The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-08 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

Mr. Lambert made his debut at this theatre last
evening in. the character of Sir Anthony Absolute.
This gentleman has marked features, considerable
powers of grimace, and a good voice. He gave us
the conventional Sir Anthony Absolute very fairly,
and was judicious enough not to aim at making any
new points. He was most successful in the scene
in which, introducing his son to Mrs. Malaprop and
Lydia, Beverly and Jack Absolute are discovered to
be one and the same person. It was rather unfortu-
nate that he should have chosen the character of Sir
Anthony for his first appearance before a London
audience. It seemed to challenge a comparison with
Farren ; and where is the actor who, in Farren's pecu-
liar line, can come out from such an ordeal unscathed?
Mr. Lambert's style is essen tiallydifferent from Fal Ten's,
and approaches nearer to Blanchard than to thot of
any actor we remember. We should say he wottkl
do better in farce than in comedy, and- there is *
heartiness about him which would tell well in the'
domestic drama. His engagement is undoubtedly an
acquisition to the Drury-lane company, inasmuch as
it strengthens it in the only line in which it was
weak—the old men. The Captain Absolute of An-
derson, and the Mrs. Malaprop of Mrs. C.
Jones, are well known and justly appreciated. Mr.
Phelps was the Faulkland, and never have we
seen this very difficult character more effectively
pourtrayed. Faulkland, as usually represented, is a
sermonizing bore, but Mr. Phelps made him a really
interesting character. We felt that he was a somewhat
over sensitive but honourable and warm-hearted man,
who, notwithstanding all his faults, was deserving of
' our sympathy. Perhaps in the whole 'range of acting
nothing is more difficult to hit than the line which
separates serious comedy from tragedy. In his
delineation of the character of Faulkland, Mr.
Phelps has shown that he has the judgment and dis-
crimination to mark the distinction between the two,
his Faulkland is the best on the
satnadg,v.He accordingly,w asexcellently supported by Miss Helen
Faucit, who made a most interesting Julia. furs.
Nesbitt was Lydia Languish, and never had Lydia a
more fascinating representative. She seemed quite to re-
vel in the part. Keeley, as Acres, was very humorous,
albeit not quite the Acres of Sheridan ; and Hud-
, son, as Sir Lucius O'Trigger, was clever and lively.
A word to these two gentlemen. Did they not in the
challenge writing scene interpolate certain passages ?
Let them beware of this propensity, and rest assured,
that however, clever they may be, they cannot im-
prove the text of Sheridan. Mr. Charles Mathews, as
'ag, ag, showed how much could be made of a small
character by a clever actor. The best acted character
in the play, however, was the David of Mr. Compton.
Never was warm-hearted, honest, uneducated, but
not ignorant fidelity, better delineated. It was per-
fect; and it is worth while to visit Drury-lane if it
be only to see the David of Mr. Compton. The house
was exceedingly well filled.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
MR. RICHARDS'S DISCLOSURES ANENT
THE SOUTHAMPTON DOCKS.

DOGBERRY.—Oh ! that neighbour Seacoal were here
to write me down an ass.—Shakspeare.

A meeting of "persons interested in the Southamp-
ton Docks" was advertised to be held yesterday at the
George and Vulture, to listen to certain disclosures to
be made by Mr. Richards, the leader of the opposition
—we beg pardon, the opposition, for Mr. Richards's
tail does not even reach to the dimensions of that
of a sheep dog—of the Southampton Dock Proprietary.
Having seen the advertisement, we went to the George
and Vulture at one o'clock and oa inquiring for the
place of meeting, we were ushered into a room 18
feet by 12, containing 12 chairs and a sofa, and
found there assembled eight reporters, the Soli-
citor and Secretary of the Company, who attended
not in their official capacity, but as shareholders, three
gentlemen supposed to be shareholders, and a gentle-
man not a shareholder, wha afterwards turned out to
be Mr. Richards's solicitor. Half-after one o'clock
came, but with it no addition to the meeting, and those
present were just on the point of taking their depar-
ture, under the impression that the whole affair was a
hoax, when a gentleman, attired like the beef-eater in
the Critic," in a very fine waistcoat," entered the room,
and, sitting down in one of the chairs, asked if it was
the pleasure of the meeting to proceed to business. With-
out waiting for a reply, he of the waistcoat transferred
his seat of honour into a chair at the head of the table,
and then for the first time we were aware that We
were in the presence of the revealer, the discloser, the
Delphic Apollo of the meeting, who came, like Dandini,
to tell " a secret most important, most astounding ;"
and that within the round of that " very fine waist- •
coat" was buttoned the opposition of the Southampton
Dock Proprietary. Nothing daunted by the pre-
sence of the great man, or by that of the crowded.
assembly drawn together by the fain•of his elo-
quence, Mr. Sainsbury, the Secretary of the Qom-
pany, protested against the meeting being considered
a meeting of the Southampton Dock Company, in-
asmuch as it had not been convened in accordance
with the provisions of the Act of Parliament, And
actually designated it merely a conversational meet-
ing, without a Chairman. In this descrtption the
man with the waiscoat acquiesced, and forthwith
began, not a conversation, but a speech, rivalling
Fleet-ditch in length, sluggishness, and obscurity.—
Shallow, not clear ; excited, yet most dull ;
Weak, though enraged ; though foaming, yet not full.
We were no longer surprised at tile thinness of
the attendance. The Proprietors evidently knew
their man.

