The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

ADELPHI.

,
A new three-act play, from the pen of Mr. T. Mor-
ton, entitled Judith of Geneva, was produced at this
theatre last evening with great and deserved success.
Judith (Mrs. Yates), a mechanic's daughter, has in her
youth been betrothed to Julius St. Val (Mr. Lyon), an
advocate, but his father disapproves of the connexion,
and, in order to break it off, he entices Judith to his
house, under a pretence of an assignation with her
lover. He places in her way a diamond necklace—the
girl, believing that this is a present from her lover,
adorns herself with the jewels, and is instantly given in
custody by the father, on a charge of theft. She is
convicted and punished, and St. Val leaves her to her
fate, although he knows her innocence. The con-
victed thief is deprived, from that moment, of all
chance of gaining an honest livelihood—she becomes
the head of a gang who spread terror throughout
France and Switzerland. Herself and her asso-
ciates are arrested at Lyons. By her charms she
eaptivates the Count Malvoisine, who procures her par-
don and marries her ; but her associates are condemned
to imprisonment for life. The Count dies, and at the
opening of the play we find the Countess living at her
chateau in the neighbourhood of Geneva, the Lady
Bountiful of the district, and beloved and respected by
all the world. Her daughter Amy (Miss Chaplin) is on
the point of marriage with Capt. Henri St. Val, tho son
of the advocate, who does not recognise in the Countess
Malvoisine his old flame Judith. On the morning of the
wedding St. Val receives a letter, informing him that the
man to whom he has entrusted the whole of his property
is a bankrupt, and that he himself is a beggar. He is
desirous of breaking off the match, but the Countess in-
sists on its proceeding, and the young couple are accord-
ingly married. On the same morning La Vogue
(Mr. 0. Smith), a member of Judith's gang, who
has escaped from prison, arrives at the chateau,
and recognises in Rose (Mrs. D. Lee) the lady's maid
of the Countess, his own wife. and in the Countess her-
self Judith, his former leader. The interview be-
tween La Vogue and Judith was admirably acted by
Mrs. Yates and 0. Smith. She at once throws off the
mask, and tells him that this appearance of virtue has
only been assumed to make a grand coup. She has been
getting up private theatricals in honour of the wedding,
and has taken care to cast the parts so as to include all
the rich persons of the neighbourhood ; and her plan is,
when they have divested themselves of their jewels in
order to assume the characters allotted to them, to seize

the jewels and decamp with them. La Vogue, who has '
been appointed her steward, determines to be beforehand
with her, and accordingly directs the carriage to be in
waiting an hour before the time she had appointed,
and deposits the jewels in one of the pockets of the
carriage. In the meantime the marriage has taken
place, and Judith then discloses to St. Val her real his-
tory, and tells him that the haughty family of St. Val,
which was too ;proud to suffer its representative to con-
tract an alliance with the poor, but innocent Judith, has
now connected itself with the base-born daughter of
Judith, the swindler and thief. This, the most power-
fully written scene of the play, was acted with a thrill-
ing intensity by Mrs. Yates and Lyon. Oh how she
triumphed in her vengeance—how she revelled in the
enjoyment of gratified malice. St. Val, horror-struck,
sinks to the earth, and in that state his son finds him,
Judith having left him to prepare for her flight. St.
Val's father has died in his grandson's arms, after hav-
ing read and destroyed a letter informing him of the
mesalliance which his grandson had made, which
letter had been conveyed to him by Judith. St.
Val determines to fly from Geneva with his
son for ever —he sees the carriage waiting
in the court-yard—forces his son to enter it—
with him and departs. Instantly Judith gives the
alarm, and accuses St. Val of robbery ; he is pursued,
arrested, and the jewels are found in the carriage. Re
is now condemned on circumstantial evidence, and again
Judith triumphs. "You now drink of the bitter cup
which Judith drained to the dregs," exclaims she in the
ecstacy of her revenge. Nicholas, the coachman
(Wright), deposes that the carriage was ordered by La,
Vogue, and sets forth in pursuit of him, declaring that
he, and not St. Val, is the robber. Rose, too, who
fancies that she has placed La Vogue out of the reach
of justice, declares that he is the robber. At that in-
stant he is brought in by Nicholas, who has seized and
arrested him, and he declares that the robbery had been
planned by the Countess herself, who is no other than-
the infamous Judith of Geneva. Baffled and discovered,
Judith rushes to the balcony, which opens on the water,
throws herself into the lake, and the curtain falls. The
piece was excellently acted throughout. Wright, as Ni-
cholas, the servant, was exceedingly quaint and hu-
mourous—his look was sufficient to set the house in a
roar. Great praise is due to Mr. Morton for the artis-
tical manner in which he has developed his plot, and for
the great care with which he has written the dialogue.
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much of the dialogue, nor is there a scene introduced

which does not tend to the development of the plot. The
interest never flags. The scenery is beautiful, and the
manner in which the piece is put upon the stage is be-
yond all praise. This piece will no doubt carry Mr.
Gladstane on successfully to the end of the season. Mrs.
Yates was called for at the fall of the curtain, and re-
ceived with loud applause. The house was very well
attended.