Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-07-18
@THE soUrTLED SUPP
LendOn's Latess Dramatic ecnsa.
tton-A Good HumOrcd Account
Of the Play.

Lend0n,s Latess Dramatic eonsa
tlon-A Good HumOrcd AccOunl
"Gainsborough. a cleser young lady
correspondent. writes as follows from
London
Among other theatrical attractions
The Scultled Ship holds its own Wonder.
fully well; Il has B0w been running
many weeks and is as popular as ever.
The play is taken from Charles Reade' I
crazy story of Foul Play, which is well
adapted for tie stage. The plot turns
on the subject that Mr., PlmsoH has
been agiiating SO greatly the inhuman
practice of sending cut uBseaworthy
vessels aud insuring them over their
value, thus literally putnuga premium
GU their loss Ia this play the william,
Arthur Wardlaw, a wealthy merchant,
has bribed the captain and mate OF one
bis WI vessels to cast her away, having
insured her cargo. insoioed as gold, but
in reality only Of lead, 10 the full
amount. All this is told in the prologue,
and in the FIRST scene we have the gal
liant ship proserpine (already doomed
before she leaves the dock) preparing
to sail from Sidney to Liverpool, when
at the last minute the heroine, Miss
Helen Rolleston, appears 90 the dock
with her father. prepared 70 embark.
The Captain endeavors to induce her to
put of her departure until the next
week, but she insists. aud disappears
with al her baggage down the eompan.
ion way. We are then informed by a
pert ladY's maid that Helen is returning
70 celebrate her wedding to Arthur
Wardlaw - and the audience then
perceiyes that the unfortunate Wnrdlaw
has uDWittingly doomed the woman be
loves to destruction. The parting gun
is fred, the daughter says q last farewell,
the gangwsy is about 70 be drawn 90
board, when a new figure appears upon
the stage, and demands passage on
bosrd the Proserpiue. This being re.
fused and the plank withdrawn he
rushes to the edge OF the dock, and after
an impassioued speech, from which we
learn he loves the heroine, aud, having
frat discovered 10 some wonderful man
ner, her danger, is resolved either to
save her life or to die With her. So say
Jog, he takes a Tremendous leap into Q
feather-oed, ! mean TO the departing
ship, which must have been several rods
distant by this time. gains the deck, and
the house and curtain come down sim.
~uliaueOusly. La our next scene tht
good ship is in %mid-ocesn, aud it being
a fine day, the mate, vino is the chipt
v ain, determines that the time for scut.
ling the ship has now come; so be de
scends into the hold, and we hear the
common sounds OF an auger boring the
side Of the ship. None OF the crew %
serves this, and our hero, who is a clergy
man, and therefore more accustomed t.
the ways of the sea, follows the mate
and discovers him 10 the act Of boring
the hole. Rushing on deck he there
declares bis love and their danger to
Helen, who despises and rejects the one
and refuses to believe the other Ia 0
short time, however, it becomes obvious
even 10 the sailors that the ship ia sink.
ing, ana they betake themselves to the
boats, aud the ship goes aowa. The
sceGe IS really "a hne one, the climax
being reached When, after the sinking Of
the Proserpine, one Of the boats appear
in which is Helen who, with a suparhu
man Effort only to be expected Of one
of Mr.. Resde's heroines, throws herself
half out Of the boat and seizes aud drags
into it the almost ~lileless form OF the
reverend gentleman, the crew rendering
her no assistance than that Of a feeble
cheerl We aext find our hero and be.
rome established on a convenient desert
island where everything that the hear
OF man or woman can desire (includine
b~igh.beeled French Boots can be had
The death Of all the crew leaves the
hero aud heroine tete-a-tete, to the dis
tress Of the young lady, who implores
her companion to relieve her from the
painfal situation, which be Immediately
does by TIE simple method of catching
wild ducks, tying a piece Of parchment
round their necks, on which be writes
the latitude aud longitude OF the island,
together with a f%ervent appeal for res.
cue, and then setting the birds free.
One Of these obligiDg animals flies di
rectly TO the ship o. which ia the young
lady's papa, who Immediately responds
70 the invitation, and arriving on the
luxurious Island carries away Miss
Helen, leaving the unfortunate lovei
behind. he, however. soon follows in
boat OF his own construction, aud the
Williams are all punished and the good
people all comfortably married, much
in the old.fdshionfd manner, and 10 the
satisfaction OF the audienca. On paper
1t looks like a caricature, but on the
stage it seems rather a probable S
quence Of events 1t will without dodb.
be reproduced in New York.