The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-24 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

Last night, in the presence of one of the most brilliant
audiences that ever assembled within the walls of the
Princess's Theatre Mr. Fechter made his first appearance
as Othello. The event had been anxiously looked for, not
merely on account of the great success that had attended
the representation of Hamlet, but more particularly as
rumour had been busy with her hundred tongues relative
to the " alterations, additions, and improvements" made in
the text and business of the tragedy. In the little blue
edition of the piece, by Mr. Fechter, printed and most ex-
tensively circulated within the theatre, the alterations cer-
tainly were of the most novel description. All that had
previously been observed in the acting of the tragedy was
thrown aside, and in its place the most minute directions
touching the emotions to be portrayed and the positions to
be observed, were given. With respect to many of the
alterations public opinion will, no doubt, be much divided ;
admirers of it most certainly will be found, but
on the other hand those who will still retain the pre-
ference for the old edition will not be few. On the
entrance of Mr. Fechter, in the second scene, he was re-
ceived with the most unbounded applause, which he ac-
knowledged in a very graceful manner, and, evidently with
some emotion, he commenced his great undertaking. His
appearance, or, as it is professionally termed, " make up,"
was in exquisite taste, and in place of the old costume he
wore the scarlet robe of a Venetian general, with the lion
of St. Mark embroidered on his breast, light coloured
Moorish burrous, and appointments of the most splendid
description.
In the first'and second acts the part is of a very even na-
ture, pathos being the prevailing sentiment; and the manner
in which the address to the Senate was delivered showed at
once the view Mr. Fechter had taken of the character of
the Moor. It was marked by all that grace for which he
is so remarkable, but, to our thinking, it lacked that tragic
grandeur and sublimity with which other eminent actors
have invested the part. There appeared to bo too little of a
soldier in Othello's bear:ng, while as the lover he was every-
thing that could be desired. In the third and two succeed-
ing acts Mr. Fechter achieved his greatest triumph, but
even here, in many places, he seemed to sacrifice
too much to break down the traditional notions of the cha-
racter of the noble Moor. In the scene where lago first
commences to pour the poison into Othello's ear, Mr.
rechter's acting was unsurpassable. His blank look of
horror, and his attempts to shake off the dreadful impres-
sion, were masterpieces of dramatic art; and when worked
up almost to madness he springs upon lago and demands
proof of his damned insinuations, the audience gave vent to
their feelings by a perfect hurricane of applause. Nothing
could equal in effect the deep, heart-breaking accents in
which the succeeding lines of the scene were given. The
direction to lago to set Emilia on to watch Desdemona was
a magnificent piece of acting. The concluding scene was
also very finely given, but the arrangement of the climax
savoured too much of the French stage to be thoroughly
relished by an English audience.
The lago of Mr. Ryder was a careful and thoroughly
artistic performance ; and Mr. Basil Potter, as Bra-
bant* acquitted himself in a manner that calls
for very high praise. Mr. Jordan's Cassio was
heavy, dull, and very much below the mark; but Mr.
Shore's Roderigo was clever and commendable. Miss C.
Leclereq, as Desdemona, acted in a manner that must have
surprised many, and never was applause more liberably be-
stowed or better deserved.
At the fall of the ettrtain, and at the end of some of the
acts, Mr. Fechter was vociferously called ; and on his ap-
pearance at the termination of the tragedy, hand-in-hand
with Mr. Ryder, he received a perfect ovation.

The scenery, specially painted for the occasion, was
equally beautiful, and the dresses magnificent ; in fact,
everything was done in that perfect and complete manner
which so conspicuously marks the management of Mr.
Augustus Harris.

(From the Times.)

