The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-11 00:00:00

LYCEUM THEATRE.

An overflowing audience assembled on Saturday evening
to witness the first representation of Mr. Falconer's new
drama "Peep o'Day," the production of which has been
so long promised and so anxiously expected. The ground-
work of the drama is taken from the "Tales of the O'llara
Family," by John Benin, and it must be at the outset con-
fused that triumphant and unmistakeable success has
attended Mr. Falconer's latest work. Ihe cast of charac-
ters comprises the whole of the company—the hero, Harry
Kavanagla,', being sustained by ,'Mr. Hermann Vezin ; the
gallant•and high-spirited Captain Howard, by Mr. Walter
Lacy ; the Rev. Mr. O'Clery, by Mr. Addison ; Barney
O'Toole, by Mr. Falconer; Black Mullins, by Mr. Selby;
Mr. Grace, by Mr. Neville; Kathleen Kavanagh, by Mrs.
D. P. Bowers ; and Mary Grace, by Miss Clara Weston.
The following is a br.ef outline of the plot of the new
drama :—Stephen Purcell, a tithe-proctor and middleman,
the most odious of a detestable class, who, having libertine
designs upon Kathleen Kavanagh, one of his tenant's
daughters, and being continually foiled in them by her
brother, Harry Kavanagh, resolves to compass the ruin of
the man who so pertinaciously crosses his path; and with
that purpose perfidiously entrusts him with the custody of
certain treasonable documents, which, being found upon
Harry's person by a party of soldiers who have been set
upon his track, eventua ly leads to his transportation, not-
withstanding that in point of fact he has nothing whatever
to do with the rebellion now on foot. The removal of
Harry, a young man of literary tastes and attainments,
eaves the coast clear for Purcell, who not only lures Kath-
leen into a clandestine marriage, but even makes love to
Mary Grace, Harry's betrothed sweetheart. After an ab-
sence of seven years, however, the exile returns, and with a
heart burning to be avenged both upon the enemies of his
country, and upon the individual foe who has ruined his sister
and laid home desolate. Purcell, unconscious of his proxi-
mity, meantime pursues his evil schemes, which Harry and
his foster-brother, Barney O'Toole, unceasingly contrive
to defeat. One of Purcell's infamous designs is to entice
his wife to repair at midnight to the " Old Quarry in the
Foil Dhuiv," a dark valley overhung by beetling cliffs
where he has got a ruffian in his pay to dig a grave for her'
reception; but just at the critical moment Harry arrives,
and, swinging down from the summit of the crag by means
of a tree, whose boughs, drooping beneath his weight, give
a fearful crash as he descends, rushes heroically to the
rescue, and saves her from the awful fate which but an
instant before appeared inevitable. Another treacherous
device of Purcell is a scheme for the forcible abduction of
Mary Grace ; but in this he is foiled through the instrumen-
tality of the Peep o' Day Boys, whose captain Harry now
is, and who so skilfully hems in not only Purcell and his
retainers, but a party of English soldiers who have been
deluded iato the folly of accompanying them through the
wild mountain passes, that the beleaguered men have
nothing for it but to lay downtheir arms. Retributive justice,
however, overtakes Purcell, just as ho is about to shoot
Kavanagh, who has given him his pistol as a means of self-
defence in escaping out of the country Barney O'Toole
anticipates his object, and shoots while in the act of taking
aim at his foster-brother. It now only remains to bring
about the union of the lovers, Mary Grace and Harry
Kavanagh, and this having been accomplished the piece
concludes with a general rejoicing.
The whole of the play is a series of startling situations,
' the principal one being the rescue of Kathleen Kavanagh
from the murderous attack of Black Mullins, by her brother
Harry, in the Foil Dhuiv, or Old Stone Quarry. The paint-
ing and setting of this moonlight picture is the very perfec-
tion of scenic art. We have the dark recesses of the
quarry, with its precipitous sides covered with stunted trees
and shrubs, inaccessible to all, except by an old and crazy
bridge over a deep and frightful precipice. The villain
Mullins is standing in a new-made grave, awaiting the
arrival of his victim, and as soon as she crosses the bridge
he cut, it away, thus precluding all escape. A scene of in-
tense interest ensues, and just as Mullins is in the act of
striking the girl to the earth with his spade, Harry with
Barney appear at the bridge, and finding the passage cut
away, the brave brother makes a flying jump at one of the
branches of the trees overhanging the gorge, which bend-
ing with his weight, swings him safeiy to the ground be-
neath, and thus she is saved from the hands of the
assassin. The effect of this incident was most marvellous.
The audience were completely taken by surprise by the
daring performance, and when that surprise was somewhat
overcome, they gave vent to their expression of delight by
the most tremendous applause. This, of course, was the
great feature of the play, and the success that has attended
it must certainly satisfy the expectations of the talented
author and designer of the situation, if it did not altogether
surpass them. There is no servile imitation of the effect that
has been produced at another theatre ; the idea is altogether
a novel one, and, as such, will not suffer by comparison
with the celebrated water cave in the Colleen Bawn. The
termination of the second act, " The Pattern and Faction
Fight," is another capitally arranged scene ; in fact from
first to last the whole of the play is produced in a style of
first rate excellence.

Of the acting of the drama we must speak in the highest
terms of praise. Mr. Vezin's Harry Kavanagh was a fine
manly performance, and Mr. Walter Lacy's Capt. Howard
showed how much could be made of rather a small part, ai,rd
that which in other hands would have degenerated to abso-
lute nothingness, was brought out with a force and gentle-
manly ease that left nothing to be desired. Mr. Addison's
Fathero' Cleary was anotherhighly-finished portraiture,and
Mr. Fae Dner'sßarney 0' Toole wasnature itself. Mrs. Bowers,
as Kathleen Kavanagh, reminded us very forcibly of Mrs.
Yates in her best days, the mentioning of which is paying
that lady no light compliment. The smaller parts were all
capitally sustained, and the curtain descended amidst uni-
versal and unmixed expressions of delight and approval.
Mr, Falconer is too clover a manager not to notice that
the drama is much too long. This evening, no doubt, it
will be brought within the usual time occupied by four act
dramas, and such an arrangement will heighten, if that be
possible, the success of the play.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
arrived at Uloucester House on Saturday from Windsor
Castle.

Their Serene Highnesses Prince and Princess
Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Earl and Countess of Bess-
borough, Lord and Lady Cosmo Russell, the Hon. Percy
Fending, and a select circle, are at present on a visit to
Viscount and Viscountess Lismore, at their seat, Shanbally
Castle, Ireland, where the noble lord and her ladyship pur-
pose remaining till the end of the present month.
His Excellency the Netherlands Alinister is con-
fined to his residence in Lowndes.square by an attack of
gout.

LATEST NEW 6.

PARIS, Nov. 11.
M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire died yesterday.

TURIN, Nov. 11.

King Victor Emmanuel has arrived at Ancona,
and opened the new railway, amid the enthusistic
cheers of the people.
It is said that the Italian Exhibition at Florence
will remain open during the current month.