The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-29 00:00:00

ADELPHI THEATRE.

A pleasant two act comedy, from the pen of our
old friend Beazley, entitled, You Know What, was
produced at this theatre last evening, with the most
unequivocal success. The fun of the piece turns upon
the embarassments of a certain Mr. Larkspur (Mr.
Wright), the guardian of a young lady, whose hand
is sought at the same time by his uncle, General
Larkspur (Mr. 0. Smith), and a Mr. Belmont (Mr.
Maynard), whose pretensions are favoured by Mrs.
Larkspur. Now, ill-. Larkspur had, sometime pre-
viously, written an amorous epistle to this young
lady, requesting an assignation, which letter she had
handed to his wife, who, accordingly her Self, went and
kept the appointment; and having given him a bow of
riband as a souvenir, had succeeded in leaving the
place of assignation Without his discerning who she
was. Of course, when it suits her purpose, she finds
the bow inclosed in a billet, and accuses him of infi-
delity. He flies to General Larkspur, tells him of
the quandary he is in, without, however, naming the
lady, and induces the General to tell ifrs. Larkspur
that the souvenir had been given to him (the Gene-
ral) and not to her husband ; and, in return, the
General demands his consent to propose for
Maria, or he will tell " You know what." Mrs.
Larkspur then states that Maria had informed her
of the recept of an anonymous epistle, requesting an
assignation, and that she had sent her maid Ferret to
the place appointed, who had returned, saying that
the gentleman had not thought proper to keep his ap-
pointment. At the same time she instructs Ferret to
tell Larkspur that unless he gives his consent to the
marriage of Maria and Belmont, she will tell—" You
know what ?" In this manner the fun is kept up
through two short acts, when all is satisfactorily ex-
plained, and Belmont, of course, receives in due form
Larkspur's consent to marry Maria. The dialogue
is full of point, and the piece goes trippingly off, and
will, doubtless, have a run. Wright, as Larkspur,
was excessively droll and humorous ; there is not
an actor on the stage who can delineate the fussiness
of a consequential man in a quandary like Wright;
every look, every gesture told. His agonies increased
in intensity under every application of the " You
know what ;" and as they increased, so did the
laughter of the audience. Miss Murray as Ferret
was curiosity personified, ever anxious to discover
the mystery. She, the inflictor of the "You know
what," was the only person who, at the conclusion,
was left in ignorance of what the " what " was.
However, as she was handsomely rewarded by Lark-
spur for not divulging what she did not know, she
had no great reason to complain of her treatment.
0. Smith, as General Larkspur, dressed and acted the
military veteran to admiration. When he first came
on the stage, we were greatly struck with the resem-
blance he bore to the Duke of Wellington—a resem-
blance quite as remarkable as that of Gomersal to
Napoleon, with which all play-goers were so struck
a few years since at this theatre. The grand ballet
of Alma, which 'has not diminished in it,s attraction,
followed, and the Miser's Daughter, concluded the
evening's performances. This latter superb spectacle
is to be withdrawn after the present week, so that
those who have not yet seen it have no time to lose.
The house was crowded, as the Adelphi was always
wont to be.