The theory of Mr. Fechter, practically manifested last
night, is not to be sought merely in his own performance of
the principal character. The lago of Mr. Ryder and the
Desdemona of Miss Leclercq must be regarded as embody-
ing to a certain extent the conceptions of the ingenious in-
novator, for they must have been forced to unlearn all they
retained of stage tradition before they could move easily
in the path .prescribed for them in the rehearsals. All
those details or,action which are technically expressed by the
word " business" have been changed, and the work is pre-
sented under an aspect entirely new. People sit where they
were went to stand, are scattered about where they
used to be huddled together, are formed into pic-
turesque groups where they once were marshalled
into the unvarying straight line. When Othello hears
the first insinuations of lago, he is quietly writing his
despatches at a table ; when lago utters his satire against
woman, he is leaning on a pillar, with his merry listeners
gathered around him; when the death of Roderigo takes
place, it is with all the preparation and circumstance of a
grand melodramatic murder. And so on through the en-
tire piece. Having, in his preface, declared war against
" tradition," as the wormeaten and unwholesome prison
where dramatic art languishes in fetters, Mr. Fechter car-
ries his hostility to the utmost. Woe to the merely con-
ventional actor, who, relying on his knowledge of routine,
shall venture on the path now prescribed. He will find
himself on the right hand when he ought to be on the left,
he will knock against chairs and tables when he expects to
find a clear pathway before him ; he will stand in isolated
wretchedness when ho ought to form one of a well •devised
group. The position of some quiet gentleman who stumbles
by mistake into the midst of a policing party, to be hustled
by all the dancers, will furnish the best parallel to the
possible case of the conventional actor who attempts to
play a leading part in the newly arranged Othello.
Mr. Fechter's impersonation of the Moor is, from its
thorough novelty, in perfect keeping with the whole of the
performance. The audience are astonished to find an actor
so instinctively shrinking from clap-trap that speeches
which from time immemorial have been followed by loud ap-
plause are now scarcely distinguished from the rest of the
text. The same theory, doubtless, that has caused him to
restore Bianca has made him so far diminish the show of
suspicion in the Moor's character that he very tardily listens
to the insinuations of lago, and does not begin to feel a
tinge of jealousy till he has long paused over passages
which preceding Othellos have spoken in a whirlwind
of fury. Nothing can exceed the subtlety with which he
indicates the progress of jealous uneasiness, or the delicacy
with which he displays a tenderness for Desdemona that
remains unconquerable to the last. The movements of
his face tell a whole history of internal suffering; you may
plainly perceive him logically working out the reason for
his own misery; the exhibition throughout is highly intel-
lectual and refined, but still we would suggest something
like an occasional expenditure of force on verbal expres-
sion. Surely a line may be drawn between the Scylla of
rant and the Charybdis of ineffectiveness, and it is possible
to make an occasional appeal to the undiscriminating mul-
titude, without offending those who can pursue the thread
of a subtle ratiocination.

(From the Daily .2V ews.)

It is not until the third act that Mr. Fechter puts forth
any of his power, and up to that period many celebrated
speeches hitherto known as " points " fall flatly enough
upon the ear. The address to the Senate, for instance,
which has for solongheld an Enfield's Speaker-ish celebrity
on oration-days at minor schools, is divested of all that ro-
tundity of eloquence and pompousness of manner hitherto
allotted to it. In Mr. Fechter's mouth it is simply an honest
apology for a natural action, colloquially delivered. In the
second act, too, there is nothing specially noticeable, save
the overweening tenderness invariably displayed towards
Desdemona, and the purely natural savage tone in which
the "noisy bell" is ordered to be silenced during the drunken
quarrel botwoon Caooio and Montano. But the whole of the
third act, so far as Othello is concerned, sparkles into origi-
nal genius, When lago first asks of Cassio's acquaintance
with Desdemona, Othello answers him lightly. He is look-
ing over some papers, and speaks at first almost at random;
then, finding his interlocutor repeating his phrases and
harping with fell purpose on certain words, he rallies him
lightly and playfully; nor even when the suggestion of
his wife's infidelity is made does he wince, until lago
reminds him of the manner in which she deceived her
father. Then his face falls, and the avowal, " And so she
did I" comes in dreary, heart-broken accents from be-
tween his parted lips. This entire scene is replete with
beauties. Nothing can be finer than the touch of nature
cenveyed in the tone in which he replies, " Not a jot, not a
jot," when lago hints that he had dashed his spirits ; no-
thing more suggestive than the abrupt stop which the
noble-hearted Moor comes to when the hint, so loathsome
to his real nature, that Emilia should be set on to watch
Desdemona, first rises to his lips ; nothing grander than the
gradual rousing of his rage during lago's recital of Cassio's
dream, and the vehement burst with which he declares that
he wile be satisfied of his wife's fidelity.
It is in touches of this kind—and there are dozens of them
throughout the play—that Mr. Fechter's genius is shown.
In every scene a buzzing murmur of appreciative applause
is to be heard rising after some happy reading—some pure,
sweet, natural pathos—some honest burst of rage. This
applause comes from the educated tenants of the boxes and
stalls, and with them—although even with them by no
means to the same extent as the Hamlet—is the new im-
personation certain to be attractive.

(From the Morning Post.)

Mr. Fechter's Othello is a sensitive high-souled gentle-
man, doubtless of a constant loving, noble nature, but with
an air and aspect anything rather than martial or heroic.
There is little of the soldier about him. Least of all is he
demonstrative. His sorrows eat his heart, but rarely con-
vulse his frame. He bleeds from within. You may soo the
working of the anguish that consumes him in his wrung
brow, his compressed lip, and the quivering muscles of his
face ; but he seldom gives way to those terrific transports of
rage, those tempests, so to speak, of tropical emotion in
which the English representatives of the character tradi-
tionally indulge, and which they deem to be duo to its Ori-
ental origin. That Mr. Pechter's performance repeatedly
gives evidence of a cultivated taste and a romantic imagina-
tion must be admitted; but, whether owing to a want of
physical power, or to whatever othercause, it is not always
as vigorous in execution as it is poetic in conception.
But though Mr, Fechter's voice and pawn are not alto-

gether in consonance with tho:charaeter, his "make up" for
the part, in so far as that theatrical phrase may be taken to
relate to colour and costume, is excellent. In the first act
of the tragedy the Moor as played by Mr. Pechter is free,
gracious, and completely at his ease.