Indoctum doctumque fugat recitator aeerbus.
Those who were so unfortunate, however, as to be
present, could bear ample testimony to the truth of
the succeeding lines of the poet :
Quern vero arripuit tenet occiditque legendo,
Non missura cutem, nisi plena cruoris hirud,o,
lire had intended presenting our readers 'with cer-
tain excerpta from this choice specimen tat eloquence,
but we forbear. However much inclined the man with
the waistcoat may be to rival Dogberry in the depth cl
his discoveries, we have no disposition to be inis
neighbour Seacoal on this occasion. Suffice it to say
that the Secretary and the Solicitor demonstrated
satisfactorily that he of the vaistcoat had found a
mare's nest, and in their hands we leave him.

AUSTRALIND.
We understand that dispatches were received on
the 6th inst., at the Office of the *Western Australian
Company, in Old Broad-street, from the Chief Com-
missioner at Australind (Western Australia), dated
2d May last, which give very cheering accounts of
this settlement,
The feliowing is a copy of a letter from Mr. Mar,-
shall Waller Clifton, describing a visit to the settle•
mont by four official gentlemen from Perth :
" " Australind, April 28, 184.1
SlR—it will be satisfactory to the Boar-;t to hear
additional testimony of the favourable posit tor, of our
settlement, and of the fine country which, their grant
contains.

" On Thursday, the 21st instant, the followingh genr-
tlemen arrivPa here from Perth, and I had theleoHnooun.
to entertain them till yesterday morning I
'Government
the Colonial Secretary, Mr. R.
hmdi'bseare3nr before in this
" None of these gentlemen
had
expressed them-
'.(oensindeeilllt;
and
dt'riere.mDanratklee:
Commissary
CB.orwoawnm'Clerk
General.o f the.
district, excepting Mr. Cowan
esthtuearbeyaauntya
at the rapid progress
the two rivers, and astonished
accompanied me to the
we had made ; and
town site,
asenldveasdaysanbt:ginegs wonderfullyofottrpositios.ntruocnk stvhiteh
and up the Surveyor's.
principal parts of theeof
the Brunswick, to the rdoun-
lines along the flats of
Mount Clifton, and, 'returned:
thin gorge, ascended
to the great pools of the. Welleslm-
pldaltahat they had never in a.".ny part ofgtr'ne:fs:
tl in equal to the colAtry they Pas s d.
colony seen an 3 . q
li
Secretary, who is a man of e
tahcer3o,ssdetchleare ,
Colonial
he had never before seen such
stated
h extends to the top of Mount kilifton,,
The de-composition of the
land as that lc
black mould, which, if found in low situa-
tions, granite or species of w nnstone, Producing to the SUM.
could only be denominated alluvial, or dark
onTh experience,
e anyil ohni l' in
species
coloiny.
brirolo.
nt,s,'nricfrhiabl e loam, the colour of coffee when ground.
The party left, me, impressed with the strongest
opinion of the advantages and resources of our locality.
" I am, Sir, your very humble Servant,
" W. WALLER CLIFTON,
" Chief Commissioner in Australia."
The Chief Commissioner, in accordance with -no-
tice previously given by him in the colonial pr.pers, was on the point of distributing the town allwanents
to purchasers or their agents. It appears chat the
cargo of the Diadem (the last ship that arrived with
emigrants) was landed in perfectly good condition iu
the short space of eleveTt days. The.l.lransit, a trading
vessel from the Cape of Good Hope, had also arri-ved,
iwna.erell32:nodffit6wi
official
l
agreeable
at le
lucitihvanteinaes wcionnevs,eyfruthi fruit,
intelligence that happiness and unanitrAty prevail
amorgst the colonists. foals,ete r s

SUICIDE OF A FEMALE.—Yesterday morning, be-
tween seven and eight, a young female of genteel
appearance committed suicide by throwing herself off
the bridge in the Old Kent-road into the Surrey
Canal. The rash act was observed by several persons,
who gave an immediate alarm, and a boat, which was
in tow to some coal barges, was cut adrift and put off
with two men in to the spot where the unfor-
tunate young creature had sunk. 'The drags were
obtained from the Duke of Wellington public-
house, but all eillarts to recover the body proved
unavailing for a considerable time ; it was, how-
ever, discovered about ten o'clock, when of
course life was extinct. The body lies for the inquest.
The deceased appears about 18 years old, of dark
complexion, and good features ; she was dressed in a
green silk dress, dark pattern shawl,
straw bonnet
with green ribbons, white cotton stockings, and i aced
boots ; nothi ig was found to lead to her identity.