The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-18 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

ENGAGEMENT OF MR. AND MRS. WOOD.
After an absence from London of some years, Mr. and
Mrs. Wood made their first appearance at this theatre
last evening. To what causes this absence is to be
attributed, how it came to pass that these, the first of
English singers, have been suffered to be so long with-
out a metropolitan engagement, we will not now stop to
inquire, but instead we offer our hearty congratulations
to Mr. Maddox on his good fortune in having been
enabled to secure their services, and our best thanks for
having provided for the musical public 'such a treat.
As might have been expected, the house was literally
overflowing. Before the opening of the doors crowds
were waiting to obtain admittance. The pit and gallery
were crammed to suffbcation within five minutes after
the doors were opened. Those who were unable to
obtain edreission to the pit rushed to the boxes—
many of them too late to obtain even a back
seat in the slips. Long before the commence-
ment of the performance there was not a place
unoccupied, and had the theatre been three times the
size that it is, it would have been too small to have
afforded accommodation to all those who sought for ad-
mittance. The opera was the Maid of Judah, Mr. and
Mrs. Wood sustaining their original characters of Ivan-
hoe and Rebecca. She enters in the first scene, and
never do we recollect to have witnessed such a reception.
The house rose en masse, and amidst shouts of welcome,
the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, and applause the
most enthusiastic, she gracefully acknowledged the
deafening cheering with which she was greeted. After
the cheering had somewhat subsided, there was a call
for one cheer more, which was most enthusiastically re-
sponded to, arid then, and not until then, was she per-
mitted to proceed with the business of the scone,: and
never do we recollect to have seen or heard her
to greater advantage. Her attractions are undiminish4,
There are still the same beautiful and expressive' fete,
tures, the same lovely and graceful form. the same appro-
priate and expressive acting, and her voice is as powerful,
as sweet, as mellow, and as flexible as ever, while she
has, if possible, even greater command over it than she'
ever had. What can induce her to leave the stage -(for
this is advertised as her farewell engagement) thus, in
the zenith of her powers, at a time too, when we'have a
really musical public, more capable than ever it has been
yet of properly appreciating the treasure which it pos-
sesses in such a prima donna as Mrs. Wood, we are at a
loss to imagine. Let us, however, hope that her resolu-
tion is not irrevocable. Mr. Wood shortly afterwards
entered, and was greeted with the most enthu-
siastic cheering. He looked exceedingly sell, apd
is decidedly improved both in acting and singing. His
Ivanhoe throughout was a fine manly performance, and
it was quite a treat to hear his fine and powerful voice
in these days of puny tenors. His voice, always power-
ful and melodious, seems to us to be of greater compass
and flexibility than it was, and it was evident from his
singing that he had now become a most accomplished
musician. Tasteful and expressive, he always was,lbut
he is now,-a perfect artist—die first of tenor singers.
The opera itself is no doubt familiar to our readers. It
is an adaptation of the story of Scott's " Ivanhoe," to
the music of Rossini's Pietro 1 Erman (which itself, by
the bye, is only an adaptation of a new libretto to the
music of Mose in Egilto), and was originally produced at
Covent-garden ; the Woods, then as now, sustaining
the principal characters. There are three grand scenes
for Mrs. Wood, each of which was given with the most
exquisite taste and power, and in each of which she was.
rapturously applauded. There were loud calls for the repe.;
titton of the scene in the second act; but these were met
with cries of "Shame, shame," and the encore was not
insisted on. Nothing, however, but the fear of fatiguing
the cantatriee prevented every one of them from being
encored. Mr. Wood sang the delicious melody, " All
by the shady greenwood tree," with great taste and ex-
pression, and was of course rapturously encored. He
was also encored in the magnificent bravura, "When
the trump of Fame loud calling." Well do we remember
the electrical effect of this song on the audience
when the opera was originally produced. It
at once fixed Wood's position at the head of
his profession. No one has ever been able to approach
him in this magnificent song, and never did he sing it
better than last evening. At the conclusion of the opera
Mr. and Mrs. Wood were both called for, and again
greeted with the utmost enthusiasm. After which
Walton announced the opera for repetition on Friday
amidst the unanimous applause of one of the most crowded
audiences ever assembled within the walls of a theatre.,

