The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-04 00:00:00

FRENCH PLAYS.-ST. JAMES'
THEATRE.

ber

The Bojazet of Racine, or, as it should rathso!
termed, the Roxane of Mdlle. 11...che1, was produce
last evening. The transcendent performance 0 ;V
great tragedian in this tragedy is well known la oiu
English public, with whom Roxane has always beeoffte
of the favourite characters in her repertoire. It et I,
her, perhaps, greater opportunities of displaying heocii
rivalled powers of sarcasm than any other char
through the range of the French classical dr"
The sarcastic passages were given last evening,tof
most withering force, and the famous point "S°
was most effectively made, and drew down
most rapturous applause. The subject ofltoi ei
tragedy is by no means attractive, nor is its tree 0,,
such as to compensate for the deficiency of dratne/i4
tereet. The whole of the passion of the piece ce.ri;
in Roxane ; and so far it is suited to the aPI
Rachel's tragic acting, which demands that she IA
stand alone, the sole and ruling power of the 00
But in the jealousy of Roxane, and the subtle reiept/
to which it prompts her, there is too much Biaglofi
of feeling to render the character strikingly availoVi
dramatic purposes. In the hand of a less accot°P
artist than Rachel the effect would be monotone"os
wearisome in the extreme; but her conceptive ge°/.0i7,
its ken sympathy for the movements of tragic
~p 6,10,
seizes upon each evanescent phase of feeling, anua-e,
rates the anatomy of the soul, till out of that S'iovi
monotony she evokes an infinite variety. It is itr,
fourth and fifth acts that the subtlety and inteoef,
her impersonation are most displayed. No 132,7rfr
acting could ever surpass the changing aspect of
as she becomes aware of the real passion of P,:sr
It is in these traits rather than in the more 'OROIAI
outpourings, that the tragic genius of this great o'l',
displayed. Like all'her great impersonations, rA,
this performance must be regarded as a whole id
conception thoroughly worked out—not as a eerio:/)
effects and points. Mdlle. Rachel. was most enthili
cally received, and after her great scene in the dill
act was called forward to receive anew the plea
the audience.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Prussia, attonti 0
. .

Le Comte Puckler, General Lindheim, and Count uti)
honoured the performances at this theatre viilljted
presence last evening. There were also pregor
Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick, the
of Sutherland, Lord and Lady Blantyre, and Lau/e,
stance Gower, the Turkish Ambassador and 9t11,;044
Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe, Lady Eb1,:00
Lady Hope, Miss Burdett Coutts, the Earl and 0 ft' o
Of Wicklow, Mr. and Madame de forts, MadatiObY
Mr. Denby Seymour, Mr. Drown, Mrs. Kennirtesiii
caulay, &e. We observed amongst the most I'o9
auditors of the great tragedienne, the eminent ife°l4
tress, Madame Pasta, her accomplished pupil, ii9l3
Parodi, and the most popular actress on the Eng'
American stage, Miss Charlotte Cushman.

( ,"0):
V
COFFEE AND EATING-HOUSE KEEPERS 11'1)
yoLENT ASSOCIATION.— The annual excursion of tl7O
tr
and supporters of this excellent society took place ,0„,0j
day, the 2d inst. In former years a trip up or u..,..,i0e„10
river had been preferred, but this year it was detercrelirlt
change the scene, ann Rye-house, Hertfordshire, ar,d Pt(
spot on the Eastern Counties Railway, was select' 130041
rendezvous of the party. Accordingly, at an earlY
„derli,,
blepr
Tuesday morning, a very numerous company hoe, yi
the Shoreditch station, and a special train having -„/
vided, the excursionists were rapidly carried ef,"„tise,A
green fields that skirt, the New River. At RP-P-1100,1'o:
were received by "mine host" of that well-known,,sell,
and, after a refreshing luncheon, some betook the;teed
boating, others to field. sports, while the rest seri. tl
small parties and rambled through the neighbouring c
ttlii
to " lose and neglect the creepinr hours of time v pei4!
shade of melancholy trees." At an appointed lion.coticeti
pany met again at the festive board, where amp e )401,e Dili
done to a substantial repast; and after the c.enir DP, le,
toasts which generally characterise such occasions and Aneo3
disposed of, dancing on the green was commence,
up with great spirit till the sun had sunk into ti:n
the far west. The party returned to town at i;ooeie
highly pleased with the day they had spent so•re del/
The time present is sel;lom aide to fill re for"
imagination with immediate enoyment, and we
0'
supply its deficiencies by recollection or anticipation
fit
Cook's Journal.
petiOg 01!),
DERBY, WEDNESDAY.—At a Special 11;!-n- 106
Derby Town Council, held this day, a Pelitl(l-00,dit
unanimously adopted in opp sition to the reoppoo,rl,l
arrangements. It. Evans, M.P., and five others:rwli,e, ftet
petition, which, however, was carried by the of,e6ir P:fev
majority of the council. Tue announcement o dOw
death (received here by telegraph) has cats
sorrow.