecedent
and at the time when Shakespeare wrote, and not as one
solely animated by avarice and revenge. In his famous
speech to Antonio, in the first act, in the terrific outbreak
of his passion when bereft of his daughter, and in the trial
scene especially, he invested the part with a sublimity that
claimed our highest admiration. There he stood the un-
bending, inflexible type of a race no wrongs, no contumelies,
could overcome ; and not merely the sordid villain usually
presented on the stage. In the earlier scenes of the play
he was equally fine. Where Tubal informs Shylock his
daughter had given a certain ring in exchange for a
monkey, he gave the following lines with intense pathos :
" Out upon her ! thou torturest me, Tubal ; it was my
turquoise ; I had it from Leah when I was a bachelor;
would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys."
The great beauty-of Mr. Vezin's conception of the part
is that the separate grades of the charaeter are marked as
they are developed in each scene, and thus a succession of
contrasted effects are produced, at once grand, original, and
impressive. The Bassani° of Mr. Calvert was a careful
piece of acting ; so was Mr. Cooper's Gratiano and Mr.
Nevill's old Gobbo ; but Mr. Marshall's Launcelot was a
decided mistake, to say the least of it. Mrs. Vezin deserves
high praise for her Portia, and she gave the celebrated
mercy-speech with fine effect; and Miss Cuthbert, as
Nerissa, acted with much archness and vivacity.
The spirited manner in which Mr. Calvert is redeeming
the promise he gave at the commencement of his mana-
gerial reign is worthy the highest commendation ; and we
hope he will have no cause to regret the bold attempt he is
molting to revive the taste for the "legitimate" at the
Surrey.

THE NAVY ESTIMATES. .--- The following is an
abstract of the navy estimates, and the further supple-
mental estimate, with the sums already voted on account,
and the sums remaining to be voted :—Wages to seamen
and marines, £2,966,757; victuals for do., £1,242,859; Ad-
miralty-office, £145,957 ; Coast Guard Servic, Royal Naval
Coast Volunteers, and Royal Naval Reserve, £286,057 ;
scientific branch, £61,358 ; her Majesty's establishments at
home, £153,089 ; her Majesty's establishments abroad,
£28,083 ; wages to artificers, &c., in her Majesty's estab-
lishments at home, £1,527,782 ; wages to artificers, &c., in
her Majesty's establishments abroad, £54,330 ; naval stores,
&c., for the building and repair of ships, &c , £2,817,130 ;
new works, improvements, &c., in the yards, &c., £647.411;
medicines and medical stores, £60,000 ; miscellaneous ser-
vices, £74,221; half-pay, reserved half-pay, and retirement
to officers of the navy and Royal Marines, £718,311; mili-
tary pensions and allowances, £483,957 ; and civil pensions
and allowances, £163,416. To these items there is to be
added :V45,000 for conveyance of troops, and £1,006,337
forspacketum t 6,3 i.
1s service,
a, makings
alreadya ,
‘o,
of
t:
dl2, ,a
nfiBd2,
L 0565,3,
700 f,
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£1,877,278 includes the supplementary estimate. Of this
re-
mains to be voted. been toted,
Two BATHERS DROWNED.—On Sunday morning,
while three young men were bathing at the month of the
South Esk river, at Montrose, two of them, Robert Reid, a
mason, and David Christie, an apprentice tailor, were drawn
out by the strong receding tide, and before assistance could
be rendered they had
was made for the bodies, but without
. During the day a search
ut without success. The other
lad, a writer's clerk, received assistance, and was saved,
although in a state of utter insensibility. He has now,
happily, recovered.—AFvotsmn,