EXTENSIVE EXCISE PROSECUTIONS. According
to the opinions of persons connected with the Excise depart-
ment, the system of fraud and adulteration of exciseable articles,
and, of course, those in a great measure of daily eonsumptign,
never existed to so great an extent as at the present time, and
the cases of detection by the officers in all parts of the country
have multiplied to an unprecedented degree. As the whole of
these nefarious practices are reported to the Board of Excise in
London, and samples of the adulterated articles transmitted far
examination, some idea may be formed of their number when
it is known that a practical chemist, who is kept by the Board,
and who is furnished with a complete laboratory at the office
in Broad-street, has been constantly erlaged for the last two
months on analysing the various seizieres of spurious and adul-
terated pepper alone, which amounts in the gross to several tons.
This, however, is only one of the many articles that the pubhe
receive in an unwholesome form. Cocoa, properly a most
wholesome and nutritious accompaniment 'to the breakfast
table, has also come in largely for its share of adulteration
by the dishonest tradesman. A species of fine brown earth
is mixed with it, and to render it invisible to the casual ob-
server, and effectually prevent its being separated from the
genuine ingredien,, a portion of mutton fat is .ntreduced, which
binds the earth with the cocoa, and at the same time gives it
the characteristic richness of good cocoa, and only to be de-
tected by the experienced eye. During the past week, prose-
cutions under the authority of her Majesty's Commissioners,
took place at the following places, and in every case a convic-
tion, with the penalties annexed, was obtained :—For spurious
pepper, in Worcester, six informations, penalties 2.501. ; in
Sunderland, twelve informations, penalties 350/. ; in Durham,
two informations, penalties ;00/. ; in Bristol, three informa-
tions, penalties 1001. The adulterations in the above cases
were, red and white mustard husks, rice, chilies, taw-dust,
earthy matter, sago, linseed, rapeseed, and wheat bran. In
Manchester, Thomas Raingell was fined 2001- for adulterating
his stock of tobacco with turmeric and yellow ochre. A great
number of other prosecutions for tobacco will follow, several
lots of which are adulterated with tar and sand to the extent of
14 per cent.

THE SECRET PASSION.—We hear that the author
of those truly original works, " Shakspeare and his
Friends," and " The Youth of Shakspeare," has a new
novel on the point of appearance of a highly attractivo
nature under the title of " The Secret Passion," w here,
in a story of great novelty, told in that picturesque
style which directed such general attention to his former
we rks, lie has made the principal feature a married
lady of high rank, distinguished not less for her beauty
than for her unrivalled, moral, and intellectual attain-
ments, struggling against the influence of a dangerous
sympathy for one whose genius was not less exalted
than his virtues were ennobling. Thus placing two of
the most admirable' examples of their sex wider cir-
cumstances that would at once both try. and prove their
pretensions to the excellence for which each was cele-
brated. Report speaks highly of this work as affording
delineations of human passion of absorbing interest, and
as being equally remarkable for its intellectual character
as for its moral tendency.
THE LAw of DIVORCE.—A deputation waited
yesterday on Dr. Nichol on the subject of the present law of
divorce in this country, to request him to introduce into any
measure he may have is contemplation for the reform of the ec-
clesiastical •4.
law a clause to enable injured individuals who nifty
appeal to that Court to obtain a divorce a nitwit/0 waif iutotaii:
'I he deputation were most courteously received by Dr. Nits,
who promised to call the attention of the Government
necessary end important alteration in so unjust a staottet:onfttilif
present law, which entirely pots it out of the
dent, on whose
jlu,orcoodlp.arty to obtain any redress except at errpoou7leary of about
ASPARAGUS.—A medical correspondent,
informs us that the
statement we can most implicitly rely, .
estimated Zone who
ad-
vantages of this plant are not sufticiei ti
are cured in a few days by feeding on
gt'hheti:rrli.oifottsrhecasculauloatistu:
relieved, especially if the
carefully avoid all acids, whether in food or overage.
asunffdermforreemchrlrlosnsinciaticsamsesanadreguur.eh Slight b
patient
The Jerusalem artichoke has also a similar effect in relieving -
rheumatism. The heads may be eaten in the usual way, but
tea made from the leaves of the stalks, and drunk three or four
times a day, is a certain remedy, th3a,,,,1i not equally agree-
able.—York Courant.