In the third and fourth acts, Mr. Fechter's performance
is rather unequal, the fervour, tenderness, and tragic emo-
tion which frequently distinguish it being occasionally sue-
cecded by a coldness and languor of manner which neces-
sarily impairs its general effect. But his mode of exclaim-
ing, " 0 fool I fool I fool I" when he discovers how he has
been abused, like one awakening from a trance to horror
of which he is scarcely conscious, and his last sad retro-
spect of the sorrows of his life and of the angelic qualities
of his lost love, are very impressive; as also is the wild
despair with which he hangs over the dead body of Desde-
mona, and vainly calls upon her by name. The manner
of his wife's death, however, as well as of his own, is rather
too elaborate; and the throwing of the dagger at the feet
of lago, who shrinks in terror as if struck on the face by
the blood of Othello,is a piece of stage device which savours
quite too much of artifice to evoke a cordial response from
the hearts of the audience.

(Frlnn the Morning Advertiser.)
The long-announced, eagerly-expected, and elaborately
prepared version of Shakespeare's " Othello" was produced
last night at this theatre. From first to last we see the
understanding of M. Fechter at work. For every why he
has a wherefore, and we should be sorry to contest the
matter, syllable by syllable, with him. He would, no
doubt, confound us; but we had rather feel than reason.
If ever burning words meant anything, they meant rage,
grief, horror, vengeance, remorse, in the heart of the poor,
befooled, half-maddened savage, who is tricked into tor-
ments by the cool conventional villain, who hates him and
his race, and all such open-hearted, simple-minded, direct,
susceptible, and undiscerning creatures. By the time the
third act begins the audience have, or ought to have
done with the manners of Othello, or indeed of any of the
characters. We don't know whether they are short or tall ;
whether they are elegant or brusque ; and whether they
are ugly or handsome. We are interested in their conduct.
We have begun to sympathise ; and we like or detest ; pity
or hate ; and think no more about their manners than a
criminal does of those of ajury who are trying him for life
or death. As an actor of real life he almost stands alone on
our stage; as a passionate tragedian he has some, and has
had many, superiors. It is but justice to the dead to say
he cannot approach Edmund Kean in passion. His acting
Othello from tho commencement of the third act was a tor-
rent of passion and pathos never to be thought of without
tears ; never, in all probability, to be seen again. Perhaps,
happily, for we can scarcely say why the sight of a human
being stricken to death by the emotions of his heart should
be a sight to dwell upon.

WEST INDIA STEAM COMPANY.

-ft.'

A half-yearly meeting of the Royal Mail (West
India) Steam Company was held yesterday after-
noon, Captain C. E. Mangles presiding. From the
report and the opening statement of the chairman
it appeared that the working of the past six months
has been satisfactory, the receipts showing an in-
crease of £8,510, and the working expenses a dimi-
nution of £4,662; arising from a reduction under
nearly every head. There has been an apparent
augmentation in the salajies, but this is mostly at-
tributable to an adjustment of account. In the cur-
rent half-year the business of the company is also
progressing favourably. A considerable falling off
has taken place in outward passage money and
freight in the last six months, chiefly owing to the
French competition to Brazil, but it has been more
than compensated by the augmentation in the
homeward receipts. Arrangements have been
effected with the Panama Railway for a develop-
ment of the through traffic, and it is hoped that
such further concessions will be made by that com-
pany as will place the West India steamers on the
same fcoting as other vessels trading up to Panama.
The repair and renewal account, after placing to its
debit the repairs of the half-year, for the first time
since its publication in 1855, shows a surplus of
£1,882. At the same time the fleet has been main-
tained in excellent order. The ships and engines
now stand in the company's books at £lB 15s.
per ton, while the premises, which originally
cost between £45,000 and £46,000, have been
reduced to £lB,OOO. The proceedings respecting
the Australian contract are still pending, and the
matter now stands in precisely the same position
it occupied a year ago. The directors have anxi-
ously considered the question of the renewal of
the contract, and express a belief that the Go-
vernment will not allow the service to pass out
of English hands, as they assume would be the
case if the contract were to be abolished, into
those of the French, who have just contracted
for a fleet for the West Indian and Mexican
trade. After some discussion the report was
adopted, and a dividend declared at the proposed
rate of £2 per share, free of income-tax. Annexed
is a list of the company's fleet :
Registered
Tonnage.
.. 3,472
.. 3,440
.. 3,126
.. 2,730
.. 2,567
• 2,404
• 2,284
.. 2,253
1,916
.. 1,834
.. 1,737
.. 1,895
.. 1,889
.. 1,856

No. Names.
1. Shannon (iron)
2. Seine (ditto)
3. Atrato (ditto) ..
4. Parana ..
5. Magdalena ..
6. La Plata • .
7. Oneida (iron screw)
8. Tasmanian (ditto) ..
9. Tyne (iron)
10. Avon • • • •
11. Tamar ..
12. Medway • . • •
13. Thames .. ..
14. Trent
15. Solent
16. Teviot
17. Dee • • . • • •
18. Clyde
19. Mersey (iron) ..
20. Conway ..
21. Wye (iron screw) ..
22. Derwent
23. Prince (iron) ..

.. 1,689
.. 1,744
.. 1,699

Horse
Power.
800
800
800
800
800
1,000
530
550
400
440
400
430
430
430
400
450
440
430
250
260
180
260
200

.. 1;371
.. 1,001
.. 895
.. 751
.. Y9l
.. 398

43,715 11,480

FEARFUL ACCIDENT ON TILE SICREFFSBURF
AND WELSH-POOL RAILWAY.

Yesterday morning between five and six o'cloCk a
terrible accident occurred near Hanwood station,
between three and four miles from Shrewsbury, on
the Welshpool line (now nearly completed), by
which two men were killed, and seven or eight
others frightfully wounded. It will be necessary
to state, in order to understand the matter clearly,
that Mr. France, the contractor, runs a train, con-
sisting of an engine, several ballast waggons or
trucks, and a guard's van, along the line from
Shrewsbury to Middletown, a distance of 14 miles,
for the convenience of the workmen. Nearly 200
leave Shrewsbury every morning and return at
night. The train left the station as usual yesterday
morning, shortly after five o'clock, and all went
right for the first few miles. Shortly before they
reached the Hanwood station it was observed that
the trucks suddenly began to oscillate fearfully, and
in an instant the last truck but one tumbled over
with a terrific crash down a slight embankment,
pitching the men out in all directions. The truck
which followed was also dragged down the embank-
ment, and the men in that also were thrown out,
but not with such violence, as the train was not
proceeding at a rapid pace. The break van was not
thrown off the line, but the men in it jumped out in
the greatest consternation. It is computed that
there were about 20 men in each truck, and eight or
ten in the van. The cries of the poor fellows were
heartrending, and as soon as assistance could be
procured it was found that two men were killed on
the spot, their names being George Pax, of Shrews-
bury, carpenter, and Joseph Bates, of the same
place, labourer. Both are married men with fami-
lies. One had been driven against a post on the
side of the line, and over the other the wheels of
the track had run, completely smashing him. Two
other men were fearfully mangled, and no hopes
are entertained of their recovery. Some six more
were rather seriously injured. As soon as possible
Mr. Blakeway, of Hanwood-mill, rendered assist-
aaHna
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withdadministeringthee
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omeu
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tetetoa
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at Shrewsbury. Medical assistance was then
promptly administered. Upon examining the trucks
it was found that one of the irons which run under-
neath, and to which coupling chains are attached,
had become loosened from constant working, and
while they Were proceeding along had worked out
from beneath the third truck from the end of the
train. That truck passed on, but the next came
right upon one end of the bar, the other being driven
against a rail, the truck being thus turned com-
pletely over, thereby causing the accident. The
former part of the train proceeded for some distance
without any one being aware of the accident, as it
was quite dark. At present no person is held
blamable for the accident, but the facts will be
elicited at the inquest, which is fixed for to-morrow.

The Dowager Lady Rivers and Mr. Cobb have
arrived at the London Hotel, Albemarle-street.

PLYMOUTH, Wednesday.—The barque Eliza
Susanna, 471 tons, Captain Grafthuis, of and for Rotter-
dam, which left Rangoon with a cargo of rice May 15, was
towed into the Sound yesterday evening, her crew being
prostrated by scurvy. She left Rangoon with a comple-
ment of 18 men, who were attacked when the ship was off
the Azores. Four died—viz , John Lindross, sailmaker, of
Louise, Finland ; and three able seamen—A. Kivaut, of
Groningen; L. Pauls, of Kronen; and Arinaud Peters, of
Papenburg. Nine continuo sick; the remainder (five)
are in health. The attack is attributed to the quality
of the water obtained at Rangoon, which, like that from
Moulmein, is said to encourage scurvy. The barque Ta-
glioni, Captain Hunter, from South Shields, with coal for
Lbbou, put into the Solved yesterday, leaky.